Avatar the Last Airbender Season 3 Episode 12 Reaction | The Firebending Masters

[@joelsasmad]

Remember the footloose episode? The original form of fire bending was a dance, and now dancing is forbidden in the fire nation.

[@destroyerblackdragon]

This episode was the antithesis of the deserter. Jeong Jeong made Aang fear fire bending and saw it has a burden of destruction. The sun warriors taught Aang it’s life giving potential.

[@samuelclayhills3298]

Actually Jeong Jeong tried to teach Aang restraint even tough he himself did see firebending as a great burden and curse but Aang himself was too impatient and scared himself. Jeong Jeong had self hatered but he didn't really try to pass that on to Aang beyond the fire is alive and not easy to controll so be carefull.

[@dragonsvideos6737]

You guys notice that before when Zuko firebends he always grunts, now that he knows the origin of firebending and isn’t so angry anymore he doesn’t grunt when he firebends

[@ragu8256]

Thats a great catch. I've watched this so many times and never caught that.

[@Lupinemancer87]

I did notice that the first time I watched. I thought I was just misremembering things.

[@hellowhat890]

"I don't care what the others say, you're actually quite smart." The smile that Zuko makes is so heartfelt and genuine. ❤❤❤

[@WafleEnterprises]

It’s the third person to ever actually compliment him… oh, unless you count the one girl he went on a date with in Ba Sing Se

[@jessicasarti4917]

I found funny that almost nobody catch the joke and "burn" in that frase, cause Aang means that everybody else thinks he's not smart, that's why after Zuko smile you can see him think: "WAIT... WHAT?!" 😅😂

[@tjmoon5858]

Also interesting to note that this age of Firebenders use aggression to power themselves except for Iroh and now Zuko, remember the first episode when Zuko was training with his soldiers, Iroh lectured Zuko that Firebending comes from the breath which falls in line with the Sunwarriors ideology of fire and life, as breathing maintains life and using the oxygen to create fire

[@hellowhat890]

0:59 When you unlock the boss as a playable character.😅😂😅😂

[@LycanFerret]

"You just defeated Erok the Terrible who has slain thousands of valiant heroes just like you. He agreed to join you in your travels" Erok's Stats - 27 Damage, 12 Health, 4 Defense, 3 Magic Defense, 2 Wisdom, 3 Dexterity

[@BrotherShaw]

This episode proved that Aang is Zuko's little brother and I will not hear otherwise. 😂

[@GreenOfFields]

Co-signed

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

I always loved that the series featured these sub-cultures and sub-bending types. I love that the water tribe isnt JUST the two polar clans, but also the swamp benders with their plant bending in addition to water bending. I love the Sun Warriors and their pseudo-native american look and culture. I love that metal bending is a thing through impurities, and I love that fire bending can channel energy and heat into electricity for lightning bending. I love that these little diversions and variants exist, and it just adds so much to the world for me!

[@Selloca]

I always saw the sun warriors as aztec inspired The clothing, jewelry, and pyramids looked similar

[@Aerxis]

Yes, definitely Aztec. The Aztecs had sun dials and all kinds of sun iconography

[@valathor95]

“Don’t tell anyone!” Immediately tells everyone.

[@Auron1Roxas2]

They didn't tell them about the dragons or the sun warriors, just about the dancing dragon moves.

[@filipvadas7602]

The next series of episodes are basically Zuko bonding with the gaang or reaching a level of understanding with them through specific adventures. They're honestly my favorite episodes of the *entire show* by a country mile.

[@theinsurance2450]

It also character development for the other characters. Like this one teaching Aang that fire isn't always bad

[@ahedjehad8514]

no pun intended, this episode is fire. not only does it show that fire isn't just used for destruction, but it can also bring warmth and comfort. also, that brief scene with the two dragons making that colorful tornado is one of the best scenes in the whole show.

