#the serpent's pass

[oneatlatime]

Journey to Ba Sing Se, Part 1: The Serpent's Pass

Alternate title: Gimme Appa Back, Take Two.

Bit of a mouthful for a title. I will definitely be watching this apparent two parter as two single episodes. There's commentary too, but that'll wait for a rewatch.

The previously on segment seems to point to Suki making an appearance. I didn't like her in her original episode, so this bodes ill.

That was incredibly ominous title card music.

Explain this to someone who's never seen the show. Also, air mattress made of ice is a very efficient way to get hypothermia.

Sokka saying "no more distractions' actually summoned a distraction. He should look into harnessing that power.

This brings up a point I've been thinking about. So the Earth Kingdom are smart enough to house refugee transportation underground, presumably because they've figured out that fire can't dig. So why didn't the entire population of the Earth Kingdom just become mole people at the first sign of fire nation attack?

Get yourself Iroh's brand of chill. It's dearly bought in his case, but he has such a good way of looking at life. Also, half of Zuko's face is like an inch higher than the other half, and that haircut is not doing him any favours.

Oh god it's fuckboy. I'd take a million Sukis over fuckboy. Nice to see that the majority of his posse seems to have come to their senses and deserted him though.

CABBAGE GUY!!! HI CABBAGE GUY!!! I MISSED YOU!!!

She's got a point about destruction of the ecosystem, but unless there was woodworm in that cart, that platypus bear is guilty of needless destruction of cabbage guy's possessions.

I loved this. The double punch of getting stymied by bureaucracy and undermined by cosplayers. There are some wacky ideas in this episode.

Aang! You may have lost Appa but you still have your glider! You don't need a passport or a ticket! Just fly to Ba Sing Se and make puppy dog eyes at the Earth King to make him send a boat to collect your friends!

You know that part in Harry Potter where Ron and Harry miss the train and decide the only logical course of action is to steal a flying car rather than, I don't know, wait for a responsible adult? I have a feeling this show is going to do the same type of thing with the whole Serpent's Pass. And I have to say, it's a brilliantly accurate way to do a plot that involves pre-teens, because they will often reach for the most out-there, illogical course of action no matter their intelligence. Curse those still-developing neural pathways. It also makes perfect sense in a kids' show, where the audience mostly wouldn't be caught dead turning down an adventure in favour of asking a responsible party (or a bureaucracy) for help.

"It is your pleasure" Get wrecked bitch!

I love seeing Toph weaponise that which previously kept her caged. I love to see Toph winning at life. Actually, I love to see Toph.

Get yourself some friends who'll commit to the bit no questions asked like these guys.

Get yourself a man who says your name the way Sokka says SUKI!!!:D Get yourself a girl who's so into you, she'll flirt with you in front of your entire found family.

Momo knows what's up. He's a good judge of character.

It's rare for me to advocate for criminal behaviour on this show, but after that bureaucracy lady denied them any sort of solution for the refugees who got their tickets stolen, I was kind of hoping that Katara would just say 'fuck it' and steal one of those ferries. Or even smuggle people on to them. They've got two waterbenders; they could make ice boats to take them out to the ferry, or even across the whole lake presumably. Plot dictates they go face this serpent thing, because this appears to be a monster of the week episode, but boy did that ferry lady need smacking.

Sokka's acting funky.

Is corniness one of the side effects of pregnancy?

No one in their right minds thinks that a pass called "the SERPENT'S Pass" in a universe like this one is named for its aesthetic qualities. Nice try at misdirection, but there will be a Sneky Boy in that water.

Aang's kind of right about the whole 'hope is a distraction' thing. Hope can too easily go from fuel to crutch.

It didn't occur to anyone to hide from the Fire Nation ship until it passed?

Toph's just saving everyone's bacon today huh?

Am I sensing some post-Yue trauma?

I would love to know the context behind Zuko knowing this very niche skill.

Jet has this fascinating ability to do objectively good deeds in such a sleezy way that you end up siding with the greedy oppressors. Weird.

This makes so much sense. Aang zipped into the Avatar State so hard and fast in the desert that he probably scared himself, so now he's keeping a lid on things so hard that he's scaring everyone else with his newfound apathy. He's 12, and this episode he feels 12. This is probably the first time he's met emotions this big; of course he doesn't quite know what to do with them.

You know, Katara doesn't get paid enough to put up with this.

Suki. Honey. I'm pretty sure there's a girl code about not flirting with a guy in front of his ex.

