Katara

Background
Fourteen years old and the only Waterbender left in the whole South Pole, Katara had to grow up rather quickly. Her mother Kya was killed in a Fire Navy attack when she was younger, and her father (Hakoda) left to fight in the war when she was 12. Raised in the small Southern Water Tribe with her older brother Sokka, they were mostly taken care of by their grandmother, Gran Gran. While Sokka was off "playing soldier", Katara was cooking, cleaning, and doing the laundry. Things haven't been easy, but she never lost hope that it would get better and that the Avatar would return. Katara also narrates the show's opening sequence.

During "The Southern Raiders", it is revealed that the Fire Nation attacked Katara's tribe in an attempt to kill her, the last waterbender. Her mother Kya sacrificed herself to save Katara's life by claiming that she was the last waterbender, and was in turn killed by the raiders. Katara would not discover this truth for years, but was deeply scarred by the incident.

Boy in the Iceberg


While on a fishing expedition for their village, Katara and Sokka accidentally steer their canoe into a rip current, where it's crushed between ice floes. Sokka blames Katara for their predicament, and she begins to yell angrily about his inconsiderate behavior, gesturing emphatically as she does so. Unknown to her, she is involuntarily Waterbending, and accidentally cracks into a massive iceberg directly behind her. A large, spherical underwater portion bobs to the surface, revealing a flying bison named Appa and Avatar Aang, trapped in a state of suspended animation. Katara grabs her brother Sokka's club and shatters the iceberg to free him. As she does so, a vertical column of bright blue light shoots up from their position into the sky like a beacon. The boy climbs out of the ice and collapses into Katara's arms. He introduces himself as Aang, an Airbender, and offers to escort them home on Appa. After her village gets attacked by a Fire Nation ship, led by Prince Zuko, Katara learns that Aang is the Avatar. She muses that they might find a Waterbending teacher at the North Pole, and Aang quickly brightens up, suggesting they learn Waterbending together. Along with Sokka, who decides to come along under the excuse of this being an opportunity to defeat Firebenders, they decide to journey together.



During a stop at the Southern Air Temple, Aang discovers that all Air Nomads had been killed, which pushes him into the Avatar State. Katara attempts to console Aang by imparting what she felt when she lost her mother, and even goes on to state that even though his people are gone, both she and Sokka are now his family. The words seems to reach Aang, who falls out of the Avatar state and slowly descends back onto the ground. Sokka backs Katara's statement with the promise that neither will let anything happen to him. With this, Aang finally comes to the conclusion that he is indeed the last of his kind.

Haru and the Imprisoned Earthbenders
Aang, Katara and Sokka awake from their camp site and are startled by loud noises coming from the distance. Aang and Katara are curious and set out to investigate with a less than cooperative Sokka right behind. They then find a young Earthbender practicing his bending, Katara introduces herself but before she can finish the young bender races off seeming very fearful.

Katara decides that they should follow him and they end up in a small town that happens to be under fire nation control. They later find the same young man and follow him into a store. He is talking to his mother when Katara, Aang and Sokka enter the store asking why he ran. He tells them that his name is Haru, he and his mother explain that since the Fire Nation took control of the town any one discovered to be an Earthbender is arrested and sent to a Mining Rig in the far off shore. Haru then tells them that his father was also sent to the rig a long time ago.

Later on that day Haru and Katara are walking with each other both sharing their own stories and seemingly falling for one another when they come across an old man that has been trapped by a cave in. Haru reluctantly uses his Earthbending to save the old man.

The next morning Katara wakes up to get some water when Haru's mother tells Katara that the old man he had saved told the Fire Nation that he was an Earthbender and was arrested and sent to the mining rig. Once she learns of Haru's situation she decides to take action and find a way onto the rig. She decides the only way to get to that rig is if the Fire Nation thinks she's an Earthbender, so after some strategy she is able to "Earthbend" with the help of Aang and some ventilation pipes while fire nation solders are watching. So now she's captured and sent to the rig. There she and some other captives meet the Warden of the rig, a self-important and cruel taskmaster. He states that since the entire rig is made of metal there is nothing for the Earthbenders to control so they are helpless.

After finding Haru and his father Tyro she asks what their plan is to escape. Tyro says that escape isn't an option and that the only way to survive is to do what they're told and hope the war goes in their favor. Shocked by his lack of hope Katara tries an inspirational speech to try and stir to life the spirits of the other benders but to no avail. That night Katara meets up with Aang and Sokka to try and find a way for the prisoners to fight back and gain back their confidence. Then Aang notices the smoke stacks and states that they are burning coal and therefore there is earth on the rig that the prisoners can use.

Drawing from her experience from the fake Earthbending she used to get herself arrested, they have Aang close all the vents around the fire save for one that will lead to the outer vent where Katara and Sokka are at. Then the Warden discovers them and states that they are to surrender or die. Then the coal bursts from the vent and lands in front of Haru and the others, Katara tells them that this is their chance to stand up and fight. But no one seems to have the will to fight anymore.

The warden gloats that their spirits were broken a long time ago and he walks away in triumph. Or so he thinks, as a chunk of coal strikes him on the head. He turns around to see that it was Haru who threw it. The warden attacks Haru but his attack is blocked by Tyro and two other benders. Then all together the prisoners attack the fire nation soldiers and after a dramatic fight the Earthbenders are victorious and they throw the warden overboard. They then sail off in stolen Fire Nation ships.

After winning their freedom Tyro thanks Katara for giving his people hope again, then Haru thanks her. She is touched by Haru's words, but then she notices that her mother's necklace is gone. There on the rig, Katara's necklace is picked up by Zuko. And with a blank look he clutches the necklace and looks out toward the horizon.

The Waterbending Scroll
At a waterfall, Katara begins to teach Aang her knowledge of waterbending. Unfortunately for her, Aang immediately masters the lessons she gives him, despite the fact that it took her some time to master them. While she tries to hide it, she begins to grow jealous of Aang's natural talent.

Katara comes upon a training scroll on a Pirate ship which, featuring several waterbending techniques, was among their loot, which they're reserving for a wealthy client in the Earth Kingdom, though he offered it to them if they had a better offer (two hundred gold pieces). They leave the ship, only to be chased by the crew, Aang and the others escape, only to find the reason they had been pursued: They wanted the scroll back Katara had stolen. Katara convinces Sokka and Aang to keep the scroll and learn from it. Katara ends up growing even more jealous of Aang as not only does he learn the techniques easily, she herself has trouble getting them to work.



Zuko finds and captures Katara and ties her to a tree, attempting to interrogate her for information on the Avatar, showing her that he holds her mother's lost betrothal necklace in his possession, the last tie that she has to her mother in exchange. However, the pirates demanded the scroll. Yet, Zuko threatens to destroy it if they don't find Aang. With the help of Aang and Sokka, Katara escapes from the enemies. Later, Katara gives Aang a full apology, while Sokka reveals that he was able to regain the scroll in the fighting. Before he could give it to her, he asks what did they learn. She says never steal ever, except from pirates.

Jet
While walking through the forest, Katara and her friends bump into some Fire Nation Soldiers. However, a group of children led by a teenaged boy wielding dual hook-swords suddenly descends from the trees, and begin combating the Fire Nation soldiers. The leader introduces himself as Jet, and his allies as the Freedom Fighters. Katara very quickly develops a crush on Jet, and shamelessly flatters him briefly. As Katara and Jet speak, in the process indirectly insulting Sokka's instinctual behavior, The Duke and Pipsqueak raid the now-abandoned Fire Nation campsite, finding crates filled with jelly candy and barrels of explosive blasting jelly. When the Freedom Fighters mention bringing their score back to the hideout, Aang expresses interest, and Jet invites them to come. Katara eagerly accepts on behalf of the group. Katara expresses further infatuation with Jet, temperately praising his bravery, which provokes a sarcastic comment from Sokka.

After Sokka sees Jet mistreating an old man he announces that they're leaving. Aang and Katara object, to which Sokka responds by revealing Jet's previous bullying action. Doubtful, Katara demands to hear Jet's side of the story. Jet reiterates that the man was with the Fire Nation, and then produces a knife, which has a compartment for poison in the hilt. He claims that the man was an assassin, sent especially to kill him. Sokka is still angry and heavily doubts Jet's story, stating that he never saw a knife on the man's person, although the explanation has convinced Katara and Aang. Sokka storms off, stating that he will be preparing to leave. Upon his departure, Jet quickly pleads for Katara and Aang to stay, stating that the Fire Nation plans to burn down the forest- he needs the two to use Waterbending to fill the nearby reservoir, which will allow the Freedom Fighters to quench the fires.



