Zuko Alone


 * This article is about the episode, for the character this is about, see Zuko.

Writer: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

Director: Lauren MacMullan

Guest Stars: Mark Hamill (Ozai), Walker Edmiston (Fire Lord Azulon), Susan Eisenberg (Sela), Brian O'Neill (Gansu), Robby Bruce (Lee), Elijah Runcorn (Young Zuko), Jen Cohn (Ursa), Gary Sturgis (Gow)

Production Code: 207

Overview
''After leaving his uncle, Zuko continues his journey to an Earth Kingdom town alone, where a young boy named Lee brings him home for dinner. After bonding with Lee, Zuko helps defend the family from rogue soldiers who terrorize the town and has flashbacks about his life before banishment. Zuko's identity as the Fire Prince is revealed, and the boy and his family reject him because of it.''

Synopsis
Zuko is traveling by himself through dry desert-like terrain on his ostrich-horse. With a very gaunt appearance and an empty stomach, he stops suddenly at the smell of something; he looks over to find a man cooking a large piece of meat over an open flame. Zuko puts a hand over his gurgling stomach and then moves the hand to his sword hilt. But upon seeing the man is traveling with a pregnant woman, he continues on. Now more tired and dehydrated than ever, Zuko is carefully walking a razor's edge of passing out. His vision becomes blurred as he presses on and he closes his eyes; a woman walking down a dark hallway with a hood appears. Zuko opens his eyes suddenly, but keeps his head down.



Finally Zuko has come to a village. On his way in he passes some Earth Kingdom soldiers; they lock eyes for a moment before Zuko presses on. He dismounts his ostrich horse and walks to a man standing behind a counter. He asks for water, a hot meal, and a bag of feed and extends his hand forward revealing a small number of coins. The man tells him that he doesn't have enough for a hot meal but he can give him two bags of feed. As the man goes to retrieve Zuko's feed, two boys hiding beside the counter throw eggs at the soldiers just behind Zuko and run. Thinking Zuko threw the eggs, the soldiers make their way over angrily, then interrogate him. Zuko covers for the boys, saying he saw nothing, and tells them a chicken may have flown over. As the man brings Zuko's feed out, one soldier takes it and thanks Zuko for his "contribution."

As Zuko re-mounts his ostrich-horse, the boy who threw the egg pops up from behind the animal and thanks him for covering for him. Zuko doesn't reply and moves forward on his ostrich; the boy follows him and offers to take Zuko to his house and feed his ostrich-horse for him in return for not ratting him out. Zuko allows the boy, Lee, to lead him.

Zuko and Lee approach a large farm full of three kinds of hybrids between a pig and a cow, a pig and a rooster, and a pig and a sheep. They oink loudly as Zuko and Lee approach the house. Lee says it’s good because no one can ever sneak up on them. Zuko replies, "No kidding." As Lee goes to put Zuko's ostrich in the barn, his father approaches Zuko. Lee recounts Zuko's small confrontation with the soldiers. Lee's mother comes asking Zuko's name. Unable to give his usual false name, Lee for obvious reasons, Zuko stutters for a moment before Lee's father comes to the rescue, saying, "He doesn't have to say who he is if he doesn't want to."

The family explains how the real soldiers, like Lee's older brother Sensu, are fighting in the war while these thugs stay to "protect" the village. She asks if Zuko wishes to stay for dinner, but he declines her offer. After a brief pause she says that Zuko can help Lee's father roof the barn and then they'll eat. Zuko scowls for a minute at this before nodding. Zuko's handicapped skills with a hammer, as a result of not having to do any work whatsoever his whole life, show through here as he hammers wildly on the roof at about six bent nails.

Behind him Lee is asking him rapid-fire questions. His father silences the boy, but he persists and asks Zuko how he got his scar. At this Zuko lets out a small groan as he hammers his own thumb. Lee's father tells him it's not polite to ask so many personal questions and that Zuko's past was his business. As Zuko continues hammering he's thrown into a memory.



A young Prince Zuko and his mother are sitting by a small pond in a garden somewhere on the palace grounds, feeding turtle-ducks. Zuko offers to show his mother how Azula feeds them and throws bread at one. His mother scolds him for it as the mother turtle-duck comes forward and bites down hard on Zuko's ankle. He yells in pain as his mother helps detach the small creature. He angrily asks why the duck bit him, to which Ursa replies that mothers are protective, and will "bite back" when their young are in danger, and pretends to bite Zuko. She and Zuko laugh for a minute before returning their gaze back to the pond.

