Overanalyzing Avatar: Sozin's Comet, Part 3 - Into The Inferno

17:07 how did you manage to make this scene more powerful than it already was? Bravo sir

I agree. When someone's a control freak, the loss of control breaks someone all at once. I think Azula's collapse actually made sense and was paced pretty well.

Saahil Parikh

I almost feel like they spent too much time on Azula's collapse. To me, she broke when she couldn't control everything. Her whole character was about control, and people like that in real life (imope) break all at once. They go from holding everything and pretending like everything is 100% to being completely broken with little to no warning. They needed to show some transition so that it would read to an audience that doesn't have experience with trying to be perfect, but much more and it would have felt less realistic and almost patronizing in their overexplaining. Yes the audience has done the leg work on the specifics of what broke her, but just the loss of control breaks people all at once. Think back to the beginning of COVID how people who were usually in control tried to keep pretending like everything was fine, then all at once just weren't fine anymore. Same thing here but on a much larger scale because of the extra pressures of being a princess

Sidney Hestres

This. It's also an issue of comparison. Azula's mental collapse isn't done poorly, it's just that compared to the super delicate and explicate way they handle Zuko's storyline it feels worse because it's not as incredibly good. And a couple more scenes might have made it better but they also might've made it worse. The back and forth of Zuko figuring out what he wants takes much more explaining than "People who's only trait is being perfect in every way break easily, and break completely." That's an easier thing for people to just see, and it could come across condescending to overexplain it

Sidney Hestres

I had always felt every time I saw her that she was extremely unstable. Everything about her personality just screamed that she was nuts. I do agree that her mental collapse goes from 0 to 60 extremely fast though

Isbey Isbey

So many thoughts and comments! For me, Azulas break down is attributed to her world view falling apart. We see her manipulate and control people, and it’s how she defines herself. When Mai AND Ty Lee betray her, it completely shatters that. She no longer knows who she is, and what she’s used to control people doesn’t work.

I understand why people could think azulas descent is rushed but I think it’s realistic if anything. It’s clear she was a perfectionist, manipulative and thought of herself as perfect. Then when things go wrong with her friends and Zuko and she gets the added immense pressure of being fire lord, she cracks. It doesn’t need lots of screen time to set up or anything because in reality for human being it doesn’t need lots of bad things to happen, all it needs is some bad circumstances.

i Don't know how many other people have noticed this but in the Final Agni Kai Zuko uses move from all four elements, he stands his ground like an earth bender, he twirls like an air bender and redirects energy(Lightning) like a water bender

@8:54 I would agree, that the shattering of Azula was suprising to say at least but the reveal that she realy cares what her mother thinks about her was a Twist I liked. I was realy touched by it and understood her secrecy and supression about it. She really thought she wouldn't care anymore but stuff like that catches up with you one way or another.

Ahji

shave and a haircut was a tune from the early 1900s. was used lots in television but was also used in the Vietnam war allowing US POWs to identify each other. Citation from Wikipedia. Says earliest occurrence listed was 1899

That’s so crazy you just unlocked a hidden memory

I'm not sure if anyone else remembers this but that knock is a rhythm for an old nursery rhyme or something. Remember it being on kids toys and the such growing up where it was always associated with farm stuff

Bing

The sound of the fire bending blasts in the final is the sound of a blowtorch, rather than the woosh-like sounds of fire, in the rest of the show. This is meant to show the increased power of the fire blasts.

I didn’t see a comment about it so I’ll say it.. One of my favorite call backs is ozais face when Aang is redirecting his lightning. It calls back to when Zuko initially leaves on the day of the eclipse and says he’s going to teach the avatar firebending. Immediately after we see Zuko redirect Ozais lighting strike on him. Ozais face when Aang is successfully redirecting his lighting shows true horror: Zuko did it. He found Aang and kept good on his word to help the Avatar to overthrow him. I think it’s in that moment Ozai put two and two together that this was no longer a sure victory. He knew he made a mistake and couldn’t do anything about it, his “useless” son turned out to be not so useless. From there his attacks slowly start to get even more erratic, more like a cornered animal. This two second close up on Ozais face conveys so much intense emotion, you can really see the thoughts flying through his head. Anybody else notice this or am I just over analyzing? (lol)

I beg of you to do Korra, plssssss don’t let this be the end

Alright, I finally finished reading every single post here, including all the comments. :D All the lizard references actually convinced me to subscribe. Normally I don't subscribe to people, because I use a script that adds new videos of channels to a playlist, YouTube's actual subscriptions are way too unreliable. But if you like numbers going up, here, have +1.

