TV Retrospective: Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3: Fire

The review of the Last Airbender will be coming out on Wednesday and boy do I have a lot to say about that movie, but before that, let's take a look at the final series of the beloved show.

Spoilers to follow

Book 3

We open on a Fire Nation ship, Aang has been in a coma for a few week and while he was out, they joined with the Water Tribe men and captured a ship to use as their cover. The whole world thinks the Avatar is dead. Aang believes that he has failed and runs off. He gets caught in a storm but is reminded by the spirits of Yue and Roku he will need help to complete his mission. He burns his glider to ensure no-one knows he's alive.

The team meat up and take Fire Nation clothing, Aang is mistook for a school child, and taught about a secret river leading straight to the Fire Lord’s palace. Aang helps the children express their freedom through dance. They come across a village depressed because of the pollution from the nearby factory. Katara disguises herself as the Painted Lady Spirit to help the village, eventually destroying the factory and helping clean the river.

Sokka, disheartened about his lack of ability to help when a meteor strikes nearby, seeks to master swordsmanship with Master Piandao. He crafts a sword out of the meteor. Whilst relaxing in a pool they are attacked by an assassin who can firebend with his mind, they get away, but draw the conclusion that he knows who they are. Aang learns about the history that started the war. Roku and Sozin were best friends, but Sozin’s dreams of conquest put them at odds, eventually resulting in Sozin letting Roku die in a volcanic eruption.

Toph tries to earn them money by pulling scams, but it attracts the attention of the assassin, who Sokka names Combustion Man, they escape once again. They meet a woman named Hama, a waterbender from the Southern Tribe, she passes on her knowledge to Katara, including a violent skill called bloodbending, which she had been using to kidnap local villagers. With team Avatar at the meeting point 4 days early. Aang begins to feel nervous, having bad nightmares and resorting to staying awake, but even that has consequences. With the encouragement of the others, and a comfortable bed, Aang sleeps well on the final night

Team Avatar meet with the Water Tribe men, plus a team of their allies including the mechanist, Teo, the swampbenders, Huru and his father, the Boulder and the Hippo. They infiltrate the Fire Nation Capital but Aang discovers that the palace was abandoned. The Fire Nation knew of the invasion. Aang, Toph and Sokka infiltrate their underground bunker, but Azula, suspecting the Avatar survived is waiting, she distracts them with her own skills and Dai Li agents, then resorting to goading Sokka about Suki, with the eclipse finished, the firebenders destroy the submarines and the adults amongst the crew agree to surrender.

Zuko returns to Fire Nation welcomed as a hero. But he secretly suspects Aang survived. He finds out from his father that Azula told him that he was the one that killed Aang, so the shame of his survival would be brought unto him. He seeks advice from his uncle but Iroh does not respond. He instead resorts to sending the assassin after Aang. Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee and Azula are sent to Ember Island to play, Zuko reveals that he’s still angry and confused.

Zuko is sent a message to learn about his great grandfather’s demise, he finds the same story of Sozin and Roku that Aang had learned. He confronts Iroh only to discover his mother’s grandfather was Avatar Roku. Iroh begins exercising and building up his strength, hiding it from the guards. Zuko attends an important war meeting, but finds that he wasn’t himself on the day. Leaving a note for Mai, he confronts his father, telling him the truth about the Avatar and promising to join him. Ozai keeps him, revealing that his mother was banished for helping to kill fire Lord Azulon, once the eclipse ended he fires lightning at Zuko, who manages to redirect it.

Zuko follows team Avatar to the Western Air Temple. He tries to join them but is rejected. Combustion Man attacks, and Zuko helps to stop him, this was enough for him to be accepted, but he finds his firebending doesn’t work. He and Aang travel to birthplace of the ancient Sun Warriors, to find the true source of firebending. They discover that the sun warriors are still alive, but they receive a lesson from the last two remaining dragons.

Sokka and Zuko travel to the Boiling Rock, a Fire Nation prison that Sokka suspects may hold his dad. They infiltrate the prison disguised as guards, but Zuko is discovered. They discover that Sokka’s dad isn’t there, but do find Suki. Together they devise an escape plan, but they abandon it when Sokka’s dad arrives. Mai arrives at the prison, scolding Zuko for breaking up with her. Azula arrives later to inspect the prison, and is present when the next escape attempt goes down. Azula and Ty Lee battle them but, wanting to save Zuko, Mai battles the guards. When Azula threatens to burn Mai, Ty Lee chi-blocks her and Azula orders them both imprisoned.

Azula launches an attack on the Western Air Temple, forcing team Avatar plus Suki to split off from Sokka’s dad and the other children. Zuko discovers from Sokka the truth about his mother’s death and offers a Katara a chance for revenge. Katara confronts him but can’t bring herself to kill him. They hide on Ember Island and discover a play about themselves. All exaggerated versions of themselves, Aang is hurt by the assumption that Katara sees him as a brother, Katara says she’s confused.

