Avatar Episode - The Beach

Azula, Zuko, Ty Lee and Mai are on a boat to Ember Island for the weekend. Ty Lee is excited but Zuko thinks it is a waste of time. Azula explains that the Fire Lord wants to meet with his advisers alone.
They arrive and are greeted by the two old ladies Lo and Li. They look up the beach and see a tiny shack. The ladies know that they are not happy to be there but that the island is a special place.

Meanwhile, Aang and the others are relaxing in a pool surrounded by rock walls. Toph worries that Aang should be covering up his tattoos but Katara says they are surrounded by walls so they should be fine. Aang goes down a slide of water that he finds. Nearby, two Fire Nation soldiers lay around a small outpost. They groan how boring the job is then they hear a yell and see Aang fall out of the water tunnel.

Aang suggests to Momo that they go again and he leaps up the cliff wall to their hiding place. Shocked, the guards realize that the Avatar is still alive. They get their messenger hawk and tie on a priority message.

On the beach of Ember Island, the group walks up and on the way Azula frightens some small children. A boy runs up to Ty Lee and offers to unpack her bag. She hands him the heavy bag and he falls over. He quickly takes out a beach towel and, at her request, stands in front of the sun to give her some shade.

Zuko sees a shell and offers it to Mai as a present. She doesn’t care though so Zuko throws it away. It falls next to a boy and he looks over. He sees Ty Lee and runs up to offer the shell to her. An argument breaks out between the two boys who are trying to impress her.

Zuko walks up to Mai with some snow cones but as he gives it to her, it falls on her lap. Azula spots some people playing a game further down the beach. She says they are playing next and orders Ty Lee to come over and leave the 3 boys who are taking care of her. Zuko removes his shirt and some girls start giggling.

Azula explains her strategy and the game begins. The game goes fairly quickly and two boys watch their progress. The game ends and the two boys walk over and invite Ty Lee and Mai to a party they are having that night. Azula asks why they didn’t invite her and Zuko. The boys Chan and ronjohn (Chan is the son of Admiral Chan mentioned in the awakening) consent to let them come too.

Back at their house, Zuko asks why Azula didn’t reveal who they were. Azula says that she just wanted to see what it was like. Somewhere else, the messenger hawk is flying with its message when it is attacked by another bird. The other bird, tangles the messenger in its own ribbon then steals its message after it falls to the ground.

It flies back with the message and lands on an arm of metal. It hands over the message to none other than the assassin hired by Zuko. He reads the letter then it starts to burn. Azula and the group arrive at the party but there is no one there yet. Azula tries to compliment Chan but she does not do very well.

As the party gets going, all the boys from the beach ask her who she likes, she gets scared and paralyzes all of them. She walks up to Azula who says that the boys don’t really like her. Ty Lee starts crying and Azula apologizes and explains she is a little jealous. Ty Lee tries to coach her in how to get a boy to like her but Azula has some trouble not being intimidating.

Mai and Zuko are bored so Mai tells Zuko to go get her some food. Azula walks up to Chan who is talking with another girl and asks for a tour of the house. They go out on the deck overlooking the water and Azula manages to keep it together. They kiss and then Azula makes fire in her hands saying that they will rule the world together. Chan quickly runs away leaving Azula frustrated.

As Zuko is walking back to Mai with the food, he is jostled by a boy and the food falls to the ground. Zuko tells the boy off and says the food was for his girlfriend. He points and looks and find Mai talking to the other boy from the beach. He walks over and pushes him out of the way. Zuko warns him not to talk to his girlfriend. The boy walks over again and says that it is just a party. Zuko knocks him backward into a vase.

Mai tells him to stop getting angry over everything. Zuko yells back that she doesn’t even have emotions. Mai says it is over and Chan runs up and sees the vase. He tells Zuko to leave and Zuko says he was already leaving. Zuko walks alone on the beach and arrives at the house where he used to come as a kid.