As Zuko and his mother walk back through the garden we see a young Princess Azula attempting a cart-wheel but falls to the ground with a thud. Behind her a young Ty Lee runs forward and performs the move with ease; Azula pushes her over and laughs. A young Mai sits against a tree watching them; she turns, sees Zuko walking through the garden, turns her gaze away, and blushes, smiling to herself. Azula notices this and whispers to Ty Lee, "watch this". Ty Lee giggles as Azula runs up to her brother and mother asking if Zuko would come play with them. After a small argument between Zuko and Azula, their mother makes Zuko go and play with them.



Azula explains how the game goes: you try to knock the apple off the other person's head. She sets an apple on a very bored-looking Mai's head and sets it ablaze. Zuko rushes forward trying to knock the burning apple off her head but trips, and they fall into the fountain landing on top of each other. Ty Lee comments on how cute they are together; Mai, angered, says, "You two are such- ugh!" while Zuko storms inside to dry off, passing his mother and shouting, "Girls are crazy!"

Zuko's mother informs him that she's received a letter from Uncle Iroh in Ba Sing Se. Iroh says in the letter that "If the city is as beautiful as its walls then it would really be something to behold." He also says he hopes they can come and see it one day if he doesn't burn it to the ground first (Zuko and Azula laugh at that). He has also sent gifts for his niece and nephew. For Zuko: a pearl dagger that belonged to the general who surrendered when Iroh broke through the outer wall. The inscription on the dagger reads: Never give up without a fight. For Azula: an Earth Kingdom doll.

Azula comments that if Iroh didn't make it back from the war then her father would be next in line to be Fire Lord. Her mother scolds her for saying such a thing as Zuko asks her how she'd feel if Iroh's son, Lu Ten, wanted their dad to die. She says in reply, "I still think our dad would make a much better Fire Lord than his royal tea-loving kookiness." She sets her new doll ablaze.

The focus then shifts back to the present day, and Prince Zuko is sleeping soundly on a pile of hay in the family's barn. Lee enters quietly, takes Zuko's swords, and silently slips out. Zuko's eye opens. Lee takes the swords outside where he begins to hack wildly at a field of daisies. From behind him, Zuko says he's holding them wrong and explains that he has to think of them as a whole because they're two halves of the same blade. Lee confides that his brother used to teach him like Zuko is doing, implying that he is beginning to think of Zuko as a big brother.

The next day Zuko mounts his ostrich-horse and prepares to set off, when Lee's mother gives Zuko some food. Just then, dust kicks up in the distance; the soldiers from the village come with grave news: Lee's older brother's battalion was captured. Zuko is brought back to the memory of his cousin. He and Azula are playing together in the garden while their mother is sitting near the pond. A servant delivers a message to her; she reads it and looks up, and a tear drips down her face. She informs Zuko and Azula their cousin didn't survive the battle.

Lee's father declares he's going to the front to look for Sensu. Lee asks if Zuko will stay after his father leaves, but he declines and gives Lee his dagger his uncle gave him. As Zuko rides off he's thrown into another memory: Zuko is practicing with his knife while Azula watches from a chair. She says, "You waste all your time playing with knives; you're not even good". He replies angrily. She informs him Uncle's coming home; she also informs him of her opinion of Iroh: "a quitter and a loser".

Their mother enters the room and tells them their father has requested an audience with their grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon. Azula comments on how he's not the powerful Fire Lord he used to be and that someone was probably going to end up taking his place soon. Azula's mother once again scolds her for her brazen and callous speech and says to herself, "What is wrong with that child?". In the Fire Lord's war room, Ozai is asking questions of Zuko and Azula. He asks how their great-grandfather won the Battle of Han Tui. While Zuko stammers for an answer, Azula answers correctly. Ozai is pleased with his daughter and asks her to show her grandfather the new moves she demonstrated for him.



As Azula gracefully performs her Firebending moves, a smile creeps across Ozai's face. He comments on how she is a prodigy like her grandfather for whom she's named. As Azula retakes her seat beside Zuko, she whispers that he will never catch up. Zuko rises and asks to demonstrate what he's been learning; the smile on Ozai's face vanishes. As Zuko stumbles with the same form, Azula smirks. Zuko hits the ground after trying to no avail.

