The Storm

Writer: Aaron Ehasz

Director: Lauren MacMullan

Guest star: Jim Meskimen (Zuko's Lieutenant), Sab Shimono (Monk Gyatso), Mark Hamill (Fire Lord Ozai), James Hong (Dour Monk), Robert Pine (Old Man), Susan Silo (Old Man's Wife), Clyde Kusatsu (Senior Monk)

Aang is having a nightmare of when he was caught up in the storm and had to freeze himself and Appa. After waking up Katara asks Aang if he is all right saying that he’s been having a lot of nightmares lately, Aang reassures her that he is all right. In the morning we Zuko’s ship on the ocean. Iroh warns Zuko that there is a storm coming and it is a big one. Zuko after taking one look at the cloudless sky tells his uncle that he is crazy and dismisses his suggestion. Iroh pleads with Zuko to consider the safety of the crew; Zuko then says that the safety of the crew doesn’t matter. While Zuko was saying that one of lieutenant had just walked onto the deck obviously not happy with what Zuko said. The prince tells the lieutenant that no ones individual safety is more important than capturing the Avatar. With that Zuko leaves the deck, after leaving the deck Iroh tries to explain to the lieutenant that Zuko doesn’t really mean what he says.

Aang and company are now at a dock shopping for food when they realize they have no money to buy it. Then two people walk into view a man and his wife. The fisherman’s wife tells him not to go out fishing telling him that there is a storm coming. He like Zuko doesn’t believe it so he still decides to go. His wife says that she isn’t going with him Sokka instantly takes the chance to volunteer for the job and is hired.

Latter in the day storm clouds have gathered on board Zuko’s ship the lieutenant and a few other members of the crew are on the deck when Zuko walks on deck the lieutenant states that his uncle was right. Zuko then scolds the lieutenant for his disrespect while the lieutenant clams that Zuko doesn’t know anything about respect. After a brief conflict is broken up by Iroh both Zuko and the lieutenant go in opposite directions.

Meanwhile back on the dock Aang and Katara seeing the storm clouds are trying to convince Sokka not to go out saying that it is too dangerous. When the fisherman overhears that Aang has tattoos he looks at him and discovers he’s the Avatar. He then verbally attacks Aang for turning his back on the world, Katara defends Aang claiming it wasn’t his fault he disappeared. Aang then leaps on his glider and takes off; Katara follows Aang on Appa leaving Sokka which he thinks is rude.

Katara finds Aang in a cave and tells him not to take what the old man said to heart but Aang tells her that he was right to blame him for not being there when the world needed him. Katara starts a fire and Aang tells Katara about his life at the Southern Air Temple just before he found out he was the Avatar, we see him and other Airbenders like himself Aang is teaching the others about the air scooter when five of the head monks at the temple ask to see him. In a room they show him four toys that he used to play with when he was a child they explain that out of thousands of options he choose those four. Those four belonged to past Avatars, they normally wouldn’t have revealed this to him until he turned 16 but they fear that war is coming to the world.

Aang’s flashback ends and the scene goes back to Zuko’s ship only it is in the boiler room were we see the Lieutenant talking to a few others about how he is tired of chasing the Avatar. Iroh walks in and after the lieutenant says that he is welcome he sits down and says that Zuko is a complicated young man that has been through much. Another flashback showing the inside of a Fire Nation building we see military leaders enter a room and a young non-scared prince Zuko tries to enter the war chamber but the guards won’t let him pass. Iroh pulls Zuko off to the side and after being convinced Iroh decides to let Zuko enter the War Chamber but cautions him not to talk. There in the chamber a military leader is telling a group about his plan on how to attack the Earth Kingdom, he suggests sending in a group of new recruits to attack them directly sacrificing them so they can mount an attack from the rear. Zuko speaks out against the general’s plan saying that it is wrong to sacrifice their own soldiers. The flashback ends with Iroh sitting around the others and he says that Zuko was right but that it wasn’t his place to speak out and that there would be consequences.

The scene then switches back to Aang and Katara. Aang tells her that after it was revealed that he was the Avatar everything began to change. His friends no longer wanted to play games with him thinking that he being the Avatar would give his team an unfair advantage. Then when he and Gyatso are playing a game of Pai Sho one of the other four monks want to train him in his Airbending skills Gyatso tells him that Aang has trained enough for one day. The monk obviously doesn’t approve of Gyatso’s decision.

The scene once again changes back to Iroh as he picks up the story, after Zuko spoke out against the general Zuko’s father became furious with his son. With an act of disrespect like this the only way to settle it is with an Agni Kai. Zuko thought that his opponent would be the general he had challenged and so he wasn’t afraid to fight him. But as the duel started Zuko discovered that it was not the general that he had to face but Fire Lord Ozai-his father.

