History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheDrill

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* BondVillainStupidity: During their fight, Azula has Aang fully disabled but instead of taking the chance to kill him with a final blow, she takes her time leaning him against a wall which Aang uses to regain his powers and free himself from her clutch. It's possible though that she wanted to capture him alive, like Zhao in Season 1 (and capturing Aang the very task Zuko tried and failed again to accomplish, would be the ''perfect'' way of one-upping her brother).

* NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer: Aang is the first of the group to spot the drill from high above. When he returns to his mates, he remains vague about his observation ("Something stopped me, something big".) It's only when the entire team reaches the top of the wall, that they see what he was talking about.
* NoJustNoReaction: Mei's response to the idea of going down the slurry pipe after Katara and Sokka. She promptly decides to skip out on fighting for the rest of the episode.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Given what's been seen of bending before, the Drill shouldn't be ''nearly'' as near-invulnerable to the defenders' efforts as it appears. If Aang can stop rivers of lava and Katara freeze or vaporize large volumes of water, as they'be done in previous episodes, they should be able to attack it rather more effectively than they do here.

* ThisIsADrill: There's a reason this episode is named "The Drill".

* BigNo: Played for laughs. Iroh gives one when Zuko knocks the freshly heated tea out of his hand.

* DramaticIrony: Toph brings up the Dragon of the West as the only person who has gotten through the "impenetrable" walls of Ba Sing Se. That same Dragon of the West (Iroh) has now successfully gotten through the wall as a refugee along with his nephew.

''[[caption-width-right:333:The Fire Nation moves to puncture Ba Sing Se's defenses.]]''

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

* ChekhovsGun: The large boulders the Ba Sing Se soldiers throw down prove useless on their own against the drill. When Aang needs something to hit the exterior weakpoint of the drill to reach the interior, he finds the boulders become useful after all.

* BondVillainStupidity: During their fight, Azula has Aang fully disabled but instead of taking the chance to kill him with a final blow, she takes her time leaning him against a wall which Aang uses to regain his powers and free himself from her clutch. It's possible though that she wanted to capture him alive, like Zhao in Season 1.

** He then goes on to think of Team Avatar and the Aang Gang (close enough to the [[FanNickname Gaang]]). ItWillNeverCatchOn.

* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: Sokka's "Now Aang just needs to--duck!" when Ty Lee and Mai attack the group.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Drives a good half of the plot.

* DrillTank: Obviously.

* RealityEnsues: After several encounters that favored her tactically, Ty Lee's abilities are finally rendered useless when Katara manages to [[LongRangeFighter keep her at a distance]].
-->'''Katara:''' Why don't you try blocking my chi ''now'', circus freak?!

* ChekovsGun: The large boulders the Ba Sing Se soldiers throw down prove useless on their own against the drill. When Aang needs something to hit the exterior weakpoint of the drill to reach the interior, he finds the boulders become useful after all.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: See VisualInnuendo below.

* VisualInnuendo: A long, narrow drill, penetrating through a hole that explodes with a goopey mess when it blows up on the inside? Said mess is coated all over everyone by the end, Sokka's trying to brush it off his tongue, the war minister looks at it with disgust as it smears down the watchtower window, it flies up so high it hits Sung from atop the wall, and of course, as it spews out the back of the drill in overflow, Toph says this line:
-->'''Toph:''' [[DoubleEntendre HERE IT COMES!]]

* BrainBleach: After Zuko sees Iroh flirt with a large woman to get the ferry tickets: "I'm gonna forget I saw that." Complete with FacePalm.

** Toph elects to slow the drill from the outside since she can't earthbend from within. This becomes ''much'' less of an issue for her later on, however.....

* DramaticIrony: Toph brings up the Dragon of the West as the only person who has gotten through the "impenetrable" walls of Ba Sing Se. That same Dragon of the West (Iroh) successfully gotten through the walls as a refugee along with his nephew.

* TheGreatWall: Ba Sing Se means "impenetrable city" and General Sung boasts that no one has gotten past these walls... only for Toph to bring up the Dragon of the West, which Sung backtracks with a justification that the Dragon of the West was quickly expunged.

* BondVillainStupidity: During their fight, Azula has Aang fully disabled but instead of taking the chance to kill him with a final blow, she takes her time leaning him against a wall which Aang uses to regain his powers and free himself from her clutch. It's possible though that she wanted to capture him alive.