History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheGreatDivide

* BindleStick: How Aang gets the Canyon Crawler horde to climb the group out of the canyon.

* MotivationOnAStick: Aang's trick to get the crawlers to carry the group out of the valley.

* ThePowerOfLanguage: The episode's [[AnAesop main lesson]]. Aang's message provides the page quote, which becomes ArcWords for the episode.

* AnAesop: Several; the main one is the page quote, which becomes ArcWords for the episode. Also, if the trained wilderness survival expert and your guide through dangerous terrain tells you not to bring food along because it will attract dangerous predators, '''listen to him'''! Another good one is that sometimes it's best to let go of past grudges and move on. The final aesop at the end of the episode is that it is ok, sometimes even good, to lie, if the lie is done with the intention of stopping a destructive conflict. Aang happily admits to lying to the Zhang and Gan Jin about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Katara approves, while Sokka is shocked and disappointed.

* AccidentalAesop: InUniverse, The Gan Jin and the Zhang tribes interpret what Aang says as a good reason to DuelToTheDeath. Aang experiences a HopeSpot, when it seems the two tribes will try to work out their differences and get along, before they try to kill each other. Aang then immediately flip-flops, and says, "I take it back; harsh words aren't so bad."
* AnAesop: Several; the main one is the page quote, it becomes ArcWords for the episode. Also, if the trained wilderness survival expert and your guide through dangerous terrain tells you not to bring food along because it will attract dangerous predators, '''listen to him'''! Another good one is that sometimes it's best to let go of past grudges and move on. The final aesop at the end of the episode is that it is ok, sometimes even good to lie, if the lie is done with the intention of stopping a destructive conflict. Aang happily admits to lying to the Zhang and Gan Jin about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Katara approves, Sokka is shocked and disappointed.

* BigEater: The entire Zhang tribe has this in spades.

''[[caption-width-right:350:The Gan Jin are on the left, and the Zhang are on the right.]]''

->''"Harsh words won’t solve problems; action will."''

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Throughout the episode, Aang is trying to bring peace to the feuding tribes. Due to their constant squabbling, he gets steadily more frustrated with them, to the point where he yells at all of them once he learns that both tribes broke the “no food” rule, which endangered all of them and resulted in their guide getting injured.

* RiddleForTheAges: There are two different stories as to what cause the divide between the tribes. We're never told what actually occurred, or if either tribe was misinformed. Plus, the story that Aang tells at the end is just him lying, so... ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' throws even more fuel on this particular fire, as the BigBad of that book is a member of the Gan Jin tribe, and when one of his political rivals enlists a member of the Zhang tribe to try and unbalance him, his internal narration notes that a Zhang would ''never'' miss a chance to one-up a Ganjinese, ''despite'' that story taking place some two or three hundred years before the incident that this episode cites, indicating that the origin of the two tribes' feud really has been lost to time, or that their own record-keeping has been compromised.

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

* BilingualBonus: ''Zhang'' means ''dirty'' in Mandarin, while ''gan jin'' means "clean."

* {{Filler}}: To the point where you can skip this episode without having the impression that you have missed one. This is lampshaded in "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheEmberIslandPlayers The Ember Island Players]]" which has the actors note the Great Divide itself and then move on immediately. This only happens once more in the show, with "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePaintedLady The Painted Lady]]."

'''Katara:''' ''[[[NotSoAboveItAll amused]]]'' You did ''not.'' That is ''so'' wrong.

* SlobsVersusSnobs: The Zhang as the slobs, and the Gan Jin as the snobs. Their names actually reflect this, as ''zhang'' means "dirty" in Mandarin, and ''gan jin'' means "clean."

* BreatherEpisode: The tone is fairly humorous, the stakes are rather low, and neither [[AbsenteeActor Zuko nor Zhao]] are around to threaten the heroes. This is especially noticeable as the episode is set between the dark "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderJet Jet]]" and the whammy "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm The Storm]]."