That night, Sokka overhears Jet and the core of the Freedom Fighters sneaking out of their base, and decides to follow them. The six bring with them the barrels of blasting jelly on a cart, and Jet reviews their plan: to blow up the barrels directly beneath the dam of a river, which runs through the city. With the reservoir full, the village will be flooded, wiping out the Fire Nation soldiers stationed there. After he is discovered, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee walk him into the forest so as to prevent him from warning Aang and Katara of the plan.

Soon afterward, Jet leads Aang and Katara to an extremely shallow river, which leads into the reservoir. Katara, still unaware of Jet's true plans, apologizes for Sokka's crude behavior, to which Jet responds by lying that Sokka has already apologized for himself, their dispute is resolved, and Sokka is currently out scouting with Smellerbee and Pipsqueak. Although Aang and Katara find it strange that Sokka would be so quick to apologize, they do not question Jet's word. Katara initially doubts her ability to Bend water that she cannot see, but Jet provides her with words of encouragement, accompanied by his hands on her shoulders, and soon she and Aang successfully release the water from one of the vents. Jet leaves and Aang and Katara decide to go to meet Jet at the reservoir.



Just then, Aang and Katara come to the edge of a cliff overlooking the dam, where they spot four Freedom Fighters setting up the barrels of blasting jelly. Aang immediately realizes Jet's plan, and moves to fly down and stop it on his glider. Katara, however, is in denial, until Jet jumps forward and snags Aang's glider with his hook-swords, preventing the boy from flying off. Jet confesses what his true plan is, and attempts to convince Katara that the action is necessary. Katara immediately demands to know where Sokka is, and tears begin to flow from her eyes. Jet places a comforting hand on her cheek, but Katara has had enough- she draws water from her waterskin and uses it to violently throw Jet to the ground.

Katara bends water from a small nearby stream to aggressively attack Jet, pushing him back towards a tree and then freezing him to its trunk. Jet then makes the signal for the plan to start. Aang and Katara can only wait, and hope that Sokka succeeds where they have failed.

In mere seconds, the village is completely flooded. Sad, hurt, and angry, Katara turns on Jet and resumes insulting him for his actions; still, Jet does not back down, stating that this act was a victory against the Fire Nation, who will forever be absent from the valley, which will be safe. Suddenly, Sokka arrives, riding Appa and accompanied by Momo. He tells how he helped save the village from the flood. Katara turns her back on Jet, and she, Aang, and Sokka fly off on Appa, leaving the leader of the Freedom Fighters frozen against the tree.

Bato and Jeong Jeong


The group meets up with an old friend from their Water Tribe village named Bato who had been injured and left behind. They head back to his current home in an Abbey of nuns who make perfumes and cures. They spend so much time reminiscing, that they neglect Aang. They suddenly start talking about how Katara and Sokka might be able to visit their father Hakoda, and that a message is arriving soon about their Hakoda's whereabouts. Aang runs off feeling hurt that Katara and Sokka might leave him to go find Hakoda instead of helping him. While Aang is contemplating their possible departure, a messenger arrives with the news from Hakoda and instead of giving it to them, Aang hides it (though he later confesses it and by the conclusion of the episode he, Katara & Sokka have made up). Later the kids are flying on Appa. Aang asks what the plan is now. They tell him they're going to get him to the North Pole because he's their family. Aang gives Katara back her necklace. Katara goes over and kisses Aang on the cheek. Aang blushes and twiddles with his thumbs.



When the group meets a firebender named Jeong Jeong, Aang finds this as the perfect moment to learn how to Firebend. Jeong Jeong starts teaching Aang slowly, focusing exclusively on breathing exercises, but the young Avatar desires to learn more advanced Firebending techniques. Jeong Jeong only assigns him the simple task of preventing a leaf from being completely burned. Jeong Jeong then leaves to other matters, and Aang, still feeling restricted, takes his exercise to the next step and creates fire. Aang plays around with it for a little while, although Katara insists that he be careful. Then he accidentally burns Katara's hands when he attempts to imitate a move the performer made at the festival. Katara runs away crying, and Sokka becomes enraged as a result. Jeong Jeong, having returned, follows Katara into the forest. Katara tries to cool her hands from the burn in water, and somehow miraculously heals herself. Jeong Jeong tells Katara that she possesses vitakinetic healing powers, with water as the catalyst. Jeong Jeong then confesses of his desire to be a Waterbender like herself, due to its ability to heal, while fire only destroys.

Fight for Waterbending
As they progress towards the north, Sokka begans to complain that Appa is flying too slowly, Aang defensively replied that they should all climb on Sokka's back and he could fly them to the North pole. Katara tries to soothe the situation remarking that they are all tired and cranky as a result of flying for two days straight. Just as Sokka is voicing his doubts about finding the Northern Water Tribe the group is attacked by Northern waterbenders who lead them to their Water Tribe.



Outside the great palace of the Northern Water Tribe Sokka and Katara are celebrated as family from the Southern Tribe, and Aang is honored as a special guest. Aang and Katara are then delighted to see the Waterbending Master, Pakku, and his students performing elaborate and elegant waterbending moves for entertainment. After the Waterbending performance is over, Aang is introduced to Master Pakku. Katara is looking forward to Aang and herself learning Waterbending, after a few days rest. The next day as they approach the palace, Katara expresses her joy at being able to learn from a real master, saying she has waited for this day her whole life. However she is horrified to learn from Master Pakku that it is forbidden for women to learn Waterbending. He advises her to go to the healing huts and learn from Yugoda to use her Waterbending to heal. Although Aang initially refuses to learn from Master Pakku, outraged at the unfairness, Katara makes him return by saying that he can't risk his training for her.

Katara reluctantly goes to the class, which is taught by an old woman and where all the other students are very young girls. After the healing class, Katara thanks Yugoda who notices her betrothal necklace and asks her who she is getting married to. Katara explains that she is not ready for marriage and that the necklace was her grandmother's, passed down to her mother, and then her. Yugoda recognizes the carving and reveals to Katara that she is an old friend of Kanna's, and also that Katara's grandmother was born in the Northern Tribe and was engaged to a young Waterbender, but left mysteriously without saying goodbye.

Sokka suggests that at night Aang teach Katara everything he has learned in the day. Katara is excited at this idea, it allows her to learn Waterbending and Aang will have someone to practice with, everyone will be happy. They look up to the bridge above them to see Master Pakku, angry that Aang has disrespected him, his teachings and his entire culture. Aang hastily apologizes, but Master Pakku refuses to teach Aang anymore, saying he is no longer welcome as his student, before leaving. The next day at the palace, Katara pleads with Chief Arnook to make Master Pakku take Aang back as his student. Master Pakku agrees to continue training Aang as long as Katara apologizes. After a few patronizing comments by Master Pakku, Katara angrily refuses to apologize and challenges him to a duel.



Katara goes to wait outside for Master Pakku, who simply strolls past her, further angering her with patronizing comments. Katara, her temper pushed to breaking point, forms a water whip and slaps Master Pakku on the back of the head. He turns around and agrees to the fight, telling her if she wants to learn so badly, to study closely. The fight begins and it is discovered that Katara is much more advanced in waterbending than previously known. She demonstrates amazingly powerful techniques she never used before during the fight. The two are able to manipulate the water and snow around them amazingly, using basic and advanced Waterbending techniques. Master Pakku grins and smirks as he attacks, but when Katara launches discs of ice at him, he appears to realize how skilled she is as a Waterbender. After a few moments of violent Waterbending, it seems Katara has the upper-hand, as she topples ice-obelisks over Master Pakku, who disappears in a cloud of mist. But, Master Pakku quickly emerges and preforms a Waterbending move that renders Katara helpless, and she is beaten.

Her grandmother's necklace, which fell off during the fight, is picked up by Master Pakku and it is discovered that he made it for Kanna (Katara's Gran-Gran) 60 years ago. Master Pakku decides to start teaching Katara to waterbend. Under the tutelage of Master Pakku, Katara's waterbending skills have improved to the degree she can defeat Sangok and all other pupils with ease. To both Pakku and Katara's annoyance, the same cannot be said for Aang (who doesn't take it very seriously).



