ONE
Typical One: where is our team camping? We have a lake with fish.
TWO
However, Sokka can catch nothing because Aang has taken the fishing line and used it to weave a necklace for Katara. The lack of line is not the Two; survival is not the point of this episode. It’s the lovey gift, unasked for.
THREE
And here we have a stylized vision of a glowing Katara wearing the necklace. Sokka says, “Smoochy, smoochy,” and Katara says they’re just good friends. Each of these elements is not the Three (they’re more part of the Trouble). It’s the notion that one of the team cares in a way that isn’t reciprocated.
FOUR
A platypus bear is attacking a man on the road. He’s incredibly calm about it. When the team defeats the bear, the man explains, “Aunt Wu predicted I would be safe.” They go to the village to meet this fortune teller and hear her predictions for them. Katara’s told she’ll marry a powerful bender, Aang is told battle is his fate, and Sokka disdains it all.
SWITCH
The team sees Aunt Wu read the clouds to determine if the nearby volcano will erupt. Nope, the village won’t be destroyed this year.
FIVE
While Katara continues to pester Aunt Wu for further predictions, Aang leads Sokka up the mountain to find the rare panda lily, a sign of love. At the top they find the flowers but also the crater, bubbling and ready to overflow.
No one in the village will listen to their warning. Aang decides to borrow Aunt Wu’s cloud book that she uses for predictions.
SIX
Aunt Wu’s girl assistant who has a crush on Aang gives him the book. She tells him that he doesn’t like her, which is true. As at the Three, here is someone whose love is unrequited.
SEVEN
Aang and Katara fly up into the clouds on Appa and bend them into the shape that signifies doom in the book. It’s a good solution to the problem.
EIGHT
Sokka brings Aunt Wu from the house so she can read the clouds. Now the village can dig a trench and prepare for the lava flow. It’s still not enough, though, and a huge wave of magma comes down the hillside. Aang creates an air burst like we’ve never seen and stops the disaster. Sokka says, Sometimes I forget how powerful a bender the kid is. Katara freezes. Although this was Aunt Wu’s prediction for her, she never considered Aang as the answer.
NINE
Aang says to Aunt Wu, You didn’t see love for me in the bones, did you? She says, You shape your own destiny just as you shaped those clouds.
It’s a bread crumb episode. By the end of all three seasons we must believe that Katara and Aang can and will belong together. Frankly, it’s always been a tough sell for me, but this plot is a valiant effort.