Zuko Alone
Zuko's getting a day in the limelight, and I'm getting a Sergio Leone vibe from this one.
After deciding to break away from his uncle, Zuko wanders the Earth Kingdom. Stopping in an isolated desert town, he's invited to stay at a farm where he bonds with a kid called Lee while standing up to a group of soldiers who extort the populace.
The episode is interspersed with flashbacks to Zuko's childhood, where we see that he had a close relationship with his mother Ursa, until she left in the night without explanation. These flashbacks also provide an early hint at Azula's sociopathic tendencies while showing that she was clearly their father's favourite. We also discover Ozai's rise to power; Iroh is actually older than him, and leading the Fire Nation's siege of Ba Sing Se. But when his son Lu Ten was killed in the assault, he abandoned the siege and returned home. Ozai then suggested to Fire Lord Azulon that he be named heir to the throne, with Azula claiming that Azulon asked him to kill Zuko as punishment. Azulon promptly died in the night, and Ursa left, while Ozai was crowned Fire Lord.
This is another poignant episode which shows how Zuko has always had to struggle. Like with "The Southern Air Temple", I tore up while watching it. As Zuko is wandering, we see how he can be a decent person; on one occassion, he sees a couple camping and is prepared to rob them for their food, but holds off when he discovers that the woman is pregnant. It shows that while he might be in despair, he's not giving in to his basest desires like Iroh warned he would.
The climax of the episode is great. After Zuko leaves the farm, the soldiers arrest Lee when he threatens them with a knife he'd given him. Zuko goes to confront them, and we see how much of a threat he can be without needing to firebend. He routs most of the soldiers except their leader, who duel-wields hammers while also using earthbending. He gets Zuko on the ropes until he gets a second wind from his mother's parting words. Zuko promptly reveals his true identity and defeats his foe, but is shunned by the town, including Lee. It's truly heart-wrenching.
They say that only the lost walk alone, and this episode personifies that.
The Chase
This one plays out like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Toph's desire for independence is putting her at odds with Katara when she doesn't contribute to setting up the camp for the night. This is compounded when her tremor-sense picks up a mysterious vehicle which follows them, containing Azula and her friends. Repeated attempts to outrun them fail, and the constantly disturbed sleep makes everyone irritable.
That's the basic gist of the episode, but it provides opportunities to do more. There's some funny lines when the party are at each other's throats, with some slapstick as Toph launches Katara from within a stone "tent" after she makes an ableist remark. My favourite is toss-up between Katara being "completely calm" and Sokka getting angry at Toph when she claims a fight would be three-on-three (because Sokka isn't a bender). And then backtracks by saying "three on three plus Sokka".
We also see some interesting convergence. It's briefly shown that Zuko is following the vehicle's tracks. Toph leaves in a huff after Aang yells at her for blaming a shedding Appa for their predicament, and briefly encounters Iroh, who is tracking Zuko. The two end up sharing an interesting and insightful conversation, possibly developing a mutual respect for one another.
Meanwhile, Toph's remarks give Aang the idea to wash Appa while he uses the fur to leave a false trail. It almost works, but Azula notices that Appa collided with some treetops while leaving and immediately deduces what happened. She sends Mai and Ty Lee after Appa, and they get into a fight with Sokka and Katara. It's a pretty good action scene, and shows how much of a threat Azula is to the party.
Azula herself follows Aang's trail, catching up to him at an Earth Kingdom ghost town. Zuko arrives shortly afterwards, leading to a harrowing three-way battle between them. They're later joined by Sokka and Katara (after Appa subdues Mai and Ty Lee), followed by Toph and Iroh. They corner Azula, but she shoots lightning at Iroh, severely wounding him while she pulls a vanishing act when everyone else attacks her with their respective elements (and if you look closely, Sokka's boomerang). The aftermath is quite emotional, as Zuko sends everyone away as he tends to Iroh.
In the end, the party justs retreats to a mountain and rests. After such a ride, they needed it.
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