Previously, on Avatar…

The Avatar State… is Aang’s uncontrollable super mode.  He went into it like three times in Book 1.

Apparently, THAT was the focus of the recap scene kicking off Book 2.  Swell.

So, the gang leaves the Northern Water Tribe and heads to Omashu so Aang can learn Earthbending from Bumi.  I guess this is the season where people are finally going to listen to my pointless shouting at the monitor.

Meanwhile, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation embarks on her mission, and her first priority is to capture  her brother Zuko, who has no idea that he’s a wanted criminal.  Of the Fire Nation, that is.

Meanwhile, the gang arrives in the Earth Kingdom and have a chat with an Earth Kingdom general that tells Aang to forget about Earthbending and just use his Avatar State to kill the Firelord.

Because that is totally going to happen.

So yeah, Avatar State can’t be controlled, Earth Kingdom guy says we’ll find a way, and it’s pretty obvious how this episode is going to go.

Anyway, Azula does some training on the boat and we learn she can use lightning.

To be honest, I usually am at a loss about whether lightning falls under “fire” or “air” when it isn’t its own element, so this is perfectly acceptable.  It’s just… sudden.

Also, I have to point out before I forget… there’s a lot of CG water now, and at least one case of CG campfire.  It looks stupid as hell, especially since waves and large ripples are still hand-animated.  It’s a completely worthless expense.

Meanwhile, Aang’s so-called Avatar State training goes completely nowhere.

And back to Zuko’s story.  Honestly, this is just a massive flaw that can’t be overlooked.  Whenever an episode is split between Aang and Zuko stories, Zuko’s part ALWAYS wins out.  Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but the Avatar IS supposed to be the main focus of this series, isn’t he?  I mean, nothing about Zuko is in the title “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

So, Azula comes face-to-face with Zuko MUCH faster than I honestly expected, and she tells Zuko that the Fire Lord wants him back since there are rumors of rebellion against the throne, and the Fire Lord can only trust family, and he regrets banishing Zuko.  So Zuko totally goes along with this blatant lie, because apparently he’s either in complete denial, or he unexpectedly can only see the good in people.  Nahh, not buying that last one.  Denial it is.

Back to Aang.  After everything fails, Aang says the only way he can turn into the Avatar State is if he is in genuine danger.  This leads the Earth Kingdom general to decide to put him and his friends in genuine danger.

This is a bad idea.  A very obviously bad idea.  Because even if the plan works and Aang goes into the Avatar State, just who is he going to direct that power at?

Yep.  Earth Kingdom.  You stupid freaking idiot.

Aang eventually regains control and gives up on the Avatar State shortcut.  Oh, and he had a dream where Roku told him about the Avatar State being a defense mechanism, where the Avatar is at its most powerful, but also most vulnerable.  Why?  Because if the Avatar is killed while in Avatar State, the Avatar will not return to the cycle.  Meaning he won’t be reborn.  Oh, is that all?  So… no actual extra vulnerabilities at all, gotcha.  I mean, sure, all the knowledge gathered from those past lives will be gone, but… whatever.  More importantly, how does Roku know this?  Did this happen before?  Was there another Avatar set before the current Avatar?  If Aang dies in Avatar State, does a completely new Avatar get born?

Whatever, let’s just roll with it.

Anyway, Zuko and Iroh almost fall into Azula’s trap, but Azula’s underling accidentally refers to them as “prisoners,” giving them ample time to fight their would-be captors off.

Iroh kinda offhanded shows he’s more skilled than Azula, as he knows exactly how to redirect her attacks, and he gets Zuko off the boat to escape.

Of course, now everyone in Fire Kingdom knows they’re wanted.

So, Iroh and Zuko cut off their topknots and call it a day.

Next episode, the gang was totally turned off by the Earth Kingdom military, so they make their way to Omashu by themselves.  Along the way, Katara and Aang train in Waterbending.  I have to point out that his episode is titled “The Cave of Two Lovers,” which means it’s going to be one of THOSE episodes.

At this point, we ALL know the deal with Aang and Katara… but it seems the writers don’t, as it depends entirely on the episode whether Aang treats Katara with respect as an important friend that he also happens to like, or OH GOD, KATARA’S SO BEAUTIFUL HOW DO I LET HER KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE HER.

