Today on Avatar, we learn the answers to questions no one had.

Out of pretty much nowhere, Avatar Roku tells Aang to head to his village so he can learn the history behind himself and Firelord Sozin.

At the same time, Zuko receives a message telling him to learn the truth behind his grandfather’s demise.

There seems to be nothing at the island village, but Toph senses that are buildings buried beneath the ash.  With no one around to help guide them, Toph decides to meditate to speak with Roku.

Zuko’s investigation into Sozin hits a dead-end, but the scroll sent to him had invisible ink on it.  The hidden message tells of a hidden history kept by the Fire Sages.

Basically, Roku and Sozin were friends.  Then Roku was announced as the new Avatar, and he had to leave the Fire Nation to undergo Avatar training.

When Roku returned, he was still friends with Sozin, and he married that one chick he had his eye on when he was younger.  Because “true love finds a way.”  So remember, kids: that one cute person you like but never talked to?  If you believe, you’ll end up marrying that person.  Because true love.

Everything sounds good… until Sozin tells Roku of his spectacular plan to spread the peace and prosperity of the Fire Nation to the rest of the world… by conquering it.

Roku doesn’t much appreciate the plan and intimidates Sozin into giving it up.

And so, the Fire Nation remained peaceful.  For decades.  Then, the volcano at Roku’s village erupted.

Sozin arrives to help Roku try to save the village, and it seems an old friendship is about to be patched up… but then Sozin figures, “what if it didn’t?”

So Sozin leaves Roku to die, and Aang is born.  Roku tells Aang that the key to winning this war is to “make sense of their history.”  Okay, whatever you say.  Meanwhile, Zuko is pissed because that story didn’t tell him anything.  So he confronts Iroh, who Zuko is sure sent the scroll, and Iroh tells him that the scroll referred to his other grandfather.  Not Sozin, but Roku.  Yes, it turns out Zuko REALLY IS a descendant of Roku, and because of this fact, Zuko has it in himself to do great good and bring balance to the world again.  Because good and evil are hereditary, I guess.

He also gives Zuko Roku’s headdress, which was only supposed to be passed down to the crown prince of the Fire Nation.

Okay, so that was… pointless.  Not sure what that revelation was supposed to accomplish.

Next episode…

Katara has Toph captured by Fire Nation.

Skip back about three days, when Katara and Toph are helping Aang train to fight blind, reading the earth like Toph.  They clash into each other and start fighting.

After the fight breaks up, Toph suggests going into town, but they don’t have much money.  So they use their last coin to gamble on a game similar to three-card monte where the gambler has to point at the rock hidden under a cup.  It’s of course a scam, but Toph uses her senses and a little bit of Earthbending to cheat the cheater and win big.  Katara disagrees with earning money this way, but Toph decides to continue to scam her way to riches.

One of the best scams is Toph pretending to get run over by a cart and Sokka pretending to be an official so he can get bribed to keep hush.

Everything seems to go fine despite Katara’s warnings that they’re getting too much attention… until they get too much attention.  While Sokka goes out to buy them a new messenger hawk (named Hawky!), he spots a wanted poster for Toph (whom the locals have dubbed “The Runaway”).

He also comes up with a name for their pursuer: Sparchi Sparchi Buman.  No wait, I probably butchered that.  How is it really spelled?

Sokka agrees to keep the poster secret (and Toph kinda REALLY likes being called “The Runaway”), but Katara finds out and chews her out.  But then Sokka tries to talk some sense into Toph and just so happens to have a heart-to-heart right above where Katara is taking a bath.

So the two have their reconciliation moment, but Katara unexpectedly suggests they go out with one final “ultimate scam.”  Toph digs it.

The plan is to turn Toph in for her reward money, then have her break free with her Metalbending.  Sounds simple and easy.  But then she gets placed in a wooden prison.

Yep, it was a trap set up by Buman.

Katara realizes that they are just bait to trap Aang, so she does what she can to break out:

Er, no… she works up a sweat and SWEATBENDS out.

The Squad manages to escape (and Sokka finalizes the assassin’s name as “Combustion Man”), and Katara helps Toph write a letter to her parents, because Toph missing her parents was kind of a plot point I chose to completely gloss over.  Oh, and they send the letter via messenger hawk.  G’bye, Hawky!

In the next episode, the Squad tells scary stories around a campfire, when-

So the old woman, Hama, brings the Squad to their gingerbread house to fatten them up.  The woman is nice, but Sokka finds something off about her and investigates her house.

