| Bryan Konietzko | Hi, I'm Bryan Konietzko, co-creator of Avatar, and art director. |
|---|---|
| Joaquim Dos Santos | I'm Joaquim Dos Santos, director on this episode of Avatar. |
| Katie Mattila | And I'm Katie Mattila. I wrote this episode, "The Beach". |
| Bryan | So, this is the fifth chapter of season three, wherein the characters were in the Fire Nation. And back when we went on our writing retreat for, uh, season three, um, we were, like, sketching, just joking around during the meetings, and I did a drawing of Mai and Ty Lee and Azula, all in, like, kinda contemporary bathing suits, just, like, having a little party at the beach. And, either that or-or, I don't know, some other ideas came together, and Aaron Ehasz, the head writer, thought, you know, this would be a good time to, since it's, like, the summer, and Fire Nation is like a-kind of a tropical location, or, you know, near the equator, but have, like, a beach episode where we actually focus on our so-called bad guys, and let them be the-the lead characters, and-and then have our main characters be the-the B-plot. So, um, Katie, this-this was your first full script. You previously [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] wrote on-on 215, "Tales of Ba Sing Se"; how was it writing a, a whole episode? |
| Katie | Um, it was great. I felt really comfortable and, especially with this story, I thought it was interesting, I think we can all relate to stories of being teenagers and going to the beach, and how awkward we were at moments, and, I don't know, my favorite part was seeing Zuko and Azula at the beach, 'cause clearly they were not very comfortable there. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Joaquim, you grew up in Southern California, some... some of us didn't really grow up near the beach, was this-was this familiar to you in any ways? |
| Joaquim | Yeah, I think both me and Ian Graham kind of, uh, had-had a little bit of familiarity with-with, uh, you know, the beach, beach setting. Not so much the, uh, the OC elements here, [Bryan laughs; refers to the beachfront houses on Ember Island.] we see the, [Katie gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] the beachfront property, 'cause we were definitely valley kids. But, uh, you know, [Refers to the Fire Nation youth that surfs along the shore of the beach on a wakeboard.] Ian definitely added in some sweet bits with the-the-the, you know, wakeboarding, or whatever it is the kid's doing in the... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So, Ian-Ian Graham's a-was another storyboard artist on this episode. [Joaquim affirms.] And I'd like to mention, it's Joaquim's birthday today. |
| Joaquim | Oh. |
| Bryan | Happy birthday. |
| Joaquim | Thank you so much. |
| Katie | Happy birthday. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee going on vacation under Lo and Li's supervision.] Yeah, it was-it was fun to put them in these kind of... domestic situations. Like, Lo and Li are usually known as these creepy, ominous, uh... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] And... |
| Bryan | ... mentor characters, and then now we're just seeing them as kind of a funny little odd couple of old ladies who have live-live in a tacky shack. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Lo and Li posing back-to-back in the same manner as a painting depicting the sisters as youths.] But that scene [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] was still pretty creepy. [Joaquim and Katie laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] A new kinda creepy... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] That's right. |
| Bryan | ... a new level. [Katie gives an affirming murmur; refers to the ornate wallpaper, knickknacks, and trinkets in Lo and Li's shack.] I-I love this room, it really reminds me of like Miyazaki stuff like Spirited Away, like the, uh, the witch's office, [Joaquim affirms.] just, like, crazy patterns on everything. Um... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Tchotchkes everywhere. |
| Bryan | Yeah. Elsa Garagarza, the s-the background supervisor found all of these cool patterns from, like, Thai design and stuff. [Refers to Lo and Li taking off their clothes, with their loose bathing suits underneath.] That's very scary... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] And creepy as well. |
| Bryan | ... and fright... so, this, um, all of season three really, but this episode in particular, um, uses a lot of, uh, photos I took from Iceland as reference for the locations. Um, Iceland, even though it's so far north, it's volc-it's actually a volcanic island. So, um, I went and took, um, tons of photos, and, uh, p-plug a lot of 'em directly into, uh, season three so that we could-we really wanted to make the Fire Nation look different than everything else we've seen in Avatar. [Refers to the crater lake Team Avatar are relaxing in.] And this location where Aang and his friends are-are sort of camping and swimming, is this place called Viti, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] which, uh, was really hard to get to, and once you get there it's like a-a volcanic vent that you can, um, swim in, and it's, like, sulfuric and smells awful, but, um, the water's warm 'cause of the volcanic activity below it, and, uh, it was crazy. So, it was really neat, this is like a place I've been, and-and then, uh, we, we plugged it right into the show, and it looks-it looks really cool. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | What was nice, too, was just on a production level was that we had a lot of really good reference. As storyboard artists, since we're so kind of early in the-in the production line, we had a lotta good reference to, uh, stage some-some scenes that... [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, you just get these crazy, uh, landmasses and, like, geological formations that, I don't know, being from where I'm from in the United States, I'd never really seen them, at least not in person. So, it was really inspiring, and-and helped, yeah, I just had-I mean, I had like a, like, the-one of those boring slideshow presentations of-of, uh, vacation photos for the crew, and just seeing that... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] They were beautiful pictures, [Bryan laughs.] it was amazing. |
| Joaquim | They were. |
| Bryan | Thank you, thank you. Just, like, you know, it was, like, give them an idea of what-what it was like there. |
| Katie | [Brief pause; refers to Azula aggressively evicting some kids from the beach.] I think it's really interesting that, you know, you think about teenagers relaxing and going to the beach, and even in that kind of setting, Azula's still trying to control everything and just so uptight and everything, [Joaquim affirms.] and I think it's interesting [Bryan affirms.] seeing, like, her behavior compared to Ty Lee, [Refers to Ty Lee enjoying her time on the beach as she is attended to by several other beachgoers.] where she's just sort of your typical teenager. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Azula stepping on and kicking the aforementioned kids' sand castle.] Well, she's even conquering the sand castle from those little kids, [Bryan and Katie laugh.] it's awesome. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] Yeah, it's great to see, you know, we've pretty much so far seen Azula as this, you know, evil elem-you know, she's evil, but, uh, pretty much perfect, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] you know, you never really see any weaknesses, um, but here you see that her... like, crazy over the top manipulative personality doesn't really work well in social situations. [Katie and Joaquim affirm.] So, it's-it's-it was, uh, really delightful to see that. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Zuko dramatically taking off his shirt, as doves fly in the background.] This is our big John Woo... |
| Bryan | [Laughs; in the background.] Tribute. |
| Joaquim | ... awesome dove shot, yeah. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the dark sand on the beach.] So, in case you were wondering why the-the beach looks so dirty, the idea is that this is volcanic, uh, sand, so it's, um, it's actually like dark grey, almost black. Um, again, Iceland is-is actually mostly desert, um, and, uh, it's really cool, I drove around and hiked around all of these black deserts, and then there'd be... patches of, like, red sand; really, really cool. [Refers to the kuai ball match Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko play.] So, this, um... after the fact, we found out this is a real game. |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] Right. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Even... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] This is volleyball with your feet. |
| Bryan | Seung Hyun, uh, is a supervising director on Avatar, he's from Korea, and he was in all the meetings where we were like, "yeah, let's do a volleyball game where you use your feet and it'll kinda be, like, kung fu inspired." And he was, you know, just never really mentioned anything, [Joaquim laughs.] and-and then after that I had a business trip to Korea, and I saw on TV they were playing this game... and, uh, you know, we could've referenced it-it... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Which would've been very nice to [Laughs.] have reference for. |
| Bryan | ... [Laughs.] yes, exactly. [Katie chuckles.] So, I, uh... I came back; I was like, "Seung Hyun, why didn't you tell me about that game?" [Imitates Seung Hyun Oh.] "Oh yeah, yeah, [Joaquim laughs.] it's pretty popular [Bryan laughs.] in Korea." [Katie laughs.] |
| Joaquim | Well, it's probably so commonplace that he just, you know... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, I guess... |
| Katie | [In the background.] He's seen it. |
| Bryan | ... well, the cool thing was he thinks it came from Thailand, [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] which is a lot of the, uh, architecture we referenced for this episode. So, another [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] happy accident. |
| Joaquim | Totally. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko's enraged reaction at not being invited to Chan's party.] So, here we have some teen angst brewing, little jealousy. [Joaquim chuckles.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee have dinner with Lo and Li in their shack, with the sunset color palette on the characters being more orange. | |
