The Firebending Masters
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| "The Firebending Masters" | |||||
 | |||||
| Book | Fire | ||||
| Episode # | 53/61 | ||||
| Original airdate | Canada: 04 January 2008
US: 15 July, 2008 | ||||
| Episode guide | |||||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||||
| "The Western Air Temple" | "The Boiling Rock, Part 1" | ||||
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Zuko is beginning to teach Aang Firebending, but finds that his Firebending is much weaker than usual. Aang hypothesizes that Zuko must not have enough rage to create fire like he used to in the past. Sokka then states that all they have to do is make Zuko angry and starts poking him wildly with his sword sheath, while Katara continues to shower Zuko with spite and derision, remarking how convenient it would have been for the group if Zuko's Firebending had failed him months before. Zuko then answered that he no longer wants to rely on anger and hatred, so Toph encourages him to learn from the original source and talks about how she learned Earthbending from the Badgermoles, the original Earthbenders. Zuko says that the Dragons were the original Firebenders, but that they have been extinct for some time. Searching for an alternate but equally viable source, Zuko then tells Aang about a civilization that died out thousands of years ago called the Sun Warriors. It turns out that the current Firebending country -- the Fire Nation -- inherited their skills from this ancient race and twisted them into a more aggressive style.
Zuko and Aang fly to the ruins on Appa; they land and start exploring the ruins. Aang nearly falls into a trap and Zuko is surprised that the trap works even after centuries of being built and then bypasses the trap by running across the adjoining wall. They continue on and find a massive stone carving depicting Dragons and a Sun Warrior.
Two of the Dragons are breathing fire onto the Sun Warrior. Aang is surprised because he got the impression that the Dragons were friends with the Sun Warriors, while Zuko remarks that they had a funny way of showing it. Aang asks Zuko what happened to the Dragons, and Zuko reveals that the Dragons became extinct because Fire Lord Sozin encouraged Firebenders to hunt the creatures for glory and the title of 'Dragon'. He also tells Aang that the person who killed the last dragon was his uncle, Iroh.
While exploring the ruins some more, Aang and Zuko come across a locked door with a red jewel on top. Zuko sees a celestial calendar designed to open the door on the Solstice and uses his sword to reflect sunlight onto the jewel. The door opens, and Aang compliments Zuko's intellect. Inside they find various statues which depict a Firebending form called the Dancing Dragon.
Aang imitates the first statue and discovers a tile switch. He persuades Zuko to perform the form with him and as they do, they activate an ancient key mechanism. Upon completion of the Dancing Dragon, a pedestal with a huge gold egg-shaped gem rises in the middle of the room. Zuko picks it up despite Aang's warnings, inadvertently triggering a trap. The chamber doors close, and a glue like substance fills the room. Luckily and unluckily, Zuko and Aang find themselves trapped by the liquid in a barred skylight where they have plenty of air but no way to get free. They are then captured by the still-flourishing Sun Warrior tribe, which accuses them of attempting to steal Sun Warrior treasures.
After explaining their desire to learn the true form of Firebending, Zuko and Aang are put through a ritual where they have to carry a portion of the First Fire up a mountain and present it to the true firebending masters.
They reach the Lair of the Masters and are sent to the top of a stairway. At the top they see two caves. Aang and Zuko present their fires and face one of the two caves each. Aang however loses his portion of the First Fire due to being distracted and scared; he then tries to get a piece of Zuko's fire but accidentally knocks his hands down, extinguishing his flame as well. At that moment two dragons emerge from the two caves and start flying in circles around the them. Zuko and Aang earn the respect of the dragons by performing the Firebending technique that they learned from the statues, dancing with the dragons in the process. The dragons then breathe beautiful, multicolored flames around Aang and Zuko, revealing to them the true and harmonious way of Firebending.
When the dragons return to their caves, Zuko understands that he couldn't firebend because he lost his "inner fire". He used to draw his fire from rage, anger, and his burning desire to capture Aang. After he joined the group, he could no longer draw from this source. But after watching the dragons, he learns that he can draw from the true source, i.e. his desire to help bring balance to the world.
Aang realized that fire is not destructive, but energy and life, and was able to firebend as well. We then learn from the chief that Iroh was the last outsider to visit this place and be deemed worthy by the masters, and that he lied to keep the dragons alive so they could continue on; but as they know about the Sun Warriors' existence and the secrets of firebending, they have no choice but to imprison the pair forever. However, the chief is just kidding but is very serious that they don't tell anyone. The show ends with Zuko and Aang trying to convince the group at the Western Air Temple just how serious and ancient the new technique is, but they can't look past the unfortunate name of the form, the "Dancing Dragon".
[edit] Airdate
The Firebending Masters is the thirteenth episode of Book 3, and the 53rd episode in the overall series. It is one of the two episodes firstly on television by YTV, the Canadian youth channel (the other is The Western Air Temple, released 3 weeks prior to this episode's release). This episode is notorious as the last episode of Book 3 before the mid-season break, as being the cutoff of the longest break ever for the series, greatly surpassing the break between The Blue Spirit and The Fortuneteller, which was just over 90 days in length. Officially, the break ended on May 6, 2008 with the release of Book 3 Volume 3, containing the above two episodes in addition to The Boiling Rock, Part 1 and The Boiling Rock, Part 2, but many people still judge the break as ending when "The Western Air Temple" is released on television by Nick in the U.S. (Monday, July 14, 2008 -> 8:00 pm EST), which will mean that the break in total would last for around 150-160 days.
[edit] Trivia
- Iroh has the title "Dragon of the West". This was previously explained to be because of his fire breathing ability. However, this episode explains that Iroh earned this title through apparently slaying the last dragon. It seems that Iroh considers himself as a Dragon because of his fire breathing technique (possibly as a sense of personal justification) but the Fire Nation considers him a Dragon because of his apparent slaying of the last dragon, although this seems to be more of a cover-up on Iroh's part as the Sun Warriors depend on the secrecy of their existence to survive.
- When Zuko and Aang were going there the booby-traps and golden egg treasure it could be a reference to the Indiana Jones series.
- Many fans believe that the golden artifact that Zuko touched while they were in the chamber, is really a dragon egg, mainly because Zuko said that the artifact felt alive.
- Ran and Shao resemble the dragons from Zuko's dream in Ba Sing Se.
[edit] Series Continuity
- When Aang firebends, the circle of fire he creates around himself mirrors when he accidentally burned Katara in The Deserter.
- This episode shows Toph learning Earthbending from Badgermoles. She had previously stated she learned it from them in "Sokka's Master".
- As Iroh is known as "The Dragon of the West", it could be assumed that he learned his fire-breathing technique by being taught from Ran and Shao.
