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1[[foldercontrol]]
2[[folder:Bathrooms in the Spirit World]]
3* In 'The Avatar and the Firelord', when Aang squatted, groaned and sighed - and Katara asks if the spirit world has bathrooms - did he actually poop himself or did he just fart, or something?
4** Neither. She's reacting to what he's doing, not how he smells. What he did was mount the spirit of Fang.
5*** A) If someone is in the spirit world, their body doesn't move as they move. This has been demonstrated by Aang numerous times, as well as by characters in Legend of Korra, such as Korra and Aiwei. B) He clearly did something related to... emptying his bowel, since Katara specifically asks if the spirit world has bathrooms (and has a pretty grossed out expression). Why would she do that if he were just mounting Fang?
6*** No, he clearly ''looked like'' that. The joke is pretty clear -- she asks that, we get the implication, then we're shown him on Fang in that same position.
7*** Except it's well established that the physical body does not mimic the actions of the spirit when in the spirit world. The show was making a joke out of Fridge Logic: if you go on a long spirit journey sooner or later your physical body is going to have to use the bathroom.
8*** Maybe Aang spirit-walks sometimes?
9[[/folder]]
10
11[[folder:The Drill's weakpoints]]
12* Sokka realizes that the best method to defeat the giant drill was to "get inside and attack its weak points." The Gaang get inside easily enough (too easily, really), and they even gets some blueprints. What does Sokka decide are the drill's weak points? The engine? No. Hydrolic lines? No. Various pistons and drive shafts? No. He attacks ''the superstructure''. The LEAST "weak" part of the entire thing.
13** 1: The term was attacking ''pressure'' points, not weak points. The superstructure is what held up the entire drill, and couldn't be replaced as easily as a piston could. 2: Taking out the engine, hydraulic lines, or pistons is a short-term solution. The drill would stop, sure, until they send for/manufacture more parts, which would take, what, a month or two? Taking out the superstructure stops the drill until they ''build another giant friggin' drill from scratch''.
14*** The Drill was right at the wall of Ba Sing Se, taking it out for even a day would be more than enough time to get guys in and deal with it. By the time they get the parts needed to fix it the Earth Kingdom military will have secured the drill. And it will take longer than you think to get the parts anyway, since every part would be custom so that's probably the only drill they're gonna make in the next decade or so. With Sozin's comet coming my question would be why bother with a drill at all?
15** Realistically? Less time than a month. The Fire Nation is an industrial-age army that uses mechanized warfare. They've got to understand logistics and how important it is. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a supply depot within an hour or day's time away with enough parts to replace anything that goes haywire on the Drill as quickly as possible - and that's discounting the notion that they'd carry spare parts inside the Drill itself for quick maintenance. That thing's also got to have some redundant systems that they can switch over to if one breaks down; a device that big will practically ''require'' them if they want to get any maintenance done.
16*** The Fire Nation appears to only have World War I era level industrialization and even in modern times building anything that big takes a very long time it probably took them about a year to build that thing and the Gaang destroyed the main body, forced the crew other than Azula and Co into surrendering (I think) and ended up letting the earth kingdom keep it according to later episodes. Yeah that will take a long time to replace.
17*** The crew probably retreated. Ching at least makes it back to the capital and is in the bunkers during Black Sun Day. The Fire Nation's technology is very much an AnachronismStew when viewed from RealLife's perspective and I'd rather place its average around the 1870s or so.
18** Also Sokka was just looking at the blueprints and he's not a mechanical genius when it comes to things as advanced as the fire nation.
19** The engine and pistons and whatnot were probably staffed with engineers in case something stopped working. The team would've been announcing their presence to the enemy if they'd tried going further in. Whereas the braces just sit there supporting the drill, so they don't need anyone there to supervise them.
20[[/folder]]
21
22[[folder:Toph on ice]]
23* In the second season episode "The Serpent's Pass," why did Toph go out onto the ice? She can't ''see!'' She was standing on a plot of earth before moving onto the ice, so why didn't she just bend the earth to make a path for herself?
24** They brought that up. She's initially hesitant to go out onto the ice. Also, bending a path for herself would have been difficult, given the Serpent fight in the water at the time. There's no garuntee the Serpent wouldn't just destroy it.
25** The better question would be, why didn't the Gaang just tell her, "OK, we're going over ice. Hold onto one of us until we get across"? I doubt she'd pitch a fit if they told her that much.
26*** The Gaang has a poor track record when it comes to remembering that Toph is blind most of the time. She's constantly having to remind them.
27** Given the Toph doesn't wear shoes, I can imagine that ice would hurt her feet somehow.
28[[/folder]]
29
30[[folder:Learning the elements in order]]
31* Does it really matter what order the elements are learned in? I mean, the Avatar still masters all four elements regardless of the order, so why would it be a big deal which way he/she/they went?
