| No commentary until the episode title card appears. | |
| Michael Dante DiMartino | Here we are at part two, of the big Book One finale. Uh, this was written by Aaron, and, uh... [Aaron gives an affirming murmur.] |
|---|---|
| Bryan Konietzo | Who's sitting right here. |
| Mike | A great episode. Uh, do you want to talk a little about the writing process, Aaron? 'Cause, uh... |
| Aaron Ehasz | [Interjects.] I'd be glad to. |
| Mike | Alright, there's a lot of great stuff that goes on. |
| Aaron | It's funny that you mention [Mike laughs.] that the episode was written by me... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Yeah, I know it is, isn't it. |
| Aaron | ... because at the end of every episode, you usually see "written by so and so". Anyway, [Claps hands together.] uh, basically this is just, uh, when you see a writer at the end, that's the leas-sort of the lead writer on the episode, and the person writes the script, but I guess in general, we're extremely collaborative on this show, about the way that we develop every story, um, and the way that we kind of write and rewrite the episodes. So, there's a lot of contributions coming from, um, a lot of different places. In the case of the part one of this and the part two of this, for example, we, like, pitched out for, I think, an entire week, we worked out every detail of the story of both so that they would all kind of flow together and connect and work so well. Um, I should probably mention some of the other members of the writing staff while I have a chance. Um, there's John O'Bryan, and Tim Hedrick, and Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, who's my wife, and, uh, we also have Josh Hamilton, who is, uh, our superb writing assistant. |
| Mike | Yes, all... |
| Aaron | [In the background.] Writers' assistant. |
| Mike | ... [In a playfully enthusiastic tone.] great, talented folks, and, uh, it's a pleasure to write with you all. [Refers to the standoffish baboon spirit that Aang talks to in the Spirit World; laughs.] We like this odd spirit guy who's very funny creation. |
| Bryan | Voiced by Mark Hamill. |
| Mike | Yes. Mark Hamill, also the voice of the Fire Lord, you may or may not know that, and, uh, who... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Aang is voiced by... |
| Mike | [Finishes Bryan's sentence after a brief pause.] Zach Tyler Eisen. Uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; in a mock serious tone.] That's right, I was waiting for you to fill it in. [Mike laughs.] I thought you weren't s... |
| Mike | No, he's a great, he's an amazing twelve year old young actor, and, uh, just has brought so much life and vitality to... |
| Bryan | [Interjects, in a mock serious tone.] A consummate professional! |
| Mike | ... Aang's character. Yeah, just-just more professional than I am [Bryan laughs.] at my age, so. |
| Aaron | [Refers to Zuko panicked grunts as he carries Aang through the ice as it begins to break beneath his feet.] Zuko, a man of few words, but well-acted words. |
| Mike | Yes, uh, Dante Basco does his voice, and, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects] Yeah, he's great. |
| Mike | ... just a great-another great actor. |
| Bryan | When we were casting Zuko, we said, we wanted someone who could say one word, but suggest, like, a lifetime of tension, and, uh, Dante just did such a great job. |
| Mike | I remember also, that my middle name is Dante. [Aaron chuckles.] I remember seeing his name on the C-the CD of auditions, and his name was Dante Basco, and I was like, "ah, that's the guy, right there, I know it!" [Bryan laughs intermittently.] Of course, I hadn't heard his voice at all, but actually turned out that he was-he was good. |
| Bryan | He was good. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] It's, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] And, um... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Roku informing Aang about the spirit Koh, the Face Stealer.] James Garrett did, uh, Roku. He's a really cool actor. |
| Bryan | Yeah, great voice quality. Zach, the voice of Aang, was, um, what's incredible is he's a master at ADR, which is Additional Dialogue Recording. I think that's what it stands for, [Aaron affirms.] and, um, it's where you have to match your voice to the picture, so you have to go in and match the animation. It's really difficult, and, um, even for adult actors, it's-it's pretty trying, and Zach is just incredible, he's done entire episodes that way when-when we had to do that, and, um... he's-he's a trooper. And he's also-what's great is he's such a normal kid. He and Justin Brinsfield, our, uh, recording engineer, I remember them just, like, rocking out on the bass, on his first trip out here to LA. |