Has Suki been filled in on the whole moon thing? Or is she just really confused right now?

You know, Smellerbee is just as unusual a name for a girl.

Jet talks the talk, but I don't believe he'll be able to walk the walk, despite second chances being one of the big themes of this show. Something about him still feels off.

Hope you guys can swim!

Katara to the rescue again. I'm liking this new level-headed action-oriented Katara that appeared in The Desert, and I'm glad she wasn't just a one-episode character.

Momo here fulfilling one of my childhood dreams. There was an aquarium room at my local zoo that had a tunnel you could walk through. Seven year old me would have sold my soul to be able to glorp through the glass and swim with the fishes like this.

Once again, Toph saves the day. She's doing a lot of heavy lifting this episode.

Big Sneky Boy has the colour palette of an exercise video from the 80s aerobics phase. Kind of detracts from the terror when he's wearing a leotard.

Number one sign of irresponsible pet ownership: sacrificing your lemur to Cthulhu.

Aang just bitchslapped Big Sneky Boy.

Why didn't they go with a big ice bridge in the first place?

Yeah that's a problem. Could she make rock skate blades and attach them to her feet maybe? Would that help her see?

Guys. Just. Send someone out there for her. The ice doesn't have handrails. Come on.

Suki can swim in like half a tonne of armour. I bet they have swimming with armour on drills on Kyoshi Island.

"You can go ahead and let me drown now." That is EXACTLY my sense of humour.

Unlike goldfish, Big Sneky Boys can be flushed down the toilet.

"Now it's nothing but smooth sailing to Ba Sing Se." *Something immediately goes wrong* Has Sokka thought about harnessing his ability to speak things into existence?

Tragically, it makes perfect sense that Katara knows exactly how to deliver real human things.

"You know, as soon as I saw your scar I knew exactly who you were." Jet's little speech here got the biggest laugh out of me yet. I had to pause so I wouldn't miss dialogue. He's so deliciously wrong.

This episode's Beat Up Sokka quota is fulfilled by a baby that has yet to be born.

"I want our daughter's name to be unique" TAKE COVER FOLKS! UNNECESSARY VOWELS INCOMING!

Didn't you guys just nearly get killled by a pass that told you to abandon Hope? Are you sure about that name?

Ok it isn't pregnancy that makes you corny. It's being a character in this episode. While I'm glad to see the back of Stoic Aang, this is getting to be a bit on the cheesy side.

Hell yeah Katara deserves that cry. And that hug.

I'm watching this at my mom's house and I need to report that when Sokka said "You came along, to protect me?" my mom audibly went "awww!"

On a more serious note, this is exactly what Sokka needs after the Yue situation. A badass girlfriend who not only can and does take care of herself, but who also can and does take care of Sokka. Boy needs some pampering.

That is one hell of a wall.

That is one hell of a Big Sneky Boy.

"Appa's gonna have to wait" hit like a tonne of bricks. Another step in the journey to turn Aang from carefree monk to repsonsible Avatar. Appa having to wait is a genius story beat, but I want Appa NOW.

Final Thoughts

I had to check out my window for flying pigs before I started typing this section, because Zuko was consistently the most reasonable character in the B plot, perhaps in the whole episode. Apparently the 'make Zuko decent' project is finally seeing results. Have we turned over a new leaf? Dare I hope? It helps that he was juxtaposed with one of the single most batshit crazy characters from season one, but still.

I also need to issue a formal apology to Suki and all of her fans. I didn't like her in The Warriors of Kyoshi, and while I'm still not overly fond of that episode, I love what they've done with her character here. A good standalone character with her own strengths, goals, and responsibilities, and a good match for Sokka. I'd go so far as to say she's a better match for Sokka than Yue was, for all that both ladies have a startling amount in common: a position of responsibility, devotion to those who regard them as a leader, good taste in water tribe ass, etc.

I'm also going to hypothesise that Sokka is, in universe, the hottest member of the Gang. He's now had four girls expressing their interest: Suki, then Yue, then Azula's pokey pink friend whose name currently escapes me, and now Toph too! And she can't even see him, so his hotness is more than skin deep.