He walks in and finds a picture of his family and a block with he imprinted his hand as a child. He has a series of flashbacks from his childhood. Somewhere in the Fire Nation, Aang and the others sleep. Toph wakes up and rouses the others saying that a metal man is coming. A beam of light falls on Aang’s face and he sees someone standing up on the cliff wall. The beam of light is coming from the figure’s metal arm.

The man rears back and then shoots a beam at the group from the eye on his forehead. Everyone tries to use their bending to block it but each time the man blasts right through it.

Azula finds Zuko at the house and tells him to come down to the beach. The group is gathered there. Zuko tries to approach Mai but she turns away. He asks her if she is cold but she does not answer. Ty Lee says she is and Zuko says he will make a fire.

The unknown assassin continues to fire blasts out of his third eye. Sokka wonders how they can defeat someone who can blow things up with his mind. Aang says he will distract the man while they get on Appa. With the man in pursuit, Aang leaps over into valley filled with stone pillars. With his earthbending, Aang tries every trick he knows but the man always blasts the earth away. Aang finds an opportunity and uses one of the blasts to shoot himself into the air where Appa picks him up. The group wonders who the man was and why he attacked.

Back on Ember Island, Ty Lee asks Zuko why he is burning the picture of his family. They get into an argument and names are called. Mai joins in and soon the whole group is arguing and explaining about their pasts. Ty Lee suggests they calm down before they break out. Zuko turns to her and points to his scar saying he does not have the luxury of worrying about his face.

Zuko explains that he is angry and he doesn’t know why. The others ask him who he is angry at but Zuko does not know. Finally he can’t take it and shouts that he is angry at himself. He says that he is confused and he is not sure if he knows the difference between right and wrong. Mai says she cares about him and they kiss.

Azula claps at their dramatic performances. Zuko says that she wouldn’t understand. Azula agrees and says that their mother liked Zuko more. She says that their own mother thought she was a monster. Azula admits that she was right but that it still hurt.

Ty Lee comments that the beach did help them learn about themselves just like Lo and Li said. She says she will always remember this. Azula says that they could make the trip really memorable. Chan opens the door and Azula says that they have bad news. They start trashing the place and they leave Chan crying as they leave the house in ruins.

Avatar Episode - Sokka's Master

Aang and the group are lying down watching a meteor shower. Everyone is impressed but Toph does not really think it is so cool because she can’t see it. Suddenly one of the meteors changes course and heads toward the ground. Sokka tells Toph that this is something that even she would be amazed by. The meteor passes over their heads by only a few meters. It then veers down and hits the ground several miles away.

They fly over on Appa, and see a growing fire surrounding the meteor. Seeing there is a town nearby, Aang, Katara and Toph use their bending to smother the fire. Sokka wants to help but since he can’t bend, Aang tells him to watch Momo. Katara takes water from a creek and puts it over the fire and Toph and Aang cover it with earth. Sokka can only watch. Aang tells Sokka to watch it and he sends a wave of water that turns to snow which buries Sokka.

In the Fire Nation prison, the door to Iroh’s prison is opened. The guard drops a bowl of food and Iroh crawls forward and starts eating it off the floor. The guard is disgusted and says Iroh is a disgrace. As soon as the guard has left, Iroh sits back and eats properly.

In the town, Aang comments on how no one knows how close they came to being burned by the fire. Toph wishes that they could be heroes but they know they cannot draw attention. Sokka scoffs at Toph saying “Ooh, poor heroes.” Katara asks what is wrong and Sokka admits that he feels like he is not able to do anything for the group since he can’t bend. The others try to cheer him up, but he is just down about it. Katara says they don’t think of him as useless and she thinks of something to make him happy.

They go shopping and Sokka gets a smile. He thinks maybe he can get a new weapon but he has trouble with all of the ones he looks at. Aang, meanwhile, surprises Katara when he appears before her in full armour. Finally, Sokka turns and sees a magnificent sword hanging on the wall. When he examines it, the shop owner says that it was made by Pi En Dow, the greatest sword master and sword maker in Fire Nation history.

