Winter Solstice Part 1

The group arrives at an Earth Kingdom forest and sees what looks like a huge black scar in the middle of the woods. They land only to find out that it was burned down by Fire Nation soldiers. Aang feels bad that he let that happen, but Katara assures him that the forest will grow back, because of all the acorns around. The party is startled when an old man comes asking the Avatar (Aang) for his help. The group arrives at Senlin Village in ruins and learns that it is being terrorized by a spirit, Hei Bai. The villagers ask Aang to help them, and he agrees although he doesn't know how. At sunset, he goes out to confront the spirit. As Aang waits, he finds no spirit. Then from behind him, the spirit appears from the forest. Aang tries to talk to the spirit, but it seems it isn't listening. Sokka runs out to help Aang, but is captured and taken away by the spirit instead. Aang, while chasing after Sokka and the spirit, mysteriously enters the spirit world. Later, Aang is confronted by a dragon, which turns out to be Avatar Roku's dragon, Fang. The dragon takes Aang to a temple on a crescent shaped island to see Avatar Roku's statue. Aang finds out that Avatar Roku wants to speak to him about a comet, and the only time they can talk is during the Winter Solstice. The dragon takes Aang back to his body, and there Aang learns why the spirit is terrorizing the village. The spirit was upset and angry that his home had been burned down. At sunset, Aang shows the spirit that the forest will grow back by giving him an acorn. The satisfied spirit (which turned into a panda bear) leaves the village, and in its trail, it left a few bamboo stalks that the captured villagers (including Sokka) come out of. The show ends with Aang telling Katara and Sokka that he needs to go to the temple (which is in the Fire Nation) to speak with Avatar Roku by sunset on the Solstice (which was the next day). in the mean time Iroh and Zuko are seen tracking Aang and his friends. Iroh is relaxing in a self-heated pool of water that he has turned into his own personal jacuzzi. Zuko is becoming very impatient and demands that his uncle get ready to leave right away. Iroh agrees, but when he stands up it is revealed that he is naked. Zuko is very embarrassed by this and covers his eyes, telling his uncle to take a few more minutes to get ready. He then gives a warning that if Iroh is not ready within a half hour, Zuko will leave without him. Iroh slumps back into the pool and falls asleep. He is awoken by a sound and prepares for a possible ambush at once. After he overcomes his disorientation, he notices a tiny field mouse and relaxes again at once. He gently takes the field mouse into his hands and begins talking to it. Iroh realizes he missed Zuko's time limit but does not seem to care saying that he had "a very sweet nap." Iroh is then ambushed for real by Earth Kingdom soldiers who capture him to bring him back to Ba Sing Se, the place where he sieged for 600 days before leaving. Zuko comes later with two soldiers and determined who his capturers were. Iroh then feigns to fall asleep, leaving his stinky sandal for Zuko to find. While Iroh is with his captors, he notices the spirit of Avatar Roku's animal guide, which is a magnificent Dragon. Iroh is shocked but quickly covers it up when the soldiers ask him what is wrong. Iroh then tricks his captors by asking them to tighten his chains. The Captain then has one of the soldiers tighten the chains, while Iroh stealthily snorts onto the cuffs, heating them up. When the soldier touches the cuffs, he burns his hand and screams in agony. Iroh then makes a bold but ultimately failed attempt for freedom. After he is caught, the soldiers debate with themselves about what they should do. They quickly decide to crush Iroh's hands by dropping a huge rock on them. Just as the punishment is about to be inflicted, Zuko appears and kicks the rock that was about to be dropped on Iroh's hands aside. He then lifts his leg and with one swift movement breaks the chains that are binding Iroh in half, to which Iroh praisingly states "Excellent form Prince Zuko." Zuko smiles and replies "You taught me well." Iroh and Zuko then defeat the soldiers without much difficulty. After the fight Zuko exclaims, "Now would you please put on some clothes?!".

