| Michael Dante DiMartino | Hi, this is Mike DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar, and, uh, co-writer of this episode. |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzko | And this is Bryan Konietzko, the other co-creator of Avatar. |
| Joshua Hamilton | My name is Josh Hamilton, and I am the other co-writer of this episode. |
| Bryan | And that's why it's so awesome. |
| Mike | It is. |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Really? |
| Mike | 'Cause Josh and I teamed up for our first and only team-up. [Laughs.] |
| Josh | Tag teams add extra power, I believe. |
| Bryan | Which is... that's the whole theme of Avatar, is working together. |
| Josh | Working together. |
| Mike | Totally. |
| Josh | And outside the box. |
| Bryan | That's right. [Josh affirms.] Together, yet not in a box. [Josh chuckles.] |
| Mike | So, wha-this-so this is "Serpent's Pass", which I-I believe part of the inspiration was looking at the map, [Bryan laughs.] of the Avatar world, [Josh affirms.] and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] We have a giant map in the writers' room, of, uh, the Avatar world. |
| Mike | And years ago, Bryan had drawn a tiny little sliver of land with two lakes on either side that led to Ba Sing Se, and we're, like, that's the only way you can get to Ba Sing Se, and now they don't have Appa, they're gonna have to go across that little sliver of land. |
| Bryan | Yeah, I think Aaron Ehasz just stared at that [Mike laughs.] for... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] I remember the day that-we're like, "right here, this should be the Serpent's Pass," and he's like, "oh my god, that's the only land mass to get," he was so, like, [Mike affirms.] a realization crossed-or was it you Mike, actually? |
| Mike | I don't know. [Josh chuckles.] We can't-we always get our-each other's i-ideas confused. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the theme that plays as the episode title card fades in.] I like-I like the score right there, that's like, [Bryan and Josh imitate the serpent's roaring sound.] which from the music and sound effects spotting, I said, you know, when you see the title card, it should be like, [Makes the roaring sound again.] and then they-they-Jeremy did that. It was pretty cool. |
| Josh | [Refers to the team relaxing near a lake.] And then now, it's so calm and peaceful and [Mike affirms; refers to Aang encasing his submerged torso in a block of ice.] ice floating. |
| Bryan | So, our first-our first pass on that, Aang making a little... ice cube around himself, his head was in there, too. |
| Mike | Oh yeah, that's right. [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | And, um, then I told Justin Ridge, the storyboard artist, I think I came up with it, but then I was, like, I think he would-he wouldn't be able to breathe, [Mike laughs.] so, why don't we keep his head outside, and... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] This is the third episode I got to write, and is the second time we start in water, [Refers to Katara's hair being let down as she swims.] with Katara's hair down, and... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, what's up with that, Josh? |
| Josh | I don't know, you know, it just seems to work. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] It does, it does seem to. |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Sokka's map of the central Earth Kingdom, with the Si Wong Desert being shaded with the same grey-blue color as the bodies of water.] So, this is a mistake of mine. The desert is colored just like the water. So, it's a little confusing, it looks like there's a third lake. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] Sorry about that, people. [Mike laughs.] I'll get... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] People have been [Josh chuckles.] up in arms about that. |
| Bryan | I'll go George Lucas on that, in the bo-maybe in the box set, [Mike and Josh chuckle.] I'll go fix that. |
| Mike | Cool. So, this is-I really like this episode, too, 'cause of Aang's kind of emotional story of he's lost Appa, and in the last episode he was all crazy and going into the Avatar State, [Refers to Aang dispassionately stating he wants to focus on getting to the Earth King rather than focus on losing Appa.] and now he's kinda gone the total opposite way, and he's like, "you know what, I'm just-I'm cool, everything's fine," and he won't... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] He's detached. [Josh affirms.] |
| Mike | ... he's-detaches, he's in denial, though. |
| Bryan | Yeah. These are all the stages of... losing Appa. |
