History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheStorm

* VirtueIsWeakness: What caused Zuko to be banished in the first place is his compassion. His compassion for the 41st Division led to him to interrupt the general's speech and passionately stand up for the 20,000 new recruits, which angered Fire Lord Ozai for what he saw as an act of disrespect. Later, in the Agni Kai duel to settle this controversy, Zuko refused to fight his father and pleads for his forgiveness instead. This angered Ozai even further as he saw this familial plead as a sign of weakness. He then scared Zuko's left eye and later banished him on an ImpossibleTask to capture the Avatar, either hoping that Zuko would be out of his sights forever or lose his compassion during the journey if by all odds he somehow succeeded in his quest.

* VirtueIsAWeakness: What caused Zuko to be banished in the first place is his compassion. His compassion for the 41st Division led to him to interrupt the general's speech and passionately stand up for the 20,000 new recruits, which angered Fire Lord Ozai for what he saw as an act of disrespect. Later, in the Agni Kai duel to settle this controversy, Zuko refused to fight his father and pleads for his forgiveness instead. This angered Ozai even further as he saw this familial plead as a sign of weakness. He then scared Zuko's left eye and later banished him on an ImpossibleTask to capture the Avatar, either hoping that Zuko would be out of his sights forever or lose his compassion during the journey if by all odds he somehow succeeded in his quest.

* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:Azula]] makes her first appearance in the series as a spectator of Zuko and Ozai’s Agni Kai along wirh Iroh and Zhao.

* WouldHurtAChild: Fire Lord Ozai was already established to be a warmongering dictator, but this episode ''really'' spikes his level of villainy to a more personal level by revealing that he scarred his own son, who was 13 years old at that time.

[[TheAce '''Zuko''']]: Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart. I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!
[[HateSink '''Ozai''']]: [[ForYourOwnGood You will fight for your honor]].
'''Zuko''': I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son.
'''Ozai''': [[ControlFreak Rise and fight, Prince Zuko]]!
'''Zuko''': I won't fight you.

'''Ozai''': [[CompleteMonster You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher]].

* AbusiveParents: Fire Lord Ozai has no problem with not only instigating a duel against his own son, but also dealing the equivalent of a blow-torch shot to his face when the then-thirteen-year-old prince refuses to fight. All because the prince spoke out of turn in defense of his nation's soldiers. No wonder the kid's messed up. And [[TruthInTelevision much like many real children who have faced abuse]], Zuko blames himself and continues to seek his father's approval.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Jee may be part of the imperialistic Fire Nation, but when he learns about how Zuko got his scar and got banished, he is noticeably shocked, as are his fellow crewmen.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The monks at the Southern Air Temple decide that they need to move fast before the Fire Nation threat grows. To speed things up, they tell 12-year-old Aang he's the Avatar several years early, intensify his training and plan to send him away from his home and father figure. ...Which results in Aang running away and being frozen for a ''hundred years'', clearing the way for the Fire Nation to start the war and wipe out the Air Nomads. Monk Gyatso calls out the other monks at the time for pushing Aang too early, and in retrospect, easing him into his Avatar role was a much better option.

** The Air Nomad council were right that Aang needed to prepare for the upcoming threat to the world, but Gyatso was correct that Aang was still a child and needed a structed environment to be in.

* ChekhovsSkill: Iroh discreetly redirects the storm’s lightning to stop a crashing wave. Now why would he need to know how to do that?

* BothSidesHaveAPoint: The old fisherman was acting rudely when he calls out Aang for running away and getting himself frozen in ice for 100 years, but [[JerkassHasAPoint his anger is still justified]]: That single action allowed the whole war to grow out of all proportion. However, as Katara pointed out, the Fire Nation massacred the Air Nomads shortly after, meaning it's possible Aang would have been wiped out then since he'd only mastered airbending, which didn't do his people much good. In the end, the fisherman acknowledges he wouldn't have been still alive if the Avatar didn't show up that day, and Aang decides not to dwell on the past that can't be changed.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: For speaking out against needlessly sacrificing the lives of inexperienced but loyal Fire Nation soldiers, and refusing to fight his father in a duel, Zuko's father permanently scarred his face and banished him from the Fire Nation to complete an ImpossibleTask.