After they see Fire Nation ships approaching, they all get ready for an attack. Princess Yue, after relating the origins of the Water Tribe and its power, gives Aang an idea. If he can tap into the spirit world and meet with the Moon and Ocean Spirits, perhaps they can help him defeat the Fire Nation. Yue takes Katara and Aang to a hidden oasis and the most spiritual place in North Pole. Aang enters a trance after staring at the two koi fish in a pool and heads off into the spirit world. Katara is left to protect Aang. When Zuko arrives, Katara duels him, and with the power of the moon, is able to temporarily defeat Zuko. However, the sun rises and it enhances Zuko's powers, allowing him to defeat Katara. Zuko then kidnaps the Avatar while Katara is left unconscious until Yue brings Sokka and Appa back to The Spirit Oasis.

Katara, Sokka, and Princess Yue eventually find Aang and Zuko. Zuko and Katara have a rematch but due to the moon being out this time, Katara easily defeats him in a matter of seconds. Aang takes the unconscious Zuko with him, despite some disagreement from Sokka and Katara.



When Katara and the others return to the oasis, Admiral Zhao has already captured the white koi fish. Immediately, the moon glows red, creating a lunar eclipse and color seeps from the world. Zhao however, is forced to release the Spirit when Iroh shows himself and easily defeats Zhao's Firebending escort. This causes the moon to return and the Waterbenders to resume fighting. In rage, Zhao suddenly throws fire at the koi, killing it. The moon vanishes altogether from the sky. Iroh and Katara attempt to revive the Moon Spirit, but it is too late. Aang suddenly fuses with the Ocean Spirit into a giant spirit creature and massacres the Fire Nation's invasion force. Shortly after, Iroh tells Yue that some of the moon spirits life is in her. Yue realizing her desiny, gives up the life to the white koi, and restores it life, killing her in the process After the battle, Pakku reveals to Katara his intention to head for the South Pole and help rebuild the tribe. He assigns Katara as Aang's new Waterbending master.

Book 2: Earth


At the beginning of book 2, Katara and the group are on a Water Tribe ship. Master Pakku says goodbye to the group but not before giving Katara an amulet containing water from the Spirit Oasis. He tells her that that water has magical healing properties. After leaving Master Pakku and the others, the group sets off to Omashu so that Aang can learn to Earthbend from King Bumi. Katara and the gang meet General Fong, an Earth Kingdom general, who believes Aang is wasting time learning bending and should just try to trigger his Avatar Spirit and go after the Fire Nation. After a ton of attempts to trigger the Avatar State, Fong decides to do something else. Fong foolishly tries to trigger the Avatar State by ordering his troops to attack Aang. When that fails, Fong uses his Earthbending to bury Katara. This enrages Aang, who falls under the Avatar State. Fong tries to explains that he had faked Katara's death in order for him to get into the Avatar State. However, Aang uses a powerful wave of Earthbending to defeat Fong and his troops.

The Cave of Two Lovers
While the friends are relaxing a group of Earth Kingdom nomads appear, (Chong, Lily, Moku), displaying the characteristics of a carefree, nature loving people. Once the Avatar's group reveal their plans to travel to Omashu, Chong speaks of a short cut through a tunnel passing under a mountain. Although Sokka does not want to trust these new characters, the kids later follow the nomads to the tunnels after an unsuccessful attempt to fly over the mountains.

Just before our heroes enter, the leader of the nomads mentions that the tunnels form a labyrinth protected by a curse. Only those who put their trust in love can find the way through; those who don't will be forever lost. Sokka plans to create a map while traveling though the labyrinth, but gradually finds that the map is useless due to the fact that the tunnels are changing around them. The Group then gets separated during a cave-in. Aang's quick action saves everyone from being crushed by the falling rocks, but the group is separated. Aang, Katara, and Appa are in one group, while Sokka and Momo are forced (to his great displeasure) to travel through the tunnels with the musical nomads, who assure him that he should not "let the falling rocks turn his smile into a frown".



After traveling for what is estimated at three hours, Aang and Katara encounter a large tomb designed for the "two lovers" spoken of in lore. By reading script around the walls, they discover the true story of the "two lovers". The final line in the script states "love is brightest in the dark." Katara is inspired by this to suggest a possible way to solve the labyrinth; perhaps by following the example of the lovers and kissing, she and Aang could find the way out. Although Aang (due to his unexpressed but growing affection for Katara) finds this idea highly intriguing, he attempts to reassure an embarrassed Katara that he could not imagine kissing her. When she seems put out by this response, he assures her that what he meant was that, in choosing between certain death and kissing her, he would definitely choose to kiss her ("It's a compliment!") This cools the ardor between them for a while, but later, as the torches are burning out, desperation (and possibly affection) led them to dare the unknown. As the torchlight fades, we see them leaning toward each other, closing their eyes. In the resulting darkness, Aang and Katara find out that the two lovers put glowing crystals showing how to get out of the tunnel, and these crystals only glow in the dark. Finally, the two (plus Appa) get out of the tunnel. Soon after the group is reunited. Concluding this, Aang, Sokka, and Katara finally get to Omashu. When the gang sees the Fire Nation has taken Omashu, they are devastated.

Return to Omashu
Despite the dangers of being caught, Aang decides to go off and try to find Bumi, although, Katara believes that it might be time for Aang to get a different earthbending teacher. Aang explains to Katara that Bumi is not just an earthbending teacher, he is a friend. Aang, Sokka, and Katara find their way into the city by going through a sewer and emerge from it unharmed save for Sokka who has several creatures called Pentapuses stuck to his face. These turn out to be harmless, and Aang removes them from Sokka's face. Not two seconds pass and they encounter a Fire Nation soldier who questions why they are out during curfew. Aang quickly covers the arrow on his head with a piece of cloth and Katara says that they were just on their way home, and the soldier decides to let them go. Just as they were leaving, the soldier notices the marks left by the Pentapuses and asks about them. Katara quickly says that he has "Pentapox," a very contagious disease. The soldier runs away in fear, thus they avoid capture.



In Omashu, a Fire Nation Governor, Governor's Wife, baby son, and daughter Mai find out about Aang's presence in Omashu. The trio wonders where all the earthbenders have gone and an Earth Kingdom General, General Yung, reveals that King Bumi surrendered to the Fire Nation and that the rest of the Omashu Army were mad at him for not telling them to attack. Aang devices a plan to give all the citizens "Pentapox". The Fire Nation General orders all citizens to be evacuated. Once Aang finds Bumi, Bumi explains to Aang that he can not leave and that he must go and find a new Earthbending teacher.

Katara shows a great love of babies in this episode, coddling Tom-Tom and bullying Sokka into letting him have his way. When the leader of the resistance warns her 'he'll be a killer,", Katara responds, "Does this look like the face of a killer to you?!" holding Tom-Tom up.

Visions in the Swamp
Sokka and Katara are flying on Appa above a giant swamp. Aang stares at the swamp in a sort of hypnotic trance and starts lowering themselves into the swamp. When Sokka starts explaining what is happening to Aang, he comes out of his "trance" and starts telling Sokka and Katara that the swamp is "calling him." Sokka tries to convince Aang that there is nowhere to land and to move on, but Aang is still interested because of what King Bumi told him about listening to the Earth. Sokka, who is being usually stubborn, says to ignore it. Aang starts to leave once Katara, Appa, and Momo start to complain about the swamp. Unfortunately, an oddly located tornado comes right toward the gang and they fall down with much force.



Aang, Katara, and Sokka are separated from Appa and Momo due to landing in different places. Aang begins to search for Appa and Momo. Aang returns having not found Appa and Momo. He also says that the tornado just disappeared. The trio led by Sokka try to find their animal friends with Sokka chopping everything in sight with his machete. Aang tells Sokka to be "Nice to the swamp." Katara agrees with Aang, as she feels some supernatural qualities in the swamp. She claims that it feels "alive." Sokka keeps chopping around anyway. Aang says that the longer they stay there, the more he thinks he shouldn't do that. Though Katara and Aang still believe something supernatural is going on in the swamp, Sokka dismisses their concerns. They later see strange glowing eyes and get a little scared. The strange thing that was looking at Aang is shown again, still unseen. This time it grabs each of them with its vines. They wake up from their sleep, and each manages to escape from the vines using their styles of fighting. The trio all end up in separate places.

