The Gaang finally gains an audience with the Earth King.
"I want to thank you, young heroes, for opening my eyes. All this time, what I thought was a great metropolis was merely a city of fools. And that makes me the king fool."
With the return of Appa completing the team at last, Sokka, encouraged by their new turn of good luck, suggests that they hurry to see the Earth King. Toph and Katara disagree, wanting to cut their losses and get out of Ba Sing Se while luck still seems on their side, but when Aang agrees with Sokka, Katara changes her mind, leaving Toph outvoted. After a massive battle, in which the team fights their way past the palace guards and into the throne room, they finally have their audience with the Earth King, only to find that Long Feng has beaten them there. With the chancellor throwing doubt on their story, Team Avatar must convince the King that, not only has Long Feng been at the head of a conspiracy to control Ba Sing Se, but that the world is at war.
Elsewhere in the city, Zuko and Iroh return to their apartment, only for Zuko to fall deliriously ill. Iroh explains to him that Zuko's decision to set Appa free has left Zuko at war within himself.
Tropes:
- Angst Coma: Zuko falls into an extreme fever, apparently triggered by letting Appa (and, by proxy, Aang) go free.
- Apologetic Attacker: "Sorry! We just need to see the Earth King!"
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Provided by the Earth King: "You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door—and you expect me to trust you?!"
- Battle in the Center of the Mind: Zuko has to go through this. Lampshaded by Iroh:Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake, it was in such conflict with your image of yourself that you are now at war within your own mind and body.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: Team Avatar versus the Earth King's royal guard. Team Avatar wins.
- Brick Joke: The Earth King excitedly says "now that's the way to travel" when he sees Aang flying on Appa. Later, in order to convince the Earth King to come with them to the Outer Wall to show him the drill as proof of the war, Sokka says if he comes with them this time they'll let him ride on Appa. This convinces him.
- Blatant Lies: Several of Long Feng's lies to the Earth King delve into this.
- When Aang exposes Appa's bite mark on Long Feng's leg, after Long Feng previously lied about never seeing a Sky Bison before, Long Feng claims it just happens to be a "large birthmark". All it takes is Appa showing off his teeth for the Earth King to recognize the pattern and see it is proof, and since Long Fang was caught in this lie, the Earth King decides the "secret war" he was told about is worth looking into.
- When Long Feng tries to explain the Fire Nation drill.Long Feng: This is nothing more than ... a construction project.
Katara: Really? Then perhaps you could explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your construction project.
Long Feng: Well it's imported of course. You know you can't trust domestic machinery.
- Broken Pedestal: The Earth King towards his 'most trusted advisor'.
- Cassandra Truth: Played with. On one hand, the Earth King isn't so easily swayed into believing Team Avatar's story about a war going on outside of the city's walls, between the kids' recent shenanigans and Long Feng's influence. But he's not too hard-headed to give them a chance, and he does start listening to them when they provide concrete evidence to back up their claims.
- Catapult Nightmare: Zuko has one of these, due to his fever dreams.
- Cliffhanger: So things are looking good for Team Avatar! Everything seems to be going their way for once. Right? NOPE. Toph's letter from her mother was a trap set by Xin Fu and Master Yu, the Dai Li are still loyal to Long Feng, and the three Kyoshi Warriors who've arrived are actually Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in disguise.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Team Avatar completely destroys the Earth King's entire royal guard.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee infiltrate Ba Sing Se dressed as Kyoshi Warriors.
- Dumbass Has a Point: The Earth King may be naive and sheltered, but (as even Toph acknowledges) he's understandably angry about a bunch of strange children attacking his palace, bursting into his throne room after flattening his guards, and then saying that he needs to trust that they have a good reason for doing it.
- Evil Chancellor: This episode shows Long Feng trying to manipulate the king into ignoring the warnings about a war.
- False Start: See Moment Killer below.
- Fever Dream Episode: Zuko's side of the story.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: A clever-eyed viewer can see that the Kyoshi Warriors are actually Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee in disguise from their unchanged haircuts just before the big reveal.
- Foreshadowing:
- The two Dai Li agents briefly hesitate and give each other a knowing look before arresting Long Feng. This is a hint that they have not changed their ways and are still feigning loyalty to the Earth King, and it's born out near the end when one of them tells the imprisoned Long Feng that they're still loyal to him over the king.
- Katara immediately says Sokka should be the one to go see their father, hinting at her hurt at him which will come to the forefront later.
- A small one for the sequel series. Long Feng describes Team Avatar as an "anarchist cell" and claims "If you listen to them, you're playing right into your own destruction." In The Legend of Korra, we see exactly that; a diverse group of benders making up part of an anarchist cell manipulate the Earth Queen into listening to them, which directly leads to her demise at their hands.
- Funny Background Event: When King Kuei is handing the Gaang letters the Dai Li confiscated, he gives one to Toph...who immediately hands it to Katara, since, being blind, she can't read it.
- Good Angel, Bad Angel: In Zuko's fever dreams, a pair of dragons (one red, one blue, and voiced by Iroh and Azula, respectively) act out his inner conflict.
- Ground-Shattering Landing: A group of earthbender soldiers is tossed in the air when Aang lands this way.
- Group Hug: At the end before the Gaang splits up.
- Hope Spot: Toph's gotten a letter that her mother wants to mend their relationship, the Earth King is on Team Avatar's side, Ba Sing Se's forces will now join the war, Aang will meet Guru Pathik, Sokka will see his father again, and according to a messenger, the Kyoshi warriors have arrived at the city. What could possibly go wrong? (See Cliffhanger).