| Mike | [Laughs; refers to Zuko talking to a still-meditating Aang about the struggles he has gone through living up to his father's expectations and his sister's example.] This is a cool scene, 'cause it-this is probably the most Zuko has talked in one-in one stretch, [Laughs.] the whole-whole season. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Because he thinks no one's listening. [Everyone laughs; refers to the warm light on the side of Aang's body that faces the campfire.] I like that, uh, color correction there, we had to suggest that that campfire was there; looks cool. |
| Mike | [Refers to the next scene, where the Fire Nation has resumed their assault on the Northern Water Tribe.] And... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] The big epic battle. |
| Mike | ... this was definitely a challenge, 'cause we wanted to, you know, suggest the enormity of this battle, but due to time and resources and limitations, uh, we obviously can't show every part of the battle, so, [Bryan affirms.] you know, was, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Really hard to do on-in TV. [Mike affirms.] But, um... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] Uh, think it comes across. |
| Bryan | ... I think we pulled it off. |
| Mike | Yeah, [Bryan gives an affirming murmur.] you get, you know, [Refers to the long shot of Fire Nation soldiers, mounted infantry, and CG-modeled tundra tanks advancing through and breaking down the Northern Water Tribe's defenses.] shots like this, where you see a lo-see things mixed in with, [Bryan affirms.] you know, the-the details, so. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the Fire Nation tundra tanks and cruisers.] Great tanks design by Aldina Dias, and, um, these ships, too. |
| Mike | Yeah, I think all the ships and the tanks are CG in the show, computer generated, and composited in with the animation. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Hahn dramatically revealing himself to Zhao, flipping his hair as he removes his helmet.] And Hahn's there. |
| Aaron | There he is. |
| Bryan | So we shot reference of Dean flipping his hair around [Mike affirms.] for that-for that scene. |
| Mike | [Refers to Zhao throwing Hahn off of his ship as the youth rushes him with a spear.] This is a great-A-Aaron had had this idea. We had totally forgot about Hahn and this mission that he was supposed to be on, [Aaron and Bryan laugh.] and Aaron pitched this idea, "like, what-what if he just-Zhao just tosses him overboard. I know it's kinda crazy," and I thought it was hilarious. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Iroh shaking his head in pity after Hahn's failed attempt.] I love that Uncle has the empathy to shake his head [Mike affirms.] in pity. |
| Mike | Bye-bye, Hahn. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the library that Zhao found the secret of the Ocean and Moon spirits in.] So this, remember this library, 'cause it will show up again. |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the close up shot of the classic Chinese characters 月神海神 and 北方水族 that Zhao reads on a scroll.] And the calligraphy by S. L. Lee, who's our, um, calligraphy expert, and does all our translation. All o-early on, we decided all the writing would be in... classic Chinese. [Brief pause.] I found-I think I searched Chinese calligraphy on the internet. His website came up first, clicked on it, sent him an email, and an hour later, [Mike laughs.] he called me. I just got really lucky. [Refers to the sound effects that play in the background as Aang travels to Koh's realm in the Spirit World.] I love the sound design in the Spirit World. Um, Ben Wynn did a really cool treatment, and a lot of reversed sounds, and... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] So, what did you like most about the Spirit World, Aaron? 'Cause you wrote the Spirit World episode... |
| Aaron | [In background.] Oh, man. |
| Mike | ... in episode 107, as well. I feel that you have a special affinity. |
| Aaron | I do. I think I enjoy... the sense of discovery and ancientness, [Mike chuckles.] and I don't know. |
| Mike | Cool. Yeah, it's a... |
| Aaron | [Interjects.] There's a lot of odd possibilities [Mike affirms.] in the Spirit World. |
| Brief pause until Aang walks down the staircase into Koh's lair. | |
| Bryan | Aaron created this really creepy character, Koh. |