Fabian Röling

the 2d characters in a 3d environment with 3d objects is a move straight out of Treasure Planet.

Aaron Mauthe

that's not a "stretch", that's literally what it is. Azula takes great pleasure in validation and being glorified. she doesn't have many relations outside of her father besides her two friends. they are the closest people to her. she is a mentally disturbed sociopath with dysfunctional relations, ofcourse a betrayal of this magnitude would have her descend into manic paranoia, her mask is falling off. i could go into greater detail, but the correlation is pretty obvious and i don't understand how so many people completely miss it. Azulas descent into madness makes perfect sense to me. OveranalyzingA takes on Azula is probably the most i have disagreed with anything he has said in these videos

F C C D C, E F. also, the derivation F C (B) C Db C, E F is used as a sting basically everywhere :), but especially broadway type stuff and cheesy cartoon movies. edit: apparently it's supposed to be in C, not F but meh

Incite Doubt

I'm late to the patreon party but I absolutely love this series, both AtLA and Overanalyzing Avatar. You point out details I would have missed otherwise, the continuity stuff is fun, but I really just enjoy hearing someone talk passionately about something they like. I feel like it strengthens my own love of the characters, story, and world. Your style is funny and lighthearted, but you know when to be serious. I can't wait for your finale! Team Avatar is a fan.

I hear Skips from Regular Show

Finally my completely useless musical knowledge comes into play! The knock we all know is called Shave And A Haircut, Two Bits. It started back in the late 1800s but was made popular years later. It's a call and response, so one person does the "Shave and a haircut" and person 2 replies "Two bits". Two bits being about 25 cents. The more you know.

S. Tier. Joke.

Disciple612

OH NO HE’S HOT 😂💀

Not only is this Episode phenomenal, your video on this episode is amazing...i have watched it twice now and it gives me chills.

DukeApples

Mark Hamill Is an amazing actor, but still I can only hear Joker from Arkham series

I always wonder if stuff like this is just coincidental or intentional by the animators

Patrick J Candelaria

I would love to see Gravity Falls. I think there is alot of potential for overanalyzing

Excited to see what you do next after LAB. Maybe Korra? Other show, while way less linear would that would be cool is maybe Adventure TIime?

Eh, but why didnt the firenation also do that?

Kinda think the animation is just weird. Like he jumped to be in the way as he saw her move her "shot" at Katara. Also with how far they can leap, by anime logic, they must have crazy 0-60 burst speed lol

Yeah, I had to learn and google that yeaars ago when my friends committed on my knock. I think "All us being born knowing it" is cuz it's such a simple yet memorable jingle that shows and movies will use, or maybe even our older family members, and we all just pick it up.

Yes, that comet would FUCK earths day up traveling that close that fast

Wolffe

It appears in a lot of classic cartoons too, perhaps most famously in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", but, at least up until the 1960s and 70s, that little jingle WAS actually very culturally limited to the United States (and still probably is more than we think) to the point where POWs in Vietnam actually used it as a test to see if a person was actually an American or a spy sent in to try and interrogate them. They'd tap the first part "Shave and a haircut" and if the person responded by repeating the pattern back, they'd assume they were a spy, but if they responded with the pattern of "Two bits" they'd assume they were an American.

Peregry

right before azula shoots her lightning at zuko, the light shifts into a crescent moon shape (probably because it is actually going to be shot at katara). its only for a split second and its really hard to catch. but ever since i saw it the first time, i can't unsee it. just another little animation touch that I find really cool

I feel kinda the same way about azula. And zuko to an extent. Not to say that zuko is under developed but I had always wished that there was at least one more episode of him with team avatar. Looking at it now, I’d have moved the painted lady to somewhere after the boiling rock and then cut in shots of azula loosing it to ramp that up more. Hell, you could even make it the same plot setting and everything but make it zuko focused. Him learning how to fight with the team and really working to help others. Getting to know the people he might rule one day. Idk. I feel like something like that would fix a lot of issues at once.