Imprisoned

Aang, Katara, and Sokka awake from their camp site and are startled by loud noises coming from the distance. Aang and Katara are curious and set out to investigate with a less-than-cooperative Sokka right behind. They then find a young Earthbender practicing his bending. Katara introduces herself, but before she can finish, the young bender races off, seeming very fearful. Katara decides that they should follow him, and they end up in a small town that happens to be under Fire Nation control. They later find the same young man and follow him into a store. He is talking to his mother when Katara, Aang and Sokka enter the store asking why he ran. He tells them that his name is Haru; he and his mother explain that since the Fire Nation took control of the town, any one discovered to be an Earthbender is arrested and sent to a mining rig, far off shore. Haru then tells them that his father was also sent to the rig a long time ago.

Later on that day, Haru and Katara are walking with each other, both sharing their own stories and seemingly falling for one another, when they come across an old man that has been trapped by a cave in. Haru reluctantly uses his Earthbending to save the old man. The next morning, Katara wakes up to get some water when Haru's mother tells Katara that the old man he had saved told the Fire Nation that he was an Earthbender and was arrested and sent to the mining rig. Once she learns of Haru's situation, she decides to take action and find a way onto the rig. She decides the only way to get to that rig is if the Fire Nation thinks she's an Earthbender, so after some strategy she is able to "Earthbend" with the help of Aang and some ventilation pipes while Fire Nation solders are watching. So now she's captured and sent to the rig. There she and some other captives meet the Warden of the rig, a self-important and cruel taskmaster. He states that since the entire rig is made of metal, there is nothing for the Earthbenders to control so they are helpless. After finding Haru and his father Tyro, she asks what their plan is to escape. Tyro says that escape isn't an option and that the only way to survive is to do what they're told and hope the war goes in their favor. Shocked by his lack of hope, Katara tries an inspirational speech to try to stir to life the spirits of the other benders, but to no avail. That night Katara meets up with Aang and Sokka to try to find a way for the prisoners to fight back and gain back their confidence. Then Aang notices the smokestacks and states that they are burning coal and therefore there is earth on the rig that the prisoners can use.

Drawing from her experience from the fake Earthbending she used to get herself arrested, they have Aang close all the vents around the fire save for one that will lead to the outer vent where Katara and Sokka are. Then the Warden discovers them and states that they are to surrender or die. Then the coal bursts from the vent and lands in front of Haru and the others, Katara tells them that this is their chance to stand up and fight. But no one seems to have the will to fight anymore. The Warden states that their spirits were broken a long time ago and he walks away in triumph.

Or so he thinks, as a chunk of coal strikes him on the head. He turns around to see that it was Haru who threw it. The Warden attacks Haru, but his attack is blocked by Tyro and two other benders. Then all together the prisoners attack the Fire Nation soldiers and after a dramatic fight the Earthbenders are victorious and they throw the warden overboard. They then sail off in stolen Fire Nation ships.

After winning their freedom, Tyro thanks Katara for giving his people hope again, then Haru thanks her. She is touched by Haru's words when she notices that her mother's necklace is gone. There on the rig we see Katara's necklace on the ground and is picked up by Zuko. And with a blank look he clutches the necklace and looks out toward the horizon.

The King of Omashu

Aang and his friends arrive at the Earth Kingdom city Omashu. Sokka and Katara look on in amazement and can't believe they have buildings that don't melt from the heat. Aang hurries to the city, but Katara thinks he needs to hide his identity as the Avatar for his safety. He uses some of Appa's shed fur as a wig and mustache and adopts a fake, old man voice, crouching and using his staff as a walking stick.

As they approach the city's walls, Aang remarks Omashu is one of the friendliest places in the world. But guards at the city wall are giving a Cabbage Merchant trouble about trying to bring rotten cabbages into the city, and Earthbend his vegetable-filled cart into the valley below, causing the merchant to scream "No! My cabbages!" in dismay. Aang and the others approach, and the guards demands to know who they are. Aang invents the name Bonzu Pipinpadaloxicopolis The Third for himself and says Sokka and Katara are his grandchildren, and the guards let them into the city. Aang shows them the Omashu delivery system, which consists of miles of tubes and chutes which send packages throughout the city via Earthbending. He also tells them one hundred years ago while visiting, Aang and his eccentric childhood friend Bumi would slide down the Omashu delivery system for fun. Bumi told Aang to always open his brain to the possibilities in life, and Aang affectionately called Bumi a "mad genius".