| Mike | Yeah, this whole sequence, the purpose was to be very scary. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | David Filoni directed this episode, and I-he storyboarded this sequence. [Refers to the extreme closeup shot of Koh's Noh face smiling.] I love that shot. |
| Aaron | We got the perfect actor to pay it, play Koh, too, Erik Todd Dellums, who is, uh, played a villain on a popular television crime show that I enjoy. [Mike chuckles.] They're amazing. |
| Mike | [Refers to Koh, a spirit with an elongated, segmented, multi-legged insectoid body, crawling around and conversing with Aang through his myriad stolen faces in an attempt to provoke the Avatar.] Yeah, this is definitely... I think if I was 8 years old, and saw this guy, I would probably have nightmares, [Bryan chuckles intermittently.] so, sorry kids if you had nightmares. |
| Bryan | Fear is a healthy... |
| Mike | [In the background.] Yes, yes. |
| Bryan | ... natural emotion. |
| Mike | But I just love, you know, again, it's, like... not only is it a scary moment, but it's, like, [Refers to Aang keeping a completely neutral expression to prevent Koh from stealing his face during their conversation.] you're kinda feeling for Aang, 'cause he has to like, put on this brave face and not show any emotion during this scene, which was a great device, I think, that Aaron used to, like, add drama to the scene. So... you know, you're-you're-you're waiting for that moment when you know Aang is gonna show some emotion or... |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang taking a breath in the Spirit World, and cutting to him doing the same in the physical world.] I love how it affects him in the real world, too. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Refers to the blizzard snows falling outside of the cave Zuko and Aang are in.] I love all the snow in this scene, [Bryan affirms.] looks really cool. You really feel like it's a... [Adopts a dramatically humorous tone.] blizzard, blizzardy tundra. |
| Bryan | Yeah, weather, a really hard thing to pull off on TV animation, and this one definitely came out [Mike affirms.] successful. [Refers to the dark, shifting clouds behind Yue and Katara as they fly on Appa.] I like that shot, too, the sky is really cool. [Refers to Sokka reassuring Katara that Zuko and Aang will survive the blizzard given that Zuko never gives up.] It's interesting hearing Sokka, [Laughs.] sort of complimenting Zuko. |
| Mike | Yeah, yeah, he, like... |
| Bryan | [Simultaneously with Mike.] He recognizes, yeah. |
| Mike | ... [Simultaneously with Bryan.] kinda respects him, yeah. |
| Brief pause until Koh starts telling Aang about Tui and La, the sound of his legs scuttling along the surface of the cave being present as the spirit twines around the Avatar. | |
| Bryan | Really creepy sounds Ben Wynn did for Koh's movements. |
| Brief pause until Koh changes faces, from an owl to an old man. | |
| Mike | Like all the different faces we see of Koh, too. It's, like... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] It's a great... |
| Mike | ... kinda monster faces and [Bryan affirms.] people, and animals. |
| Bryan | There were even more. [Mike affirms.] We just couldn't [Everyone laughs.] fit them all in. |
| Aaron | Koh has quite a collection. [Bryan affirms.] I think we may hear more from Koh at some point in the future. [Mike laughs.] |
| Brief pause until Aang enthusiastically makes the connection that Tui and La are the koi fish in the Spirit Oasis. | |
| Mike | So, I like it, yes, so here's the moment where he realizes the importance of the koi fish that we saw earlier. |
| Aaron | [Refers to Koh swinging around to face Aang, who switched back to his expressionless face between cuts.] Almost caught him. |
| Mike | Yeah. [Refers to the emotionless farewell that Aang gives to Koh.] I love that read that Zach did for-for Aang, [Aaron gives an affirming murmur.] it's totally deadpan. |
| Brief pause until Aang greets Hei Bai. | |
| Mike | Hei Bai returns from-he was in the Spirit World episode, 107, the panda guy. [Refers to the Fire Nation destructive advance into the Northern Water Tribe at night.] So, here's some more-more battle. Fire Nation is-is, you know, on the winning side, until... |
| Bryan | [Interjecting; refers to shot of the full moon rising from behind the Fire Nation's ships.] It's the moon! |
| Mike | ... we see the moon. |
| Bryan | So, yeah, back to that idea that, uh, natural phenomenon accentuates... the bending. [Refers to the sound of waterbent icicles piercing Fire Nation shields.] I love the sound design there, [Mike affirms.] it was great. |
