S01.E03: Omashu

[The Crazed Spruce]

Quote

News of a traitor puts the trio at odds in Omashu, where a mechanist and rebels with a charming leader muddle their plans to protect the Earth Kingdom.

 

Edited February 22 by The Crazed Spruce

[Stardancer Supreme]

The only nitpick about this episode is the fact that knowing that he is the biggest target in the Fire Nation, Aang and the crew decided not to blend in with the Earth Nation people.  Dude, you are the last Airbender, yes. But why are just strolling around in your Airbender gear knowing you would stick out like a sore thumb?  No head covering or anything... You needed to cover yourself to get in to Omashu; why not maintain the covering while in Omashu? 

I will admit that the Zuko/Aang fight through the Marketplace was amusing. 

[thuganomics85]

Poor Katara!  It always sucks when that hot freedom fighter you're crushing on ends up being a full-blown terrorist instead.  So relatable!

Enjoyed getting to see more of Earth Nation this go around.  Omashu is a pretty impressive city and you can see why they've been able to hold off the Fire Nation for the most part.  The Mechanist and Teo were good additions here.  Unlike most of the previous familiar faces though, it did take me a second to get use to Daniel Pudi, because he really will always be Abed from Community at first glance, but he grew on me the more the episode went on.  I liked how he was planting the idea that Sokka doesn't have to be a warrior like he thinks he is destined to be, since he clearly has a knack for engineering. 

Well, it was fun seeing Osric Chau for a second until he got burned alive.  Hey, at least that's one way to make me Ozai, despite my never-ending Daniel Dae Kim love.  You are a dick, Fire Lord!

Zuko might be an impulsive hothead who is probably going to isolate himself from everyone with the way he acts, but his sister is even scarier!  Azula is clearly someone who thinks she is the one who should be next in line, and clearly has the smarts to do it, thanks to this alliance with the always shifty Zhao.  I'm going to guess Ozai wasn't exactly the most supportive father, considering how both of his kids turned out.

Iroh using himself as a distraction and being separated from Zuko will be bad news for the latter since I don't think he really has any allies or loyalty from his subordinates.

Despite not wanting the previous series, I definitely heard all about the Cabbage Vendor and the gag/meme about how the poor guy can't catch a break.  Heard that the actor here is the same one who voiced the character previously, so that's a fun little Easter Egg.

Actually ended this one on a legit cliffhanger!

[Valerie]

Osric! Hi! Osric! Bye!

Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were all great casting. I know Momoko from her work on the BSC series so it was cool seeing her again. She's very talented.

I like that they introduced Jet in this episode and also the Mechanist plotline. It worked well. Also: Danny Pudi! I forgot about that little bit of casting which was a treat.

MY CABBAGES!

[MissLucas]

I loved cabbage man and how often he got cut off just before 'CABBAGES' so we had to really wait for it LOL!

[Spartan Girl]

Loved this new introduction to Azula. She’s always been one of my favorite villains. So snarky and yet someone not to be fucked with. Her smile when Ozzie burned those rebels was chilling.

[Lugal]

The show continues to impress!  They managed to combine Jet, Omashu and the Mechanist into a single episode, and it worked.  I wouldn't have thought so, but Dani Pudi was perfect as the Mechanist (who even got a name here, Sai) and he was definitely channeling René Auberjonois.  The Freedom Fighters were well done, and Jet was even worse here than he was in the original.

And we had our introduction to Azula and she's even more evil here (if it were possible), as she fifth columned a group of Fire Nation dissidents (which was also cool to see that everyone in the Fire Nation isn't in lockstep with Ozai's plans).  Seriously, what father would use his teenage daughter like that?  And how she seems to bristle at any praise sent Zu-zu's way.  Was it just me or was she trying for a little of Grey DeLisle's cadence in her delivery?  And we saw her crew.  Not sure about Mai, because she only had about one or two lines, but I liked Ty Lee.  And we saw Yuyan archers in the background!

