Zuko Alone with Friends

Water.

Earth.

Fire.

Air. This is what we This is Yuppie. It's our podcast. There's been a lot going on.

Yeah, like I'm putting on my headphones.

Katie is now fully equipped and she's ready to have a conversation.

Well, Jordan's been ready to go.

I'm always ready to go. That's not true. I'm like speed racer. Wait, was that were you throwing shade?

Yes. We've been waiting for what? Half hour?

Five minutes? I'm the Usain Bolt of this podcast, you guys. I'm getting the gold medal. I'm running real fast. I'm from Jamaica. I got side eye from Katie. Troy's picking his nose. Or is that a finger mustache? Hola. Aloha.

And welcome back to another Avatar podcast. Here's your host, Jordan Wolf. And then there's my co-host, Katie Wolf.

Thank you for the introduction, fellas. Are you gonna introduce the guy who's been introducing?

No.

Alright. T-Roy, for those who can't remember. Troy's had some beverage. Yes.

He's had a green tea.

And by green tea, it was just literally green.

Like artificial green. It's natural energy, like Ira was talking about. Yeah, that's what they all claim.

It's natural energy.

I don't know what thing in the natural environment would create neon green.

Well, I'm not gonna tell you guys where I got it from because I don't want to give a free advertisement.

Better not. No free pub if you listen to Charles Barkley. No. Alright, this is Yip Yip Hooray, an Avatar Podcast. This episode we are covering chapters seven, Zuko Alone, chapter eight, The Chase, and chapter nine, Bitter Work, which just reminds me of the Steely Dance song, Dirty Work. I'm a fool to do your dirty work.

Meow meow. Doo doo doo doo.

I really wish I could say I've heard that song, but it does not sound familiar.

You've never heard Steely Dance Dirty Work?

Okay, after this. After this pod.

Yeah, we'll get dirty. Okay, Zuko Alone. This is the first episode in the entire series that doesn't feature our main group, Avatar, Aang, Sokka, Katara, et al.

And Toph!

Hello! Toph! We have one episode with Toph.

Hey, she's a part of it now.

Who knows if she's gonna stick around for this whole series?

Well, it's true.

She might be gone. She just taught Aang Earth Bending at the end of these three episodes.

Okay.

Bye, Toph.

Oh no, they got plenty of material for her. She's just getting started. She's got more attitude than Azula.

Would you say she's just getting warmed up? She's just getting warmed up. Also, Azula doesn't have much attitude. I mean, Azula's just cold as ice and hot as a fire.

I don't know. You're as cold as ice. She's kind of a rat.

Definitely like a karaoke day. Okay, so Zuko alone, a lot of things happen. We Zuko gets to go on his own kind of journey. He's left Iroh. He's grumping and he is hungry. He's thirsty. There's a lot going on with him. They had to redo his character design for this to make him appear more gaunt. He is losing weight, and so they have tweaked his design a little bit.

Hmm.

Well, that's good. Yeah. He's healthy. He's like eating twigs.

His hair is growing.

Yeah, I guess we saw how hungry he was.

Zuko was growing more handsome by the episode, by the way.

Do you agree?

I guess that's if that's what you want to call fasting, yeah, he's more handsome for sure. I don't know.

Maybe more chiseled.

Ooh, yeah, definitely chisel. Way more chiseled than me.

Yeah, so we get this in-depth look at Zuko's life. Or his childhood anyway.

What was that like?

A part a partial. I guess it's not his entire childhood.

I definitely think it was a I think the flashbacks in that episode with Zuko, where we see the moments right before and right after Iro's son, Lute 10, is killed, and Iroh gives up the siege. I think they focused on that because it's such a important moment in Zuko's life, because by the time that flashback's over, Lutan is gone.

Iroh is now no longer first in line to be Firelord. Firelord Azulon is dead. Was he murdered? Did he die of old age? He looked kinda old. And then Zuko's mom's gone.

Now at the end of season one, who did Mark Hamill voice? Firelord Ozai! And so I did not recognize Mark Hamill in this episode.

That's because Mark Hamill is a quite competent and professional voice actor.

And he's like, So was he in the episode?

Yeah! Okay, so he was still playing Firelord Ozai in this episode. Uh-huh. Okay, good. I obviously was like, don't you guys dare get rid of Mark Hammer.

He disguises his voice. Yeah, Azula. Show your grandfather what you can do.

Come on now, from Luke Skywalker to the Joker, the man can do it all.

Wow, no. Stop bringing him up.

As Troy once said, Luke's uh Mark Hamill is the greatest actor of our generation. Why are you laughing? Because you looked that up on Wikipedia, didn't you? But no, I just know who Mark Amil is. And the thought bomb.

Alright, Troy.

Firelord Ozai.

What a name.

So, fun fact about the Z's. Did you notice there's a lot of Z's in the royal family? We have Firelord Azulan, we have Firelord Sozin, we have Zuko, we have Ozai, Azula. Susan? Susan's comment? Shushon. Was that a real comment? Did you think it was Avatar?

Don't talk about my paper. Okay.

Wait, I we have to come back. So, uh, Z's is that. Wait, can we talk really quick? Katie just said that she announced that she thinks it's Fire Lord Susan.

Susan? Was that the j were you making a joke or did you actually think it was Susan? I don't know. I didn't have any green tea, but I'm feeling a little bit more You're feeling like they were in the chase?

Tired.

We're not talking about that.

Yeah, we're talking about the Z's. So there's a lot of Z names, right? Have you been picking up on that?

No.

Aside from the Susan? Okay, there's a lot of Z names in the Fire Nation Royal Family.

Yeah, yeah, you just said that.

Except Iroh and his son Luten.

What's the mom's name?

Ursa, but she's not like a blood relative. Otherwise, that would be kind of. It would explain a lot, though. It'd explain like Azula's like issues if they were blood related.

I mean, is that like an arranged marriage? Because I'm not really picking up on.

Oh, you could find all about it in uh The Search, the Avatar The Last Airbender graphic novel that explores Zuko's mother. Hmm.

Okay.

So I think that the finding out that Iroh and Luten don't have the Z's in their name. I think seeing the Z is like an uh a definitely tip-off that someone's going to have some sort of issue going on. I don't know. Just something to think about.