Impatient, Azulon dismisses Ursa, Zuko, and Azula, and asks Ozai to tell him what he wants. As they make for the door, Azula grabs Zuko's hand and leads him behind a curtain where she plans on eavesdropping on their father and grandfather's meeting. Ozai says that with Lu Ten gone, Iroh's bloodline has ended and he is away at war. But Ozai is here and his children are alive. Again impatient, Azulon asks what Ozai wants. Ozai says, "Revoke Iroh's birthright. I am your humble servant here to serve you and our nation. Use me." Angered by his son's arrogance and lack of sympathy for Iroh's loss, the Fire Lord tells Ozai that Iroh has suffered enough but Ozai's punishment has barely begun.

Zuko runs away, frightened, before he can hear what it was. In his room Zuko lies in his bed, frightened of what he just saw. Azula enters with an evil smirk, singing that Ozai would kill Zuko. She reveals Ozai's punishment to be sacrificing Zuko so he may know the pain of losing a firstborn son. Zuko doesn't believe her. Ursa enters the room demanding to know what’s going on and pulls Azula away angrily, saying it is time for a talk. Zuko remains in his bed saying, "Azula always lies. Azula always lies."

Present day: Zuko is laying on grass, eyes closed, repeating those same words when Lee's mother comes and informs him that when the soldiers from the village came demanding food, Lee pulled a knife on them. They then took him away saying if he was old enough to fight that he was old enough to join the army. She begs for his help through her tears. Zuko agrees to help. Zuko rides up to the soldiers; Lee is tied to a pole and is extremely happy to see Zuko. Zuko dismounts and removes his straw hat.

He orders the soldiers to release Lee, but they ask who he thinks he is ordering them around. Zuko replies that his identity is unimportant but that they were cowardly bullies abusing their power. The leader asks the other soldiers if they're going to sit there and let Zuko insult them like this.

One rushes forward; Zuko knocks the man off his feet and back about 10 yards with a quick hit from his sword hilt without even having to remove the sword from its sheath. The next one runs at Zuko; without much effort Zuko performs a simple self-defense move knocking the man to the ground. The third runs at him and Zuko performs a front kick, breaking the man's spear and scaring him into running away. The leader, the only one left, pulls out two large hammers; Zuko pulls out his swords. He smacks the ground with his hammers and sends a rock pelting towards Zuko, who breaks it easily.

The next few blows appear more difficult to block. Meanwhile from the sideline Zuko is getting cheers from an elderly man and his wife. Now the man is hitting harder. Zuko is barely able to block the rocks that are pelting towards him until finally he's hit with a final blow that knocks him airborne and back about 10 feet. He hits the ground hard and is blasted into another memory. Zuko is sound asleep in his room when his mother gently wakes him. She tells the half-asleep Zuko that everything she's done has been to protect Zuko and that no matter how things may seem to change to never forget who he is. And with that she disappears down a dark corridor.



Present-day Zuko is lying on the ground, seemingly passed out. The man moves forward for the final blow when Zuko opens his eyes and decides. He creates a furious ring of fire around him as he jumps up. Lee and the villagers look at him, terrified. As Zuko moves forward he resembles his father as we often see his silhouette standing before a wall of fire. He sends blasts of fire towards the man as he swings the blades. The man makes a feeble attempt at Earthbending a wall to block the attack but to no avail.

He asks Zuko who he is and Zuko tells him his full title. The crowd erupts in nervous whispers, horrified that not only is he of the Fire Nation but the prince himself. The man who had recently been cheering Zuko tells him he's heard of Zuko and that Zuko was not a prince but an outcast. Zuko ignores the man and retrieves his dagger. Zuko walks toward Lee, but his mother steps between them and tells Zuko not to come a step closer. Obeying, Zuko kneels and offers the dagger, but Lee tells him no and that he hates him.

Zuko is now haunted by his turbulent past, reliving another memory. He wakes suddenly from his bed yelling for his mom. He runs down the hall only to find his sister Azula playing with his knife. He asks her about their mother. She replies that nobody knows and that their grandfather passed away last night. Zuko tells Azula that she's sick; he then takes his knife and runs to find his mother, finding his dad instead at the pond where he is standing silently staring into it. Zuko demands to know where his mother is but Ozai does not reply. Zuko bows his head.

The fire sages have a special ceremony for the late Fire Lord. All of Zuko's family is present, except for Ursa. After the sages cremate Azulon's body, the leader announces that Ozai is the new Fire Lord according to what he said was Azulon's dying wish. For Zuko everything is a blur; he is unsure of the events that have just taken place. The flashback ends. Returning to the present, we see a close up of Zuko. He is riding away from the village on his ostrich horse, his round hat back on his head. Cut to a wide shot of Zuko riding out of the village with either side of the street lined with villagers. An Earth Kingdom flag flies in the breeze on the left of the frame. Switch to a shot of some villagers, including Lee, as Zuko leaves. They look upon him with dull hatred.

