The third season of the animated television series The Legend of Korra, titled Book Three: Change, was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko,[1] and consists of thirteen episodes ('chapters'),[2] all animated by Studio Mir. The season began airing on Nickelodeon in the U.S. on June 27, 2014. After leaked episodes and following declining ratings, the series stopped airing on Nickelodeon after episode 8 on July 25, 2014.[3] Episodes 9 to 13 of Book Three were subsequently made available on the Internet weekly through Nickelodeon's website and on digital download platforms.
Book Three: Change | |
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Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Release | |
Original network | Nickelodeon (Episodes 1–8) Nick.com (Episodes 9–13) |
Original release | June 27 – August 22, 2014 |
Season chronology | |
← Previous Season 2 | |
List of The Legend of Korra episodes |
The season takes place largely in the Earth Kingdom, one of the four major nations in the setting of the series, and also depicts the re-emergence of airbending among people of other nations. The season's antagonists are the 'Red Lotus', a group of dangerous anarchists led by the new airbender Zaheer who wants to overthrow the world's governments and the Avatar. Among the season's new supporting characters are the now elderly Zuko, a character from the original series, as well as Lin Beifong's sister Suyin and her family.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Animated by | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | 1 | 'A Breath of Fresh Air' | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | June 27, 2014 | 201 | 1.50[4] |
Two weeks after Harmonic Convergence, portions of Republic City have become covered in spirit vines and after Korra cannot remove them, President Raiko expels her from the city. Around the world, people begin to spontaneously develop the ability to airbend. Tenzin, Korra, and her friends embark on an airship trip to attempt to recruit these people into a new Air Nomad nation. Meanwhile, the dangerous criminal Zaheer (Henry Rollins) escapes from a remote prison thanks to his own new airbending skills. | ||||||||
28 | 2 | 'Rebirth' | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Joshua Hamilton | June 27, 2014 | 202 | 1.50[4] |
Traveling across the Earth Kingdom with Team Avatar and Jinora, Tenzin finds that most of the new airbenders are not willing to uproot their lives to join the new Air Nation, although they find a first recruit in Kai, a sly young thief trying to escape Earth Kingdom authorities. Meanwhile, Zaheer liberates the earthbender Ghazan (Peter Giles) and the armless waterbender Ming-Hua (Grey DeLisle) from their respective prisons and is apparently intent on abducting or killing the Avatar. An elderly Zuko (Bruce Davison) travels to the North Pole, where the last member of Zaheer's band is being kept. | ||||||||
29 | 3 | 'The Earth Queen' | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Tim Hedrick | June 27, 2014 | 203 | 1.29[4] |
Team Avatar arrive in Ba Sing Se as part of their search for new airbenders, and receive an ambivalent welcome from Hou-Ting, who is of the belief that Avatar Aang manipulated her father in his time on the throne. Korra reluctantly agrees to a tax collection effort on the Queen's behalf in order to gain her cooperation, fighting off bandits with Asami during the mission. But the queen claims that there are no airbenders in the city. Meanwhile, Kai absconds from the group to pickpocket, and while looking for him, Mako and Bolin meet the family of their late father. They learn that cities secret police, the Dai Li (who are now more firmly under the control of throne, but still sinister in nature) are capturing new airbenders, and indeed Kai is arrested and told he'll have to serve in the army. At the North Pole, Zuko, the new northern water tribe chiefs Desna and Eska, and Korra's father Tonraq visit Zaheer's last imprisoned comrade, his girlfriend P'Li, a dangerous firebender. | ||||||||
30 | 4 | 'In Harm's Way' | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Joshua Hamilton | July 11, 2014 | 204 | 1.19[5] |
At the North Pole, Zaheer and his team free P'Li from her icy prison, and she is revealed to be a powerful conbustion-bender. In Ba Sing Se, Lin Beifong arrives to warn Korra about the threat to her life. With Lin's aid, Team Avatar liberate the press-ganged airbenders. After escaping the Dai Li and the Earth Queen's wrath, Tenzin takes the airbenders to the Northern Air Temple, while Lin, Korra, and her friends search for more airbenders. | ||||||||
31 | 5 | 'The Metal Clan' | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Michael Dante DiMartino | July 11, 2014 | 205 | 1.18[5] |
Team Avatar arrive in Zaofu, a metal city led by Suyin Beifong (Anne Heche), Lin's estranged half-sister and the mother of Opal (Alyson Stoner), a new airbender. Korra begins training Opal, but cannot convince Lin to mend the rift between herself and Suyin. In Republic City, Zaheer infiltrates Air Temple Island in an attempt to find Korra but escapes after he is identified and attacked by Kya. | ||||||||
32 | 6 | 'Old Wounds' | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Katie Mattila | July 18, 2014 | 206 | 1.28[6] |
While Korra learns metalbending from Suyin, Lin confronts memories of her youth: as a young police officer, she was scarred by Suyin while apprehending her at a crime scene, and their mother Toph covered up the incident before sending Suyin away and resigning as police chief. After a violent confrontation, the sisters reconcile with one another. Meanwhile, Zaheer and his crew escape Republic City after a car chase with police and Zaheer, who proves capable of entering the spirit world, ascertains the Avatar's whereabouts. | ||||||||