Aang promises Katara they will go to the North Pole once they have a ride down the chutes. They go to the highest point in the city and slide down, almost getting killed by a package of spears following behind them as they slide. Aang derails them from the chute and their bin scrapes across the rooftops of several houses. Panicking, they can't stop and crash into the Cabbage Merchant's cart, who screams once again in dismay for his ruined cabbages. They are surrounded by guards and taken captive to be punished by the King of Omashu. An aged old man, the King looks for a while at Aang, then decides instead of punishment that they shall be thrown a feast, to the surprise of the guards. At the feast, the King inquires about where Aang came from, which Aang replies (with a lie) that he came from Kangaroo Island. The King cracks a joke, saying he's heard that place is "really hoppin'," which only Sokka laughs at. Feigning his departure from the table, the King suddenly throws a chicken drumstick at Aang, causing him to catch it with Airbending out of reflex, revealing to everyone that he is the Avatar.

Aang and the others try to leave, but are detained by the guards. The King says the Avatar shall face three deadly challenges tomorrow to win the freedom of him and his friends, and locks them in a chamber.

The next day, Aang wakes and finds Sokka and Katara are missing. The King holds them hostage and promises to return them once the challenges are completed. Aang threatens the King and demands he return his friends immediately, but the King brings forth Sokka and Katara and has rings of Jennomite placed on their fingers. Known as "creeping crystal," the crystals will grow and grow until they cover their entire body, and only the King can undo it. Aang submits to go through with the King's challenges. The first challenge, Aang must simply retrieve a key hanging from a chain within a powerful, cascading waterfall. But it isn't as simple as it seems. The force of the water is too powerful for Aang to simply dive in or approach from below. Even using Airbending Aang can't get to the key. The crystal is now covering Katara and Sokka's arms. Aang resorts to breaking the tip of a stalagmite off, and using Airbending shoots it like a dart into the waterfall, breaking the chain and carrying the key to the King, who was watching from a balcony.

For the second challenge, Aang must return the King's lost pet Flopsie to him. Outside, Aang sees a bunny and chases after it, but a large monster chases after Aang. The bunny escapes and the monster closes in, but Aang has a sudden idea. He turns to face the monster, and realizes the monster is actually Flopsie. Flopsie picks Aang up tenderly and gives him a huge lick. He drops Aang and runs to the King, who rubs the monster's belly. Katara and Sokka are covered from head to ankle in crystal, and Aang demands the final challenge begin.

In a large arena, Aang must battle an opponent, but he is allowed to choose which opponent to fight, but the King warns him to choose carefully. He can pick one of two nasty-looking gladiator-like warriors, or the old, frail King. Aang chooses the King, who declares he chose wrong, removing his robes to reveal a surprisingly muscular physique for such an old man. Aang recoils, realizing his mistake. The King claims he is the most powerful Earthbender Aang will ever meet, and begins the battle. The King immediately launches several boulders at him which Aang dodges, but the King taunts him for such a predictable Airbender tactic. As they fight, the King continues to taunt Aang for his unwillingness to fight back. Eventually Aang begins to counter the King. With tremendous effort, the King tears a massive chunk of earth out of the ground and holds it over his head. Aang screams in terror and begins to run in circles, Airbending a tornado. The King throws the massive mound, but the tornado redirects it back at him. He bisects it neatly in two. Aang appears between the rock pieces and pins the King with his staff.

The King concedes defeat, but before releasing his friends, requires the Avatar to answer one last question: What is the King's name? Recalling the point of all the challenges, Aang realizes they all forced him to think differently then he usually would. He realizes who the King is, and calls his old childhood friend Bumi, now the old King of Omashu, a mad genius. The two embrace, and Bumi declares Aang hasn't changed a bit, literally. Bumi shatters the crystal encasing Sokka and Katara, and eats a piece, revealing Jennomite is made from rock candy.

Bumi wishes Aang luck in his quest to defeat the Fire Lord, and hopes when he confronts him that he'll think like a mad genius. Aang tells Bumi he now has a challenge for him, and the two of them go sliding down the Omashu delivery system like the old days, which results in them crashing into the cabbage merchant's cart, just like before.

