"I must admit that I don’t know what sort of ethics the Avatar is supposed to operate under, and whether violence of assassination (what else should I call it???) is sanctioned if a person threatens to upset the balance. But surely, it was a mistake to not prevent Sozin from further expanding the Fire Nation, and we understand that now. (Um…what did Roku do for twenty-five years that did not involve going after Sozin??? That seems like a long time to just….hang out in your house???)"

Roku, while being the Avatar, is only human. He couldn't bring himself to destroy his best friend.

And I was under the impression that following the first confrontation over the Fire Nation's occupation of that Earth Kingdom city (which was not Ba Sing Se, since if Ba Sing Se had fallen it would have been known as Na Sing Se :D ) caused Sozin to delay his plans of conquest. So during the years between that and the volcano, there was no war, Sozin was not invading anyone, and Roku was chilling happily with his wife because there was not that much chaos in the world that truly needed the Avatar to return balance.

Leaves from the vine
Falling so slow
Like fragile, tiny shells
Drifting in the foam

Little soldier boy
Come marching home
Brave soldier boy
Comes marching home

This episode is a perfect example of how awesome this show is. "The Desert" includes anger, loss, heart crushing sadness, humor, Old Western violence, as well as a million other awesome things. Aang's grief? One of the saddest things on television. Momo and Sokka with cactus juice? So hilarious and amazing.

And the continuity. This show has been amazing with with it's episode, always giving the viewer a sense of time passing and of a complete story line. But here you get the chance to see how the writers are prepared to blow everything out of the water. Appa's disappearance signals a significant change. For once Team Avatar will have difficulty with traveling long distances as they can no longer fly. Then the writers bring a thing from the past, a small detail most likely overlooked. Iroh playing Pai Sho and the formation of the lotus with the pieces. Anyone remember when Iroh diverted the ship to look for a new White Lotus tile back in the episode with the pirates?

I love this show!

I won't argue with you. For the most part, I agree. I am simply trying to point out that despite the fact that the proper definition can be and is considered rude, an insult, and a slur does not mean it is always used in that context. You think I support the discrimination of disabled people? So be it. I don't but I doubt any of my arguments will matter now. I apologize for attempting to provide another way of thought that many in this world adhere to.

I did not wish to create a firestorm of hateful words and angering altercation. If you wish, I will gladly delete my comment. Such malcontent will not help this wonderful community :(

"Unfortunately, there’s another use of “crazy = bad” here"

As much as I really love your reviews, Mark, here I think you are wrong. If I recall, the first occurrence where you saw this, Mark, was when we first met Bumi. You interpreted his first actions and the way his character was portrayed (lettuce leaf?) as showing a crazy evil person. For me, and for everyone I know who has watched this show, Bumi's introduction was an example of Crazy = Awesome.

There are different kinds of "crazy". Often crazy is chosen when the user can think of no better words. Bumi is "crazy" because he acts and thinks in a different manner. This is not wrong and is not portrayed as wrong. To me, Iroh is not calling Azula the kind of crazy you seem to be thinking of. Instead, she is mad with power. Look at the way she forced her childhood friend Tai Lee into joining her hunt for Zuko/Aang. She is abusing her power as Princess of the Fire Nation in order to achieve her goals. This, to me, is a type of "crazy".

So, recap: it's not that Azula is insane. It's that she really likes abusing her power and, to Iroh, that is a completely alien way of thought. And remember, Iroh knows Azula a lot better than you do, Mark. After all, he is her uncle :P

I think I speak for everyone who has ever read anything you have ever written in any blog ever, Mark, in saying that I was greatly anticipating your review for this episode. I knew you would strongly connect to it. I loved this episode, but have little need to expand this description. It should be obvious why this episode is so good.