That is something to think about.

Iro and Luten seemed to have to have it together. Well, in the one scene that we saw of Luten as a child.

So the Z's in their family was not based off of any family today.

Well, I don't know. Do you know of a royal family that's using a lot of Z's? Like the Thai royal family? Well, Queen Elizabeth.

Yeah, that's who I was thinking. Like, were they based off the Windsor's by any chance? No.

Are they enacting genocide? No, they're not. I mean, not right now, but.

Not that you know of.

Guys, is this a conspiracy? Last time we're like, I called out the Russians. This time you guys are like down with the Brits.

Um the Brits.

It's a few days before Independence Day right now, so we can all just get it out of our system. Down the Brits. Oh my god. I like the Brits. Okay, so Zuko's on his own, as the episode denotes. Zuko alone, he we're getting like a bit of a Western flair with this episode. This episode apparently was loosely inspired or loosely based off of the uh classic 1949 novel Shane, which I've never heard of before today and I've never read, but probably a similar story of a man with no name that has an important backstory coming into town, trying to keep a low profile, but can't because he's Zuko and he's got an attitude.

And he's needed. How? He was just trying to get his little grain and a meal, didn't have enough. And the bullies came over after the kid threw an egg.

So do you think showing that is another parallel to Aang? That Aang comes into like these different villages and he willfully is wanting to enact change where you have Zuko, who's kind of stumbling into this new village that needs help, but Zuko's not necessarily there to save the day or be a savior, but his his innate personality is leading him in that direction.

I feel like he's conflicted, where obviously if in his own little fantasy, if he captures Aang, he's gonna be welcomed back home, and then he's like, Yeah, we're dominating these towns, and but yeah, it's like, does that really feel good to him? You know, and he obviously took interest in that kid and gave him his knife that was from his uncle, and you know, a pretty pretty meaningful gift.

We gonna talk about that knife? Troy in the first uh in the first episode of the season, The Avatar State, uh, asked about the inscriptions on it.

Yes, and I was very happy to find out it that translated to Maiden the Earth in the Earth Kingdom.

So the dagger said never never give up without a fight. And so what is what does that resonate with you, Troy?

I'm glad they came full circle with that inscription.

Maybe they'll take it one more time. Maybe the circle will keep expanding.

I sure hope so. And also, it didn't seem like the Wild West to me at all at all. It was more like this episode reminded me of like the show Samurai Jack, but what if he was actually more selfish?

Well, Samurai Jack's kind of there's like Western themes to that. You have like the the the silent hero who rides into town.

Yes, and uh it was it was just nice to see uh Zuko just I don't know turn the page in the next chapter of his life. Like he's no he's not so much after the avatar anymore. Now he's just trying to figure out who he is, and it was just fun to watch what choices he would make when given his own devices.

It is interesting to see the decisions Zuko makes and the shenanigans he gets into when he has zero guidance, and I think it's it shows more about his character than what he's doing, because when he makes these decisions with the influence of Iroh, you kind of get the sense that maybe he's doing it to make his uncle proud or whatever, or like kind of follow those directions.

But yeah, Zuko is just doing things of his own agency, which we don't think Zuko's done so far in this in this show. Everything's been motivated by Aang. So we ride into uh the little boy's like family farm, and then all of a sudden we see all these like pigs that are like hybrid animals.

We have what was that one? It was like an elephant rooster. I think it was a pig rooster. Yeah, it was a room, or elephant rooster. I was thinking going back to that elephant rat.

I think there was definitely one pig that had like deer antlers or something. Like it didn't look right.

This show was definitely good at mixing up different animals.

And you know they had fun doing that.

Oh, they had tons of fun.

I love having fun. So the Yes.

Nothing. I was just gonna say, yeah, we go into this town, you see, we meet his the little boy's parents, and the mom's really welcoming. I guess both the parents are pretty welcoming, and Zuko doesn't want to stay for dinner, but then she's like, How about you go help dad, you know, fix the barn, and you can stay for dinner, and he's like, Okay.

And it's nice to see that the father is accepting of Zuko and isn't going to like pry and try to like make him open up.

Right. When there's no pressure. It was like if he doesn't have to say his name, he doesn't have to say anything about what he's up to, and that is nice.

I think it was a funny moment for me just watching him say, you know, you can stay, we and we have dinner, and he goes, I must be going. She's like, Well, put you to work, and then you can't eat. He goes, Okay, fine, I'll stay. It's like, what? To me, that just kind of threw me off.

I don't know if he was necessarily making that decision. I think he didn't I don't know, I think I don't think Zuko's wanting to accept help from anybody at this point. And so them kind of pushing it, Zuko's obviously starving, and I think he's probably not necessarily making many decisions right now.

He's just gonna go along with it.

But see, I could relate to that, saying, No, no, I'm good, and then when someone's like, I'll make the decision for you, you go help this person do that, and then I'll take care of this, and yeah, I mean, mom made the decision. So I was like, Yeah, way to go.

It was really satisfying watching Zuko try to work on that roof though, because you know as a royal, he's probably done very little physical labor in his life. That's right. He's like slamming the nails in, he like wrecks his thumb. But then we keep going back to these flashbacks, and so what do you think is going on with these flashbacks?

What's motivating them?

Well, is this the first time we see the mom?

It is.

What'd you think?

I actually really enjoyed the performance of the mother. She was very nurturing. Um performance.

You say it like she was she was an actor.

It's her real life, Troy. It's uh it is her real life. No, um, no, it's actually a breath of fresh air to see that. The mother was actually a very straight shooter, you know, very maternal. I think that's the right word. But what's funny to me was just how much Azula drove the mother crazy. She's she would always say, We're gonna have a talk, you know?

And Azula would just try to stir the pot, and the mother was always there to be like, no. And it felt like at this point that Azula is secretly only scared of the mother. Like, Azula's not scared of the men. She's scared of the mom. Because the mom is just pure-hearted and kind, she's not naive at all like any of the other firebenders.

Well, I think Ozai probably feeds into Azula's like sociopathic behavior and like wanting her to like kind of follow her sadistic nature that's going on, and he sees that and probably just wants her to be the next Fire Lord and is conditioning her in that way.

