The Storm

Writer: Aaron Ehasz

Director: Lauren MacMullan

Guest Stars: Jim Meskimen (Lieutenant Jee), Sab Shimono (Monk Gyatso), Mark Hamill (Fire Lord Ozai), James Hong (Elder Air Monk), Robert Pine (Old Man), Susan Silo (Old Man's Wife), Clyde Kusatsu (Monk Pasang)

Overview
''A large storm causes Aang to remember his dark past. After being told he was the Avatar, Aang is ordered to be separated from his friend Monk Gyatso. Upset, Aang runs away from his home, where he encounters a deadly storm which activates the Avatar State, trapping himself within an iceberg. Meanwhile, Iroh enlightens the crew on how Zuko received his scar and was banished from the Fire Nation by his own father.''

Synopsis


Aang has a strange dream about his past that clearly troubles him, but does not tell the others. It started happily with Aang, Katara and Sokka unrealistically flying through the skies, but suddenly Aang becomes alone and is trapped in a storm and plunges into the sea...

Aang, Katara and Sokka stop by a market, but then realize they're out of food and money. They run into a fisherman, who hires Sokka, but when he finds out that Aang is the Avatar, he yells at him that "he turned his back on the world." Aang becomes upset, so he flies away into a cave. Katara reprimands the fisherman for his harsh words and goes after Aang, as a horrible storm begins brewing. Katara finds Aang in a small cave.

Aang starts telling his story, beginning with the day the monks told him he was the Avatar. Burdened with extra training exercises and ostracized from his friends, Aang becomes confused and afraid. So when he learns that the monks are planning to separate him from his guardian, Gyatso, he decides to run away. Aang is caught in a horrible storm, and as he is about to drown, the Avatar Spirit inside him forms an air pocket, saving himself and Appa but freezing them inside for the next 100 years. Aang suffers terrible guilt over abandoning the world, but Katara convinces him that "it was meant to be", and he "gives people hope."



Meanwhile Iroh predicts that there will be a terrible storm, but Prince Zuko informs him that capturing the Avatar is more important than the crew's safety. When Lieutenant Jee hears this, he tells Zuko that he knows nothing about respect and calls him a "spoiled prince."

While the lieutenant is complaining about Zuko and his obsession with capturing the Avatar, Zuko and the lieutenant make to fight but are stopped by Iroh. Later, when the Lee is badmouthing Zuko, Iroh comes in and explains why Zuko is as he is. The story starts with a handsome, younger Zuko, with more soulful eyes (as opposed to his usual glaring expression in the show's present time), a full head of hair, and no scar yet. He complains to his uncle that he wants to get into his father's war chamber, and although he initially refuses, Iroh allows him to join, on the condition that he remain silent.

When one of the generals suggests sacrificing the 41st division as "bait," Prince Zuko speaks up against it. Zuko's father, Fire Lord Ozai grows angry, and demands a fire duel, or "Agni Kai" to solve the matter. Zuko agrees to the duel, believing that he is going to fight the general, but it is revealed that his opponent is the Fire Lord himself. In the duel, Zuko cries, "Please father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interests at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" Ozai states, "You will fight for your honor." Zuko falls to his hands and knees, and begs "I meant you no disrespect! I am your loyal son!" Ozai says, "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!" Then Zuko falls all the way to the ground and declares, "I won't fight you." As Zuko rises to look at his father while crying, the Fire Lord demands, "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher." The screen lights up as Zuko screams; Ozai has burned his son's face, causing Zuko's distinctive scar.



Iroh explains that Prince Zuko was banished because his refusal to fight was seen as "shameful weakness," and the only way to redeem himself is by capturing the Avatar. Iroh adds that life will never return to normal, but that the Avatar gives Zuko hope.

Lightning strikes the ship. In a move of true selflessness, Zuko saves the helmsman, with the help of the lieutenant. While Zuko and Lieutenant Jee are attempting to save the helmsman, Iroh is shown redirecting lightning away from striking the ship. Meanwhile, Aang and Katara go rescue the fisherman and Sokka, but are engulfed by the waves. In the same way as in his flashback, Aang forms an air pocket with Airbending to save the group, only this time, they fly to safety. When the trio and the fisherman pop out of the water close to Zuko's ship, he allows them to fly away, deciding that it is more important to help his crew get to safety. He also apologizes to his uncle. Back at the cave, the fisherman is united with his wife, and thanks Aang for saving him. Aang also declares that he's done dwelling on the past and accepts that the events that have happened to him were "meant to be". The storm then clears.

Production Notes

 * For a split second at the end of Aang's dream, there is a brief image of Fire Lord Ozai.
 * It is greatly stressed in this episode how the Avatar is a symbol of hope for all peoples alike. In an attempt to cheer Aang up, Katara notes how he "gives people hope" in ending the century-long war. With those same words, Iroh states that the Avatar gives Zuko hope of regaining his honor, although they are apparent enemies. These two scenes were explicitly juxtaposed to stress this point.
 * This is the favorite episode of Zuko's voice actor, Dante Basco. During the scene where Zuko faces against his father in the Agni Kai, Basco worked with Mark Hamill and relates the scene to those in Star Wars in which Luke Skywalker (Hamill) faces off with Darth Vader.
 * This is Michael Dante DiMartino's third favorite episode because of how the story goes deep into both Aang's and Zuko's pasts.
 * It was shown that the four toys Aang chose that determined his destiny are a clay turtle flute (Water), a string-powered propeller (Air), a wooden Hog-Monkey (Earth) and a wooden hand drum (Fire). This method is akin to the one used in determining the next incarnation of a Tulku Lama in Tibetan Buddhism.

Series Continuity

 * It is revealed how Zuko got his scare.
 * This is the first episode in which Azula, Zuko's sister, appears, though she is only briefly seen smirking in the crowd during a flashback of Zuko's Agni Kai with his father. Zhao is also seen smirking. Iroh turns away.
 * Iroh is seen redirecting lightning for the first time.
 * During one of Aang's flashbacks to his life before being trapped in the iceberg, two Airbenders are seen playing the Avatar world's own version of "Rock, Paper, Scissors," the difference being that the four elements are used instead of the familiar stationery. In the three rounds seen playing, two hand forms were shown: a pound fist later revealed to represent Earth, and what looked like a "stop" hand or a "eight trigram palm" from Baguazhang. This game is seen again in "City of Walls and Secrets" when it is played by Aang and Sokka. As revealed in the later episode, Earth appears to beat Fire, which had the hand emulating flames or what looked like a dragon grasp from Northern Shaolin style.

Trivia

 * In the beginning of the episode, when Zuko says that the Avatar is traveling north, and that they must travel north as well, his ponytail temporarily disappears.
 * In the scene were Zuko is begging for his father's mercy, it is shown that many of the Agni Kai's spectators are wearing green, blue, and yellow. This is odd as they are Fire Nation, and the episode's close up of the audience shows them wearing red and grey.
 * When the gang and fisherman are struggling in the storm, a strange white blob flashes onto the background.