| As the refugee family reacts to Katara mentioning the Serpent's Pass, Bryan makes the serpent noise again. | |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Weren't these people in episode, um, 207? |
| Bryan | Two of them were, the husband and wife were in, uh, 207, "Zuko Alone". They were the couple, uh, that were cooking up a meal that Zuko smelled when he was starving. |
| Mike | And then he decided not to, uh, do something... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Attack them. [Everyone laughs.] Steal their food. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the establishing shot of the Earth Kingdom ferry station built within a cave.] Ah, this is a really cool location, this is the Full Moon Bay, which is, um... this kind of, like, big Goonies cave, you know. |
| Josh | Yeah, I really like it. I think it was originally called Half Moon Bay, but then, uh, there's an actual place called Half Moon Bay... somewhere. |
| Bryan | Beautif-yeah, it's a beautiful place, in the Bay Area of San Francisco. |
| Josh | [Brief pause; in a mock serious tone.] So, uh, we changed it to Full Moon. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Josh and Mike chuckle.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the circular ray of light shining down on the harbor waters through an opening in the cave's ceiling.] Which is cool, because at the top of the cave, there's a circular opening, so... there you get the name, Full Moon Bay. [Refers to Iroh excitedly putting on a hat to celebrate becoming a Ba Sing Se tourist.] This is a good gag. |
| Josh | I love that Uncle is returning to his, you know, his old... his old war site. |
| Mike | Yep. [Refers to Jet introducing himself to Zuko and Iroh.] And then we bring back... [Bryan makes a celebratory trumpet sound.] the handsome, stylish Jet. |
| Bryan | Devilish! |
| Josh | Hello. |
| Mike | So... yeah, I'd always wanted Jet and Zuko, I knew that would be a great combo, at some point, and we finally had a good reason to have them together, um, when we figured out that there were gonna be all these refugees going to Ba Sing Se, and stuff, is-ma-made sense that they coulda run into each other on the-on this ferry to Ba Sing Se. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the sound of Iroh drooling after Jet mentions how well the ferry captain is eating.] Great... sound effect by Ben Wynn, there. Uncle's drool sound. [Josh laughs; refers to Zuko throwing his food bowl into the ocean as he agrees to join Jet's heist.] You know, I don't think Zuko should have littered. I'm-I mean, I know [Mike laughs.] the food was bad and... it doesn't set a good... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] I thought it was a leaf bowl, and it was just gonna, uh... |
| Bryan | There you go, [Simultaneously with Josh.] it's biodegradable... |
| Josh | [Simultaneously with Bryan.] Biodegradable, yeah. |
| Bryan | ... it's an algae bowl. |
| Josh | [Refers to the cabbage merchant being lectured to by a passport attendant; in a regretful tone.] Oh, the cabbage man. [Refers to the security platypus bear tearing apart the cabbage merchant's cart.] This is, aw, Mike DiMartino awesome-awesomeness with the, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So... |
| Josh | ... platypus bear. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to a cabbage slug being visible among the shreds of cabbage flying by the cabbage merchant.] if you... if you toggle through that in slow motion, I think a cabbage slug does fly [Mike affirms.] in front of the camera. [Josh chuckles.] |
| Mike | Yeah, originally, it was that the two guards, uh, set the cabbage cart on fire, and I think we couldn't do that for some reason, and we're, like, why don't we just have a platypus bear [Mike, Josh, and Bryan laugh.] as a guard, and he smashes it... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] It was... |
| Mike | ... and it turned out way funnier, so. |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the guard outfit the platypus bear wears.] It was fun putting him in the-putting him in the costume, too... security outfit. [Refers to the Aang impersonator to the left of the Aang impersonator picking his nose.] So, Mi-that's Mike next to the guy picking his nose. [Josh affirms.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah. I dressed up as Aang for Halloween one year. |
| Josh | There's a couple people, right? That... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah. |
| Josh | ... that designed that. |
| Bryan | Some Halloween people there. [Mike affirms; refers to the closeup shot of Momo as he cowers back behind Aang's shoulder to avoid looking at the impersonators.] I love that Momo animation, it's very cute. |