Right, sees all her potential. But I I agree with that that maybe the mom doesn't feed into that and so can just kind of see her for her BS and call her out.

And noted exceptionally in the line, what is wrong with that child? Yes. It was it was really interesting to be introduced to Zuko's mother because when Zuko first comes in and through, I mean, just a few episodes ago, like anytime you think of Zuko or his family, like they're all insane outside of Iro, and to understand that the mother was actually very loving and very supportive and nurturing to Zuko, I think is really important.

And seeing that she gets she has to leave for some unknown reason, like all of a sudden, like now you have the one person who was nurturing and supportive of Zuko, ripped from his life, and now he is kind of stuck, trapped with his father and his sister, who are both sadistic, they're both pretty insane, and then who knows what kind of relationship he had with Iroh before, but then all of a sudden, Iroh loses his son at Boss Singsei, loses all hope, gives up, leaves.

And so Iroh must have changed too, because in his letter he talks about wanting to burn Boss Singsei to the ground and kind of making a joke about that, which seems against Iroh's character that we've seen so far. And then I'm curious if what happened was that Iroh fundamentally changed, and then when he came back, he filled that void of kind of a maternal figure and a like a feminine energy figure in Zuko's life.

I mean, Iro is like a man, he's like a really good example of manliness. He's nurturing, he's caring, he's sensitive, but he's also he can be very strong and um he's a good rock. And so I think Iroh comes in and he uh fulfills that that absence of Ursa for Zuko.

Yeah, I mean, and then even to build on that with him changing, I mean, just the effects of war. Well, and the effects are just like losing someone. And yeah, it's like the fog clears and you can see a situation more clearly for what it is, and it's like, right, was that worth it? And um I'm sure it really grounded him and and he had to have a change of heart.

Yeah.

What was it like, Troy, when you found out that Iroh was actually first in line to take the throne of the Fire Nation?

Oh, I was definitely shocked. I was like, oh man. He was first in line and suddenly his now his brother gets to be the head. It was saddening at first that Iroh had to bury his son. Yeah, that's the oldest, saddest proverb, you know. Um in peacetime, sons bury their fathers, in wartime, fathers get to bury their sons.

Unfortunately, yeah, Iroh is fundamentally broken down by that, and he's gonna be the first in line of the Fire Nation to take on the throne. I'm not sure he was actually gonna be emotionally or mentally up for the task, especially after his son's passing. But yeah, no, it definitely that was definitely a career ball to find out that Iroh was first in line and that Ozai was second.

I was like, ooh. And we know Ozai's character at this point, so that was like, oh, and so Ozai must have cheated Iroh out of it somehow. And he did. So was Iroh there?

I mean, where was Iroh when he was crowning the brother?

So it's it seems to me that Ursa gets the letter that Lutan's been killed. And I think everything that transpires is pretty quick after that. Like you have Ozai having that meeting with his father, Zulon, and kind of saying whatever about Iroh not being fit to be Fire Lord at this moment. And I think all the all the events pretty quickly kind of snowball from there because Azula comes in and says, Dad's gonna kill you.

Which do we think that Ozai actually was going to kill Zuko? Or do you think Azula was bluffing? I was definitely 50-50. Because then all of a sudden, like you have Wine Wayne in.

Uh yeah, I think that I mean, yeah, it's like you know it's like Azula always lives, but yeah, I felt like there was some truth in that moment. Because it seemed like a really heated conversation between whatever. Father and son. Yeah, father and grandpa. And I yeah, I feel like it's a very show no mercy type of fam, except for mom and Iroh.

So I mean, yeah, I assume mom sacrificed herself.

Do you think she killed a Zulon? Yes. Do you think she and Ozai conspired to do that? No. Do you think she just straight up killed a Zulon?

I don't know. I love that theory though. Uh Troy? Honestly, this is the Fire Nation. If there's one thing the Fire Nation has uh shown me that they're nothing but power hungry for the most part. Actually, for the whole part, they're power hungry. So anything goes. If a if Azula was just kidding about Ozai wanting Zuko dead, like she could have just been kidding, but maybe Ozai was actually plotting it.

Or she was planning on getting rid of Zuko at that point, but and she w you literally just saw the wheels start to turn in her head as to how she was gonna get rid of her brother now.

I mean, from from what we know about Ozai, like he seems pretty hellbent on wanting to dispatch Zuko in some way.

And pretty removed. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. It could have been a conversation that they had, and he was like, Well, you gotta sacrifice yourself, Mom, because I gotta I got a nation to run.

Yeah, it's really interesting. So, yeah, Ursa comes in, Zuko gets woken up, and she tells him, as much things change, never forget who you are, which I thought was a powerful moment between Ursa and Zuko for us to kind of understand maybe deep down what's going to drive Zuko. Because when we see Zuko as a kid, he's like, he's very sweet, he's very kind, he is trying to find his way, but I mean he's not vicious and cynical and jaded like he is now, and so maybe Ursa telling him that is going to and him remembering that is gonna help him, help guide him.

So do you think mom also said goodbye to Azula?

Absolutely not. There's no way she said goodbye to Azula. Also, why? Azula's probably like what 10 in that flashback. She is very well spoken and very uh manipulative. She's her vocab's really large. I don't know, she's very She's a prodigy, remember?

I was gonna say that. She's a prodigy.

She's something. She freaks me out, man. I wouldn't, I'd be freaked out by Daddy's little girl. Daddy's little something.

God. That classic narcissist.

So we end the episode. Zuko defends the town against these this like foe army. Zuko holds his own against that earthbender. He's like using his swords to like take people out. I mean, he very rarely he only uses the swords when he needs to, when the dude starts earth bending with his Mjolnir Thor hammers, and then gets knocked out.

Pretty bad. Like that was like a pretty big blow he did.

Mm-hmm.

And then wakes up and uses firebending. Fire bending with swords, by the way.

I know, and okay, and another new move. Like, I don't know, where's this been?

Sword firebending? Mm-hmm. I mean, he doesn't have this is the first time he's had swords to like battle with. The blue spirit does not use fire. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the the town turns on him.

