History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderSozinsCometPart2TheOldMasters

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title "The Old Masters" can refer to the members of the White Lotus, the past identities of the Avatar, and the Lion-Turtle.

* TechnicalPacifist: Discussed. Aang insists that Avatar Kyoshi didn't technically kill her enemy Chin (he died because he was too stubborn to get out of the way when she split off her island), but she herself doesn't see that as a valid distinction--recall that in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarDay "Avatar Day"]], she outright states, "I killed Chin the Conquerer."

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Zuko has been spending much of the episode and the last stages of the previous episode searching for Iroh as he is the only one who could defeat Ozai. As it turns out, even though Iroh may have the potential power and skill to defeat him, as his brother and the one who had given up on the throne despite having stronger claims to it, by now, it would be too late for him to be the one to defeat Ozai, as history would see it as just another senseless violence in that Iroh killed his own brother to grab power, thus undermining any possible rule before it began. Not to mention how Ozai will most likely not agree to any Agni Kai, the only honorable way to do it at the height of his power. Peace cannot come from any Fire Nation hero, much less a member of the Royal Family, and only someone who represents ''all'' the Nations, the Avatar, could solve the problem by defeating Ozai in a one-on-one fight.
** Aang ''really'' shouldn't have expected Kyoshi to find a way to not kill Ozai considering she already admitted point blank in a previous episode that she had killed Chin the Conqueror.

* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: It's the 4-part series finale and Lion Turtles are only ''now'' being featured.

** Aang ''really'' shouldn't have expected the other Avatars to find a way to not kill Ozai when they don't know any. Yangchen even states that Aang has to give the world his first priority than clinging to his duty as an Air Nomad.

* OnlyICanKillHim: Aang has to be the one to defeat Ozai if they want the war to end peacefully. Justified, as Iroh points out that if he defeated Ozai it might provoke a civil war, but since the Avatar is a neutral party, and tasked with bringing balance to the world, people would accept it.

** Iroh can't fight Ozai to stop him because if anyone wins, rumors will spread that Iroh killed Ozai to gain his Fire Lord title back, thus undermining any possible rule before it began, not that Ozai will agree to any Agni Kai, the only honorable way to do it at the height of his power.

''[[caption-width-right:333:Aang asks the Lion Turtle for wisdom on how to confront Ozai.]]''

-->--'''Grand Master Iroh'''

* EurekaMoment: Bumi realizing the Eclipse is his best chance to taking back Omashu.

* {{Irony}}: On the Day of Black Sun, Bumi's off-screen (at the time) [[OffScreenMomentOfAwesome moment of awesome]] taking back Omashu was far more successful than Team Avatar's invasion of the Fire Nation. The irony is, Bumi didn't know before-hand about the solar eclipse, but nonetheless made good use of it when the opportunity fell in his lap. Team Avatar spent months and months planning for the invasion, and it kind of failed (due in part to Azula tipping off Ozai).

* ProphecyTwist: Iroh realises that this applies to his old prophetic dream of one day taking the Earth Kingdom capital Ba Sing Se. As a young man, he had believed that he was thus destined to take it as a conqueror for the [[TheEmpire Fire Nation]], but in the GrandFinale he reveals that he now realises he was instead supposed to liberate it ''from'' the Fire Nation.

* RedSkyTakeWarning: When Sozin’s Comet skims along the atmosphere.

* GodsHandsAreTied: Iroh points out he can't be the one to defeat Ozai because doing so would just be seen as one brother usurping power from the other, creating more political tension. Aang is the only one who can defeat Ozai without provoking a civil war.

* RealityEnsues: Iroh points out he can't be the one to defeat Ozai because doing so would just be seen as one brother usurping power from the other, creating more political tension. Aang is the only one who can defeat Ozai without provoking a civil war.

* EasilyForgiven: [[Heartwarming/AvatarTheLastAirbender Iroh forgives Zuko instantly, to Zuko's utter shock.]] It was never Zuko's betrayal that disappointed him, but that he lost his way. It fills Iroh with joy that his nephew has finally found it again.