| Mike | [Refers to Pakku facing down multiple opponents with his enhanced waterbending.] We get to see Pakku really... show his masterful skills here. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause; refers to Pakku slicing off the treads of multiple tundra tanks.] This is cool. [Refers to Pakku rising on the ground on a spout of water, dodging multiple blasts of fire while sending his own attacks out in kind.] And this, this idea of this, kind of, like, waterbending serpent, uh, was from one of the earliest concept sketches that we did, I believe, for the development of the show. |
| Mike | It's kinda what Aang does a little bit in, uh, 102, [Bryan gives affirming murmurs intermittently.] where he comes out of the water in that water spiral. |
| Bryan | [Brief pause until Hei-Bai sends Aang's spirit back to the physical world by sending a beam of light at him.] And... Miyuki boarded this part, she-she's great with the animals and kind of the fanciful elements of the show. [Refers to the Hei Bai attacking the baboon spirit, and changing back into his panda form; laughs.] So much just happened in the last five seconds, [Mike laughs.] there's no way to commentate on it. |
| Mike | Yeah... yeah. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the long shot of the Northern Water Tribe, as Aang's spirit flies through the sky.] I really like that shot. |
| Mike | Yes, it, I mean, that's, you know, story thing that we struggle with, every episode really, is, like, to-we have these really complex stories sometimes that we have to cram into, you know, twenty-two and a half minutes, so. It's certainly hard to get everything in, but somehow we always manage to do it, so. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang blowing out a massive blast of air at Zuko, simultaneously sending Zuko flying against a wall while blowing himself out of the cave.] It's a great little, uh, comedic moment [Mike affirms.] with some fantastic animation by JM Animation. [Refers to Aang, still bound in rope, scrunching and throwing his prone body up to try and move forward along the ground.] Love that Aang does this huge airbending move, and then can only inchworm, [Mike laughs.] his face in the snow. [Bryan and Mike laugh; refers to the scene where Zuko throws Aang to the side as he readies to fight Katara again.] I love how Zuko just dismisses him. [Refers to the shot where Katara swiftly counters Zuko's firebending, the camera rotating 180 degrees to point at Zuko as Katara traps and suspends the firebender in a tower of ice, then shatters it, depositing him on the ground.] This is a great shot. Dean Kelly did this part. So now, with the full moon, Katara's got the upper hand on Zuko. [Refers to Aang letting his now cut bindings go as they flit around in the air.] Great animation on that little bit of rope. |
| Mike | Yeah, that... the little details like that, I just love. |
| Bryan | We're just so lucky to have little flourishes like that in TV animation. |
| Mike | Yeah, it's great, 'cause the-the studios in Korea that do the animation, uh, what's great is that, you know, we've set up a system where they are able to add and kind of augment, uh, the storyboards that we send them. So they'll-they'll often add great little acting moments, or little-little flourishes like that. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang saving Zuko from freezing out in the blizzard, with the scene then cutting to Zhao capturing the Moon Spirit.] I love the contrast of Aang's altruism, and then [Deepens voice.] Zhao's evil. |
| Mike | So, I think act three was kind of a challenge, 'cause it was all this couple just very monochromatic tones. [Refers to the color of the world turning red from Zhao's capture of the Moon Spirit.] There was the red section, [Refers to the color of the world being removed after Zhao kills the Moon Spirit.] and then the black and white section later. Was that difficult art direction-wise, Bryan? |
| Bryan | It was. There was a, like, okay, because red, and then there's a transition where the sky goes black, [Refers to when the moon completely disappears from the sky.] and you lose the moon. So, do we see the stars, do we not see the stars? And, um, yeah, you-you think it might be easy just having one color, [Refers to the firebenders' color palettes being briefly restored with orange hues when they are illuminated by their own or their opponent's fire blasts.] but then we have fire flashes, uh, where there's a little bit of color. [Refers to Yue's flashback sequence, where the colors are slightly muted.] I'm actu—speaking of color, I'm really happy with how this, uh, flashback sequence came out. Um, Hye-Jung Kim, color supervisor, just did a fantastic job. I love doing these monochromatic scenes, but, you know, they're not totally monochromatic, they're just limited palettes, usually. Little-little hints of color. [Refers to the close up shot of Yue as an infant, partially submerged in water that ripples out from her.] Great water animations. [Refers to the scene of Arnook and his wife holding a now white-haired Yue.] See the younger Pakku in... those scenes. |