| Bryan | I'm really happy with the, uh, color in this [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] sequence. Um, sort of... I think sometimes they call it magic hour [Katie and Joaquim affirm.] in live action. It's where it just, I don't know, maybe right after sunset, you just-before dusk you have just this kinda glowing. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, there's, like, a really nice level of diffusion kinda throughout that just kinda really brings a good-good atmosphere to the-to all these scenes. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Lo and Li's speech on Ember Island being a place for self-discovery.] It works well with Lo and Li's little spiritual... [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] mumbo-jumbo. |
| Katie | [Refers to Lo and Li clapping and snapping their fingers as they announce it is time to go to the party.] That little clap [Bryan chuckles.] was actually made up by Aaron spontaneously in [Everyone laughs.] the writers' room. It was cute. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Combustion Man's raven eagle.] We have this creepy vulture thing that [Joaquim affirms.] Jae Woo Kim designed. We said, you know, I-I just said, it's gotta be scarier than the, uh, little dragon hawk thing, and he showed me these drawings; I was like, [In a mock startled tone.] whoa! [Katie chuckles.] Totally frightening. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the sequence of Combustion Man's raven eagle stealing a missive from a messenger hawk.] And strangely enough, I don't know, I-I'd actually boarded this sequence here with the birds, and it's somehow tough to stage action with animals, I don't know why. If-if that were jet planes I would've been fine, but [Bryan laughs.] having it be animals, I was like, "ooh, boy." |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Azula and the rest of the group arriving at the party before the other attendees.] So, again, we see s-Azula's, normally these are the things that would benefit her [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] out in the field, you know, ambushing someone or always having the jump on somebody, but now it's, like, just socially awkward that she's at this party so early. |
| Katie | [Gives an affirming murmur.] Or people say it starts at a certain time, but, yeah, it's cooler just to show up later when you're a teenager. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the group's party wear.] It was really fun, this-all these, uh, like, their party outfits that Jae Woo Kim designed. Really kinda fun, he did a lotta reference, again, with, like, Thai, uh, traditional costumes. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, there was a ton of costume changes in this episode. |
| Bryan | Oh man, [Joaquim laughs.] it was intense. [Katie laughs; refers to the other teenagers at the party, including several of Ty Lee's admirers.] Even all the-just the background teenagers who are at the beach then all have costume changes for the party, [Joaquim affirms.] and... it was crazy. [Joaquim chuckles.] |
| Katie | [Refers to Azula frowning at the party organizer, Chan, not reacting well to her compliment.] There, Azula fails again, [Joaquim affirms.] trying to... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Chan's friend Ruon-Jian looking at himself in a mirror as he fixes his hair.] So, that, uh, the little hair gesturing with-that, uh, Ruon-Jian's doing there, I'm not even gonna mention who it is, it's a good friend of mine, and... he-the-Combustion Man was designed after him, but then, uh, Aaron thought he should, uh, have a shaved head. So, I just took the hair off of [Katie laughs.] Combustion Man, and put it on Ruon-Jian. [Bryan and Katie laugh.] |
| Joaquim | It also adds to the kind of teen awkward, [Bryan laughs.] you know, he's trying to look good before everybody gets there and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] He's like-he's, uh, playing it cool, like he doesn't care, but he's totally [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] fixated on his hair. |
| Joaquim | Right. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to one of the teenagers crowding Ty Lee asking which one of them she "likes".] This is my favorite line in the episode right here. [Joaquim affirms; imitates the teenager's emphasized pronunciation of the word "like".] "Like." [Katie and Joaquim laugh.] Great read. So... |
| Katie | [Refers to Ty Lee chi-blocking the multiple teenage boys cornering her.] So, at this point Ty Lee has made too many friends at the beach. [Joaquim chuckles.] |
| Bryan | Well, luckily she's like a self-defense class all in one, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] she can take care of herself. [Joaquim chuckles.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Azula insults Ty Lee by saying the teenage boys' interest in her is shallow, while labeling Ty Lee a tease. | |
| Bryan | I love this. |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] That's pretty... |
| Bryan | Oh, go ahead, sorry. |
