Tear Jerker / Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book Three

"I just wanted to be loved, but I have nobody.

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The Awakening

• Seeing the fall of Ba Sing Se from a human perspective with many of the characters we meet there, such as Jin and the Tea Shop Owner, watching in horror as the great wall is destroyed and the Fire Nation comes marching in. The most devastating however is watching Ying, Than, and their daughter Hope's reactions to this tragedy. They had risked life and limb to reach Ba Sing Se, the one place in the entire Earth Kingdom that was safe from the war, and now all their efforts have been for naught. It really drives in how the world has officially hit its Darkest Hour.
• Katara's encounter with Hakoda, where she tells her father that she knew and understood why he left the village, yet even then she couldn't help being angry... and they embrace.
  Hakoda: I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day when I was gone and every night when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would ache.
• After he awakens, Aang tries to go back and fulfill his mission to bring the world in balance...except he can't since the world assumes he's dead and has to first recover and master Firebending. Despite it all, the episode ends with Aang, despite being reluctant, goes through with this plan, even letting his glider burn away at the remains of Roku's temple.

The Headband

• The moment where Zuko goes to visit Iroh. Whatever resentment you may have felt toward him from his failed Heel–Face Turn in the second season finale just melts as you realize just how conflicted he is over it. One of the most heartwrenching cases of Conflicting Loyalty ever depicted in Western Animation. Iroh says nothing and faces away from him for the entire scene. When Zuko angrily leaves after he doesn't say anything, slamming the door behind him, Iroh sheds a single tear, completely heartbroken that the nephew he's given everything for is so lost.
  Zuko: Please, Uncle, I'm so confused. I need your help.
• The Fire Nation schoolkids have no idea how to have fun and dance when Aang gets them together in a cave, and Aang has to teach them a traditional Fire Nation dance. Repeat, the Fire Nation became so militaristic, they banned their own cultural heritage.
  • Speaking of, Aang finally sees the indoctrination Fire Nation kids are put through. History is violently rewritten that all the ugly details of their conquest is left out, with all the emphasis on the war being for the Fire Nation’s greatness. Keep in mind, what is taught in these schools is exactly what Zuko was taught and his whole life he grew up believing these values. As we see later on, Zuko ends up deconstructing these values.
  • This becomes more depressing especially after Zuko learns the truth about his father and how far he’s willing to go to win the war. These kids have no idea what their "beloved" rulers are really like. The generations before them would be too heavily indoctrinated to think otherwise.

The Painted Lady

• The state of the river village. The water is polluted and causing harm to the villagers and the aquatic life, supplies are low, and people are sick. Worst of all is the inactivity from Ozai in trying to help his people as well as the army not doing anything to help the village whose water they are polluting with their factory.
• The scene where Katara gives a little boy one of her fishes, which he then takes to his sick mother. Katara must have had flashbacks to her mother and feared that this boy would lose his mother at a young age like her.

Sokka's Master

• Sokka feeling he can't contribute and admitting that he's just ordinary compared to the others' incredible powers. Although Sokka is normally the comic relief of the show, the episode really emphasizes how hard it is being The Team Normal amongst three of the most powerful benders in existence and the impact it has on his self-esteem.

The Beach

• The scene where Azula makes Ty Lee cry. We’ve seen how devoted of a friend Ty Lee is to Azula, especially since Azula hasn’t been the nicest person in the series, and for her to be told by this same friend that the boys she flirted with don’t care about Ty Lee really hits a sore spot for the cheerful acrobat. When she reveals that she grew up feeling like she didn’t have an identity, it makes Azula’s remark even more painful because Ty Lee just wanted someone to care about her for who she was. To add to it, Azula feels guilty and apologizes, surprising Ty Lee.
• Even though this was a mostly funny episode, the scene with Zuko walking to their old vacation house and remembering all the happy times he and his family had there when he was younger was really heartbreaking. Maybe it's the music.
  • Maybe it's the flashbacks. Especially one with Uncle Iroh holding a happy baby Zuko as his son Lu Ten builds a sandcastle laughing.
  • And look at the family portrait of Zuko's family. Zuko sits below his father and Azula sits below her mother in stark contrast to the parental favoritism we usually see. They all had some sort of emotional connection at some point. Zuko decides to burn it as firewood, and no one protests, not even Ty Lee.
• Azula comes to find Zuko in the vacation house after he's kicked out. Normally, Azula would be teasing him and calling him a "dum-dum" for giving into weakness. Instead, her expression changes. She leads him away, saying this place doesn't have good memories.
• When the girls are probing Zuko about who he is angry with, it honestly does sound like they are concerned and trying to get him to open up (even Azula). The struggle with trying to explain why he's angry is very reminiscent of people with anger and abandonment issues, and his final reaction is utterly heartwrenching.
  Zuko: I'M ANGRY AT MYSELF!!
• And then we have Mai. As if listening to how her mother rejected and shut down her opinions to the point that Mai became The Stoic isn't horrifying enough, you notice how she keeps asking her friends "what they want from her". And you realize that, even now, she still believes that she needs to behave according to other peoples expectations.
  Mai: You want me to express myself? LEAVE ME ALONE!
• After watching the finale, rewatch this episode.
  Azula: "I could complain about how Mom always liked Zuko more than me, but I don't really care. (She then looks into the dying fire, looking like she would cry if there weren't people around) ...My own mother thought I was a monster... She was right, of course, but it still hurt!"
• It's Played for Laughs since the guy was a jerk before, but you can't help but feel for the poor sap who gets his house destroyed and burned down at the end just because Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee needed to vent some frustration.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord

• The fact that Sozin and Roku were such good friends, the fact that the viewer sees their childhood days of happiness and laughter, knowing all the while that it will all end horribly... The first thing Sozin narrates, as the present day transitions into his and Roku's friendly childhood spar:
  Sozin: As I feel my own life dimming, I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter...
• Roku's death. The guy was left to die by his former best friend, and then to top it all off, his dragon curls up around him just before the ash covers them so that they can die together... and then it cuts to baby Aang, and Roku fading away. And then Aang turns around and starts looking for Roku in the void.
  • Fang choosing to die beside Roku is especially heartbreaking. Imagine in the same scene, instead of Roku and Fang, it's Aang and Appa instead. Fang wasn't just a mount, he was a friend and animal companion for life, just like Appa is for Aang. The pain of those two being separated is almost too much to bear.
• Sozin turned out to have been a Well-Intentioned Extremist. At the beginning of all this, he genuinely believed he was doing the right thing for the people of the world. But he cocked it up in the most cosmic way possible thanks to his pride, started a hundred-year war that brought nothing but suffering to everyone, and himself ended up spending his final days filled with misery and regret.
• In the end, Sozin was a Karma Houdini who is shown not going to any afterlife or Ironic Hell, though it's certainly possible given the amount of bad spiritual karma he earned. He murdered children, left his best friend to die, and destroyed entire cultures with his campaigns. And yet, he never took the effort to fix his mistakes or asked Azulon to make reformations instead of going for the Water Tribe. Instead, he died with ceremonial honors, and everyone in the Fire Nation seeing him as a savior. Although that blow is slightly lessened by knowing that Sozin's conscience punished him where the world didn't during his final days.

The Runaway

• A two-fer, one sad and one super-sweet. Sokka confesses that after all these years, he can't even remember what his mother's face looks like (sad). In the next breath he explains that, now, every time he thinks of his mother, he sees Katara's face (sweet). Still though, to not be able to recall the face of the one who raised you (or any close family member) is a really heartbreaking thought.
  • Katara overhears while in the water. Her expression is a mixture of sadness and sympathy— she's complained about having to be a mom for her older brother and that Sokka doesn't even know how to do his own laundry. Yet she sees that it's paid off because Sokka considers her as the responsible one compared to him.
  • And a third one. When Toph started crying and confessed that she actually did miss her parents and was sad that they were hurt. Until then, we mostly got the impression that she felt imprisoned by her parents and possibly didn't even like them a lot for those reasons.
  • Not to mention in the same conversation with Sokka's confession about forgetting his mother's face, Toph admits that Katara cares about her - the real her - more than even Toph's own mother did. Similarly to the above tear-jerker with Sokka, this is both heartwarming and sad.

The Puppetmaster

• All of Hama's flashbacks about how the Fire Nation systematically captured all the Waterbenders in the Southern Water Tribe through hit and run raids are tearjerkers. At the start of the flashback, we see Kanna (Katara and Sokka's grandmother) and Hama having a cute friendship moment and then the black smoke appears along with the Fire Navy ships. Hama is the last Waterbender to be taken away in chains while Kanna is looking on and crying. Hama later reveals that she spent decades in a small cage in a Fire Nation prison and that the reason why she went Ax-Crazy was because of the horrible way she was treated. The Fire Nation basically committed genocide against the Southern Water Tribe. When Hama was a young woman, the Southern Water Tribe was much bigger with fancy ice buildings everywhere. Now it's basically a bunch of tents and a couple of igloos. What was particularly poignant about that episode is how the capture of all the Waterbenders was illustrated: no dramatic fight scenes or anything, just a group of warriors holding their ground, but fading out little by little, until only Hama is left. That, and the way Hama walks when she finally escapes. It's sort of off-kilter, and illustrates not just her broken mental state, but is also probably a result of the physical damage she took in her years as a captive.
  • By the end of the episode Hama's going back in prison, being locked away "forever" as the villagers say. Considering that she became crazy because she's been locked away in the first place make the ending pretty bleak and hopeless for her.
  • Katara being forced to learn bloodbending. Hama starts by bloodbending her, and Katara's terror and helplessness is made viscerally clear. Then after resisting and putting up a decent fight against Hama, Katara has to use bloodbending for real when Hama tries to make Sokka and Aang kill each other. While Katara does defeat Hama and saves Aang and Sokka, she has been forced to learn bloodbending and has been traumatized by the whole ordeal.
• Katara breaks down crying at the very end of the episode. It's a small consolation that Sokka and Aang are there to comfort her.
• When Toph assumes that it's the Moon that's causing the disappearances (which funnily enough she's somewhat correct about), Sokka snaps at how the Lunar Spirit would never do such a thing. It's hilarious at first sight, but remember that the Lunar Spirit is Princess Yue...
• Despite all she has done, Hama's love for the children and her desire to pass on her knowledge and their shared heritage was genuine. Which makes it all the sadder since Katara always hoped to learn more about her heritage. And now that hope is irrecovably dead.

Nightmares and Daydreams

• It's played for laughs (mostly), but Aang's stress about their looming planned attack on the Fire Nation (and their only shot at defeating the Fire Lord) has given him terrifying nightmares, which in turn make him afraid to sleep, leading to horrible sleep deprivation and hallucinations. Katara, Sokka, and Toph do what they can to help him, but are basically forced to watch Aang unravel from the weight of the world on his very young shoulders.
• Zuko's father finally treats him like the crown prince that he is—inviting him to a war strategy meeting, welcoming him with respect, and seating him at his right hand—and Zuko doesn't trust him. His father has abused him and betrayed him so many times that now Zuko just can't accept that he would ever treat him kindly and respectfully without an ulterior motive.
• Mai trying futilely to cheer up Zuko about seemingly being snubbed. She offers to spoil him rotten and distract him. Given that Mai knows why Zuko is so frantic, she's desperate to shield him from the trauma.