Katara, who is now looking for Sokka and Aang, sees a strange figure in the distance. She identifies it as her mother and she begins to run up to it. However, when Katara gets there, it is almost like a mirage. Katara sees a root and begins to cry. After the trio is reunited they discuss their visions. Sokka thinks their minds are just playing tricks on them. They reach the center of the swamp which is a giant tree. Aang believes that the swamp was calling them there. All of a sudden, the giant monster who earlier had grabbed Aang appears. There is then a huge fight.



Aang and Katara finally defeat the swamp monster who is really a Waterbender, named Hue, bending the water in the vines. He says the swamp is just one big tree, stretching out its roots for miles. He also says that the whole world is one organism like the swamp. If you listen carefully, he explains, then you can hear everything breathing together because everything is connected. He goes on to explain each person's visions. In the swamp, people have visions of people they have lost, though they are not really gone because everyone is connected. Aang's vision continues to perplex him because he is certain he has never met the girl, but realizes he will meet her in the future. Aang realizes if he listens to the earth, then he can find Appa and Momo. Aang goes into a semi Avatar State, and a glowing line draws him straight to Appa and Momo. Aang and Katara confront the natives to free Appa and Momo, and the natives (Tho and Due), revealed to be Waterbenders.

The Blind Bandit
Aang and the trio go to the town of Gaoling to continue his search for someone to teach him earthbending. While searching, he gets a free earthbending lesson from Master Yu, but he finds that Master Yu cares more about having him pay for lessons then he does about teaching him earthbending. Afterwards, they hear from a pair of students about Earth Rumble VI, a Lei Tai tournament featuring several powerful Earthbenders. The boys are not very inclined to help Aang with the location, until Katara uses her "feminine charm," which involves freezing them to the walls, to convince them to tell.

At the tournament, they see a powerful Earthbender named ‘The Boulder’, who defeats every challenger he comes across. Sokka completely gets into it, but Aang is not very impressed, saying that the Boulder is "just listening to his muscles". The Boulder defeats several other contenders, until he works his way up to the current champion, The Blind Bandit, a blind Earthbender who happens to be Toph, a 12 year-old girl. Aang notices the Bandit's techniques, especially how she waits and listens carefully to the movements of her opponent, and realizes that she is the type of person that Bumi said would make a good earthbending teacher. He also realizes that she is the girl in white he saw in his vision in The Swamp.

The announcer of the tournament, Xin Fu, offers a large sum of gold to whoever can defeat the Blind Bandit in a fight. Seeing an opportunity to talk to the Bandit, Aang challenges her. While Aang wants to talk, the Bandit is ready for a fight, and she refuses to engage in conversation. Unfortunately, she is not ready to face an Airbender, and is defeated when Aang blows her off the ring. The Bandit takes badly to her loss, and storms off, refusing to even listen to Aang.



Later, Aang and the others return to Master Yu's school to try to find out where the Blind Bandit lives. Asking the same boys Katara "asked" about the tournament (who are now quite intimidated by her), they do not get much information, until Aang remembers the flying boar he also saw with the girl in his vision. The boys tell them that the flying boar is the symbol of the Bei Fong family, the wealthiest family in the town.

Aang and company travel to the family's house, where they are accosted by the Bandit, now wearing the same dress Aang saw her wearing in the Swamp. The girl, Toph, does not want to help them, and calls the house guards to chase them off.

That evening, Aang uses his name to gain a formal audience with the entire Bei Fong family. He tries to get her father, Lao Bei Fong to talk her into helping him, but Toph uses her earthbending to keep him from saying anything revealing. Her parents and teacher are completely unaware about her true skill, and she wants to keep it that way. After numerous earthbending interruptions, Aang retaliates, bringing the dinner to both a premature end and into everybody's face.

After dinner, Toph and Aang get captured by Xin Fu and his gang thinking they stole his money. After Katara and Sokka get help and free the group, Toph shows her talent. She singlehandedly beats all the enemies and the group gets away. As Katara and the others get ready to leave, Toph runs up to them, saying that her father changed his mind, letting her travel with them. Sokka wisely offers to leave quickly before her father "changes his mind again." Toph is ready to go, but she wants to show Aang one thing first. Aang hops down, and she promptly launches him into a tree. Toph, declaring them even, demands to have her championship belt returned.

The Chase
Not long after Toph joins the group, she starts a feud with Katara. As the group sets up camp, Katara notices that Toph is slumping lazily against a rock. Katara informs her that they usually divide the work among the group, implying she would like Toph to help them set up camp. Toph tells her not to worry, as she feels she can carry her own weight, suddenly earthbending a trianglar, earthen, makeshift tent with two slabs of stone. Katara rephrases her last statement, telling her that they all have a job to do, including Momo, who then appears on her shoulder with berries. Toph refutes that she does not feel she has to help anyone else, because no one needs to help her. Katara attempts once more to suggest to Toph that she help out, but all this does is further irritate her. Katara finally gives up and walks back to their campsite. Later on, Katara tries to rectify with Toph for the previous argument, apologizing and noting that she thinks that they're all just a little tired and getting on each others' nerves. Toph, rather than sharing the blame and accepting her overture, simply agrees that she does seem a bit too tired and lays down to sleep. Katara, though clearly incensed by the insulting retort, brings herself to half-heartedly tell Toph goodnight and walks back to her own tent.



During the night, Toph awakens suddenly. Feeling the ground, she senses something approaching and alerts the rest of the group. When asked exactly that something is, all she can say is that it feels like an avalanche, but also not like an avalanche. After they leave the camp, the two grumpy girls continue to fight. Eventually Toph picks up her belongings and leaves the group. Not long after, Toph comes back and rejoins the group.

The Library
Each of the members of the group decides to take a little "mini-vacation," as a way to unwind after all the work they've done; Sokka, on the other hand, thinks the group should be working on getting intelligence on the Fire Nation, most specifically a map for when Aang must hunt down the Fire Lord. The group meets Professor Zei, who tells them he is searching for a legendary library said to be in the middle of a nearby desert; the library, said to have been created by the spirit of knowledge and his fox servants, has more valuable tomes than any other place in the world. Sokka, believing he may be able to get information on the Fire Nation there, dedicates his "vacation" to finding the place.

Using Appa to fly, the group soon finds the library, which is buried in the sand, except for its single, highest tower. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo and Professor Zei use a window to enter the library; Appa stays outside, of course, as does Toph, who cannot read since she is blind. Toph also mentions that, because of the desert sand, she cannot feel the vibrations in the ground as well as she normally can, making her lose her usual advantage.

When the group enters the library, they meet the spirit, Wan Shi Tong, who constructed the library; taking the form of a large owl, the spirit initially does not trust them. The spirit, apparently, dislikes the fact that humans only use knowledge to get an advantage over other humans; he brings up the last human to have discovered his library, who happened to be Admiral Zhao (Zhao mentions a library in "Siege of the North"), and believes the group only wants to get information to help them defeat their enemies (which is, of course, true). But they convince him otherwise.

Sokka finds a burned paper that mentions "the Fire Nation's darkest day;" it has a date but no other information. It also turns out that Zhao, before leaving, apparently destroyed every other bit of information about the Fire Nation, probably to prevent exactly what Sokka and the others are trying to do. However, a fox (one of Wan Shi Tong's animal helpers) finds the group, and leads them to a room dedicated to astronomy. There, a date can be entered on a stone wheel, which then shows the heavens on that particular date; when Sokka enters the date of "the darkest day," it shows a solar eclipse occurring. The group realizes that solar eclipses must weaken or take away their Firebending, in the same way lunar eclipses affect Waterbending; they realize they can use this information to plan an attack on the Fire Nation forces.



Soon, however, Wan Shi Tong finds out their plans, and decrees that he will no longer allow humans to misuse his beloved information; he attacks the group, while the library begins to sink, that way it will be completely underground forever. Outside, Toph begins to hold up the tower using her Earthbending, so that the others can escape; however, at the same time "Sandbenders" attack. Desert tribesmen, they travel in boat-like materials, using their Bending to travel; they come and begin to abduct Appa, while Toph finds it impossible to hold up the tower and simultaneously fight them. They make off with Appa and escape.