Right, and like the kid who was really looking up to him says that he hates him. And I mean, right, and it's unfortunate that there's no resolution. But yeah, but it's kind of weird because Zuko's like, I'm the prince, I'm blah blah blah, and kind of proudly saying who he is to a I mean, I think it just says where like where his mental state is and just not thinking about just kind of all the pain that this town has endured from his family.

Do you think he felt like he needed to say that he was the prince because he fired bent to show that he wasn't just some random like soldier?

I was pretty conflict at that point. I was like, I was like, do say it, but don't say it. Do say it, but don't say it. Why'd you want him to say it? I just think that would have been like a perfect time to just be like, I am, you know, I'm the prince Zuko, heir to the throne. I at first I thought that sounded, you know, really awesome.

And then as soon as he said it, I was like, no. Take it back, take it back. Take it back, take it back. Just say it, just kidding, just kidding. Yes.

Well, and he could have said, I'm the heir to the throne, or whatever, and I'm sorry that my family sucks.

Oh, yeah, like some sort of reckoning there would have been good.

Yeah, instead of just loud and proud, this is who I am, you know, I'm royalty, you're not, type of type of an attitude. And so I think that he could have handled it a little better.

Yeah, but he's not used to handling in his mind what he calls peasants.

That's true. I mean, he's he's now seeing more and more the effects of war, and right, like he he's gonna get his punk earthbender guys gonna like try to hurt him. He's like, uh-uh, I am I'm somewhat important. Yeah, not a great moment from him. And then the episode ends with Zuko riding off into the sunset, which is a western trope, riding off into the sunset.

But yeah, did he leave this town in a better state? Maybe a little.

Maybe.

Yeah.

And then we move on to the next episode, The Chase.

Okay, which I was really annoyed with Katara and Toph and their little squabble forever personally. I mean, I know that it's like it that's like based on their personalities, but yeah, it was just like, oh, we're gonna really gonna play into these two girls. Let's have the two girls kind of like bitch at each other.

I think in this moment, like, Toph is bringing down the like net maturity level of everybody, especially with the opposhedding. Like, she shows up, she's like, Anybody got a razor? Because I've got some hairy pits, and then Sokka and Aang are like losing it. Yeah. Those guys. But I think this whole episode is is about is about change in some ways, like how their dynamic has to change and how they have to readjust how they've been doing things and getting comfortable with a new person.

Growing pains.

And people really do argue like that when they're in that sleep deprived. Yes, they do. I've seen it firsthand at my workplace.

Yeah, it's just alright. It's a it was an interesting, it was an interesting episode for an interesting Toph's first episode with the crew story.

But you know, I don't know, in some ways, that's good. You have this rough start because there is an adjustment period, and it's not I mean, obviously Katara tries to come at it like, hey, it'd be really nice if you helped us, blah, blah, blah. And again, because Toph's like still a child, kind of like Aang.

It's like doesn't get it's like, no thanks, I'm not interested in that.

Well, and she's like on her own for the first time, and so in in some ways, like she's trying to push the boundaries that she couldn't do with her parents, so she's gonna do it with Katara. And yeah, she's just uh she's there for her job, which is to help Aang, and she's she doesn't I Toph maybe doesn't want to be a part of this little family in this moment.

Yeah, but then she hears the rumble and and they're being chased.

Just a little little rumbling for you guys. I decide to stand up.

Yeah, they're being chased by this train thing, which freaks me out. That thing's really weird. But then uh when I was reading the art book, they apparently say that the they like to imagine the people who are driving that train were Lo and Lee, the two ancient Hagerd like Sifu's of Azula, which makes the whole thing worse.

Like, can you imagine those two behind the wheel of this train thing?

That's the second time that their crew's been uh chased by something, and I would be and I would be hoping it's uh friendly, but it's not. Were what were they chased before? They were chased in the swamp by either the tornado. I was like, oh, I hope that's an airbender coming to help them. Nope, just some random tornado, and they land in the swamp and they're being chased by the swamp monster.

I was like, hey, maybe it's a friendly earth bender or waterbender. Nope, just some random dude who's part of the forest. You know? So this is the second chase they've been in, and they keep running away, and they're like, maybe they're here to help us. Nope.

Yeah, it was uh and I I forget that the crew didn't know who this girl was, and so they're like, oh, the girl's from Omashu, and it's like, oh yeah, they don't know that it's Zuko's sister.

Okay, yeah. It's like, and then they get off, and it's like bad girls riding their like lizards.

Those are mongoose lizards.

Whatever, they're ridiculous. Mongoose lizards.

Yeah, they are they are ridiculous, and they're like the you know, the creepily move, and then they're walking on water.

Some speed. Yeah.

Yep. Nazula's like bending lightning, getting out of there. Yeah, it's uh it's an interesting episode. Everyone is exhausted, and yeah, it's uh it's kind of a weird episode for me.

No, and like Toph like leaves, and that's just kind of an unfortunate moment. What did you think about her leaving?

About Toph? Well, I want to go back to the uh the three girls in the train that would that were chasing them. As our main characters are being worn down by like a sleep. Every time the girls come out of the train, like they're fine, you know, they're wide awake. I'm like, what are they doing? Sleeping in the train?

Oh yeah, that's probably really comfortable in there.

Maybe, but I don't know, it's just it just seems like a little inconsistent. Um, either that or maybe Azula told the other two to sleep the day before just in case it was an all-night chase, which it was.

Well, we have low and late driving, so the girls all they have to do is worry about being around. Pretty close.

Right. They might have another crew that sets up their camp, and you know, she's part of the royal family, so they probably do have some other resources that our friends don't have.

For sure. And then so anyway, skip ahead to when uh Toph leaves the group. It was like, hmm, I wonder how they're gonna bring her back.

But I thought it was uh it was really interesting for her to meet s meet Iroh. That was uh a pretty good moment.

Yeah, it it really was. It was kind of like a sweet moment, just because we we know how tough Toph can be. And Iroh is just the gentle old man that he is. And I think like we said for the last episode, he's seen enough of war. So for him to make a new friend and tough is just like a breath of fresh air.

Because he's so used to a tough little boy. Now he's got now he's gets to meet a tough little girl.

You keep talking about Zuko like he's a little kid. He's a kid to me. Fair enough. Okay. I mean he's like 16, but still Yeah, that's a little kid.

