The Boiling Rock, Part 1

"The Boiling Rock, Part 1" is the fourteenth episode of Season 3. According to Nickelodeon's advertising, it will air in the United States sometime in July; however, it will be released to DVD as of May 6th. The episode has been leaked online in advance of the DVD's official street date.

Synopsis
The episode opened up with Zuko giving them all tea, and a lame joke which would sound funny with Uncle Iroh saying it. Meanwhile, Sokka was a bit disturbed. He asked Zuko privately about what prison Fire Nation criminals would be placed at. Zuko, hesitantly, answered that the place would be a prison out in the middle of a volcano, in the middle of the ocean, where the gang might have passed through while they were on their way to the Western Air Temple. The prison was called the Boiling Rock. Zuko was suspicious on why Sokka would ask such thing, to which the latter denied of going there. The next scene proved he lied, as he sneaks to Appa in the middle of the night. As he reached the saddle, he was caught by Zuko. Zuko, however, decided to go along with Sokka, not with Appa, but with a war balloon Zuko used as transportation to get to the Western Air Temple. The next morning, the gang found a note written by Zuko, who fabricated in writing that he and Sokka had gone fishing, and reminded Aang to do some workout for Firebending practice, much to his dismay.

Zuko and Sokka made it to the prison at night.They saw a whole bunch of steam emitting from the volcano. Because of the steam, the fire supporting the war balloon died out and forced to crash land, meaning there was no way off of the prison. The next morning, the duo donned Fire Nation guard uniforms. Meanwhile, there's a quarrel going on outside. Chit Sang, a firebending prisoner, "broke" the rule of "Not bowing down to a prison guard." After Chit Sang defied his rule, the guard made a fire whip and used it against Chit Sang. However, the latter parried this, making him really break a rule. Firebending was prohibited in the prison and Chit Sang was sentenced to a cooler, where the firebenders would freeze until they couldn't firebend for a while. Meanwhile, Zuko, at lunch break for the guards, asked some guards where dangerous criminals were confined at (Water Tribes, for instance). Zuko and Sokka met up later on and Zuko told Sokka that Water Tribe prisoners were not located in this prison, much to Sokka's sorrow. Sokka believed he failed, yet again, but Zuko tried to cheer him up with one of Iroh's wise sayings. Sokka cheered up, not by Zuko's attempt, but at the sight of Suki, who was returning to her prison cell.

Sokka located her cell and confronted her. Suki believed Sokka to be a Fire Nation guard and pushed him with full force, knocking Sokka's helmet off. Suki was overjoyed to see him and vice versa, then the two kiss. Zuko spotted a guard coming and warned Sokka with some knocks on the door of the cell. Zuko tried to stall the guard while Sokka escaped, but the guard noticed Sokka (in disguise) and asked for help. Sokka was left with no other choice but to arrest Zuko. But while Zuko was in his prison cell, he was confronted by the warden, who knows Zuko because the warden was Mai's uncle. The warden stated that Zuko had broken Mai's heart after Zuko left the Fire Nation.

Soon, Zuko and Suki were up to mopping duty where Suki recognized Zuko from The Warriors of Kyoshi. Sokka gathered the both of them for a plan, later Chit Sang is involved as well. They planned to use a cooler to ride their way out like a boat. First, someone will need to screw a cooler cell free. Zuko volunteered by pretending to mop and bumped into Chit Sang. Then, the two fought and Zuko firebended. After that, he was sent to a cooler cell and, having used his fire breath to keep warm, was successful in unscrewing the cooler free. However, guards passed by and the two hid and overheard information Sokka wanted: War prisoners would be coming the next day and Sokka thought he'll see his father, Hakoda.

That night, they brought the loose cooler cell and Chit Sang brought two of his accomplices. Sokka, knowing about the new arrivals of new prisoners tomorrow, stayed at the prison to break his father out. Suki and Zuko agreed to stay, while Chit Sang left with his friends. At dawn, Chit Sang and his friends were burning in the cell, so Chit Sang broke a piece of metal to use it as an oar. Unfortunately, he was burned by the steaming water and yelled out in pain. The Fire Nation guards were now aware of an escape attempt and caught the cooler cell drifting away. Meanwhile, Sokka, Suki, and Zuko hid and saw the prisoners come out of the lift used to transport prisoners. After a few come out, Sokka loses hope of seeing his father, until one last person is called out: Hakoda.

Air Date
According to the Nickelodeon Avatar site, new episodes of Avatar will begin airing on July the 14th. The DVD release will still be on May 6th. However, copies of the DVD were already out by April 25, and on the same day, episode 314 showed up on youtube and torrent search sites.

Series Continuity

 * Sokka mentions that his girlfriend turned into the moon.
 * Sokka's abortive attempt to introduce himself to Suki with a kiss is a callback to when Suki introduced herself to Sokka without her makeup the same way in "The Serpent's Pass."
 * This is the first episode in the series in which Zuko has called any members of the Avatar's group by their real names. He spoke Sokka and Appa's name out loud, while he wrote Aang's name in a letter.
 * Zuko uses his fire breath technique to keep warm, like he did in "The Siege of the North, Part 2".

Behind the Scenes

 * The name and design of this prison is almost certainly a reference to Alcatraz Island, a real-world island prison, which was nicknamed "The Rock." As with the Boiling Rock, Alcatraz boasts a history of no successful escapes.
 * The Warden is voiced by American actor Wade Williams, who has a starring role as Captain Brad Bellick on Fox's television series Prison Break, about a man jailed for a crime he didn't commit.