Inside the Library, Aang and Sokka hurriedly try to use the astronomy room to find the next date of a solar eclipse; it turns out the next one is in a few months. They plan to give this information to the Earth Kingdom armies of Ba Sing Se to help in the war. The group then quickly escapes, except for Professor Zei, who says he would rather spend eternity in the Library, than see it vanish forever; the others have no choice but to leave him. They escape before the Library vanishes into the sand; however, the episode ends with Toph telling Aang that Appa has been stolen by sandbenders.

To Ba Sing Se


After the group got out of the desert, they met a refugee family traveling to Ba Sing Se. The group helps the family to an underground ferry way that leads to the city. While there Sokka and the others are reunited with the Kyoshi Warrior, Suki who was there helping war refugees. Later the family loses their documents so Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki agree to help them cross the Serpent's Pass.

As the group travels along a sheer cliff side of the pass, Suki points out Fire Nation forces patrolling the water, telling them that they are rumored to be working on a secret project. As they continue, Tahn falls when the ground under him crumbles. Toph saves him, but the falling rocks draw the attention of the patrol ship, which launches a fireball at them. Aang leaps into action, knocking the ball back and striking their engines. The ship returns fire, hitting the rockface above them, and sending debris falling towards Suki. Sokka pushes Suki out of the way, and Toph saves him by deflecting the rocks. Sokka is too worried about Suki's safety to be thankful to Toph for saving his life, which annoys Toph. The group runs to the shelter of an outcropping wall of rock, leaving the ship behind to tend to its damage.



That morning, Aang's group comes to a large setback: A portion of the pass is currently underwater. Katara steps forward, parting the waters to allow them to pass. As the path gets deeper, Aang helps her, forming a bubble of air for them to walk underwater safely. Momo, seeing the fish swimming by, jumps out into the water to catch one, but quickly jumps back in when something huge swims by. As it turns out, Serpent's Pass is named (and feared) not for its shape, but for the gigantic sea serpent that swims in the surrounding waters. The serpent attacks the bubble, forcing Toph to raise the seafloor under their feet to bring them up to the surface. This strands them in the middle of the water, with the serpent circling around. Aang attacks the serpent, telling Katara to get the others across while he distracts it. Katara creates an ice bridge for the others to cross, then leaps to help Aang without a second thought. Together, Aang and Katara manage to drive off the serpent, using currents to slam it into the cliff. The group finally crosses the Serpent's Pass, just in time for the mother to go into labor. Katara, who's had experience in birthing children, quickly takes charge.

The baby, a girl, is born with no complications, thanks to Katara. Aang, seeing the family coming together, renews his hope, which is what the family decides to name the baby (Hope). Aang decided to go on ahead to find Appa, but before he goes, he tells Katara how he feels about her. Aang flies over to the wall of Ba Sing Se, where he makes a terrible discovery: A massive drill, escorted by Fire Nation tanks, is approaching the wall.

Life in the City
The group, mostly Katara and Aang, destroy the drill and save Ba Sing Se. Riding the Earth rail, the group finally enters Ba Sing Se. Sokka is confident that they will easily find Appa, but the city is bigger than they imagined... much bigger. Soon after they arrive, Aang and his friends are met by Joo Dee; a cheerful, incessantly smiling woman assigned to guide them around the city. Attempts by Sokka to try and get their guide to talk about the war and a possible audience with the Earth King are invariably ignored.



In the upper ring, Aang and his group are finally taken to their new house. When a possible audience with the Earth King is finally mentioned, it is revealed that they will have to wait at least a month. It soon becomes apparent that within the walls of the city, no one wants to talk or even think about the war raging in the rest of the world. Even Aang's attempts to find Appa bears no fruit as no one seems willing to divulge any information to them, thanks to some meaningful glances from Joo Dee. Along the way they also see members of the Dai Li — elite guards who safeguard Ba Sing Se's culture and society.



When a notice arrives of a party being held in the palace, Katara decides its a good way to reach the Earth King. Toph says that since the gang is mostly commoners, they'd be spotted right away if they went to the event. In the end, Toph decides that Katara can pass off as a high born girl, and both of them dress up in formal attire. They then head for the palace while Aang and Sokka wait and enter as servants. The girls are initially refused entry by a guard, who rejects even Toph's family seal. They eventually get inside by tagging along with an official named Long Feng, but their attempts to sneak Aang and Sokka inside are stymied by Long Feng himself, who seems determined to personally help them out. Soon the Dai Li bind and gag Katara and Toph with earthbending. They then go and have a meetng with Long Feng and lean that Ba Sing Se is really controled by him rather than the Earth King.

The episode opens at the location of the gang's house in Ba Sing Se, the whole group busily cleaning themselves up for the day aside from Toph who has yet to wake up. When Katara wakes her, Toph presents herself with her hair a mess and her body covered in dust (or, "a healthy coating of Earth!") considering herself ready. Katara suggests they have a "Girl's Day Out," and takes her to the Fancy Lady Day Spa. Toph agrees, as long as they don't touch her feet. This request is denied and Toph sends one of the attendants through the wall during a pedicure. The girls then take a mud bath where Toph uses her Earthbending to make creepy faces with the mud and scare away the attendant. The two then relax in a sauna, using their Bending to both feed the fire and create the steam.



The girls leave the sauna now with make-up on their faces. As they cross a bridge, a girl named Star and her friends make fun of Toph's make-up. Toph is upset by these remarks and Katara tries to urge her to ignore them. Toph, however, laughs back at the girls and then Earthbends the rock of the bridge from under them, dropping them into the water. Katara finishes with her own parting shot by waterbending the girls downstream.

Katara tries to console Toph as they continue walking on. Toph claims that because she is blind, she does not have to worry so much about personal appearance or the approval of others, the words of the girls still hurt her all the same, and she sheds a few tears. Katara compliments that Toph is not only confident and self-assured, but also pretty. Toph proclaims she would like to return the compliment but has no idea what Katara looks like. Katara laughs at this and the story ends with Toph giving her a friendly (although hard) punch on the arm.



Out in the city, the gang is setting up more posters for the lost Appa when Katara runs into Jet. He tells her that he wants to help, but Katara distrusts him and attacks. Jet deflects her attacks, and tries to prove his honesty by dropping his hook swords. The others arrive, drawn by the noise, and Jet tries again to explain himself. Then Jet shows them a flyer. Toph, reading Jet's heartbeat and breathing patterns, pronounces that he's telling the truth. Katara is distrustful, but agrees. Jet leads them to a large empty warehouse, where he says they may have been holding Appa. Toph confirms it by finding a tuft of Appa's fur, and an old cleaning man says that Appa was sent off to Whale Tail Island, down near the South Pole. Aang immediately wants to set off, and Jet offers to come along. Toph asks Katara whether Jet was her boyfriend. She gets mad and says no, but Toph teases her by saying she can tell she's lying.

On their way out, the group is sidetracked when Smellerbee and Longshot happen to come across them. Katara once again turns on Jet, as he had claimed to have left the gang behind. Jet insists that he's been living alone in the city, but Smellerbee claims that he was dragged away by the Dai Li. Toph realizes they are both telling the truth, even though their stories don't match. Sokka quickly figures that Jet has been brainwashed by the Dai Li. Katara uses her healing to try to soothe it. Jet remembers that he was taken to a secret facility under a lake. Sokka remembers what Joo Dee had said about her "vacation", fully jogging Jet's memory. The base is under Lake Laogai. The group makes their way to the lake the next day, and Toph quickly finds and uncovers the underwater entrance. They go inside, quietly making their way through the dark corridors.



The gang find themselves confronted by Long Feng and several Dai Li agents. A battle quickly breaks out. Long Feng escapes, with Aang and Jet in hot pursuit. After dealing a grievous blow to Jet, Long Feng escapes as the others enter the chamber. Katara tries to heal Jet, and realizes just how badly he was injured. Longshot, speaking for the first time in the series, tells Aang and his group that they should go and find Appa, and leave Jet to Smellerbee and himself. Jet tries to assure Katara that he'll be fine, but as they leave, Toph sorrowfully says that Jet was lying. Jet eventually died from his injuries.

After they exit the underground base, they finally meet back with Appa. Katara and Toph both want to leave Ba Sing Se, as they have found Appa and thus have no reason to remain there. On the other hand, Sokka wants to stay to inform the Earth King of all that is taking place within Ba Sing Se, as well as the approaching solar eclipse, as this was their entire reason for heading towards Ba Sing Se in the first place. Aang agrees with him. Ultimately, the others agree to do so, and all four ride Appa back to Ba Sing Se's upper ring, and manage to break into the palace, tearing their way through the Royal Guards despite a strong defense.