33 | 7 | 'Original Airbenders' | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | July 18, 2014 | 207 | 1.33[6] |
At the Northern Air Temple, Tenzin finds it difficult to teach the new airbenders about Air Nomad culture. At Bumi's suggestion, he imposes a strict training regime, causing more stress and exhaustion. Jinora and Kai discover a herd of young sky bison and are abducted by poachers. With Jinora calling on the aid of spirits, they call to the other airbenders for help, and the criminals are easily overwhelmed. Tenzin promises to consider granting Jinora her airbending master tattoos. | ||||||||
34 | 8 | 'The Terror Within' | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Joshua Hamilton | July 25, 2014 | 208 | 1.08[7] |
In Zaofu, Korra and Bolin continue to learn metalbending, and Opal leaves for the Northern Air Temple. At night, Zaheer and his team infiltrate Zaofu and capture Korra, but Team Avatar, backed up by Lin, Suyin and a contingent of metalbenders, are able to rescue the avatar, and the assailants retreat. In the subsequent investigation, Korra and her friends discover that Suyin's adviser Aiwei has been aiding Zaheer, but he escapes through a secret tunnel. Later, with the help of Suyin, Team Avatar sneaks out of Zaofu to pursue the attackers. | ||||||||
35 | 9 | 'The Stakeout' | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Michael Dante DiMartino | August 1, 2014 | 209 | N/A |
Team Avatar follows Aiwei to the Misty Palms Oasis, and Korra enters the Spirit World to find Aiwei and Zaheer meeting there. Zaheer throws Aiwei into the Fog of Lost Souls and explains the goals of his secret society, the Red Lotus, to Korra: an offshoot of the Order of the White Lotus, they want to overthrow governments, in service of the ideological belief that chaos is the natural state of the world. While Zaheer stalls for time, his allies close in on Korra's inanimate body. Bolin and Mako are overpowered, while Asami, fleeing on Naga with Korra's body, is captured by the Earth Queen's forces. The Red Lotus follows in pursuit. | ||||||||
36 | 10 | 'Long Live the Queen' | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick | August 8, 2014 | 210 | N/A |
En route by airship to Ba Sing Se, Korra and Asami escape from their cell but crash-land the airship in the desert. Working with the airship's crew, they escape a massive desert animal and arrive back at the oasis. In Ba Sing Se, the Red Lotus propose to exchange Mako and Bolin for Korra to the Earth Queen. After hearing of Korra's escape, they attack and defeat the Dai Li, and Zaheer uses his airbending to asphyxiate the Earth Queen to death. The Red Lotus destroys part of the city's inner walls, announcing that the city belongs to the people, and chaos breaks out. Zaheer frees Mako and Bolin and gives them a message for Korra. At the oasis, Asami and Korra meet Tonraq, Zuko, and Lin and hear about the revolution. | ||||||||
37 | 11 | 'The Ultimatum' | Studio Mir | Colin Heck | Joshua Hamilton | August 15, 2014 | 211 | N/A |
As the inner city of Ba Sing Se is looted and razed, and riots and fires spread throughout the outer city, Mako and Bolin escape with their family to the Misty Palms Oasis. They tell Korra that Zaheer intends to kill the airbenders at the Northern Air Temple unless she surrenders to him. After speaking to Iroh in the spirit world, Korra uses the Metal Clan's radio to contact Tenzin just as the Red Lotus attacks the Temple. Tenzin resists the invaders with his siblings while the other airbenders attempt to escape. After the defenders are overpowered, the Red Lotus throws Kya and Bumi off the mountain and subdue the exhausted and badly beaten Tenzin. | ||||||||
38 | 12 | 'Enter the Void' | Studio Mir | Ian Graham | Michael Dante DiMartino | August 22, 2014 | 212 | N/A |
Korra agrees to give herself up to the Red Lotus to save the airbenders, but as she does so, her friends discover that Zaheer has already removed the hostages from the temple. Ghazan traps Tenzin, Asami, Mako, and Bolin with lava and flees with Ming-Hua, but Korra's friends escape successfully thanks to Bolin's new-found lavabending skills. Meanwhile, Lin, Suyin, and her metalbenders fight P'Li. Suyin breaks the deadlock by killing P'Li with the contained force of her own combustion-bending. Zaheer fights Korra and Tonraq, who is thrown off a cliff but saved by the metalbender captain Kuvira (Zelda Williams). Zaheer escapes with the unconscious Korra using his own newfound ability to fly. | ||||||||
39 | 13 | 'Venom of the Red Lotus' | Studio Mir | Melchior Zwyer | Tim Hedrick & Joshua Hamilton | August 22, 2014 | 213 | N/A |
The Red Lotus tortures a chained Korra by poisoning her with mercury[8][9], in order to force her to the point of death, triggering the Avatar State before they kill her, which would end the cycle of the Avatar's rebirth. However, a wrathful Korra overpowers her captors and fights Zaheer in the skies. Meanwhile, her friends find and rescue the airbenders. After Mako electrocutes Ming-Hua, he and Bolin narrowly escape Ghazan's collapsing the Red Lotus's lair on top of himself. As Korra is about to succumb to the poison, Jinora leads the airbenders to pull Zaheer out of the sky with a massive air vortex formed from their combined bending. Zaheer is captured, and Suyin metalbends the poison out of Korra. Two weeks later, in Republic City, a weakened, wheelchair-bound Korra watches as Tenzin anoints Jinora as an airbending master and rededicates the Air Nomads to a nomadic life of service to the world, following Korra's example. |
Book Three was the first season of The Legend of Korra to be created with a full in-house design and revision team, an expansion from the 25 to 30 people who worked for the series at Nickelodeon for seasons 1 and 2.[10]
