Watching Aang go through a spiritual journey, Toph learn a new form of earthbending, Iroh and Zuko settling in a new life, Sokka realize that he has become the man he always wanted to be, and Azula using manipulation and Aang's tactics in the drill to carry out ambitious plans is chef's kiss. Now that I have written it down, however, it sounds quite messy, but there's an overarching theme of growth.
[7.6/10] It would be too much to call “The Guru” overstuffed, because it didn’t exactly try to do too much in too little time. Instead, it tried to do one big thing and then sprinkle in a lot of little things along the way. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but the issue was that a number of those little things the episode threw into the mix felt like they should be bigger.
Don’t get me wrong. I liked Aang’s experiences with The Guru. The whole idea of chakras and blending spiritual traditions in this world is a pleasant one, that helps give the show a more mystical and spiritual bent amid the cool action and world building and character development. The show’s art direction was particularly superb, finding nice ways to integrate past events and cool new extended reality designs to symbolize the spiritual journey that Aang was embarking on.
That said, I’ve never really been on board with the show founding so much on an Aang-Katara romantic relationship. The fact that he didn’t see Sokka or Toph or Appa or Momo in his visions of things that kept him attached to this world irked me a bit. I’m not against Aang having a crush on Katara, or even the show playing that out, but it just seems overly simplistic and trite as such a driving force for Aang.
That said, I did like his trip to the Eastern Air Temple. Sure, some of the philosophy at play is a bit too pat and blunt, but it serves as a nice illustration of Aang’s psyche, and the promise of being able to control the Avatar State adds stakes to what is otherwise a series of meditations and the usual self-actualization rituals that pop up in these chosen one stories.
The other major problem is just how much the other stories got the short shrift. You could do a whole episode about pretty much everything else that happens in “The Guru.” Toph learning to bend metal is probably the one that fit the best, as it was a fairly simple story that has big implications, but which could be told in just a couple of scenes and used to relate to Aang’s Guru-inspired meditation.
But the other stories felt underserved. Sokka reuniting with his father is a big deal. There was heart in the moment where they actually encounter one another for the first time in years and embrace. Their bonding over creative and kind of goofy traps is a nice touch. And the bit with Sokka’s dad telling Sokka that he already though he had the potential to be a great warrior is a good moment too. But we just spend so little time at such a meaningful event that it can’t help but feel too glancing.
The same goes for Zuko’s story. After his fever, we get the idea that Zuko’s changed, but we just get brief indications that he’s suddenly nicer and more at peace with little time to explore what that means. The perfection and calm of everything, in TV terms, means it’s destined to be shattered in some way, but it still just feels like Zuko’s transformation and the aftermath should take up more than 3-5 minutes of one episode.
Then there’s the more plot-moving parts. Katara hanging around with the Earth King’s army and discovering Zuko has its moments, and Azula making an alliance with Long Feng portends conflict, but it seems more like setup and delivering plot nuggets than anything especially useful.
Still, it’s all good stuff, even if it’s not especially well-developed stuff. And the story of Aang, that he is making peace with his past and finding balance within himself despite the tumult he’s been through, but cannot necessarily reach the next level because the same people who have gotten him this far are keeping him from getting any further is an interesting one. Much of this works as a chapter in a story, but not as its own thing, and it’s debatable whether that’s genuinely a flaw or not. Maybe I’ll feel differently, one way or another, after I watch the finale.
The most significant episodes so far with respect to the spiritual knowledge in this show.
Ty Lee: "Gosh, you're so confident. I really admire that about you."
Hakoda: "Bato, get these mines loaded up! The rest of you men, prepare for battle!"
Sokka: "Uhhh ... what should I do, Dad?"
Hakoda: "Aren't you listening? I said, 'The rest of you men, get ready for battle'."
8/10
Aww man i was really hoping zuko would turn good..
The Guru (like the back half of this season tbh) was very plot heavy. A lot of it was spent setting up pieces for the finale. in some ways it works, watching Azula lay out chess pieces is always fun, but in others it feels demonstrative of what goes on the back burner when the plot takes precedence.
For example Toph learning metalbending this episode is surprisingly uncompelling. It's tied in no way to her character or any sort of arc she's been having this season. Its triumphant moment has her proving she's the greatest earthbender alive, but because that hasn't been a conflict for her this season. As much as I love her this moment makes it pretty clear that this season did not serve her like book 1 did our other leads who each got multiple full episodes dedicated to them.
In contrast both Aang and Sokka have solid emotional beats in this episode that hit only because there was time to build up what drives these characters. Sokka getting that approval of his father as a warrior works because we have the context from Bato of the Water Tribe about what that means to him. Aang unlocking his chakras is basically a highlight reel of the significant character beats he's been through across two seasons. Seeing him let go of that guilt and shame hits because we've seen how it weighs on him throughout the show. And Toph learns metal bending which is cool but doesn't hit as deep as it could. And that's a real missed opportunity.
Another pet peeve I have with this episode is how it centralizes Aang's romantic love for Katara as the most important thing to him. As someone who isn't moved by kataang as a romantic pairing seeing the show completely sideline Aang's love for his friends for the sake of highlighting this romance irks me. Aang's loves more people in this world that just her, like we literally had a whole 6 episode arc about Aang's love for Appa. So to minimize his relationships with Sokka, Toph, Appa and even Momo for the sake of propping up what is honestly a quite bland romance is really deflating.
I feel like I'm coming off more negative than I actually am about this episode. It's fine, solid even, but emblematic of some overall weakness of this entire season.
"The Guru" has so much going on you would be almost correct to say that it has too much, but when everything is this good, this important, and this well paced, then it really doesn't matter. Aang's trip with the titular guru takes up most of the runtime, and it's here we see the philosophy and thematic ideas of the show faced head on. The Avatar State is less of a power and more of a state of mind itself - calm, collected, removing all that is troubling you. And yet, Aang's own fear of losing Katara is what holds him back. Aang is still human, and human feelings aren't easily ignored. The parallels to Empire Strikes Back in this episode are uncanny, though clearly deliberate.
Every other story gets a chance to shine too. Sokka reuniting with his dad is powerful, and Katara's story, while short, serves to showcase Azula and her posse's plan. Zuko's story also shows just how much he has grown as a character, and while it's definitely odd to see him like this, you get into the groove of it and it ends up being heartwarming. But the real winner here is Toph, who showcases just how great of an Earthbender she is by literally inventing Metalbending - something that has massive implications for the show going forward, especially against the metal centric Fire Nation. Amazing stuff once again.
Shout by samtasiaBlockedParent2022-07-02T16:08:14Z
Toph is the greatest earth bender in the world, and don’t you dunderheads forget it!