History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePuppetmaster

* {{Foreshadowing}}: While snooping around Hama's house, the Gaang find a bunch of Fire Nation puppets in a closet. Foreshadowing both the captured Fire Nation citizens found later and Hama's ability to Bloodbend people.

* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours: See quote at the top. Katara proclaims her bending is stronger than Hama's -- and it is.

->''"When you're a waterbender in a strange land, you do what you must to survive."''

->''"My bending is more powerful than yours, Hama. Your technique is useless on me!"''

* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Katara feels this way when Hama congratulates her on becoming a bloodbender.

* ChekhovsGunman: Katara tells a story about a friend of her mother's who disappeared from their village as a girl. Then we meet an old waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe... who's from a generation or two further back.

* TheJailer: Hama.

* MarionetteMaster: Hama.
* MarionetteMotion: Anyone under the influence of bloodbending.
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted with Hama.

* MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours: See quote at the top.

* PeoplePuppets / ThePowerOfBlood: Bloodbending is the art of controlling people's actions through the blood in their veins.

* DarkerAndEdgier: In comparison to other episodes, this one is the darkest of the bunch.

* EvilCounterpart: Hama is this to Katara.

* EvilMentor: Hama becomes Katara's.
* EvilOldFolks: Hama.

* NothingIsScarier: Toph claims that she heard people screaming, implying that Hama is torturing her victims. The specifics of her torture are never explained.

* NothingIsScarier:

* NightmareRetardant: Sokka's attempts at making up ghost stories are... laughable at best.

* NightmareRetardant: InUniverse, Sokka's attempts at making up ghost stories are... laughable at best.

** To rally Katara to her side, Hama points out that the Fire Nation unjustly imprisoned her and killed Katara’s mother. Both legitimate points, though Katara retorts that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse blood bending isn’t the right way to go about it]].

The Gaang then discovers Hama's even ''darker'' secret - she is the one who's been imprisoning the townspeople. Her use-the-water-in-the-environment tricks came from developing bloodbending, a disturbing kind of water bending that uses the full-moon power boost to allow a waterbender to control the water in human blood. Hama used this ability in her breakout, and now uses it to get revenge on the nation that treated her so badly. She's become twisted by her obsession, and she wants Katara to follow in her footsteps. Katara naturally refuses, so Hama forces her hand by using bloodbending against her, Aang, and Sokka. Katara can use her own waterbending to resist Hama, but Aang and Sokka aren't so lucky. Katara is forced to use Hama's technique against her, and although Hama is captured and the day is saved, Katara can't easily escape Hama's last words to her:
-->'''Hama''': My work is done. Congradulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender.

-->"When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out. [[{{Beat}} (Beat!)]] Who wants more tea?

-->'''Hama''': My work is done. Congradulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender now.

She explains how she was a little girl when the war was relatively new, and she spent her early life in the Southern Water Tribe as a waterbender fighting to defend it. The Fire Nation had been fearful of the Avatar's rebirth into the Southern Water Tribe, so they sent raiding ships to capture the waterbenders, taking them away and leaving them in horrible PrisonerOfWar camps, with virtually no water to bend or space to move. Hama broke out long ago, and has spent the rest of her life as a normal Fire Nation citizen, trying to forget her painful imprisonment.

Still traveling through the Fire Nation in disguise, our heroes take shelter in a forest for the night; however, a kindly old woman discovers them, as she knows of the mysterious disappearances in the woods, and doesn't want anything to happen to the young group. Something seems decidedly odd about the lady (Hama), however, and the Gang begins to investigate - and Hama's dark secret is revealed. She's from the Southern Water Tribe.

She explains how she was a little girl when the war was relatively young, and she spent her early life in the Southern Water Tribe as a warrior. The Fire Nation had been fearful of the Avatar's rebirth into the Southern Water Tribe, however, so they sent raiding ships to capture the waterbenders, taking them away and leaving them in horrible Prisoner Of War camps, with virtually no water to bend or space to move. Hama broke out long ago, and has spent the rest of her life as a normal Fire Nation citizen, trying to forget her painful imprisonment.

Gleeful at having met water benders from the same tribe, Hama and Katara immediately bond, and Hama accepts to teach Katara, as she knows how dangerous is can be for a Waterbender in strange lands. Hama knows techniques to pull water out of the surrounding environment, like from plants and water vapor in the air, and she gladly shows these to Katara.