The Day of the Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse

• Zuko's defiance of his father when he tells him how monstrous he is, how horrible of a father he's been and he announces that he's going to free his uncle who's been his true father and that he's going to join Aang to help him defeat his father. It's this, a Heartwarming Moment and a Moment of Awesome. And then swings into a heart-breaker when Zuko arrives to find that Iroh is gone and that he can't beg for his forgiveness. Being unable to apologise and beg for his uncle to forgive him eats at him until they finally meet again. Perhaps the worst part about this is how much Zuko hadn’t appreciated his uncle enough until now. Iroh was the one person who was there for Zuko even through the worst of times, and he just cast him away.
• As anybody who has cut ties with an abusive family member will tell you, finally deciding to leave a person you have known your entire life because you will not be dominated by their cruelty any longer is an awesome moment, but it is also awful to have to come to that conclusion. Especially since we are talking about a child realizing that he doesn't need to, or rather, can't afford his own father's love anymore. Watching Zuko walking away from Ozai, you don't see pride, or satisfaction, or anger, or fear, or sadness, just apathy and conviction, and he doesn't even bother engaging or reasoning with his father anymore. He was abused by his father for quite possibly most of his life and it was in this moment he faces the fact that he can't fix that by rebuilding his relationship with him, and that the best he can do is to finally walk away, from his family and from his home.
  • And it goes beyond that; As we’ve seen of Zuko throughout the series and in flashbacks, Zuko was young and patriotic. He grew up believing in his country’s greatness and the war was a way to spread that. Ruling the greatest civilization in the world would be his destiny. Everything Zuko did and wanted to do he believed would be for the good of the Fire Nation, only to find during his own banishment that it was all a lie. Zuko came to see it wasn’t war, it was madness.
• It’s subtle, but the look on Zuko’s face when Ozai explains what happened to his mother and why. Remember back in "Zuko Alone", when young Zuko repeated the phrase “Azula always lies” after she told him Azulon had ordered Ozai to kill him? When Ozai tells him that he actually was going to kill him, but Ursa intervened, you can see the exact moment Zuko realizes that for once… Azula wasn’t lying that night. Zuko can’t say he's surprised that his father and grandfather wanted him dead, but he can't believe he’s finding this out at the worst time possible and he's finding out the worst instance of this possible, because how even more heartbreaking is it to realize that your own sibling was right when she declared that your own father was about to kill you? If that’s so, then just how many things did Azula tell him that he thought she was lying about?!
• Sokka realizes that Azula is stalling them for the eight minutes that firebenders are powerless. He tells everyone it's not worth chasing her and they can find Ozai on their own. Azula smirks. Then she starts mentioning her "favorite prisoner", the Kyoshi Warrior leader. She hints that she tortured Suki until the latter gave up on escaping prison or ever being rescued. The worst part is that we don't know if it's the truth or another of her lies. It would be in-character for Azula to torture a war prisoner For the Evulz after stealing her outfits and identity. She also somehow knew that this would cause Sokka to break.
  • Sokka's line: "WHERE... IS... SUKI??" If not a Moment of Awesome for Sokka, than at least it was heartbreakingly badass. When Azula began talking about Suki - the guy looked like his heart had been torn out. And then, he goes up to Azula, slams her against the wall, and his expression. He looks like he'd duel Ozai himself for her.
  • The worst part is even though Suki is absolutely ecstatic upon seeing Sokka later in the season, we never get an answer whether she really gave up on Sokka before he did this or if Azula made this up to break him. The former is absolutely heartbreaking to think about, because up until this point, Sokka only knew the trio disguised themselves as Kyoshi Warriors not that Suki ever encountered them.
• The ending to the Day of Black Sun. The adults give up the children and willingly surrender when it becomes apparent that there is no escape. Haru and Teo's moments are especially tearjerking, since Haru's father just got out of prison, while the Mechanist is giving up his disabled son to live alone, with the very possible result that he will never see his son again. Sokka's reaction to him having botched the invasion plan, and the sad flight out made it especially unbearable. It's only Katara's reassuring smile that saved it from being a total downer ending.
  • Well, that and Zuko's successful Heel–Face Turn, which gives the episode - as he's determinedly following Appa's flight path in a hot air balloon - that final shred of hope.
  • Special attention has to be given to Aang's reaction. He's the Avatar. This is what he'd been preparing for, what he felt so insecure about, and he failed to even confront the Fire Lord. You can feel his shame and incredible guilt as he has to face the army of people who believed in him to communicate this failure - and among the people he's let down and who are going to be left behind is Katara and Sokka's own father. Hakoda ends up having to remind them that the Avatar must go in hiding or all hope is lost. And just before that, there's the private moment where he visibly breaks up into tears, another reminder that this is a little boy forced to carry so much weight, and Katara's trying what she can to comfort him. His address to the army is fittingly simple and heartbreaking: "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong. I'm going to make it up to you."