The design for the armless waterbender Ming-Hua was based on Bryan Konietzko's friend Michi,[11] and Opal's hairstyle was based on that of Dolly Haas.[12] The location of Zaofu, Suyin Beifong's metal-domed city, was inspired by Lake Louise in Canada's Banff National Park,[12] and the exterior of Lake Laogai, the site of the Dai-Lin's headquarters, was modeled on Lake Tahoe.[13]
The sand shark from which Korra and Asami flee in episode 10 is based on the sarcastic fringehead, a small fish found in the Pacific.[14] For reasons of time, the designers re-used the design for Zuko and Iroh's apartment in Ba Sing Se from Avatar: The Last Airbender for the apartment of Mako and Bolin's family in episode 11.[15] Another concept taken from the previous series, although not depicted there, was the notion of 'becoming wind' as a high-level airbending form, which was included in the series bible of Avatar.[16]
The idea of restraining the Avatar in X-shaped chains, as seen in the season finale, was originally conceived for the scene of Aang being captured by the Fire Nation in the first season of Avatar, but was then vetoed by the network. It was allowed this time, according to Konietzko, after he complained about seeing a shot of SpongeBob SquarePants, another Nickelodeon character, similarly restrained.[16]
In creating the animation, Studio Mir was assisted by its subsidiary Studio Reve for some episodes.[10]
Book Three introduced many new characters that would recur until the end of the series, including the extended Beifong family and Jinora's romantic interest, the orphaned thief Kai, named after writer Josh Hamilton's son.[17] Bryan Konietzko was worried about introducing him because of the growing roster of characters and his similarity to Aang.[11]
Also according to Konietzko, beginning with Book Three, the series became a more visible property and was able to retain more well-known actors.[11]Anne Heche auditioned and was cast for Suyin Beifong, Lin's estranged sister,[12] and Jon Heder auditioned for the minor role of the apathetic adolescent airbender Ryu.[11]Henry Rollins expressed interest for auditioning for the role of the season's main antagonist Zaheer, calling Konietzko and DiMartino from a tour to pose questions about the character.[18]
The season's title, Change, was inspired by a Taoist motto, 'the only constant is change', reflecting the changes in Korra's world as a result of her opening the spirit portals in season 2 and the reemergence of airbending, as well as the change of Korra as a person.[10] The writers considered and rejected including a flashback to the Red Lotus's attempted kidnapping of Korra as a child, and also cut a scene of Asami and Lin sneaking into the airship in episode 4.[13]
The amount of exposition scenes in Book Three worried the writers because of the danger of boring audiences. According to Konietzko, most notes from Nickelodeon amounted to 'more fighting, more action!'.[12] The writers intended to set aside the love triangle among the main characters for Book Three and focus on Korra and Asami becoming friends.[10] In addition, they began to allude to the possibility of a mutual attraction between the two that would result in them becoming romantically linked in the final moments of the series.[19]
Book Three received critical acclaim, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes calculating a 100% approval rating for the season.[20]
At Blu-ray.com, Kenneth Brown described Book Three as 'a spectacular season of thrills, laughs, heartache, sophisticated storytelling, masterful world-building [and] harrowing battles', noting that with this season, the series was finally 'standing shoulder to shoulder with Avatar: The Last Airbender'. Describing a 'sense of deep, unwavering confidence driving the entire series', with story, animation, dialogue and music coming together to 'stunning ends', he wrote that as the protagonists entered early adulthood, the series adapted to see them overcome challenges in a much more seasoned and complicated manner that was not to be expected from a Nickelodeon series.[21]
Max Nicholson for IGN described the third season as 'easily the show's most consistent season to date, delivering complex themes, excellent storylines and unmatched production values.'[22] Writing for The Escapist, Mike Hoffman noted how the series respected its younger viewers by explicitly showing, but also giving emotional weight to the death of major characters, including 'one of the most brutal and sudden deaths in children's television' in the case of P'Li in season 3. By portraying Korra's opponents, including the Red Lotus, not as stereotypical villains but as human beings with understandable motivations corrupted by an excess of zeal, the series trusted in viewers to be able to 'resolve the dissonance between understanding someone's view and disagreeing with their methods'. And, Hoffman wrote, by showing Korra to suffer from 'full-on depression' at the end of the third season, and devoting much of the fourth to her recovery, the series helped normalize mental health issues, a theme generally unaddressed in children's television, which made them less oppressive for the viewers.[23]
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First Aired: October 19, 2007
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Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 3) | |
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Country of origin | United States |
No. of episodes | 21 |
Release | |
Original network | Nickelodeon |
Original release | September 21, 2007 – July 19, 2008 |
Season chronology | |
← Previous Season 2 | |
List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes |
Season Three (Book Three: Fire) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first aired its 21 episodes from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Greg Baldwin, Grey DeLisle and Mark Hamill as the main character voices.
