Recap / Avatar: The Last Airbender "Sozin's Comet, Part 1 - The Phoenix King"

Ozai crowns himself ruler of the world.

"I'm sorry, but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

— Aang

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, Aang and the island have both disappeared, and his friends seek out June the Bounty Hunter to attempt to locate him again. Ozai bequeaths his 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.

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Tropes in this episode include:

• Abdicate the Throne: Ozai hands Azula the title of Fire Lord... so he can adopt the even greater self-created title of Phoenix King.
• Avengers Assemble: After Aang is reminded he is not alone, Sokka announces, "Team Avatar is back!" Cue a shot of each member and their respective element/weapon called out (with Suki and Sokka getting "fan and sword!" named as their respective elements).
• Back for the Finale: June, whose last appearance was two seasons ago in "Bato of the Water Tribe", returns in the first part of the four-parter season finale.
• Bad Boss: Ozai plans to burn the entire Earth Kingdom down to ash, not caring that all the Fire Nation soldiers and colonists already there will die in the process.
• Bait-and-Switch: Right after Azula's outburst, Ozai responded as if he was about to lash out at his daughter, which would've directly proven her accusation of him treating her like Zuko true, but instead he explains to Azula his rationale behind his decision for her to stay—by making her the new Fire Lord. This is rather unexpected coming from a father who deals with disrespect towards him violently. Azula gracefully accepts, but didn't realize what she was in for...
• Bait the Dog:
  • Zuko reveals the real reason why he turned against his father. He was invited to attend an important war meeting, with the generals all waiting for him to arrive and a seat next to Ozai prepared for the crowed prince, equal to Azula. Ozai even sincerely asked Zuko of his insight regarding the people of the Earth Kingdom, which was everything that Zuko wanted years ago. But after Zuko gave out his honest observation, Ozai and Azula quickly twisted Zuko's words into a justification for genocide upon the Earth Kingdom with Sozin's Comet. Zuko wanted to speak out, but feared a repeat of the Agni Kai incident that led his banishment in the first place. And it was at that point that Zuko realized that he had become a powerless puppet for his father.
  • Azula, who has been nothing but loyal to Ozai is finally rewarded for it by being appointed Fire Lord—just as Ozai proceeds to make that title useless and redundant by crowning himself "Phoenix King, Supreme ruler of the world!" Arguably, the title degradation had nothing to do with it, but rather the fact that despite all of her hard work and sacrifice, Azula was not loved by her father and just as easily thrown out as Zuko was the real slight. Just as Azula was about to protest, Ozai was clearly prepared for that, and catches her off guard when he explains that Azula is the only one of his children he could trust with such a position, only saying that to prevent her from getting any ideas.
• Beach Episode: Subverted. Sokka throws a beach party that Zuko quickly breaks apart and snaps them back to reality.
• Beyond Redemption: Zuko mocks Aang's desire to find another way to stop Ozai by suggesting they should show him his bady pictures and he'll turn good. Aang makes it clear that he's under no illusion that Ozai can be talked out of his genocidal agenda, but he still feels there has to be way to defeat the Fire Lord without sacrificing his morals.
• Book Ends: Ozai discusses a way to end the war and complete the Fire Nation's global conquest the same way it began, thus invoking this trope: with the power of Sozin's comet.
• Both Sides Have a Point:
  • Aang's discomfort at possibly having to kill someone is understandable both as a child and a monk, and he is ultimately correct that Ozai can be defeated nonlethally if he knows such a way exists. However, the rest of the team have a point in that Ozai has gone too far and he needs to be stopped by any means necessary.
  • The Gaang get upset at Zuko for not telling them that Ozai was planning to destroy the Earth Kingdom instead of conquring it. Zuko responds by pointing out that nobody told him that they were planning to wait out the comet instead of the original plan of defeating the Fire Lord before the actual event.
• Break the Haughty: The first time we see Azula's authority overruled comes when Ozai coldly informs her that she will not take part in the assault on the Earth Kingdom, and will instead remain at the palace. Azula completely loses her composure and objects to his decision, to which he sharply shuts her down. Even though he promotes her to Fire Lord in his stead (a title that will be rendered meaningless anyway), Azula sounds absolutely hurt by his words, feeling that it's exactly how he's treated Zuko. It's this exchange that marks the end of her cold and calculated persona, and things quickly get worse for her from there.
• Bullet Time: When Zuko's fire tunnel catches up to Aang.
• Call-Back: Actress!Aang and Actor!Toph return from the previous episode, much to Katara and Suki's annoyance.
• Calling the Old Man Out: In a way with Azula when Ozai refuses to allow her to come along with him on his conquest, thinking he's treating her like Zuko. The irony is that's exactly what's happening, except not really—Ozai was being passive-aggressive.