I would say Zuko's a little kid. He's an adolescent. He's a kid. Just like try.

Yeah. Okay, so it was uh I I really like the Toph and Iroh moments. They're having tea, and Iroh takes this gesture of like pouring her the tea is like it triggers her. Like, everyone wants to do things for me, no one thinks I can do anything for myself, but I'm fully capable. Even though she's mostly fully capable.

But yeah, it's a it's a moment for her to express that. And Iroh kind of letting Toph know that it's okay to let people who love you do things for you, and just do them out of love and not because they think you're weak or incapable.

Right, like he acknowledged her feelings, but said, like, that's not why I did it. I did it because I I wanted to do it. And it is it they do share a really nice, sweet moment. And and even Toph tries to help Iroh with Zugo, like, you know, can we talk to your nephew and tell him that you need him too?

Is he lost? Yes, a little bit. Uh and then it leads to like one of my favorite lines for that Zuko that Iroh has delivered so far, and it's uh uh sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights. Which is definitely true. Like those those happy moments in your life where you stumble across someone that you never would have expected to, and then you're just able to have a moment together and kind of discuss big things, little things, inconsequential things, maybe really important things, and they can have uh maybe a dramatic impact on your life in this sharing this quick little moment with them.

And I think that's uh something that more people need to to remember in this world that other people aren't scary and that everyone has a story and something to share, and then maybe they can help you with your problems even if you're not expecting it.

Yeah, and just being open to to interacting with someone.

Yeah, because Iroh, which is Iro's character, but you know, Toph like kind of freaks out on this person that she finds maybe following her. I don't know what Iroh was doing, but maybe he was following her to like check this person was okay. Maybe and then she like kind of freaks out, and so instead of like parting ways immediately and be like, no no, goodbye, Iroh probably invites her to have like a cup of tea and to just kind of like see like what what her story is or what her deal is.

It was an excellent writing decision because at the very end of their tea time together, she helps ground him a little bit, or he helps her ground her a little bit, and she relates to fire in Iroh.

That's true. Kind of remotivating him to for to be more active in Zuko's life.

Because he's a lot more grounded than most of the characters we met so far, so to help him like tell her, like, you know, people don't always help you just because they feel bad for you, just but they probably just enjoy having conversation with you. You know, he's like, you're a very awesome girl to talk to.

Good luck.

And so this leads to we have Aang, Sok, and Katara. They break up. Katara and Sokka take off with Appa, and then Aang decides to lead a fake trail, which Azula sees through immediately because they didn't plan it through very well, and Appa took out some trees.

Oh god, but Aang looks so tired. They all look so tired. It's like they're tired. Looking at them makes me even more tired. I'm like, oh god. Oh yeah, I'm not sure.

I have literally looked like that probably a hundred times in my life. It is not fun. I was this is probably the most grotesque episode I've seen as far as the eyes go.

Well, okay, Julian and I are like looking in a mirror, like, oh god, I see myself!

Okay, but like the expressions that okay, again, it's it's it's a Doctor movie episode.

And they're they're gonna say, is it a Doctor movie?

They have a special ability to really uh make our characters look pretty rough, pretty rough, pretty grotesque, crazy caricatures. Yeah, they're they're it they're the most cartoony when it's like their eyes are popping out of their head.

Okay, so Azula and Aang officially do their like first meet and greet. Aww. Isn't that nice?

But Aang has zero reaction when Azula reveals who she is. I know. But I think he was probably just exhausted and maybe just like, oh no, there's two of you.

I do think that that's it. Like he's so tired he can't even really relax or not relax, react.

It's okay, you can laugh now. He's just like unimpressed.

Like Can we talk about how Zula like makes that reference, like covering one eye with her hand and imitating Zuko? God, she's callous. She is a cold person.

Yeah. No, it was it was uh a moment like if that was that was her best Zuko impression. I think she could have done a little bit better, especially with how much of an impression she likes leaving on people.

Yeah, I agree. It was a little lukewarm. Like, I do I do think she could have done better.

Azula's not there to make friends or to impress you with her like impressions, you guys.

Okay, so she talks about, you know, she's she's there to get him, and and it's like, I'm not going away.

And then out comes Zuko.

So wait, what was she wanting to do with Aang? Like capture him, take him back to daddy. This again, this is what What were they gonna do? This is what that Z family has got a problem. This is what makes them weird villains. Like, they just want to capture the avatar. I'm like, Why is that a weird thing?

He's the he's the one person who is uh stands the biggest threat of standing in their way.

I don't know, it just makes it the villains like predictable.

I mean, what motivation do you want Azula to have right now? Torture. What you want you wanted to torture Aang?

Yeah. What's wrong with you? Torture, Katara, and Sokka. It raises the sticks.

Sicko, you're a sick man. That's what Darth Vader does. Yes.

Okay. Do not bring up Stern once again. Okay.

Mark Hamill, have you met him? Greatest actor of our generation.

Okay. Lovely moment.

We get a Mexican standoff.

Zuko, Azula, Aang, and they're all like looking at each other, and it's yeah.

It's very tense.

It's a lovely moment.

Because you're like, oh, which way is Zuko gonna go? We know what Aang's gonna do. We know what Azula's gonna do. So that that moment was supposed to be animated as a Mexican standoff, like everyone kind of like taking shots at each other, like doing things like for a minute, but they found that would be difficult to animate, and so they eventually just had like the battle royale that happens.

But there's so many great moments of showing the difference between Azula and Zuko as characters, like when Aang takes off, he like hides in that building. Azula comes out and kind of quickly realizes she's gonna fall, kind of catches herself very gracefully, as we've seen. And then here comes Zuko, guns blazing, just like running right in.

Yes.

Falls, breaks his ankles. So good.

And then we finally get Katara to come in and save the day as she usually does. Mm-hmm. And then we Sokka's there too.

But before that, we have that like meeting by the river of Ty Lee, Mei, uh, Sokka and Katara, where they're like, oh, watch out for this girl, she's gonna block my chi. And then Ty Lee and Sokka have a little bout, which is hilarious. She takes out, like, just turns Sokka into a walking noodle, which is fantastic.

Hits the pressure points in both of his shoulders and then the pressure point just above his knee joint, and then she tries to take out the pressure point in the top of his head, but hurts her hand badly and goes, Yeah, that didn't quite work.

