The Western Air Temple & the Firebending Masters

An: Hello all, again. I was originally going to wait until these episodes aired in the US, but you know- IT'S TAKING WAY TOO LONG! So I decided to do it now. Again, if you want to debate with me, go ahead, but please no 'Zutara is dumb' and 'you're out of your mind', because please, I could do the same to all the Kataang theories, and so far, I have totally refrained from it. Just please be civil, okay?

Katara slumped up against the stone wall. She couldn't believe what she had just done. Threatening Zuko? What was wrong with her? Was she crazy?
The boy she had just threatened suddenly stepped into her field of vision. She was glad she was submerged in the shadows. She had no desire to talk to him.

Absently, her fingers trailed up her neck to her blue pendent.
Had she been too tough? How much courage had it taken for him to leave the Fire Nation?
No! She thought furiously, Aang is the priority! Without him… the whole world will never rid itself of the Fire Nation's tyranny!

"Hey!" Toph's brazen voice called suddenly, and Katara jumped, was she going to reveal her location.
No.

Katara watched curiously as her friend called the ex-prince over.

"I need help." She said simply.

"What?"

"Well… since you burned my feet, you know…" Toph began.

"Right…" Zuko winced, "I'm really, really sorry."
"Sorry don't cut it." Toph replied.

"So… what do you want?" Zuko asked after several seconds.

"Carry me." Toph commanded.

"What?" Zuko said, his voice becoming higher.

Katara snickered, safe in the dark.

"Carry me." Toph repeated, "Or… if you aren't strong enough-"
"No..." Zuko answered, not willing to lose his male pride, "but… why?"
"Because I'm tired of sitting here." Toph replied flippantly, "Well?"
Zuko sighed aloud. "Fine."
Katara looked away as Zuko bent to pick up the audacious earthbender. How could he act so nicely? How could they all trust him so much? In time, would they all expect her to trust him as well?

She sighed softly. Some decisions were never easy.

Remember if you haven't seen these episodes, it would be wise not to read this yet. Onto the discussion:

The Western Air Temple was awesome, in fact, it was the best episode in a long, long time, but down to business.
Some people say that WAT was a big 'Kataang supporter'. Katara totally bagged on Zuko, and she totally hates him, right? That's got to mean that she's all for Aang!

Sorry… but no.

In this episode, Aang shows that, even though he's changed, he's still immature. The whole 'playing deaf' thing proves that. If he was mature, wouldn't he have been a little more thoughtful towards the whole operation? Wouldn't he have at least suggested several ideas or opinions in their council? It's the fate of the whole world! Although, it's possible that he was reluctant to face the fact that he must learn fire bending- sprinting away wasn't the answer. All he wanted to do was play, like a happy child.

Taking a look at the past Season 3 episodes, the writers give us more and more example of Aang's immaturity:

1- He couldn't keep his special 'Avatar' promise with Katara in the Runaway. He kept gambling.

2- He went crazy on Nightmares and Daydreams. You look at how Zuko handles stress and then look at how Aang does. (Zuko doesn't always handle it in the best of ways- but he doesn't start unraveling.)

3-Aang's never been called a 'man', but Zuko has.

4- In the Awakening, Aang ran away, deciding to 'face the Fire Nation on his own'.

5- I've already mentioned how he wouldn't take the new Fire Nation plans seriously.

When Zuko shows up, Katara is the one who throws the biggest tantrum. She was the first, and only, to attack him, while everyone else held back. She was the one who kept stating that they couldn't trust him. Even when Aang confessed that Zuko had saved him from Zhao, Katara was the one to insist that it was only for Zuko's benefit. She was the one who got the most worked up when Toph defended him.

The others backed her up, of course, but she was the one to start and continue the conversation.

On a side note, Aang didn't confess his love for Katara, he said 'the people you love', as in your friends and family… and more. If he had meant Katara, he would have said 'person'.

Now, when Zuko finally is accepted by all the others, Katara is the last to relent. That signifies that yes, she is the most opposed to Zuko. The way she glared at him, and how the sweat just rolled off his face was PERFECT!

When Katara confronts Zuko alone in his room, look closely! When Zuko sees Katara, he gives her a small smile. He stands up, and it seems that he's about to say something, before she starts her rant. His shoulders slump, too, as if he realizes that he's nowhere near at regaining her trust. Throughout her speech, he looks both surprised and hurt.
What does this all prove? Yes, Katara, at this point, does passionately hate/dislike Zuko. Everyone else seems to accept him, while she continues to mock and threaten him. But did you catch the word? Passionately. The thing is, Katara is already passionate about Zuko. It's hate, for now. But how easily can that hate turn to love?

If she had been indifferent about him the whole time, it would have been much worse, because it would mean that she didn't feel anything for him. In fact, I loved the ending of that episode, because it's a perfect set-up! If she had made up with him, it would have been far too fast, and far too corny. You don't think the hate/love thing is possible? Aren't there thousands of classics and stories where the main character hates the main antagonist, but then something happens and they both fall passionately in love? Cliché? Possibly, but the whole 'world's last hope' and 'last person of this race' against an unbeatable army/country are also commonly used plotlines.

The way Katara protects Aang, is once again, not a Kataang fact, but more supportive of how Katara views Aang in a motherly way. (Would you tell your beloved to stop rubbing his eye and speak clearly when he talks?) Mothers look out for and defend their children. Katara is doing exactly this. She doesn't want Aang hurt. So she's warning Zuko that she'll take extreme measures to insure that Aang is kept safe.

In the Firebending Masters, notice how Zuko blows up at both the boys when they irk him. However, when Katara laughs in his face and snubs him, he only glares. He yells at Sokka, twice, and tells Aang off, but he only narrows his eyes and bears it when Katara continues to jibe at him. He's always trying to polite with her, despite how she always ridicules him. Take everything into consideration. With most plots and foreshadowing, the creators are very subtle!

-That's all for now!

I loved the whole Azula impersonation, the way Zuko popped out his hip was perfect!

And there's got to be another full moon coming up soon!

Questions? Critiquing? Comments? Review!