החפירות של טליה

this is a response to this video by Hello Future Me.

i really agree with Tim here about everything... except for his proposed “fix” for the plot awkwardness that energy-bending poses. i genuinely do agree energy-bending is the solution to the problem posed by the show, and that other solutions would not have been a good conclusion to the show. to me the problem with energy-bending is that it's so nearly well done. not only is the messaging good thematically, but actually even those confusing lines by the lion-turtle fit the theme:

The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed.

that is to say, this dilemma you're experiencing, it is a lie, and only if you stay true to your values you can come out of it having defeated Ozai without being poisoned. and part of the power energy bending has in the story is that it comes at the last moment. had it been there beforehand we would have known that this is not a dilemma, that there is a solution, and that Aang will get it. i also disagree with Tim about costs. i do not need Aang to lose something for using energy-bending. to me, that pure victory is deserved, for the whole world told Aang there is no other way and Aang found one.

all that being said, here's how you fix energy bending:

1. the point everyone seems to agree on: foreshadow the lion-turtle even more. however, unlike Tim, i explicitly do not want energy-bending to be foreshadowed. see why in a bit.
2. make what the lion-turtle says a bit more clear. i find the speech in The Old Masters to be near-perfect, missing just a single line. there's better and worse ways to say it, but right before the lion-turtle says “he will come” (referring to Ozai and proving yet again he knows what he's talking about), say something along the lines of “stay true, avatar.”
3. make energy-bending something Aang discovers there and then, on that stone pillar, touching Ozai. the lion-turtle does not tell Aang this is an option, but rather Aang realises it is an option on the spot, and only because he stayed true to his values (as demonstrated by the lightning redirection at the start of the battle and by coming out of the Avatar state at the end). you can have the flashbacks to the lion-turtle, but only to show where Aang got the idea this is even something worth trying.
4. make that conclusion – that Aang only got the solution because he believed despite everything – explicit. instead of “who taught you that – a giant lion-turtle”, make it something like “how did you do that? – i don't know, i just did. with bit of inspiration from a giant lion turtle.”

that's it.

there's evidence to suggest this is what the writers were aiming at. the novelisation of that episode makes it clear that Aang understood what the lion-turtle meant in that moment. that “flashback” is not meant to be a flashback at all, but a sudden revelation. this however is not made clear enough in the show. because the intention was there, all the pieces are already there. point 1 of my plan is not actually needed – the lion-turtle works even without exposition at all (though of course, it works better if there is some). it just needs to be made that bit more clear: this is not a Deus Ex Machina. a magic solution didn't fall of the sky (or more accurately, didn't come out of the ocean). no, it's that Aang managed to stay true despite all odds – which is what allowed him to see that the dilemma isn't true.

נכתב על ידי טליה, ״הלוחמת בטרפיות״. @yuvalne@tooot.im

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