On the island, Aang seeks guidance from his past lives, but they too insist he must take violent action against the Firelord. The island turns out to be a giant lion-turtle, which gives Aang the guidance he has been seeking. After June is unable to find Aang, Zuko decides to ask June to find his uncle instead. After June leads them to the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, they meet King Bumi, Jeong Jeong, Master Pakku, and Master Piandao, who are members of the Order of the White Lotus. The group soon finds out that Iroh is their leader. After reuniting with Iroh, the team decides to split up and go in different directions to help stop the Fire Nation: Zuko and Katara will handle Azula at the capital of the Fire Nation; Sokka, Suki and Toph will attempt to deflect the Fire Nation airships encroaching on the Earth Kingdom, and Iroh is to lead the Order in the liberation of Ba Sing Se. Sozin's Comet arrives and Phoenix King Ozai prepares to destroy both the Earth Kingdom and the Avatar.

!!Tropes:

** All the way back in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart1 The Winter Solstice]]: Zuko uses Iroh's sandal to find him.
** Bumi's Neutral Jing, the philosophy of doing nothing until the right moment, finally pays off when he learns that the Fire Nation soldiers occupying his city lose their firebending during an eclipse. He breaks free and single-handedly takes back Omashu.

* CometOfDoom: Sozin's Comet, which gives the Firebenders unrivaled power, finally appears at the end of the episode.

** During Aang's encounter with [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 Koh]], the Face Stealer mentioned that previous Avatar tried to slay him as retribution for stealing the face of a loved one. We find out here it was Avatar Kuruk [[note]] However, Koh stated this had happened 800 or 900 years prior to his encounter with Aang, while Kuruk lived only 400 years prior to Aang's time. Whether this is due to Koh's [[TheFogOfAges fuzzy memory]] or a simple SeriesContinuityError is up to the viewer to decide [[/note]].
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title "the Old Masters" can refer to the members of the White Lotus, the past identities of the Avatar, and the Lion-Turtle.
* EasilyForgiven: [[Heartwarming/AvatarTheLastAirbender Iroh forgives Zuko instantly to Zuko's utter shock.]] It was never Zuko's betrayal that disappointed him, but that he lost his way. It fills Iroh with joy that his nephew has finally found it again.

* IronicEcho: When encouraging Zuko to take the throne, Iroh tells him that he restored his own honor - the same thing Azula told him to quell his doubts at the end of ''[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheCrossroadsOfDestiny The Crossroads Of Destiny.]]''

* LetsSplitUpGang: With the White Lotus being preoccupied with taking back Ba Sing Se and the rest of the group trusting that Aang will be ready to fight the Fire Lord when the time comes (which they are right as the Lion Turtle is transporting Aang to the place Ozai will be headed) the rest of the Gaang split up into two groups. Zuko and Katara get on Appa and head towards the Fire Nation royal capital to fight Azula so Zuko can take the throne when Ozai is defeated and Sokka, Toph, and Suki head off to take down the airship fleet so Aang can focus on the Fire Lord.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Aang contacts four of his past lives for advice, hoping to find a way to defeat Ozai non-lethally. Instead, all of them, including his fellow Air Nomad Yangchen, are adamant that the only way to stop the Fire Lord is to kill him.

** After dancing around it in the last episode and this one, with "take his life" being used instead, it is finally averted, dramatically as hell, when Aang finally says "I have to kill the Fire Lord".
** This happens in-universe, as past Avatars all but tell Aang that he must kill Ozai, but it seems none of them will outright tell Aang that.
* OldMaster: Everyone in the Order of the White Lotus; as well the ancient incarnations of the Avatar.
* [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Buddhist Chanting]]: When each of the past Avatars is summoned and while Aang is talking to the lion turtle.

* OnlyICanKillHim: Aang has to be the one to defeat Ozai if they want the war to end peacefully. Justified, as Iroh points out that if he defeated Ozai it might provoke a civil war, but since the Avatar is a neutral party, and tasked with bring balance to the world, people would accept it.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: During the Solar Eclipse, Bumi's firebending captors questions what he thinks he's doing. Bumi answers "Taking back my city. You've got no firepower. And it's payback time." One knows this is [[LetsGetDangerous Bumi's time to shine]] when he dispenses with his usual "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} pleasantries]]" and tells it as it is.