At the palace, Katara and her friends finally reach the Earth King's throne room, where they are encountered by Long Feng and many Dai Li, who stand before the Earth King as a last defense. Aang goes on to explain the various events going on that the Earth King is unaware of: a war outside Ba Sing Se's walls, Long Feng and the Dai Li's conspiracy, the imprisonment of Appa, and the brainwashing of Jet and countless other individuals. They decide to show the Earth King the outer wall, which was earlier penetrated by the Fire Nation's drill, but the King has had enough, and decides to return to the palace. Sokka quickly convinces him to continue the investigation, however, by letting him ride on Appa.

The Earth King arrives at the outer wall, and is shocked to see the remains of the Fire Nation's drill leading right up to and through Ba Sing Se's outer wall. Long Feng is then arrested. After the group splits up, Katara decides to stay and assist the Earth King.

The Crossroads of Destiny


The Council of Five is going over the invasion plan with Katara, who is accompanied by Momo. General How says that General Fong’s base will be the staging point of the attack, and they will send in troops, demonstrating the motion by Earthbending several stone pieces representing Earth Kingdom forces across a world map. Momo suddenly darts across the board, and knocks the pillars over. Katara laughs at the lemur's actions, and attempts to joke with the five generals, who are not amused. General How asks Katara to take a scroll detailing the invasion plans so that it may receive Seal of the Earth King, which will finalize the plan.



In Ba Sing Se, Katara and Momo, just before going to see the Earth King, decide to stop at a new tea house. As she enters, Katara hears and sees Zuko reciting an order for tea to Iroh in the back of the shop, and she gasps in surprise before running off to warn the Earth King. Katara rushes into the palace, and tells Azula, whom she believes is Suki, that Prince Zuko and Iroh have infiltrated the city. She tells how they need to inform the Earth King. As Azula calmly replies that that will not be necessary, Katara realizes her mistake- she recognizes the distinct golden hue of Azula's eyes. However, Katara's realization is too late- Ty Lee hurtles into the air and disables Katara. Azula and her friends stand over Katara's prone form, and she remarks that it is time she and Zuko encountered each other again.

Katara stands in a dark, crystal-lighted cave when suddenly a light shows: Above, the entrance opens and Zuko is thrown down. When he first comes in to the cave Katara becomes defensive. She is initially furious to see him. She tells him that all he cares about is capturing the Avatar, and how spreading war and hatred is in his blood. When she says that he does not know the pain of the Fire Nation killing her mother, Zuko apologizes, and says that this is something they both have in common, softening her slowly.

Down below in their prison, Katara apologizes to Zuko for how she yelled at him, and tells him that for a long time, whenever she saw the face of the enemy, she saw Zuko’s face. He turns away, touching his scar, assuming she was referencing his scar; a mark he feels that was once symbol to his banishment, and to his “destiny” of chasing the Avatar forever. However, he has gained Katara's trust to the point where she offers to heal his scar using the water from the Spirit Oasis. However, before she can do anything, Aang and Iroh show up, both of them embracing Katara and Zuko, respectively.



Zuko and Aang exchange glares, and Zuko grows angry that Iroh was with the Avatar, and Iroh sends Katara and Aang off to help Sokka and Toph. Iroh then explains to Zuko that he is a different and changed man, stronger and wiser than ever before. He tells Zuko that he is time for him to choose good. However, a mass of crystals entraps Iroh, and Azula emerges. She says that she expected this sort of treachery from Iroh, but not from her brother. She begins to feed him tales of how this is the most glorious day in Fire Nation history, and that if he joins her, Zuko will gain back his father’s love and honor. Iroh begs Zuko to not listen to Azula, telling him that the kind of redemption Azula is offering is not the redemption for him, but Azula continues to plot, telling Zuko how she has planned everything, and that they will only win if he joins her. Iroh begs even more, for Zuko to look deep inside his heart and see what he truly wants. Azula sends the Dai Li away, and tells Zuko that he can chose whatever he wants, and she walks away; leaving him to ponder the two sides of the coin.

Aang and Katara rush to save Toph and Sokka, however, Azula fires a bolt of fire at them. A battle ensues between Aang, Katara, and Azula, and just as Aang and Katara have her cornered Zuko shows up. After a brief moment of dramatic tension, Zuko begins fighting on Azula's side, to everyone’s amazement. In the midst of the battle, the two pairs switch off, with Zuko now fighting Katara, both using element whips on opposite sides of a river. Katara expresses her angry disappointment in Zuko, how she thought he had changed. He replies inscrutably, "I have changed." Aang and Azula charge at one another, Azula sends a blast of fire, sending Aang soaring into the air.



Underground, the fight continues on, with Katara taking on both Zuko and Azula, before Aang manages to stand back up from being thrown earlier. He slams into the ground, creating a tidal wave of Earth barreling towards Azula and Zuko, but he is stopped by the Dai Li. Soon they are joined by dozens of Dai Li agents, and Katara assumes the Octopus stance. Horribly outmatched, Aang realizes there is no other choice and does the only thing he can think of---creating a quick crystal shelter with Earthbending, he meditates, and decides to try to release his attachment to Katara in order to enter the Avatar State. He then rises into the air, but before he can let go of Katara and gain control of the Avatar State, Azula shoots him down with a lightning bolt to the back. At that moment, the Avatar Spirit falls from the plane of existence. As Aang falls back to the ground, Katara creates a huge wave by Waterbending, and manages to scatter the Dai Li, Zuko, and Azula; and catch him before he hits the ground. Holding him in tears, she is defenseless, but Iroh suddenly appears. He tells the two to escape, and that he will hold off Azula and the others as long as he can. Once they escape, Iroh surrenders himself to the Dai Li and glances at Zuko, quickly turning his head in shame.

The entire group manages to escape and while flying away on Appa, Katara uses her Spirit Oasis water to heal Aang, who initially appeared dead. With a quick flash of light, nothing occurs, and Katara begins to cry and holds Aang close. Then Aang’s tattoos glow shortly and he opens his eyes and smiles at her. Overwhelmed and relieved that he is okay, Katara embraces him closer.

Aang survives the lightning. Azula is firmly in control of the city, and as the Earth King, Bosco, Momo, Toph, Sokka, Katara, and Aang fly atop Appa's back over the Outer Wall and out of the city, the Earth King looks back and sadly proclaims, "The Earth Kingdom... has fallen."

Aang awakes


As the episode begins we learn that Aang has been unconscious for a long time. Katara informs Aang about how they had returned to Chameleon Bay after he was injured. They had found her father, and later captured a Fire Nation ship. Hakoda greets Aang and tells him that though the Fire Nation has captured Ba Sing Se, they would still go ahead with the plan to invade the Fire Nation on the day of Black Sun. In an angered tone, Katara corrects him that it is Sokka's plan. Aang begins to feel pain once more and returns to his room with Katara to undergo healing. While she is healing his back, Aang begins to recall the battle in Ba Sing Se and feels that he has failed everyone as the Avatar, and that he was more than hurt by Azula's lightning attack.

Katara and the others run into an actual Fire Nation ship. Katara puts space between the two ships with a huge waterbending attack that nearly capsizes the enemy ship, and they try to escape. Despite the tremendous efforts of Katara and Toph, the ship takes heavy damage from the pursuing Fire Nation ship. Out of sheer bad luck, the Serpent of Serpent's Pass appears but is struck by a stray fireball. The heroes get the chance to escape as the enraged serpent attacks the Fire Nation ship.

The Headband


Katara and the others are traveling through the Fire Nation, using a combination of Waterbending and Airbending to hide Appa in a cloud. They take temporary shelter in a cave, and then go to seek out new clothes to help them better blend into the Fire Nation. They find an unattended clothesline and steal some outfits, and then go to town to buy some accessories (including a new necklace for Katara, who sadly removes her mother's Water Tribe necklace).