This third and final season focuses on Aang's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord Ozai and finally restore harmony and order to the world.
The season is then followed by The Promise, The Search, and The Rift comic series that take place one or two years later after the hundred-year war's end.
The final season features twenty-one episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale consisted of the four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie. Season Three received a similar positive critical reception to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the four-part finale 'Sozin's Comet', received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk. Between October 30, 2007 and September 16, 2008, Nickelodeon released four DVD volumes and a 'Complete Box Set'.
The season was produced by and aired on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom.[1] The season's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside episode director and co-producer Aaron Ehasz.[2] Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe.[3] Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, and John O'Bryan, along with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.[3]
The season's music was composed by 'The Track Team', which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to the show's creators because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.[4]
In the season's beginning, protagonist Aang and his friends Sokka, Katara, and Toph are traveling through the Fire Nation, conjuring a plan for invading the Fire Nation and looking for a teacher to teach Aang Firebending. Midway through the season, Aang gathers friends he met in previous episodes and leads a failed invasion into the Fire Nation. Former antagonist and anti-heroZuko changes sides and joins Aang, serving as his Firebending teacher until the four-part series finale when Aang finally defeats the Fire Lord and ends the one hundred-year war in a surprising way: he uses a new ability to permanently rid Ozai of his natural firebending abilities to avoid violating selfless Air Nomad teachings.
All of the central characters generally remained the same: Zach Tyler Eisen voices Aang, Mae Whitman voices Katara, Jack DeSena voices Sokka, Jessie Flower voices Toph, Dante Basco voices Zuko, Dee Bradley Baker voices Appa and Momo,[3] and Grey DeLisle voices Azula.
Additionally, Mark Hamill joins the cast to voice Fire Lord Ozai after having minor appearances throughout the first and second seasons of the series,[3]while Greg Baldwin now voices Iroh due to Mako Iwamatsu's passing.[5]
The season received critical acclaim. Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk remarked, 'In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender [sic] also has amazing animation. The character designs, with its roots in classic Asian folklore, are colorful and inventive, and the overall animation is smooth and consistently executed'.[6] Jamie S. Rich wrote in another review:[7]
“ | This final season in the trilogy is turning out to be the best... At this point in the story, major things are happening, with the characters going through changes and the various plot elements coming together. Thankfully, the show creators never rest, and the quality control is top-notch. The writing is smart, and the animation always impressive. (2008) | ” |
Henrik Batallones, a BuddyTV Staff Columnist, also noted the wide variety of positive reviews from the press for the series finale, noting that sources such as The New York Times and Toon Zone gave Avatar: The Last Airbender 'glowing reviews'.[8]
The season also received praise for its video and sound quality. Nick Lyons from DVD Talk felt that the video quality appeared better than previous seasons, which had also garnered additional awards. He also remarks that the sound is 'spot on...as per usual.'[9] At the 2008 Annie Awards, the season won 'Best Animated Television Production for Children'. At the same Annie Awards, Joaquim Dos Santos won the 'Best Directing in an Animated Television Production' caption for his directing in 'Into the Inferno'.[10] Joaquim Dos Santos also gave Avatar: The Last Airbender a nomination at Annecy 2008 for his work with 'The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse'.[11] Additionally, music editor and composer Jeremy Zuckerman and the sound editing team were nominated a Golden Reel award for 'Best Sound Editing in a Television Animation' for their work in 'Avatar Aang'.[12]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Animated by | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [1] | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
41 | 1 | 'The Awakening' | SEK Studio | Giancarlo Volpe | Aaron Ehasz | September 21, 2007 | 301 | -- |
Aang awakens to find himself weakened, his head full of hair, and all of his friends dressed in Fire Nation clothing as they travel on a stolen ship. He is dismayed to discover that the world believes him to be dead, just like when he was frozen in ice. Sokka believes that this is a positive development and insists they should maintain the illusion as long as possible, since it means the Fire Nation won't be hunting Team Avatar anymore and that they won't be expecting Aang at the invasion. Zuko and Azula are welcomed home as heroes, and Fire Lord Ozai makes his first appearance in the series in which his full, unobscured figure is revealed, as he congratulates Zuko for killing the Avatar. Zuko realizes that Azula credited him with the honor-bestowing reputation for having killed the Avatar for ulterior motives that will eventually serve her own ends. Aang tries to run away by himself, but his friends find him. He accepts that with the fall of Ba Sing Se, secrecy is their greatest advantage, and gives up his glider, a part of his identity as an airbender, to the lava flows of Avatar Roku's island. | ||||||||