So while Aang practices the Octopus form, a bunch of traveling hippies / seriously happy hobos stop by and sing some songs.

When they learn that the gang is headed to Omashu, they perform a song about a nearby cave called, well, the Cave of Two Lovers.  It seems there were two lovers who were separated by war, but they met in the cave to, I dunno, fool around in the dark.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh learn to deal with their new life of not sponging off Fire Nation funds.

Okay, so apparently Zuko’s hairstyle was a choice.  Color me surprised.

Anyway, since they have to deal with foraging for food, Iroh comes to the most important choice of his life: figuring out if the plant he’s looking at makes delicious tea or is poisonous.

Turns out it’s poisonous.

The gang finally decides it’s time to head to Omashu, but the Fire Nation has them completely surrounded, so they have no choice but to go through the Cave of Two Lovers.  Which, as it turns out, is a labyrinth.  A shifting one, at that.

Zuko brings Iroh to a nearby hospital and are treated by the adorable Song.

Iroh and Zuko pass themselves off as refugees, and Song kinda blatantly comes on to Zuko.  She tries to touch Zuko’s scar and says she too was hurt by the Fire Nation, which kinda hits straight to Zuko’s heart, and not in a good way.

So yeah, that turns out to be a total mood-killer.  Either that, or Zuko’s just not into girls.  Then again, he was totally creepy over Katara a while back, so maybe he just has a villain fetish thing.

Back in the cave, there’s a cave-in, and Aang and Katara are separated from everyone else.  Naturally, the two make it to the tomb of the two lovers, where they uncover the true story behind the lovers.

Turns out, the two lovers were the first Earthbenders, and they learned the skill from GIANT BADGERS who could Earthbend.  (So uh… did other element bending come from giant animals too?) They used their skills to create the labyrinth where they would do terrible sinful things in the dark, at least until one of them died.  Then the other used her power to end the war and start a new city of peace.  The lovers were named Oma and Shu, and the city was named Omashu.  Gotta say, this was an impressive bit of world-building, but that was always the series strong suit.

Anyway, this was not the exit, so Katara suggests they follow the directions of the legend and “trust in love” to reach the exit.  Which she thinks means kissing.  After some predictable bickering, they finally decide to go for it just as their torch goes out.  That’s when they learn that there are stones in the cave that light the way to the exit, but only if there is no source of light.  Turns out trusting in love means not trusting in torches.  And it’s left ambiguous whether or not Katara and Aang did anything in that brief moment of darkness.

Once they get out, Sokka and the rest of the bums make it out as well.  Not because they trusted in love, but because they found some giant badgers and rode them out.  Gotta say, I dig Sokka’s style.

Now that they’re out, finally they can get to Omashu.

Back to Zuko, as he leaves, he decides to steal a ride just outside Song’s house.  Song actually witnesses this and seems disappointed, but does nothing because… I dunno, I guess it’s easy to forgive hot guys.

In the next episode, the gang infiltrates Omashu the only way they can: through the sewers.

Since Omashu is now under Fire Nation control, there is a governor in place, and they have Motoko Aoyama as a bodyguard, apparently.

Meanwhile, Azula is gathering a gang together, and the first place she goes to is a circus, where an old friend is working.

The acrobat Ty Lee has some history with Azula, though it’s never quite clear (at least not yet) what, if any, skills she possesses to make it onto her elite squad.  Probably nepotism.

Meanwhile, Aang and company totally break their cover and end up finding a resistance force that has no hopes of beating the Fire Nation.  They learn that Bumi surrendered to the Fire Nation and is now their prisoner.  Aang convinces the resistance to escape Omashu and live to fight another day.  They do this by pretending to have a highly contagious disease and just walk out the front gate.  It somehow works.

Speaking of fire, Azula chooses to respect Ty Lee’s wishes to stay in the circus by intimidating the fuck out of her during her performance.

Turns out, the governor’s son walked out with the rest of the Omashu residents accidentally, and the governor believes kidnapping his son was the entire point of the ploy, so he arranges a trade: Bumi for his son.  Talk about lucking out.