| Mike | So, Josh, what do you think when you-you've written an episode, and then it comes back, 'cause you don't get to see all the great processes that Bryan and I [Josh affirms.] are involved in. Is it like magic to you? It comes back just... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] It is. [Mike laughs.] I-I can remember, uh, this episode-'cause this one of the first ones I didn't get to see until it was completely done, and it was just like, aw, man. Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] So, Josh, can you give us your impression about how the animation process happens? |
| Josh | Uh, some people draw things on paper, and then flip, like, a booklet in front of a camera, [Mike and Bryan laugh.] I believe is how I grew up learning-I don't know, you know. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | It... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] That's-you know what, that's close enough. [Mike affirms.] That's closer than when everyone says, "oh, you work in animation. So, computers do everything now." [Josh laughs.] So you're actually more-more accurate. |
| Josh | [Refers to Suki, in her security uniform without her trademark makeup, haranguing an oblivious Sokka.] Who's this girl? |
| Bryan | I don't know. [Mike chuckles.] |
| Josh | [Laughs.] I gotta say, I love her without her makeup, maybe even a little bit more. |
| Mike | Really? |
| Josh | [Gives an affirming murmur; refers to Suki jolting Sokka's memory by kissing him.] The one-the first of many kisses in this episode. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | This is the kissy episode. So, this was conceived as a two-part episode, um, 212 is this e-and then 213 is "The Drill". Comes after it, sort of a couplet... getting to Ba Sing Se. And this one's sort of the more emotional half, and then 213 is the just crazy, action-adventure half. |
| Josh | One thing I do remember about the serpent, the name the Serpent's Pass, is a name that was used in 202, and, uh, then later cut, and then-and then... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, that's right. |
| Bryan | Oh, was that the name of the-the Cave of Two Lovers? |
| Josh | No, it wasn't, it was just some name that was thrown in there for, like, something that-someone's backstory. They had to cross a serpent's pass. |
| Bryan | Ah. |
| Josh | And then Mike later on was like, "that's what we gotta name this." |
| Bryan | [In a quiet voice.] I did not know that. [Refers to the husband and sister of the refugee family from earlier wearing backpacks; imitates the pregnant mother, Ying, saying their belongings have been stolen.] "Except for these two backpacks!" [Josh laughs.] |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah, they should've just looked in their backpacks. [Bryan laughs.] Their stuff might've been in there. |
| Bryan | Yeah, Aang's, like, maybe they just, [Josh and Bryan laugh.] switched backpacks. |
| Josh | Halfway through the Serpent's Pass, they did find them in their backpacks. |
| Mike | Sometimes we don't notice little inconsistencies like that 'til much later, so. |
| Bryan | We do our best, [Mike affirms.] believe us. |
| Josh | Aaron asked me after this episode was done what I liked best about it, [Refers to the passport attendant refusing to give the refugee family new passports.] and I said I liked, um, the bureaucrat. [Josh, Mike and Bryan laugh.] Which is her. |
| Mike | She is very fun. |
| Josh | Or which I was most proud of, [Mike affirms.] and I said the bureaucrat. |
| Mike | She is a fine character, and seemed like a real, [Josh laughs.] pain-in-the-butt lady that would make it difficult for you to get to Ba Sing Se, that's for sure. |
| Josh | Yeah, certainly dealt with her before. |
| Bryan | And she was s-the-sorta the foreshadowing of what Ba Sing Se would be like, which is tons of bureaucracy, tons of red tape... everything has to have forms, be approved, and go through, [Josh affirms.] you know, weeks of paperwork. And her speech about, you know, [Refers to and imitating the attendant's rant about the pitfalls of giving out passports "willy-nilly".] if we didn't have order, there'd be no civilization. |
| Josh | Right. |
| Bryan | It's sort of... the, uh, inklings of the, you know, what they're gonna run into with... |
| Josh | [In the background.] The future. |
| Bryan | ... Long Feng and... |
| Short pause in commentary until the closeup shot showing the Chinese characters 絕望, meaning "sever hope", carved into the wooden gate entrance of the Serpent's Pass. | |
| Bryan | So I had to-I-after I did that, I had to, uh, I got the calligraphy from S. L. Lee, our calligraphy expert... but then I-I had to make it look all scratchy, like... graffiti. But then I needed to show it to someone who could read Chinese, and make sure it was still legible, [Mike and Josh chuckle.] or didn't say something bad. So... luckily it worked out. |