Zuko is concerned that with Sozin’s comet only a few days away the rest of team Avatar are relaxing, when he hears that they plan to wait until after the comet passes before facing the Fire Lord, he reveals that Ozai plans to use the power from Sozin’s comet to burn the Earth Kingdom. During training Aang refuses to take the life of the would-be Fire Lord. Overnight he disappears and the others search for him, unable to find him on the Island, they go to June. When even June’s shirshu cannot find Aang, Zuko suggests they find Iroh instead. They find him near Ba Sing Se, alongside the Order of the White Lotus, with Master Paku, Master Jeong Jeong, Master Bumi and Master Piandao. They are going to reclaim Ba Sing Se for the Earth Kingdom. Iroh reassures them that Aang will face the Fire Lord. But Zuko must return home and defeat Azula, so as to claim the throne and end the war. Sokka, Suki and Toph agree to help stop the airship fleet, in order to save the Earth Kingdom.

Aang wakes up on a mysterious Island, still confused about the matter of claiming the life of the Fire Lord, he speaks to his past lives who all encourage him. He discovers that he is on a Lion Turtle, who takes him to where the final battle will take place.

Azula runs to join Ozai in the battle, but Ozai tells to her protect the fire nation, and she will become Fire Lord, as he becomes the Phoenix King. Azula begins to crack, banishing her servants, and Dai Li agents before having an impromptu conversation with a reflection of her mother. Zuko and Katara arrive to combat her but she challenges Zuko to an agni-kai, Zuko seems to be winning the fight, but when he goads her about lightning, she shoots it Katara and Zuko can only redirect some of the lightning. Katara finds some chains hung on a wall, calling ice around both her and Azula, she melts herself free and chains Azula to the drain

Sokka, Toph and Suki infiltrate a ship and begin to crash it into the next, running on the top of the balloons, Suki is split from the group. They fall onto a metal spike and Sokka breaks his leg, to fend off two firebenders both his boomerang and sword are lost, he is saved because of Suki’s return. The Order of the White Lotus overpower the army protecting Ba Sing Se and reclaim it for the Earth Kingdom

Aang gives his all against Ozai, but his unwillingness to kills puts him at a disadvantage, soon he is on the ropes until Ozai pushes him into a jagged edge which forces him into the Avatar State (how convenient). Ozai is badly outmatched as Aang uses all 4 bending elements at once, but he cannot strike him down. Instead he uses a technique shown to him by the Lion Turtle to take away his bending. Zuko is crowned Fire Lord, and quizzes his now imprisoned father about where his mother is. He joins the others at Iroh’s tea shop, where Katara and Aang finally realise their romantic attraction and kiss.

This series isn’t as good as series two, mostly because of the structure. There are no real surprises in this season, as it revolves around 2 heavily foreshadowed events. The day of black sun and Sozin’s comet. A lot of the in between elements, whilst some of them are interesting, they’re present mostly to kill time until one of those events. Some of them are fantastic. The puppet master is an exceptionally creepy episode, with a sort of tragic villain

Zuko’s story comes to a head at the first part as he realises that he made a mistake in Ba Sing Se, and needed to make amends. It’s also nice to see him redirect lightning, a technique shown to him in book 2. It’s good that he doesn’t get accepted immediately, it would make a mockery of all that had happened previously if he did, although saying that it was a tad quick. His confrontation with Mai was interesting, as it’s shown Mai loves him, more than she fears Azula

Toph really only has one episode dedicated to her, the runaway, where they explore her relationship with her parents, something that doesn’t really come up again until the comic tie-in story ‘The Rift’

Azula’s downfall is also a centrepiece of the story. By the half-way point in the invasion she seems to be at the top of her game using skilled manipulation, and skills acquired from contact with both Mai and Ty Lee to keep team Avatar distracted, but with the betrayal of both Mai and Ty Lee at the boiling rock, it’s clear that has an impact on her mentally, which ultimately leads to her downfall.

The pressure that Aang is under begins to mount, we see that quite clearly in the episode Nightmares and Daydreams, for him to fail again here would be a great test of his valour, and makes his triumph an even greater achievement

Sokka’s story about needing a master does come out of no-where, no part of his story had suggested it until this point, although the episode does make for an interesting story. His other story for the season was the boiling rock, where he dealt with the temptation to cut his losses before he fails (as he did on the day of black sun) his struggles make his victory a sweeter

Katara’s need to help people, without possible thought of the consequences came to a head in the painted lady. Although perhaps a message about pollution in the Avatar had already been set long before this episode. Her reaction to learning a dark art such as blood-bending is true to form for her character. Her final major arc in this book revolves around her mother’s killer. We always knew that this story was there, but we never saw it in full, and her eventual refusal to kill him, shows how strong a girl she has become.

Animation is spectacular as always, it’s amazing how many different shades of red they find in the final battles (particularly Aang vs Ozai) and the voice acting is done well (although we could've had fewer voiced by Mark Hamill, I like him, but his voice is pretty distinctive)

Important: The Awakening, The headband, Sokka's master, The Beach, The Runaway, The Puppetmaster, The Day of Black Sun (parts 1 and 2), The Western Air Temple, The Boiling Rock (parts 1 and 2) , The Southern Raiders, Sozin’s Comet (parts 1, 2, 3 and 4)

Filler: The Painted Lady, The Avatar and the Firelord, Nightmares and Daydreams, The Firebending masters, The Ember Island Players

Best Episode: The Day of Black Sun (part 2)/The Puppetmaster

Worst Episode: Nightmares and Daydreams/The Headband

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Images used in this review are from Avatar: The Last Airbender and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use.