Aang suddenly realizes that Sokka needs a master because all of them had one and so Sokka deserves one. Katara agrees that it is a good idea while Sokka thinks it over. Finally Sokka agrees. In the Fire Nation prison, Iroh opens his eyes and starts doing sit-ups.

Sokka walks up to the doors of the master and knocks. He has to knock many times before the door is opened. He says he wants to train with the master and the man tells him that Pi En Dow turns almost everyone away. Sokka goes in with the man to see Pi En Dow who is painting. Sokka introduces himself and asks to be trained. Pi En Dow asks him if he is the type who is good so they think that they deserve to train with a master. Sokka kneels and says that he knows he has a lot to learn. Sokka also says that he does not know if he is worthy. Pi En Dow smiles then goes up to Sokka and agrees to train him.

Later on, Pi En Dow tells Sokka that he must think of his sword as an extension of his body. Meanwhile, Aang and the others are lying down bored without Sokka. In the Fire Nation prison, Iroh also trains his body in secret.

Sokka is told by his master that he must practice arts to keep his mind sharp. He is told to write his name but he gets nervous and ends up painting his face and rubbing it on the paper. In a practice match later on, Sokka is quickly defeated by Pi En Dow’s attendant.

Next he is taken blindfolded to a clearing that overlooks a beautiful waterfall. He is given one short look at it then told to paint it without looking. When he finishes he has drawn a simple landscape and added a rainbow. Pi En Dow sighs. In his next practice battle, he does better but is still defeated.

At a rock garden, Pi En Dow tells Sokka that he needs to manipulate his surroundings to his own advantage. Sokka moves a rock and puts a blanket of grass on it. When the attendant sees him lying down he is shocked. Sokka asks for a drink and Pi En Dow asks for a lemon in his.

At the Fire Nation prison, Iroh continues to act like he has gone crazy while exercising. The guard looks on in on him and sees him with a vacant look clapping his hands. The guard mutters to himself and walks away and Iroh smiles. Aang and the others are still having trouble and they miss Sokka.

Pi En Dow congratulates him on his first day and tells him it is time for him to have a real sword. Sokka is told that he will make his own. The next day, Sokka is given different metals and told to choose one for his sword. Sokka looks at them all, then asks to leave and get a special material for his sword. Pi En Dow allows it.

Lying down, Toph suddenly tells the group that Sokka is coming. He arrives and the others hug him. He tells them he needs their help and they walk over to the crash site of the meteorite. With their help, Sokka is able to get the large rock back to the castle. Pi En Dow answers the door and Sokka presents the rock. Pi En Dow says they will make a sword unlike any other.

Over the next while, with Pi En Dow’s guidance, Sokka works on melting down the rock for his sword. Pi En Dow watches Sokka’s hard work looking pleased. Finally the blade is finished. Pi En Dow congratulates Sokka on his hard work and says that he was not impressed by Sokka’s skills but instead by his creativity and intelligence. Pi En Dow then says that Sokka is indeed worthy.

Sokka apologizes and says that he is not worthy. He reveals that he is from the Southern Water Tribe and says sorry. Pi En Dow also says sorry then turns and swings his sword at Sokka. Sokka avoids it and blocks with his own sword. Aang and the others prepare to help but Sokka tells them that it is his battle.

At the prison, the guard walks in and says that Iroh used to be the pride of the Fire Nation and tells him to look at what he has become. Iroh grabs a piece of food through the bars and watches as the guard leaves. He then takes off his robe and reveals his new fit body. As he eats he exercises more.

Sokka and Pi En Dow begin their battle while the others watch. Sokka is hard pressed but he is able to avoid all of Pi En Dow’s slashes. As they fight, Pi En Dow compliments him on his agility and his using of the battlefield to his advantage. As the battle rages on, they go through a forest and Sokka tries to slow Pi En Dow down.

