Well, that initial plot thread took a curious change.
Return to Omashu
When we last left off, the party reached Omashu but discovered that it's been occupied by the Fire Nation. Aang opts to enter the city anyway in the hopes of finding Bumi, both to find an earthbending teacher and rescue his friend. Meanwhile, Azula assembles a crack team to help capture her brother and uncle, comprised of her two childhood friends: Ty Lee, a quirky and energetic circus acrobat (who is initially reluctant but is eventually...convinced); and Mai, the emotionally distant daughter of Omashu's Fire Nation governor who is eager for excitement.
This episode has some great twists and turns, and once again Sokka gets his moment to shine. When the party sneak into the city via the sewers, Sokka's accosted by octopus creatures that attach to his face. When they're confronted by a patrol, he bluffs them away by using the markings they left to fabricate an illness. They later meet the resistance, and he uses the same illness to help them escape the city.
Now, this causes a complication: Momo had snuck into the governor's home to steal fruit and encountered his infant son Tom-Tom, who followed him out of the city. Believing that the resistance kidnapped the baby, the governor offers to release Bumi in exchange. At the same time, Azula visits the city to recruit Mai and puts her in charge of the exchange. This, in turn, puts her into contact with the Avatar.
The action sequence that follows is great. Unlike Azula, Mai and Ty Lee aren't firebenders. Mai fights with a variety of throwing knives and darts, while Ty Lee can strike pressure points in a way that temporarily leaves her targets unable to bend. As they battle Sokka and Katara, Azula pursues Aang and Bumi (who has been imprisoned in a metal box where he ostensibly can't earthbend) down the mail delivery chutes.
Bumi also gets his moment to shine once again. According to the resistance, he surrendered immediately when the Fire Nation attacked, claiming he was going to do nothing. Later on, he helps Aang escape from Azula by blocking the chute with a boulder which he bends with nothing but his face. This goes to show how powerful an earthbender he is, and makes it clear that he could escape at any time but is choosing not to. He's waiting for the right moment, and tells Aang to find an earthbender who "waits and listens before striking".
All in all, this was a pretty good episode which leaves options open while presenting a new threat to the party.
The Swamp
Hmm...this one seems like filler. Neat style, but not much substance.
While flying over a swamp, Aang is compelled to land, but his companions vote against it until they're caught in a tornado. Separated from Appa and Momo, they have to spend the night when they're stalked by a mysterious swamp creature. Meanwhile, Appa and Momo are attempting to catch up with them while being hunted by members of a tribe of waterbenders who inhabit the swamp.
There isn't really much to this episode in terms of wider story, but it is nonetheless eerie and atmospheric. Sokka repeatedly hacks vines against Aang and Katara's advice, and the three later get separated by sentient vines. While isolated, they all have strange visions: Katara sees her mother, whom she's still grieving over, which causes her to break down; Sokka sees Yue, who accuses him of failing to defend her, showing that he's haunted by her loss and perceives it as a failure; Aang sees a mysterious giggling girl and a winged boar, which foreshadows somebody he's going to meet. His vision is all there really is to serve the wider story.
There's still some good action, with the party fighting the swamp monster. The monster's design seems reminiscent of No Face from Spirited Away, and attacks the party with vines. I might be in a minority with this, but I quite like how they did a Scooby Doo-esque reveal, yet still tied it to the fantasy element of the world. Like the Force in Star Wars, you think you can learn all you can about bending, and then it presents a new surprise.
The episode is bookended by Zuko and Iroh's plotline. At the beginning, we see that the pair have resorted to begging in an Earth Kingdom town. While Iroh is optimistic, Zuko is frustrated, especially after a swordsman bullies Iroh into dancing. They don't appear again until the very end, when the swordsman is mugged by the Blue Spirit. Although I do like how the opening foreshadows the return; as they're begging, a peddlar cart loaded with masks trundles past them. One of the masks is the one worn by the Blue Spirit, and it includes his leitmotif.
Despite being largely filler, there's still some interesting philosophy about connections to nature, and some foreshadowing that makes me want to see the next episode.
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