Once again the scene goes to Aang’s story, shortly after Gyatso’ s challenge of the other monk there was a private meeting involving Gyatso the other monk and the leader of the other monks. Gyatso said that he only wants Aang to have a normal life, but the head monk does not agree with Gyatso’s view claiming that what the world needs is the Avatar and that is what really matters. The leader believes that Gyatso’s feelings for Aang are clouding his better judgment, so his decision is to send Aang to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training. What they don’t know is that Aang overheard the entire conversation. When Katara tries to comfort him Aang’s but by this time Aang is angry at what they wanted to do, after he calms down he continues his story. He says that after finding out what they wanted to do he ran away from the temple shortly after he was caught up in a storm and Appa was taken down into the ocean there Aang’s Avatar spirit activated and froze him and Appa in a circle of ice and for 100 years would never be found not until Sokka and Katara found him. Katara tells him that if he hadn’t run from the temple than he would have been killed with the other when the Fire Nation attacked. She continues by saying that he can’t change what happened and that he’s here now and that he brings hope to those who have none. Aang starts to feel better.

We return to Iroh’s story he says that when Zuko found out it was his father he had to face Zuko begged for mercy. His father had no compassion for his son’s feelings ordering him to fight but Zuko refuses. Then Ozai clams that Zuko must learn respect and the only way to learn it is through suffering. We see Iroh watching the duel with a group of other of the Fire Nation and in his own words. “I looked away” with those words we see light envelope the scene and the only thing we hear is a scream. The Lieutenant states that he thought Zuko got his scar from a training accident, but Iroh states it was no accident. Iroh continues saying after the duel the Fire Lord said that by refusing to duel Zuko showed shameful weakness and as a punishment was banished and sent to capture the Avatar only then could he return home. The Lieutenant then realizes Zuko’s obsession with trying to find and capture the Avatar saying that the Avatar is the only chance Zuko has of things returning to normal. Iroh simply says that things will never return to normal, but the important thing is the Avatar gives Zuko hope. We see Zuko meditating in a room we see glimpses of two children playing in a field one of them being Zuko. His memories are interrupted by a lighting strike.

Back in the cave Aang and Katara are found by the wife of the fisherman saying that the storm is becoming a typhoon and he and Sokka are still out there. Aang sets out to go find them along with Katara. Back on the deck of Zuko’s ship Zuko, Iroh, and the Lieutenant are trying to find out where they were hit. Iroh sees the helmsman hanging form a bar, Zuko and the lieutenant quickly head up the ladder that leads to the helmsman, back on the deck we see Iroh as he is struck by lightning oddly enough he is able to control it and redirect it into the ocean. Prince Zuko and the lieutenant are about to reach the helmsman when he losses his grip and falls, Zuko miraculously catches him by his arm and lowers him down to the lieutenant and they both exchange a smile.

Aang meantime is having his own troubles due to the storm as he and Katara ride Appa while trying to dodge huge waves and even having to bust through one. Katara the Fisherman’s boat and directs Aang toward it. While they sail towards Sokka they go right past Zuko. The lieutenant asks what he wants to do, Zuko after a brief pause says to let him go and to get the boat to safety. Iroh states then they will have to go into the eye of the storm with a smirk on his face. Aang and Katara reach Sokka and he goes down to the deck and ties a rope to Sokka and the Fisherman then has Appa toss them onto the saddle. But their relief is short lived as a wave hits them and sends them into the water where they start to sink. Aang looks around and sees his friends about to die and his Avatar spirit activates again he grabs the reigns and creates an air pocket around Appa and they begin their ascension upward. We see that Zuko’s ship has reached the eye of the storm and are now safe. Zuko apologizes to his uncle and Iroh accepts it with a smile. Seconds later Appa bursts out of the water in front of the ship, Zuko and Aang look at each other for a split second before Appa soars into the clouds.

After returning to the cave in one piece the fisherman’s wife tells him to apologies to Aang. The fisherman asks if instead of an apology he gives him a free fish to call it even, Aang tells the man that he doesn’t eat meat and the man humorously says: “Fish ain’t meat.” Sokka isn’t as amused and asks if he’s still going to get paid, but to his dissatisfaction the only thing he gets is a hand full of fish. Aang tells Katara that she’s right, that he is through with beating himself up about the past and he’s going to make the best out of the situation. Then the Fisherman thanks Aang for saving his life, Sokka notices that the storm is over so the group exits the cave to savor the sunshine only to have Appa shake water over all of them.