They exit the forest and Sokka narrowly avoids an attack. He then is able to blind Pi En Dow by flicking dust into his eyes. Sokka tries to sneak away but he steps on a twig and Pi En Dow is able to knock Sokka's sword away. After the next attack, Sokka is knocked onto his back.

Seeing him in trouble Aang and the others rush forward. Before they can do anything however, Pi En Dow congratulates Sokka and sheathes his sword. He then comments that he is too old to fight the Avatar. Aang wonders how he knew but Pi En Dow says he picks things up. The attendant gives him a cloth to wipe his face and Pi En Dow says he knew all along that Sokka was Water Tribe from his name.

When asked why he still agreed to train Sokka, Pi En Dow explains that learning the ways of the sword is not something unique to any nation. It is for everyone. Pi En Dow tells Sokka to keep training so that he may become and even greater sword master than he is. He then tells Sokka that next time he should say his name is Lee as there are thousands of Lees. They bow and Sokka leaves with the others.

On their way out, the attendant gives Sokka a small bag telling him that Pi En Dow wanted Sokka to have it to remember him by. Sokka opens it and pulls out a White Lotus tile. He turns and sees the same emblem on the doors of the castle. Sokka then remembers something and gives Toph a piece of the meteorite calling it space earth because he thought she would like it. As they walk away, Katara and Sokka immediately start arguing and Katara comments that she can’t believe she missed him.
Sokka and his master sparred at the end. Sokka battling the best he can. But at the end the master won. His sword at Sokka's neck. Aang, Katara and Toph went to go help Sokka. Then He put his sword aside. Sokka and them confused. As Sokka, Aang,Katara and Toph was leaving, The butler came out to give Sokka a rare coin. As they left to there next rest stop.

Avatar Episode - The Painted Lady

In a long polluted river, Aang and the others continue their travels toward the Fire Lord. Aang tells the others that he thinks the river is polluted. Katara thinks they will have to find somewhere else to find food but Sokka rolls out a long schedule that he has planned out. Aang spots a village on the river and they head in that direction. They hide Appa and Momo under some heavy grass and walk to the river’s edge.

They see an old man who introduces himself as Doc and offers to take them to the village. Katara tells him that they are from the Earth Kingdom Colonies. On the way, Doc explains that the river is polluted because of the factory that the army uses to make metal, which appeared. The village used to be a fishing town but with the water polluted everyone is struggling to survive.

They arrive at the village and say goodbye to Doc. As they walk around, they see people sitting in the streets looking poor and sick. Katara says that they have to do something but Sokka says no because they have a more important mission. He reminds her that they still have to take out the Fire Lord. Toph covers his mouth and tells him to not be so loud.

They walk over to the market and see Doc. They ask him if he works there too. The man explains that he is Doc’s brother Shu. Aang and the others are confused but they get some fish and ask Shu if his brother could give them a ride back. Shu ducks down and Doc pops up. As they prepare to leave, a small boy runs up and asks for some food. Katara gives him a fish and watches as he runs back to his sick mother with the fish. Doc takes them back to the shore and they go back to Appa to set up camp.

Sokka says that they have thrown off their whole schedule. He suggests they wake up earlier but they say no. He then argues that they could skip meal stops. They all flatly refuse and finally he suggests that they take meal breaks and potty breaks together. Aang and the others are disgusted by this idea. Sokka says no matter what they need to leave first thing in the morning. Katara watches sadly.

The next morning Appa is sick and when Aang checks, he has a purple tongue. Aang is worried and Katara says they should go look for medicine in the town. They go to see Shu and he says that amazingly, food was delivered to the village the night before by a spirit they call the Painted Lady. He explains that she is a river spirit who protects the village in times of need.

Sokka says that they don’t need to help the people because they already have someone to help them. They ask Shu for medicine but he says that the factory takes it all which is why they have so many sick people. Katara says that they need to stay another night to let Appa rest.

