Avatar: The Last Airbender: The King of Omashu Rewatch
March 5, 2015 5:06 AM - Season 1, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Aang, Sokka, and Katara make their way to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, where, once the king discovers who he is, Aang faces a series of challenges to rescue his friends.
Also: MY CABBAGES!
Also: MY CABBAGES!
Bumi is so awesome. I like that, even though we are in the Water Book, we do quick visits to the other nations to get a preview of what to expect in the later books. And Crazy Bumi with their earth bending mail delivery is pretty important to the story.
posted by jillithd at 7:23 AM on March 5, 2015
posted by jillithd at 7:23 AM on March 5, 2015
Long thoughts/recap here, but short thoughts below!
I want to imagine that after the conclusion of the events of the show, Sokka and Bumi spent a week putting together a comedy routine that both believed was hilarious and ended up a complete failure (and they never know this).
"Lettuce leaf?" GOLD.
We can appreciate how much the friendship meant for Aang, when we learn in Korra that he names his first son after Bumi. I also was struck by the fact that the scene in Korra, when everyone realizes that he can, in fact, air bend, happens at a dinner table when Meelo throws something at him and he bends....exactly how Bumi exposes Aang in this episode. AWESOME.
Cabbage Dude. Well done, sir, not everyone gets to become a running joke that bridges generations. "Malicious destruction of cabbages," capital offense!
My only complaint, extremely minor, was the fact that it took so long for Aang to recognize Bumi. I don't know if my own enjoyment of the episode would have been better if A) Aang knew sooner or B) I didn't pick it up almost immediately.
"That's a really good guess and we will definitely save that as a back up." - Katara over "Rocky."
Another flip flop that happened, though this time in the episode, was the wild aspect of young Aang disguising himself as an old man, then failing to see his young friend from the past because he was disguised by age as an old man.
This episode was our first time seeing Earth Bending and we got a demonstration by a Master. Awesome again. It was also another prime example of the world building that goes into the show. You could have cut out the cabbage merchant and just had the guard be grumpy, but they added it in. They could have had the guard say nothing to Sokka or even Katara, but they did and helped offer a glimpse of the guard's own personality about his feelings for old people and respect. The ride on the delivery system didn't have to include the scene with the vase or the people eating a meal, it could have been almost entirely going down the slide and bouncing off roof tops. It's all these little touches that make the show dynamic and engrossing.
posted by Atreides at 9:37 AM on March 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
I want to imagine that after the conclusion of the events of the show, Sokka and Bumi spent a week putting together a comedy routine that both believed was hilarious and ended up a complete failure (and they never know this).
"Lettuce leaf?" GOLD.
We can appreciate how much the friendship meant for Aang, when we learn in Korra that he names his first son after Bumi. I also was struck by the fact that the scene in Korra, when everyone realizes that he can, in fact, air bend, happens at a dinner table when Meelo throws something at him and he bends....exactly how Bumi exposes Aang in this episode. AWESOME.
Cabbage Dude. Well done, sir, not everyone gets to become a running joke that bridges generations. "Malicious destruction of cabbages," capital offense!
My only complaint, extremely minor, was the fact that it took so long for Aang to recognize Bumi. I don't know if my own enjoyment of the episode would have been better if A) Aang knew sooner or B) I didn't pick it up almost immediately.
"That's a really good guess and we will definitely save that as a back up." - Katara over "Rocky."
Another flip flop that happened, though this time in the episode, was the wild aspect of young Aang disguising himself as an old man, then failing to see his young friend from the past because he was disguised by age as an old man.
This episode was our first time seeing Earth Bending and we got a demonstration by a Master. Awesome again. It was also another prime example of the world building that goes into the show. You could have cut out the cabbage merchant and just had the guard be grumpy, but they added it in. They could have had the guard say nothing to Sokka or even Katara, but they did and helped offer a glimpse of the guard's own personality about his feelings for old people and respect. The ride on the delivery system didn't have to include the scene with the vase or the people eating a meal, it could have been almost entirely going down the slide and bouncing off roof tops. It's all these little touches that make the show dynamic and engrossing.
posted by Atreides at 9:37 AM on March 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
This was the best! I laughed a lot more during this episode than I had during the last 4 combined (obviously there was a lot of srs bsns to cover earlier).
The best animal is obviously Flopsy. Momo licking his apple because he can't move and then getting stuck in the air vent was a close second.
I recognised that it was Bumi pretty much immediately. "Lettuce leaf" was super, as were
"Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!" and "That place is really hopping!" His flapping eyebrows on the trip down the delivery system were great, too.