Zuko keeps his temper under control until he realizes Aang stole his notebook, and then it's burn everything to the ground!  Especially in response to Aang just asking him why he's doing it.  And he got himself separated from Iroh.

Omashu was beautiful!  They really brought an exotic Silk Road vibe that you would expect from a major crossroad city.  And we had a white lotus tile, which makes me wonder if Iroh will meet Bumi, especially now that Iroh is captured in Omashu.

On 2/23/2024 at 3:10 PM, MissLucas said:

I loved cabbage man and how often he got cut off just before 'CABBAGES' so we had to really wait for it LOL!

And then he gets the dramatic top shot/KHAAAAN! moment.

[Maelstrom]

Another great episode! This one had a lot going on, streamlining and combining characters and storylines from several different episodes of the original. This version is really starting to feel more like a remix than a remake but I'm really enjoying it. I can understand why they've made the changes they have, and feel like they've done a great job translating the story into a new incarnation.

Alright, so Ozai and Azula both are even more psychotic here than in the original, and that's no small order. Also, I maintain that Daniel Dae Kim is inappropriately hot (no pun intended) for someone as horrible as Ozai. The little scene of Azula with Mai and Ty Lee was a fun way to introduce their characters while giving us our first glimpse into Azula's (twisted) mind. The actress playing Ty Lee was especially well cast, though I can hardly believe she's the same little kid from the Baby-Sitters Club series! How time does fly. Looking forward to more with both of them. It will be interesting to see more of Azula, however much we get this season, since Grey deLisle was another iconic voice actor in the original and it's still a little hard to wrap my mind around Azula sounding like someone else, lol.

Very clever to incorporate both Jet and the Mechanist into Omashu, I thought they did a good job of blending all of the storylines together. Jet was well cast and made the character a lot more interesting (and I can't be the only one who thought the actor was a dead ringer for a Bill & Ted era Keanu, right?) His sword fight with the firebenders was incredible, I really love how the non-benders are just as competent/dangerous as benders in this. And they even kept that stick of grass in his mouth, lol. But holy crap he was so much worse in this version! Yikes. Do the ends really justify the means, Jet? Do they really?

I liked Katara's sweet story of Kya watching the sunrise every morning. And while graphic violence is the last thing I want to watch in this show or any other, I appreciate this version is at least up front about her mom's death rather than the network-mandated euphemisms in the original that had me convinced Kya was a POW in the Fire Nation for the first few seasons.

I also appreciate this series isn't shying away from the devastating effects of war on the people, and doesn't glorify war as most shows/movies do. The overarching message of peace and hope remains one of my favorite aspects of the original, and I"m so glad that hasn't been lost here.

Aang and Zuko's non-bending fight was a lot of fun to watch, and works well to build anticipation toward future (bending) fights. And Iroh sacrificing himself for Zuko 😭 It's so interesting how they're reworking so many different storylines in this version while still remaining true to the story.

Lines of the night was easily Sokka's attempt at a comeback in his argument with Katara: "Where are you going?"  "To prove you're a jerk!"  "I don't need proof of that!"

A Yu Yang archer collecting his arrows behind Azula! Teo's hexagonal flying goggles! The Mechanist's partially burned off eyebrows! Uncle gets a White Lotus tile! And, saving the best for last...

MY CABBAGES!!

Edited February 25 by Maelstrom

[tennisgurl]

They really threw everything into this one, this is like four episodes mixed up into one with extra sauce. They streamlined so many characters and plots into this episode, I'm shocked it worked out as well as it did. Omashu! The Mechanist and Teo! Jet! AZULA! Plus so many easter eggs/bits of foreshadowing like the Yu Yang archer and the White Lotus tile! They're throwing everything in here, I almost wonder if the show is worried that they might not get a second season and want to get in as much stuff as possible. I quite like that we're basically getting a remix instead of a remake, its an interesting thing to watch as a fan of the original. 