| Josh | Isn't like abandoning hope an actual Buddhist, um, philosophy, or some sort of-I know you gave me some-some... pam-pamphlet on it. |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, Mike, Mike had been reading some stuff. |
| Mike | Yeah, there's-that's the thing that's kind of tricky about Buddhism is they say you are supposed to abandon hope, but it doesn't mean to not [Josh affirms.] feel and not have emotion, and stuff like that, it's... you know. |
| Bryan | Aang sort of took it too far. He's, [Mike and Josh affirm.] he's sort of used it... as a way of blocking his emotions so he wouldn't have to deal with them, um, but I think the idea is so that you're not, um... you're not pining for something and-and hinging all of your... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] You're focusing on the now. |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Mike | Exactly. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause.] It allows you to be more adaptable, I'd say, if you're not set on only one outcome. [Brief pause; refers to Toph using her earthbending to save Sokka from falling rocks.] So, maybe there's some, uh, inklings of some shipping, you know. |
| Mike | Yeah, [Josh chuckles intermittently.] there's a little Toph-Sokka, you know, something going on there, but, you know. |
| Bryan | It's also a little Goonies. |
| Mike | Yeah, you're right. [Mike and Josh chuckle.] You are right. |
| Bryan | So, [Refers to the shot of the Serpent's Pass at sunset.] uh, these paintings are some of my favorite in this-the whole series. Uh, they just came out... |
| Josh | [In the background; refers to Ying's husband Than massaging her feet as the group rests.] Sore feet. |
| Bryan | ... really beautiful. [Refers to the long shot of Sokka and Suki standing to the left of the cliffside, to their right being the darkened cliffs and the fading colors of sun on the the sky and ocean.] This, uh, that shot right there, that's one of my favorite shots [Josh affirms.] in Avatar. |
| Josh | [Refers to Sokka's panicked reaction of thinking he saw a spider near Suki's sleeping bag.] I love this read by Jack. That's great. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Jack DeSena, the voice of Sokka. |
| Josh | [In an awed tone.] I believe it the first read he did. |
| Bryan | Wow. |
| Josh | He just nailed it! [Josh and Mike chuckle.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the paddlewheel ferry moving along the water, the paddlewheel turning clockwise.] So, it looked like the paddlewheel was going the wrong way, but is that that, [Josh chuckles.] that weird visual effect where, like, a propellor looks like it's spinning the wrong way? |
| Mike | Probably. |
| Bryan | Or is it just... that's what-that's what we're going to stick to, yeah. |
| Mike | [In the background.] That's exact... that's exactly what was going on. |
| Josh | I believe that's what the animator said. |
| Bryan | That's what it was, yeah. So, when he flipped the paper in front of the camera, he flipped it [Josh laughs.] the other way. |
| Josh | He just flipped it upside down. [Refers to Zuko stacking the bowls of stolen food on top of each other with his swords.] I love how he stacks those things, I'm always like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Thank you. |
| Josh | ... you can do so much those swords. |
| Mike | Yeah, I remember Bryan in the storyboard meeting say, "no, it's like, he's doing, like, takeout, you know?" [Bryan and Josh laugh.] Which exactly-is exactly what it looks like. [Refers to the sequence of Zuko and the Freedom Fighters stealing the ferry captain's food.] But I thought this was a cool little sequence, you know, show-you have to show Jet and Zuko kind of bonding, and, you know... and steal some food in the way that Jet and the-the Freedom Fighters would-would do that. So, they have their little-little lookouts, [Refers to Smellerbee alerting Jet and Zuko when a ferry guard is coming their way.] Smellerbee was the lookout, and, you know, [Refers to Longshot firing an arrow and attached rope that allows his comrades to zipline down to the lower deck.] Longshot helped them out at the end. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the long shot of Aang and Katara on the precipice of the cliff, facing the ocean with the moon reflecting off the water.] That's another great shot, one of my favorites. |
| Josh | [Brief pause; refers to Katara trying to get Aang to open up about his grief.] These scenes are some of the hardest scenes to write, I sometimes feel. |
| Mike | The emotional ones. |