* PragmaticHero: All the past Avatars who Aang consults tell him, some more forthrightly than others, that he must be ready to kill Ozai if he wishes to bring peace to the world.
* ProphecyTwist: Iroh realises that this applies to his old prophetic dream of one day taking the Earth Kingdom capital Ba Sing Se. As a young man, he had believed that he was thus destined to take it as a conqueror for the [[TheEmpire Fire Nation]], but in the GrandFinale reveals that he now realises he was instead supposed to liberate it ''from'' the Fire Nation.
-->"Destiny is a funny thing, Prince Zuko. It never happens the way you expect."
* RealityEnsues: Iroh points out he can't be the one to defeat Ozai because doing so would just be seen as one brother usurping power from the other and create more political tension. Aang is the only one who can defeat Ozai without provoking a civil war.

-->'''June''': ''(noticing Katara standing next to Zuko)'' I see you worked things out with your girlfriend.
-->''(Zuko and Katara blush in shock and become indignant)''
-->'''Zuko''': She's not my girlfriend!
-->'''Katara''': (''simultaneously''): I'm not his girlfriend!

* ShoutOut: Phoenix King Ozai's saying "It's time for this world to end in fire," sounds very similar to the opening line of the Robert Frost poem "[[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Fire_and_Ice Fire and Ice]]".

'''Momo''': *angry chitter*\\
'''Aang''': I'm going to pretend I didn't pretend to hear that!
* TechnicalPacifist: Discussed. Aang insists that Avatar Kyoshi didn't technically kill her enemy Chin (he died because he was too stubborn to get out of the way when she split off her island), but she herself doesn't see that as a valid distinction -- recall that in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarDay "Avatar Day"]], she outright states, "I killed Chin the Conquerer."
* ThouShallNotKill: Aang ''really'' doesn't want to kill Ozai. He tries talking to four different Avatars, seeing if they can offer a more peaceful solution. None of them do. Even Yangchen, a member of Aang's people, who advises him that he can't be constrained by the morality of an Air Nomad, as the Avatar's duty to the world supersedes his own desires.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Aang contacts four of his past lives for advice, hoping to find a way to defeat Ozai non-lethally. Instead, he believes that all of them, including his fellow Air Nomad Yangchen, are adamant that the only way to stop the Fire Lord is to kill him.

** During Aang's encounter with [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSiegeOfTheNorthPart2 Koh]], the Face Stealer mentioned that previous Avatar tried to slay him as retribution for stealing the face of a loved one. We find out here it was Avatar Kuruk [[note]] However, Koh stated this had happened 800 or 900 years prior to his encounter with Aang, while Kuruk lived only 400 years prior to Aang's time. Whether this is due to Koh's [[FogOfAges fuzzy memory]] or a simple SeriesContinuityError is up to the viewer to decide [[/note]].

* ContinuityNod: June muses that Zuko must have made up with his girlfriend, alluding to [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderBatoOfTheWaterTribe her first appearance]] where Zuko had her track Katara through her necklace. Cue SheIsNotMyGirlfriend reactions from both Zuko and Katara.

* BigDamnReunion: After encouragement from Katara, Zuko braves himself to meet his uncle again. At first he admits that he's guilty and he doesn't expect his uncle to forgive him, but then Iroh suddenly hugs him and tearfully says that he missed his nephew and he's glad that he finally found his way. Zuko then returns the embrace and goes in tears too.

* ChekhovsGun: All the way back in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart1 The Winter Solstice]]: Zuko uses Iroh's sandal to find him.

* DoubleMeaningTitle: the Old Masters are the members of the White Lotus, but also the past identities of the Avatar, and the Lion-Turtle.

* OnlyICanKillHim: Aang has to be the one to defeat Ozai if they want the war to end peacefully. Justified, as Iroh points out that if he defeated Ozai it might provoke a civil war, but since the Avatar is a neutral party, people would accept it.