| Mike | [Refers to Zhao's speech on his accomplishments, just before Momo attacks him.] This is a great moment for Zhao. |
| Bryan | And just when he's getting too pompous. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | Momo takes him down. [Refers to Zhao's exaggerated facial animation as he basks in his self-appointed "Moon Slayer" title.] This is where I definitely see some acting reference from my so-called performance [Mike affirms.] showing up in the animation. [Laughs.] |
| Mike | It's cool. |
| Bryan | It's interesting because bad acting often translates to good animation. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] Gotta do this, like, soap opera acting. [Refers to the tense theme playing in the background.] Love the music here by Jeremy Zuckerman. |
| Brief pause until Aang starts describing to Zhao what destroying the Moon Spirit will do to the world and Zhao. | |
| Aaron | [Refers to Zhao stating it is his destiny to destroy the moon and the Water Tribe.] Destiny's a real recurring theme on Avatar, and we approach that theme a couple times over the course of the series. |
| Bryan | I'm glad that we-I'm glad that we often talk about... the choice that's involved with destiny, and-and that, you know, Zhao could choose to, um, not destroy [Laughs.] the moon here, and uh, I think that kinda ties in with the-the bending abilities, too, that they're not... purely magic, you know, it's still coming from something physical. It's like the destiny is there for the character to... |
| Aaron | [Interjects.] Yeah, there's definitely a message, like in, uh, "The Fortuneteller", that dest-your destiny is something you have the power to shape yourself. |
| Bryan | 'Cause yeah, no mat-I think no matter what you think about concept of destiny, people-people have certain situations they're born into, and they're constantly living up to it, or fighting it. [Refers to Iroh's firebending changing the color palette on Zhao and his soldiers from black and white to warmer colors.] There was a scene that was difficult with the flashes of fire. |
| Mike | Yeah. I like-what I love about that is seeing Uncle, you know, beat up some guys. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] 'Cause he-he's usually very peaceful and understand... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, we only hear about his former days as the general. |
| Mike | Yeah, that-moments like that, you know that he's-he's not one to be messed with, so. [Refers to the sound of Aang's voice in the Avatar State, now echoed and layered with much deeper voices.] Oh, so that's a cool sound effect that-that's-Ben has put together, that combines multiple voices, uh, as kind of this idea that Aang is speaking with the voice of all these former Avatars. |
| Bryan | Simultaneously. |
| Mike | Yeah, his former lives. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Aang's light illuminating the world as he walks into the waters of the Spirit Oasis, with the Ocean Spirit's eyes starting to glow.] Great sequence by Dave Filoni here. [Refers to the shot of Aang suddenly sinking into the waters of the Spirit Oasis.] That came out great. |
| Mike | Wow, yeah, love that moment. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the long shots of the Northern Water Tribe turning from grey to glowing blue.] You should see Dave's storyboards for this, with all the marker renderings of this lighting effect spreading out through the city, it's really incredible. |
| Mike | Yeah, what did we... Dave was a big, uh, Godzilla fan, [Refers to the giant Ocean Spirit monster Aang controls using waterbending.] so I think we ended up calling this guy Koizilla. [Mike and Aaron laugh.] |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Yeah, it's true, the design says Koizilla. [Mike affirms; refers to the colors on the Water Tribe and Fire Nation soldiers turning from monochrome to a bluer palette as the light from the Ocean Spirit hits them.] Another pretty tricky color correction, adding these glows and... following his path through the city. |