| Joaquim | That was pretty brutal. [Katie and Joaquim laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] It's a cartoon. [Joaquim affirms; refers to the theme playing in the background during the party.] I love this, uh, this, like, party music that Jeremy Zuckerman wrote. It's, like... there, you know, this is, like, what the Fire Nation teenagers rock out to at a party. [Everyone laughs.] |
| Joaquim | Yeah, this is their cool music. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's like some cool folk music. We figured the band is actually in the basement, just piped up, [Katie laughs.] with some, like... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Maybe it's the Flamey-Os. |
| Bryan | It's the Flamey-Os, [Katie and Joaquim affirm.] they're-they're rocking out. [Brief pause.] Word spread all over the internet after that cave... |
| Joaquim | That's right. |
| Bryan | ... party. [Katie laughs.] |
| Joaquim | The cave party. [Bryan chuckles.] |
| Katie | [Refers to the party attendees just standing around and talking.] Apparently, these kids are still afraid to dance. |
| Joaquim | Yeah. [Everyone laughs.] Well, it also might have killed some animators in Korea. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Katie | [Laughs; refers to Ty Lee giving Azula some advice on flirting.] So, Ty Lee is giving Azula a little advice here. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Ty Lee's overtly suave pronunciation of "hey" while imitating a boy for Azula to flirt with.] That is very, uh, reminiscent of a good friend of mine, Angus MacLane, who's a great animator at Pixar. Uh, the like, [In a suave tone.] "Hey, [Katie and Joaquim laugh.] how's it going?" He and I were roommates in college, and, uh... I'm not sure if that influenced my, uh, supervision of that epis-of that [Bryan and Joaquim laugh.] scene. I love you, Angus, don't-don't take it personally. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Azula and Chan, alone on the balcony, start talking about Chan's muscles. | |
| Joaquim | This is great. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Bryan and Katie laugh.] This all, you know, I... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects; refers to Chan kissing Azula.] And then he moves right in. [Bryan affirms.] Killer. [Katie affirms.] |
| Bryan | This always happened to me growing up, [Katie chuckles.] strong arms, you know, just... [Katie and Joaquim laugh; refers to the torch behind Azula turning the same color as the blue fire generating from her hands.] I like this detail that the f-even the fire behind Azula turns blue. [Refers to Chan literally sliding out of frame as he gets away from Azula, his 2D model slightly rotating back and forth.] Okay, this is some Kenji Ono, uh... [Katie chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Craziness. |
| Bryan | ... brilliant, yeah, this is from the land of Kenji. |
| Joaquim | [Refers to the squeak sound effect as Chan presses himself against the wall while sidling back into the house.] This is great, [Joaquim and Bryan laugh.] he squeaks off. |
| Bryan | On the storyboard, he-he drew a little diagram that Chan was just, like, a cut-out with, like, a, like, a two by four... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] And, like... |
| Bryan | ... movi-moving him out of the scene. [Joaquim affirms.] They-they animated it just like that. [Refers to the non-diegetic bird that flew behind Chan as he struggled to process Azula's "romantic" appeal.] Yeah, we were just-we were just dumbfounded in the storyboard meeting when Kenji put up just this little... little, like, cartoon crow [Bryan and Katie laugh.] flying by toward, uh... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] And the great thing is, about Kenji, is when we-when we say, "what is that?" He looks at us like we're crazy. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, just... exactly. |
| Joaquim | [Imitates Kenji.] "Like, why? I mean, that's just what happens." [Bryan affirms.] |
| A brief pause in commentary until Mai confronts Zuko over his aggressive assault of Ruon-Jian. | |
| Katie | I'm surprised that Zuko and Ruon-Jian didn't fight about whose hair was cooler. |
| Bryan | I know. |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] That's right. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko's long hair.] This was the longest Zuko's hair [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] got actually in season three, and Mike pulled me aside and said, "it's getting a little crazy, [Katie and Joaquim laugh.] getting a little long." So, An-Angie Mueller and I, the other character designer, had to, uh, give him a little trim. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | [Brief pause; refers to Zuko getting kicked out of the party for breaking Chan's grandmother's vase.] He got the baseball boot, right there. |
| Bryan | [Imitates Chan saying "nice" to himself after he calls Zuko a "loser boy".] "Nice." [Katie laughs.] |