This episode was another stealth character episode in the style of The Blue Spirit. You think it's an action episode but it's actually character work with some fights for spice. It's got: -payoff for Katara's new-found levelheadedness -the other side of the coin on Aang's desert freakout -Toph doing just ALL the heavy lifting in the absence of Appa (seriously, teach her to fly and you won't need Appa as anything but a friendly couch) -Toph also getting an incredibly logical weakness that she learns she can rely on her friends to surmount -Sokka getting some Yue resolution from a frankly ironic source -Zuko getting what I'm sure is going to turn into a dark mirror

Speaking of fuckboy, there was nothing in this episode that hinted that Jet's turn to good was anything but genuine, but something about him still really makes my teeth itch. So I'm calling it now: based not on any evidence, but entirely on my own feelings, Jet's turn to good isn't going to stick.

There was some corny stuff in this episode, but it's a kids' show. It gets way more allowance for corny than an adult show does. I'll let it slide, so long as it doesn't become a habit.

This was part one of a two part episode, but it certainly didn't feel that way. There was the Big Metal Sneky Boy plot hook at the very end, but other than that it was a self-contained story.

I had predicted last episode that the rest of season two would be spent getting to Ba Sing Se, and they did it in one episode. So I'd like to announce my retirement from predicting the future because I am not good at it. I have no idea where we're going beyond next episode. I guess I'll have fun finding out!

[atla-milf-month]

ATLA MILF Month will happen in March 2025! This month will celebrate all the ATLA-verse moms and older women who... well, you know!

Click here to submit prompts! Click here to check the event guidelines! Do you have any questions? Do you want to be a mod? Please send us an ask.

Thank you for participating. We hope you enjoy the event!

[artbytala]

[juniperhillpatient]

Oh, & another thing that I enjoyed about this episode was the small scene where Iroh accidentally misgenders Smellerbee & she walks away & Longshot follows her.

“I know. As long as I’m confident in who I am, it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”

I had to look it up but apparently this came out in 2006. Avatar gets slammed now by people on the internet who wanted it to be more progressive than it was, but it’s actually pretty freaking neat that a kid’s cartoon managed to slide that line in regarding gender in 2006. Trans Smellerbee is all but confirmed canon, I’m just saying 🏳️‍⚧️

It’s also just a neat moment & I enjoy the message & the soft moment between friends. I love the Freedom Fighters.

[take-that-you-rock]

One Scene from Every Episode

2.12 The Serpent's Pass

32/61

[theowritesfiction]

'The Serpent's Pass'

I love this episode because two sorely missed characters - Suki and Jet - make their return.

I loved how after having to be an absolute rock during the previous episode, this one starts off with Katara getting to be playful and just enjoy herself. I loved her waterbending bomb. She's adorable.

The worsening refugee situation is yet another aspect of the war revealed very effectively by this episode. Can't fault the people for thinking that Ba Sing Se is safe...

Ah, the return of Jet! Immediate Jetko rights. There is some serious Jetko bonding in this chapter and it's great to see. Jet and Zuko's little operation to liberate the food for refugees... @juniperhillpatient, for how dysfunctional Jetko can be, you have to admit, they worked together very efficiently! Also, hearing Jet speak about how he has re-evaluated his life and is going to BSS for a second chance... why the fuck did they have to kill him off? He could have played such an interesting part in the story.

I'm glad Iroh is approaching his return to Ba Sing Se with the grace and dignity... of a complete and utter clown. Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with that old man. Misgendering Smellerbee, what the fuck? 40 Jerk Points.

Damn, the Sukkka reunion is hideously sweet. Suki playing the tough guard and playfully harassing Sokka was so gosh darn cute. I re-watched that part at least four times. Sokka being super protective of Suki after what happened to Yue makes so much sense, even if he comes off annoyingly overbearing, it's still fun to see him trying to protect Suki from a spider. Sokka still missing Yue is a tearjerker moment. I'm glad Sokka pulled himself together at the end though. With how criminally little screen time Suki is given in this show, Sokka you better take any chance you have to kiss that girl.

I am going to give Aang huge credit for agreeing to guide the refugees through the Serpent's Pass even if he's depressed and lacking motivation. I want to slap Sokka for complaining about that, especially when he wanted to use the pass in the first place. Also, I can completely understand Katara being horrified by Aang's talk of abandoning hope. Katara is someone for who hope means everything.

I really enjoyed the action while fighting the giant serpent. Katara's waterbending has come such a long way. The awkward moment of Toph kissing Suki while thinking she was saved by Sokka was funny, but also kind of... weirdly set up? So all the previous abuse Toph hurled at Sokka was because she secretly liked him? I don't know how to feel about that.

Could my admiration for Katara grow any higher? The way she takes charge of the situation after the refugee lady goes into labor is impressive. At the age of 14, she's helped Kanna deliver babies back at the South Pole. When I think back to what I was like when I was 14, it just makes me blush and cringe.