** After hearing about Fire Lord Ozai for several episodes we finally get to see him in person, and the first thing we see him do is ''scar his own son's face'' as a punishment.
** In the flashback of Ozai burning Zuko during their Agni Ki, a young girl sitting near Iroh is shown smirking cruelly at Zuko's cry of pain. This girl will return later in the series and her personality ''definitely'' lives up to this moment.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Zuko tells Lt. Jee that the safety of his crew isn't important, Iroh tries to settle things by telling Jee that Zuko didn't really mean that. The reveal of Zuko's backstory later in the episode, specifically the "offense" he was banished for, confirms that Iroh wasn't lying about that.

* ItsAllMyFault: It's clear that Iroh at least partially blames himself for Zuko's scarring and exile since he was the one who allowed Zuko into the war meeting in the first place.

** The whole crew's been complaining what a complete douche Zuko is, while that very day he goes on to risk his life in order to save that of the helmsman. And then of course, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished there's the reason he got the scar...]]
** Also the Fisherman. He may be a rude cheapskate, but in the end, he acknowledges that if Aang weren't there, the fisherman would've drowned and sincerely thanks Aang for saving him.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The monks at the Southern Air Temple decide they need to move fast before the Fire Nation threat grows. To speed things up, they tell 12-year-old Aang he's the Avatar several years early, intensify his training and plan to send him away from his home and father figure. ...Which results in Aang running away and being frozen for a ''hundred years'', clearing the way for the Fire Nation to start the war and wipe out the Air Nomads. Monk Gyatso calls out the other monks at the time for pushing Aang too early and in retrospect, easing him into his Avatar role was a much better option.
* NiceToTheWaiter: Iroh has no problems with eating and hanging out with the crew. ''Zuko'', however, sees them only as servants--but that doesn't stop him from risking his life to save them.

** The monks attempting to help the Avatar grow into his task only became the reason for Aang running away and the Fire Nation stomping them eventually.

* SecretlySelfish: When Aang tells Katara about how the Air Nomads were going to separate Aang from Monk Gyatso, she sympathizes that Aang was allegedly sent away. Aang uneasily reveals that's not what happened: in reality, he ran away from home.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: The general who suggests using inexperienced soldiers as cannon fodder. If Zuko hadn't spoken up to rebuke him, his injury, dishonor and banishment would likely never have happened.

* StunnedSilence: Zuko's crew are appropriately horrified upon learning that his scar was given to him by his own father in an Agni Kai. The only responses come from Jee quietly saying that he thought Zuko's scar was from a training accident and him realizing why Zuko is so obsessed with capturing Aang.
* TooQualifiedToApply: A flashback shows that after Aang was publicly revealed to be the Avatar the other airbender kids stopped playing competitive games with him because they felt he'd have an unfair advantage, even though his actual level of ability hadn't changed.

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Zuko, while a bit impulsive and impatient, was very patriotic and thanks his uncle for allowing him into the war chamber and speaks out against sacrificing soldiers' lives in order to achieve victory, which ultimately leads to his banishment.

* WhamEpisode: We learn about both Aang and Zuko's pasts, along with the devastating reveal that Zuko had to fight his own father. And for those who still didn't pick on the hints that Zuko's father is the Fire Lord himself, this episode confirms it.

** Pre-series Zuko gives a "What the Hell, Villain" version of this trope, to a Fire Nation general when said general suggests using rookie soldiers as decoy while he and the experienced troops attack from the rear.

* WouldHurtAChild: Fire Lord Ozai was already established to be a warmongering dictator, but this episode ''really' spikes his level of villainy to a more personal level by revealing that he scarred his own son, who was 13 years old at that time.

** In the flashback of Ozai burning Zuko during their Agni Ki, a young girl sitting near Iroh is shown smirking cruelly at Zuko's cry of pain. She is later revealed to be his younger sister Azula.

* WouldHurtAChild: Fire Lord Ozai was already revealed to be a warmongering dictator, but this episode spikes Ozai's level of villainy when he scars his own son, who was 13 years old at that time.

* DisproportionateRetribution: Ozai not only attempted to fight his 13-year-old son because he dared to contest a plan from a general, but after Zuko refused to fight, Ozai burned his face as a "lesson", permanently scarring the boy, then exiled him.

** After hearing about Fire Lord Ozai for several episodes we finally get to see him in person, and the first thing we see him do is shoot his son in the fucking face as a punishment.

* WholeEpisodeFlashback: This episode features many flashbacks from the lives of both Zuko and Aang.

** Zhao can be seen along with a girl we've never seen before, one who seems to be more than happy to see Zuko get burned...

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the flashback of Ozai burning Zuko during their Agni Ki, a young girl sitting near Iroh is shown smirking cruelly at Zuko's cry of pain. She is later revealed to be his younger sister Azula.