The End of an Era

Welcome to post #400. It seems appropriate as, at post #300, I had received kudos for one of my Avatar fanfics, that I am now writing about the end of the series that started it all for me.

In a word: Wow.

It's taken me a couple of days to get it together and recover from the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender. After three phenomenal seasons, the show I have faithfully worshipped and converted others to is at an end.


I feel profoundly bereft. After watching the breathtaking four-episode finale arch with a group of friends, I went to bed and slept fitfully. I felt as though I'd lost a dear friend, and all I could picture in my mind were the characters walking into the sunset, waving back at me, smiling and wishing me well.

Some people sorta tilt their heads and say, "but...isn't it a kids' anime cartoon? What are you all broken up about?"

I could fly into a homicidal fan-rage worthy of a Star Wars nerd who has just spoken to someone who confuses it with Star Trek, but one thing the show has instilled in me is the power of patience and forgiveness.

There isn't any one thing I can claim to be the "thing" that "makes" Avatar. Everything about it is good, from the timeless writing to characterizations to the animation and art. People of all ages can appreciate the show, and I can safely say that parents can sit through this one with their nine-year-olds and not lose any more precious brain cells to a talking sponge (not that there's anything wrong with anthropomorphic sea creatures).

But above and beyond everything that makes this TV series great, I mourn its loss because it has played a very personal role in my own life.

Avatar got me through some of my darkest moments. When I was deathly ill with the flu and didn't think I'd make it, I watched much of the first season on my computer in my bedroom. After seeing the first half of the first season, I forced myself to live another day to see the rest.

Later, when I was suffering through a very deep depression, Avatar fandom saved my sanity and gave me a creative outlet through which I worked out a lot of sadness, pain and anger. I connected with a widespread group of fans online, wrote fanfiction, learned a whole new skill set, and with encouragement and support from dozens of other fans around the world who I'd never even met, found purpose and reapplied myself to writing original fiction.

That's right. Kung Fu Action Jesus saved my life.

So this is my love letter to all the wonderful people who worked on the show and made my experience an enlightening one.

To creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and the team of brilliant writers: you guys put together one of the richest mythologies I have ever seen. You created a cast of individuals who mesh in ways that are realistic. You snuck in life lessons without being preachy or over-dramatic, and you painted the world in appropriate moral greys. You penned a timeless tale of good versus evil, and you did it without too much cliche. You made us laugh, cry, angst and hold our collective breaths. Thank you for knowing how smart your viewers are, and for giving everyone something worth every minute.

To the hardworking artists, story boarders and animators; yours is the hand that brought the show to life. From the fabulous backdrops of unforgettable terrain and locales like Ba Seng Se and the Fire Nation Capitol, to the crazy crossbred animals, the beautiful costumes, the architecture, weaponry, props, and of course, the mosaic of wonderful characters, you made the fantasy a technicolor reality.

To all the cultural consultants, including the fabulous Sifu Kisu; thank you all for giving the Avatar universe a foundation in reality, and one that has made my Chinese heritage one to be proud of and infinitely cooler.

To the Track Team and the sound effects people: Avatar has THE BEST soundtrack around. My heart always picks up whenever I hear Zuko and Zhao's Agni Kai music chant. And who can shake the haunting "Four Seasons" melody from their minds? Or the melancholy "Soldier Boy", which never fails to make me tear up? Iroh's sungi horn soundbyte has become one of the most resonant bars of music in my mind, as have so many of the tunes and pieces that weaved the story and seasons together. You outdid yourself in the finale with the final Agni Kai. Bravo.

To the voice actors and all the guest voice actors who I know have busy schedules but made the appearance anyhow--you rock. Thank you for bringing the characters to vivid life.

To the producers and Nickelodeon corporate big-wigs, and everyone who made Avatar the force it is: thank you for giving this show a chance and for seeing the beauty of the tale and pimping it out.

Lastly, to the fandom and all the wonderful people I met along this journey: thank you for your humor, your wisdom, your crack, and all the support and dedication to the show you've dished out over three seasons. My experience of Avatar--and my life--would not be the same without all of you and everything you brought to it.

I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now that the show's over. Fandom lives on and I'll continue to write fanfics as long as I have ideas and time. I'll probably watch Bleach (I've already started, and I don't know what to think yet), but I know it just won't be the same.

I guess all I can do is hold my breath until 2010 (as my manip below demonstrates).