Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book 3/12 The Western Air Temple

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  • Book 1
    • 01 The Boy in the Iceberg
    • 02 The Avatar Returns
    • 03 The Southern Air Temple
    • 04 The Warriors of Kyoshi
    • 05 The King of Omashu
    • 06 Imprisoned
    • 07 The Winter Solstice Part 1
    • 08 The Winter Solstice Part 2
    • 09 The Waterbending Scroll
    • 10 Jet
    • 11 The Great Divide
    • 12 The Storm
    • 13 The Blue Spirit
    • 14 The Fortuneteller
    • 15 Bato of the Water Tribe
    • 16 The Deserter
    • 17 The Northern Air Temple
    • 18 The Water Bending Master
    • 19 The Siege of the North Part 1
    • 20 The Siege of the North Part 2
  • Book 2
    • 01 The Avatar State
    • 02 The Cave of Two Lovers
    • 03 Return to Omashu
    • 04 The Swamp
    • 05 Avatar Day
    • 06 The Blind Bandit
    • 07 Zuko Alone
    • 08 The Chase
    • 09 Bitter Work
    • 10 The Library
    • 11 The Desert
    • 12 The Serpents Pass
    • 13 The Drill
    • 14 City of Walls and Secrets
    • 15 The Tales of Ba Sing Se
    • 16 Appas Lost Days
    • 17 Lake Laogai
    • 18 The Earth King
    • 19 The Guru
    • 20 The Crossroads of Destiny
  • Book 3
    • 01 The Awakening
    • 02 The Headband
    • 03 The Painted Lady
    • 04 Sokka's Master
    • 05 The Beach
    • 06 The Avatar and the Fire Lord
    • 07 The Runaway
    • 08 The Puppet Master
    • 09 Nightmares and Daydreams
    • 10 The Day of Black Sun Part 1
    • 11 The Day of Black Sun Part 2
    • 12 The Western Air Temple
    • 13 The Firebending Masters
    • 14 The Boiling Rock Part 1
    • 15 The Boiling Rock Part 2
    • 16 The Southern Raiders
    • 17 The Ember Island Players
      • Laconic
    • 18 Sozin's Comet Part 1: The Phoenix King
    • 19 Sozin's Comet Part 2: The Old Masters
    • 20 Sozin's Comet Part 3: Into the Inferno
    • 21 Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang
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"WHY AM I SO BAD AT BEING GOOD?!?"

After the devastating failure of the invasion, the gang and their remaining allies need a place to shelter, so Aang takes them to the only safe haven he can think of; The Western Air Temple. They know they have to re-group and think up a new plan for defeating the Fire Nation, but Aang doesn't seem to want to talk strategies: after another failure, he finds himself trying to escape his responsibilities. The fact that he still needs to practise Earthbending and begin Firebending also hits him full in the face, especially considering that there's no one to teach him.

Good thing that Zuko's changed sides and willing to help him, right? Wrong--the Gaang are none too eager to trust him, and the runaway prince must convince them otherwise.

Tropes:

• Adorkable: Zuko gets some major cuteness points here.
• Answer Cut: When Sokka muses that there has to be someone who can teach Aang firebending, it cuts to Zuko practicing his speech to the gang.
• Bizarrchitecture: The Western Air Temple is hanging upside down from a cliff.
• Chirping Crickets: Done with a badgerfrog.
• Declarative Finger: While Zuko is doing an Uncle Iroh impression.
• Digging Yourself Deeper: Yeah, Zuko, mentioning the assassin you sent after them was not a good idea.
• Flash Back
• Flashback with the Other Darrin: There are two flashbacks of Season One Zuko and Iroh, but Iroh is voiced by Greg Baldwin, since Mako had died.
• Heel Face Revolving Door: And Zuko discovers that the door can hit you in the face, hard.
• Heel Face Turn: Technically it happened in the last two episodes, but it's nice to see it sticking.
• Ice Cream Koan: Zuko fails at mimicking his Uncle's proverbs. (Although what he comes up with actually makes some sense, given what he's gone through.)

"Even when I'm impersonating him I have no idea what he's saying!"

• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Non-romantically - Katara uses this on Zuko regarding Aang at the end of the episode.
• Kubrick Stare: She also uses one of these.
• Reformed but Rejected: Zuko gets this treatment until the end of the episode, at which point people begin to relent. Except Katara, who keeps it up for four more episodes.
• Spell My Name with a "The": The Duke
• What Would X Do?: Zuko asks himself what his uncle (and, for the sake of argument, his sister) would do.