It's another "Suave, competent newcomer comes in, impresses Aang and Katara while Sokka is suspicious but in the end the suspicious person is right," story!
Oh, uh, spoilers?
Katara and Aang complain that they have to walk instead of taking Appa, because Sokka rightfully points out that a giant bison is too noticeable, and there's Fire Nation activity in the area.
Not flying doesn't help, as they walk right into a Fire Nation camp before being rescued by a band of Freedom Fighters, including the titular Jet.
You can tell he was intended to have a bit of a bigger role throughout the series, and he does return for a good bit of time next book.
They've got a cool hideout in the trees, though I imagine some bits have too much exposure to the elements.
Katara mentions that Aang is the Avatar, which, okay sure, I wouldn't be so eager to share that with everyone when you don't know who could be captured or tortured. Just because they fight the FN doesn't mean they're on your side.
Sokka insists that they have to leave, until Jet appeals to his need to be useful...
Sokka stops the Freedom Fighters as they go to ambush an old man on the trail, and it leads into He Who Fights Monsters territory for the first and last time in this show, thankfully. It's not a very nuanced plotline when the overarching story is about a war that holds the fate of the world in its hands.
Of course, Katara doesn't believe Jet ambushes civilians, and he's quickly cooked up a story on how the old man was an assassin sent to kill him, but Katara's crush gets in the way of her seeing sense. The added mission Jet gives her and Aang about filling the reservoir with water in case of a forest burning doesn't help.
I wonder what's going on...
Surprise! It's not about a forest fire, it's about flooding the forest and getting the FN Soldiers out. Even at the expense of the Earth Kingdom town. Though really, how can a reservoir flood an entire forest.
Jet sends two of his minions to eliminate Sokka, let's be honest, but he gives them the slip and they're caught in traps that were alluded to earlier in the episode. I didn't mention them because this is going to be long enough already.
After Aang and Katara move water from underground hot springs to the river - so the plan was to boil people alive I guess - they go to the reservoir and finally see the bad plan coming to fruition.
Fight Scene!:
This episode has a lovely, fall-esque color scheme.
The town floods, but no one's harmed, because Sokka put warning everyone, even the FN Soldiers who were occupying the town, above stopping the plan.
I really do like how there were plenty of "Sokka's right!" episodes instead of him permanently being a boorish Butt Monkey.
The Great Divide is the only episode in the series I consider truly useless filler, though I don't hate it as much as other people, it's not really important, so we're going to keep moving.
The Storm - episode twelve, not five. My bad. The origin stories for both Aang (who is having recurring nightmares) and Zuko. You don't get one, Katara and Sokka!
Both sides are looking in the face of an oncoming storm. It's a metaphor for the BACKSTORY STRIIIIFE.
Aang's side has him and his friends broke and in need of food - when Sokka goes to work for an old sailor - the man chews Aang out, saying that the world is in such shit shape because of how he ran away years ago.
He's not...wrong. Harsh, but not wrong, and Aang runs away.
See, the custom is to tell a child about their Avatar-ness when they reach sixteen, but because the war was quickly approaching, they told Aang at twelve years old.
The older Monks wanted to hasten his training, his peers didn't want to play with him, and Gyatso - you remember his bones in the third episode, right? - was the only one really looking out for him, to the point where they were going to remove Aang from his custody and send him to the Eastern Air Temple to train.
I wonder if that would be one with all women or probably another with all men. Because yes, there are women Air Nomads. Or, there were. One was the Air Avatar before Aang, Yangchen, and unfortunately we don't see much of her.
Thus; Aang mounts Appa, runs away, storm, iceberg, hundred years, and here we are. I wonder where he planned to hide.
On the flipside, Zuko is seen as distant and harsh to the captain and his crew, while Iroh has no problem mingling among them.
During dinner one night, a crewmember asks what his deal is, why are Iroh and Zuko even here, why look for the Avatar for two years when he just showed up?
Well, Zuko was an idealistic young man who wanted to do the best for his country.
I don't think I've actually seen you smile before.
Because he spoke out against a (bad!) plan in his father's war room against a general that would send innocent new soldiers to their deaths. In retaliation, Zuko got involved in an Agni Kai - against his father, the Fire Lord. Who had no qualm about burning half his face off. There's a long and not too complicated story on why Ozai hated Zuko so much that's mentioned in supplementary comics, but we'll get there when we get there.
We'll meet her later.
It's not common knowledge; You'll see later that most Fire Nation citizens don't even know what the royal family looks like.
But the storm comes, Aang saves the old man and Sokka, Zuko saves a crewman, and in the end, the Avatar gives people hope in the world...including Zuko.
Bonus lightningbending;
We'll see that later too.
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