42 | 2 | 'The Headband' | JM Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | John O'Bryan | September 28, 2007 | 302 | -- |
Aang and friends steal some clothes as temporary disguises while traveling in the Fire Nation, and Aang is accidentally taken to a Fire Nation school. He hides his tattoos with a headband and long sleeves, and learns the Fire Nation pledge of loyalty and must maintain his cool upon hearing propaganda about the death of the airbenders. He organizes a school-wide dance party for the up-tight Fire Nation kids. When the principal arrives to shut it down, the kids help Aang escape. A form of movement similar to Capoeira is shown as a Fire Nation traditional dance. Meanwhile, Zuko becomes increasingly certain the Avatar is still alive and hires an assassin to kill Aang. | ||||||||
43 | 3 | 'The Painted Lady' | Moi Animation | Ethan Spaulding | Joshua Hamilton | October 5, 2007 | 303 | -- |
The gang arrives at a Fire Nation village populated by sick and starving people. They are sick because of a nearby Fire Nation munitions factory polluting the river. Katara convinces the group to stay by making Appa appear sick and assumes the role of 'The Painted Lady,' a local legend, in order to heal the sick and steal food from the factory. eventually destroying the factory, she is forced to give up the ruse to Aang. In response to the destruction of the factory, Fire Nation soliders attack the village, but are repelled by Team Avatar. Katara reveals herself to the villagers, who thank her for her selfless aid. Later that night, Katara is also thanked by the spirit of the real Painted Lady. | ||||||||
44 | 4 | 'Sokka's Master' | JM Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | Tim Hedrick | October 12, 2007 | 304 | -- |
Sokka has long felt isolated as the only person of the group unable to bend. Determined to increase his usefulness to the group and the war effort, he seeks out Fire Nation sword master Piandao, still under his assumed Fire Nation identity. With persistence, he convinces the master to take him on as a student. Piandao teaches Sokka the philosophy of swordsmanship by giving him various seemingly boring tasks like painting and rock-gardening. The sword master also helps Sokka forge his own sword, and Sokka chooses to use a meteorite he has found for the necessary material. When Sokka gains Piandao's respect, he becomes ashamed of misrepresenting himself and divulges he is not from the Fire Nation. Piandao reveals that this fact had been readily apparent from their first meeting and that the ways of the sword belong to all nations. He gives Sokka a white lotus Pai Sho tile as a farewell gift. Meanwhile, Iroh, devises a plan to escape his Fire Nation prison and, while feigning the part of a broken and humiliated wretch for his captors, secretly begins an intense training regimen to further build his strength. Note: At the end of the episode, Sokka gives Toph a piece of the meteorite. She bends it to create the Nickelodeon splatter shape. | ||||||||
45 | 5 | 'The Beach' | Moi Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Katie Mattila | October 19, 2007 | 305 | -- |
Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee are forced to go on vacation to Ember Island while Aang and his friends meanwhile are attacked by Zuko's assassin, who uses an obscure form of firebending (later referenced as 'combustion bending') which channels his power through his third eye to create powerful localized explosions with much more destructive force than normal firebending. After winning a beach volleyball game, Zuko and the girls get invited to a party where Azula tries to flirt but scares guys away with her psychotic raving. Zuko, who has resumed a romantic relationship with Mai, observes a boy flirting with her and destroys a vase in anger, prompting Mai to tell him off. Later around a campfire, Ty Lee reveals she is so outgoing because she grew up with six identical sisters and hated it. Mai reveals that her parents were worried about their careers and gave Mai anything she wanted, but required that she always kept her emotions subdued and acted properly, and that this created the cold persona that she feels she must always project to others. Zuko reveals that he hates himself because he is unsure of the difference between right and wrong anymore. Azula reveals that she knew her mother thought she was a monster, before brushing it off by claiming that her mother was quite obviously correct. The group then bond and end the night by returning to the party and trashing the place as the horrified host looks on and cries. | ||||||||
46 | 6 | 'The Avatar and the Fire Lord' | JM Animation | Ethan Spaulding | Elizabeth Welch Ehasz | October 26, 2007 | 306 | -- |
Through separate sources, Aang and Zuko both learn about the strong and close childhood friendship of Avatar Roku and Fire-lord Sozin. Sozin suggested to Roku that, as the pinnacle of civilization, the Fire Nation should control the destiny of the entire world to ensure universal prosperity. As Roku was the Avatar, he knew the importance of balance between all people and disagreed. When Sozin later greedily took an Earth Kingdom colony, Roku defeated him in battle and threatened to kill him if he again tried to do anything that crossed that line. When Roku's island volcano erupted years later, Sozin came to help. But, at the last moment, when Roku was overcome by volcanic gases, Sozin realized that he could rule the world if he let Roku die, and he abandoned him. Roku then died from the lava and was reincarnated as Aang. In his prison cell, Iroh tells Zuko that as the great-grandson of both Roku and Sozin, he alone has the ability to resolve their endless conflict and restore order and peace to the world. At the end of the episode, Toph asks if friendships can transcend life times where both Aang and Katara acknowledge and accept Toph's intuition (implying that Aang's next incarnation, Avatar Korra, will befriend both Katara and Toph). | ||||||||
