Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Episode 3 Recap: Did Aang Convince The Earth King To Help?

The third episode of the sophomore season of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” turns out to be mostly a filler, focusing on newcomer Toph’s dynamics with the team as the group ventures to the Earthbending capital, Ba Sing Se, with hopes to find assistance from the king to make a stand against the Fire Nation. On the other hand, after an encounter with Azula results in Iroh getting severely injured upon getting hit with her lightning strike, Zuko tries to take his uncle to safety and find refuge while fleeing from his sister.

Spoilers Ahead

With Toph Beifong joining his group, Aang has finally found his Earthbending teacher. Things, however, are not going well for him as he is having a hard time mastering Earthbending techniques. Later, Iroh perfectly explains the interrelation between different elements while training Zuko. Air represents unrestrained flow, peace, and detachment, which is why it has a holistic connection with water, which represents flow, change, and adaptability. Just like how fire bears the exact opposite properties to water as an element of power, which represents strong will and energy, earth sits on the opposite spectrum to air, symbolizing substance through an emphasis on endurance and strength. Additionally, Toph is quite strict and restless as a teacher, and she constantly chides Aang for being unable to learn the basics of Earthbending. Sensing that they are being followed by someone, Aang and Toph decide to temporarily split from the group to misdirect their followers, only to find out that Boulder and Ji Sheng are pursuing them to fulfil Lady Beifong’s command of bringing Toph back. Following a hilarious interaction with them, as all three Earthbenders try to teach Aang the principles of their discipline of bending, a confused Aang resorts to waterbending to incapacitate the pursuers and moves along with Toph to reunite with the team. 

Reaching the giant walled exteriors of the capital city of Ba Sing Se, Toph and Aang realize the group, along with the refugees, have been captured by the Earth Nation soldiers and are imprisoned inside the walls. Toph uses her family influence to have Katara and Sokka released, and Aang’s status as the Avatar helps in that regard as well. The impenetrable walls, which have stopped the invasion of the Fire Nation in the past, have turned Ba Sing Se into a completely isolationist, utopian ‘delusioncracy’. The city is operated by the crooked military police known as Dai Li, who cater to the extremely rich and influential portion of the population by upholding the lie that everything is in perfect harmony in the outside world; the ongoing war that the Fire Nation has waged for over a hundred years has no effect on this cloistered community. Separated in three rings, with the outermost sheltering the poor, the working class, and the middle class inhabiting the inner ring, and the one percenters being protected from the worldly concerns and any outside influences in the innermost ring, who believe Ba Sing Se sits beyond the drudgeries of the outside world. One of the cultural ambassadors, Joo Dee, agrees to take the group to meet with the king but mentions they need to follow proper decorum and chain of command to convey their message to the king, even if it is as urgent as an impending crisis in every nation. Toph, who is better versed in high society stuff and bureaucracy, tries to make the group realize that they are being played with – unless they follow the customs of the privileged lots by patience and show them that they fit right in, they will not get an audience with the king. 

Long Feng, the cultural minister of Ba Sing Se, pays a visit to the group who are stationed in Avatar Villa. Gifting each of them a particular item appealing to their heart, Long Feng assures Aang that he will arrange a meeting with the king during the soiree that is going to take place at the royal quarters at night. Long Feng also assures Aang that the refugees have been accepted by the Ba Sing Se governance and are given a place to stay, along with stipends. The class divide among citizens becomes quite visible when Katara is given a time limit to visit one of the refugees, Amita’s family, in the lower ring. Sokka meets with Sai, the Omashu inventor, who laments that his son, who loves using his gliding apparatus to fly around, has not been able to enjoy the freedom, as flying is not allowed in the premises of the enclosed city. Sai also informs Sokka that Suki and Kyoshi warriors have left to reinforce the belief of the delusional rich residents that a city that isn’t entangled in war doesn’t need warriors to protect it. Sokka realizes his constant and deliberate emotional detachment from Suki has caused her to leave at last, and he is guilt-ridden upon realizing he couldn’t open up about his trauma-induced fear of people close to him. 

