ONE
The episode opens with Aang’s dream. The animation is in an altered style; we can tell right away that something’s not normal. Aang happily flying on Appa, with Katara on a overlarge Momo and Sokka using the air glider, is actually disturbing. The state of the world is unsettling. Aang’s mind is not at peace.
And I find this One unsettling. I don’t care that it’s weird. I’m bothered by how random the beat feels. This is too much information, too many feelings for us and them, for a One.
TWO
Part of the dream is a threatening cloud and a memory of the water bubble Aang made in the Avatar State. This aligns with the Eight. Now we have a solid beat.
THREE
And then we’re in confusion again. I don’t think there’s a Three. Katara asks if Aang’s okay and we see their campsite. This is normally how this show hits the One: establish their location. They’ve reversed the One and Three, subverted our expectations, in order to emphasize the uneasy feeling. I understand this intention, but I don’t think they’ve succeeded with it.
The next moment is a Sokka bit, which has been a go-to Three/Six for this series, but it doesn’t align with anything later.
FOUR
The team must go to the market for food. That’s a solid Four choice.
And Zuko’s ship is now introduced. Another reliable Four, the parallel storytelling, begins.
Sokka is hired by a fisherman, and the clear day changes into a threatening, stormy one.
SWITCH
People on the dock yell at Aang — you’re the Avatar who disappeared and left us, aargh — and Aang flies away in shame. Katara on Appa follows him.
FIVE
Now begins the backstory. In a cave out of the rain, Aang tells Katara about the day the monks revealed he was the Avatar. A life of innocence was upended.
Meanwhile, Iroh starts telling the ship’s crew about how Zuko got his scar. Another innocent, another gut-wrenching event.
Both stories end with the understanding that the Avatar gives people hope. In Zuko’s case, it’s the hope that catching the Avatar will let him return home with honor.
SIX
Like the Three, this beat also has nothing to distinguish it. The fisherman’s wife comes to the cave and tells Aang that the boat hasn’t returned. This Six slot doesn’t even have a Sokka bit. I’m quite disappointed.
SEVEN
Aang declares he will go find the boat.
EIGHT
However structurally unsound this episode is, the backstory and this climax moment are worth the watch. As Zuko tries to rescue a crewman in danger from the storm, Iroh, using his fire bending, redirects the lightning strike. This is our first time seeing the lightning power. It’s absolutely great, with so much more to come.
When Aang rescues the fishing boat they’re all submerged by a wave, leading Aang to enter the Avatar State and make the bubble, this time with intention and control. It’s like he’s broken free, as if he’s made peace and accepted that he’s the Avatar. He’s “done dwelling” on the past.
NINE
Back at the cave the rain has stopped and all are safe. Appa shakes himself dry, dousing everyone around him.