I'd be the last person to say one shouldn't critique a work, given how much I critique without hesitation. My leaning towards acknowledging an issue and then setting it aside isn't because I want to give a pass, but because... well, the best explanation is illustration of a conversation I had with a gay friend, many years ago, when we watched a movie where the gay character's lover dies (yes, that lovely cliche!). I was all upset, mad about it, and my friend told me, "I've waited my entire life just to see a gay man on the big screen, let alone one who gets an on-screen kiss. I see what you mean, and I agree, but right now, let me enjoy at least this much before I join you in pushing for more."
I think maybe it's an exhaustion, too, of all the times popular media has let me down, that when someone gets as much right, storytelling-wise, as Avatar did, it can be hard not to cheer despite its flaws. As opposed to ignoring its flaws, which no can do, but cheering despite that... well, I'm willing to cheer if it makes someone else get the idea that there'd be even more cheering for the story that gets even more right.
that said, here is small part of reaction, because I have shellac drying and need to get back to shelf-building:
(Toph's Metalbending was obviously excellent, but it was also a Season 2 development.)
Regardless of when it was, I think the important detail is to compare it to the others in terms of a pattern. Unlike all the rest, Toph learns her skill in adversity (when it's all right there on the line with actual stakes, compared to Zuko/Aang learning as preventative), and she teaches it to herself, no master required. She's the only one of them who ramps her power up entirely on her own. In some ways, I think that's why the lack of angst actually works in her favor, along with playing against the Poor Little Disabled Girl stereotype.
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I think maybe it's an exhaustion, too, of all the times popular media has let me down, that when someone gets as much right, storytelling-wise, as Avatar did, it can be hard not to cheer despite its flaws. As opposed to ignoring its flaws, which no can do, but cheering despite that... well, I'm willing to cheer if it makes someone else get the idea that there'd be even more cheering for the story that gets even more right.
that said, here is small part of reaction, because I have shellac drying and need to get back to shelf-building:
(Toph's Metalbending was obviously excellent, but it was also a Season 2 development.)
Regardless of when it was, I think the important detail is to compare it to the others in terms of a pattern. Unlike all the rest, Toph learns her skill in adversity (when it's all right there on the line with actual stakes, compared to Zuko/Aang learning as preventative), and she teaches it to herself, no master required. She's the only one of them who ramps her power up entirely on her own. In some ways, I think that's why the lack of angst actually works in her favor, along with playing against the Poor Little Disabled Girl stereotype.