Yeah, which is great because you know Sokka is just like, yeah, I've got a hard head.

Bum, boom, boom. Uh, that was actually genius writing right there to just literally And animation. Just figuratively in animation, yeah, show just how much of a hard head Sokka has.

That's great. And then yeah, it's uh it definitely shows Me and Ty Lee as villains. Like, I wouldn't say they're necessarily villains, just they're just along for the ride with Azula. Like, if they were really bent on capturing Sokka and Katara, they would have turned around and like tried again to get them.

But Apa's like, not today, dudes, blows them away, and they're just like, Alright, well, it's enough of that.

Yeah, yeah, no. Like they were they're actually pretty bored villains themselves.

So the gang meets up, and then all of a sudden, like they've trapped, so they've cornered Azula, and we have Zuko and Iroh joining the group, and then is that why Iroh kind of looks over and he's like, oh.

Or he's like, Oh, it's the girl from the fire. Or did they both go? I don't know, there's some there's some questions there.

Well, I think Iroh looks over and he's like, oh, dang, that's my friend. And then he's like, wait, it's Aang! He's like, Oh, and then I think he puts it together pretty quick that she's probably his earth-bending teacher, like something along those lines. I think Iroh puts it together really quick. And then before that, Iroh shows up, and Zuko and Iro have a a little quick reconnection where he's like, Zuko, get up!

The return of Iroh.

It's always great. And then, like, there's you know that Zuko and Iroh they have such a good relationship, they really have a really good uh foundational bond that they don't need to be like, oh, Uncle, I'm so sorry. I ran off. It's just like, I'm here for you, I love you.

Right.

And then uh Iroh gets to like literally like gut check Azula, like throws his weight around, knocks her off.

Oh, that's right. I almost forgot about that.

So good. Okay, so they corner Azula. Azula's like, Oh, you got me. I surrender. And you're like, whatever.

Did you think she was going to surrender, Troy? That they were gonna get her?

Nope. I was just curious. I was like, how do you survive this? Like, how I'm like, how fast can you jump? Like, how fast can you move?

Like how fast can you jump?

Is this gonna be uh the ultimate, you know, boil battle royale? Is she gonna try to deflect everybody? I'm like, I was just trying to see like what our next move was, especially with that tone of voice. It's like, okay, what do you got? Just do it already.

But yeah, Trey's constantly like, uh yeah. Okay, and then after we like stopped recording, Trey's like, oh wow, that was really good.

Uh yeah, we get text messages like, oh, this show's like amazing! Yes, yes. But you gotta play it cool.

This is the kind of show that it kind of leaves a bug in me. It's like I watch it, I'm like, yeah, that's totally predictable, and I go home. It's like, actually, that was incredible writing. I can't wait to do the podcast again.

So many twists and turns. Okay. So they find out that Azula's cornered, and then Iroh takes a moment that he's not focused on Azula, where he looks over at Toph, and then Azula takes that moment, that moment that Iroh takes his focus off her to shoot him in the heart with fire.

So hats off to Azula.

Why?

What's wrong with you? That uh body reading, that facial recognition, the way she can take uh take control of a situation just like that. She he takes his eyes off the target for just I mean, she has let's do this. Let's she she's got her she's got her eyes on Iroh, Zuko, Toph, Katara, Sokka, and eh, what's that?

Seven, eight people right there, that she's gotta read everybody's body language and you know six people. Exactly. Say she surrenders, and then one of them takes her eyes off. The only person that has a chance of taking her down, and she gets him. That's true.

I do think Iro is the biggest threat there.

Right, no, she's very focused and you know, well he proved that by raining people for lightning strike.

She he proved that he was a very formidable foe by redirecting her lightning strike earlier in the season.

Yeah, when she like when he just grabbed her hand and like shot it off. Like, no, no, Azula, and then kicked her off the boat. Such a good scene. So, yeah, so uh Iroh takes one for the team, and then all of our friends like shoot their all every single element at Azula. And then apparently she uses the same like disappearing technique that Zhang Zheng uses, you know, like when Zhang Jong like covered himself in fire and disappeared.

And so it seemed really weird that it like that explosion happens and Azula's gone, but apparently she disappeared or did whatever kind of like Fire Nation magic. And then Zuko doesn't take it well. Katara offers to help heal Iroh, then Zuko can't accept help from anybody.

Yeah, it's an unfortunate moment because it could have connected the group.

Oh yeah. I mean they that could have been a moment where they join forces. Did you ever think of that? That could be a possibility, Troy? No. Not once? No. I mean, I feel like I didn't feel that way.

Aww. Like they they just Do you think Sokka would be the biggest obstacle? Nothing. Zuko and Sokka are too much alike to work together consistently. And so that's why he was like, he's like, I'm not gonna get help from you, especially with the from the airbender and the guy with the the warrior wolf tail.

Thank you. What about Katara?

I'm not gonna get along with her either.

No, he will get along with Katara as we've addressed.

Yes. They're gonna get shipped.

Okay. Bitter work.

Bitter work. So the title bitter work apparently comes from a loose translation of the word kung fu.

Hmm.

Fun fact for all you guys and gals at home.

Oh, I could see that. Yes. A couple podcasts back, I was saying how Tai Chi came from peasants not being able to practice Tai Chi or Kung Fu in that instance. And uh only the monarchs could, and so during their, I'm sure what they called bitter work, that's how they learned they stud they practiced Kung Fu with their tools, and that became Wing Chun.

And so I uh Roku at some point describes learning the element opposite of his own as bitter work, and so that's something else that goes into this episode. But it also is is with Zuko, like Zuko has to go through some bitter work as well. So we get Zuko and Iroh is a parallel story to Toph and Aang, as Zuko wants to learn something to help defend himself against the Zula.

And so but we find out that Iroh survives, which that last episode I'm gonna do. You didn't know.

I was like, oh yeah. I'm sorry, but that was totally predictable that he was gonna survive because Iroh brings so much to the table.

Ned Stark brought things to the table.

Who?

Ned Stark, Game of Thrones, lost his head. Oh.

I thought you're talking about Tony Stark. I thought so too. Guys! No.