* NotSoDifferent: The leader of the Zhang notes at the end that they are not so different from the Gan Jin.

* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: Downplayed. The skilled earthbending guide is the first to get attacked and injured by the Canyon Crawlers. In fairness, he wasn't paying attention, they came at him from behind in a dust cloud, and they should have never shown up if the tribes had followed his orders to eat or dispose of all their food.

The next destination the gang stumbles into is the Great Divide, the world's largest canyon. Sokka and Katara start bickering, so Aang decides to put his Avatar skills to the test. He successfully solves their minor disputes, but finds his next test to be a tougher one, when the Gan Jin and the Zhang, who have been in a feud for 100 years, need to cross the canyon together. Aang sends Appa across with the sick and elderly of the two tribes. With the help of the earthbender guide of the canyon, he escorts the rest across the vast, dry landscape. The group's incapacity to get along forces Aang to separate it, with Katara leading the Gan Jin and Sokka leading the Zhang. That night, Katara learns that Jin Wei of the Zhang stole a sacred orb from Wei Jin of the Gan Jin as he was carrying it during a ritual, while Sokka is told that Wei Jin was only trying to help and was betrayed by Jin Wei who said that he was trying to steal it. After the group makes it across the Divide Aang is able to end the feud by telling the tribes that he knew their heroes and that it's all a misunderstanding over a game. The two tribes travel together to the capital city of Ba Sing Se. Only after they're gone does he admit to Katara and Sokka that he lied about the legends.

* AnAesop: Several, the main one is the page quote, it becomes ArcWords for the episode. Also if the trained wilderness survival expert, and your guide through dangerous terrain tells you not to bring food along, because it will attract dangerous predators, '''listen to him'''! Another good one is that sometimes its best to let go of past grudges and move on. The final aesop at the end of the episode is that it is ok, sometimes even good to lie, if the lie is done with the intention of stopping a destructive conflict. Aang happily admits to lying to the Zhang and Gan Jin about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Katara approves, Sokka is shocked and disappointed.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Throughout the episode, Aang is trying to bring peace to the feuding tribes. Due to their constant squabbling, he gets steadily more frustrated with them to the point where he yells at all of them once he learns both tribes broke the “no food” rule, which endangered all of them and resulted in their guide getting injured.

* BreatherEpisode: The tone is fairly humorous, the stakes are rather low, and neither [[AbsenteeActor Zuko or Zhao]] are around to threaten the heroes. This is especially noticeable as the episode is set between the dark "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderJet Jet]]" and the whammy "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm The Storm]]."

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Aang lying about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Just because he [[OlderThanHeLooks was alive back when they were]] doesn't mean he actually ''met'' them.

* FlashbackEffects: The Zhang's story is shown in a sketchy, stylized style as opposed to the more dramatic style of the Gan Jin, reflecting their respective natures. Aang's story begins with half of the screen in each style, briefly shows Jin Wei and Wei Jin in the standard ''Avatar'' style, then abruptly shifts to a SuperDeformed style with the line, "And they were eight."
* GoodSamaritan: The Zhang's version of the story tells Wei Jin as being compassionate to Jin Wei who was supposedly injured before Wei Jin arrived and trying to help him.

* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: The Zhang's reasoning for bringing in food despite being warned that it would attract predators is that they predict the Gan Jin will bring in food on the suspicion that the Zhang will bring in food. They are correct, and it's implied that the others did the same thing, for the same reason. Essentially, both tribes figured the other tribe would bring food and did not want to be the tribe that starved while their rivals ate.

* NoAntagonist: Even the crawlers are more a menace than an active force against the heroes.