That night a heavy fog rolls in and a woman clad in dark robes crosses the river to the village. She enters a house filled with sick people and heals them. Lastly, she comes to the mother of the boy who Katara helped. The boy wakes up and follows her out. He thanks her and she disappears.

In town the next day, Toph gives Shu some money and asks for some more food since their friend is still sick and they can’t leave until he is better. Shu explains that The Painted Lady visited them again and healed most of their sick people. Aang comments that the village seems a lot happier and more festive. At the same time the villagers are erecting a statue of the Painted Lady in the square.

Sokka comments that the Painted Lady better come back everyday or the village will go right back to the way it was. Katara is angry at Sokka for saying such a thing but Sokka counters saying that only way to help the people is to get rid of the factory. He and Aang start joking about using spirit magic and making funny noises. Katara turns and angrily walks away. She walks to edge of the village and looks at the village with a determined look on her face.

That night, she dons dark robes and uses red paint to make marks on her face. As the Painted Lady, she runs off toward the village. Momo wakes up and falls on Aang. Aang wakes up and thinks it is the Painted Lady. He calls to her but she runs away. Aang gives chase through the village. Finally she hides behind a rock. Aang pops up in front of her and she hides her face with her hat.

Katara tries to play it off but Aang thinks she is familiar. She says she is busy and starts to walk away. Aang looks after her with a suspicious look. He sends a gust of wind that knocks her hat into the air. When she turns to catch it, Aang gets a look at her face. Katara turns and says hi to Aang. Shocked, Aang asks her if she is the Painted Lady. Katara says she was just trying to help the village and she wasn’t at first the Painted Lady but it became her disguise.

She explains to Aang that she wants to destroy the factory once and for all. They make their way inside and use their bending to destroy all the machinery. The factory explodes and as they leave, they see the waste entering the river stop coming out of the pipes. As they head back to camp, Katara tells Aang to be quiet so they don’t wake Sokka. As they turn the corner, they see Toph and Sokka standing there waiting and they freeze.

Sokka tells Katara off and says he knows everything about what has been going on. He says that they are leaving right away. Back at the factory, a fire nation soldier comes out of the smoke and looks at the village with rage. As Aang and the others are about to leave, they see a fleet of small boats headed toward the village. Sokka says that they are Fire Nation and he asks what Katara did. Katara explains that they destroyed the factory and Sokka tells her that they are leaving.

Katara refuses to turn her back on the people and she gets ready to leave. Sokka says he is going with her because she needs him. At the village, the Fire Nation soldiers say that they tried to live as neighbours in peace but now they will get rid of the village. They begin to destroy houses and docks. Two soldiers set fire to something but it is blown out each time by a gust of air. Confused, one of the soldiers looks and sees a heavy fog rolling in. There is a sound of heavy footsteps and loud growls. The small boy says the Painted Lady is coming.

Toph, Sokka and Appa are all making eerie sounds to scare the Fire Nation soldiers. Out of the fog, Katara appears in her Painted Lady costume. She charges toward the docks and lands in front of the guards. The leader tells 2 guards to do something. They draw their swords and inch forward. Katara looks up and, under the docks, Aang sends a gust of wind which knocks off the guards’ headbands. They run off scared. Katara uses her bending and sends two of the Fire Nation boats into the cliff wall. She raises her hand and all the guards run away leaving the leader alone. He shoots fire but Aang blows Katara into the air and then blasts him into the river. Katara tells him to leave and never come back. He swims to his boat and leaves.

The villagers thank her and Doc comes forward but sees that it is Katara because her face paint has rubbed off. The boy says that she is the one who gave him a fish. The villagers get angry but Sokka says that even if she is a waterbender she did it for the village. They wonder what to do and from the crowd Toph suggests that they clean the river. The villagers agree and Doc also agrees to keep their secret. Doc says he will get his other brother Bushi to help clean. He switches hats and says he is Bushi. Aang jumps forward and says they are all the same. Bushi says that Doc is crazy and he was always Bushi. This leaves Aang confused and frustrated.

