I haven't been this excited watching a finale for a show since the Sopranos - it's that damn good - and in fact it even lives up to some of those heart-stopping moments that one has when watching the finale of, dare I compare you nerds, to Star Wars and the Matrix. It's the fulfillment of an epic journey, in the Joseph Campbell sense, and it's been building all up to a deux-ex-machina scenario where Aang has to stop the firelord Ozai from using the comet to destroy the planet and enslave it under his rule. This episode is actually the culmination of a series of finale episodes where it starts with Aang having to finally come to full grips with his responsibility to fully master all four elements, and ends up getting advice not just from his former Avatar-selves, but from a Lion-Turtle (yeah, it's that kind of show).
It's action packed in the kind of style that is perhaps violent for say the 3 to 4 year olds perhaps, but for anyone else, young or old, it's golden entertainment. It is really an epic tale told with the kind of energy and narrative (seeming) ease one saw in the best of the Star Wars movies. That it's on Nickelodeon isn't that much of a deterrent either; watching it, I knew I could expect anything, and I got more than I would've ever expected. The animation is breathtaking, even more than usual (yes, even with some CGI shots of the Fire-Nation zeppelins that look oddly out of a PS2 game), and the voice-work compliments this as well. Aside from the obvious sights to behold with Ozai and Aang's battle, there's also in particular the big final fire-battle between Prince Zukko and Princess Azula, which is as intense as any great fighting scene I've ever come across. It's that damn good.
Oh, and in case you're wondering how it all turns out, in case you've yet to see it, I'll simply say this: you'll wonder how Aang can save the world and *not* pee on fans looking for a righteous climax to a character like Firelord Ozai. But it's simply fully worth it. It's a finale to a fantasy series I wont soon ever forget.
It's action packed in the kind of style that is perhaps violent for say the 3 to 4 year olds perhaps, but for anyone else, young or old, it's golden entertainment. It is really an epic tale told with the kind of energy and narrative (seeming) ease one saw in the best of the Star Wars movies. That it's on Nickelodeon isn't that much of a deterrent either; watching it, I knew I could expect anything, and I got more than I would've ever expected. The animation is breathtaking, even more than usual (yes, even with some CGI shots of the Fire-Nation zeppelins that look oddly out of a PS2 game), and the voice-work compliments this as well. Aside from the obvious sights to behold with Ozai and Aang's battle, there's also in particular the big final fire-battle between Prince Zukko and Princess Azula, which is as intense as any great fighting scene I've ever come across. It's that damn good.
Oh, and in case you're wondering how it all turns out, in case you've yet to see it, I'll simply say this: you'll wonder how Aang can save the world and *not* pee on fans looking for a righteous climax to a character like Firelord Ozai. But it's simply fully worth it. It's a finale to a fantasy series I wont soon ever forget.