| Joaquim | [Laughs.] That was added, right? |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Joaquim | That was added a little later, that's funny. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the scene fading in from black to Zuko silently going through his abandoned family home on Ember Island, flashing back to the time he spent there with his father, mother, sister, uncle, and cousin.] So, this, uh, opening sequence of act three is one of my favorites in Avatar, not just because I storyboarded it, honest, [Katie and Joaquim chuckle.] but, um, [Refers to the initial parts of the "Reconciliation" theme playing during the sequence.] this is some of the, I think, best music that Jeremy's written. And I just love, um, I love the sophisticated storytelling of, you know, for a kids show, but no dialogue, just a character by himself with his memories, wandering through this childhood summer home. And, um... [Refers to the echoed sound effects of waves on the beach, seagulls crying, and a child laughing as the scene cuts to Zuko's recollections.] I just-with the sound design that Ben did, and-and the music Jeremy did, [Refers to the dark nighttime blue color palette on Zuko and the house interior.] and-and the color, and the design... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] It's beautiful. |
| Bryan | ... just... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] But which honestly did, you know, to me, when-when I first saw Avatar was one of the things that really attracted me to wanting to come and work on the show was the fact that you guys were telling stories that didn't undermined, you know, kids' sort of understanding of-of... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Yeah, it was... yeah. |
| Joaquim | ... cartoons, animation, and... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] And I think it... |
| Joaquim | ... what can be done. |
| Katie | ... I think it's so touching just these scenes, [Refers to Zuko looking at a portrait of his family.] and something that everyone can relate to about looking at old pictures, and he's sort of reminiscing about the past and his family and happier times at the beach, and you realize how difficult it is for him to return to the house. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, you're really sympathetic with Zuko. |
| Bryan | I think it's really fun, not fun, but, like, satisfying to give these characters time to work [Joaquim gives an affirming murmur.] through these things. Just like life, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] it's-it's difficult to work through, you know, in his case, some pretty intense stuff. So, I... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects; refers to the cut to Combustion Man attacking Team Avatar.] And then intercut with this. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Everyone laughs.] So, I also storyboarded all this, uh, Combustion Man stuff, and Combustion Man also came out of the writing retreat that we took before [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] season three. Um, and, uh, just this idea of this kind of unstoppable villain, who's alm-more like a force of nature, you know, he doesn't really talk, and, uh... we just wa... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] How tall is he? |
| Bryan | He's, uh, about 7'2". |
| Katie | Wow. |
| Bryan | And... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] Huge. |
| Bryan | ... this sequence, Jeremy wrote some amazing music for it, but in the mix we-it just turned out to be more intense if we took the music out, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and, um, it just seemed scarier. [Refers to the only sound in the initial scene with Team Avatar and Combustion Man following the latter's first attack being the noise of their bending.] The mu-the music was great, but it was kinda competing with the sound. [Refers to Zuko joining Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee by a campfire along the beach.] So... so, Mike DiMartino, the other co-creator, and, um, Seung Hyun, um, the supervising director, storyboarded all this emotional teenage beach stuff, very reminiscent of, uh, various Eighties movies that we all grew up with. |
| Joaquim | Right. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] And... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] S-since we're old, [Joaquim laughs.] as signified by Joaquim's birthday today. |
| Joaquim | Thirty. [Bryan laughs.] |
| Katie | Ohhh, me, too. [Brief pause.] Think I... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Which from... go ahead, go ahead. |
| Katie | ... sorry, I'm sorry. |
| Joaquim | No, go. |
| Katie | [Refers to Lo and Li calling Ember Island a magical place.] I was just gonna say, I th-I think I agree with Lo and Li, too; I think there's something magical about the beach, especially at nighttime. It's peaceful, the waves. |
| Bryan | Yeah, there's something really cool about going down to the beach at night, when you can still hear the waves, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] but you can barely see them. I love that. |
| Joaquim | Yeah, a lot of this stuff actually reminded me of, eeh, during the summer when I was a kid, we'd, you know, I'd go back to Portugal and-and visit my family there. And we lived right on the beach, so at the night you could hear, you know, the waves crashing, and [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] it-it-it adds a certain level of-of kind of magic to the air. |