The Western Air Temple

• Zuko has followed the Gaang in order to teach Aang firebending and help him stop Ozai. He walks up to them and begs them to accept him, knowing that he'd be hopelessly outmatched if they, with good reason, chose to attack him. He actually kneels, head bowed, arms forward, and asks them to take him as a prisoner if they can't accept him as a friend. He's not hoping to find friendship, or support, or forgiveness. He's just looking to do some good at last. It highlights how different he's become to the haughty, proud, self-centered, angry jerk he was at the start of the series. And while he's kneeling like that, face down and completely vulnerable, Katara water-whips him in the face^note on the left side of his face, no less, mirroring the last time Zuko was on his knees begging for forgiveness, leaving him backing away like a wet, whipped dog. Fortunately, Zuko's able to bond with each of member of the team as time goes on - but Katara's grudge against the Fire Nation as a whole, as well as Zuko's hand in nearly killing Aang, keeps her from trusting him, which forces Zuko to do the one thing that will gain her friendship - bring her mother's killer to justice.
• The added sadness is that Zuko by defecting is forced to confront his misdeeds against the Gaang. He practices his apology on a cricket-frog, who reacts by hopping on his head and chirping. Zuko then admits that he wouldn't believe it in their shoes. After all, he hunted them for about a year, stole Katara's necklace, and tried to kidnap Aang a few times. Oh, and he betrayed Katara in exchange for Azula's favor to get his place back in the Fire Nation. Zuko is entirely unsurprised when the Gaang brings these up and refuses to trust them.

The Firebending Masters

• Zuko's shamed and sad face when he recounts how Sozin made killing dragons, the original Firebenders, a national sport and hunt for glory and how his uncle killed the last one. Fortunately, Uncle Iroh was better than that and simply lied so that the two remaining dragons will be left in peace. This is another example of the Fire Nation going against their own heritage and identity, for the sake of militarism, as Zuko and all others were not even aware that the meaning behind Firebending was supposed to be life instead of hate and anger until he met the Sun Warriors.
• In a similar note, there is something truly disheartening seeing how the element of Fire was stripped of its true, life-giving nature, and reduced to a simplistic weapon driven by little more than anger and hate.
• While it turns around when the Badger Moles arrive, the start of Toph's flashback is a little heartbreaking, showing young Toph crying in a cave.

The Boiling Rock, Part 1

• When Zuko tells Sokka that his dad might not be there.
  Zuko: Listen, I asked around, there are no water tribe prisoners.
  Sokka: [panicked] WHAT? Are you sure, did you double check?!
  Zuko: Yeah. I'm afraid your dad's not here.
  Sokka: NO! [slamming his fists into the side of the building] NO!
  Zuko: I'm really sorry, Sokka.
  Sokka: [despondently, nothing like his usual self] So we came all this way for nothing?! I failed, again.

The Boiling Rock, Part 2

• We see how alike Sokka and Hakoda are, how Sokka really wants - and gets, already had - his father's approval and pride. Plus Hakoda has tears in his eyes when he realizes the guard was Sokka.
• Remember Azula's Mommy Issues as Mai says, "I love Zuko more than I fear you."

The Southern Raiders

• Katara's dark night of the soul in "The Southern Raiders," especially the end:
  Katara: But I didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him... But I am ready to forgive you. (runs to Zuko and hugs him hard)
• Kya (Katara and Sokka's mother) performs a Heroic Sacrifice by claiming to the Southern Raiders' commanding officer Yon Rha that she is the last of the waterbenders, in order to save her daughter Katara. Yon Rha immediately executes her.
• Katara reminding Zuko that she was the first to trust him (referring to their time together in Ba Sing Se) only for him to betray her minutes later. Zuko is clearly crushed at a reminder of his mistake and how different things could be between them now.
• Zuko asks how he can make it up to Katara. She sarcastically tells him, with an angry smile, that he can either fix his mistake by reconquering Ba Sing Se in the Earth King's name or bring her mother back to life. Then she walks away. Zuko thinks about this and knows that either option is impossible. He can't take on the Fire Nation alone to fix the political chaos he caused in Ba Sing Se due to his selfishness, and no one can revive the dead. Zuko then goes to the source of the problem: Katara hates herself for trusting Zuko with saying her mother died, and he works to prove he is worthy of her trust. He decides that helping avenge her mother is the only way she can get closure.
• Sokka tries to get Katara to reconsider her quest for revenge, reminding her that Kya was his mother too. Katara snaps back, saying "Then you didn't love her the way I did!" Whilst one could argue that this is justified given that Sokka admitted in a previous episode to not remembering what his mother looked like, it's possible that Sokka barely remembering his mother is a defense mechanism of sorts, to help him move on; compare that to Katara, whose anger kept building up and festering inside of her, leading to, among other things, the harsh snap back mentioned above.
  • Katara even saying Sokka must have not loved Kya the same way Katara did. Sokka looks visibly hurt that Katara is making such a wild claim like that. You can tell when he’s telling Zuko what happened from his perspective that Sokka has some difficulty telling him what happened. He has been affected by the event, just not in the same way as his sister.
• There’s also when Aang brings up Jet and tells Katara to which she responds that Jet attacked the innocent. Despite the fact that Jet sacrificed himself for them, Katara’s answer makes it clear she still doesn’t think fondly of him, and can only remember him for his atrocities.
• Katara's rage when she confronts the man who she suspects killed her mother and then confronting the real man. She's usually a calm character who while she can get angry, is generally reasonable. Seeing her pushed to the point where she'll use even the blood-bending technique that she despises is very unsettling.
• The entirety of that episode is powerful. You realize Katara is trying to avoid thinking about what happened to her mother and takes it out on Zuko from the get-go, and when she does find out who the culprit is, Yon Rha, she's ready to end his life. Yon Rha is terrified out of his gourd the moment he realizes the impact of his murder. Instead of acting snide and arrogant, he's on his knees, pleading for his life, even offering up his crabby old mother's life so Katara can get even. But, that only lets Katara discover how pitiful the man's lot in life became after retirement, and that keeps her from killing him - barely. She bitterly spares him because she knows she won't get satisfaction out of his death, but with the promise she will NEVER forgive him for his actions - which leaves Yon Rha reduced to a sobbing wreck in a rainstorm.
  • The original planned ending was far worse: When Katara comes close to killing Yon Rha, his daughter would come into the scene, mirroring when Katara first saw Yon Rha about to give the killing blow to her mother. Katara then finds herself unable to go through with it, with a quiet "I can't...".
• A small clip at the end of the episode really takes the cake. Viewers see Katara sitting at the edge of the dock, splashing her feet through the water, wondering when this all stopped being a fun trip to the North Pole to learn Waterbending. It's at that moment that viewers really see just how broken she's become, and they perhaps can relate. Her growth mirrored that of viewers who grew up with her throughout the course of the show. While they may not have had life-threatening experiences and dead mothers to mourn and take revenge on, middle and high school undoubtedly brought upon them some ugly realities such as bullying, depression, suicide, and other fears that only older people tend to have. These issues would eventually put viewers in Katara's place, kicking their feet and wondering when their innocence died. It's a small, easily missable moment, especially compared to the Zuko forgiveness scene that tends to immediately dwarf it, but it's a nice touch nevertheless.

