I complained in my post about the previous episode that the show lacks consistency when it comes to quality, but I had a realization as I began typing this. The show does have consistency. It’s consistently frustrating. Will this episode continue that? Probably!
At the end of the previous episode, Azula has found her way inside Ba Sing Se, Zuko has found where the Avatar is in Ba Sing Se, and the Avatar has found out that Long Feng is the one insisting that there is no war in Ba Sing Se. Everything’s happening inside Ba Sing Se!
The episode opens with Aang worrying about how he treated Katara near the end of the previous episode, where he directed her frustrations at her rather than dealing with it more productively. He realizes that he needs to apologize to her, but Katara’s meeting with General Sung to figure out a way to deal with everything. Meanwhile, Aang is thinking of heading to the Spirit Library to find out information about the Great Comet to give to the Earth King.
Katara’s meeting with General Sung is…sorta productive? General Sung says she’s been rallying people to support Aang, because Long Feng is not to be underestimated, and sharing information about the Great Comet with the Earth King will put everyone’s lives on the line. However, neither one of them knows that Zuko has been watching them.
Back at the Avatar villa, Sokka learns more about the Spirit Library, which can be accessed via the spirit scar Wan Shi Tong left when he took his library from the human plane. The Gaang’s already been through such a scar when they encountered Hei Bai, although at this point in the episode I try to recall whether the Gaang accessed the Spirit Library by going to a different plane. Didn’t they just go underground? All that planning is cut short, though, with the arrival of a messenger who tells Toph that her mother is coming to Ba Sing Se to fix things with her.
Over at the outer wall, General Sung meets with Azula and her minions, who are disguised as Kyoshi Warriors. While General Sung has questions, she welcomes these ~Kyoshi Warriors~ and conveniently tells them that Ba Sing Se has no knowledge of the war or the military operations being conducted by the army. Of course, Azula uses this to her advantage when Long Feng finally visits her when her Joo Dee takes her to her lodgings. She plants the seed of distrust and just waits for it to bloom.
Down in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se, Toph ends up at the tea shop Iroh is working at while she’s trying to find the Spirit Library. The two of them have a conversation about choices they’ve made in life — or in Toph’s case, choices her parents made — and it’s a good conversation.
Not having a good conversation are Katara and Jet, who meet once again after that attack on the Fire Nation refugees. Katara wants Jet to help them find the Spirit Library since he knows the streets of the lower ring, and he only agrees to it after she offers to buy the goods he’s fencing at triple the price. I don’t know if this is a great reinterpretation of Jet, but let’s see how this all ends.
After that conversation with Toph, Iroh finally has a chat with Zuko where he admits his mistakes and tells Zuko that he’s ready to face them. He also asks Zuko to choose what kind of man he wants to be, but for it to be his choice and not because it’s what he thinks his father wants.
The other firebender inside Ba Sing Se, Azula, has figured out that the Earth King isn’t the one in control of Ba Sing Se, so she kills Joo Dee to find out who the actual ruler is. Of course, she ends up with Long Feng, and Azula tells him that the two of them have a lot to discuss.
Elsewhere in Ba Sing Se, Jet has led the Gaang to where the Spirit Library is and has volunteered to help. How, exactly? Well, I don’t understand how, either, but maybe we’ll get to see it. The Gaang finally gets to go inside the Spirit Library, and Wan Shi Tong tells them that the library has been hidden from humans ever since Fire Nation spies burned a wing to hide knowledge of how to defeat them. Zei does get them in by offering the map that got them there to Wan Shi Tong, and Wan Shi Tong makes them promise not to use any knowledge gained from the library to harm others. I am hoping this is to set up Aang’s choice in the third season.
The guys split up once they’re inside, and Aang ends up meeting the spirit of Yangchen, who shares that she’s spent her life dealing with spies and liars and can help Aang handle people like Long Feng. Kyoshi also appears and talks to Toph, which, okay. She counsels Toph about her situation and. Okay. There’s that.
Elsewhere in the library, Sokka is taken to a room where he sees the moon, and he has a heart-to-moon talk about how Yue’s death has changed him. That’s great and all, and the actor probably liked how he got to do more with Sokka, but it’s just hard to top the comedic elegance of “That’s rough, buddy.”
Back to Yangchen and Aang, audiences get some backstory about Yangchen, which a look at the wiki tells me is canon in the books that came out since the animated show happened. I have not read those, so am trusting the wiki! Yangchen also tells him that if he dies in the Avatar state, the Avatar ends forever, which I vaguely remember was something we learned from The Legend of Korra. I also vaguely remember that there were some stupid rule about the Avatar state from the first season of this show, but let’s not go back to that now. Let’s forget they ever said it!
There’s also the conversation that Jet and Katara have about the aftermath of Azula’s invasion of Omashu and how it led to the deaths of Pipsqueak and The Duke and did they die in the animated series as well? I can’t remember. It’s a great acting moment for the Jet actor, though.
Back to Kyoshi and Toph, we find out why this conversation had to happen in the first place. The Kyoshi in this adaptation tracked all the times when benders were stronger or weaker, which is how we find out about The Day of Black Sun when firebnders lose their bending, and how to calculate for when the Great Comet arrives. And wouldn’t you know it, Sokka’s in a room where you can see what the skies going to look like on specific days.
Outside of the Spirit Library, Zuko has drawn Appa and Momo away from the prone bodies of the Gaang so that he can…have a crisis of conscience. But he triumphs over his baser instincts and actually proves himself honorable! Good on you Zuko.
Not so honorable is Zei, who tattles to Wan Shi Tong about the Gaang trying to find out about the Day of Black Sun, so Wan Shi Tong eats him. Not from the series, but a change I accept! Jet also ends up dying inside the Spirit Library as he stays behind to distract Wan Shi Tong so that the rest of the Gaang can escape. What was all that about Lake Laogai then?
Things don’t get any better once they get out of the Spirit Library, as a group has taken Appa, which pisses Aang off enough that he goes into the Avatar state.
If any of you guys like what I do, feel free to leave me a tip!
Leave a comment