Seeing Aang regain his hope at the end of the episode was so touching. I also remember how at the start of Book 2, I thought to myself: meh, this is the season where they started to push Kataang. Except... they haven't? Only Cave of Two Lovers contained traces of Kataang. This episode? It's all about sweet and caring friends energy, sorry.

Also I love the cliffhanger this episode ends on, the shot of the Fire Army drill was so ominous, like... I don't know what the hell is that thing, but it's scary.

Okay, so only Iroh was supposed to get Jerk Points for this chapter, but I'm going to touch on something that ties into the previous episode. I've always felt that Katara is criminally underappreciated by the fans and the ATLA writers, but also by the other characters on the show, she is literally ALWAYS just taken for granted. She put up with so much BS leading the group out of the desert alive, and yet she received no recognition for it, not even a single thank you? I'm giving the rest of the Gaang 30 Jerk Points each for taking Katara for granted.

Jerk Points for Book 2:

Iroh - 550 Azulon - 300 Ursa, General Fong  - 200 Aang - 160 Zuko - 120 Ozai, Toph Beifong - 100 Sokka - 70 Bumi, Lao Beifong - 50 Pakku - 30

Iroh is really pulling away at the top... can anyone challenge him this season? Long Feng has his work cut out for him.

[mtg-smash-or-pass]

[naffeclipse]

Btw looking at the little naga multiverse that’s going on. I love it sm lol Into the Naga!Clip-Verse am I right??

How would a BH!Eclipse fit as a naga? And how would he interact with the others? :0

Ahahah, it really is! And tossing the bounty hunter into the mix? Oh man

Bounty Hunter!Eclipse as a naga takes after the Rainbow Boa. He possesses deep red scales with black saddle-shaped markings along his tail, and his sun rays are made of black and orange frills. He's nocturnal and sticks to the trees, preferring solitude and avoiding anything that walks along the ground, except for, of course, our lovely Y/N. He does not interact with the others. The reason is if he's compelled, he will act violently, horribly, and it will end will blood everywhere. So, he's better off alone while he struggles with his urges.

He carries a captivating rainbow iridescent sheen to his scales that is rarely seen, but Y/N manages to snap a picture of it, mistaking BH!Eclipse for only a snake and not a naga. Oops.

BH!Eclipse is none too pleased to be photographed and as such gives Y/N a warning with some terrifying hissing and threats to crush them. He looms over them and the brush of his coils gives Y/N shivers of death but ultimately, he refrains from his impulse to smother them. He orders them to show him the picture. When Y/N reveals the photo with shaking hands, he's stunned by how nicely Y/N captured him. As if he's not entirely violent and deadly. It stirs something deep in his cold heart.

He orders Y/N to leave. They bolt out of there like a gazelle but little do they know the impression they just left.

BH!Eclipse wants to see them again (he wants to see how nicely they bruise, how pretty their sanguine blood is—no, no, no) he wants to see if they'll take more pictures. He wonders how well they can handle seeing him again after he scared them.

What's one more thing to try and get right?

[nebulousgaythoughts]

Currently rewatching Avatar the last Airbender and I am consistently shocked by how emotionally mature this show is.

I just watched the serpents pass, and seeing Aang suppress his rage and grief about losing Appa after he went all Avatar state on the sandbenders was heartbreaking. Seeing him so afraid that he lost control and might hurt someone he loves was heartbreaking. Katara and everyone reaching out to him and trying to support him, and Aang denying his pain again was heartbreaking. Katara offering Aang a hug and Aang walking away was heartbreaking. Aang literally saying that there is no hope and hope won't get them any closer to Ba Sing Se???? As a way to shut off his emotions so he won't get hurt again???? This little devious rascal of a kid who just wants to have fun???? HEART 👏 BREA 👏 KING 👏

And at the end, when the woman travler has her baby, seeing Aang shed a tear as he finds hope again??? And then they name the baby Hope???? Are you joking?????

The way this show tackles genocide, abuse, generational trauma, grief, war, ethics, and politics in a mature way made for young kids to understand, and also contains Sokka tripping on cactus juice is absolutely insane.

[whoareyousaidthecaterpillar]

These gray rocks were fun to paint. I liked the blues I used for the water, they're really pretty and now I want to do more paintings with water.

Anyways, I think I would die if someone told me I had to hike the Serpents Pass, and not because of the serpent or even the perilous drop offs where the path crumbles into the lake, but because of the inclines.