[@Great_Olaf5]

14:47 We've seen a dragon before and he didn't talk. Roku's dragon, Fang, showed up all the way back in the winter solstice episodes, and while clearly intelligent, he couldn't talk, he communicated with Aang by sharing images and probably emotions. He also showed up in The Avatar and the Fire Lord and didn't speak then either. Dragons are definitely intelligent creatures, but they're still animals, they can't talk. The only cases of something that looks like an animal that can talk in avatar are spirits or adjacent (there's something that comes later that the fandom still has no consensus on what they are).

[@thebadger4040]

Best part of this episode is that it makes you realize that Iroh's lifestyle, of enjoying life and art, and encouraging Zuko to do the same, all this time was him essentially practicing the philosophy of true firebending, and teaching it to Zuko :)

[@sadiedol4413]

I don't think Katara is being petty at all. It's easy to feel that way bc WE understand Zuko. But Zuko has been literally HUNTING them, attacking them, kidnapping Aang, and burning down towns for almost a year now. I can't imagine anything Zuko could say that would make me forgive or trust him with my safety or my loved ones in only one week. That's insane. Katara isn't being petty at. all.

[@Sinewmire]

Aangs rapturous happy expression when he firebends mirrors the pose he took last time he did Firebend, but last time he had a look of fear and horror.

[@MrMeddyman]

One of the best episodes for sure, that slow-mo shot of Aang firebending for the first time since he burnt Katara mirrors the original scene exactly.

[@cm4n63]

how interesting that in the school episode, dancing was consistently frowned upon...

[@joshthomasmoorenew]

2:47 Zuko thinking "I can't believe i left Mai for this."

[@JokeCubed]

Katara is less accepting of Zuko than the others because she was hurt most by him. She was the first to trust him (in the cave, when she showed him the spirit water) and he betrayed that trust, so now it stings even more. It's the same situation she had with Jet. Katara is probably the most loving and loyal in the whole group, so when that loyalty is betrayed, she becomes the most cynical and distrustful.

[@Lightning_Lance]

Zuko's betrayal also got Aang killed. She doesn't want that to happen again. Notice that her threat last episode was specifically for if Zuko betrayed Aang.

[@GirlofCulture]

Forget Game of Thrones. Back in 2008 Avatar the last Airbender dropped the Dragonbomb first and it was such a great animation thou.. and Zuko and Aang doing the fusion-dance. WOW.

[@nathanielreik6617]

We've seen Roku and Sozin's dragons in flashbacks and spirit form...they never spoke and only made animal noises. Plus they'd be the only original benders who could speak (badgermoles, sky bison, and the moon unless you are like Aang and can speak to Yue directly but most people can't). Also when Zuko had his fever dream in Book 2 he saw two dragon's and the red one was Iroh (the blue one was Azula but that doesn't really work symbolically for matching with Aang).

[@nathanielreik6617]

Jeong Jeong taught Aang lessons he needed but he was obsessed with the destruction and death that fire could bring and I feel because of this he was the wrong teacher for Aang. He was important for those lessons in that moment but this was the kind of teaching Aang needs now. Seeing that first isn't just destruction and pain like what the Fire Nation has used it for but also energy. Another note is that throughout the series Zuko has given grunts and shouts as he's fire bent, fueling it with his rage, but now he won't be making those sounds anymore. Also I don't know if you've ever listened to the end credit's music for the show but it's the chanting the Sun Warriors did.

[@GreenOfFields]

Toph 100% touched Zuko’s stuff. Also I love Zuko’s newfound humility, rather than respond to the loss of his Bending with fury, he simply notes that he has nothing to offer the Avatar anymore. That said: I would absolutely be asking for lessons in dual wielding those blades of his.

[@GreenOfFields]

12:10 Funny you should say that, Ken. Mae Whitman, Katara’s voice actress, has said in interviews that she believes Katara did fall in love with Zuko, part of her anger at him here could be he betrayed that love when he sided with Azula at the end of Book 2

[@muc358]

well... evidently she didnt watched the series... or at least didnt understood it...

[@GreenOfFields]

@muc358 Don’t be too quick to judge. This opinion would’ve formed as the series was being written, not after it was finished. Besides: Zuko had shown Katara a more tender side (offering to return her mother’s necklace, their heart-to-heart in Ba Sing Se) and as her interactions with Jet showed, being a promising Bender and member of the main cast did not necessarily stop her from having the all too common teenage interest in bad boys. And after all: Whitman never denied the KatAang pairing. In fiction as in life, feelings can change or fade, and while Katara would eventually accept Zuko as a friend, his past actions guaranteed that’s where it ended.