* RashomonStyle: Both the tribes have different reason to why they have been feuding for so long. The Gan Jin claim that the forefather of their tribe, Jin Wei, was attacked while transporting a sacred orb during their redemption ritual by a thief, Wei Jin, from the Zhang. The Zhang claim that their ancestor, Wei Jin, saw Jin Wei passed out on the ground and was returning the sacred orb to Jin Wei's tribe when they wrongfully imprisoned him for twenty years. Aang goes on to claim that Jin Wei and Wei Jin were actually two twin brothers playing a game, when Wei Jin got a penalty and spent two minutes in the box. In the end, Aang admits that he made his version up to stop the dispute.
* RiddleForTheAges: There are two different stories as to what cause the divide between the tribes. We're never told what actually occurred, or if either tribe was misinformed. Plus, the story Aang tells at the end is just him lying, so... ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' throws even more fuel on this particular fire, as the BigBad of that book is a member of the Gan Jin tribe, and when one of his political rivals enlists a member of the Zhang tribe to try and unbalance him, his internal narration notes that a Zhang would ''never'' miss a chance to one-up a Ganjinese, ''despite'' that story taking place some two or three hundred years before the incident that this episode cites, indicating that the origin of the two tribes' feud really has been lost to time, or that their own record-keeping has been compromised.
* ShroudedInMyth: Subverted. Aang appeals to this trope when coming up with his MotivationalLie by saying the two tribes confused a child's game with a redemption ritual.

* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: The Canyon Guide quits at the end of the episode. Ironically, there aren't any supervisors he can say this to, it's coupled with ScrewThisImOuttaHere.

* RealityEnsues: Aang lying about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Just because he [[OlderThanHeLooks was alive back when they were]] doen't mean he actually ''met'' them.

* BreatherEpisode: Set between the dark "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderJet Jet]]" and the whammy "[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm The Storm]]."

* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: Downplayed. The skilled earthbending guide is the first to get attacked and injured by the Canyon Crawlers.

* MotivationalLie: Aang lies about the source of the conflict between the two tribes to get them to make up. When he admits such to Katara and Sokka, they're floored.

* RiddleForTheAges: There are two different stories as to what cause the divide between the tribes. We're never told what actually occurred, or if either tribe was misinformed. Plus, the story Aang tells at the end is just him lying, so...

The next destination the gang stumbles into is the Great Divide, the world's largest canyon. Sokka and Katara start bickering, so Aang decides to put his Avatar skills to the test. He successfully solves their minor disputes, but Aang tries to put his skills to practical use, when the Gan Jin and the Zhang, who have been in a feud for 100 years, need to cross the canyon together. Aang sends Appa across with the sick and elderly of the two tribes. With the help of the earthbender guide of the canyon, he helps escort the rest across the vast, dry landscape. The group's incapacity to get along forces Aang to separate it, with Katara leading the Gan Jin and Sokka leading the Zhang. That night, Katara learns that Jin Wei of the Zhang stole a sacred orb from Wei Jin of the Gan Jin as he was carrying it during a ritual, while Sokka is told that Wei Jin was only trying to help and was betrayed by Jin Wei who said that he was.trying to steal it. After the group makes it across the Divide Aang is able to end the feud by telling the tribes that he knew their heroes and that it's all a misunderstanding over a game. The two tribes travel together to the capital city of Ba Sing Se. Only after they're gone does he admit to Katara and Sokka that he lied about the legends.

!!Tropes: (YMMV items are '''[[YMMV/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheGreatDivide HERE]]''')

* AccidentalAesop: InUniverse, The Gan Jin and the Zhang tribes interpret what Aang says as a good reason to DuelToTheDeath. Aang experiences a HopeSpot, when it seems the two tribes will try to work out their differences and get along, before they try to kill each other. Aang then immediately flip-flops, and says "I take it back; harsh words aren't so bad."
* AnAesop: Several, the main one is the page quote, it becomes ArcWords for the episode. Also if the trained wilderness survival expert, and your guide through dangerous terrain tells you not to bring food along, because it will attract dangerous predators, '''listen to him'''! Another good one is that sometimes its best to let go of past grudges and move on. The final aesop at the end of the episode is that it is ok, sometimes even good to lie, if the lie is done with the intention of stopping a destructive conflict. Aang happily admits to lying to The Zhang's and Gan Jin's about knowing Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Katara approves, Sokka is shocked and disappointed.

