What everyone gets wrong about Avatar: Is fleshbending possible? [ ATLA l LOK ]

Viacom: The copyrighted parts have been edited out (you had them at 9:00-9:26, which is about 10:00-10:26 in this video). Really frustrated because I was really proud of that video and had worked really hard on it.

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[cabbagemerchant]

If anyone tries to bend my cabbages, I'll have my revenge!

[sophia]

I think people often forget that blood-bending isn’t actually bending blood, per se, but the water inside a person. It’s basically swamp-bending but more sadistic.

[jebroiroij]

I always loved earth bending because of the way toph MADE earth bending spiritual. To most of the people it was just moving stone, but to her it was understanding, sight, the way she communicated with the world, and I thought that was awesome

[kristi_smearg]

As an artist, Earthbending has always been by far what I'm most passionate about. The ability to so directly create and sculpt the world around you, it's practically all I've ever longed for. It just vibes with me. The other elements are flashy and dramatic, but they're temporary. Bent earth is real, it's tangible. That makes it feel so much more significant for everyday life use, especially if you could hone your skills with it to a fine degree, like the metalbenders in Korra. Not to mention the metal-web-slinging the metalbenders do is super rad.

[eliusswordofblaze]

In my opinion, lavabending is like ice bending: it's just manipulating the same material in a different state of being.

[duncanfindlay]

This comment's sole purpose is to force YouTube to promote this video.

[spadinnerxylaphone]

Its overlooked a lot, but that Fire Sage in LoK using fire to read her chi and her pain was one of my favorite moments. Like yes, firebending is powerful and can be destructive, but this woman used it to "shed a light" and help heal. Almost like an X-Ray.

I think about how fire is often portrayed as the "evil" element, not just in Avatar, but other media as well. But looking at fire in real life, it can cause a lot of pain. It can be used irresponsibly. But it also keeps people alive. Gives us warmth, light, and cooks our food. The fact Avatar showed this just makes me so happy.

[HueManatee]

I never even thought of lightning as a sub element. I always saw it as superheated air - just really hot and focused firebending. In book one of Korra, as Lightning-Bolt Zolt is getting his firebending taken from him, he's shooting an arc of lightning into the air. As that power dwindles, it transitions to fire, then nothing.

Lightning, or plasma, can originate from superheating air. That's always how I thought firebenders did it.

[KipoBeepo]

earth is also associated with stubbornness, and honestly metal bending was invented bc toph was just too stubbon to accept she couldn't. its not exactly a deep analysis of the subject but i think its neat

[davecullins]

Lavabending makes sense because it's just 100% melted, hot stone. And stones can be moved by earthbenders.

[zetsubanned]

Bone-bending as an earth-bending equivalent to water-bending's blood-bending makes a lot more sense. Nothing is more grounded than them skeleton-bones.

[shiekahfan]

Complete breakdown of Elements and Sub-Bending:
Air
- Spirit
Fire
- Lightning
- Plasma
Water
- Healing
- Blood
- Ice
- Plants/Vines
Earth
- Metal
- Sand
- Lava
- Crystal/Gem
All benders have the ability to work with/sense energy. Toph used it to see everywhere in LoK, Water Benders use it for healing, Air Benders for spiritual stuff like sensing one's presence, Fire Benders use it to sense what ails the body.

[Hanzatre]

Zaheer learned to fly by letting go of his earthly tethers,
well except for his very earthly desire to kill a person.

[cosmobayston]

Earthbending is like the engineering set in star trek and Hufflepuff. Everyone's mocking them until you need something practical done

[krealyesitisbeta]

Me: (moves my finger.)

Me: “Le gasp! I’m a flesh bender!!!”

[Cybermeleon]

Can I just say; the scene where Zahir learns to fly (while admittedly cool), bugs me immensely. He just saw the woman he loved die, a woman they showed he cared deeply about, and he just lets it go in that moment. It honestly comes off like the "oh no! Anyway..." meme. I think they should've showed us a scene of Zahir wrestling with the death first, making his eventual flight more fulfilling. And I know they had to wrap up the season and stuff, but it still bugs me. And while I'm on the topic, wouldn't his obsession with removing the avatar prevent him from flying in the first place? Seems like an "earthly tie" to me.

[michaelsmith]

Here's why toph is so powerful. Almost nobody has experience fighting someone who sees like she does. Making her react differently than literally anyone else they have fought before

[NetherTaker]

Video title: "Is fleshbending possible?"
Bloodbending: "Am I a joke to you?"

[brynshannon]

I wonder if the introduction of new sub-types of bending - particularly lava - have some relation to how Avatar's world is becoming more modern and materialistic as time goes on, and this is reflected in how bending techniques are becoming a little more influenced by scientific understanding rather than spiritual? I don't think this is making things less spiritual, to be clear.

I would say that Lava is closer to Fire in terms of the philosophical connection: It is explosive, powerful, and destructive, but also can create life-giving volcanic soil that is really good for growing crops. And yet, it falls under Earth Bending because it is... well... made of *earth.* But what if a Fire Bender could learn to bend Lava AS WELL by somehow making use of the spiritual/philisophical connection to it?

Perhaps I'm overthinking this, but I hope it's an interesting idea, and it could begin to explain things a little. Like... you could say that most of the apparent rules of Avatar are spritualism-based more than scientific, but what I'm suggesting is that a LITTLE of scientific (or adjacent) understanding is beginning to creep into how Bending rules work, and that this is reflected in the increasing modernity of the world in Season 2. Perhaps it's sort of both? Perhaps this relates to what was said about all of the elements being one back in Season 1?

Though, of course, there aren't really any strongly set rules anyway. But this is fun to think about.

[Meyu-Sys]

Iroh said it
Don't bend the elements bend the energy inside them