Omashu looks amazing, I love that we get to explore it a bit more! 

I really liked this introduction to Azula, my very favorite baby psycho, it set up so much in this one scene. We find out that there is an active resistance against the Fire Lord among fire nation citizens, we get introduced to Azula's manipulative and psychotic nature, and we see more of Ozai both as a king and as a father. Shockingly, he's awful at both. He's the kind of guy who not only has his teenage daughter lead people to their deaths, but roasts them alive as she watches before throwing some shitty comments towards her about how her brother might be pulling ahead in the favorite child race. The actress did a great job, she had to know that she had big shoes to fill after Grey DeLisle's iconic performance, her creepy smirk while those rebels were burned alive was very worthy of Azula, especially with the fire reflected in her eyes. I also liked seeing a glimpse of her besties Mai and Ty Lee, cant wait to hopefully see them more in the future. They're like the Plastics if Regina's father was a genocidal dictator. 

The Freedom Fighters and Jet are actually even worse here than they were in the cartoon! I wish that Sokka had more time with them like he did in the cartoon, but I get why they wanted him to be in his subplot with The Mechanist while Katara got to learn more about moral greyness in the war. Even more than in the cartoon they get you with the bait and switch, these guys with their quirky personalities and fun lost boys tree house seems like classic Robin Hood style lovable rogues, until you find out that they're actually terrorists who are willing to kill innocent people and make things even worse in Omashu to get what they think is a victory. Katara must be pissed that her brother got the cute warrior to flirt with while she got the domestic terrorist with the boyband hair. 

Zuko losing his shit over Aang stealing his journal is sort of hilarious, especially as Iroh just watched like a long suffering parent dealing with a moody teenager. Its sad that Zuko stull seems to think of his obviously terrible dad as being the sort of leader who would never fight an enemy in dishonorable ways, he might have standards but I don't think the Fire Lord does. The non bending Zuko VS Aang fight was really fun, too bad it ended with Iroh having to sacrifice himself so that Zuko could escape the city. Poor Iroh, he really just wanted to find some tea and do some shopping! 

I totally forgot that Danny Pudi was going to be here, its so hard for me to see him as anyone who isn't Abed but by the end of the episode I was past it. I am glad that they are already setting up Sokka's interest in science and mechanics, its a really interesting aspect of his character. 

And of course, our true hero...

MY CABBAGES!!

Edited February 27 by tennisgurl

[Trini]

The casting agents for this continue to be ON FIRE! And not just them, the costume/hair/make-up depts. are killing it translating the cartoon characters to live action.

Hey, Osric Chau! Oh -- bye, Osric Chau.

I'll have to echo everyone's reaction to Cabbage Man; that was fun!

They combined plots from several episodes of the cartoon, and I think they mostly succeeded. However, a resistance movement within the Fire Nation is new, right? I guess they didn't want to have the entire nation be "evil", but the original actually did have some nuance about that.

I'm not so sure about seeing so much of Azula (and her girl gang!) so soon; I'd trade that for a bit more of Zuko and Iroh.

In the cartoon, they showcased Sokka's skills as a strategic planner, but I don't recall an interest in engineering, specifically. Is that new here? In any case, I assume they're setting up something for later. Speaking of Sokka; he doesn't need to be a joke machine, but I think they could let him be funnier. It's the writing letting him down, because I think the actor can handle it. It's only episode 3, hopefully everyone loosens up a bit later on.

Aang vs. Zuko in the marketplace was fun.

Aang should at least be attempting some waterbending before they get to the Northern Water  Tribe.

[tkc]

On 2/27/2024 at 11:38 AM, tennisgurl said:

Zuko losing his shit over Aang stealing his journal is sort of hilarious, especially as Iroh just watched like a long suffering parent dealing with a moody teenager.

Hell hath no fury like...

...a teenager whose archenemy just STOLE THEIR DIARY!