Book 1: The Warriors of Kyoshi / The King of Omashu

Well, the Gaang is lost.


Sokka's sexism is reiterated, and this episode is basically the last we see of most of it, which, good, because if it was dragged out too long, it would probably make him wholly unlikeable.

I think this is the first and last we see of the Elephant Koi.

Aang is trying to impress Katara, until an unagi surfaces and forces Aang back on land, where the group is captured by the titular warriors (and a man dressed in what looks like Water Tribe clothing).


The island and it's all-female warrior group was named after the avatar from four hundred years ago, Kyoshi, and it's inhabitants have stayed out of the World War so far.

Aang confirms himself as the present day Avatar, and the news spreads throughout the ports, shops, and certain Fire Nation ships with certain banished princes, and they're back in pursuit.

There's actually many blue-clad people, suggesting that they might be other small groups of southern Water Tribe citizens who migrated to the Earth Kingdom during the war. I like how the worlds are not hyper-segregated like I remember.

There's a montage of the village citizens treating Aang as if he was a member of the Beatles. It's a little grating, moving on.

Sokka goes to the training room of the Warriors, lead by Suki, and he continues to put his foot in his mouth before getting beaten up yet again, and then returning to be taught by them, adorned in their costume and all.

Katara keeps her mind on the mission, but Aang is still reveling in the attention of the villagers, he returns to the inlet, Katara follows him later, they make up, and then the giant watersnake shows up.

And then the Fire Nation shows up, with....Lizard-Rhinos?

The Warriors arrive and give some good slices and hits to the guards, but they can't take Zuko out. Aang, however, can, donning some fans and blowing him into a building. Which is hilarious.

Team Avatar then makes a run for it, knowing that the Fire Nation will be in pursuit, and we get a very (always) relevant statement from Suki -

"I'm a warrior, but I'm a girl too."

As they leave, Aang calls upon the unagi and has it spray water on the burning village, feeling that he doesn't want to leave other people in harm's way because of his actions again.

On the character front, teasing of the eventual Kataang, how they don't like making each other feel slighted or jealous.

Sokka and Suki are set up for endgame, which makes it all the odder that we never learn of their fates in Legend of Korra. There's a shot of Sokka in court as an adult, but that's it.

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I think "The King of Omashu" is the last "The ______ of ______ " title we see for a while.

When the Gaang arrives at Omashu, Katara and Sokka are stymied that it's so big and the buildings don't melt.  It's a coolly peculiar looking city from afar - three pyramid buildings on an isolated mountain.

It's cooler than it looks on the outside.

I told you!

Aang talks about the mail system, moved about by Earthbenders and gravity. Omashu must be a really big place if you can't walk a package to somewhere. This is maybe the only time I've seen a mail system in the world of Avatar that isn't "A single messenger!" but Omashu isn't toted as one of the biggest cities. Then again, it's possibly the second named city we see in the Earth Kingdom.

The kids slide around in the chutes and ladders mail system and it looks like a blast! But since they end up royally destroying a lot of the city, including private property, they're taken to the King of Omashu.

So a city has a king. And there's also an Earth Monarchy - Earth King Kuei in Ba Sing Se. Is it a municipality thing? Whatever.

Also, knowing what we know about the King - or, will know - it seems like an elected position. Take that, people who complain about Star Wars Prequel Trilogy and how Padme cannot be an elected Queen! It's fantasy, assholes!

Instead of punishing them, the King invites them to a feast. He's a bit of off kilter. There's a bit where he asks Aang where he's from.

"I'm from...uh, Kangaroo Island?"
"Really? I hear that place is really hoppin'!"

And someone coughs as if to say "Not funny." I wish that gag happened a few more times in the show, it cracks me up.

The King tricks Aang into revealing his identity. He is elected three tasks, and the three are taken to a very nice prison cell. Well, in the middle of the night, the siblings are kidnapped and held hostage with Creeping Crystal.

 I think a variant of it appears later at the end of Season 2.

First Challenge; Get a key that's hanging in a waterfall. It's a pretty cool sequence.

Second Challenge; Find the King's pet, Flopsy.

Hint; It's not the rabbit.

Honestly I have no idea what kind of hybrid that's supposed to be. A Gorilla-Rabbit? A goat-gorilla? Either way, that conception sounds painful.

LOL Aang.

And it reminds me very uncomfortably of a certain chimera.


Third Challenge; Fight one of these guys.

Aang picks the King himself, and let's take a moment to realize that Aang would decide to beat a seemingly decrepit and insane old man. But not this old man;

It's a great, if kind of simple fight for someone who proclaims himself to be "The Greatest Earthbender in the World."

Spoiler; He's not. And there's actually a supplementary comic where he fights Toph but it ends up as a tie. Lame.

In the end, Aang defeats him, and the King asks him "What...is my name."

It's Bumi, as in Aang's friend from a hundred years ago Bumi. Some people have a remarkably long lifespan in this world. He tells Aang to buck up and get creative to fight the Fire Lord.