The Warriors of Kyoshi

the story begins with Zuko's ship adrift at sea. Zuko is meditating when Iroh comes in with information regarding the Avatar. Iroh begs Zuko not to become angry and Zuko replies that he can control his temper. Iroh states that he has no idea where the Avatar is and Zuko becomes furious. Iroh then explains that there have been multiple sightings of Aang but that he is impossible to track, showing his nephew detailed map of where he has been located. Zuko quickly takes the map and declares that, "he's a master of evasive maneuvering".

Meanwhile, Aang, Katara, and Sokka are flying on the back of Appa with Sokka indicating Aang's lack of navigational skills. Katara is sewing Sokka's trousers, while Aang is trying to get her attention to impress her with his new 'trick' of Airbending three marbles in a rapid, circular motion. But because she's busy, Katara ignores him. Sokka then makes a chauvinistic comment, and Katara throws his trousers, which have not been completely re-sewn, back at him. He quickly regrets what he said, telling Katara that he cannot wear his pants as they still have a large hole in them.

Aang then lands on a small Earth Kingdom island with Sokka and Katara informing him that they have taken too many detours recently, which they cannot afford if they want to reach the North Pole. A large fish springs out of the water and Aang proclaims that that is why they came here; he then strips down to his underwear. As he tries to show off his moves to Katara by riding on the back of an Elephant Koi, he is attacked by the Unagi, a titanic, gray eel that is native to Southwestern Earth Kingdom waters. Terrified, he runs back to land and redresses into his Airbender attire. Suddenly the group is ambushed by a mysterious group of warriors. The gang is then tied to a pole and after having removed the cloth from covering Aang, Katara and Sokka's eyes, Sokka utters a remark about how they could not have been beaten by a bunch of girls. They demand to know why they have come here and Aang clarifies that they just wanted to ride Elephant Koi. Oyajii, the island's leader, then implies they may be Fire Nation spies. He also commented that Kyoshi has stayed out of the war and intends to keep it that way. Aang quickly responds to the fact that the island is named after Kyoshi, revealing that he knows her. Head warrior Suki then states that is impossible, with Oyajii stating that Avatar Kyoshi died over 400 years ago. Aang answers their questions by telling them that he is the new Avatar. The people of Kyoshi believe he is lying and want to throw the impostor to the Unagi. For proof that he is the long-lost Avatar, he Airbends his way out of his predicament and the villagers look in awe.

The news of the Avatar in town travels from person to person, and news finally reaches Zuko and Iroh. Zuko jumps up in surprise and readies to depart to Kyoshi Island.

Aang and Katara enjoy a delicious meal of desserts and treats, charitably given from the town while Sokka lies on the floor, angry because he was bested by females. In Aang's honor, the town's people clean up the statue of Avatar Kyoshi. Then later Aang shows off to the young women of Kyoshi as they chase him around.

Sokka goes to the Kyoshi Warriors and he is asked if he wants to show off some of his 'moves'. He tries to demonstrate his techniques but is brought down by Suki. He simply states that he was going easy on her and ultimately failed again being tied arm to leg and swung to the ground. He then leaves out of embarrassment. Meanwhile, Katara asks Aang if he could help her carry some supplies for their journey. Aang replies with no and inquires Katara if she would like to go with him and the pack of young Kyoshi girls on a trip on Appa, which she declines and walks off.

Sokka returns to the training area and bows before Suki, admitting he would be honored to be trained by her. She makes sure he would not care to be trained by a girl. He accepts that he said some inappropriate things before. She agrees if he undergoes all their traditions. The scene skips to him into a Kyoshi warrior outfit. He complains about being in a dress and Suki calls it a symbol of honor and bravery. Aang then walks by, giggling, "Hey Sokka...nice dress."

Suki begins training Sokka in the art of Kyoshi style fighting. After a little while of training, Sokka believes he is starting to understand the form but inevitably chucks his weapon out the door. Suki laughs, saying it is not about strength. It is about using your opponent's force against them and to wait until the right moment to strike. Sokka then knocks down Suki, who embarrassed, says it was on purpose. Then she admits she was knocked down and asks him to try it again.

Aang informs Katara that he is going to locate the Unagi and ride the creature. After the exchange of some infuriating words, Aang runs off to ride the beast. In the next scene, Aang is in water with the young ladies impatiently waiting for the Unagi's arrival. After what seemed like forever to them, they girls decide to leave and Katara shows up. After the two make fun of their behavior earlier, the Unagi appears and thrashes around and throws Aang, and he falls unconscious.