It's Game of Thrones, it was the biggest cultural icon of like several years.

Let's see. There's a lot of people that bring stuff to the table that lose their heads.

But yes, I mean, I mean, Iroh, yeah, his character still has things to do.

I'm sorry, but the company cannot afford to lose Iroh. The company? What are you talking about? Like Nickelodeon? Yeah, he the comic relief he brings to the show, I'm sure a lot of kids love calling him Uncle Fire.

Sokka brings. Comic relief as shown greatly in bitter work.

It'd be interesting. Like if we asked if you were to pull a bunch of like kids. And right, I mean, as you as a late 20-something, you know, you are responding to Uncle Iroh as one of your favorite characters, but as uh our little friend Allie, a nine? Yes. Yikes. Yeah. A nine-year-old. Uh, yeah, she said her favorite character was like Momo.

And I was like, what?

Yeah, because the animals. Everyone loves animals. I'm just saying.

She wants a pet. So so maybe Nickelodeon wouldn't take that big of a hit.

So I think this episode's been was really interesting to show how much Aang Aang finally struggles to bend an element, which up until now, everything's come really easy for Aang.

And it's the first episode he's been serious.

That's true. I mean, he did, he has really taken it seriously. I I did think in this episode, like watching Aang, like how much his demeanor's kind of changed. Like Aang is is maturing pretty quickly and he's understanding uh what's what's at stake here. And he's taking he's taking it really, really seriously.

Like he wants to do it well.

Well, it's nice when uh Toff's not the mature one. I'm gonna beat up your staff and your whatever else.

Yeah, I'm gonna take your staff and then use it as my like walking stick or like my yeah good stuff.

It becomes very obvious for Ang that he's great at waterbending. Easy for him. He's excellent at air bending. You know, second nature. That dude could do it for a hundred years.

He has. He has Troy.

Yes, he's done it for a hundred years. 101 years now. Earth bending, though, I it was it was a pleasure for me to see that he was really struggling with it. I'm like, okay, so how does the master of all elements handle an element that he's not comfortable with?

He's not the master of all elements, friend.

Not yet.

So what did you think about um Top's teaching style? And even Toph versus like Katara's teaching style.

Top's teaching style, believe it or not, is the style I wish I would have done. Even when I was a little bit more stern with my students, they still wouldn't take me very seriously. And I was told for a couple years by, you know, the grandmasters, the higher ranks and the organization that it it takes a lot to uh it take it takes a lot to getting used to to teach that gruff style.

But I don't know, the kids just they never took me that seriously. So it was just kind of fun to watch her tough style really kinda I don't know, shake it out of Aang a little bit.

You should have taken your students' stuff.

I should have.

Or their food. Hey, I found this bag of nuts. I'm gonna use your stuff to break it now. But Aang's pretty cool about it.

Yeah, I mean, and then just I mean, yeah, it's great that they touch on different teaching styles, learning styles. You know, Katara's trying to tell Toph that, you know, that he Aang responds with all this positive reinforcement and be gentle with him, you know, and she's being like tough and abrasive and so yeah, it better work.

Like the moral of the story is like there's numerous ways to teach somebody, but it's all like this all comes down to what is the right way to teach the uh avatar.

And I think Toph she just kept with her method of like pushing Aang until he had enough and he had no choice but to stand up to Toph and him holding his stance and holding his own against this. I mean, Toph takes the role of a bully in this episode. He gets to stand his ground into just understanding that, like, understanding like the mental state that you need to be in to bend an element, like he achieves through grounding himself and holding his ground against Toph.

And then we go over to Zuko and Iro, and Zuko wants to learn how to defend himself against Azula, and so Iro wants to resume his training. And Zuko, of course, wants to go like the highest possible. He wants to learn how to how to bend lightning. And so we learn more about lightning and how Iroh describes it as a version of firebending.

It's like kind of emotionless, it's pure. But Zuko can't do it because Zuko can't calm his mind and he's he's stuck with so much inner turmoil. And Zuko's like, What do you mean inner turmoil?

Uh, but the best part is when he's like, you know, wants to whatever, talking about Azula, and and he's like, I know what you're gonna say, Uncle, that I should just like get along with my sister, and Iro's like, no, it's like she's crazy and needs to go down or something like this.

Which is great.

It's great coming from Iroh can we acknowledge the saddest part of this episode that Zuko does not make as good a cup of tea as Uncle Iro does. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough to watch.

We all know Zuko doesn't care about tea.

No, he doesn't, so Iro had to show the viewers, there goes the tea.

I think Iroh is now not taking as much of a backseat and a passive role in guiding Zuko. I think Iro in this episode is very clearly like Zuko, you need to learn more about the other elements, you need to learn more about other people, because you are on a destructive path, my friend. And to become a whole person and to become Iroh uses the term more powerful, but I think it's like more grounded, more whole, is that Zuko needs to learn more.

And Zuko, I mean, it's comes off as a surprise to him. He's like, Uncle, why are you teaching me all this?

Because he needs to teach Zuko that, like, let's say, for instance, the Fire Nations got 300 moves to manipulate fire, and then the water tribes got 300 moves to manipulate water. Irode basically says, like, once you get to know other cultures, other elements, and you learn to uh work with those, then you can actually potentially have 600 uh moves at your arsenal and put them together and mix them in different ways.

I thought that was a really great lesson.

It was a good lesson, but I don't think it was necessarily about firebending where he was coming from with it. I think it was more a world perspective of Zuko needing to to be more connected.

Well, right, and like you're just gonna you're only going to to gain knowledge about and empathy. And empathy, but right, like it's just like the more you learn, the more you learn.

Knowledge is power, friends.

Knowledge is power, yeah, and just learning, having to broaden your horizons.

Zuko has many blind sides, and he's gotta understand that.

And as a kid's show, I think it's really special that they they took a moment to have the show's teacher, Uncle Iroh, like take a moment and like tell Zuko, but the audience that it's okay and it should be encouraged to learn about things and people that are different from your own, and to right, like what Katie was saying, like broaden your view of the world, and it'll only impact your own life greatly, and then through that, the world.

And I think that was a really great moment from Iro. And for him to kind of for more show-specific stuff, for him to break down all the different cultures, because Zuko probably has it in his mind, like, earth, air, water, they're all clumped together as my enemy. Like they're not there, there's nothing specific or different about them.

