The Avatar State
To open the new season, we get an answer to a question on everyone's minds: Why doesn't Aang go into the Avatar State all the time?
Three weeks have passed since the Siege of the North. The party has left the North Pole and intends to travel to Omashu, so Aang can learn Earthbending from King Bumi. They travel to an Earth Kingdom outpost where they're due to be escorted to Omashu, but a General named Fong believes that Aang could end the war swiftly by going into the Avatar State and confronting the Fire Lord. Above Katara's objections, the general tries to induce Aang to enter the Avatar State. Meanwhile, Zuko's younger sister Azula travels to a Fire Nation colony in the Earth Kingdom for her special mission; to arrest Zuko and Iroh, whom the Fire Lord has branded as traitors.
Aang's plotline offers an interesting debate. Fong has a genuine concern in that he hopes to end the war swiftly, but Katara is strongly against the plan to trigger the Avatar State, fearing the immense destructive power it holds when Aang enters it. Even Aang has nightmares about it, while Sokka feels that Fong's plan is more pragmatic. The attempts to induce the Avatar State initially bring some slapstick comedy, but it later escalates into something extreme; after Aang tells Fong that he can only enter the Avatar State when his life is in danger. Fong decides to use this, ordering his troops to attack Aang. The action is great, with Aang avoiding giant stone disks the earthbenders use as ammunition. Fong then slips into douchebag territory when he threatens Katara over Aang's objections. This ultimately works, but immediately shows the downsides.
Aang is ultimately pulled out of the state by Roku's spirit, who outlines a greater risk: When Aang is in the Avatar State, he gains the skills and knowledge of all his past lives. But if he's ever killed in the Avatar State, he won't be reborn. That's certainly an interesting saving throw on the writers' part, and I'm all for it.
Meanwhile, Zuko's plotline is equally tense. We've only seen Azula make two minor appearences in the previous season, but here we see her get fleshed out. She's a master firebender, and is also capable of manipulating lightning. She's also obsessed with perfection, and willing to execute her ship captain for not being able to land them on time. We learn at the beginning that her orders are to arrest Zuko and Iroh, but she comes to them with a pleasant veneer and claims that Fire Lord Ozai is inviting them to return home. Zuko is excited, but Iroh is doubtful. Azula would have succeeded in detaining them if her captain didn't slip up and refer to them as "prisoners" as they were boarding. The pair escape, but Azula puts a price on their heads and threatens dire consequences for any Fire Nation subjects who shelter them. It plays out like The Fugitive.
Ultimately, Aang and his friends decide not to work with Fong (after Sokka gives him a much deserved head tap), while Zuko and Iroh cut off their top-knots. It's a dramatic scene and makes me excited to learn what happens next.
The Cave of Two Lovers
I will break into song whenever a secret tunnel comes up in an rpg. Although I think it's one of the weaker episodes.
During a waterbending lesson, the party meets a group of travelling musicians who tell them about "The Cave of Two Lovers", a network of underground tunnels in the mountain which leads to Omashu. Since the Fire Nation has pushed far into Earth Kingdom territory, the party are forced to travel through the mountains. A cave-in separates Aang, Katara, and Appa from Sokka, Momo, and the musicians. They promptly have to find a way through the cave based on a riddle. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are still on the run and forced to live as wanderers. After Iroh drinks a tea made from a poisonous plant, he and Zuko travel to an Earth Kingdom village to find a healer.
Overall, the first half of this episode has some great humour in both plotlines. The musicians are...not the brightest bulbs, and there's a funny moment when the party declines an offer to travel with them. We get a quick sequence of them under fire while on Appa with everyone screaming, cutting to them returning to the musicians and opting to travel through the cave. Meanwhile, Iroh and Zuko's survival skills are somewhat lacking. Iroh is struggling to determine whether a flower is the white dragon tea plant or the poisonous white jade. Zuko goes fishing, and discovers that Iroh was wrong about it being the former. They opt to go to a healer after debating where they can go. The Earth Kingdom will have them executed as spies, while the Fire Nation colonies will hand them to Azula. After pondering that, they settle on the Earth Kingdom.
However, the latter half involves Aang and Katara going through rom-com bickering which feels kinda drawn out. Not my cup of tea, really (but at least it's not white jade). Having said that, I do quite like it delves into one of the world's legends: the pair find a tomb for the two lovers, Oma and Shu. According to the inscriptions, they came from two feuding villages and met in secret after learning earthbending from the badger moles who lived in the mountain. When Shu was killed, Oma presented her power to both villages. They reconciled and built a new settlement, dubbed "Omashu".
On the other side, we get some tension as Zuko and Iroh dine with Song and her mother. It's creating an uncomfortable atmosphere as they hide their identities, during which time Song shows Zuko the scars from when the Fire Nation sacked her previous hometown. As Zuko sees it, he seems genuinely upset and reconsidering his views. But as he feels conflicted by it, he also resorts to stealing an ostrich-horse from his hosts. It's actually heartbreaking.
While I won't spoil how the party escaped from the cave, I did enjoy the cliffhanger: they arrive at Omashu, but discover it's been occupied by the Fire Nation.
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