[@muc358]

@@GreenOfFields there is not quick judging from me... she just saw things that didnt existed... also, you are talking about an opinion from a VA and not of a writer... so the writing process doesnt formed the VAs opinion... and is obvious that it formed after it was finnished or at least after the Ba Sing Se scene... what tender side show Zuko with her mothers necklace? he showed his villain side to her using it to track them... the moment on Ba Sing Se is her having compassion for him... the situation with Jet, showed an interest of her on "heroes", the moment she saw he was a "bad boy" she inmediatly lost all that interest... the common interest for bad boys, or to ship their favorite characters just because they are their favorite, is just from the Zutara shippers only... Obviously, feelings can change and fade, also feelings not always are romantic...

[@GreenOfFields]

@muc358 Well if you want the opinion of a writer, early on in the series it was discussed in the writers’ room making Katara and Zuko a couple. I imagine that it was because they were closer in age than Aang and Katara, and they initially wanted to focus on Aang’s more familial relationship with the Water Tribe siblings (“Sokka and I, we’re your family now”). Now obviously this didn’t come to pass, but if the idea was considered long enough for recordings for Book 1 to have occurred it’s entirely possible that Whitman was informed to help guide her acting. As an aside while I of course don’t mind a reply I don’t intend to pursue this discussion further. I only passed on the voice actor’s opinion, whether her subjective viewpoint is correct or not is not something I wish to argue about.

[@mmxxiii9503]

9:06 the mighty dragons!

[@Vhailor_Mithras]

There's a music video I quite enjoy about how his struggles to come to terms with himself and his journey. You can find it with Zuko Song "No Way Out" by Divide Music.

[@CameronDThomas]

Katara is so petty and overemotional. I would’ve made her into toast after that little comment to Zuko. 😂😂

[@aethyr4006]

Iroh is the last one to have seen the masters (before Aang and Zuko), but the Dragon Dance needs two person to be performed. It means he must have done it with his son, Lu Ten.

[@madhavmandava]

This episode was deep and fantastic.....also loved the idea how the sun warriors are based on Aztec civilization since they too believed in Sun gods and pyirimd structures

[@CyberDalek17]

And now All the Original Benders have been revealed Air is the Sky Bison 🍃 Water is the Moon 🌊 Earth is the Badger Moles 🪨 And Fire is the Dragons 🔥

[@allyb3241]

I think everyone watching thought that the dragons would talk especially understanding they were going to judge and teach them. However, none of the animals including Appa or Momo in Avatar speak, and even Roku’s dragon didn’t. So in that way it does make sense that they wouldn’t even though it would have been so cool!

[@TERRELL_GASKINS]

I love when there watching the rainbow fire and Zuko says I understand like he understands his world veiw on the fire nation was a lie and now his world veiw on firebending has changed as well

[@ProtoZer0.7]

This episode is easily my second favorite, right behind a later one which is also Zuko-focused, so dope…

[@GreenOfFields]

Love the dragon dance. I started studying taekwondo again recently and it reminds me of practicing sets

[@gatr2897]

Ah yes Avatar Zuko Field Trips arc my beloved

[@nathanielreik6617]

"You had to pick up the glowing egg didn't you?"

[@MrGBH]

And in this episode, American Dragon Jake Long danced with a Dragon

[@samuelclayhills3298]

So much development that has been a long time coming. We see that firebending truly isn't any worse than any other bending and Aang learns to move past his own blocks with it. Zuko as well continues with his journey to better himself. Sozin started to hunt dragons for glory hopefully after his dragon died but he was pretty damn old at the time so maybe he got started with the war and air nomad genocide and then deriliously on his death bed talked about hunting dragons that people took as gospel. Or maybe he spared his own dragon form the massacare a bit hyppocritical but you don't exactly argue against the fire lord. Yeah Katara does feel a bit needlessly bitchy against Zuko of course we know its understandable but hell even Sokka the most anti fire nation has kept it to some light ribbing. I guess the cave talk really got to her. Again how did the writers make Zutara seem like a better coupple than kataang. Of course Maiko supremacy is the only right way for me. Iroh already got the chill firebending but was still pretty patriotic and joined the war effort. I guess we can chalk that upp to a moment of weakness that lasted till his son died. Well he is a chill dude now so I guess its ok.