Unfortunately, Azula somehow makes it to Omashu with Ty Lee in tow, and she takes charge of the operation.  Also, she recruits Mai into her ranks and we learn that Mai kinda has a thing for Zuko.  Whether this is an actual thing or a wants-to-torture-him-to-death thing is kind of up in the air.  Mai’s a little hard to read like that.

So, when the gang goes to trade the baby, they’re met with Azula’s Angels.

In the ensuing battle, Aang manages to free Bumi, but Bumi reveals that he willingly gave himself up because he’s waiting for the right time to strike.  He also tells Aang that his Earthbending master will have to be a master of listening to the earth and waiting for that right time.  Meanwhile, Katara is kind of badass until Ty Lee hits some pressure points that disables her Waterbending (oh, I guess she is useful for something).  Fortunately, Sokka isn’t a bender of any sort, and he kinda fends the girls off and rescues Katara.

Next episode, the gang gets trapped in a kind of living swamp inhabited by some weirdo Deliverance guys.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are begging on the street, and some dude with swords forces Iroh to dance for a gold coin.

The Blue Spirit promptly returns the following night, beats the guy up, and steals his swords.

I don’t give a shit about the rest of the episode.  Aang sees a vision of a girl he’ll meet in the future, I guess.

In the next episode, the gang gets caught up in a battle with the Fire Nation and are forced to flee and leave Sokka’s boomerang behind.

*cue Pikachu’s Goodbye*

They end up in a village celebrating Avatar Day and enjoy themselves.

Until it turns out everyone there freaking hates the Avatar.

Apparently, long ago, Avatar Kiyoshi murdered Chin the Great, a respected figure of the village.  And so ALL of the Avatar’s lives are hated for Kiyoshi’s crime.

Aang agrees to undergo the village’s trial, and it’s up to Sokka to investigate and prove Aang’s innocence.

After investigating the scene of the crime, he decides to make a visit to Kiyoshi Island.

Yes, THAT Kiyoshi Island.

Oh, and Sokka asks about Suki because he’s totally on the rebound.  His last girlfriend kinda died and became a moon spirit.  I hope Suki is interested in dying and becoming something too.  Oh, she’s fighting in the war?  Well, halfway there.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are roughing it, and Zuko uses his Blue Spirit persona to steal from the rich.  And probably the poor, too; he’s not picky.

Luckily, Zuko isn’t around too much to take the spotlight away from Sokka, and, I guess, Aang.

Turns out, Sokka’s investigation is all for nothing, as the trial is completely fixed in the favor of… um… Chi Fu from Mulan?  The accuser.

The defendant can’t have anyone represent him, so Sokka has to tell Aang about the evidence he found, but Aang sucks, so he’s not convincing anyone.  Sokka decides the only way to settle the trial is to have Kiyoshi herself explain her innocence, so they dress Aang up as Kiyoshi in an effort to bring Kiyoshi out.

Miraculously, it works.

Unfortunately, Kiyoshi confesses to killing Chin, who was a conquerer who pretty much almost accomplished what the Fire Lord is doing now by spreading his empire to the rest of the world.  Until he was stopped by Kiyoshi, who separated her village from the mainland, creating Kiyoshi Island.

The villagers kinda don’t give a crap and call for Aang’s punishment via the Wheel of Punishment.

And the punishment is… BOILED ALIVE IN OIL!

But then the Fire Nation shows up to conquer the village.  Aang can’t save the village if he’s to be boiled, so not-Chi Fu-from-Mulan moves the wheel to “community service,” which means Aang serves his punishment by driving the Fire Nation away from the village.

Oh, and one of the soldiers had Sokka’s boomerang!

*cue Reunited (and it feels so good)*

The village is saved, and they celebrate Avatar Day with new unfried dough snacks to celebrate the fact that the Avatar was NOT boiled alive.  Yippee.

Meanwhile, Zuko decides he has to follow his own path and separates from Iroh.

And that’s the end of this disc.  Gotta say, there’s been a lot of improvements over the first book, especially with the characters, but there were also some unnecessary stylistic choices and some overall weaker episodes.  Seriously, fuck The Swamp.