And so for Iroh to show that they're like what they represent, but also they're all part of a whole, and that you need to have all of those a part of you. I really like that.

Yeah, no, it was a great, great moment.

But then Iroh understanding that Zuko doesn't have the ability to create lightning right now, but then being able to be flexible with Zuko and be like, well, I can't you can't master this right now, but I have something that can help you, and something that only I know.

I've got a question. Is there an avatar board game by any chance? No, you want to make one? Because Iroh was really onto something. He made what looked like the perfect Avatar board game when he divided all four of the nations up on that little sandboard.

What would you do? What would the board game be?

Oh, I don't know. Probably Moncala.

Well, okay, the the we have we've got Pie Show friends, and Pie Show, I would argue, is the game of Avatar the Last Airbender.

What is Pie Show?

It's the board game that Iroh always plays. It's like, oh, Zuko, I've lost my White Lotus Pie Show piece.

Oh, must be.

It is. It's the sh it's the game of the show.

Yes, it is, yes.

So Zuko learns how to redirect lightning, and Iroh goes through and how teaching Zuko that he needs to have his energy flowing, and uh, Zuko is so rigid at this point, like there's there's no flow going on. He is blocked from head to toe. And for Iro to kind of encourage him to get it flowing was good.

Whether or not it's gonna work immediately, obviously not, because the episode ends with Zuko yelling at the heavens and wanting him to be struck by lightning.

unknown Go ahead.

Yeah, no, it's always hard to to watch, at least for me, to watch Zuko struggle, even though this is my third time watching it. It's like, oh god, just family dynamics and just the struggle, his own personal struggle, and wanting to be as good, if not better, than his sister, or being able to keep up and like to not feel like a a failure.

It's like just really, yeah, Zuko's journey is just crazy.

It's so sad. I mean, Zuko is such a tragic character.

But yeah, I mean, Iroh, just not giving up on him, trying to give him tools to succeed and and just good life advice and not just how to capture the avatar.

Yeah, and uh not to go too far, that's left field with this, but I want to bring awareness to people who have burst out in anger and yelled at nature in general, whether it's yelling at the ocean, at the heavens, wherever they're directing their anger. I want to bring awareness to those people and just let you know that you are not alone with your struggles in life.

The show is there to prove it. Many people have been there.

You want to talk about where do you like to yell, Troy?

Just right outside the door over here.

Just right out here in the yard, man, all yell at the wind all day.

Troy, it looks kind of windy out. And you wanna take this outside? I'm feeling it. Okay, so the episode uh it ends with Zuko, but the episode ends for Aang and his journey with Sokka and like all of his great comedy moments with the saber-toothed moose lion. All those great moments. Sorry, you're pretty cute, but unfortunately for you, you're made of meat.

Do you think he's really going vegetarian? Absolutely not. Have you met Sokka?

Well, you know.

Loves meat.

Yeah, yeah. So Aang shows up, you know, and Sokka's like excited that he's gonna go save the day, get him out of there. And then you see Aang just kind of really deflated and like that he's not can't do it, but in the end, he does it.

Oh and then Toph saves Sokka by pulling his hair. His uh wolf, his warrior wolf tail. Thank you. It's not a ponytail. Zuko had a ponytail, that's psycho. Wow. And so yeah, now we have Aang. He's officially he can officially bend three elements. Four if we kind of count the one time he freakishly done did fire, but we could say for sure that he's able to.

He's on a path to mastering water and earth at this point. So what's gonna happen next, Troy?

Oh man, I feel like one of Azula's friends needs to take a major turn. Um Sokka, perhaps? Perhaps. I'm not shipping anybody just yet. Oh. But I feel like Zuko might finally learn how to bend lightning, maybe. And I am very curious as to see what happens with Tough in the next episode.

So what do you think about Iroh and Zuko's journey right now? Because they're kind of in an interesting place where they're fugitives of the Earth Kingdom and also outcasts and uh fugitives of the Fire Nation too, so where where do they go from here?

They keep training. And they get ready, and uh I think Iroh can already feel it in his bones that there might be another big major fight between Azula and Zuko, and he wants to make sure Zuko is prepared as possible to take her down. And not just capture her like everybody else wants to do with the Avatar.

You think that they're gonna take down Azula?

They just might. Either that or she'll finish off Iroh, unfortunately. Oh. Yeah.

And then what? And then where do they go after they capture Azula?

I'm I don't know. And then dad's like, keep asking about the villains. I'm like, so they capture the Avatar. Now what? Because as long as the Avatar is alive, once they capture him, he'll always figure out a way to escape.

Well, no, I mean that's like that's the point of a villain sometimes, is like their their goal is in contrast to the protagonist, and so yeah, I mean their their goal is to capture Aang, and they're gonna do whatever they can and create any any difficulties for him to capture him and eliminate him from the board because he is the only is he's the greatest threat to the Fire Nation.

So basically, uh what I've gotten from the show is that everybody wants to capture Aang, and it feels like the Blue Spirit is the one person that can see that seems to always be able to save Aang. Oh, the Blue Spirit.

Hmm, that guy.

Well, friends, family, it's been a really nice time.

Okay, so uh here we go. We're off to episodes 10, 11, and 12. We have The Library, The Desert, and The Serpent's Pass coming up next. Which were packaged as like two hour-long specials, the summer of 2006. So I remember those fondly.

So one of those is a cliffhanger, is I just gonna say?

Yeah, it'll end on a cliffhanger for sure.

Let's do this.

Alright, kids. Until next time, enjoy your own bitter work. Yep, yep. Yep, yep.

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

You think I'm yelling right now? Let's go. We can just do like a normal voice. It's kind of calm. I can tell you about oh hi, welcome to Fresh Eats. Fresh bears.

I was gonna say Pete's.

Fresh Pete's? Like with a pea? Like Pete Moss?

Don't pick your lip.

I'm not.

It's that wasn't directed at No, that would that was not directed at Jordan. Who was it directed at? Who was it directed at? He's asking questions just like Zuko.

I keep cutting you off. That's okay.

Okay, we're flowing.

Zuko Alone with Friends

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