The Spirit World

(Winter Solstice, Part 1)

This is another episode with two Enneagram paths, one for Aang and one for Zuko. I’ll approach them in the order of the show.

Also, even though this is a part one, it is a complete story. It should have all the pieces of an Enneagram. Will the overarching “Winter Solstice” two-parter have an Enneagram? We’ll see!

ONE (AANG)

The gang rides high on a flying Appa, wondering what fluffy clouds feel like.

TWO (AANG)

Down below they see that the land has a burn scar and fly down to investigate.

THREE (AANG)

Aang is deeply saddened. As the Avatar he’s supposed to protect nature. But how? No one can train him. If only he could talk to Roku, the previous Avatar.

Okay, let me unpack some of this.

First of all, this is a crap Three. Aang sitting morosely on the ground is not a strong visual. You’ll see, also, that it doesn’t mirror well at the Six.

Secondly, the structure of this Three feels contrived in order to introduce a need to communicate with Roku. This is the plot of the two-parter, so this moment is probably its Two. It’s all a jumble, though. The beats are not distinct, and the information rushes by.

Thirdly, the next thing that happens with the team is Katara tossing an acorn at Aang as a way to cheer him. (The forest will grow back and has already begun to heal.) It’s in the Four slot, but the acorn is referenced again later at the Eight. It’s critical to the Eight, actually, which means it should’ve gone in the Two slot here. The creators tried to cram too many beats into too little space.

ONE (ZUKO)

Zuko, finding Uncle Iroh in the hot springs, starts to frown. Of course he does! I can feel the beats go back on track here.

TWO (ZUKO)

Iroh tells him to relax, to take a soak. He heated the water himself, he says, blowing steam from his nostrils into the bath. Iroh’s ability to use fire bending in interesting ways is a surprise. Also, we are reminded of his strength, even though he presents himself as a lazy fellow.

FOUR (AANG)

Here comes Katara’s acorn bit. Then an old man from the nearby village arrives and asks for help. A Spirit Monster attacks at night, abducting their people and destroying the buildings. As the Winter Solstice draws near, the line between reality and spirit blurs, making the attacks more dangerous. The Avatar, the Great Bridge between the worlds, could help them.

TWO (ZUKO) — continued

Iroh wakes in the hot spring when a mouse creature walks near. It’s trying to warn him, I think. Antagonistic earth benders arrive, call Iroh the Dragon of the West and the Fire Lord’s brother, and take him prisoner.

Again, much information about Iroh’s strength. He’s one of the most feared warriors in the Fire Nation, and yet we only know him as Zuko’s chill uncle. Also, the confrontation between these earth benders and Iroh will come to fruition in the Eight.

FOUR (AANG) — continued

Aang has no idea how to confront or control the Spirit Monster, so the evening scene in the village is charming. Eventually, though, Sokka comes to help. Aang is immune to the Monster, but Sokka isn’t. He’s abducted. Aang jumps on his glider and follows.

Katara is left behind, alone.

THREE (ZUKO)

Looking for his Uncle, Zuko finds the hot springs empty, the bath encased in earth-bent rock. He puts it together right away and heads out. The rock is the visual mirror.

FOUR (AANG) — continued

Back to Aang flying after the Monster. It disappears into a statue, a totem, of a bear set in the middle of the burnt-out forest.

FOUR (ZUKO)

Iroh, chained, rides double with one of the earth benders. He’s still almost naked, which is funny, and he’s completely at peace. The benders mention that Iroh laid siege to their most important city, Ba Sing Se, for 600 days before he retreated. Again, his reputation grows.

Iroh purposely falls off the mount and rolls. When he’s grabbed and returned, we see one of his shoes left behind in the road. Classic move.

SWITCH (AANG)

Katara, holding Sokka’s boomerang, waits alone at the gate for Aang’s return. We see him coming. Ah, he’s blue and transparent. When Katara can’t see him he realizes he’s entered the spirit realm.