- I Can Explain: Long Feng wants the Earth King to believe that the drill is merely a construction project. The Fire Nation insignia puts a spanner in his story though.
- Impairment Shot: Before Zuko collapses and falls into his Angst Coma, we see the room shaking from his POV.
- Internal Reveal: The Earth King finally learns about the war against the Fire Nation, and the upcoming solar eclipse.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: The Gaang takes the Earth King to Lake Laogai to the Dai Li base, but find it has been destroyed since they last left.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Long Feng's constant cover-ups come back to bite him when the Earth King learns the truth. Unfortunately, the Dai Li remain loyal to him even after being locked up.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: The team receives letters that Long Feng had confiscated, each of them pulling the teammates in different directions; they decide to split up.
- Marilyn Maneuver: Aang invokes this in a rare male example on Long Feng to expose the bruise he got from Appa to prove Long Feng is lying about having never met a sky bison.
- Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Long Feng operates out of his prison cell like he would from an office.
- Moment Killer: As the group is saying goodbye to each other as they split up...Aang: Katara, I need to tell you something. I've been wanting to say it for a long time...
Katara: What is it, Aang?
Aang: Katara? I--
Sokka: (giving Aang a noogie) Alriiight! Who's ready for a men-only man trip! - Mugged for Disguise: The ending reveals this happened after Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee attacked the Kyoshi Warriors.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Politically destabilizing Ba Sing Se may have been the right thing to do, but carries dire consequences that are not easily dealt with.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: The Earth King heavily resembles Puyi, the last Emperor of China. Like Kuei, Puyi was made emperor at a very young age and was a puppet emperor during his early childhood and later under the Japanese occupation. Puyi was also trapped for years inside the Forbidden City, similar to how the Earth King never left the palace. The Earth King also wears spectacles, like Puyi did, and clothing based on the Chaofu, ceremonial clothing of the Manchu emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
- Not Helping Your Case: The Gaang force their way into the Earth King's palace, leaving a trail of unconscious guards and wrecked masonry behind them, and then try to convince the King that they're on his side. The Earth King is understandably not impressed.
- Offhand Backhand: A very obviously irritated Aang does this to one of the royal guards surface-to-air rocks as they approach the Earth King's palace.
- Pun: Sokka has been admittedly saving this for the day Long Feng finally gets his comeuppance. He makes use of it during the man's arrest.Sokka: Looks like Long Feng is... "Long Gone"!
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The Earth King is naturally reluctant to trust Aang's group after they beat their way to him, but he's willing to hear them out when he hears that Aang is the Avatar and is on their side once given evidence of Long Feng's treachery and the Fire Nation's siege. He openly admitted in hoping that the war effort wasn't true, and later admits that he'd been a fool to trust Long Feng so completely.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Inverted. The blue dragon that Zuko dreams up encourages his violent leaning (and has Azula's voice), while the red one tries to get him to think (and has Iroh's voice).
- Saying Too Much: Long Feng revealing that the group attacking the palace are the Avatar and his posse, as opposed to some anarchists, leaves the Earth King curious enough to hear them out instead of throwing the book at them.
- Sick Episode: Zuko gets a high fever after having set Appa free.
- Slipped the Ropes: Aang does this as a quick gag.
- Surprise Slide Staircase: During their assault on the palace, Aang and Toph flatten out the staircase, then make themselves an elevator to ascend to the top while all the guards slide to the bottom.
- Tempting Fate: At the end of the episode, when things are looking better than they ever did, Sokka proclaims: "Everything will work out perfectly; from now on and forever!" Cue the Dai Li revealing that they're still loyal to Long Feng, Toph being captured by Xin Fu and Master Yu, and the Wham Shot showing Azula and her friends disguised as Kyoshi warriors.
- Took a Level in Badass: This episode really showcases how good at earthbending Aang has become, to the point where he's able to split rocks in half with his staff. Keep in mind his staff is wooden.
- Traveling at the Speed of Plot: Long Feng is back from Lake Laogai before the Gaang, though the latter had the advantage of a flying bison. To be fair, there was a short interruption of curb-stomping the royal guard.
- True Companions: "Split up? But we just got the family back together!"
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The Gaang's efforts to persuade the Earth King that they're telling the truth is contrasted with Zuko's fever.
- Uncertain Doom: That Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee have Kyoshi Warrior outfits indicating they defeated Suki and co. but the exact fate of the latter isn't revealed until later.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Sokka vouches for the Kyoshi Warriors to the Earth King before heading off with Aang to see his dad. If Sokka either hadn't vouched for them or had stayed around long enough to greet the warriors himself - thus allowing him to figure out that they are actually Azula and co. in disguise - it is entirely possible that Azula's plans would have been foiled before they had a chance to take off.
- Wham Line:Earth King: Dai Li, arrest Long Feng. I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom.
- Wham Shot:
- After trying and failing to show evidence to the Earth King of Long Fei's conspiracy and the war with the Fire Nation, the Gaang believes the Fire Nation Drill Tank may not have been fully cleaned up yet. To their luck, the decommissioned vehicle is still there and Long Fei is out of ways to cover his tracks.
- The last scene shows that Azula and her friends are impersonating the Kyoshi Warriors.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: The Earth King is unconvinced about the kids warning him about the Fire Nation attack, but soon explicitly tells Aang that he hopes they are lying since he was so used to peace. Aang shares the same sentiment.