Watercolor on paper, 5"x7"

[pointyfruit]

I could not tell you what this is. Snake, bug, flower, fish, thing.

It is my creature though so I love them regardless.

[atla-milf-month]

ATLA MILF Month will happen in March 2025! This month will celebrate all the ATLA-verse moms and older women who... well, you know!

Click here to submit prompts! Click here to check the event guidelines! Do you have any questions? Do you want to be a mod? Please send us an ask.

Thank you for participating. We hope you enjoy the event!

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Questions + Thoughts from the Serpent's Pass Episode

Why didn't Katara, Toph or Aang just make a bridge for people to pass? That makes more sense than walking on the ocean floor. How didn't oxygen run out down there?

Katara has to ask Aang to help her with waterbending. Compared to how Katara immediately went to Aang's side to help him with the serpent.

Toph and Aang have such easy chemistry in their interactions. I am not a huge Taang shipper but I see the appeal.

I am shocked at how everyone left Toph behind! I know Sokka forgetting her blindness is a gag but they literally endangered her life. Sokka never noticed until he reached land! There was no need for Toph to almost drown :(. But I understand that it is easy to forget about Toph's disability when she seems so competent all the time.

Toph is struggling in the water and my man Sokka is wasting time with his shoes while Queen Suki literally jumps straight in with her bulkier clothing and makeup. And looked good doing so! Ah Suki, always showing up Sokka like a champ.

Where is Aang supposed to find rags?

Katara being trained as a midwife further highlights the maturity level difference between her and Aang. Her older brother is even acting childish at the prospect of childbirth lol. Katara's adultification is so tragic.

Why can't we have a moment where Aang is Katara's emotional support? It's just so unfair.

So nice that there is at least one healthy ship in ATLA! Sukka for the win.

[juniperhillpatient]

The Serpent's Pass Re-watch

Ooh, I love this episode so much - the return of Jet & Suki, two characters with criminally low amounts of screen time! Also, I'll admit I'm a sucker for storylines about hope & what it means to regain it during a dark time in the characters' journeys. Call me corny, but I love it. The baby being named "Hope" in the end gets me every time.

Seeing Katara have fun at the start of this episode is so endearing. I love her water-bending bomb. I do wish that the Gaang could've taken a moment to thank Katara or acknowledge how brave she was in the last episode because she was kinda treated like crap despite being the hero & now everything is back to normal.

Suki popping up & pretending to harass Sokka as a guard is so cute. I love their dynamic in this episode & I love the complex layer added by Yue. I've been waiting for my favorite moon girl to haunt the narrative a little more & here she is. I'm obsessed with this shot.

'The Swamp' hinted that Sokka was struggling with guilt over Yue's death & I'm so glad that they went somewhere with that arc for Sokka in this episode. Sokka was tasked with protecting Yue & even though she chose to sacrifice herself, that's going to weigh heavy on Sokka. I loved that in the end, it was the knowledge that Suki had come along to protect him that allowed Sokka to move past his fear of getting close & his obsession with protecting Suki from harm & kiss her.

Suki is a character that I've always said I love on the surface, but I wish the writers had dived just a little deeper. She's a warrior, but she's also a girl. We see in this episode the way she teases Sokka & the entire dynamic between them that she's brave but she's also goofy. She's also vulnerable & deeply understanding & forgiving (a lot of people would have been more hurt by Sokka's brief rejection.) There's a layer of complexity to Suki that is scratched in episodes like this but she's simply not given enough screen time or background which is a shame. Oh well, I really enjoyed her in this episode. +1000 iconic behavior points for rescuing Toph & +100 to Suki & Sokka each for their goodbye kiss. (Sidenote - why isn't Suki/Toph a more popular ship after that accidental kiss?)