The Ember Island Players

• While not a really huge tear-jerker that can hit you hard as some of the other examples on this page, Zuko when he sees the scene in the play of actor-Zuko betraying Iroh. The scene on stage is humorous but it's the these lines that him and Katara exchange after they see it that really hit hard.
  Katara: You didn't really say that, did you?
  Zuko: I might as well have.
• Sokka silently weeping as he watches the scene of Yue ascending to the heavens. It shows that he's still hurting about what happened to her. Also sad that Suki doesn't appear very sympathetic.
  • On the other hand, Sokka seems more upset that he's seeing something dramatic rather than actually thinking about Yue. Perhaps the fact that Sokka seems more concerned about the play than Yue is a Tear Jerker in itself, though.
• Aang, having believed the play's version of events between Katara and Zuko, asks the real Katara if she sees him "as a little brother" and if their kiss before the battle meant anything. Unfortunately, she's unable to give him an answer, as the circumstances of the war means that while she cares for him, she's too afraid to commit to anything, especially after just coming to terms with the pain of losing her mom.
• At the end, as the Gaang were leaving the area and were visibly disturbed by the play. How they're all unable to bring up the fact that the play's ending has a high probability of actually occurring, because they've just faced the fact that they're just kids all alone on a quest that could very easily get them killed, and as many episodes had demonstrated, there were clear points where their quest absolutely would have offed them had everyone in the Gaang (not just Sokka) not have bending powers or if Anyone Can Die was in full effect. That’s how high the stakes are now that the war is approaching its end.

Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King

• The reason for the beach party becomes this after Katara admits that the Fire Nation essentially won the war when they took Ba Sing Se. The Gaang failed in their purpose months ago and have decided to wait until after the comet to engage the Fire Lord. The party was just a way to cheer them up over that collective feeling of powerlessness that you can see in their faces. None of them are happy about it but it's really the only option left over. That is until Zuko reveals Ozai's plan to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground, which all of the Gaang was horrified and nauseated to learn about.
• We find out just what happened at the war meeting that Zuko was so importantly needed for in "Nightmares and Daydreams", and it’s very powerful for a reason. Zuko found himself in a situation not unlike from 3 years prior, but remembering the choices he made then, this was his chance to finally do things differently, but it proved far more unpleasant than he could imagine, of which he has a lot of Post-Support Regret from:
  • Knowing his own son's experience with Earth Kingdom citizens, Ozai turns to Zuko for counsel on how to deal with them, to which Zuko reminds everyone not to underestimate the rebels because of their hope. Unfortunately, his father and sister arrive at the conclusion that they should burn their hope, and their lands to the ground during the passing of Sozin's Comet. Zuko is horrified.
  • If Zuko thought speaking out of turn was bad, not doing so was worse—though that isn't saying much, considering what did happen when he spoke out of turn last time was him getting publicly mutilated. However, the stakes are too high that he couldn't just walk away from this, and it's this moment that factors into his Post-Support Regret come the Day of Black Sun. By the time he got his father's approval, this moment was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Zuko ultimately came to the grave realization that his beloved Fire Nation is at the end of the day, all about bloodshed and tyranny, not peace, compromise, and greatness. His ending narration makes it clear he blames himself for his part in this, and his failure to speak out when he had the chance.
    • However, it should also be noted that there's no guarantee Zuko trying to speak out and challenge Ozai's plans would have done any good at all; Ozai burned his face for speaking out the first time. He's also not above murder and tried to kill Zuko more than once as revealed in the comics. There's no doubt that he would've had to confront his father again if he spoke out, and even despite how much he had grown as a Firebender, as Zuko makes clear by his statements of Iroh being the only non-Avatar bender capable of defeating Ozai, he knew he wouldn't have stood a chance against Ozai in an Agni Kai. Combine that with the fact that Zuko had already challenged him before, he most likely thought that Ozai wouldn't spare him this time, especially as he now knew the Fire Nation's ultimate victory plans and thus would be too dangerous to be allowed to live. In the end, Zuko's guilt can easily come from either one of these three sources or all of them: First, he could have felt bad for not speaking out against Ozai, even if he knew he would have most likely been killed in process. Secondly, he might have consciously decided Know When to Fold 'Em by saying nothing but making up his mind to train Aang in Firebending, thus remaining alive to do something good rather than dying in vain, and despite how this was a sound decision, if not the only way he was going to survive trying to rebel against Ozai, Zuko still couldn't help but feel bitter and ashamed of himself for being both helpless AND perhaps even somewhat cowardly. Finally, he might have felt guilty for ever mentioning the strength of the Earth Kingdom's pride and hope, which lead to the horrific plan being formed in the first place.
    • It's evident Zuko was bound to find out the Awful Truth about the lengths his father and his country were willing to go, but did he have to find it out the hard way first time? Zuko using this moment to quietly process the truth as the generals are celebrating means the answer is no. Although saying that this is the 'first time' he finds out the hard way doesn't seem entirely accurate, as it can be argued that the first true sign of this cruelty was when Zuko was permanently scarred by his own father. Zuko was just young and foolish, as well as being a traumatized, emotionally and physically abused teenager back then to open his eyes to the truth. Zuko’s character arc was that of a young man who tried so desperately to earn his father’s approval and believe that his great-grandfather’s legacy will make the world a better place, which will make all the losses and suffering he experienced along with his harmful actions in the past mean something. The story was meant to illustrate that his "Well Done, Son" Guy mentality could only last so long, before he had to finally face his conscience for all the terrible things he did to earn his father’s approval that led up this point:
    "My whole life, I struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance, but once I had it, I realised I had lost myself getting there. I had forgotten who I was."
• When Zuko was teaching how to redirect lightning, it was completely wrenching just how casually he could talk about the fact that his own father tried to kill him. And as if that isn't bad enough, The Promise really drives it home, when Zuko gets to join a mixed-nationality family for dinner and later marvels at the fact that they "didn't challenge each other to Agni Kais" - while talking to his uncle's portrait. Normal family life is completely foreign to him.
• Minor tearjerker, but in the night after the Gaang practiced to face the Fire Lord with Toph as the Melon Lord, Katara discovered an innocent drawing of a baby. At first, everyone thinks it's depicting baby Zuko, but then Zuko corrects them in that the adorable baby isn't him. It's Ozai. While not relevant to the Final Battle, it can be assumed that Baby Ozai was likely not too different from Baby Zuko in terms of innocence and blind devotion, but unlike his son, Ozai couldn't bring himself to break free of Azulon's abuse, and by the time he did, it was already too late for him to change for the better.
  • Actually, it is relevant because seeing Ozai's baby photo and seeing the innocence this monster once had was enough to fully convince Aang to try to non-lethally defeat him despite the rest of the Gaang's protests to kill him.
• And there’s Zuko telling Aang he must take the Fire Lord’s life before he take’s Aang’s. It’s subtle, but it’s very clear what Zuko wants to happen to his father. You’d have to have a really horrible father to want him dead.
• Ozai choosing to leave Azula behind. While Azula is very obviously a villain, it’s hard not to feel bad for her when her father abandons her and gifts her with a meaningless title while he gets to effectively rule the world. At this point, Mai and Ty Lee have betrayed her and now her last close ally is choosing to move on without her. In hindsight, this is likely the moment that drove her over the edge.
  Azula: But I thought we were going to do this together.
  Ozai: My decision is final.
  Azula: You ... you can't treat me like this! You can't treat me like Zuko!
  • Azula accusing her father of treating her like Zuko is rather telling; at no point in her life did Ozai horribly mutilate or threaten her like he did to Zuko, and even now, what she got still doesn't even compare. It goes to show Azula thinks so little of her brother that she still does not grasp the true depth of Zuko's treatment by their father.

Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters

• Zuko and Iroh's reunion in the Grand Finale. Their prolonged embrace, the tears streaming down both their faces, and their voices... All building up to one heartstring-yanking moment.
  • That scene is so awesomely emotional, it really needs to be spelled out. It starts with Zuko outside the tent, paralyzed with shame at his betrayal of his Uncle. He only goes in once Katara gives him assurance (a tearjerker in itself, given that Katara used to hate him). When he goes in, he finds Uncle asleep, so Zuko kneels and waits the entire night for Iroh to wake up, all the while stewing in his own shame. When Iroh wakes, he turns away from Zuko as Zuko makes his apology, giving the impression that he's actually ashamed of Zuko and angry at the betrayal. It's only when he turns around and fiercely embraces Zuko that you realize that Iroh was just trying to keep it together because he was filled with such joy and pride in his adopted son for finding his way back to the light. He actually turns around, grabs Zuko by his tunic, and PULLS him in to an embrace so fierce, it looks like it might break ribs. It is one of the most moving scenes in TV and animation history.
  • Not to mention the parallel to the last time Zuko was on his knees begging for forgiveness - when he faced Ozai in their Agni Kai and was left horrifically disfigured. Now he thinks that Iroh may never forgive him or indeed could punish him like Ozai did, and even tearfully pleads that he can't think of anything to do to make up for his mistakes - no doubt remembering the impossible task Ozai set in order to gain his "forgiveness" and bracing himself for more of the same.
  • Just think of all Iroh has done for Zuko, and it's all so much worse. He left his comfortable palace to sail around the world with a moody, biting, and emotionally disturbed teenager who takes out his trauma through anger and rage, who pretty much tells him off and then betrays him, sending Iroh to prison. And Iroh was so kind and so patient and so loving the whole time.
    Zuko: [after Iroh hugs him, about to cry] How can you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me!
    Iroh: [while tears stream down his face] I was never angry with you. I was sad, because I was afraid that you had lost your way.
    Zuko: I did lose my way.
    Iroh: But you found it again. And you did it by yourself. And I am so happy you found your way here.
  • Then there's the fact that Zuko honestly did not expect to be forgiven - not just in this instance, but when he first joined the Gaang as well. His own father treated him so badly that he had no idea what healthy relationships were like.
  • Especially emotional given Zuko and Iroh have been separated for a season. We've seen just about everything they've went through, and this is pretty much the end of their character arcs, at least in relation to one another.
• It's small, but Zuko's Freudian Slip of referring to Ozai as the "Father Lord" shows how, despite his tough act for Aang's sake, he's far from without conflict over the fact that he might have to see his father killed.
• Iroh talking about how, a long time ago, he had a dream or vision of conquering Ba Sing Se and tried to make that come true, only to realize that his destiny was to conquer it to take it back from the Fire Nation. Sweet, until the Fridge Horror sets in and you realize how conscious he must be of all the people who died attempting to conquer Ba Sing Se - and that his own son died for the wrong dream.

Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno

• While it definitely comes across as Nightmare Fuel, the scene where Azula hallucinates Ursa is also this, especially since it’s only through a hallucination that Azula heard the words that she probably never heard her mother say to her with absolute sincerity when she was growing up; “I love you, Azula. I do…”
• How the Last Agni Kai starts:
  Azula: I'm sorry it has to end this way, Brother.
  Zuko: (in his stance) No, you’re not.
  • Zuko sounds so matter-of-fact here. He's not angry, he's not disbelieving, he's not even upset. He's accepted the fact that his sister intends to kill him.
  • They're siblings, who more or less actually do care for one another, but with this one sentence, Zuko accepts that his sister has been mentally reduced to a mad dog who wants him dead and that the only way to stop her is to fight her, possibly to the death.
  • Word of God even says on the DVD commentary was that this was the exact intention: to show that this was not a happy victory, particularly not for Zuko, and that he was very unhappy about having to duel his own sister. It had to be done, but it's obvious Zuko wishes it hadn't.
  • The background music. Oh, the background music. It's just so incredibly mournful. You barely even hear the blasts of the fire-bending over it, and the way the scenes keep shifting between that and the energetic fight between Aang and Ozai... whenever the scene switches back to Zuko vs. Azula, it's a little jarring. In a very sad way. Ultimately, these are just two kids driven apart by their father and forced to fight.
  • Azula is desperate to keep something after losing her friends, subordinates and even family. Her fighting style is completely wilder than ever before; she goes for kill shots a lot more frequently, and above all else this is the first time we ever see Azula gasping for air to keep the fight going. She's masquerading her misery that she has nothing but a meaningless title to fight for and she'll give it her all to keep even that from Zuko just so she can have one thing her brother doesn't have.
  • Katara's presence also adds another dimension of heartbreak. Here she is, someone who was raised with family as her core and was able to comfort a broken Aang by letting him be part of their family. And now for her final battle, she has to confront this: a family - a brother and sister, like her and Sokka - that is so broken that it is beyond repair. This must have disturbed her greatly - and she must have felt great trauma from Zuko getting hit by lightning after what had happened to Aang - but like in the desert she still endures and only shows vulnerability after she's taken Azula down.
• He taunts Azula to shoot lightning at him to exhaust her. She does start zapping ...at Katara. Zuko barely has time for a split-second Oh, Crap! and Oh, No... Not Again! before he dives and takes the blow. Meanwhile, Katara has relived someone she cares about getting struck by Azula's lightning and nearly killed.

Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

• Katara tries to get to Zuko to heal him, not caring that she's risking her life. Azula uses lightning and fire to keep her from approaching, snidely saying the family physicians can take care of "Little Zuzu." Then she mocks how her little brother doesn't look so good. That's the moment Katara goes from the defensive to the offensive.
• Princess Azula's gradual mental breakdown throughout the Grand Finale, starting with a bit of minor paranoia in Part 2, then going to a full sobbing breakdown in front of the mirror in Part 3 following a hallucination in which Azula sees her mother Ursa telling her that she loves her, but she refuses to believe it. The last we see of Azula in the series is a scene of her lying chained on the ground in hysterical rage, tears streaming down her face. As hideously evil as she had been throughout the series, those final moments made a lot of viewers realize that beneath all the psychotic evil, Azula was still a sad, scared little girl who just wanted her mommy to love her, and attached herself to a bastard of a daddy who used this to raise her into a villain.
  • The moment that sets her off is when Ozai refuses to let Azula join him in his attack on Ba Sing Se in Part 1. He crowns Azula Fire Lord but declares himself the Phoenix King, rendering the title of Fire Lord pointless. After losing Mai and Ty Lee, the last person she loves and the one person she truly trusted has betrayed her. That's after doing everything her father wished, attempting to capture Iroh and Zuko, attempting to hunt the Avatar, taking Omashu in her father's name, killing Aang and taking Ba Sing Se, and doing her best to delay Team Avatar from reaching Ozai during the Eclipse, all while deluding herself her father loved her more than Zuko, and trying to impress him. Azula thus is seen as a very dark parallel to what Zuko could have become if he didn't have Iroh's love and guidance and more gentle nature. After her father cruelly tosses her aside, she realises what a monster her father truly is and how all she had done for him is All for Nothing, but by then it's too late.
  • Azula becomes an even more tragic character when one spends a moment considering her family. She's Zuko's sister. That means that, like Zuko, she is a direct descendant of both Sozin and Roku. Azula had the same potential to turn around her family and the Fire Nation that Zuko had, and instead became this twisted, evil, mentally unstable, manipulative monster. The fact that she could have been the one to redeem her nation and family like her brother just makes the person she developed into even sadder; the most tragic monsters are the ones who had the potential to be heroes.
    • Also consider this the probable reason why Azula turned out psychotic and Zuko sympathetic was that she was the talented one. This meant she spent more time with her sociopathic father who encouraged her villainous tendencies. This is probably also what drove a wedge between and her mother, as it is perfectly reasonable to assume she was genuinely concerned about the direction Azula was headed in. Meanwhile Zuko's lack of talent, lead to his status as their father's unfavorite, meant he wasn't as influenced by their crazy dad, though he was still obviously abused in his own horrible way that one would expect from Ozai.
    • After reading the comic "The Search" which takes place after the third season of Avatar:TLA, it can be assumed that talent or lack thereof had nothing to do with it. Ursa wrote a letter with a lie that Zuko was not Ozai's son but the son of her true love to see if Ozai was spying on her. When Ozai indeed confronted her, she mentioned that perhaps she even wished that the lie was true. Ozai, being the sadistic bastard that he is, decided he would "respect her wish" and never treat Zuko as his son. It could be further imagined that Ursa possibly distanced herself from Azula, before she took after her sadistic father, to keep Ozai from possibly deciding to do the same to Azula and further declare that all that Ursa loves will suffer.
  • The way Katara and Zuko react to Azula's descent into madness is what brings the final Agni Kai to a close. While Katara can't bring herself to look at Azula screaming and crying pitifully while struggling to free herself, Zuko calmly looks on. He was probably wondering if Azula could have been saved had things been different.
    • The end of Azula for the series is such a sad send-off considering all that happened. Let's recap: She begins showing amazing prodigal talents in firebending, to the point of lightning bending at such a young age and even creating blue fire. She never tries to bond with Iroh, and her abrasive bratty attitude just alienates Zuko. She believes her mother doesn't like her and so she turns and devotes her time and abilities to Ozai who approves of her when she demonstrated amazing firebending talents. It puts stress on Azula, but to make a parent proud and feel loved, she undertakes many studies and disciplines to be that much better than Zuko. Furthermore, without any other parental figure, she latches onto her father down to the attitude and the philosophies. She has two "friends" who she just thinks need a whip-cracker to keep them in line. For Azula, it all seems perfect, despite mom not being in the picture. Flash Forward to the Agni Kai: Her issues with her mother have accelerated to the point where her powerful will can't repress them anymore. Daddy brushes her off like the son he was going to murder without a second thought, her two best friends betray her, refusing to submit to her out of fear again, and her paranoia sends away powerful servants like the Dai Li. Just when she thinks she's going to be crowned Fire Lord despite all that's happened, Zuko shows up and takes that too. And worst of all, she doesn't lose to Zuko, a firebending "master" like she is, but rather Zuko who focuses on the fundamentals. Not only that, but she was captured and restrained handedly by Katara, a water bender of all things, at what was supposed to be the height of her powers under the comet. Azula's world flips upside down for her in one summer. She lost everything and has absolutely nothing left. Her spirit is broken, and thus, she lashes out in sheer rage... before crying and succumbing to her madness.
  • Grey Delisle's heartbreaking performance during the scene genuinely adds to the sadness and shows how far Azula has fallen over the course of the series.
  • The music during the duel between Azula and Zuko, rather than fitting an epic battle between a hero and a villain, rather, it reflects a tragic conflict between two siblings. However, when the duel turns between Azula and Katara, it becomes more Nightmare Fuel.
• The part where Toph is dangling from an airship with Sokka just barely holding onto her. When she starts crying because she realizes they're both at the end - they're both about to die. Just watch the .gif◊.
  • Her utter vulnerability is what makes the scene. Because she is blind and can only "see" vibrations through her feet, the fact that she was dangling helplessly hurt. Her entire world has just become Sokka's hand.
  • When Sokka is holding onto Toph and tells her not to let go. Toph, who is totally vulnerable and dependent on the strength of Sokka's grip, only responds with a choked-up "Aye-aye, Captain." These two characters have gotten to such a point in their relationship where not even death can make them doubt the other.
  • Oddly enough, Sokka's "I don't think Boomerang's coming back" and "Bye, Space-Sword". He threw both away KNOWING they were gone forever, without hesitating for a second, all to protect Toph.
  • It hits even harder with Boomerang. Through the entire series, Boomerang always came back, no matter what happened (discounting the time Sokka was stuck in that hole, since it was barely a foot away from him and he didn't really throw it). You know things are bad when Sokka gives up on Boomerang coming back. That begs the question: exactly where did they land?
• When Aang decides to Take a Third Option to defeat Ozai in the finale, the Lionturtle's encouraging speech about the strength of the heart and Aang's determination not to kill Ozai, risking his life and his own soul to do the right thing.
• Zuko may have won the war, but the end of the war cemented the end of his family he once knew: To begin with, he lost his mother to banishment. Azula was horrible to him, but now she’s encroached in her madness. And finally, there’s Ozai. Say what you want about him, but nothing changes the fact he’s still his biological father. Zuko grew up under Ozai, he still loved him and wanted to have him in his life. Zuko spent three years trying to please him and earn it back. But with the decisions Ozai made in life, Zuko had no choice but to see him brought to justice. All Zuko has left is his uncle.
• Seeing Aang dressed in the monk clothes. Just, remembering, that he really is the Avatar. The war is over. The nomads are gone, but in a few generations, there will be more^note Even if Aang Did Not Get the Girl with Katara, the chances of the Air Nomads coming back from extinction would still be very likely as there have been many female friends Aang made during his travels in his physical age range who would be compatible to start a family with him during their adulthood. Just seeing Aang, looking like Gyatso, with all his wisdom, and his pain and suffering behind him cranked up the water works to 11. If only Gyatso were there to see it all, but surely, he'd be proud of how far Aang has become.
• The very end, where Katara and Aang kiss is just beautiful - they don't even need words.
• The end. Just the characters, and the black words "The End." It's all over. The End. They're having tea in Iroh's little shop, and suddenly everyone is friends. Mai and Suki playing Pai Sho. Sokka doing his silly paintings, Zuko serving the tea, Toph being snarky as usual, Katara kissing Aang. And it's perfect. The sky is perfect. And then it's the end.

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