They get caught trying to open a chest, which Hama reveals is hiding… a comb.

Hama reveals that she’s from the Southern Water Tribe and the last Waterbender to be captured by the Fire Nation.  Why the Fire Nation captured Waterbenders instead of killing them, we may never know.

Hama also offers to train Katara in the ways of the Southern style of Waterbending, which I assume has a spicy kick.  Meanwhile, the others investigate mysterious disappearances in the forest, believed to be caused by a malevolent spirit only active during full moons.

Sokka does not take kindly to Toph’s suggestion that the Moon Spirit just went loco.

Hama teaches Katara the ability to bend water out of air… then goes into dark magic territory by taking the water out of plants.

Then she reveals her ultimate technique that can only be used under the full moon: bending the blood in other living things to control them.

It was a technique she learned while captive in prison, and she manipulated a guard to free her of her cell.  Since escaping, she remained in the Fire Nation to implement her revenge.  For instance, you know all those missing people?  She’s been trapping them in a cave the same way she was imprisoned for years.

Katara decides crazy hag is crazy and turns on her, but she Bloodbends Aang and Sokka into attacking her.  Ultimately, Katara uses Bloodbending against Hama to stop her, and Hama is imprisoned, but happy that she finally managed to pass on Bloodbending to a young and capable Waterbender, leaving Katara distraught about her new gift.

Ultimately, that was one of the strongest and heaviest episodes of the entire series, and you can’t help but feel sorry for Hama.  Crazy bitch was a badass.  But she was also so racist (how racist was she?) she was worse than Jet! (canned laughter)

In the next episode, Aang deals with sleep deprivation because of bad dreams.

Aang has dreams about taking on Firelord Ozai, but he fails in humiliation.  Then we hear of other dreams where the rest of his friends suffer horrible deaths (I assume).  Aang figures the best course of action is to not sleep until the invasion.  Yeah, we get dumbass Aang today.

So the rest of the Squad tries to help Aang get some sleep and not stress about the coming battle.  They kinda fail.

Meanwhile, Zuko is a celebrated hero in the Fire Nation, but he can’t help but sulk when he finds out there was a big war meeting he wasn’t invited to.  Except then he gets invited to it, so it’s all good.  But when he finally gets to act the prince like he always wanted, he isn’t satisfied.

Aang’s dreams get even weirder…

Then he starts having hallucinations.

Ultimately, it’s a pick-me-up speech from the rest of the Squad that helps Aang out, and he finally gets a good night’s sleep.

In the next episode, the invasion is finally here!  And so are some familiar faces who are ready to help.

It’s here that I have a massive revelation: Katara has been building her own harem.  Zuko didn’t fail to add Katara to his harem; Katara added Zuko to HER harem!  It all makes perfect sense now!  So, if Katara’s harem consists of Aang, Jet, Haru, and Zuko… that means she’s on even standing with Sokka!  Everyone just digs those Southern Water Tribe people.

Wait… does Teo have wheelchair bending powers?

 

At least Teo’s dad gives Aang a new glider.

The invasion begins with the ships passing into Fire Nation territory under cover of mist, but the guards see through the ruse.

They board the invasion fleet, but no one’s there… because Sokka invented submarines!

The subs resurface for air, and Aang separates from the group to challenge the Firelord, but not before having a goodbye kiss with Katara.

As the invasion approaches the beach for a D-Day style slaughter (or not), Zuko has made his final decision regarding what side he’s on.

There’s really not much I can say about the invasion scene. It plays out about as well as you would expect: by highlighting the ragtag characters and showing their impeccable progress.

Hakoda gets injured taking out a tower, and it’s up to Sokka to lead the invasion while Katara heals.

Strangely enough, there’s almost no one in the city, and when Aang arrives at the Firelord’s palace for the final showdown… no one’s home.

To be continued.

Well, this was another strong run of episodes, but I’m seriously starting to wonder just HOW many times Aang and Katara are going to have a climactic kiss scene.  You can only have so many before it loses all meaning.

And it’s a bit disappointing that out of all the allies they brought for the invasion, they didn’t think to call in any Waterbenders from the Northern Tribe or any of those assholes from the Great Divide.  Sure, it was a crappy episode, but they could’ve fit right in with the swampbenders.

Zuko had kind of a weak run here, but it seems his arc is finally starting to get back on track, so there’s that.

Finally… seriously, what happened to those badass archers?  If they were guarding the palace, Aang would be screwed hard.