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How would you rank the Avatars?! Where do you think I'm wrong?
~ Tim
I don’t think Wan sending the Spirits back to the spirit world (their home) was a mistake, given that the spirits were so oppressive and hostile that humans were forced to live on the backs of lion turtles for protection, and we see that as soon as Korra opens the portals again, the first thing that happens is the spirits destroying and causing problems for humans. I think they really muddled things in the beginnings episodes, by saying one thing (humans bad, nature good) while showing the opposite (humans scared and desperate, nature violent).
I feel that you have understated Kuruk's struggles and Yangchens's mistakes.
Yangchen's neglect and unfair treatment of the Spirits was the main reason for the rise of Father Gloworm and the corruption. I feel that overtime her achievements and adoration in the Mortal world created a need for those in her. She didn't want to lose the Godlike status and legacy she had in the Mortal world by going against them even if meant being completely unfair to the Spirits.
Kuruk paid the price for this. I think had he not fought the Spirit Corruption the world would have been destroyed. He wasn't with his flaws though, the most glaring one being his stubbornness to fight the Spirits alone. The typical toxic masculine behaviour of taking no help in the name of keeping everyone safe and making the problem bigger than it actually was.
All in all had Yangchen been more concerned with fairness between the humans and spirits and less with her image and legacy among humans, Kuruk might have had an easier life.
So, I agree with all of your tier rankings. You give fair reasons for all, listing both the good and bad of each Avatar, and never let personal bias get involved with the ranking. That said, there are two point I'd like to bring up, for Kuruk and Aang respectively.
1. For Kuruk: A point you missed on why he was so fixated on battling Dark Sprits wasn't solely for revenge. That, honestly, was a pretty minor reason in the end. The big, overarching reason was his insistence on keeping Yangchen's legacy untainted. He feared that if people noticed the rise of angry spirits, they would start to question and even doubt the things Yangchen had done. And Kuruk, like everyone else, had such a deep respect for his predecessor that he felt it was his duty to preserve that legacy, even at his own expense.
Yangchen herself feels profoundly guilty for this, remarking to Kyoshi how she wishes she could have done things differently in her time, if only so Kuruk wouldn't have suffered so much.
2. For Aang: I think a big flaw of his character is his immature attitude to love. As much as I love the kid, having grown up with the show, as I've gotten older, I can't deny how poorly he handles his love for Katara. I know he's twelve, but the way he act towards Katara is really cringy sometimes. He seems to really believe that, because he likes her, that automatically means she ought to love him back. He thinks that, because he kisses her, that means they're a thing. Pointedly ignoring the fact that SHE didn't want the kiss. This is especially bad in the Ember Island Players episode, where he does it AGAIN.
I know it isn't fair to completely lay this at the kid's feet, this is really more a failure on the writer's part. They clearly went with a Westen idea of the hero getting the girl in a show that primarily focuses on Easten ideas and philosophies. If they had followed those latter philosophies more, I reckon it would have ended with Aang stepping away from the Gang and focusing on rebuilding the world, forgoing love as a needless attachment.
But that's just what I think. What say you?
Kyoshi is based af
Iroh is the best Avatar.
I would never click on something like this except it's from Tim.
"Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Hell no. The planet's falling apart. Right now it's the children's problem, we reincarnate, it's our problem."
Damn Tim, way to forget avatar Gun. I thought you read the yangchen novel. To be fair, just another name drop avatar with no background given
the korra seasons are sooo so cramped xD they couldve made 2-3 avatar storys out of her storys xD
great vid, thanks.
Isnt it kinda problematic to open the spirit world? Considering what kuruk had to deal with? "Now" there must be an abundance of problems with evil spirits all around the world, or not?
The video is amazing, but I gotta read Rise of Yangchen first, before continueing it xD
After watching this, I feel like the Red Lotus was low-key right about the Avatar. Not to the extent of killing them off permanently, but I don't like the idea of some random person walking into a government institution and saying: "You're going to do this thing, or I'm going to punch you in the face. 😡"
I would have shifted some downwards personally; Yangchen to A tier, Aang to B tier, and Roku to C tier.
Avatar Wan's accomplishments were basically: It's the thought that counts
I’d rank Roku as D tier. He didn’t do enough to actually fix any problems he focused so much on the minutia that he just left every big problem to Aang.
Avatar content! Always nice! But…
Look at that amazing boardgame selection!!! Do you/does Tim have a boardgamegeek account? I'm really curious what your/his boardgame tier ranking is 😂
Kyoshi should be B tier simply for the fact she only "stopped" Chin the Conqueror by accident when he was attacking her home. She would have let him keep terrorising the continent if he didn't fall
Am I the only one who realized that Tim sounds like Ibxtoycat
hahaha "she scored Asami" and for that, she gets a free point! 👌😍
Kuruk: I have HUUGEEE DEPRESSION!!
Korra would be S tier if the writers had more time with her character, didn’t have the dumb “dark avatar” plot, and if she got to be gayer earlier.
Honestly, while the fighting part is cool, I would totally watch Avatar Sato and his political dramas as a show.
This was awesome. The biggest take away is that they were just people trying their best
I'm glad to see the love for Korra. She's one of my favorite characters in the Avatar universe, and has some truly incredible accomplishments and an arc that is frankly quite under appreciated.
F
I agree with you about Kyoshi. No one seems to mention that she allowed Chin the Conquerer to take over nearly all of the Earth Kingdom. She only stopped him when he tried to defeat her home town, only when it would have affected her.
Avatar Szeto: the Tax and Tariff bender
No bias in Aang being S tier at all, nope, nothing to see there
I don't watch this show (or its relatives), and I probably never will (altho you got me to watch House of the Dragon, and I loved it), and yet I can sit and watch alk your Avatar videos. 😂 Good analysis!