Zuko rides into the fiery red sunset.

Series Continuity

 * Zuko's dagger was first seen in "The Avatar State" when Zuko and Iroh cut off their topknots.
 * Zuko's mother is seen for the first time.
 * The pregnant woman and her husband who Zuko decides not to rob will later be escorted to Ba Sing Se by Aang and friends in "The Serpent's Pass".
 * This is the first and only episode in which Team Avatar does not appear.
 * Zuko is shown fighting without using his Firebending for the second time.

Goofs

 * When Ursa tells Azula "it's time for a talk", Ursa grabs Azula's right arm with her left hand. When they move past Zuko her right hand is grabbing Azula's right arm.
 * When Sela asks for Zuko's help to get her son back, Zuko's swords disappear in several frames.
 * Also the hat that Zuko wears is lying on his chest when Sela approaches him. When the frame switches, he is wearing the hat with it tied around his chin. However, after he tells her he'll get Lee back, the straps are not tied (made obvious by the straps blowing in the wind).
 * In this episode it states that Azulon ruled for 23 years; however, for this to be correct, Sozin would have had to remain Fire Lord for roughly 70 years after his death at the age of 102, according to nick.com.
 * Ursa's name was not mentioned in the ceremony yet Zuko, Azula and Ilah were mentioned. However, this could be explained as they likely did not want to mention a traitor's name at the ceremony.
 * On the other hand, Iroh's wife (and Lu Ten's mother) wasn't mentioned either, so it's possible that only direct relatives of Azulon were mentioned (i.e. his wife, children and grandchildren), not in-law relatives.

Trivia
Одинокий Зуко
 * "Avatar Extras" states that this episode is the series' equivalent to a western, being similar in many ways to the 1949 Western Novel, Shane and the 1953 film adaptation, Shane.
 * The doll given to Azula has the same hairstyle and headband as Toph.
 * This is also the first episode that revolves entirely around Zuko and his history.
 * When Zuko demonstrates his Firebending to Fire Lord Azulon, he doesn't succeed. While Azula looks on mockingly, Ursa praises his effort, stating that that's who he is; someone who keeps fighting even though it's hard. The knife Iroh sent him in the flashback, the same one he gives away to Lee for a time in present-day, contains the inscription, "Never give up without a fight." This is exactly what Zuko was talking about to Aang during "The Siege of the North, Part 2", "I've always had to struggle and fight and that's made me strong. It's made me who I am."
 * The knife Zuko temporarily gave to Lee (as mentioned above) was the same knife used to sever his and his uncle Iroh's ponytails in "The Avatar State", to signify their abandonment of the Fire Nation.
 * This is the only time Zuko uses his swords to Firebend.
 * When Zuko explains to Lee that the dual swords are but two parts of one whole, he holds them up in front of his face, visually dividing it in two. Though he is talking about the dual swords, it is also a subtle commentary on his own division and his inner conflict. The concept of the two sides of Zuko symbolized by the scarred and unscarred sides of his face is used again in "The Crossroads of Destiny".
 * The title has a double meaning. On one level, Zuko is traveling alone, without Iroh or any of the other named characters in the series. On a second level, Zuko is going through an emotionally difficult time and feels very emotionally alone.
 * The name of Lee's older brother is Sensu, pronounced similarly to Sun Tzu, who was a Chinese war general and author of the book The Art of War. Sun Tzu is regarded as the best military strategist in history.
 * A lot of Clint Eastwood films show relation to this episode, like A Fistful of Dollars, High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider.
 * This is the first episode to show the good in Zuko and further on in season two Zuko becomes more peaceful, although he eventually joins Azula in the last episode.
 * The fact that the dagger says "Made in Earth Kingdom" is probably a reference to how most modern day products have "Made in China" somewhere on them as the Earth Kingdom is largely based on China.
 * At the pond, Ursa explains to young Zuko, "If you mess with [mother's] babies, they'll bite you back." This foreshadows the "vicious, treasonous things" she does to save Zuko's life, as we later learn in "The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse".
 * Before "The Awakening", this episode provided the closest and clearest glimpse of Fire Lord Ozai's face, albeit at a distance and not very visible. The aforementioned episode was the first time a close-up of Ozai's full face was observed.