more atla thoughts (as i rewatch):
"the great divide" is actually not a filler episode. it's the first to explicitly establish how lonely being the avatar really is. the canyon guide says "it's lonely, isn't it, being impartial?" to aang as he sits alone atop the cliff watching down on the zhangs/sokka and the gan jins/katara literally separated by the walls (thus representing 2 sides of which aang, as the avatar, cannot side with either). by not being allowed to choose sides, aang doesn't get the same warmth and community that sokka and katara do from being civilians that are able to choose. this recurring theme of the loneliness of being the avatar is a hugely important one, and this episode being the first place that it's explicitly stated makes it far more than an irrelevant filler. aang having to mediate conflicts is also an important thing that's depicted here, but on rewatching, the loneliness thing is what stood out to me the most. (also egg custard tart π₯Ίβ¨οΈ)
