some TV

[psocoptera]

So I liked the episode; I am always up for seeing more of the kids (even if Meelo really grates; I really don't get where he's supposed to have gotten this misogyny thing from, not his parents, one would hope) and more of Toph. And storytelling-wise I feel like it was a satisfying end to the Act I arc and I look forward to Act II.

But... but. Moms in the ATLAverse. I've been complaining about this for ages (how Korra's dad got a plot in season two and her mom barely got lines, how Tenzin and his siblings had daddy issues and what about that other famous parent), and probably the answer is that I am way outside the target audience in being obsessed with depictions of moms, but, MOMS. Pema finally gets some lines and they're about packing the kids' lunches? I want a scene where Pema is talking to Opal about being an Air Nomad. I mean, I don't think they really ever said anything about this in season three, what it was like for the Air Temple Island people to *not* be the new airbenders and have them be all these random reluctant Earth-kingdomers. Was Pema even in season three? I think she's the only named Air Acolyte character. I want her talking to Opal about what it's like to give your life to the air culture only to have everyone get all emotional about the air nation finally existing again only once there are more air*benders*, and Opal on the other hand feeling like the Acolytes who have been in the culture for years are so much more experts than she can be. Or, no, even better than Opal, *Kai*, because then there's this whole added element of "you are my future mother-in-law"/"you can be part of my daughter's culture in a way I never can" tension.

Also, Toph. Maaaaybe there could be more Toph but that seemed a lot like the close of her storyline in this show? And I'm kind of annoyed that we didn't really get anything more about why she made the choice to not be in her daughters' lives - I mean, if you believe her when she says the roots go everywhere and she can see everything, then, like, she knew that Lin got her bending taken by Amon, and she still didn't go to her (or go kill Amon for her)? I mean, obviously that doesn't work, uh, Doylistically, but Watsonian-wise that just seems pretty cold. Even if Toph has decided she's not going to fight the younger generation's battles for them, her kid getting maimed like that seems like the kind of thing that should still interest her. I think Su may be the only well-written mom on this show.

The Flash, pilot. No spoilers but I suspect this show may be being made by people who were fans of Lois and Clark back in the day - cheesy plots, awkward expository dialogue, adooooorable leads. This could be either a recommendation or a caution. ::grin::

Comments

[q10.livejournal.com]

We see Katara in a mom role from time to time too, although, yes, there isn't as much of that sort of thing as there should be.

And I do love the idea of exploring Air Acolyte culture, and the disruption thereof, and Pema is the obvious person to do it through (although I think the Abbot at the Southern Air Temple got named back in Book 2).

I kinda like how the ‘save the world’ skillset the A:TLA heroes maybe did not translate into a a good parenting skillset or personality type. Like, we know enough about the kind of parents that Toph and Aang were to know that they were not nearly as badass at that as they were at the whole world-saving thing. I sort of like the idea of Zuko being the only one who ends up being a good parent. (Well, I mean, to his acknowledged children, because I'm still sort of hoping Su is his illegitimate daughter.)

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

If we're going there, Su is darker than Lin, clearly *Lin* is Zuko's and Su is Sokka's. (Or maybe Su is Aang's, and that's why Opal can airbend - maybe every single new airbender is a child or grandchild of Aang's, who had a deal with Katara to spread his seed as widely as possible just to keep that airbender heritage alive and only acknowledge the kids if they turned out to be airbenders, which at the time none of them did. And now Katara's reading down the list of names when Tenzin writes to her, like, yup, yup, yup, well this is awkward, I wonder if I should tell them before they all start hooking up with each other, oh wait Jinora already... well... maybe it's best if they just never know.)

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

THE FACIAL SCAR WAS A CLUE. (Sorry.)

[q10.livejournal.com]

Y'know, when I first floated this with a specific example, it was Lin who was Zuko's. I second-guessed myself because Su was the rebellious one, but I think you're right.

[q10.livejournal.com]

So, ever since I realized how much ‘we never knew our fathers’ was a license to come up with these kinds of ridiculous fan theories, I've been meaning to circulate an LJ poll about Lin and Su's parentage. It never even occurred to me to include Aang as an option - it just seemed so thoroughly out of character for both Aang and Toph - they don't remotely have that kind of chemistry at any life stage where we see them. Sokka and Zuko, on the other hand, are both entirely believable.

