The overall writing skill is so high that I keep going back and probably will continue to do so, but there are factors that keep this from being as good as it could be.
(1) Katara: Some level of anger and suspicion at the Fire Nation is justified. In canon, her lasting anger and suspicion at Zuko in the last season was also justified, as he had turned on her and Aang earlier. But even then, she could work with him for the greater good. Here, while the characters around her have depth and a few power-ups applied to them, she has been reduced to a one-dimensional screeching harpy. It is justified as a more realistic reaction by a girl her age from the culture and place in that culture she comes from, but she seems to be the only character subject to this kind of "realism".
(2) Zuko: Given the people and entities in the world he inhabits, he hasn't quite reached the point of being over-powered, though he does hug the edge more than is wise for the sake of the story. On the other hand, while he may not have quite reached the level of too many powerups, he is pulling those powerups from too many places. He is a dragon-blooded, fire-healing, moon-touched waterbender, drawing on the memories and skills of a past life. Any one of these could be the basis of a good story. All of them is just ridiculous.
(3) Fire Nation Culture/History: That the Fire Nation has been given some admirable cultural values and historical reasons for its actions is a good thing, adding depth and realism. That Zuko, Iroh, and anyone else arguing about virtue/honor/history from the Fire Nation position always wins or at least gets the last word is bad and throws the attempt to present a more balanced picture too far in the other direction.
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No, I don't believe the world has gone mad. In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.
(1) Katara: Some level of anger and suspicion at the Fire Nation is justified. In canon, her lasting anger and suspicion at Zuko in the last season was also justified, as he had turned on her and Aang earlier. But even then, she could work with him for the greater good. Here, while the characters around her have depth and a few power-ups applied to them, she has been reduced to a one-dimensional screeching harpy. It is justified as a more realistic reaction by a girl her age from the culture and place in that culture she comes from, but she seems to be the only character subject to this kind of "realism".
(2) Zuko: Given the people and entities in the world he inhabits, he hasn't quite reached the point of being over-powered, though he does hug the edge more than is wise for the sake of the story. On the other hand, while he may not have quite reached the level of too many powerups, he is pulling those powerups from too many places. He is a dragon-blooded, fire-healing, moon-touched waterbender, drawing on the memories and skills of a past life. Any one of these could be the basis of a good story. All of them is just ridiculous.
(3) Fire Nation Culture/History: That the Fire Nation has been given some admirable cultural values and historical reasons for its actions is a good thing, adding depth and realism. That Zuko, Iroh, and anyone else arguing about virtue/honor/history from the Fire Nation position always wins or at least gets the last word is bad and throws the attempt to present a more balanced picture too far in the other direction.
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No, I don't believe the world has gone mad. In order for it to go mad it would need to have been sane at some point.