| Katie | [Gives an affirming murmur.] It's very calming, and the stars in the sky. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang hiding from Combustion Man behind a rock pillar.] So, this was fun, this was a little bit different for us for an action scene. It's more of like a-kind of a scary movie chase scene. Um... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Totally. This is like the... |
| Bryan | ... um... [Refers to Combustion Man's ability to create explosions from the third eye tattoo on his forehead.] so, the idea with Combustion Man is that he's still a firebender, but he has a, like, overdeveloped third eye where basically his chi is released through his third eye, and if he can see something within range, he can blow it up in about a second. So, he's-he's fun, but the id-my-my idea was that he got his reputation through, uh, a lotta very successful Agni Kai matches, [Bryan and Joaquim laugh.] that did not last very long. [Refers to Aang bending rocks around his body to camouflage himself against a rock pillar.] So, this was fun, Aang using the rock suit, uh, technique that he learned from Toph. |
| A brief pause in commentary until after the group escapes from the plain of rock pillars, with Katara realizing that Combustion Man was not a random assailant, but somone who was targeting them specifically. | |
| Bryan | [Refers to the field of rock pillars Combustion Man chases Aang into.] So, that... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] I love... |
| Bryan | ... that, uh, that location also, it wasn't right next to Viti, in, uh, Iceland, but it was also based on, um... uh, I can't pronounce it, but there's a lake in Iceland where all of this lava had-had f-uh... made a lake, it was basically a lake of molten lava, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and then the top of it crusted over, and eventually the-the lake, like, the thing damming the lake just busted, and all the lava poured out. But these pillars had formed that held up the, uh, the ceiling, this crust ceiling, and then all the-once all the lava drained out from underneath, the top of it, this crust fell, and you just have this field of pillars, these lava pillars. |
| Joaquim | Wow. [Katie gives an appraising murmur.] |
| Bryan | It's just this weird... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] It's amazing. |
| Bryan | ... formation. So, I just thought, "Oh, man, what a creepy place." It's kind of like a maze, you know, like a topiary maze or something, just everything looks the same. Sneaking around. [Refers to Ty Lee talking about trying to maintain her individuality while having six identical sisters.] So, here we're getting some backstory on our, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] normally our, uh, villains, and... little empathy for them. |
| Joaquim | And this is a lot more writing than I think we're even used to here on Avatar as far as just, [Katie gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] you know, sheer, you know, paragraphs that are-that were taking up the, uh, the page, which initially as-as a animation director, I was-I ha-I was nervous about it, I was like, "Oh, boy, there's a lotta dialogue." But it-it plays incredibly well. |
| Katie | We even cl-cut it down s-quite a bit, as well. |
| Joaquim | But I'm, uh, yeah, I think it's a [Katie affirms.] testament to your awesome writing, and-and... |
| Katie | [In the background.] Thank you. |
| Joaquim | ... Seung Hyun's, uh, you know, awesome staging of this scene, and... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Mike. |
| Joaquim | ... Mike DiMartino's as well. [Bryan affirms.] It just... |
| Katie | [Interjects; refers to Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee talking about their respective childhood traumas and insecurities.] I think it's a great scene, uh, also Bryan, you were saying it's interesting that with our characters, you know, it kinda takes time to get to know them, and here they are, they kinda see each other only from the outside. I think all kids can kinda relate to that in school; like, you may see someone as the popular, you know, easy go, you know, happy go lucky girl, then you find out, you know, there's a history and we don't know what happened in their past, and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, and you... |
| Katie | ... I think it's interesting, finally we find out, you know, why each of these characters are the way they are. |
| Bryan | Yeah, even with friends, [Katie and Joaquim affirm.] being accepting, and everything. [Brief pause.] Yeah, and it's, like, wow, whereas someone might have, you know, on paper, a history that seems more, more dramatic or more intense, it-you kinda realize that everybody's got some-something [Katie gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] they're carrying, and-and, uh, to that person, it's-it's equally serious and important. [Refers to the "Reconciliation" theme temporarily cutting out as Mai yells at Azula to leave her alone.] That's the, kind of, this uh, music kind of carries over from the beginning of the act. It's really-I love it, just so emotional [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] and understated, it's really pretty. |
| A brief pause in commentary until Mai tells Zuko that his hardships in life do not excuse his aggressive behavior. | |
