1x06 Imprisoned

"That lemur! He's earthbending!" I like how Katara's 1st inspirational speech doesn't work at all, & it almost seems like the 2nd one won't either. Nice portrayal of an oppressed people beyond the point of hope.

5.5/10. Trite and cliche appears to be this show's M.O., at least thus far. Apparently Katara is just instantly friends and devoted to everyone she meets, first Aang, and now Haru. There's some idea of them bonding from both having lost parents, but for the most part it's just caring by fiat rather than anything earned. The whole thrust of the episode -- that people's spirits can be broken, but that a small sign of resistance can be enough to spark them once more -- has been done to death, and there wasn't anything especially interesting about how it was done here. Of course scrappy little Haru and the indefatigable Katara manage to rally the troops.

It wasn't totally bad. Getting George Takei as the evil prison warden was a big boon. The scheming with the coal and pretend earth-bending was clever. And as has been more the case of late, the actual action and use of the earth bending powers was pretty cool, especially Aang's air-fueled machine gun move. But for the most part, this was cheesy and shallow riffs on the whole parent-child relationship and spirit of rebellion ideas that had nothing new to add.

We begin to see how radically caring Katara is.

"That lemur is Earthbending!" — Fire Nation Soldier

The Warden: "I can't swim."
Tyro: "Don't worry, I hear coward's float."

7/10

Some stellar visual storytelling here - the sequence where Katara learns of Haru's capture is magnificent, and continues the show's fantastic skill at letting the audience decipher for themselves and respecting their intelligence. And while there is less comedy then the prior two entries, the comedy that is here continues to be very strong and one of the show's highlights. It's definitely on the side of being a bit rushed overall, but the show's writing allows you to buy most of it outside of a couple of minor quibbles.

But what carries this episode is Katara herself, and we really get to see what drives her here. Her own tragedy connects her deeply to many of the war prisoners, and the show explores not just her determination, but how this war has affected so many and the lack of hope many of them have. George Takei's guest role brings a deliciously evil edge to the Warden, sure, but he also serves to demonstrate just how dangerous slavery and imprisonment actually is in the grand scheme.

wait a minute...how are fire benders able to create fire out of thin air when other benders (well, except air) have to have something of that element already around???

Oh my god it's George Takei. oh myyyyyyyyyyyyy

Crazy how they’re will to fight was just lost.

I never get tired of the guards thinking Momo is earth bending. :joy:

Imprisoned walked so One Way Out in Andor could run. Katara really is that girl and her endless hope and optimism is just so heartening to watch. I love how this episode isn't about saving the earth kingdom but empowering people to fight against evil imperialist forces. And I loved how this episode demonstrated both bending as it connects people to their own culture and the way the fire nation seeks to enact cultural genocide. like the warden explicitly sees earth bending as a lesser form of bending requiring subjugation.

What's so amazing about avatar is that it can do all this meaningful and impactful heavy storyteling while still being light and funny. like the gags never stop even when the sow is being impactful. Like the warden throwing the captain off the deck or katara and sokka's fake argument and momo being mistaken for an earthbender. always hilarious.

But i think my favourite moment in this episode was the moment katara discovers that Haru had been taken. The silent tears of Haru's mother are animated with such heartbreaking expression that speaks to the endless suffering and loss caused by the fire nation.

Is this the first use of Avatar’s Love?! absolutely iconic.