Katara & Aang's arc in this episode is great. It's funny I keep saying how much I love their dynamic & what they mean to each other because I think that most of my mutuals & followers know I dislike them as a romantic pairing. But, this re-watch is reminding me how much I love their friendship (the first time I watched, I never even knew they were meant to be a serious romantic pairing until toward the end of the show, I thought it was just a fleeting crush from Aang.) I shouldn't have let parts of the fandom / the comics ruin that for me for a bit, & I'll try not to from now on & instead just focus on what I like in the actual show. Aang feeling hopeless because of Appa's loss is just.... heartbreaking. This line especially got to me: "Hope is not going to get us into Ba Sing Se and it's not going to help find Appa. We need to focus on what we're doing right now and that's getting across this path." It's a reflection of Aang's character development, in my opinion, that he is continuing to try to be strong. This isn't the same goofy kid from Book 1, he's grown & accepted his responsibility as the Avatar, & he's trying so hard to be strong despite his own inner hurt. And for Katara, someone who believes so strongly in hope, to have to hear that...ouch. We saw it last episode & we see it again in this episode, Katara is completely motivated by hope & idealism against all odds. She can't just focus on the moment, she has to believe in a better future. So, of course, it's her, in the end, who brings that hope back to Aang. Also, +1000 Iconic Behavior Points for delivering a baby at 14 years old. She is now in the lead, even surpassing Azula.

Jet is back!!! And he's on his own journey to redemption. I gotta say, I feel like Sokka & Suki's scenes & Jet & Zuko's scenes kept happening back to back & like these two duos were sort of the a plot b plot romances of the episode, like I'm just saying -

I'm going to play devil's advocate & say that Iroh joking about being a tourist wasn't quite the dick move many fans say it is. I don't think Iroh actually thinks of himself as a tourist, I feel like he was just trying to cheer Zuko up because Zuko was feeling so upset about the idea of being a refugee. Which - I mean, understandable. Zuzu is used to being a pampered prince, of course, he's freaking out about eating grubby food but there's more to it too. He's being hunted by his own nation - his own sister. On his father's orders.

Then along comes Jet, & Zuko has his bisexual awakening & decides to help "liberate some food." Be gay do crime anyone? +1000 iconic behavior points each. Genuinely though, this episode gives us yet another look at Jet's more heroic traits. Even in Jet's titular episode where is an antagonist, we see a traumatized kid who is trying to take care of other traumatized kids, whether he goes about it the right way or not. Now we see that Jet still considers himself an outcast, & cares deeply about looking after other outcasts & victimized people - just now without quite such violent methods. What changed though? I would love to know more about what Jet & the Freedom Fighters were up to during the time between Book 1 & this episode. Jet seems to deeply regret his past -

Jet: I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of, but that's why I'm going to Ba Sing Se: for a new beginning. A second chance.

Iroh: That's very noble of you. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances.

Jet & Zuko's journeys parallel each other so strongly. They meet while they're both questioning everything & feeling lost & uncertain, both heading to Ba Sing Se because they hope for a better future - & "hope" as a theme makes itself known again! This episode hurts more upon re-watch because I know that Jet won't actually get to experience the hope for a better future or second chance that the narrative is hinting is possible. Also, I want to throw in that I think it's heavily hinted that Katara's anger was the catalyst for Jet's change of heart about his methods. What happened after the Gaang left? I guess the villagers now know that Jet & the Freedom Fighters were planning on flooding them out...Maybe Jet was confronted by some of the people that he planned to hurt, & he was forced to face his own intentions & consider why they were wrong?

Jet: You know, as soon as I saw your scar, I knew exactly who you were. You're an outcast, like me. And us outcasts have to stick together. We have to watch each other's backs. Because no one else will.

Zuko: I've realized lately that being on your own isn't always the best path.

I'm supposed to just move on with my life after this scene?

Also, sorry but - "In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in & I don't want to fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid wheat in my mouth? That's weird."

Legitimately though, the way that they set up Jet & Zuko as both on a similar path to redemption & the potential for Jet to face the idea that the Fire Nation prince isn't so different from him after all & that they work well together & for Zuko to bond with one of the people his country believes should be wiped out & crushed & to see himself in this other broken kid....I'm so normal & fine about them it's great 🙂

This is a great episode, possibly my favorite non-Azula Book 2 episode thus far. I loved the Sokka/Suki & Jet/Zuko scenes, I found Toph & her moment with Suki funny & cute, I loved Katara's perseverance & hope against all odds, & I loved Aang regaining his hope in the end - followed, of course, by a scary cliffhanger with the appearance of the drill!

[ranger-kellyn]

i love procrastinating my way into being productive on the wrong thing

[peppermint-whiskers]

consider

pentious was DEAD dead when lute killed him,

his mind wont remember being dead but his soul likely will

it was nothing, dark, empty, SILENT.

knowing what its like to not exist would be absolutely jarring for a human soul its something we are not supposed to know as we cant comprehend nonexistence, it would probably fuck us up royally.

which makes him develop a deep internalized fear of silence, the dark and being alone.

S t o p I just got all the angst out of my system 🫢🫢🫢