SWITCH (ZUKO)

Zuko finds the shoe in the road and sniffs it, making a face. It’s Iroh’s! We weren’t completely sure Zuko was following until now. He’d threatened to leave Iroh behind if he didn’t get out of the bath. Team disorganized in the Four, team working together in the Five.

FIVE (AANG)

So he’s in the spirit world, but Aang still has no idea what to do. He laments and calls out for Roku. A spirit dragon flies up. Like Appa is for Aang, the dragon is Roku’s companion beast. Aang, touched by the dragon and understanding, climbs aboard.

FIVE (ZUKO)

Iroh, still riding, sees Roku’s spirit dragon and Aang fly overhead. 

Uh, wut? Iroh can see the spirit realm?!

Then Iroh complains that his shackles are too lose. They jangle, he says. Haha, what? And the earth benders fall for it. Iroh snorts steam onto his wrist piece, superheating it, just before the bender grabs it. In the commotion, he rolls away downhill.

FIVE (AANG) — continued

The spirit dragon takes Aang to a crescent-shaped lava island. Inside a temple, Roku’s statue is lit by a window calendar. The dragon helps Aang understand that the layout points to a day when Aang can talk to Roku.

SIX (ZUKO)

Iroh rolls, looking like he might escape, but the benders trap him in rock. The rounded shape calls back to the rock at the hot springs. The rock is also a metaphorical bookend: in here Iroh is a captive.

SEVEN (ZUKO)

Looking up, Zuko sees Appa flying (with Katara on his back). The Avatar! His quest! Looking down, Zuko sees the footprints of the earth bender mounts firmly heading onward. His uncle. Which course will Zuko take? (His decision is not shown yet, but here’s the moment.)

SIX (AANG)

The dragon returns Aang to the bear totem and flies through. Aang’s body, in a meditation pose, sits on the bear’s head. When his spirit is reunited, he is back in the real world.

Alright, visually this is a mess. Thematically, we had a longing to talk to Roku, to be advised about the spirit world, at the Three. Now that longing is resolved, or, at least, answered in an actionable way. As a Three/Six, this is an arc with potential. My two cents? Why not show the bear totem right away in the Three slot? It doesn’t mean anything to Aang until the Spirit Monster encounter, but so what. The more I think on this the more I like it. It’s a quick shot of a mysterious figure, fully explained later. Zuko gets his rock bookends. Give Aang his bear bookends.

SEVEN (AANG)

Aang returns to the village, He doesn’t have the answers yet — Sokka’s still missing — but he’s decided to confront the problem at its beginning.

EIGHT (ZUKO)

The earth benders, who’ve had enough of Iroh, threaten to crush his hands. Zuko arrives, axe-kicks Iroh free from his chains, and the two of them wipe up the five opponents. It’s not the fanciest fight we’ve seen this season, but to have Iroh and Zuko back-to-back is great. The arc of their relationship is one of the best parts of Avatar.

EIGHT (AANG)

The Spirit Monster returns to the village at night. Aang touches its head as the dragon showed him and understands it’s a bear spirit of the forest. He shows the bear an acorn, as Katara once did for him, to convince the spirit the forest will return. It leaves in peace. From a burst-growth of bamboo at the village gate the abducted return, including Sokka. The village thanks the Avatar.

The Monster had four arms and a vicious head. The bear is a plump panda. Such a transformation, especially a comforting one, would’ve resonated stronger if Katara’s acorn had come at the Two.

NINE (AANG)

As the team reunites, Aang tells them that he knows what to do. They must go immediately to the crescent-shaped island . . . in the Fire Nation. Dunh-dunh! I’m guessing that this part-one ending will be the Switch moment for the two-parter. We’ll have to wait and see.

Zuko’s Enneagram has no Nine. After their victory we may have seen a brief moment, an indication of camaraderie between him and his Uncle. I didn’t make a note of it, and we don’t really need it. We know they travel onward together, growing closer.