As the third episode begins, Iroh is seen trying to train Zuko in the discipline of redirecting lightning strikes away from his body, so that the next time Zuko faces Azula, he remains better prepared. However, Azula’s attack has done a number on Iroh, who is still reeling from his wound, and Zuko decides to take a ferry to Ba Sing Se to maintain a distance from Azula, who is still pursuing them. Iroh decides not to board the ferry in the final moment; the trauma of the siege of Ba Sing Se is still fresh in his memory, as he had lost his son, Lu Ten, during the conflict. However, as Fire Nation soldiers and Azula catch up, a stampede almost aggravates Iroh’s injury, and Zuko decides to take Iroh to the ferry anyway. A young boy, Smellerbee, helps Zuko bring Iroh to the ferry, and the vessel manages to reach a safe distance from the shore before Azula shows up at the jetty and kills a few using her lightning attacks. Iroh’s condition continues to worsen as survival without food and medicine appears increasingly difficult with every passing moment. 

Smellerbee and his two companions, Jet and Longshot, who are quite a rebel trio, learn that food and medicine are hoarded in the captain’s quarters, and they plan to steal them. Smellerbee requests Zuko to join them, but he remains reluctant to keep his and Iroh’s identity a secret and not to welcome any more trouble. However, upon learning that they can find medicine in the captain’s quarters, he decides to join them. While sneakily raiding supplies, Zuko notices a mask kept in the quarters, which acts as a hint to the possibility of him trying to take the role of Blue Spirit as a vigilante-like figure in upcoming episodes. Smellerbee, who shows a kinder demeanor, wants to take food for the poor refugees on the ferry, but Jet, who appears to be cynical and selfish, refuses to do so. However, as the quartet returns to the refugees, it appears they have managed to sneak some food for the needy ones, and Zuko is probably responsible for that. Taking his medication, Iroh mentions Zuko looks different, which conveys his recent actions have brought a long-needed sense of peace in his mind. 

Meanwhile, at Ba Sing Se, during the soiree in the night, the friends struggle to mingle with the high society, and at one point, Aang’s comments about the ongoing war and urgency to speak with the king draw ire from Dai Li General Sung. Sokka befriends Ba Sing Se anthropology professor Zei, who unintentionally triggers his trauma by mentioning the Northern Water Tribe and their spiritual connections, which acts as a reminder of Yue’s tragic passing. There is a nice moment of bonding between Katara and Toph, as Katara uses her Waterbending to teach a lesson to a couple of gossiping elites who were throwing shade on Toph. Using psychological pressure to help Aang hold his ground, Toph is able to help him channel Earthbending at long last. On the other hand, Katara finds Sokka sulking alone and learns about the whole situation involving Suki and Yue, something which he had kept a secret from everyone for so long.  

Aang asks Long Feng to helpconvey his words to Earth King Kuei, but is disappointed to learn from Feng that the king’s delusional state of mind makes him averse to any idea that contradicts his propaganda of Ba Sing Se’s utopian existence. Long Feng connects with Aang as he, too, can relate to his frustration of not being heard, and promises to help him relay his words to the king. Unbeknownst to anyone, Katara sneaks to the lower ring at night to deliver medication needed for Amita’s daughter, by stealing a medicinal herb that can only be found in the inner ring. 

As the episode reaches its conclusion, a group of Dai Li police approaches Sai’s home in the lower ring in the middle of the night, and using the excuse of having him meet with the king at Laogai lake, detain him. The troubling, grotesque true face of Ba Sing Se is showing from the façade of genteel, refined superficiality, and it is only a matter of time before the heroes learn about the internal rot. Given that Zuko and Iroh are headed to Ba Sing Se, and Ozai has already approved a second siege in the Earth Nation capital, viewers can expect a conflict of epic proportions in the upcoming episodes.