| Josh | Yeah, getting the timing, and... [Mike affirms.] they're always rewritten heavily. |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, 'cause you-you go-you walk a fine line between being too cheesy [Josh affirms.] and too emotional, but you-you want the emotion, you want that, [Josh affirms.] that-that feeling that you get from these scenes. |
| Bryan | I think they're great. [Mike affirms.] |
| Josh | Yeah, they definitely turn out great. [Refers to Sokka sitting on a rock and looking out at the moon.] I love this, this is, uh, Sokka looking at the moon, which is Yue, or... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, we were always joking, like, [Imitating Sokka.] "yeah, that's my girlfriend up there." |
| Josh | [Laughs; imitates Sokka.] "My girlfriend's the moon." |
| Mike | [Simultaneously with Josh.] "She's the moon." [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Suki, now wearing her Kyoshi Warrior armor and makeup.] We should've had Sokka, like, covered in makeup after the [Josh chortles.] kiss, just all over his face. |
| Mike | So, some people might wonder, Josh, how did two people write an episode? How's it work? |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Well, um, oh yeah, how did we write this? [Mike and Bryan laugh.] We wrote-I believe you wrote the-most of the B-stor-oh yeah, you wrote the ending and the B-story, and I wrote, like, maybe the first two acts. |
| Bryan | Some people might be wondering what a B-story is. |
| Josh | Well, the B-story, um, for this episode is the Zuko-Uncle, is anything with Zuko. I think that's how it kind of how it works for, um, all the stories we kinda have... the B-story, [Refers to Sokka and Suki leaning in to kiss one another, with Sokka pulling back at the last second.] oh wait, I gotta see this. [Bryan and Mike laugh.] Aw! [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | Did you think it was gonna be different? |
| Mike | [In the background.] Oh it's... oh man, they didn't kiss that time. |
| Josh | I really thought they were gonna do it this time. |
| Bryan | Yeah. [Josh laughs.] Thought they'd kiss, but, see... |
| Mike | [In the background.] We... |
| Bryan | ... animation doesn't work that way. [Josh chuckles.] It's not a Choose Your Own Adventure. [Mike affirms.] |
| Josh | [Refers to Zuko and Iroh sharing food with the Freedom Fighters and passengers.] So, this would be the-considered the B-story, which is the separate story that's happening at the same time as the A-story, which is Aang. Mike wrote all of this, and, um, I thought it was awesome. And then we, at the end after we wrote 'em, then we sat down together for a few days, or few evenings, and just rewrote the whole thing together. |
| Mike | Yep, yep. And that's how it's done. |
| Bryan | And then... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Just like that. [Snaps fingers.] |
| Bryan | ... all the writers, like, then... [Mike affirms.] |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Right, yeah that's just for the first draft. |
| Bryan | ... then we-we give our-we give all our notes on the scripts, and then... all the writers, including Aaron Ehasz, the head writer, sit in the writers' room and they have a projector, and they put the script up on the projector and then every-they go through all the notes, and everybody... pitches different dialogue tweaks and... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, so it's very coll-all the writer's very collaborative process, even when we're coming up with stories, we're always throwing ideas off each other and adding to each other's ideas and rewriting lines and pitching different lines, and stuff. So-so, in the end it's, you know, it's... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Everybody sort of... |
| Mike | ... one or two-two person's scripts-script, but, uh, you know, lot of people have contributed to-to that. [Josh affirms.] |
| Bryan | And I think that.. |
| Mike | [Interjects.] By the way. |
| Bryan | ... since we've, you know, our-our writing team has been pretty similar, uh, makeup throughout most of the series, [Josh gives an affirming murmur.] so, um, it keeps the characters' voices pretty consistent, [Mike and Josh affirm.] you know, the-the way they talk, the words they use, and... their attitudes. |
| Mike | [Brief pause.] Yeah, I think with a series like Avatar, it's imperative that we all work together that closely because it's not the type of show you can just send someone off to like, "oh, go write a script about... [Josh affirms intermittently.] whatever," it's, like, s-so many things have to hook up, and if you do one thing in one episode, you gotta make sure it follows through to the next one, and stuff. So, that's always a challenge. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the gushing ocean water Katara and Aang bend away and around the group as they walk in an air pocket along the ocean floor.] So, here's some, uh, beautiful, uh, effects animation by Yu Jae Myung, uh, Korea, JM Animation. And, uh... |