Helping with their bending, Katara and the others all clean until the river is pure and clean again. That night, the real Painted Lady spirit appears before Katara and thanks her. As she leaves into the mist, Katara smiles.

Avatar Episode - The Headband

In a dark room in the royal palace in the Fire Nation capital, Prince Zuko tosses and turns in his sleep. Unable to beat the insomnia, he heads outside cloaked and hooded to a tower/prison. There he is spotted by a guard, he says nothing and silently turns away.

Later, the gang fly through the air on Appa who is disguised as a cloud. Once landed, they decided to blend in with their surroundings and steal Fire Nation attire from a near-by clothesline after they make camp in a cave, something that Sokka is not pleased about. In town, they buy some more accessories while heading to a meat stand for lunch. Aang would rather eat lettuce from the garbage than then consume meat and waits for the other outside. Guards come forward claim Aang is skipping school (he inadvertently stole school uniform from the clothesline). Without another word they drag him away. He is taken to a school and there finds nothing but discipline and strictness. After school, a girl named On Ji treats him kindly and he is invited to hang-out with some kids.

When he returns to the cave that night, they immediately round on him. Aang tells them what happened and expresses the wish to return, do to the normal childhood that his status deprive him of. Sokka immediately shoots him down but Aang gains his support by claiming they will be learning about a secret river that leads right to the Fire Lord's palace. They agree.

Elsewhere, Zuko returns to Iroh's prison where he is confronted by the guard from the previous night. Upon recognizing Zuko, the guard yields and Zuko orders him to say nothing of their encounter. In the cell Zuko has a one-sided conversation with Iroh in which he justifies his decision. Iroh is unresponsive, and Zuko storms out of the prison in anger.
The next day in school starts off badly for Aang, under the false name Kuzon. At the beginning of class he spoofs-up the oath to the Fire Lord thus earning a pop quiz from his teacher. In the quiz, he speaks out at a question which states that the Air Nomads had a standing army. In music class Aang dances to the beet of the song which gains unwanted attention from the instructor who states that dancing and other forms of self-expression or highly discouraged in the mainland. At the end of the day, after being complimented on his dancing by Onji, her paranoid boyfriend confronts him. Aang effortlessly dodges each blow to the point that the other boy beats himself up. The teachers find Aang standing while the boy lies on the ground half-conscience and ask to speak with his parents.
Aang's "parents" (Sokka and Katara) Chen and Saphire Fire speak with the headmaster who claims that if Aang slips one more time he will be sent to the coal mines. In the capital Zuko and Mai share a moment together before it's interrupted by Azula who uses reverse phsycology to get Zuko to admit he visited uncle. She says she'll keep it a secret and is actually looking out for him. She also warns him not to do anything foolish.
Back in the cave Sokka, acting very much like a father, scolds Aang and demands they leave. Aang protests and says he wants to help these kids who are forced to be servants to the Fire Lord. He wants to throw them a dance party. Once again he wins out and they set up for the party in their cave.
The school kids enter and are wary of dancing for fear of who will catch them. Aang coaxes them to dance by sampling classic Fire Nation dances. Impressed by his skills in dancing they begin to join him.
Zuko revisits Iroh in the prison and is still ignored, Zuko pours out his heart and frustration to his uncle but it falls on deaf ears. Angered, he leaves the prison and Iroh sheds a tear.
In the cave, Aang teaches a partner dance to the group with Onji which catches Katara's eye. Next Aang offers his hand to Katara who is nervously reluctant at first but Aang convinces her with a simple "Take my hand" They preform a synchronized martial arts dance in front of everyone. But the party is broken up when Onji's boyfriend leads the headmaster to the cave. The other kids give Aang cover as he escapes.
Once safe, Toph and Sokka congratulate Aang on his party and Katara thanks him for the dance with a kiss on the cheek. Elsewhere Zuko hires an killer known as the Combustion Man to kill the Avatar whom he believes is still alive.