I don't like when Katara comes across as a hypocrite. When Katara angrily berates Sokka for not staying behind to help the villagers she says "I will never turn my back on people". That would be nice, if it weren't for the fact that Sokka was the one who wanted to expose Long Feng's treachery to the Earth King whereas Katara wanted to leave Ba Sing Se behind, so she's not someone who never turns her back on people. That said, Sokka's "I will never turn my back on you" was a genuinely heartwarming moment (and based on the rest of the show, actually true.)
Even so, the episode's environmental message doesn't work because 1) in the real world, the people who build factories and spread pollution aren't actually supervillains and 2) if you try to apply its lessons about fighting pollution to the real world, it seems to advocate eco-terrorism, which is a bad thing to advocate.
I don't genuinely believe that was the writers' intention but it still comes across that way. I do understand that it's often difficult to write environmentalist fiction so I shouldn't be too hard on this episode about that (though The Winter Solstice Part One The Spirit World did a better, though still imperfect, job in that regard)
That said, I like Katara's Robin Hood gimmick or stealing from the villainous Firebenders and giving the villagers the food and medicine they need. I also like how (like Zuko) she disguises herself as a spirit as part of her gimmick. And at least the real Painted Lady (yes, I know she's a fictional character) isn't violent the way Hei-Bei was. While the humour of the episode was also funny.
The Painted Lady is a decent filler episode.
Even so, the episode's environmental message doesn't work because 1) in the real world, the people who build factories and spread pollution aren't actually supervillains and 2) if you try to apply its lessons about fighting pollution to the real world, it seems to advocate eco-terrorism, which is a bad thing to advocate.
I don't genuinely believe that was the writers' intention but it still comes across that way. I do understand that it's often difficult to write environmentalist fiction so I shouldn't be too hard on this episode about that (though The Winter Solstice Part One The Spirit World did a better, though still imperfect, job in that regard)
That said, I like Katara's Robin Hood gimmick or stealing from the villainous Firebenders and giving the villagers the food and medicine they need. I also like how (like Zuko) she disguises herself as a spirit as part of her gimmick. And at least the real Painted Lady (yes, I know she's a fictional character) isn't violent the way Hei-Bei was. While the humour of the episode was also funny.
The Painted Lady is a decent filler episode.
