The Promise Part 3

[somariel]

So my copy of The Promise Part 3 arrived a few days ago and I finally got around to reading it today. And I have to say, it is awesome.

Comments

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

I am probably one of five people who want details out of interest. Can I beg some from you =3?

[somariel]

Well, just off the top of my head, it's revealed that the reason Zuko hasn't contacted Iroh about all of this is because he wants to honor Iroh's wish for a quiet retirement.

Katara tells Aang that when she saw Kori's family in the first volume, she didn't just see them; she saw her future with him.

The volume starts with Aang and Zuko sharing a dream that ends with Aang fulfilling his promise. Near the end of the volume, Zuko tells Aang that what he felt at that moment in the dream was relief, then goes on to say that when he asked Aang for that promise, he was looking for Aang to be his escape hatch, not just his safety net, and he's realized that asking Aang for that promise was like he was asking Aang to figure out right and wrong for him.

Shortly before the conversation mentioned in the previous paragraph, Aang essentially tells Roku, "Screw you, it's a different world now."

Zuko reveals that right after he took the throne, he sent out dozens of search parties to look for his mother and even tried using June and her shirshu, but all of them came back empty-handed. He decides to try looking for her again and the volume ends with him asking Azula what she wants in return for helping get the information out of Ozai.

ETA: The other important thing that happens is that the members of Aang's fan clubs in Ba Sing Se and Yu Dao become the first Air Acolytes.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I saw the fan-club stuff on Racebending, so no need to worry about that.

I actually find these revelations put me in a better state of mind for this comic. I know that the series has been given a ton of grief and been called a complete deviation of the characterisations in the show, and in minor cases I do agree. But I don't agree with the major concensus that it's completely off kilter. Learning about all of this makes me feel better about it all, and I find that they actually appear to be more in character than even I though!

I really appreciate you taking the time to outline this for me. What did you think about The Promise?

[somariel]

Overall, I liked it quite a bit, but I think that it might have been better received if all three volumes had been released together or if some of the things revealed in Part 3 had been worked into the earlier volumes.

Like you, I don't think that it's too majorly off kilter, but I was rather on the edge before Part 3 came out, since the explanations for the things I did find out of place or OOC were mostly given in Part 3. ASN's latest interview with Gene Yang also explains what they were doing with Aang making that promise to Zuko.

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

Do you happen to have that link? I tried to find it and was lost on Google...

I agree with you - that releasing them all at once, or maybe closer together, would have helped it along better. Although it does get me excited about the next installments!

[somariel]

I'm assuming you mean the link for the interview: The Promise Part 3 Pre-release interview