Book 2: Bitter Work / The Library

It takes time to learn new skills, but not as long to apply them.

Aang is struggling with Earthbending - it's the natural opposite of Airbending, and Toph is his natural opposite in nearly every way.

Grumpy, can't see, has hair.

Totes opposite.

He tries to push a rock back, but ends up blowing himself away.

It's interesting that Aang has to physically concentrate to do something as simple as magically push a rock when, presumably, in his "Hey, are you the Avatar, Aang?" tests had him at least wiggle a few pebbles.

Or maybe I'm confusing it with that stupid movie. What a piece of shit film.

Katara encourages her to be a bit gentler with her approach, as that's how it worked when she taught Aang Waterbending.

So, of course, we get a pretty interesting training montage that shows the versatility of Earthbending. Including armor!

The animators have admitted that this was a goof.

Meanwhile, Sokka tries to kill a baby Mooselion and gets stuck in a hole.

Then, Toph thinks that trying to squish Aang with a boulder is a good training method until he jumps out of the way in fear. Earthbending is just difficult for him, and he takes a break with Katara to practice Waterbending instead.

Presumably hours later. Katara's like "Wait...where's Sokka?"And they find him in the hole, being stared down by an adult Mooselion.

Oh excuse me; Sabretoothed Mooselion.

that Aang stares it down...and defeats it with airbending. But THEN, he stares down Toph and Earthbends a rock so!

UNLOCKED: Earthbending

Meanwhile, in the B-Plot, Zuko has nursed Iroh back to health. Yes, there is a 'health' you can go back to after being attacked by Azula.

Zuko knows that was not the final showdown with his sister, and asks to learn Lightningbending.

It's not fueled by emotion, but by cool detachment, what some would consider the purest form of Firebending, the separation of Yin and Yang.

So is it any real shock that Zuko can't quite do it?

"It keeps blowing up in my face...like everything always does," Man that was some great, heartbreaking delivery, well done, Dante!

Also, mood 😔

Iroh tells us about the elements and how to bend Lightning. By the way, lightning should go through your stomach, not your heart.

In the end, young man yells at rainstorm, telling it to strike him, as life (metaphorically) loves handing Zuko his ass, so why not now?

---

The Gaang that does not involve Sokka all opt to take little vacations, as having the entire weight of the world on your shoulders kind of blows for Aang.

Sokka is all about keeping strict to the mission, and again, I can't blame him one bit.

There will be bits in later episodes, as well as the full opening in the very first episode of the show, that hint that the Southern Water Tribe was bigger (Though not as big as the north), and slowly dwindled to the small section it is over the course of the hundred year war.

So, all that to say; Unless there were a slew of visitors, which I kind of doubt, it seems very remote, how do Sokka and Katara know what libraries and oases are?

At the Oasis, they go into a bar (they also pass some desert bandits who will have later relevance.

They meet one Professor Zheng, who sees Aang airbending and goes "You're a living relic!", and Aang replies "Thanks, I try." and it got a good laugh out of me.

He's looking for a library in the desert, created by one Wan Shi Tong, that might hold knowledge on how to defeat the Fire Nation, and Sokka decides that's where he wants to go.

The sandbenders are eying Appa....

Now our group is in the air, over the desert, looking for an entrance into the sunken library.

If there's anything I love, it's a good desert. 

The Gaang begin to lose hope, until they see A) A tower and B) A wolf climb said tower.

What.

It's the hidden library! But it's buried, and Zheng even wails "My life's ambition is full of sand!" in despair. At least he's not a Jedi Apprentice.

 Filled with thousands of books, so surely one must be in the Avatarverse equivalent of Braille. Either way, Toph stays outside with Appa while the others go beneath the sand...

It's a pretty library.

They find the spirit Wan Shi Tong, who at first, tells them to get out because humans cause too much strife. He even gives us a flashback to Zhao, who visited years ago. I told you to keep paying attention during the events of The Siege of the North.

Then, he changes his tune after the travelers come with knowledge to add to warn them to mind their manners and enjoy their time...as long as they're not trying to kill any other humans with the knowledge they find.

But he's in his safe, underground library and Sokka, Katara, and Aang live in the warring world above, so fuck that!

There are things alluded to that we will definitely see again, like Lion Turtles, The Day of Black Sun, aka, "The Darkest Day in Fire Nation History", which Sokka wants to learn more about.

But wow, the section of the library that would give them the information....has been burnt down.


However, a fox-spirit points them in the direction of a kickass mechanical star chart.

I wonder if he got fired for that.

Take a close look at the dials. I can make out a Rooster (probably a Rooster-Pig), and a monkey-like being.

That Darkest Day is a solar eclipse, where the sun goes behind the moon, and Firebenders can't firebend. That's a big deal! They MUST take that information to The Earth King!

If they get out of there alive, as Wan Shi Tong has showed up to go "I fucking knew it," and proceeds to drag the library out of the physical realm.

Also, attempted murder.

The library stays aboveground for just a bit longer as Toph holds it up. A spirit was nearly bested by a small child, how funny is that. But since they don't know when the eclipse is coming again, Sokka and Aang go back to the planetarium to find out...while the Sandbenders I mentioned earlier, aboveground, come and steal Appa.

And now they're just kids stranded in a desert.