Aang then enters a Fire Nation School. Aang gets into trouble for "roughing up" a favored student of The Headmaster, resulting in a parent-teacher conference. Sokka and Katara attend the conference acting as Aang's parents, "Mr. Wang Fire" and "Mrs. Sapphire Fire". Aang insists that they need to do something for the children in the school. He therefore plans to hold a secret dance party in the cave for everyone in the school. Aang asks Katara to dance, and after slightly hesitating she takes Aang's hand and they perform a combination of neijia drills and capoeira in synchronization, which does indeed appear to be an acrobatic dance. However, the headmaster and several teachers appear on the scene, having been told of the dance by Hide. The crew manage to slip away in the opening behind the cave. While the party flies off on Appa, Toph compliments Aang on his efforts, which she believes made a serious impact on the students. Katara agrees and kisses Aang on the cheek, which causes him to blush.

The Painted Lady


The group floats downstream, in the middle of a river that seems to be mostly brown sludge. With little chance of catching any food, they decide to buy some food at a nearby village, which happens to be in the middle of the river, which has been polluted by a nearby military factory. Many villagers are sick, and there is a lack of food because of the polluted water. Katara wishes to help these people, but Sokka says their overall mission is too important to stop to help everybody they come across. In the morning, Appa is found lying on his side, and his tongue is purple. Katara suggests that the village might have some herbs that can heal him. When they get to the village, everybody happens to be in much better spirits. According to Xu, a legendary local river spirit known as the Painted Lady came and gave them some more food. But there is no medicine in the village, as the factory takes it all. Katara suggests letting Appa rest for another day. That night, a thick mist comes across the village. The Painted Lady arrives and heals several of the sick. The child Katara helped earlier thanks her, and the Painted Lady, actually Katara in disguise, leaves across the water.



The next day, Appa is still sick, so they return to the village. The village is in even higher spirits, and have erected a large statue of the Painted Lady in thanks for healing their sick. Xu/Dock suggests that maybe the Painted Lady could help Appa out. Sokka skeptically notes that the Painted Lady's work will be all for nothing unless she helps them all the time, as long as that factory is still there, and jokingly suggests that the Lady should use her "spirit magic" to just blow it up. The next night, Katara once again puts on her disguise, but as she leaves, Momo wakes up, rousing Aang in turn. Seeing the Painted Lady, he tries to ask for her help, but she runs away. Aang chases her all the way to the village, where he finally finds out Katara's secret. Appa's illness was the result of her feeding him berries that stained his tongue. Katara sadly confesses and apologizes for holding them there to help the village, but Aang naturally likes the idea. Together, the two infiltrate the factory and wreck it, stopping the flow of pollution.When returning to the campsite they find Toph and Sokka have found out her secret too. As they prepare to leave, they see a squad of Fire Nation troops heading towards the town on speeders, and realize that they must believe the villagers had sabotaged the factory, Katara is determined to stop them. The soldiers start attacking the village, but a gust of wind blows their flames out. With help from Appa, Toph, and Sokka providing spooky sound effects, Aang and Katara stage an encounter with the Painted Lady to defeat the troops and drive them away.



As the gang stays behind long enough to help the villagers clean up their river. That night, as Katara examines the water, a thick mist appears out of nowhere, and the real Painted Lady appears to thank her.

The Puppetmaster
As the gang continues on their journey, they stop in a forest. An old woman named Hama suddenly appears, offering them a safe place to stay for the night, as people in the woods had been mysteriously disappearing on full moons. The group accepts her offer to stay with her in her inn. Katara gets along with her very well. The next day, Hama leads her guests on a shopping trip, during which Sokka overhears some of the locals talking about the disappearances during the full moon. When Hama sends her guests ahead of her back to the inn, Sokka investigates the house for anything suspicious. Sokka then sees a box lying in a room. Just before they manage to open it, Hama walks in and catches them in the act. However, she opens the box for them and pulls out a water tribe comb, revealing she is from the Southern Water Tribe, but was captured a long time ago. She explains that she knows they are from the South Pole, too, as she heard them talking in the woods.



During dinner, the group also discovers that she is a Waterbender. Hama offers to teach Katara what she knows in order to carry on the tradition of the southern Waterbenders, and Katara happily agrees to learn, wanting to know more about her tribe's cultural heritage. The next day, she leads Katara to a garden filled with fire lilies, and tells her that water can be drawn from anything. She demonstrates this by gathering the moisture from the air as well as harvesting the water from the flowers around them, before using it for some simple techniques. However, drawing water from the flowers dries and kills them, and while Katara is amazed by the demonstration, she also regrets that the fire lillies were destroyed. She then tells Katara she has one more technique to teach: one that can only be used at the full moon. When Katara expresses hesitance due to the rumors of disappearances, Hama reassures her, stating that two master waterbenders under a full moon should be able to handle anything.



Hama reveals her technique, "Bloodbending", which can only be used with the influence of the full moon enhancing her abilities. Horrified by the idea of controlling another person's body, Katara refuses to learn Bloodbending. This leads Katara to realize that Hama has been causing the villagers to disappear, but Hama angrily states that the people of the Fire Nation deserve the same treatment that they gave to the southern Waterbenders. Hearing this causes Katara to adamantly refuse to learn Bloodbending and to stop Hama from further terrorizing the town, and so Hama uses the technique to temporarily force Katara into submission. However, Katara quickly regains control of her body, reminding Hama that she draws power from the full moon as well, and also stating that her Waterbending is more powerful than Hama's. The two begin to battle, each drawing water from the grass and trees surrounding them, and it quickly becomes obvious that they are nearly equally matched. But when Katara finally begins to get the upper hand, Aang and Sokka arrive to assist her. Hama, using bloodbending, sends them flying at each other, with Sokka's sword pointing straight at Aang. At the last second, Katara uses Bloodbending to subdue Hama and protect Aang and Sokka. Toph arrives with the other villagers, who handcuff Hama and take her away, vowing to imprison her. Hama remarks that her work is done, as Katara has already willfully used Bloodbending, and laughs as she is dragged off. Katara breaks down into tears as her friends attempt to comfort her.

Day of Black Sun


Within the following days, Katara and the rest of the gang arrive on an uninhabited island in the middle of the Fire Nation where the entire invasion force will gather. Unfortunately, Aang learns that they have only four days until the invasion, and Aang feels unprepared, having not learned firebending. He starts having nightmares about his duel with Fire Lord Ozai and trains relentlessly, depriving him of sleep. Aang starts having hallucinations and becomes tired, so Katara and the others attempt to help. Katara attempts to relax Aang with a few yoga sessions inside a soothing hot springs found on the island. However, the heat from the water reminds Aang of the Fire Lord, causing him to panic. When Aang continues to train nonstop, Katara manages to get him to sleep for at least a little while by telling him to sleep for her, since he would not do it for himself. On the day before the invasion, Aang talks to Katara and tells her that his lack of sleep has helped him to realize that while he is fighting the Fire Lord to save the world, he is also doing it for Katara. He then tells Katara that he loves her and they begin to kiss passionately. However, this is merely a hallucination, so Aang explains his behavior to a confused Katara by lying that he daydreamed about living underwater, much to her amusement. Aang completely loses his mind later that day, so Katara and her friends shave an entire herd of Koala Sheep and use their wool to create a large bed for Aang. He refuses to sleep due to his lack of confidence in the upcoming battle, so Katara reassures him that he's ready to fight because since the day they met, Aang has trained for this battle and has become incredibly strong, brave, and smart. He has displayed great prowess in battle and a great love for his friends and allies, and both have helped him to get where he is today. Thanks to Katara and the others, Aang finally gets some decent sleep and is now fully confident in his ability to defeat the Fire Lord.



During the Day of Black Sun, Katara is first seen bending the water around the subs, allowing them to dive. Then, when they resurface, she tells Aang how proud of him she is, that he is no longer the goofy kid from in the iceberg. Aang then kisses Katara, to whom she responds.

Katara then assists in the battle against the Firebenders, proving to be a worthy foe in combat once again. When her father Hakoda is severely injured, she uses her healing abilities to cure him, giving him the strength needed to carry despite not being able to actually fight. Katara does not join Sokka, Toph, and Aang in their pursuit of Fire Lord Ozai, and instead helps her father around and attacks the Royal Palace. Unfortunately, the invasion fails when Princess Azula distracts Aang during the whole eclipse, forcing the group to retreat. However, the entire force could not escape because the Fire Nation destroyed their submarines, so Aang and all of the younger members of the force fled to the Western Air Temple while the elders surrendered. Katara gave Aang a look of reassurance when he cried over the failure of the battle.