• The Coconut Effect: The violence of Sokka chopping the melon is particularly meaningful for the audience, as violence against melons is very often used in media as a sound effect for brutal acts of violence against humans.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Ozai's war council in Zuko's flashback includes Bujing, the general who Zuko originally spoke out against, and Shinu, who's been promoted from Colonel since his last appearance.
  • As the Gaang enter the seedy bar to find June, the dance party music from "The Headband" can be heard playing.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Zuko goes back to being a stern instructor, even when Aang would rather goof off.
• Evil Laugh: Toph gives one while pretending to be Melon Lord.
  Toph: I AM NOT TOPH! I AM MELON LORD!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
• Evil Plan: Upon hearing that Ozai intends to burn the Earth Kingdom to ash, Sokka referees to it as "pure evil".
• Final Solution: Ozai's plans to wipe out the entire Earth Kingdom and declare the Fire Nation's rule over the world.
• Foreshadowing:
  • When commanded to firebend, Aang bends from his hands and mouth, similar to how a "tiger-dillo" does it. Ozai will do the same thing in Part 3.
  • Aang suggests they glue Ozai's limbs together to keep him from bending. Though the method obviously differs, taking away Ozai's firebending without killing him ends up being how Aang does defeat the Fire Lord.
• From Bad to Worse: Team Avatar feels that it'd be best for Aang to face Ozai after Sozin's Comet passes, feeling that, with the Fire Nation having taken Ba Sing Se, things couldn't get any worse. Zuko proves them dead wrong. The endgame was always to set the Earth Kingdom up to Ba Sing Se on fire—it was only a matter of how.
• Funny Background Event: When Aang and Momo go missing, Sokka initially thinks Appa ate Momo, and for the rest of the conversation, Sokka attempts to get himself out of Appa's mouth.
• Gory Discretion Shot: When Sokka "kills" the Melon Lord offscreen, to emphasize Aang's horror at the idea of killing someone.
• Group Hug: The Gaang gathers in a group hug that Zuko joins reluctantly before they are all tackled by Appa.
• Heel Realization: Zuko reveals that he wanted to speak out against his father's Final Solution towards the Earth Kingdom, but feared his father's wrath again which he knew all too well by this point, and that wasn't even the worst part. It was at that moment that Zuko realized that his quest to restore honor had turned him into a powerless puppet rubber-stamping Ozai's worst decisions, and that it was the Fire Nation as a whole that dishonored themselves for following Ozai's genocidal agenda.
• History Repeats:
  • As we see in the flashback, Zuko found himself in the same scenario he was in about 3 years ago; at a war meeting with his father and generals, except this time he was needed first and foremost. Zuko hears of a horrible plan he wanted to speak out against, but remembered how badly that went last time.
  • In a way that it is intentional, Ozai's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground with the power of Sozin's Comet directly draws inspiration from the genocide of the Air Nomads under Fire Lord Sozin a century earlier.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Ozai clearly hadn't forgotten what Zuko told him about Azula's failure to kill Aang, or about the fact that she lied to him about this, as evidenced by his refusal to let her take part in the assault on the Earth Kingdom that she suggested in the first place. Even more so by his intent to relegate her to a title in which she would no longer wield any true power.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Zuko gives a speech about how the people of the Earth Kingdom are characterized by their hope. It's heavily implied Zuko wanted to resolve the uprisings peacefully, and saw this war meeting as an opportunity to make the system work better for all subject to the Fire Lord's rule. In response to Zuko's wisdom, his father takes this as a suggestion to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground, proving the Fire Nation is just as violent and despicable as the whole world sees it as.
• It's All My Fault: Zuko blames himself for leading his father to arrive at the decision to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground, and failing to speak out. Luckily, the others don’t hold it against him, other than simply asking why he didn’t tell them sooner.
  "I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan, but I'm ashamed to say that I didn't. My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance. But once I had it, I realized I lost myself getting there. I've forgotten who I was."
• Jerkass Ball: Downplayed. When faced with the possibility of having to kill the Fire Lord, Aang becomes hostile towards everyone else. However, it's justified in that he's a child being told he has to take a person's life, which goes against everything he's been taught growing up, and his friends are a bit forceful in reminding him of his duties.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Azula may be cruel, cunning and even psychopathic. But when Ozai tells her he's not bringing her along to the Earth Kingdom genocide, she calls him out on treating her (his loyal daughter) as unceremoniously as he would treat Zuko, if not worse.