As the Unagi swims towards Aang to finish the attack, Katara rapidly swims to the rescue, grabbing a hold of Aang and using her Waterbending to propel herself towards land. After a fast escape she hides behinds some rocks where she Waterbends water out of Aang's throat. Aang coughs and wakes up, telling her to not ride the Unagi. They see Fire Nation troops approaching and quickly take the offensive. Oyajii runs to Sokka, Suki and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors, urging them for help. The Kyoshi warriors make a good demonstration of their abilities and skills in battle, taking out many Firebenders, although they are outnumbered. The Fire Nation troops, led by Zuko, burn the town as they search for the Avatar. After Zuko sees Aang, they engage in a short battle. Aang wishes he could have prevented this destruction on the town and Katara tells him if they flee the Firebenders will follow them. Aang, with no other choices, agrees.

Suki urges Sokka to hurry and leave but he says he would not leave her; at least without an apology. She asks why and he explains that he treated her like a girl instead of a warrior. Suki then kisses Sokka, telling him that she is a warrior but a girl, too. She then returns to battle giving Aang and his companions a chance to escape. Aang, Katara and Sokka leave as the town is being set on fire and Zuko and his followers pursue him again. As they begin to fly off, Katara tries to assure Aang that he did the right thing, as Zuko and his men would have burnt down the entire village if they had remained. Aang suddenly leaps down from Appa back into the Kyoshi's waters. A second later, the Unagi bursts out of the water with Aang clinging onto its whiskers. With some struggle, he manages to gain footing on the giant eel's head and directs it towards the burning village. The Unagi then spews a blast of water, extinguishing the fires. Aang leaps into the air, is caught up by Appa, and the three fly away as the Unagi swims under them.