47 | 7 | 'The Runaway' | Moi Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | Joshua Hamilton | November 2, 2007 | 307 | -- |
Katara expresses her disapproval when Toph begins scamming Fire Nation civilians for quick cash. Toph thinks Katara is acting too motherly, and a rift forms within the group. To patch things up, Katara decides to pull a scam with Toph, but they are caught by Zuko's assassin, Combustion Man. He uses them as bait in an attempt to kill Aang, but Katara's quick thinking saves the day. | ||||||||
48 | 8 | 'The Puppetmaster' | JM Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Tim Hedrick | November 9, 2007 | 308 | -- |
The gang discovers that there have been strange disappearances in a Fire Nation town during a full moon. They befriend an elderly innkeeper named Hama, who reveals that she is a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe that had been taken away sixty years previously alongside her fellow Southern waterbenders. She becomes Katara's mentor and shares with her the tragic story of her life as a longtime prisoner of the Fire Nation. Katara then discovers that Hama is enacting her revenge by kidnapping Fire Nation civilians with bloodbending, a sinister and dark technique of waterbending which can only be used by an incredibly strong and skilled waterbender, and only during a full moon when his or her waterbending abilities are at their strongest potential. The resulting battle forces Katara to use the technique against Hama to save Aang and Sokka. After being arrested by the village, Hama congratulates Katara on mastering bloodbending. A horrified and saddened Katara cries and Aang and Sokka comfort her. | ||||||||
49 | 9 | 'Nightmares and Daydreams' | Moi Animation | Ethan Spaulding | John O'Bryan | November 16, 2007 | 309 | -- |
The invasion is four days away, and Aang begins to feel nervous about confronting the Fire-Lord. Feeling that he is unprepared, he trains constantly and loses sleep, causing him to hallucinate and have nightmares. After three straight days, it takes the collaboration of Sokka, Toph and Katara to get him to finally sleep and feel confident about facing Fire Lord Ozai. | ||||||||
50 | 10 | 'The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion' | JM Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | Michael Dante DiMartino | November 30, 2007 | 310 | 3.77[13] |
On the day of the solar eclipse, many allies featured in previous episodes reunite with Team Avatar to a launch the planned invasion of the Fire Nation, lead by Hakoda. Aang finally kisses Katara as sign of his strong feelings for her, worried that he may not return. Relying on several forms of bending and aquatic vehicles designed by Sokka, engineered and constructed by the Machinist, and propelled by waterbending, the invasion forces successfully circumvent several layers of Fire Nation defenses and infiltrate the capital, where they begin a grueling assault towards the palace under constant onslaught from Fire Nation forces. Aang reaches the Fire-Lord's palace, only to find out that no one is present. | ||||||||
51 | 11 | 'The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse' | Moi Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Aaron Ehasz | November 30, 2007 | 311 | 3.77[13] |
As the eclipse begins, Sokka, Aang, and Toph search for the Fire-Lord, but only find Azula in an underground bunker, and give chase to her. When Sokka realizes that Azula is merely delaying them to exhaust the time they can benefit from the eclipse, he initially attempts to stop the chase, but Azula provokes him into going on the attack again by telling him of Suki's capture. Zuko confronts his father in another bunker. He tells Ozai that Azula struck down the Avatar, who survived the attack, that the Fire Nation only spreads fear and hatred, and that in order to restore peace he will join forces with the Avatar. Zuko refuses to kill Ozai as that is the Avatar's destiny, not his. As he begins to leave, Ozai stalls him by revealing the events of the night Fire-Lord Azulon died. Azulon had ordered Ozai to kill Zuko, as punishment for Ozai's request to be made heir to the Fire Nation throne, following Iroh's retreat from state affairs after the death of his son Lu-tan at the siege of Ba Sing Se. Desperate to save her son's life, Zuko's mother sought an alternative, creating a treasonous plan for Ozai to take the throne immediately by assassinating Azulon with poison which she would produce; Zuko's mother was banished following the successful implementation of the plan, but Ozai does not reveal where she was sent. As Ozai finishes the tale, the eclipse ends and he attacks. Zuko redirects Ozai's lightning back at him, using the technique taught to him by Iroh and leaves, intent on freeing his uncle. However, Iroh single-handedly breaks out from prison before Zuko can join him. The exhausted and diminished invasion force has no choice but to surrender and be captured, but at the urging of his allies, Aang flees with his friends to the Western Air Temple with Zuko trailing them on a stolen warship balloon. | ||||||||
52 | 12 | 'The Western Air Temple' | JM Animation | Ethan Spaulding | Elizabeth Welch Ehasz Tim Hedrick | July 14, 2008 | 312 | -- |
Zuko follows Aang and his friends to the Western Air Temple, seeking to join their group. There, Zuko desperately tries to prove to them that he has changed for the better and wishes only to atone for his past mistakes. It is only after Zuko helps save them from Combustion Man that he receives their acceptance as Aang's firebending teacher and the fifth member of Team Avatar. However, an embittered and cautious Katara still refuses to trust that Zuko has really changed and threatens to take his life at the slightest sign of treachery. | ||||||||
53 | 13 | 'The Firebending Masters' | Moi Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | John O'Bryan | July 15, 2008 | 313 | -- |
