3x06 The Avatar and the Firelord

[9.5/10] If there's one thing I really appreciate about Avatar, it's the way it manages to balance world-building and character. One the one hand, this is such an important episode about understanding the world of the Four Nations and the hundred-year war. We learn what the world was like before the war started, we see the motivations behind its beginning, and we learn why Ozai's grandfather was so intent on neutralizing the avatar to make his waging of that war possible.

But it's also a character story, about two friends and de facto brothers whose lives took them on different paths. The reveal that Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin were best friends is a pretty shocking revalation, but one that has power in the way the whole series up to this point has been founded on the way that these things are all connected, that the people and personalities of these conflicts are as important as the world-shaking consequences of them.

It also creates a sense of tragedy and betrayal to that living history. Roku died at the hands of his best friend, in the same of aspiration and ambition. They cared for one another, grew up together, and built friendships that exceed lifetimes, but in the end, after a long life lived, that fell apart. That is heart-rending, and yet it also gives us so much more complicated insight into the lives of an avatar and a fire lord.

But it doesn't stop there -- with the lessons extending to our heroes in the modern day. I love that Aang takes it as a sign that there can be powerful friendships that matter to an Avatar, and that there is good and bad regardless of affiliation. It underscores the importance of Team Avatar and is another step in the evolution of the series to where not every person in red is bad and not every person in green is good.

By the same token, I love the revelation that Zuko is descended from both Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku, and that this generational intertia helps explain the conflict between good and bad within him. It's nicely and subtly represented by Roku riding the red dragon and Sozin riding the blue dragon, the same ones that appeared to Zuko in his fever dream. The fact that he receives the head-piece that belonged to both of these great grandfathers signifies the way he may unify these impulses, and realizes who he is as an heir to the throne.

The episode just does so much in such a short time, it's hard not to be impressed both at the multitude and variety of its accomplishments.

My Top Ten Avatar Episodes: #8

In my opinion, this is a better version of The Storm. While that episode is a great exploration of Aang's flaws and Zuko's origins, this episode parallels that by having both characters explore the same story - why the war started.
In that sense, it is an amazing piece of worldbuilding, showing the relationship between two important figures, how it changed over time and how ideals tore them apart. Not only that, but it gives a very believable start to the war - Sozin believed he could fix the rest of the world by invading it and 'treating' it to the Fire Nation's wealth. The Avatar could have stopped this, but he cared too much about Sozin to "do the right thing" and stop/kill him when he went too far. Despite his mercy towards Sozin, due to their history, Sozin's ambitions were too important to him, and he watched his friend die, giving him the opportunity he needed to carry out his plans and start a 100-year tragedy.
Another amazing thing about this episode is, while Aang and Zuko are viewing the same story, it provides a different message to each of them. It emphasizes to Aang the point, explored in previous episodes, that there is good in everyone, in every nation, if only people would try to look for it. On the other hand, it shows Zuko that there is both good and bad in himself, and that he has the choice to become a good person and shape his own destiny.
This episode further paves the way to the conclusion of Zuko's arc and helps further build up the world of Avatar to feel like a real place.
9.5/10