The Southern Air Temple

Katara and Aang are packing up their campsite. Aang is planning to visit the only home he has known, the Southern Air Temple. Sokka wants to sleep a bit longer. Too anxious to wait, Aang picks up a pricklestick and slides it across Sokka’s sleeping bag. Aang shouts to Sokka there’s a prickle snake in his sleeping bag. Terrified, Sokka leaps up screaming. After falling to the ground, Sokka realizes he’s been tricked but now that he’s up, they can leave.
Off the coast of the Southwest Earth Kingdom, Prince Zuko docks at a Fire Nation controlled harbor. His ship needs substantial repairs from his encounter with Aang. Zuko wants the repairs done quickly so they won’t lose Aang’s trail. He warns Iroh not to mention The Avatar during their stay so no other Firebenders will start looking for him. Zhao walks up to Iroh and Zuko welcoming them to his harbor. Zuko and Iroh learn of Zhao’s promotion from Captain to Commander. Seeing how damaged their ship is, Zhao asks how it happened. Zuko makes up a story about crashing into an Earth Kingdom ship. Curious, Zhao invites the pair of them for a drink. Zuko attempts to get out of it but Iroh speaks for both of them and accepts the invite.
Nearing the Patola Mountain Range, Sokka comments that they don’t have any food (as Aang used Sokka's blubbered seal jerky as fuel for their campfire). Katara is trying to keep Aang from getting too excited about their visit to the air temple. She tells him to expect the possibility that his people have been killed by the Fire Nation. Aang is convinced she’s wrong on the grounds that you have to fly to reach an Air Temple and the Fire Nation couldn’t possibly accomplish that. They reach the top of the mountain (above the clouds) and look down on the Southern Air Temple. Commander Zhao is explaining the Fire Nation’s planned victory to Zuko and Iroh over tea in his tent. Zuko voices his doubts that the plan will work. Zhao then asks about Zuko’s search for the Avatar, to which Zuko replies he has been unsuccessful. Zhao says he didn’t expect anything different. Zuko then gets up to leave but Commander Zhao’s guards stop him. One of Zhao’s soldiers walks in and reports that he interrogated Zuko’s crew and found out that Zuko had the Avatar but let him escape. Zuko has no choice but to tell Zhao the truth.
Sokka is still very hungry and is berated by Katara for being one of the first outsiders to see an Airbender temple and only think about food. Aang begins to give Katara and Sokka a tour of the temple but becomes disheartened almost immediately. Seeing his home abandoned he realizes how much things have changed, and in order to cheer him up, Sokka volunteers to play a game of airball with Aang. We see that airball is played much like soccer on a field composed of totem poles of various heights. The ball is propelled by Airbending and bounces off the totems into the opponents' goal, sometimes taking the opponent with it. Lying on the ground after being creamed, Sokka spots a Fire Nation helmet. He points it out to Katara and they agree to show it to Aang. When Aang begins to walk over, Katara changes her mind and covers the helmet with snow. After commenting that Katara's ability to manipulate snow is impressive, Aang wants to show them the rest of the temple. Sokka discourages Katara from protecting Aang’s feelings as she just did, to which Katara points out to Sokka that Aang would be devastated if he knew Firebenders invaded his home. They come to a statue of an Airbender monk which Aang introduces as Monk Gyatso. Gyatso was Aang’s mentor and father figure 100 years ago, Aang then flashes back to a day with him. Gyatso is teaching Aang how to make cakes and Aang isn’t listening. Aang has become burdened with the knowledge that he is the Avatar. Gyatso reassures Aang that he will be fine, that Aang must focus on the present, and that once Aang is old enough to enter the Air Temple Sanctuary, he will meet someone who will help him to become a better Avatar. Gyatso has Aang do some air bending target practice by blowing the freshly baked cakes through the air and onto the other elder monks’ heads while they're meditating. They are then pounced on by winged lemurs, slurping the cake off the monks' heads. The master and student laugh at their little prank and Gyatso congratulates Aang on his perfected aim.
Returning to the present, Aang makes for the Air Temple Sanctuary. There’s someone he’s ready to meet. Katara is doubtful that anyone has been closed off in the temple for 100 years, but Sokka hopes that the person in there has some food (particularly cured meats). To get into the Sanctuary, Aang Airbends two currents into the ornate locking mechanism causing it to open the doors. Aang then calls out, "Hello" and begins to walk into the darkened temple with Katara and Sokka following him. All three of them block an air current running under the floor of the Sanctuary which causes a humming noise.
Commander Zhao is appalled that a twelve-year-old boy bested Zuko and his crew. Zuko passionately states that he is going to hunt the Avatar from now on and shall not underestimate the Avatar again. When Zhao replies that he will be taking over the hunt for the Avatar, Zuko leaps for Zhao in a rage but is held back by the guards. Zhao orders for Zuko and Iroh to be kept in his tent and leaves. In anger, Zuko kicks a table as Iroh asks for more tea.