Zuko tries to teach Aang how to firebend, but has lost his own ability to bend as he is no longer reliant on rage, the previous focus of his firebending. Toph suggests they learn from the original source of firebending, the mighty dragons. Zuko reveals that his uncle Iroh killed the last dragon long ago, in the last of a line of glory hunts that earns a firebender the title of 'Dragon'., but he also notes that the dragons first imparted their knowledge to the Sun Warriors, a now extinct people who were the genesis of the Fire Nation. Zuko and Aang travel to the ruins of the Sun Warrior civilization, where they discover a tribe of the fabled people still exist. The pair must carry a sacred flame up to the mountain to meet the 'Masters', who turn out to be a pair of surviving dragons, but their flames go out at the last moment. They perform the dragon dance, a series of firebending forms seen carved in the ruins, and the last two dragons reveal that at its core firebending is a source of life, not destruction. The Sun Warriors reveal that Iroh had lied about the extinction of the dragons after receiving similar training, in order to protect the remaining members of the species from further hunts. Both Aang and Zuko begin to firebend again, stronger and more skillfully than before. | ||||||||
54 | 14 | 'The Boiling Rock, Part 1' | JM Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | May Chan | July 16, 2008 | 314 | 3.97[14] |
Sokka and Zuko infiltrate the Fire Nation's top prison, the Boiling Rock, to find Sokka's father Hakoda. It is surrounded by a boiling lake, trapping Sokka and Zuko when their balloon crashes. They find Suki and hatch an escape plan with Sokka disguised as a guard. Zuko is captured and the warden, Mai's uncle, recognizes him. A prisoner, Chit Sang, blackmails them into letting him join help orchestrate the escape. As they are nearing escape, a new batch of prisoners arrive, including Sokka's father Hakoda. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki decide to stay to save him. Chit Sang and his friends leave without them but make a mistake. | ||||||||
55 | 15 | 'The Boiling Rock, Part 2' | Moi Animation | Ethan Spaulding | Joshua Hamilton | July 16, 2008 | 315 | 3.97[14] |
Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Chit Sang create a new plan for escaping the prison after the original plan failed. Mai appears and demands to know why Zuko left her. He says he's trying to save the Fire Nation, not destroy it. Later, Sokka and allies take the warden hostage to escape on the gondola which provides access to the prison over the boiling water. The guards attempt to cut the line following the warden's orders, but Mai saves them by stopping the guards. Azula is furious over her betrayal, but Mai declares she loves Zuko more than she fears Azula, enraging Azula further. After Ty Lee stops Azula's attack on Mai with Chi-blocking (a technique which allows her to temporarily eliminate the abilities of a bender) and tries to aid her escape, Azula furiously has them both imprisoned. | ||||||||
56 | 16 | 'The Southern Raiders' | Moi Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Elizabeth Welch Ehasz | July 17, 2008 | 316 | 4.23[14] |
Azula chases Aang from the temple. Zuko confronts Katara about her distrust of him and tries to gain her friendship. He decides to help Katara find the soldier responsible for Kya's untimely death. Aang warns her that revenge is not the answer. Along the way, Katara's behavior becomes increasingly aggressive, and she even resorts to mercilessly bloodbending a Fire Nation soldier. They eventually find the retired soldier, Yan Rha, who reveals that Katara's mother had died protecting her. Despite Katara's rage, pain, and desire for revenge, she is unable to take Yam Rha's life as revenge. Katara and Zuko leave, and once reunited with a relieved Aang and the rest of Team Avatar, Katara finally forgives Zuko and accepts his friendship. | ||||||||
57 | 17 | 'The Ember Island Players' | JM Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | Tim Hedrick, Josh Hamilton John O'Bryan | July 18, 2008 | 317 | 4.53[14] |
Sokka discovers that the Ember Island Players, a Fire Nation theater group, is debuting a play based upon their adventures. The play turns out to be Fire Nation propaganda, and although the audience enjoys the play, Aang and his friends are embarrassed by the inaccurate and exaggerated portrayals of themselves (with the sole exception of Toph, who is amused by her depiction as a large muscled man who employs a primitive form of sonar by yelling at everything). In context, the play also serves as a concise summary of Aang's entire journey throughout the show. The play ends with the Fire Nation winning the war, Azula killing Zuko and the Fire Lord killing the Avatar, which triggers a standing ovation from the audience and clearly frightens Aang. | ||||||||
58 | 18 | 'Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King' | JM Animation | Ethan Spaulding | Michael Dante DiMartino | July 19, 2008 | 318 | 5.59[14] |
Aang has decided to fight the Fire-lord after Sozin's Comet passes. Zuko derails this plan by revealing that Ozai intends to raze the entire Earth-Kingdom continent while under its influence. The gang begins a frantic training regimen while Aang struggles with his responsibilities: his friends exhort him to simply kill Ozai, but Aang clings to the pacifist beliefs of his Air-Nomad heritage. In his sleep, Aang is drawn towards a mysterious island that appears suddenly in the sea; the next day, his friends find June the Bounty Hunter to attempt to locate him again. Ozai bequeaths the Fire Nation throne to Azula and declares himself 'Phoenix King', ruler of the known world, while Aang awakens on the unknown island now in the middle of the sea. | ||||||||
59 | 19 | 'Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters' | Moi Animation | Giancarlo Volpe | Aaron Ehasz | July 19, 2008 | 319 | 5.59[14] |