Also, TURTLE DUCKS ARE SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This isn't an amazing episode, but it was decent. I'll never pick it out of a lineup to re-watch, but it didn't make me want to stop in the middle of it. I personally found that it was entirely too predictable. The entire episode (I was watching with a friend of mine) we were announcing our theories and 5 minute late they came true. From shiny surfaces, to the captain keeping the crown, to the siren being a medical hologram thingy. I generally expect and prefer more suspense. I don't want to be able to predict things. That's not nearly as fun as having my head explode in surprise. I'm looking forward to the next episode which will hopefully bring Doctor Who back into the realm of surprise and suspense I love so much.

Basically in short: fun little episode that is altogether forgettable. Would watch again only if forcing another person to watch all of Doctor Who.

It was a very interesting episode, especially for a season opener. I personally was, of course, not expecting anything that happened, let alone for the Doctor to die at the very beginning. As always when I watch something new or a new season of a beloved show, I blocked out and avoided all things spoiler-related and anything that could ruin anything. I had no idea what was going to happen, just as I have no idea what is going to happen next Saturday because I was covering my ears and going "lalalalalalalalalala" when the preview came on.

The Doctor's death scene seemed unreal to me. it never really sunk in until a day ago or so. When I first watched it I was going "WTF mate?". And the first thing that popped into my head: David Tennant would have made me cry during that scene. Damn me and my inability to accept change! I like Matt Smith but 10 will always be my Doctor. As it was, it was still extremely sad and shocking, and I loved it when the younger Doctor shows up and everything is alright again, save for Rory, Amy, and River having to keep his death a secret.

Well, everything is all right until the Silence show up and everything is terrifying forever. I don't even have to go into that. Everything will forever be terrifying.

As for posting spoilers, I'm not sure how that's possible Mark, unless you mean from the previews. After all, we've all only seen everything :P

Edit: Just remembered a fun fact, in which the Mark Sheppard, who plays Canton Delaware III, is the son of William Morgan Sheppard who played the older version of Canton Delaware III in the beginning of the episode

And finally, this might be theory related, I'm not sure what the definition of theory is for now, but just in case here's some bold so don't read past this if you don't want to hear my thoughts! It seems, with the Doctor's death, as though Moffat has set up a potential for Matt Smith being the very last Doctor. Of course, I would be upset if this were true, since Doctor Who has to last forever or else utter tragedy would reign for all time, but it seems a possibility.

I love this show, and am glad you started watching this. I don't normally comment, as I prefer to just read your reactions to the awesomeness of this show (Uncle Iroh <3 forever). However, I felt the need to point out something: not everyone is a bender. I first caught it with "the Warriors of Kyoshi" where you commented about seeing a type of Earth bending. There was no Earth bending in that episode, just awesome fighting skills. In this episode, too, you stated "a local earth bender makes contact with the trio", he's not necessarily an earth bender. I didn't see any earth bending, though I could be mistaken. He is a citizen of the Earth Kingdom, but there's a difference. Earth bending = bending earth, like Bumi (also <3) or Haru do. People can fight without the use of powers (again, the Kyoshi warriors)

Sorry, but these little things get to me.

"I was confused by the Doctor’s immediate reaction of rage and disgust at Amy. I understood that the Doctor didn’t like being out of the loop, but Amy quite literally forgot what she had seen. She didn’t maliciously keep this information from him. It’s just unfortunate how the Doctor had been through this situation before, where he had to choose between letting one being survive over others. I get that he would be upset at having to make a decision like this, but I feel he unfairly assigns all the blame to her. I mean…LIZ 10 DID IT. YOU SHOULD BE MAD AT HER, DUDE."

Someone has probably already covered this in one of the 300 some odd comments before mine, but if not, I'll shed my thoughts on this. I believe the Doctor's anger is directed at Amy because she's his companion and that she chose to protect him and forget. The Doctor's companions are held to a higher standard that the unlucky billions like us who do not get to travel with him. Amy didn't maliciously withhold information from the Doctor, she did so out of the horror of what she had seen. The Doctor has been around for so long. He is not one, in his mind, to be protected. He is the protector, and he needs all of the information he needs in order to do what he does. When someone keeps him from knowing the truth, especially if that someone is close to him, he has a tendency to get angry.

Going back to what you said, Mark, she did forget, but the point is that she chose to, and that makes all the difference.