And the cabbage guy. And the pot guy. But mostly the cabbage guy.
This was the first episode (so far) I flat-out loved.
posted by minsies at 11:27 AM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
The best animal is obviously Flopsy. Momo licking his apple because he can't move and then getting stuck in the air vent was a close second.
I recognised that it was Bumi pretty much immediately. "Lettuce leaf" was super, as were
"Take them to the refurbished chamber that was once bad!" and "That place is really hopping!" His flapping eyebrows on the trip down the delivery system were great, too.
And the cabbage guy. And the pot guy. But mostly the cabbage guy.
This was the first episode (so far) I flat-out loved.
posted by minsies at 11:27 AM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yes! That image of the over-stuffed Momo licking the apple. "I'm so full, but it is so good."
posted by jillithd at 11:29 AM on March 5, 2015
posted by jillithd at 11:29 AM on March 5, 2015
I want to imagine that after the conclusion of the events of the show, Sokka and Bumi spent a week putting together a comedy routine that both believed was hilarious and ended up a complete failure (and they never know this).
Eh, stand-up is to stationary. They strike me as more of random on-the-spot, improv everywhere type comedy, like Jackass/Punk'd lite (no violence, but lots of physical comedy), along with photobombing hecklers with a dry sense of (Dad-like) humor.
OK, I might be projecting, as I now realize that's really a personal dream of what I could do when I retire, decades from now.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:38 PM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Eh, stand-up is to stationary. They strike me as more of random on-the-spot, improv everywhere type comedy, like Jackass/Punk'd lite (no violence, but lots of physical comedy), along with photobombing hecklers with a dry sense of (Dad-like) humor.
OK, I might be projecting, as I now realize that's really a personal dream of what I could do when I retire, decades from now.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:38 PM on March 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
The best animal is obviously Flopsy. Momo licking his apple because he can't move and then getting stuck in the air vent was a close second.
I know this sounds kind of weird, but I really loved the animation when Aang was trying to stuff Momo in the air vent. There was something about that really conveyed Momo's hefty, furry self.
posted by Atreides at 2:01 PM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know this sounds kind of weird, but I really loved the animation when Aang was trying to stuff Momo in the air vent. There was something about that really conveyed Momo's hefty, furry self.
posted by Atreides at 2:01 PM on March 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
The first time I watched this I assumed the king was Bumi's son until the reveal at the end; the idea that 113 year old people can still be pretty powerful in this world was surprising to me, and I'd fully expected this to turn into a process of finding Aang's old friends from across the 4/3 kingdoms. I ended up feeling like the Bumi storyline was a little underdone, as a result.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:46 PM on March 5, 2015
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:46 PM on March 5, 2015
This was the first episode of AtLAB I ever saw! I caught it randomly on tv around the time it first aired and was super confused because I came to it in the middle of an episode in the middle of the season. I forgot most of the details (I didn't even know what show I was watching), but I'd sometimes think about it fondly and the fact that the old man was his old friend totally blindsided me. Of course, I hadn't seen the opening of the episode which definitely helped. Cut to a few years ago when I decided to watch Avatar from the start and I had a "holy crap this is the show I saw!" moment when this episode came up.
Needless to say I really enjoyed the humor.
posted by Green With You at 8:32 PM on March 5, 2015
Needless to say I really enjoyed the humor.
posted by Green With You at 8:32 PM on March 5, 2015
When I started watching ATLA I wasn't too into it for the first few episodes. I think a lot of the characterisation, humour and animation takes a while to get into its stride - basically I wasn't loving it.
Then this happened, and I knew I had found something special.
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:51 AM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Then this happened, and I knew I had found something special.
posted by Ziggy500 at 8:51 AM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
There's a lot to love about this episode, but I guess I'm in the minority for finding it a bit unsatisfying. Like tchemgirl I found King Bumi to be underwritten for a character of such importance to Aang.
But Atreides, that Bumi/Bumi parallel is awesome! Thanks for catching that, I never would have picked up on it.
posted by bettafish at 4:38 PM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
But Atreides, that Bumi/Bumi parallel is awesome! Thanks for catching that, I never would have picked up on it.
posted by bettafish at 4:38 PM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
But, thankfully, I have seen it repeatedly now, and I am delighted, because BUMI.
"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh? I hear that place is really hopping!"
Oh Bumi...never stop.
posted by Katemonkey at 5:13 AM on March 5, 2015 [3 favorites]