gwen, not stefani

has this been done yet?

Zutara Week 2020 Day 4 “Celestial”

Katara has always known that her husband is beautiful. But whenever the blazing sunrise of the Fire Nation touches his pale skin, she wonders if she married an ancient god. He is otherworldly. Ethereal.

When I first saw this scene, I just saw it on the basic level of we’re seeing him and then we’re seeing her because I was looking at it as flashback (Conrad) to present (Conrad) to flashback (Belly) to present (Belly).

Eventually, I realized I looked at it wrong. I needed to slightly shift my focus. What I was actually supposed to be seeing it as was present (Belly) to flashback (Conrad) to present (Conrad) to flashback (Belly).

What they’ve done with this scene is audibly and visually support the role reversal between Belly and Conrad. They’re obviously telling us this in the dialogue by having him deliver her line, and her, his. They’re also telling us this with the placement of the characters in the frame, and the directions they’re facing. He’s looking towards his younger self and she’s looking towards her younger self.

And this isn’t just about who’s smoking weed. Back then, everyone knew how Belly felt about Conrad, but no one really knew how Conrad felt about Belly. Now, everyone knows how Conrad feels about Belly and we don’t quite know how Belly is feeling about Conrad. He is Young Belly. She is Young Conrad.

And just in case we weren’t totally sure that that was what was happening there, they did it again, here:

I kind of lost my balance while I was flying, and then I lost control completely. Sorry. Hi, Moi-chan! As promised, we meet again.