32** This was brought up in "The Deserter" where Aang tried to learn fire bending without mastering water or earth first. Going in a certain order is a way for the Avatar to learn discipline and patience, and to better transition into their opposite, and most difficult, elements.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Aang not receiving assistance]]
36* Did Aang really have to fight the Fire Lord alone? I mean, his friends offered to help, and Toph said that she and the others would be there to help if he needed, yet they clearly ignored the fight in favor of downing the Fire Nation zeppelins, and for the first half of the fight, Aang was clearly getting curb-stomped like Satan in the second of the two Manbearpig episodes of WesternAnimation/SouthPark. Iroh just said that Aang had to be the one to beat the Fire Lord, he didn't say anything about him getting assistance in achieving that goal. Is there something I'm missing?
37** Given Sokka’s reaction when they get to the island and see the airships take off (“we’re too late”), they were most likely planning to destroy the airships while they were still grounded, and if that was the case, they’d all be in the same general area as Ozai and thus be able to help Aang at any given point if necessary (it was a rather small island). When the fleet was airborne, the ships were spread out and seconds away from roasting the Earth Kingdom. Sokka, Toph and Suki had to act fast to avoid total destruction, and Aang already took out the main ship with Ozai onboard, leading them to switch gears, and they eventually ended up in a bind that would prevent them from coming to Aang’s aid.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:Aang's moral principles]]
41* Aang agonizes over the possibility that he may have to kill Firelord Ozai, which goes against his basic moral principles. So, wait, we're to take this to mean that the crews of all those Fire Nation boats and airships he destroyed throughout the series were all unharmed? Particularly hard to believe in the case of the airships, which of course plummet hundreds of feet after Aang disables them.
42** Aang is twelve and rather naive. Its also pretty much a rule that all those [[PunchClockVillain poor guards and soldiers just doing their jobs]] are allowed to be killed in thousands in action series.
43** See: AMillionIsAStatistic. Yes, Aang likes this trope. I guess him being twelve [[HandWave could]] serve as an explanation.
44** [[WhatMeasureIsAMook We have a trope for this.]]
45** Also it probably occurred to someone to invent parachutes in between getting the airship technology and the GrandFinale
46** He has nightmares about killing people in the Avatar State, including the time where he destroys the Fire Nation fleet at the North Pole, so it is not as though he forgot about it entirely.
47** Aang destroys only one airship, and that one he disables and causes to descend in a moderately-controlled and slow impact that resulted in almost zero deformation of the airship itself. Throughout the rest of the series, it looks like others have killed Fire Nation troops, but they are not Aang, and he doesn't particularly seem to agonize over this.
48*** There is a very big difference between fighting in a large battle and going out to hunt down and kill a specific person. I can imagine Aang didn't have issues with killing in defence of self or friends, but killing a specific person is probably too much. Note that during the day of black sun, he could probably have bound the firelord in chains during the eclipse, so maybe he wasn't planning to kill him.
49*** There is also a very big difference between the impersonal killing via ranged weaponry, and the very personal killing through melee. The distance helps keeps emotions in check. Aang, even through accident never killed anyone in melee, and the time he came the closest to doing so (the Koizilla incident was the closest he got physically to his victims) briefly gave him nightmares about it. Aang would have to be that same distance and look Ozai in the eye as he died.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Aang not learning earthbending]]
53* Why didn't Aang ask Bumi to teach him Earthbending the first time they were in Omashu?
54** Because it's assumed that you have to learn the elements in order. Aang was focused on learning waterbending first, and only decided to learn Firebending from Jeong Jeong after he realized that he'd probably never get the chance. Plus, Aang had trouble with Earthbending, but he would have had even more trouble with it if he hadn't first gone through the defensive nature of Waterbending. Remember when he tried to use airbending philosophy with firebending? Burned Katara within 10 seconds.
55** He also didn't know that he had a deadline to master the elements when he first went to Omashu.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Azula's lie]]
59* Why do Aang, Sokka, and Toph take Azula's ridiculous statement as proof Toph can't detect she's lying? Lie detectors, Toph included via her vibration sensing, work by monitoring things like change in heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and other physical changes that occur when you lie, because you're unconsciously stressed when keeping something you don't want known hidden. Azula just said something completely stupid about being a purple platypus, something so obviously untrue there'd be no way she'd really worry about being found out.
60** Because ''its a joke''.
61** The Series/MythBusters went did something like this. Whenever you tell the truth, the lie detector says it's the truth. If you're telling the truth, lie detector cannot be convinced that you're lying. I can only assume that it works in reverse.
62*** Which, by the way, is a myth in itself. Lie detectors have not been proven to be infallible regardless of what Myth Busters seems to think.
63*** You mean the fact that Azula was wearing shoes didn't do anything for you?
64*** She was pressed up against a definitely stone wall. Toph could detect her heartrate and stuff anyway. Who needs the soles of one's feet when the rest of her body will do?
