It’s not even signed by the artist!

Book 1: Water

Chapter 9

The Waterbending Scroll

WHAT HAPPENED?

The team happens on a merchants dock for supplies when they come across pirates that possess a waterbending scroll. Katara manages to steal it, and they barely escape. Katara loses her temper when Aang picks up waterbending faster than she ever could. She runs off with the scroll only to be captured by Zuko and the pirates who capture Aang and Sokka shortly after. Sokka manages to turns the pirates against Zuko and the fight gives the team a chance to get away; leading to a chase over a waterfall where they are rescued by Appa. Sokka reveals that he recovered the scroll and the group has a laugh.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY

What interests me most about this episode is Katara’s sudden flip when it came to the waterbending scroll. This comes after she calms Aang down in the beginning of the episode after panicking because he needed to learn all four elements by the end of summer. She was all about helping Aang learn waterbending, but flipped the moment he began doing it better than she’s ever done it. I understand why she was upset, but it came about so suddenly that it seemed almost inorganic of the character.

Come at me, bro!

Another thing I find interesting is that, yes, it did take her a long time to work on her techniques since she didn’t have a teacher. The problem I have is that Aang is the one to remind her of this, which should humble her if she remembers that he has to learn four separate disciplines… in the span of a few months… to save the world. I know she’s young and that she doesn’t have the discipline to teach yet, but this is still a huge flip for her character.

Is that guy wearing lipstick?

This brings me to Zuko, but briefly. In this episode, he shows us a new depth into his character when he manipulates the pirates by using what they want against them. This is a family trait that we will see a lot more of further down the road, but we’re getting a taste here. It also shows that he’s willing to go to any lengths to reach his goals.

Evil…

The episode touches on the fact that it’s not right to steal no matter who you steal from. However, the lesson is tossed aside with a little laugh at the end of the episode. It’s cute, sure, but it degrades the point the episode was trying to make. This makes for a decent filler episode, and it’s fun to see the team work together by using their brains to overcome their challenges.

It’s also great to get a few good laughs with Uncle as he provides a human side to Zuko’s sometimes-blind ambition. Be sure to tune in next time as things take a darker turn when we meet Jet.

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