Oooh... but what if Lin was Aang's and that's the real reason Tenzin broke up with her?

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that's fun.

As I vaguely recall, Aang/Toph was a not-unpopular rollover pairing with Katara/Zuko (rollover pairing? the thing where you've split up a canonical couple or popular pairing and now you need to re-match the leftover half with someone else - I guess that's just "pair the spares"). I was never a Zutara tinhat but I did like it enough to read a fair bit, so, yeah, Aang/Toph. I mean, not my primary, secondary, or even tertiary Aang ship, but I kind of ship everyone in this bar when it comes to Avatar ::grin::. (Katara. Zuko. Teo. If you were curious.)

[q10.livejournal.com]

under your model Jinora and Kai have a coefficient of relatedness of 0.0625 (less if Kai is is third-generation instead of second-generation like Jinora). in the short term that's probably not that bad, assuming that most of the hooking up is between people of comparable levels of generational remove.

over the next few generations, i don't know nearly enough (about the biology or the fictional world) to guess.

[sildra.livejournal.com]

I am reminded of this: http://makanidotdot.tumblr.com/post/97882270506/might-as-well-post-where-that-tenzin-sketch-was

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Hahahahaha

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

I guess I wasn't thinking it would be bad biologically, just that people seem to get pretty freaked out about even minor consanguinity. (I read a lot of advice columns and there really are letters like "omg can I really date my third cousin".)

Now that I think about it, the Southern Water Tribe being down to such a small population during the war must surely have shaped Katara's views about who can marry whom - but would she be more likely to be okay with anything and everything, since it wasn't like anybody had much choice, or would she be more likely to consider it absolutely crucial that everyone think *really carefully* about lineages before courting?

[q10.livejournal.com]

Wait on your ‘it's all Aang's kids’ model, did Zaheer figure out who his father was before joining the Red Lotus?

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

You know, I honestly wasn't thinking about Zaheer at all, heh. My answer would have to be "no and he never does" because I am so done with characters being motivated by their daddy issues.

[q10.livejournal.com]

maybe he's antimotivated by his daddy issues - Zaheer is clearly a true believer who will put the cause before his own needs, including his own emotional needs. maybe he saw his family relationship with the avatar as one more petty human connection that he needed to transcend, even if it hurt because of some natural inclination towards family loyalty.

[fiddledragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd like to know more about Pema and the Air Acolytes in general. She's just sort of...there...because Tenzin needed a wife. And yet she and Tenzin are trying to recreate the Air Nomad culture all on their own before season 3 without any help from wherever Pema came from. Did she basically "convert", and if so what culture did she come from before, and what was that like for her? Or if not, where's the rest of her home community? She makes one comment in the very first episode that implies she feels a bit left out as the only non-bender in the family and then we never hear anything else about that dynamic, even though that's the overriding theme of the whole first season.

I am reeeally glad we got past the Everyone Has a Secret Sibling recurring plot, though I still keep expecting Korra's evil twin to turn up.

[cereph.livejournal.com]

I am totally enjoying the Flash. I don't know if you have been watching Arrow, but Flash and Arrow are in the same continuity, and they have done a good job of having Arrow be more gritty and real and not having superpower characters (for the most part), while Flash is campier and fun and lots of superpowers, but at the same time it is still believable they are in the same world.

[psocoptera.livejournal.com]

Josh and Chaos and I watched the pilot of Arrow (recently-ish, my interest was actually sparked by promo pictures for Flash) and decided it was not for us. I'm up through Flash ep 3 now and it continues to hit me in the Lois and Clark feels, so hey. (Except it's sort of making me tempted to rewatch Lois and Clark which I completely don't have time for - watching three current shows is seriously pushing it as is - but man, remember how cute they were?)

[cereph.livejournal.com]

if I remember correctly, Arrow took me maybe 5-6 episodes to really get into it, but then it has stayed really good. But sure, if you have very limited time to watch shows, you have to be more choosy. Definitely see what you mean about Lois and Clark, which btw, I reference all the time with the "how dumb was she" comment which so perfectly points out the problem that many super hero shows/movies have but that some do a really good job of addressing (one of the best things about Man of Steel).