| Bryan | And that's a great line [Laughs.] from Mai. [Katie laughs.] Like, she's, like, she knows, [Katie affirms.] you know, [Katie gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] she knows, she's li-Z-Zuko her-her whole life, she knows his life's been intense, but that's a good line that it doesn't excuse the way you've been acting, [Joaquim affirms.] and at a certain point everyone has to take responsibility for... the choices they're making and rise above the things that happen to them. And, you know, that's-everybody's dealt a different deck of cards, but that's the-ultimately the challenge, is can you... rise above your si-your situation, and-and kinda solidify your own identity. Or does the situation become your identity. [Refers to Mai asking Zuko who specifically he is angry at.] Another great question. |
| A brief pause in commentary until the scene starts panning from Mai to Azula, the shot transitioning to a Dutch angle, as the girls ask who he is angry at, and Zuko anxiously turning to face them and deny their theories, with a series of cuts focusing in more and more on the scarred side of his face. | |
| Bryan | I love it, Mike-Mike storyboarded this stuff, [Joaquim affirms.] these crazy psychological cuts, I love this. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | It totally gets frantic, yeah. He captured that. |
| Bryan | I love those jump cuts. |
| Katie | [Brief pause; refers to Zuko, realizing he is angry with himself, bending the campfire as he releases his ill-defined rage.] That part's great. |
| Bryan | And this is, I think it's a worthwhile episode because normally, you know, in a series, you just have your villains; oh, they're bad. You might get a little backstory on them, but, you know, the-the messy thing about life is... everybody's-there's some reason why they're acting out, [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] or why they're so called "bad", or evil, and, uh, you know, not just 'cause they're coming from a country that's trying to take over the world, but, you know, they each have their own personal... [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] Demons. |
| Bryan | ... stories. [Joaquim affirms; refers to Azula dispassionately talking about how it did not bother her that their mother loved Zuko more, while viewing her daughter as a monster.] And then Azula's... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] This is great. |
| Bryan | ... [Laughs.] see a little moment [Katie laughs.] into her. Seems like she doesn't really care, and then all of a sudden. [Katie affirms; brief pause.] She seems so cold, even when she's expressing herself. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] |
| Joaquim | [Refers to Azula casually saying her mother was right to view her as such, despite how much it hurt personally; Joaquim and Bryan laugh.] And then she says that. [Imitates Azula.] "She was right of course." |
| Katie | She's a monster. |
| Bryan | She's-Azula is just so comfortable in her skin, yeah. [Refers to Ty Lee feeling smoothed after talking about her feelings; laughs.] I love that line. [Emphasizes "smoothed".] Smoothed. And then, this is a tribute to another Eighties movie; uh, for me it's very much a Weird Science... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Yes! |
| Bryan | ... motorcycle gang is riding around the party. [Katie laughs.] |
| Joaquim | Yeah, the guy from Hills Have Eyes, uh, shows up. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] That one-that one, definitely, we got a cringe from the control room. |
| Katie | [Refers to Chan's distraught reaction at Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee destroying his vacation home.] Suddenly, Chan's a little more worried about... |
| Katie is momentarily interrupted by Bryan and Joaquim giggling in the background. | |
| Katie | ... vase-worried about the vase. |
| Bryan | Great script, Katie. |
| Katie | Thank you. |
| Bryan | Congratulations. |
| Katie | Thank you very much. |
| Bryan | Grea-great job directing... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] Absolutely. |
| Bryan | ... Joaquim. |
| Katie | Great storyboards. |
| Joaquim | Hey. |
| Bryan | Your second Avatar episode helming. |
| Joaquim | [In a quiet, mock celebratory tone.] Yeah! |
| Katie | And happy birthday. |
| Joaquim | Well, we were all-thank you. Think... you-I-I felt very lucky to get, you know, an awesome script, and-and... |
| Katie | [Interjects.] Thank you. |
| Bryan | It's a good one. You-first, you had the Eighties dance party episode, and then... |
| Joaquim | [In the background.] That's right. [Katie chuckles.] |
| Bryan | ... you had the Eighties emotional teen angst episode. |
| Joaquim | We had a whole Eighties thing, and then. |
| Bryan | Yeah. I thought it was a fun one 'cause it had such fun dynamics. The really crazy action, tense stuff, and then [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] the really emotional... |
| Joaquim | [Interjects.] Well, yeah, all that stuff intercut with each other, too. It just plays incredibly, incredibly well. |
| Bryan | Yeah, good contrast. [Katie gives an affirming murmur.] Thanks, guys! |
| Katie | [Simultaneously with Joaquim.] Thank you. |
| Joaquim | [Simultaneously with Katie.] Thank you. |
| Commentary ends. |