SoupCube

i love sword bending

I believe the fist time i heard the knock you talked about, was in a lego Indiana Jones game, but no idea of the origin.

Cyniex

Your comment about everyone knowing the knock rhythm but not knowing how they know it sent me down a rabbit hole, and led me to this answer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W3cPSntmBk

Snarfield

Might be a stretch but Tai Lee and Mai betraying Azula was most likely the final straw to her mental collapse. Mai says “I love Zuko more than I fear you” which kind of mirrors the dynamic between Azula and her mother somewhat. Plus we see even more hatred towards Zuko from Azula when they attack each other at the Western Air temple a few episodes later, in this fight Azula is actually pretty committed on offing Zuko. Just my opinion

The "hello, Zuko here!" really made me burst in laughter, I did not expect it (somehow).

Eti Robi

Shave and a haircut, two bits.

DarkThot

Currently 3:32 MDT, I'm at work and I can't watch rn sad sad me.

So that knocking rhythm actually stems from something barbers used as an advertising jingle, like, 100 years ago. The “Lyrics” are “Shave and a haircut, two bits!”

Fierce

About Sokka, Toph, and Suki clearing all that land/ocean unless avatar’s world is set on a flat earth they could’ve just gone the opposite direction kinda like how flights from Hawaii to Japan go, despite looking incredibly far on maps they are very near one another.

I REALLY love Azula’s line “I’m sorry it has to end this way, brother” because she knows that Zuko is very sensitive and sentimental and she knows how much family means to him and has used this to manipulate him in the past. She hoped saying this would impact him and maybe make him hesitate and hold back cuz she also knows that he’s grown so much more powerful and is a threat to her now. But he’s grown so much and the way he just says “No you’re not” is basically him saying “Stfu you can’t get to me anymore so cut the crap.” SUCH a good interaction.

Also the azula downfall reminded me quite a bit of (spoiler alert) Daenerys Targaryen in game of thrones… super fast and could have made sense with more context

Fire spreads.

One thing I like most about the fight with Azula is that Zuko, like Aang, uses everything he’s learned over his journey throughout the show. From different bending styles from the other nations, what Iroh has taught him, to even Zhao’s signature move, it’s awesome. How he outruns lighting though I’ll never figure out…

End card says that the finale is live on patreon, but it doesn't seem to appear on my feed? Edit: Just realized it's probably put there beforehand for the YT viewers :D

I agree with you so much on Azula. The worst part of her demise is that it does have a foundation. There is a lot of pressure in perfection and she had absolutely no one she can trust besides her father. But it was so quick and needed more establishment. Something to make it seem like her father also was disappointed in her.

Savannah Smith

I can't watch the Toph metal bending scene on the ship without thinking of thinking of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjpP6cwhMY8 (30 second tiktok) Like, would you want to stay on a metal ship miles in the air if you knew the other team had a child that folded metal like paper?

the8thgear

Few nitpicks: how does the gang fly the airship still? They literally dumped everyone who makes it work into the ocean. Also, there's no way Ozai and his crew could burn the whole Earth Kingdom within the comet timeframe. Do a lot of damage yes, but not scorch literally a whole continent.

Kurman Dhaliwal

Wouldn’t you count this as the third appearance of rock armor because of the the season 2 finale?

I think Toph felt the vibrations from Sokka moving his head to look at the airship he went to point to. As for how she knew how much force to generate, Idk. Maybe she felt when they were taking off, and is some kind of math savant, and so was able to calculate the vertical velocity and work from there. Kind of a big stretch, but, you never know for sure.

Charles Barnett

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-blue-flames-produce-less-light So this is from quora and fire benders aren't really burning a fuel but obviously this is why its darker.

Savannah Smith

sickk

Professor_Cube