| Mike | [Refers to Aang manipulating the spirit from within using waterbending forms.] But, it's cool 'cause we see Aang do the kung fu. Uh, he's kinda doing waterbending inside this thing, and then we see the-the Koizilla do the move after him, so you get this idea that Aang's controlling it. |
| Bryan | I really liked the effect that Dave got, um, in his storyboards with the marker renderings. So when I did the character design of the Koizilla, I started with these smaller drawings using design markers, and blew them u-blew them up, and then sort of traced the patterns that I'd made. It gave it a real, kinda liquid yet energy... feeling, and it took forever, [Mike affirms.] and I commend JM for [Laughs.] pulling off the animation. [Mike affirms; refers to Zuko and Zhao beginning their fight.] I love this, this face-off. |
| Aaron | This is a rematch we've been waiting for-for seventeen [Bryan affirms.] episodes, I think? |
| Bryan | Yeah. |
| Aaron | Since episode... [Mike affirms.] |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] 103. |
| Aaron | ... third episode. |
| Bryan | [Refers to Zuko maintaining his offensive on Zhao during their duel.] It's nice to see Zuko's a little more cavalier now. He was a little tentative in the 103 fight, saying-staying back at first. |
| Aaron | [Refers to Iroh noticing that Yue has some of the Moon Spirit's life inside her.] Here, Uncle's... showing his ability to see... see more than the oth—a normal person could see. |
| Bryan | And if you noti... |
| Aaron | [Interjects.] The more you know about Uncle. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the closeup shot of Yue, with her eyes retaining their blue color, compared to everyone else's colorless ones.] If you notice, Yue's eyes are blue, despite the rest of the black and white. |
| Mike | Because the Moon Spirit is in her. [Aaron affirms.] |
| Bryan | That's right, that's right. [Mike affirms.] She's got a little bit of the... otherworldly energy in her. |
| Mike | [Refers to Yue healing the Moon Spirit at the cost of her own life.] Yeah, this is just a great dramatic... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the oscillating sound effects from Yue's healing.] Great sound design. |
| Mike | ... moment. [Refers to Sokka catching Yue's lifeless body.] We actually get to see Sokka be tender and emotional, which doesn't happen too often. [Simultaneously with Bryan.] Oh, know what's... |
| Bryan | [Simultaneously with Mike.] But great animation on her... |
| Mike | ... yeah. |
| Bryan | ... [Laughs.] lifeless body. That's pretty good. |
| Mike | Yeah, I was just gonna say, you know, to see Sokka... like that is-is cool, 'cause every, you know, what we try to do is, like, even though Sokka's the goofball a lot, you get to see this other side of him, and, you know, all the characters are like that, where we-we show different sides of them at different, depending on the story, and, like, what's going on. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the multiple shots of Fire Nation ships, who were designed by Steve Ziolkowski, being destroyed by Aang and the Ocean Spirit.] Great, uh, 3D models of the ships and tanks by Steve Z. I wish I could pronounce his name, but it's more complicated than mine, so, sorry, Steve. [Refers to the long shot of the Fire Nation ships backing away from the Northern Water Tribe, as the Ocean Spirit moves into the foreground.] Again, we have to imply a much bigger battle than we have the resources to show, but I think it came out pretty great. [Refers to the awestruck expressions on Katara, Iroh and Sokka's faces as they see the Moon Spirit become Yue.] It's great, I really feel like you can sense the characters know they're in the presence of something... otherworldly, it's really cool. |
| Brief pause until Yue's spirit says she will always be with Sokka. | |
| Mike | [Refers to the distorted sound effect applied to Yue's voice.] Kind of a cool backwards sound... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, we-we... |
| Mike | ... treatment on her voice. |
| Bryan | ... tried the classic trick of reversing the sound, applying reverb, and then reversing that. |
| Aaron | [Refers to the moon reappearing in the background, and the usual color palettes of the backgrounds and characters being restored.] And the moon is back. |
| Mike | [Laughs.] Yeah, so now that you see that, yeah, the moon is back, the Ocean Spirit is calmed down. |
| Bryan | [Refers to the closeup shot of the Ocean Spirit's head as it looks up to the moon.] Yeah, I love that moment where the Ocean Spirit looks up at the moon, [Mike affirms.] you see that his-his counterpart is restored, so he's... |