| Josh | [Refers to Momo swimming underwater with a school of passing fish.] I like this Momo... [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | I believe Ethan Spaulding, the director of this episode, storyboarded this section. Yeah, these Momo... little beats are some of my favorite. |
| Josh | We call them Momoments in the writers' room. |
| Bryan | [Laughs; refers to the giant serpent that attacks the group.] So this, uh, serpent, if-if you got the box set of season one, um, this serpent was from the pilot, uh, of Avatar that Mike and I did, about, I don't know, four years ago. |
| Mike | Yeah. It always a cool creature that we knew we wanted to use somewhere, and [In an enthusiastic tone.] finally we had a moment for him to, uh, emerge. |
| Josh | [In a moment of mock realization.] Serpent's Pass, that's perfect! |
| Mike | [Refers to the serpent breaching from the surface of the water.] So to speak. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] |
| Bryan | Yeah, Seahorse Pass just [Josh and Mike laugh.] really wasn't as cool. |
| Josh | What is the, uh, creature cro-is it like a-a seahorse? |
| Bryan | Like a... |
| Josh | [In the background.] Dragon? |
| Bryan | ... leaf-leafy sea dragon, or kind of mixed with a seahorse, made really big. |
| Josh | My favorite joke of the episode coming up. [Sokka asks Suki, supposed sea monster expert, to get rid of the serpent.] Oh. We have to wait a little longer. [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | The Mo... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] The Momo-Momo one. |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Oh, that was your favorite joke, Josh? |
| Josh | No! |
| Mike | Was, uh... [Laughs.] |
| Josh | [Refers to Sokka holding up Momo as a tasty sacrifice to the serpent; in an excited tone.] This one! [Mike laughs.] |
| Bryan | Is-is this a Momoment? |
| Josh | Yep. |
| Mike | Totally is. |
| Bryan | The other really corny thing, often said in the writers' room, is what's the Aang-le? |
| Josh | Yeah, I was trying to think of the other one. [Bryan laughs.] For some rea-yeah. |
| Bryan | What's the A-A-N-G... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Nothing better than some puns. [Josh laughs.] |
| Bryan | ... L-E. |
| Mike | [Refers to the sequence of Katara and Aang fighting the serpent.] So, this is a [In an exuberant tone.] fabulous action sequence storyboarded by Ethan Spaulding. |
| Josh | Oh man. |
| Mike | [Refers to Katara encasing her feet in ice, freezing and surfing along the surface of the water.] And I love this little... I remember trying to come up with, like, ah, Katara's gotta fight this sea monster, what she's gonna do. And I was, like, she needs, like, a jet ski! Yeah! [Laughs; Josh affirms.] And then Ethan and... Bryan, and Kisu all made it come to life and look cool. |
| Bryan | So, was it this past Comic-Con when-that we were not there, that they showed a clip of this show? |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Bryan | And when everyone saw Katara on that ice jet ski thing, it just went crazy. |
| Mike | Yeah. Katara is awesome, there's no doubt about it. [Bryan chuckles.] |
| Josh | Katara surfing, man. I love it. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to Toph taking slow hesitant steps on the ice bridge Katara created.] So, the idea is Toph can see... through vibrations, uh, through the ground, through earth, but not on ice, [Josh affirms.] since that's not her element. |
| Josh | Water and sand. |
| Mike | And we realized, you know what, she would have never had an opportunity to learn how to swim. |
| Bryan | She [Mike affirms intermittently.] would've stayed away from water for sure. |
| Mike | She's much more comfortable on land. |
| Bryan | Her dad was much too protective. |
| Mike | So, this is a... [Refers to the closeup shot of Toph falling further underwater, until Suki grabs and carries her back up to the surface.] love that shot. |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Josh | Yeah, underwater. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the bubbling sound effects as Toph sank underwater.] Cool sound design by Ben Wynn. |
| Josh | [Refers to Toph kissing Suki after the Kyoshi Warrior saved her from drowning, mistakenly thinking that she is Sokka; laughs.] Is that the second kiss? [Mike chuckles.] |
| Bryan | I think the first kiss didn't happen. |
| Josh | Uh... |
| Mike | But there's the-Suki kissed Sokka. |
| Josh | Suki kissed... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Ohhh. |