• Kicked Upstairs: Azula of all people is hit with this trope upon her father's coronation as Phoenix King; he rewards her with the position of Fire Lord in his stead, a position long coveted by her ever since Zuko's banishment, but her title now means squat in the face of Ozai's new regime.
• Lampshade Hanging: Toph chooses to go with Zuko to find Aang. Her reason:
  Toph: Everyone else went on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn.
• Large Ham: Toph as "Melon Lord".
• Mood Whiplash: When Katara finds the baby picture, it's treated as a sweet and funny moment, thinking it's a picture of Zuko. Then Zuko tells them the sweet, innocent child in that portrait is actually his father. Katara immediately rolls it back up and nobody is laughing after this.
• Never Say "Die": Hearing everyone say "taking [Ozai's] life" rather than saying "kill" is somewhat jarring.
• Ominous Latin Chanting: When the mysterious island is present (although, technically, it's in Chinese, rather than Latin).
• Omniscient Morality License: Sokka suggests to Aang that the universe can easily forgive him if killing Ozai means saving the world. Aang does not take this lightly, as it still contradicts his nomadic teachings, and snaps at him.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Azula completely loses all of her cold composure when Ozai informs her that she is not to take part in the destruction of the Earth Kingdom, just days after her betrayal by both Ty Lee and Mai. Azula sounds absolutely hurt when protesting his decision, to the point where you can hear her voice breaking as she demands he reconsider. And that's only the beginning of what befalls her after all efforts to impress her father have apparently failed.
  • What's more, when Azula angrily reasons he should take her along, Ozai essentially tells her to shut up, and she does just that. Ozai is no one to trifle with if he can silence his relatively talkative daughter into submission before he elaborates.
  • The usually optimistic Aang often panics or feels doubtful in his duties as Avatar. With his destined battle with Ozai approaching, he becomes hostile to his friends, as he wants to find a way to end the Fire Lord's reign of terror without killing him, an act that violates his peaceful nature.
  • Zuko insinuating that his father must die, and he knows exactly where he stands on the matter. Normally, Zuko would NEVER wish death on a single family member, but he’ll have to make an exception for his own father. No debate about it, no nothing.
• Orifice Invasion: Sokka crawling into Appa's mouth because he thinks that Appa ate Momo.
  Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth, Sokka.
• Patricide: An indirect example—Zuko (for the first time in his life) is the strongest advocate in the Gaang for employing lethal force to stop Ozai. He was not up for discussion, until Aang expresses otherwise.
• Poor Communication Kills: On both ends; Zuko made the assumption that the rest of the Gaang had a plan to deal with his father during Sozin's Comet, and so didn't mention Ozai's plan to raze the Earth Kingdom, while the Gaang themselves failed to mention their plan to let the Comet pass.
• Post-Support Regret: Ozai’s willingness to raze the Earth Kingdom up to Ba Sing Se is what completely shattered any loyalty and devotion Zuko had towards to his own father and his country, that he feels his father must die.
• Rank Up: Since Book 1, Colonel Shinu has been promoted to General.
• The Reveal: Zuko reveals what occurred during the war meeting he attended during "Nightmares and Daydreams" that prompted his Heel–Face Turn: Ozai decided to use Sozin's Comet to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground. It was here that he, as well as the audience finds out that Sozin used the power of the comet to execute the Air Nomads.
• Rewatch Bonus: If you watch at least the flashback to Zuko’s war meeting before the “Day of Black Sun” special, then you have a better understanding of what culminated in Zuko’s disillusionment and how his pride was shattered by the time he confronted his father.
• Rock Bottom: The Gaang assumes they've reached this when the Fire Nation took Ba Sing Se. Zuko informs them that they're dead wrong. No matter who won or lost Ba Sing Se in Book 2, the endgame for the war remains the same.
• Sarcasm-Blind:
  Aang: Maybe we could make some big pots of glue, and then I could use gluebending to stick his arms and legs together so he can't bend anymore!
  Zuko: Yeah! And then you can show him his baby pictures and all those happy memories will make him good again!
  Aang: Do you really think that would work?
  Zuko: NO!
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: During the training against "Melon Lord", which ends in failure because Aang doesn't deliver the final blow at the last second, he gets called out on this as his Thou Shall Not Kill mindset will get him killed in the real thing.
• Skewed Priorities: After Zuko attacks Aang to get him to train, Sokka gives us this:
  Katara: What happened?
  Sokka: Zuko's gone crazy! I made a sand sculpture of Suki and he destroyed it! [beat] Oh, and he's attacking Aang.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Conquering the Earth Kingdom is one thing. Actually holding onto the largest nation on the planet is another. This is why the war has lasted 100 years. In the flashback to the war council, General Shinu admits the Fire Nation's armed forces are spread too thin and it's allowing Earthbending rebels to harass them and prevent a total victory from being achieved. The occupation's also being hampered by the need to hold troops back in reserve to deal with the Day of Black Sun; once the invasion's defeated, the Fire Nation will finally be able to free up those troops for redeployment to the Earth Kingdom.
