It's the season one finale, and man is it an epic one. This is a two part episode, so I'm going to look at both at once. Again, there's a warning for spoilers.
When we last left off, Pakku has finally taken on Katara as a student, and she's made it to the top of the class. Meanwhile, Sokka invites Yue to go for a ride on Appa. Unfortunately, their ride is cut short by black snowfall, indicating that a large Fire Nation fleet is converging on the Northern Water Tribe. With Aang discovering there's too many ships to take on single-handedly, Yue takes him to a special garden where he hopes to contact the spirits for advice. Meanwhile, Zhao follows Iroh's advice to only attack during the day, as waterbenders draw their power from the moon. During the lull, Zuko infiltrates the city to capture Aang, where he battles Katara and captures Aang.
The second part shows Aang's journey to the spirit world as Zuko shelters in a cave from a blizzard. Acting on advice from Avatar Roku, he seeks out Koh the Face Stealer to learn the identity of the ocean and moon spirits, who have a physical form in the human world (two koi fish perpetually circling in a pond in the spirit garden). Zhao also seeks the spirits, hoping to remove the advantage that the waterbenders have.
Both parts have some cool action sequences. Part one has Aang taking on a warship carrying out a probing attack, only to discover the vast armada following it. The fight between Zuko and Katara is awesome too. Her waterbending is enhanced by a full moon, while Zuko is likely fatigued from having to swim through frigid waters to reach the city. She has him on the ropes until daybreak, when Zuko draws firebending energy from the sun. It ends on a cliffhanger with Zuko capturing Aang while Zhao's ships breach the outer walls. A lot of the action in Part two involves the battle between the Water Tribe and Fire Nation, but there's also some great drama scenes.
Aang's meeting with Koh in the second part has a creepy atmosphere. Aang is forced to show no emotion while Koh looks at him and tries to bait him, while revealing that a previous avatar tried to slay him. Hei Bai then returns from "The Winter Solstice" to guide Aang back to his body, leading his friends to where Zuko is hiding. They subdue Zuko, but take him with them so he doesn't perish in the cold, once again showing Aang's kind nature.
Special mention is reserved for the climax which is both creepy and poignant. Zhao captures the moon spirit, which causes the moon to turn red and all waterbenders to lose their power. Aang confronts him, and Iroh sides with the Avatar, believing that killing the moon spirit will have consequences for the entire world. Zhao promptly kills the spirit, causing the moon to darken. The lighting effects for both parts are incredible, creating one of the bleakest moments in the series to date. Aang enters the Avatar State, merges with the ocean spirit, and lays waste to the fleet. Meanwhile, Yue - who was given life by the moon spirit after being stillborn - sacrifices herself to resurrect it. As Zuko escapes and attacks Zhao, the ocean spirit drags the latter away.
The season ends with Pakku appointing Katara as Aang's waterbending teacher while Iroh and Zuko sail away to recuperate. Meanwhile, Fire Lord Ozai gives a special mission to Zuko's sister, teasing a new plot thread for the next season. This isn't the first time we've seen Azula (who isn't named as of yet); she previously appeared in the flashback of Zuko's duel in "The Storm", where she's clearly excited to see her brother getting burned. Keep that in mind when you see her appearance here, and you'll know something wicked this way comes.
All in all, it's a pretty tight ending which leaves scope for more adventures.
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