| Josh | ... then they almost kissed. |
| Mike | Then there was an almost kiss, then there was that kiss. |
| Bryan | Alright. |
| Josh | [Refers to an embarrassed Toph asking Suki to let her drown again.] Oh, I gotta give a shoutout to Mike for that joke, "you can let me drown now," which is-I think is hilarious. Good job, Mike! |
| Mike | Um, yeah, it might've been someone else, though. I don't want... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Or it could've been someone [Mike laughs.] el-yeah. I'm pretty sure it was you, bud. |
| Mike | Okay. That's the problem, we alway... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Maybe, just in case, let me thank, [Mike affirms.] uh, John O'Bryan and Tim Hedrick. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] And Aaron. |
| Josh | And Aaron Ehasz and Liz. |
| Mike | Good job, everyone. [Josh chuckles; Bryan affirms.] Yeah, sometimes we'll be like, "yeah, remember when I said that joke?" And they're like, "No, that was me,". |
| Josh | [Simultaneously with Mike.] "That-that was me. No, that was me." |
| Mike | "Oh, really?" [Josh laughs.] And then you can never remember who actually came up with... |
| Josh | [Interjects; in a mock frustrated tone.] But I came up with the first part! [Mike and Josh laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Refers to the view of Ba Sing Se's outer wall in the background.] So, there's the first glimpse of the six-hundred-foot wall that surrounds outer Ba Sing Se. [Refers to a panicked Sokka asking Ying if she can hold it in as she goes into labor.] I love Jack's read here. [Laughs.] |
| Josh | [Laughs; brief pause.] He... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to Katara reminding Sokka that she helped delivered babies in the South Pole.] Oh, you get the idea that when this was happening at the South Pole, Sokka was out [Josh affirms.] fishing as far away as possible. |
| Brief pause in commentary until Toph bends an earth tent for Ying to have her child in, and the music picks up as Katara and Suki enter it. | |
| Josh | Dramatic baby... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Music. [Laughs.] |
| Josh | ... being born music. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Dun-duns to the beat of the theme; in a dramatic tone.] The baby is come! [Josh laughs.] This is one of my favorite shots, right... |
| Josh | [Refers to the profile shot of Zuko and Jet in the fog, with the former being in the foreground, the other side of his face partially in view.] Right here? |
| Bryan | Here. Great layout. We call that far eye, [Josh chuckles.] just a.. |
| Josh | [In the background.] Far eye. |
| Bryan | ... a little glimpse, it's almost profile, it's almost... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] On Zuko there. |
| Josh | [In the background.] Ahhhh, that's... |
| Bryan | ... a 5/8s view. |
| Mike | So yeah, you just see that little glimpse of the-of the other eye... |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Very realistic. |
| Mike | ... on the other side of the nose. [Bryan affirms intermittently.] It does give it a li-extra depth and realism. |
| Brief pause in commentary until the cut to Aang, Toph and Sokka outside the tent, with Sokka wiping himself with a cloth. | |
| Mike | I love it where Sokka-his [Josh laughs.] little animation of him, like, wiping his sweat off. |
| Bryan | Yeah, it's great. |
| Josh | [Imitating and referring to Sokka iterating to Toph he will not faint again when he goes inside the earth tent.] "Naw, I'm good." |
| Bryan | [Imitating Sokka.] "I'm good this time." |
| Josh | [Refers to Aang staying outside the tent after Toph and Sokka go inside.] I like how Aang sort of waits. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | Very unlike Aang. [Mike gives an affirming murmur.] Usually he's very, you know, full of life and into other people and creatures, but... his... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] It makes him think of Appa. [Bryan affirms.] |
| Mike | [Refers to the baby.] That baby totally looks like Appa. |
| Josh | [Josh and Bryan laugh; in a mock concerned tone.] That-that's not a baby. |
| Bryan | [In the background.] Especially the... |
| Josh | [Laughs.] My gosh. |
| Bryan | ... the fifth and sixth legs really... push it over the edge. [Refers to the theme playing as Aang cries; imitates the harp notes.] I like the little harp gliss there. |
| Josh | S-so this baby was a girl for a while, and-or is it a girl now? |
| Mike | No, [Simultaneously with Bryan.] it was a boy... |
| Bryan | [Simultaneously with Mike.] It was a boy. |
| Mike | ... and then... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] And then you changed it to girl. |