• Teach Him Anger: Zuko repeatedly attacks Aang to try to force him into retaliating aggressively instead of running away as usual.
• Tempting Fate: The Gaang assumes that, with the Fire Nation essentially having already won the war at this point, things can't get any worse. Then Zuko reveals Ozai intends to use Sozin's Comet to enact a Final Solution upon the Earth Kingdom.
  Katara: Things can't get any worse.
  Zuko: (grimly) You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you can even imagine.
• Terrible Artist: Only with sand sculptures instead of drawings. While Aang can make a pretty decent Appa, and Toph can make an amazing miniature Ba Sing Se (complete with miniature Earth King and Basco), Sokka's attempt at sculpting Suki ends up looking more like a weird anemone than a human face. Suki still thinks it's sweet, though.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: The reason Aang has such trouble with the idea of killing Ozai is because it goes against his pacifistic nature as an Air Nomad. He wants to find a non-lethal way to end the Fire Lord/Phoenix King's reign.
• To Catch Heroes, Hire Villains: Discussed. When the turtle island suddenly vanishes, taking Aang with it, the rest of the group turns to their newly acquired Lancer, Zuko, to find him. When he asks why, they point out that before his Heel–Face Turn, he had spent two seasons tracking the Avatar down over and over again, and as such is the most qualified one to do it now.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Katara finds a picture of a toddler playing on the beach while hiding out in Zuko's old summer home. When she shows it to the rest of the group, they tease Zuko about it. Much to their dismay, Zuko corrects them, revealing that the kid in the picture is actually Ozai, leaving them horrified at how this sweet and innocent-looking child would one day become the unhinged brute they're now up against.
  Suki: But he looks so sweet and innocent.
  Zuko: Yeah, well that sweet little kid grew up to be a monster. And the worst father in the history of fathers.
• War Is Hell: By the time Zuko went to that war meeting, the war has clearly taken a toll on him. As excited as he was that his father finally accepted him and needed him for a very important war meeting, he was quite war weary as opposed to when he was reckless and glory-seeking during his first war meeting. Said meeting concerned the Earth Kingdom rebellions, and Ozai needed Zuko's input on if they should conscript the domestic forces to put them down. At this point, Zuko feels too many people have died from the war already, and gave his insight about the Earth Kingdom people and their power of hope, in an attempt to resolve the situation without further bloodshed. His father considers his words, but before Zuko could elaborate further, he takes it to mean they should destroy their hope and Azula then suggests to burn their entire continent to show the world that resistance is futile. Ozai's genocidal plan, and his sister's and the generals' unfettered adherence to him was the last straw, proving the Fire Nation is just as despicable and violent as the Earth Kingdom say it is.
• We Are Not Going Through That Again: The last time Zuko spoke out of turn during a Fire Nation meeting, he got burned and banished by his own father. He regrets not doing so again during his flashback, though it implied he feared going through this again after just "regaining" his honor. The whole point of him telling that was to illustrate how trapped he was.
• "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Turns out Azula's no better than Zuko when it comes to daddy's approval. The minute it looks like he's not giving her the respect she wants, she wigs out. It takes some flattery and smooth words from Ozai to calm her down.
  Azula: You can't do this! You can't treat me like Zuko!
• Wham Episode: Aang learns about Fire Lord Ozai's plans to destroy the Earth Kingdom. Aang also disappears and finds himself on a mysterious island.
• Wham Line: Katara finds what looks to be "Zuko's" baby picture, showing an innocent baby boy blissfully playing on the beach. Zuko is somber at this discovery, which is mistaken for embarrassment by Katara. Then he drops this line, indicating how this war has twisted so many innocent souls:
  Zuko: That's not me. That's my father...
• What the Hell, Hero?: Katara scolds Zuko for trying to hurt Aang, but Zuko gives her and the others one of these for lazing about when the Comet is to arrive in 3 days.
  • As stated under Poor Communication Kills, Zuko and Aang both call one another out over not informing them of Ozai's plan or the Gaang's plan (or lack thereof in Team Avatar's case).
• Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Toph calls her time with Zuko "the worst field trip ever." Zuko calls Ozai the worst father ever.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: A non-lethal version, but hardly any less cruel. After years of loyal service, with a level of competence that most would kill for, Ozai tosses his daughter aside the moment he has no more need for her, tossing her an immediately worthless position as a consolation prize, essentially just to silence her protests.

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