Something is still out in the woods, making people disappear, and the rest of the Gang investigates what must surely be spiritual phenomenon, even though there seems to be nothing to upset the spirits in such a beautiful town. However, they come across a hidden cave in the woods, where Fire Nation citizens have been imprisoned - controlled by their own bodies at the full moon, like some puppetmaster was controlling them.

The Gaang then discovers Hama's even ''darker'' secret- she is the one who's been imprisoning the townspeople. Her use-the-water-in-the-environment tricks came from developing Bloodbending, a disturbing art that uses the full moon power boost to allow a waterbender to control the water in human blood. Hama used this ability in her breakout, and now uses it to get revenge on the nation that treated her so badly. She's become twisted by her obsession, and she wants Katara to follow in her footsteps. Katara naturally refuses, so Hama forces her hand by using bloodbending against her, Aang and Sokka. Katara can use her own waterbending to resist Hama, but Aang and Sokka aren't so lucky. Katara is forced to use Hama's technique against her, and although Hama is captured and the day is saved, Katara can't easily escape Hama's last words to her:
-->'''Hama''': My work is done. Congradulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender.

* AintTooProudToBeg: As Hama tosses her around and forces her to learn bloodbending, Katara begs her to stop. Hama just gives an EvilLaugh, however.
* AloneWithThePsycho: Katara ends up alone with Hama who reveals herself as evil while Aang and Sokka figure out the truth in their own time. Their attempt to come and rescue Katara [[NiceJobBreakingItHero doesn't work out as planned though]].
* ApologeticAttacker: Katara, Sokka and Aang when Hama uses bloodbending to control the boys.

* BadSamaritan: Hama turns out to be a not so friendly caretaker.

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Inverted; Hama initially is nice to the Gaang because she overheard that Katara and Sokka were Southern Water Tribe natives, and that Katara was a waterbender like her. She quickly reveals that she is not so nice when Katara refuses to learn from her.

** Hama is quite civil to the children, initially. She also forgives them for prying around her house, albeit since it allows her, Katara and Sokka to bond over their water tribe roots. While her kindly demeanor is a mask, it seems she wasn't lying about the latter part.
** The Fire Nation wouldn't murder their prisoners, for what little that counts. Hama describes that instead the waterbenders were chained up while given enough water to live.

* FallenHero: Hama. She used to be a defender for the Southern Water Tribe, but being imprisoned and isolated for a decade did its number on her morals.

* {{Lunacy}}: Just like with Waterbending, Hama mentions that Bloodbending is strongest during full moon.

* VictoryIsBoring: Implied. Hama has escaped from the fire nation cells but she spends her life taking out her pain on villagers who had nothing to do with her imprisonment. She looks much happier when she’s caught and returned to jail because she has passed on her legacy.
* VillainHasAPoint: To rally Katara to her side, Hama points out that the Fire Nation unjustly imprisoned her and killed Katara’s mother. Both legitimate points, though Katara retorts that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse blood bending isn’t the right way to go about it]].

* XanatosGambit: Katara was going to master the Bloodbending either willingly or under duress to save her friends.

* RevengeBeforeReason: Granted it's been decades since she was kidnapped from the Southern Water Tribe, Hama is guilty of this for not teaching what little Southern style waterbending she still knew to Katara, rather than simply her bloodbending techniques. Generations of Southern style waterbending that nobody else remembers, and it's lost because Hama was too focused on having a pupil in the dark art of bloodbending.

* VictoryIsBoring: implied. Hama has escaped from the fire nation cells but she spends her life taking out her pain on villagers who had nothing to do with her imprisonment. She looks much happier when she’s caught and returned to jail because she has passed on her legacy.
* VillainHasAPoint: To rally Katara to her side, Hama points out that the Fire Nation unjustly imprisoned her and killed Katara’s mother. Both legitimate points, though Katara retorts that blood bending isn’t the right way to go about it.

* DownerEnding: [[TheBadGuyWins Hama gets her way]] when Katara unwillingly learns bloodbending.

-->'''Hama''': You would have me use my feminine charms to take advantage of that poor man? {{Beat!}} I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly.

* FallenHero: Hama. She used to be a defender for the water tribe, but being imprisoned and isolated for a decade did its number on her morals.