| Mike | Yeah. [Refers to the sequence where the Ocean Spirit drops Aang off on a wall, before it drags Zhao into the water.] And what's interesting is, you notice he drops off Aang at the outer wall there, so this moment where, uh, kinda comes in and-and grabs Zhao is-is really more the ocean, the wrath of the ocean coming to get Zhao. |
| Bryan | Yeah, we wanted to be sure that it wasn't Aang [Mike affirms.] taking this revenge. But... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to Zuko reaching out and trying to save Zhao from the Ocean Spirit's grasp.] And then you even get to see Zuko here, you know, his kind of nobler side with the... |
| Aaron | [Interjects; refers to Zhao's refusal to take Zuko's hand.] But Zhao can't do it, he can't... |
| Mike | Yep. [Laughs.] |
| Bryan | [Concurrently with Aaron.] Zhao does not... |
| Aaron | Just too proud. |
| Bryan | Zhao doesn't have a noble side. [Mike and Bryan laugh.] |
| Aaron | [Laughs; refers to the fade to white as the scene transitions.] Flash. |
| Bryan | The epilogue. [Refers to desaturated color palette of the backgrounds and characters in the Northern Water Tribe at daybreak.] I really-I really like the color in this, I like the kinda Max-Maxfield Parrish light. [Mike affirms.] All of the ground has this soft cyan blue, and then the sky is, like, really desaturated, I think it's cool. |
| Mike | [Refers to Pakku's statements on journeying to the Southern Water Tribe.] I always wondered what would happen when Pakku shows up, to Gran-Gran's house. |
| Bryan | It's not going to be... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] She's gonna slap him. |
| Bryan | [Laughs.] Kanna's gonna... [Mike laughs.] have a word with him. Yeah, he thought it was hard fighting Katara, but yeah. |
| Mike | Uh... just wanted to mention, uh, Andrea Romano, who directs all these voices on our show, and does a great job. Kinda... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers to the scene where Arnook tells Sokka his conflicting feelings of pride and sadness for Yue's fate.] Such a great job that my sister cried when she saw this scene. [Mike affirms.] She called me to [Bryan and Mike laugh.] tell me she cried right after, in the finale. Yeah, Andrea's just an incredible talent, so much energy. |
| Aaron | [Refers to the scene where Iroh tells Zuko he needs some rest.] That's a comeback to... second episode, I guess? |
| Mike | [Concurrently with Bryan.] Yeah. |
| Bryan | [Concurrently with Mike.] Yeah. |
| Aaron | Again, their relationship is just... great. |
| Mike | Yeah, just the-the way Book One ends is really great. It's just, leaves everyone off at this... kind of pivotal-pivotal moment, and a great place to pick up for season two. |
| Bryan | It's a moment where we, you know, we just try to rely on the... storyboarding. It's well written, but it's also-it leaves room to convey the action with just the images, convey the feeling. |
| Mike | Subliminal. |
| Bryan | Just using the... |
| Mike | [Interjects; refers to the closeup shot of the Fire Lord's head from the back.] One of the few glimpses we get of the Fire Lord in season one, but definitely a formidable presence. [Refers to the closeup shot of Azula's face as raises her head.] And there she is. |
| Aaron | There she is. |
| Mike | Azula. Who will... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Plays a big role in Season Two. |
| Mike | Yep. [Refers to the initial credit slide, with Aaron having the episodic writer and head writer credit.] Written, man, your name's all over this credit here. Alright. |
| Bryan | That's-that's the other Aaron Ehasz, [Mike and Aaron laugh.] on the show. [Refers to Aaron's co-producer credit in the end credits sequence.] That's the other one. |
| Mike | Yeah. |
| Bryan | And... |
| Mike | [Interjects.] We'd like to thank... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; reading the credits.] Miken Wong! |
| Mike | Miken Wong! |
| Aaron | Miken Wong! |
| Mike | Our line producer, and all these great artists on this episode and... |
| Bryan | [Interjects; refers back to Miken Lee Wong.] The nicest, most considerate, [Mike laughs.] thorough human being you could ever hope to work with. And we'd really like to thank, uh, Jenna Luttrell and Eric Coleman who have championed this series from its inception. |
| Mike | Um, thanks for Nick-for Nickelodeon, for, uh, putting on this show, [Mike and Bryan snicker.] week after week. We're still amazed we get to make it, but, uh, very, very proud of it and, uh... |
| Bryan | [Interjects.] Yeah, they've been supportive of it since [Mike affirms.] the get-go, so... we're lucky. |
| Mike | Thanks, Nickelodeon! |
| Commentary ends. |