The Western Air Temple
Katara and the group arrived at the Western Air Temple and they discussed who would be Aang's firebending teacher. She suggested Jeong Jeong, but Aang said that there was no way of finding him again. When Prince Zuko showed up at the Temple, Katara was enraged and prepared to attack, but Zuko announced that he had changed and now wanted to teach Aang firebending. Katara was the most opposed to trusting him, and attacked him with her waterbending when he insisted that he be taken as their prisoner. Katara later confesses to the gang that when she and Zuko were imprisoned in Ba Sing Se, he made her feel sorry for him when he lamented the loss of his mother Ursa, but when he betrayed her by joining Azula she chose never to trust him again. Toph points out to the group that Zuko was being honest in his apologies over his past crimes and that he is the only available person to teach Aang firebending. However, Katara and the others shut her down with their disinterest, causing Toph to storm off.

The next day, Toph returns to reveal that Zuko burned her feet when she tried to talk to him about joining the group. It was an honest accident as he had mistaken her for an attacker, but the fact that he used fire on her is enough to convince Sokka and the others to hunt Zuko down. While tending to Toph's wounds, the Combustion Man attacks, pinning the group down. Katara and Aang's attacks prove useless, but Zuko buys the gang enough time for Sokka to take the assassin down with his boomerang. Zuko apologizes once again to the group for his misdeeds and proves to the gang that he has in fact changed for the better. Aang, Toph, and Sokka immediately see that Zuko does have good in him and chose to let him join, but Katara only allows him to join because of Aang's need to firebend. Zuko was clearly nervous when she made her choice, knowing full well that she had little reason to trust him. Katara later confronts Zuko in his room in the temple, saying that she still doesn't trust him and swears that if he gives her one reason to believe that he will harm Aang, she will end his destiny permanently. She then leaves a very stunned and silent Zuko to ponder on these scathing words.

In "The Firebending Masters" she still shows her hostility towards Zuko as she openly mocks his loss of firebending and the irony that if he had lost it long ago it would have greatly helped them. By the time of "The Boiling Rock, Part 1", her hostility towards Zuko appears to have lessened: she mocks him after he fails to tell a joke properly, but in a less vindictive way than she did in "The Firebending Masters".

The Southern Raiders
After an attack to the Western Air Temple, led by Azula, forces the group to flee and once again split up, Katara's animosity towards Zuko is flared up. She confronts him once again on his betrayal at Ba Sing Se, and when he asks how he can make up to her, she says she wants her mother back. After learning what happened from Sokka, he discovers that the Southern Raiders were the ones responsible, and offers his aid in finding them. Katara takes up the offer, and the two use Appa to get to a Fire Nation marine tower, where information of the Raider's current location can be retrieved. After infiltrating and getting the information, they go to Whale Tail Island, where the Raiders are stationed. She almost effortlessly takes out almost all the ship's crew, and forces her way towards the leader, blasting a metal door open with Waterbending. When the leader begins to react, she willingly uses Bloodbending to subdue him. After looking him in the eyes, she notices it's not the same man who killed her mother. Instead, he reveals that the man they're searching for is Yon Rha, a retired leader of the Southern Raiders. She and Zuko track him down, and when she finally faces him, she's not able to kill him, and leaves. When the group rejoins then at Ember Island, Aang says he's proud of her, but she replies that she has not forgiven Yon Rha. She does however say she forgives Zuko, and gives him a warm hug.

The Ember Island Players
Katara questions if it is safe to hide from the Fire Lord in his own beach house, a concern that Zuko quickly dismisses. Sokka and Suki arrive, suggesting that the group go see a play about themselves. Like all others, except Toph, she is displeased with her portrayal. During a break between the acts, Katara finds Aang outside, and Aang tells Katara how he really feels about her. Katara says she's confused and that it's not the right time for them to be together. When Aang kisses her, she gets upset telling him "I just said I was confused" and goes inside leaving Aang heartbroken.

Sozin's Comet
When Zuko berates the others for having beach parties when the Comet is three days away, Katara arguments that the Fire Nation pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se, and that they'll wait until after Sozin's Comet. Zuko then reveals Ozai's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom down. The following day, they discover that Aang is missing, and later that Momo is missing too. Katara notices that he didn't take his glider. The group searches the entire island, but are unable to find him, so they turn to Zuko, who has experience in tracking Aang down. The group flies to the Earth Kingdom, where Zuko asks June to track Aang down with Aang's staff. When her Shirshu is unable to do so, he asks her to find Iroh, and shows that he kept one of his smelly sandals. June tracks him to Ba Sing Se and leaves. During the evening, the group is approached by members of the Order of the White Lotus, namely Pakku, who now is her step-grandfather, having married Kanna, Bumi, Jeong Jeong and Piandao. They take them to the Order's campsite, where they meet Iroh and where it's decided that Katara will return to the Fire Nation to help Zuko take the throne from Azula when Ozai is defeated.



They leave on Appa, and arrive in the Fire Nation during Azula's coronation. Zuko battles Azula, eventually gaining the upperhand. When he taunts her to use lightning, something he thought she was avoiding because he can redirect it, she strikes Katara instead. Zuko blocks the lightning, taking the blast on his chest. Katara proceeds to fight Azula, eventually tricking her into being directly above a source of water, which Katara uses to freeze herself and Azula. She liquefies the ice where she is in so she can bind Azula's hands with chains, and then melts the ice with Azula bound and defeated. Katara rushes to Zuko and heals him. Later, she is seen at the Jasmine Dragon, along with other members of Team Avatar.Finally realizing the deep feelings she has for Aang,she follows Aang after he leaves for some fresh air and hugs him. She and Aang then look at each other lovingly before they share kiss, presumably starting the relationship that was predicted to end in marriage and many future children.

Personality
When she was a young girl, Katara's mother died in a Fire Nation Raid. This event is shown to have a tremendous impact on Katara's life and personality and has arguably shaped her into the person she is now. According to Sokka, Katara largely prevented their family from falling apart and took many responsibilities, to the point where she largely filled the void left by their mother (to the point where he pictures her in place of his mother). As such, Katara has a very maternal personality, and often acts as a motherly figure to the group, something that occasionally irritates the rebellious Toph. This loss is also part of what drives her in her fight against the Fire Nation, although she does not exhibit as much outward prejudice as her brother.

Katara is probably the most mature member of the group, rarely taking part in Sokka and Aang's goofy pranks, though she does have a good sense of humor. She is very kind and caring, playing the role of the group's healer. In "The Desert", it was Katara who held the group together in its most desperate moments. Katara is extremely faithful, and was one of the few people who held out hope of the Avatar returning to save the world.

On the other hand however, Katara can be overly domineering at times. For all her kindness and compassion she is sometimes very self-righteous, has a rather nasty temper and can be extremely fierce when provoked. She also is very set in her ideals and frequently refuses to relent on her views in the face of opposition. Combined with her strong sense of compassion, this gives her a very strong sense of justice and she will run headlong into often dangerous situations to help others (best illustrated in "Imprisoned" and "The Painted Lady"). Her short temper has frequently clashed with others; she showed open (but short lived) jealousy of Aang's talent in "The Waterbending Scroll", is frequently perturbed by Toph's confrontational and rebellious nature ("The Chase" and "The Runaway") and holds a considerable grudge against those who have threatened Aang (Zuko) or done things she considers morally wrong (Jet). In "The Western Air Temple" she shows open outright hostility to Zuko and threatens to kill him if he slips back to his old ways.

Throughout season one, Katara was marked by a fierce desire to learn Waterbending, viewing it as a part of her and her culture that needed to be expressed. She also may have viewed it as a hope for rebuilding her tribe. Her enthusiasm for waterbending has caused her to constantly train herself in this art, and she is overjoyed when she finally finds a master to teach her formally. She has grown to a Waterbending master extremely quickly, and master Pakku states that it is because of her enthusiasm and passion for the art.

As shown in "The Chase", Katara gets extremely irritable with lack of sleep.

Trivia

 * In the Avatar Series Pilot, Katara is named Kya. The name Kya was later given to her previously unnamed mother.

Relatives

 * Gran Gran Kanna (grandmother)
 * Hakoda (father)
 * Sokka (elder brother)
 * Kya (mother)
 * Pakku (grandfather)
 * Aang (boyfriend)