-->'''Sokka:''' Why don't you ask Ms Know-It-All, Queen of the Twigs?
-->'''Katara:''' Oh yeah?! Well you're Mr Lazy-Bum, King of the... Tents!
* BilingualBonus: Zhang means dirty in Mandarin, while Gan Jin means clean.
* BreatherEpisode: Set between the dark "Jet" and the whammy "The Storm".

* EnemyMine: During the climax, the Zhang and the Gan Jin bond over figting a common enemy, the Canyon Crawlers.
* {{Filler}}: To the point where you can skip this episode without having the impression that you have missed one. This is lampshaded in "Ember Island Players" which has the actors note the Great Divide itself and then move on immediately. This only happens once more in the show, with "The Painted Lady."

* FlashbackEffects: The Zhang's story is shown in a sketchy, stylized style as opposed to the more realistic style of the Gan Jin's, reflecting their respective natures. Aang's story begins with half of the screen in each style.
* GoodSamaritan: The Zhang’s version of the story tells Wei Jin as being compassionate to Jin Wei who was supposedly injured before Wei Jin arrived and trying to help him.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Both tribes blame the other for bringing food into the canyon when they also snuck food in.

'''Sokka:''' ''What''?\\

'''Katara:''' ''[[NotSoAboveItAll (amused)]]'' You did ''not.'' That is ''so'' wrong.

* RashomonStyle: Both the tribes have different reason to why they have been feuding for so long. The Gan Jin’s claim that the forefather of their tribe, Jin Wei, was attacked while transporting a sacred orb during their redemption ritual by a thief, Wei Jin, from the Zhangs. The Zhang's claim that their ancestor, Wei Jin, saw Jin Wei passed out on the ground and was returning the sacred orb to Jin Wei's tribe when they wrongfully imprisoned him for twenty years. Aang goes on to claim that Jin Wei and Wei Jin were actually two twin brothers playing a game, when Wei Jin got a penalty and spent two minutes in the box. In the end, Aang admits that he made his version up to stop the dispute.

* SlobsVersusSnobs: The Zhang as the slobs, and the Gan Jin as the snobs. Their names actually reflect this, as Zhang means dirty in Mandarin, and Gan Jin means clean.
* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: The Canyon Guide quits at the end of the episode. Ironically, there isn't any supervisors he can say this to, it's coupled with ScrewThisImOuttaHere.
* TemptingFate: The guide's proclamation "We'll be safe now." is followed by him getting attacked by a canyon crawler.

* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: Downplayed. The skilled Earth Bending guide is the first to get attacked and injured by the Canyon Crawlers.

The next destination the gang stumbles into is the Great Divide, the world's largest canyon. The group starts bickering, so Aang decides to put his Avatar skills to the test. He successfully solves their minor disputes, but Aang tries to put his skills to practical use, when two Earth Kingdom tribes, who have been in a feud for 100 years, need to cross the canyon together. Aang sends Appa across with most needy people of the two tribes, and, with the help of a knowledgeable earthbender, guides the rest across the vast, dry landscape. In the end, Aang is able to end the feud, and the two tribes travel together to the capital city of Ba Sing Se.

* BarbarianTribe: The Zhang, what with wearing animal furs and eating food with their hands.

--> '''Aang:''' You could call it luck... or you could call it ''lying''.//
'''Sokka:''' ''What''?//
'''Aang:''' I made the whole thing up.//

--> '''Aang''': You could call it luck... or you could call it ''lying''. I made the whole thing up.
--> '''Katara''' ''[[NotSoAboveItAll (amused):]]'' You did ''not.'' That is ''so'' wrong.

* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: The Zhang's reasoning for bringing in food is that Gan Jin will bring in food on the suspicion that the Zhang will bring in food. They are correct, and it's implied that the others did the same thing, for the same reason.