Avatar: The Last Airbender/Recap/Book 1/03 The Southern Air Temple

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


"Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now."

Aang decides to visit his old home, 'The Southern Air Temple' to see how things have changed in one-hundred years. Sokka and Katara, however, are incredibly apprehensive, knowing that the Fire Nation completely wiped out the Air Nomads in the first year of the war; afraid of hurting Aang, Katara actively tries to hide this information from him. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh dock at a Fire Nation harbor to repair their boat, and the damages draws the interest of Commander Zhao, who's curious about what the banished prince seems to be doing, exactly.

Tropes

  • Backstab Backfire: Zhao to Zuko after the Agni Kai.
  • Big Shadow, Little Creature: Momo's first appearance.
  • Genocide Backfire: So, not only did the Fire Nation extermination of the Air Nomads manage to miss the one person they wanted to kill, its also made him severely pissed. Give them credit though; one-hundred years is longer than this trope usually takes to come into effect.
  • Heroic BSOD: Aang's reaction after discovering not only has his entire people been wiped out, but Monk Gyatso in particular. Of course, being the Avatar, his BSOD creates a monstrous wind storm that threatens to throw his friends off the mountain.
  • Mentor: Monk Gyatso's role. Too bad he's dead. The statues also hint that this is the role of the past Avatars.
  • Pie in the Face: Throwing pies at meditating monks was one of Monk Gyatso's training methods for improving young Aang's airbending aim.
  • Repeat Cut: Three takes of Zuko getting knocked back by Zhao, and three more of Zuko turning the tables. Note that this is the closest the series ever approaches to using Stock Footage.
  • Sword Over Head: Zuko to Zhao after winning the Agni Kai.
  • Team Pet: In addition to Appa, this episode sees the addition of flying-lemur Momo to the gang.
  • True Companions: Katara pulls Aang out of the avatar state by telling him that they're his family now.