On the island, Aang seeks guidance from his past lives, but they too insist he may have to take violent action against the Fire Lord. The island turns out to be a giant lion-turtle, which gives Aang the guidance he has been seeking. After June is unable to find Aang, Zuko decides to ask June to find his uncle Iroh instead. After June leads them to the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, they meet King Bumi, Jeong Jeong, Master Pakku, and Master Piandao, who are revealed to be members of the Order of the White Lotus, a secret society, presently lead by Iroh, that is constituted by citizens of all three surviving nations. After reuniting with Iroh, the team decides to split up and go in different directions to help stall the Fire Nation's plans: Zuko and Katara will handle Azula at the capital of the Fire Nation; Sokka, Suki and Toph will attempt to deflect the Fire Nation airships encroaching on the Earth Kingdom, and Iroh is to lead the White Lotus in the liberation of Ba Sing Se. Sozin's Comet arrives and Phoenix King Ozai prepares to destroy both the Earth Kingdom and the Avatar. | ||||||||
60 | 20 | 'Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno' | JM Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Michael Dante DiMartino Bryan Konietzko | July 19, 2008 | 320 | 5.59[14] |
Azula's mental stability, undermined by the betrayal of her childhood friends at the Boiling Rock, begins to deteriorate as her coronation as Fire Lord approaches. Zuko and Katara confront her right when she is about to be crowned, but Azula challenges her brother to an Agni Kai. Zuko, although initially prevailing against his sister's unbalanced assault, is gravely injured when he dives in front of lightning that Azula throws at Katara. Aang duels Ozai, but still being unwilling to kill, is kept constantly on the defensive, narrowly avoiding Ozai's onslaught of firebending, which is powerfully augmented by Sozin's Comet. Sokka, Toph and Suki attempt to halt the Airship fleet but are soon separated, while the Order of the White Lotus battles for Ba Sing Se's freedom. | ||||||||
61 | 21 | 'Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang' | JM Animation | Joaquim Dos Santos | Michael Dante DiMartino Bryan Konietzko | July 19, 2008 | 321 | 5.59[14] |
With a chance injury, Ozai accidentally causes Aang to enter the mighty Avatar State. The Order of the White Lotus successfully liberates Ba Sing Se, while Sokka, Suki and Toph successfully disable all of the airships in the Fire Nation attack armada. Katara fights and outmaneuvers Azula, freezing her in ice and then chaining her to the ground, triggering a psychotic breakdown in Azula. Katara then uses her exceptionally strong healing abilities to revive a severely wounded Zuko. Aang, in the power of the Avatar state, chases and easily overwhelms Ozai, yet still refuses to kill him. Aang uses knowledge he received from the lion-turtle and employs an ancient form of bending to alter the natural energy within Ozai, using the technique to permanently strip him of his firebending abilities, defeating the Phoenix King without taking his life. In an epilogue sequence set some days later, newly appointed Fire Lord Zuko declares the war over. Zuko and Mai reconcile officially, and Zuko confronts his father, angrily asking where his mother, Ursa, is being kept. Some time later, 'Team Avatar' celebrate together at Iroh's tea shop in Ba Sing Se; slipping out to share a quiet moment together, Aang and Katara embrace and kiss under the sunset.
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The first three DVD volumes contain five episodes each, and the fourth volume contains six. A later boxed set contained all four volumes. The first DVD was released on October 30, 2007, and the complete boxed set was released on September 16, 2008.[15] They are released by Paramount Home Entertainment. Each of the individual Season Three DVDs also comes complete with an exclusive comic book.[16] The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD includes the following DVD extras: Inside Sozin's Comet: Exclusive Four-Part Commentary by Creators, The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation and Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic-Con.[17] The boxed set was released on February 1, 2010 in the United Kingdom.[18]
Volume | Discs | Episodes | Region 1 release | Region 2 release | Region 4 release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 5 | October 30, 2007 | Not released | June 1, 2010[19] |
2 | 1 | 5 | January 22, 2008 | Not released | September 23, 2010[20] |
3 | 1 | 5 | May 6, 2008 | Not released | October 7, 2010[21] |
4 | 1 | 6 | July 29, 2008 | Not released | November 4, 2010[22] |
Box set | 5[23] | 21[23] | September 16, 2008 | February 1, 2010[18] | December 2, 2010 |
First Aired: July 19, 2008
Part 3 of 4. Zuko battles his sister with Katara's help for the right to be named Fire Lord. Elsewhere, Aang meets Ozai just as the comet arrives.
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Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman. The series was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and originally aired on the Fox Network from September 5, 1992 to September 15, 1995. The visual style of the series, dubbed “Dark Deco,” was based on the film noir artwork of producer and artist Bruce Timm. The series was widely praised for its thematic complexity, dark tone, artistic quality, and faithfulness to its title character’s crime-fighting origins. The series also won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Animated Program. When the first season of the series aired on weekday afternoons, it lacked an on-screen title in the opening theme sequence. When the series’ timeslot was moved to weekends during its second season, it was given the on-screen title The Adventures of Batman & Robin. The series was the first in the continuity of the shared DC animated universe, and spawned the theatrical film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.