The Air Temple Sanctuary is filled with hundreds of statues, and Sokka (still hungry) is thoroughly disappointed at there not being any food. Katara and Aang notice a pattern in the line of the statues. They're arrayed in the Avatar cycle (Air, Water, Earth, and Fire). From that Katara figures out that these are statues of previous incarnations of the Avatar, Aang’s past lives. Aang singles out the last statue in the line and gazes into the statue’s eyes, going into a kind of trance. A gentle shake from Katara breaks him out of the trance, at which point Aang knows the statue is of Avatar Roku, the Avatar before him. Sokka recognizes Roku as a Firebender by his robes and top-knot. The three of them hear the humming noise from the entrance indicating that someone else has just come in. Preparing to fight a Firebender, they reveal themselves to see it’s just a lemur. Desperately hungry, Sokka wants to eat the lemur for dinner. Aang on the other hand wants to keep the lemur as a pet. This prompts a race to see who can catch the lemur first. Katara stays behind in the Temple Sanctuary while Aang and Sokka run after the lemur, each trying to trip the other up. As it turns out, the lemur can fly, and Aang jumps off the balcony of the temple in his determination to catch the lemur. Commander Zhao and his search party are almost ready to set sail on their search for the Avatar. Zhao will then release Zuko when his ship is out at sea. Zuko states forcefully that he is going to capture the Avatar before Zhao, who laughs at the thought. How can a banished prince compete with a resourceful commander with hundreds of warships at his disposal? Zhao then demeans Zuko by telling him that his father would let him come home without the Avatar if the Fire Lord really loved him. Zhao states that all Lord Ozai sees in his son is failure. Zuko challenges Zhao out of pure rage and disgust to an Agni Kai at sunset, to which Zhao accepts. After Zhao leaves the tent, Iroh reminds Zuko about how his last duel with a Firebending master turned out. Zuko responds; "I will never forget".
After landing safely, Aang follows the lemur and discovers a room where there lay many Fire Nation soldiers’ bodies, centered around the skeleton of Monk Gyatso. His laughter stops. His former master and father figure gone, Aang starts to cry. Sokka finally catches up to Aang and questions whether he caught the lemur, going on to say that he didn't actually intend on eating it. It isn't long before he sees what has made Aang so upset. As Sokka tries to comfort Aang, he suddenly goes into the Avatar State and creates an Air Sphere around himself, violently blowing Sokka backwards.
Back in the temple, Katara observes that all the Avatar statues’ eyes begin to glow in the same brilliant white as Aang's tattoos. Realizing Aang must be the cause of this, she runs out to find the boys. In this moment, the Water, Earth, and Fire Nation Temples simultaneously experience a similar event, Avatar statues and murals start to glow. In the Fire Temple, the fire sages hasten to inform the Fire Lord that the Avatar has returned.
After finding a windswept Sokka, Katara is informed that Aang found out that fire benders killed Gyatso. Aang’s anger has escalated so that he now floats within his Air Sphere. Katara then makes her way toward Aang in order to calm him down.
It is sunset and Commander Zhao and Prince Zuko are ready to duel. The two combatants begin back to back. Iroh counsels Zuko to remember his basics as they are his greatest assets, but Zuko doesn't appear to heed his uncle's wisdom, instead simply stating that he will not lose and assumes his stance. Zhao claims that the duel will end swiftly, and also assumes his stance. The two opponents stare deeply and fiercely into each other's eyes. The gong sounds and the match commences. Zhao seems more than a match for Zuko, effortlessly avoiding and nullifying all of Zuko's fireblasts. As he catches his breath, Iroh continues to advise Zuko to remember his basics. Zhao then proceeds to throw his own volley of fireblasts. Zuko is able to block each, but is slowly forced back with every parry. For the final blast, Zhao uses both fists, forming a blast that connects and knocks Zuko to the ground. Pressing the attack, Zhao leaps into the air, covers the distance between him and Zuko, and prepares a finishing fireblast aimed directly for Zuko's face. An instant before contact, Zuko rolls out of the way, rises with a kicking flourish, and knocks Zhao out of his stance. With newfound vigor, Zuko releases a series of low attacks that cause Zhao to retreat, finishing him with a jet of fire from a full body kick. Zhao expects Zuko to strike him once more, to mark his victory, but Zuko releases a fireblast past Zhao’s face instead, promising next time Zhao is in his way, he will not hold back. As he turns to walk away, enraged by his defeat, Zhao sends a jet of fire at Zuko’s back, which Iroh swiftly stops with his bare hand. After throwing Zhao to the ground, Iroh lectures Zhao about how dishonorably he has acted, and that his nephew is more honorable even in exile. Iroh is still polite enough to thank Zhao for the tea. After leaving the arena, Zuko asks Iroh if he really meant what he said back there, to which Iroh responds: "Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite". As the two walk back towards the ship, the faintest of smiles crosses Prince Zuko's lips.
At the Air Temple, Katara attempts to console Aang by imparting how she felt when she lost her mother, and even goes on to state that even though his people are gone, both she and Sokka are now his family. The words seems to reach Aang, who falls out of the Avatar state and slowly descends back onto the ground. Sokka backs Katara's statement with the promise that neither will let anything happen to him. With this, Aang finally comes to the conclusion that he is indeed the last of his kind. Just before they leave, Aang stands before Roku’s statue once more, wondering how his past life can help him if he is dead. Suddenly, the lemur reappears with a variety of fruits and lays them in front of Sokka, who doesn’t waste any time wolfing them down. The lemur then climbs onto Aang’s shoulder, possibly bonding with him because of his Airbender tattoos. After realizing that the lemur, Appa, and he himself are the last survivors of the Southern Air Temple, Aang names the lemur Momo, the newest addition to their family. Night falls as the gang flies off on Appa. Deep with thought, Aang takes one last gaze at his old home before it fades behind the clouds.