[@muc358]

where did the writers made Zutara seem like a better coupple than Kataang? when they never made them or even hinted to make them a couple...

[@ryanakers1372]

Fun detail going forward: Up to this point in the show, every time Zuko firebends, he grunts and yells as if it's taking every bit of his strength and focus to create the fire. But after meeting the Masters, Zuko is silent while bending and creating the fire almost appears effortless on his part.

[@ShadowRyu]

Rewatch the scene where Zuko burns Toph. Watch how she crawls away from him. Just like the badger moles do. Writers didn't miss

[@Golems_victory]

I like the ironic detail that the original benders were dragons 🐉 it makes sense 😂 lol XD and the sun warriors were fun to watch also. XD

[@szasza8583]

Well... the original benders were the lion turtles.

[@Kebin13]

You dont know what irony is, do you?

[@lighttheshadowreaper5102]

@@szasza8583hmm… yes and no… the original benders were the creatures (and moon). The lion turtles were just the original spiritbenders, and the ones that allowed humans to bend. But it was still up to the other creatures like the dragons and badger moles to inspire the bending arts. Before then, people were just throwing the power around willy nilly then returning it when not needed.

[@michellerahe4853]

Such a great series imo 😅

[@merlijnbal221]

iroh said he killed the last dargon yes and that how he got the nick name dragon of the west

[@faithrabbit4330]

If you ask me, the best part of this episode is baby Toph with the badger moles

[@MatthewJamesKalasky]

9:30 Vegeta?

[@lighttheshadowreaper5102]

Avatar facts! The Sun Warrior civilization is inspired by the real world Aztecs. And Zuko was right in that modern Fire Nation architecture is based on SW cities. Also the Sun Warriors were thought to be extinct for a thousand years. Their glue trap is just one of the many traps they are infamous for. And it can only be dissolved by the saliva of an "Anteater-sloth" hence why Zuko and Aang were getting licked. The dragons are Ran and Choa. Combined, they form the Chinese word for Combustion. The Sun Warrior chant is the same song used for the end credits. This isn't the first time we saw these dragons. Zuko's fever dream in Book 2 was with a similar pair. It's rumored this is where Iroh learned to breathe fire.

[@dragonsvideos6737]

Yay this episode! I love dragons

[@king-vs4sv]

Are you going to continue with legend of korra?

[@shadowkage1220]

They're already watching Korra on patreon

[@n03xcape]

I hope so!

[@samuelclayhills3298]

Well at least we get to clown on that shit show.

[@d.nunezcarmona188]

What a luck! I just finish the last one XD

[@torbenhdnielsen7276]

this is episode 3x13 not 12.

[@j.w.sraptorsquad982]

"Dragons do talk in animated shows", spoken as if non-speaking Dragons in animated shows is incomprehensible. Toothless, Stormfly, and the other Dragons in the HTTYD franchise never speak a word throughout the series, Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and all 6 seasons of Dragons Race to the Edge, but that fact does not detract from these shows in the slightest. So, agree to disagree

[@Deey21]

I hope you guys do the legend of korra next (the avatar after ang) I like her's better (my opinion) ang was good but its so dated now I can't watch it again.

[@Tul-rak]

It would've been pretty bad if the Dragons had spoken to them and Fus Ro Dah-ed them off the cliff... wait, wrong dragon lore, nevermind.

[@mifoon8727]

Well, Katara’s original love interest WAS Zuko before it was changed to Aang…

[@myapatterson8228]

No it wasn't

[@mifoon8727]

@ no it actually was

[@Kebin13]

​@@mifoon8727got any proof other than the voices in your head? And no the season 2 finale is not proof, its shipper bait.