| Mike | ... yep. And named it Hope. |
| Josh | Yeah. And what was the other name, the Chine... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] No, well, there was-there originally-the-there was a Chinese name for the baby that meant hope, [Josh affirms.] but obviously no one was gonna get that reference, [Laughs.] so. |
| Bryan | At least... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Except for... |
| Bryan | ... no one like us. |
| Mike | ... yeah. [Josh and Mike laugh.] No one in the United States. |
| Bryan | Well... |
| Josh | [In the background.] No one in the world. |
| Bryan | ... not no one. I mean, there are people who speak... |
| After a momentary pause, the three commentators all laugh. | |
| Josh | You know what I mean. |
| Mike | Point taken. [Refers to Katara and Aang hugging after latter opens up about his feelings about Appa.] It's a very touching moment. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the theme playing the background.] I like the theme here, it's really pretty, by Jeremy Zuckerman. [Brief pause; refers to Aang and Momo flying off to Ba Sing Se.] I like how Momo's, like... he's like, "you're ready to go, Momo?" |
| Josh | Oh, yeah. [Mike laughs.] Momoment... |
| Mike | Just... |
| Josh | ... with the wings. |
| Mike | ... they're all over the place in this episode. |
| Bryan | He's, like, [Imitates Momo; laughs.] he's like, "yeah, I'm ready Aang let's go, alright. [Josh laughs.] Yeah, I told you I was ready." [Mike and Bryan laugh; refers to Suki telling Sokka she has to return to the other Kyoshi Warriors.] Aw, here it comes Josh. |
| Josh | Finally. |
| Mike | Yeah. This is... the greatest kiss... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Look at... |
| Mike | ... animated kiss. |
| Bryan | ... [Refers to Sokka hunching over his body as he talks to Suki.] look at the-the tendon between Sokka's ear and his clavicle is flexed in such a realistic way. [Refers to Suki blushing as she apologizes for her and Sokka's interaction the night prior.] I like how she blushes through her ma-her pancake makeup. |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yeah, that's some serious... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Makeup... |
| Mike | ... serious blushing. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the detail on Sokka's neck as he leans forward to kiss Suki.] Look at that neck flex! That's crazy. [Mike laughs.] |
| Josh | Wow. I never noticed that, now I can't look away. [Bryan laughs.] That's a great kiss. |
| Bryan | So that looks referenced. [Josh laughs.] |
| Mike | Someone... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Someone at JM Animation was, [Josh gives an appraising noise.] did some video reference, I think. [Refers to the sequence of Aang gliding up along the Outer Wall.] So, we wanted to show how tall this wall-the Great Wall in China [Mike affirms intermittently.] is amazing, but when Mike and I went there, it's really not very tall. [Josh laughs.] So, when we had a chance to make our fictitious great wall, we made it six-hundred-feet tall. And then here's [Refers to the Fire Nation drill approaching the Outer Wall; in a dramatic tone.] the drill! That's one of my... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] Thought this episode was over. The drill, awesome. [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | The drill. |
| Mike | Based on tunnel boring machines. |
| Bryan | TBMs, I like to call 'em. [Mike laughs.] Uh... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] I won't-I won't be here for the next episode to talk about slurry. [Josh and Bryan laugh.] |
| Mike | Nei-neither will we. |
| Bryan | Oh well. I'm just glad we brought slurry to the world, [Mike and Josh affirm.] larger, you know, I'm-we didn't make it up, but... |
| Mike | [In the background.] People need to know about it, it's a serious issue. |
| Bryan | ... s-s-spreading the slurry knowledge. And when I asked, uh, S. L. Lee, our, calligraphy, uh, expert, when I asked him to translate slurry, I-I-that was one I thought he would kick back and be like, "there's no Chinese character for slurry," and no complaints. Like, one hour later, got [Mike and Bryan laugh.] the Chinese translations of... |
| Josh | [Interjects.] What is the word for slurry? You don't know. It's... |
| Bryan | In Chi-I don't know, I just-I just put the art in the background painting, but... slurry is a, you know, it's water and chocolate rock. |
| Josh | You saved it, Bryan? [Laughs.] Next episode... |
| Bryan | No, we're not, [Laughs.] we're not doing that. |
| Josh | [Laughs.] Oh, okay, okay. |
| Bryan | Thanks, guys. [Josh laughs.] |
| Mike | Thanks. |
| Josh | Thank you. Bye. |
| Commentary ends. |