The Mosley Review: Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Two: Earth (Season 2)
The key to continuing a series from a successful and amazing first season, is to introduce a real sense of growth. Give the characters in the story a new objective and make the adventure more parlous and challenging. While not forgetting what makes the show great, you open the doors to all new possibilities. The creators of this show have done all of this and more this season. We get a chance to delve deeper into the mythology of the Avatar's history and more into the war amongst the 4 nations. I loved that we get a deeper look into the Earth Nation and their great city of Ba Sing Se. There are so many great action set pieces, new powers and new characters that are all great additions to an already stellar roster. This season was not afraid to get a little darker and creepy in its tone. I loved every bit of it and there are at least 2 story arcs that'll break your heart. You’ll feel it when it happens and it shows the amount of care taken on the character development and story.
The main cast all return and they all take their characters to new emotional and daring depths. Mae Whitman returns as Katara and she is more motherly and headstrong this season. Her waterbending skills have become impressive and she is an even more powerful warrior. There are many times she takes the lead and keeps the group together. Jack DeSana returns as the good hearted and clumsy fool Sokka. This season in particular, I found him to be the most annoying and irritating part of a number of episodes. I love his humor, but this time around he was little too much to handle. He gets a chance to show off his detective skills this time around which was fun to see. Zach Tyler Eisen returns as Aang and the amount of depth that is added to his history is fascinating. Aang is truly tested physical, psychologically and emotionally this time around and Zach aced it everytime. There is an arc where he loses one of his companions and you see the heartache, desperation and rage that is awakened by their separation. It’s a highlight for Zach and the rest of the cast as things start to turn sour for them. We are introduced to a new and awesome character from the Earth Nation and she was my favorite. Jessie Flower voices Toph and she is an amazing character. She is independent, full of attitude and as hard as the Earth at her feet. Even though she is blind, she offers a different view of the world and show us the next level of earthbending skills. She was a handful at first, but she becomes a great addition to the team.
The same antagonists return and this time, they are not really the main threat as before. Dante Basco returns as Zuko but this time around, Dante explores the inner turmoil and rage that drives Zuko. There is always a point in a hero or villain’s life where they have to make a choice to look inside themselves to find answers they've been searching for. Zuko goes through an interesting turn and I loved seeing his new layers peel away. Mako returns as Zuko's uncle Iroh and I can't praise him enough. We learn even more fascinating things about the old ways that Iroh has been trying to teach Zuko and their relationship is stronger this season. Mako unfortunately passed away sometime after the completion of this season and there is heartwarming tribute to him in a particular episode. Thank you Mako for giving us the gift of your voice and talent over the years.
The new threat this time around is a trio of Fire Nation warriors and they all have unique personalities. Cricket Leigh voices Mai and she is a very "whatever" character. She may be passive and constantly annoyed with everything, but she is a formidable opponent. Olivia Hack was sweet and sometimes hilariously cute Ty Lee. She was a former Fire Nation warrior, then decided to join the circus and that's where she harnessed her skills. She is one of the toughest of the trio because of her ability to strike pressure points so quickly and efficiently. Now the leader of this trio is the most evil and twisted character this show has ever seen. Grey DeLisle expertly voices Azula and she is the sister of Zuko. She is way more dangerous and rotten to the core than Zuko. Even as children, she relished in the despair of others. She is truly a sick individual and the most dangerous.
The visual style returns and is consistent with the first season, but is even more refined and gorgeous. Composers Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn return and do an even more epic job in illustrating the emotions of the characters through their score. Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, have elevated the story and open their world up to even more peaks and valleys that are begging to be explored. I love this show and I almost don't want to watch Season 3 because its the end of the adventure. It is all streaming on Netflix now and I can't recommend this show enough.
