Book 3: Sozin's Comet: The Phoenix King & The Old Masters

The series finale - Two hours long, a bonafide movie in its own right. It's these two episodes then two more.

As The Day of Black Sun would eradicate Firebending, Sozin's Comet picks it up to over 9000, if you'll excuse the meme.

Aang and Zuko are practicing at perhaps the old Royal Family vacation home. I’m not sure, but they’ve definitely changed locations.

(Admission: I didn’t watch most of the previous episode).

The rest of the kids are just having fun.

Until Zuko immediately attacks Aang, because he’s the only one concerned about the arrival of Sozin’s Comet. Katara immediately asks what his deal is instead of decking him on sight.

Everyone else decided to wait until it passed, because Aang just isn’t ready, and they didn’t tell Zuko. It wouldn't really be an awful plan - “It can’t get any worse.”

“It can be worse than you can even imagine…”

Back when Zuko had returned home, he was called into a meeting with the generals - and his father and sister.

This meeting ended up far better than the last for Zuko, all things considered.

While Ba Sing Se was conquered, the rest of the Earth Kingdom fought back, and there was talk of how to quash the rebellions.

Zuko pointed out the charicteristics of the nation that he noticed during his exile - and Azula says they should just burn it all, and Ozai agrees to use Sozin’s comet to destroy the entire Earth Kingdom to take over the world.

So he tells Aang, “If you don’t defeat The Fire Lord at Sozin's Comet, there won’t be a world to save anymore.”

Well, shit.

That’s what happens when you have poor communication.

Zuko quickly teaches Aang the basics of bending Lightning.

You’re going to see this scene again.

Aang is still having a conundrum against killing Ozai. He’s from the pacifist nation, after all.

The others are right - “If it’s in the name of keeping peace, I’m sure the universe will understand.” , though Aang is still torn.

Later…

When did that get here?

Shouldn’t we be running away from mysterious islands? Not going toward them?

The next day, the rest of the group can’t find him. They see his footprints lead toward the water, but no Aang and split up to look for him around Ember Island.

So they rely on Zuko to track Aang down, just like old times - By finding June.

Back in the Fire Nation, there’s a fancy pants christening going on - Azula can’t go with her father to the invasion of the Earth Kingdom - Because she is officially crowned the Fire Lord.

How do you even maneuver in all that bullshit.

And Ozai is a fake made up title named the Phoenix King, Supreme Ruler of the World.

 Aang is still alive -

He’s just … not in the world.

Bonus:

The reaction to June’s “I see you worked things out with your girlfriend.”

The shierseaux looks around but, Aang simply doesn’t exist…to them. Also, I wonder how many of those animals exist in the Avatarverse. We never see them in Korra. However, there is someone else who could theoretically fight The Fire Lord…

But he has a hell of a guard around him; The Order of the White Lotus.

When we last saw Bumi, he was captured (“Return to Omashu”), and escaped during the events of the eclipse to take back the city.

There’s a comic where he and Toph fight, and both are evenly matched. Which annoyed me for a time, but I get it.

When Zuko is hesitant to visit who he has in mind, Katara even reassures him with “He’ll forgive you. He will.”

And he does. As for defeating Ozai…no.

He could, but it would be seen as a brother killing another. You can’t even use the point that the world knows Iroh is on the side of good, because as far as they know, the entire Fire Nation Family is royally fucked up, and he wouldn’t take the throne - Only Zuko could do that.

And only Aang could defeat Ozai.

The group has to split up - Sokka, Suki, and Toph go to stop the airships and Zuko and Katara go to take back the Fire Nation from Azula.

Meanwhile, Aang is busy not-existing.

He comes across a non-existing stone but totally existing arena and takes a seat, calling upon Roku.

That made no sense.

Who talks through his problem with him; “I tried to be diciplined and showed restraint. If I had been more decicive, I could have stopped the war.”

And that doesn’t really solve Aang’s problem, so he talks to Avatar Kyoshi, having already forgot that she let a man fall to his death to solve the problem and thought nothing of it.

She tells him, “Only justice will bring peace.”

And by golly, he doesn’t want to hear it. So he calls upon Avatar Kuruk, whom I don’t believe we’ve seen in the show before?

He just let people deal with their own problems - until Ummi lost her face because of his "inactivity" or something.

Kuruk sounds like a combination of Microsoft Sam and a trailer announcer. “You must actively shape your own destiny - And the destiny of the world.”

The resounding advice so far has been “DO SHIT, BOY.”

Aang’s last resort is to talk to the last Air Nomad Avatar, Yangchen. Whom we know…like, nothing about. Even in supplementary material, I don’t believe she gets much thought. Pity.

Who goes, yes, the monks taught our people to detach from the world - but we are Avatars. Our duty is to the world, so do whatever it takes to protect the world.

Four bad takes.

“I guess I don’t have a choice, Momo, I have to kill the Fire Lord.”

After a night’s - or day’s, or indeterminate amount of time’s rest, Aang wakes up to see the island approaching the shore, because it’s a Lion-Turtle.

He even asks it “Hey can you give me an excuse to not kill this man.”

And you know what?

The Lion Turtle goes, “Actually, I can.”