History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart1ThePhoenixKing

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Conquering the Earth Kingdom is one thing. Actually holding onto the largest nation on the planet is another. 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.

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: 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 just "regaining" his honor. The whole point of him telling that was to illustrate how trapped he was.

* AvengersAssemble: 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.

* AnAesop: As Zuko found out before the Day of Black Sun, you make your own choices, and ultimately, you have to live with them too. Zuko's choices, especially since the Season 2 finale led him to that point, and he ultimately could not live with serving the Fire Nation, let alone continuing to please his father given the consequences. Same goes for Aang, but in his case, he struggles with whether he could live with killing the Fire Lord even if knowing that it goes against his own beliefs yet will result in bringing peace back into the world.

** 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 solstice.

* HeelRealization: Zuko reveals that he wanted to speak out against his father's FinalSolution towards the Earth Kingdom, but feared his father's wrath again which he knew all too well by this point. 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 Fire Nation as a whole that dishonored themselves for following Ozai's genocidal agenda.

* TheReveal: Zuko reveals what occurred during the war meeting he attended during "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNightmaresAndDaydreams Nightmares and Daydreams]]" that prompted his HeelFaceTurn: 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 Nomad.

* TheReveal: Zuko reveals what occurred during the war meeting he attended during "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderNightmaresAndDaydreams Nightmares and Daydreams]]" that prompted his HeelFaceTurn: Ozai decided to use Sozin's Comet to burn the entire Earth Kingdom to the ground.

* HeelRealization: Zuko reveals that he wanted to speak out against his father's FinalSolution towards the Earth Kingdom, but feared his father's wrath again which he knew all too well by this point. It was at that moment that Zuko realized that his quest to restore honor has turned him into a powerless puppet rubber-stamping Ozai's worst decisions, and that it was Fire Nation that has dishonored themselves for following Ozai's genocidal agenda.

** 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 has become a powerless puppet for his father.

* BaitTheDog: Azula, who has been [[DaddysLittleVillain 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.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: 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 on how this sweet and innocent-looking child would one day become the unhinged brute they're now up against.

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: 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.

* AnAesop: As Zuko found out before the Day of Black Sun, you make your own choices, and ultimately, you have to live with them too. Zuko's choices, especially since the Season 2 finale led him to that point, and he ultimately could not live with serving the Fire Nation, let alone continuing to please his father given the consequences. Same for goes for Aang, but in his case, he struggles with whether he could live with killing the Fire Lord even if knowing that it goes against his own beliefs yet will result in bringing peace back into the world.

* {{Patricide}}: An indirect example--Zuko is the strongest advocate in the Gaang for employing lethal force to stop Ozai. He was not up for discussion, until Aang expresses otherwise.

* AnAesop: As Zuko found out before the Day of Black Sun, you make your own choices, and ultimately, you have to live with them too. Zuko's choices, especially since the Season 2 finale led him to that point, and he ultimately could not live with serving the Fire Nation, let alone continuing to please his father. Same for goes for Aang, but in his case, he struggles with whether he could live with killing the Fire Lord even if knowing that it goes against his own beliefs yet will result in bringing peace back into the world.

* AnAesop: As Zuko found out before the Day of Black Sun, you make your own choices, and ultimately, you have to live with them too. Zuko's choices, especially since the Season 2 finale led him to that point, and as a consequence, the fruits of his efforts are rotten ones. Same for goes for Aang, though in his case, he already knows he has to live with the consequences of whatever decision he has to make in dealing with Ozai.

* BaitTheDog: Azula, who has been [[DaddysLittleVillain 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. He

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: 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. 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.

* FromBadToWorse: 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, [[TemptingFate things couldn't get any worse]]. Zuko proves them ''dead wrong''.

* BaitTheDog: Azula, who has been [[DaddysLittleVillain 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.
* BeachEpisode: Subverted. Sokka throws a beach party that Zuko quickly breaks apart.

** Ozai's plan to [[FinalSolution 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.

* ItsAllMyFault: 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.

** What's more, when Azula angrily [[BreakThemByTalking 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.

* {{Patricide}}: An indirect example--Zuko is the strongest advocate in the Gaang for employing lethal force to stop Ozai.

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: 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 just "regaining" his honor.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** After an entire show's worth of building up the importance of training Aang before the Sozin's Comet deadline, the Gaang's initial plan of letting it pass is rather pragmatic. Aang simply isn't ready, and since the Fire Nation has pretty much already won the war by this point the deadline is meaningless. Too bad the Fire Nation's new genocide plan forces the Gaang back into action.
--->'''Katara:''' What's wrong with you? You could've hurt Aang! \\
'''Zuko:''' What's wrong with ''me?!'' What's wrong with ''all of '''you?!''''' How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin's comet is only 3 days away?! \\
[''Everyone stares at Zuko in silence''] \\
'''Zuko:''' Why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy? \\
'''Aang:''' About Sozin's Comet... I was actually going to wait to fight the fire lord until after it came. \\
'''Zuko:''' ''After?!'' \\
'''Aang:''' I'm not ready. I need more time to master Firebending. \\
'''Toph:''' And frankly, your Earthbending could still use some work too. \\
'''Zuko:''' So... you all knew Aang was going to wait? \\
'''Sokka:''' Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the fire lord right now, he's gonna lose [''To Aang, who frowns.''] No offense. \\
'''Katara:''' The whole point of fighting the Fire Lord before the Comet was to stop the Fire Nation from winning the War, but they pretty much won the War when they took Ba Sing Se. [[TemptingFate Things can't get any worse.]]
** Another goes out to the Fire Nation who've learned that, in spite of Ba Sing Se's capture, the earthbenders remain a serious threat and have forced the Fire Nation troops on the defensive in the lands they occupied. General Shinu admits that the sheer size of the Earth Kingdom continent means their army simply is not large enough to maintain control of it, and so suggests sending the domestic army there before Ozai decides on the Comet instead.
** Aang's internal conflict is this. He knew that he would have to face the Fire Lord; but it never really occurred to him that he might have to resort to taking the man's life; something that not only goes against everything he believed in as an Air Nomad; but as a young boy who shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of taking another man's life, despotic as Ozai is. The severity of the conflict has finally hit home for Aang and he really does not want to kill.
** Finally there is Azula's relationship with her father, who treats her no better than Zuko after having learned she had defied him by attempting to credit Zuko with the Avatar's death, despite knowing full well that he was still alive. He is quick to eject her from the imminent assault upon the Earth Kingdom, and Azula completely falls apart as she realizes that she is just another asset to his global conquest and seen as unworthy of his affection or trust. Devastated, she tries to object and is coldly silenced for it. Ozai tries to make her now-worthless promotion to Fire Lord sound like a reward to appease her, but the damage has already been done.

''[[caption-width-right:333:Ozai crowns himself ruler of the world.]]''

-->--'''Aang'''

* FromBadToWorse: Team Avatar feel 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, [[TemptingFate things couldn't get any worse]]. Zuko proves them ''dead wrong''.

* WeAreNotGoingThroughThatAgain: The last time Zuko spoke out of turned 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 just "regaining" his honor.

* WhamLine: Katara finds what looks to be "Zuko's" baby picture, showing a 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: