Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book 1/07 The Winter Solstice Part 1

""You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand.""

A village comes to Aang seeking help; a spirit called Hei Bai comes every sunset, destroying their town and kidnapping their villagers. As the Avatar, its Aang's duty to stop the spirit, despite the boy having no idea how. Sokka attempts to help Aang, but only manages to get taken himself; Aang returns, having failed to stop the spirit or save any of the lost people...only to discover that he has no physical form or voice. He has become trapped in the Spirit World.

Meanwhile, Iroh's relaxing nap in a hot-spring in interrupted when he is captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers, who are very excited to have imprisoned the infamous "Dragon of the West". It seems that despite his warm exterior, Iroh is more crafty than he looks, as he orchestrates an escape attempt, and leaves clues for his nephew to follow. Zuko finds them easily, but he must decide; does he save his uncle, or loose yet another chance to capture the Avatar?

Aang, trying to figure out his predicament, is approached by a dragon...the animal companion of Avatar Roku! The dragon takes Aang to a temple in the Fire Nation, and shows him a statue of Roku. Along the way, Aang has visions of a comet, but doesn't know what they mean.

The Earth Kingdom soldiers decide that Iroh is too dangerous to take alive, and prepare to kill him. Iroh is spared of his fate by Zuko arriving at the nick of time.

Aang, meanwhile, has returned to the physical world, and confronts Hei Bai again. Realizing that the spirit is angry at the destruction of a nearby forest by firebenders, Aang pacifies it by showing an acorn, conving Hei Bai that the trees will regrow. Hei Bai leaves, returning all of the people that vanished. Amid the happy reunions, Aang tells Sokka and Katara about his encounter with Roku's dragon, and that he needs to get to the Fire Nation temple before the Winter Solstice...which happens to be the next night.

Tropes:

 * Seventh Episode Twist: The series jumps from "Let's take Katara to learn Waterbending" to "kill Ozai in a year or the world gets destroyed".
 * Badass Grandpa: Where to start. There were always hints that Iroh was awesome, but this is where it first becomes clear. His nickname is 'The Dragon of the West'? He laid siege to the city of Ba Sing Se for 600 days straight? He can see the spiritual forms of Aang and the dragon when no one else can? Oh, and don't forget; this old, over-weight man can manage to escape four young and fit Earthbenders naked and chained all on his own.
 * Bilingual Bonus: "Hei Bai" in Chinese means, "Black White".
 * Empathy Pet: This episode has brought about what Appa's true relationship with Aang is. It is just a normal A Boy and His X? Or is there a special bond, like with Roku and his dragon? Do all Avatars have this 'Animal Guide'?
 * Friend or Idol Decision: Zuko has to chose between the chance to track down the Avatar, or to save his Uncle Iroh. He choses the latter.
 * Pandaing to The Audience: Hei Bai's calmer, more friendly form is a panda.
 * One-Winged Angel: This is the first of Hei Bai's forms that we see.
 * Plot Coupon: The acorn.