65*** "I can only assume it works in reverse" No! Universal declarations do not go both ways. Think of Monty Python as an example; characters in Holy Grail humorously conclude that, since all wood burns, all that burns is wood. Untrue for the same basic reason.
66*** You do realize that the entire ''purpose'' of a lie detector is not to be convinced that you're telling the truth if you're lying, right?
67** To me, this is FridgeBrilliance. Lie detectors in our world work by monitoring heartbeat and breathing and blood pressure. Azula had to learn to master one of those - breathing - in order to be a proper firebender at all instead of occasional bursts of flames. Concerning heartbeat and blood pressure, I always thought Azula had gotten control of those by loads and loads of training before the lightningbending. If you make ''one'' mistake doing that, you're burnt to a crisp, so before even trying it, it's a great idea to learn how to stay calm in every situation. Thus there's no rise in heartbeat/blood pressure, so Toph would be unable to know for sure if Azula was lying, since everything she usually checks for stays unchanged.
68*** Also if anyone was running/jogging they may remember that by controlling breath they can control heartbeat (the faster you breath the faster the heartbeat). The heartbeat is directly connected with blood pressure so by controlling breath you control indirectly a blood pressure. It's logical as those systems determines how much oxygen goes into cells.
69*** It's based on the Hollywood concept of a lie detector, so it doesn't matter what a true one is capable of or how admissible. The first two questions are always a baseline truth and lie. You can look at it as proving that she can provide a false-truth, or she may have actually proved that she can provide a true-lie. Imagine how devious it would be if she had enough control for Toph to detect her as lying with a statement they already know is truth.
70*** Lie detectors do not work with psychopaths, that’s because psychopaths feel no guilt when they lie and feel no reason to be nervous, as normal people do thus producing all the changes in breathing, heartbeat, blood pleasure, etc., that the machine supposedly detects. That’s why the lie detector is considered pseudoscientific and is not valid in courts, because it doesn’t really detects if someone is lying, it detects if someone is nervous while talking (and actually that’s what Toph said, that people has certain body reactions when lying). So, Azula is clearly a psychopath, so that’s why Toph’s abilities (or a lie detector’s) won’t work with her.
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Katara destroying a factory]]
74* In "The painted lady", Katara destroys a factory in an explosive way which most probably caused multiple innocent fire nation workers as casualties, hopes this will remove the pollution even though she just emptied molten metal into the waterstream, is surprised when the fire nation retaliates against the villagers and then leaves them to have their village destroyed by the very probable retaliation of the higher ups of the fire nation who probably dont care about her painted lady story.
75** Why doesn't Toph wake up when Katara sneaks out three times in a row? I mean, she's right next to Katara's sleeping bag. And Toph vs. Factory would've been epic.
76** She probably was in deep sleep, or just assumed Katara needed to go to the restroom. It's none of her buisness.
77** There was no one inside the factory when it was destroyed; that was why they attacked it ''at night''. It doesn't immediately remove the pollution, as shown by the fact that they ''have to clean up the river afterwards''. Katara was simply destroying the source of the pollution. It actually doesn't make much sense that the Fire Nation would retaliate against the villagers, as they have no way of really damaging the factory, when it could easily be blamed on Earth Kingdom sabotuers. As for later retaliation, they're planning on deposing the Fire nation in the next few weeks; by the time any retaliation happens, according to the plan, they would have already defeated the Fire Lord; plus, the Fire Nation has shown a history of withdrawing for prolonged periods when occupation/assault forces are destroyed.
78*** It actually does make (horrific) sense to go after the villagers. Even if you think that it was done by Earth Kingdom saboteurs (which they clearly don't), the most likely place for those saboteurs to work would be at the village suffering. By wrecking the village you remind the villagers that it isn't a good idea to allow that sort of thing. It's a time honored (if morally dubious) method.
79*** However, if the soldiers say it is an angry spirit they are (unlike in our world) ''not'' going to be dismissed out of hand. Stay clear of the place until an exorcist or ten can be summoned.
80*** Also from what I understood it was a mainland fire nation village. Neither earth saboteurs nor villagers supporting them is likely. The villagers might do it on their own as factory ruins their economy (but once the solders are defeated by multiple bending arts in mist out of nowhere with sound effects in a world where existence of spirits is fact...)
81*** It's a bit overthinking of a grey/white kid's show. The main point of the episode was to enforce how 'bad' the Fire Nation was because they are polluters.
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Aang learning firebending]]
85* Did Aang really need to learn firebending? He didn't have any time to even use it for any fights at all except the one against Ozai, and it didn't really help him much.
86** You have to remember that, at the time, they were not planning on finishing the fight during the comet. When Zuko joined, they were still planning on having the final attack be several months, possibly years, later than they were eventually forced to.
87** Hindsight is 20/20. Besides that, he'd have to learn it eventually, why not when he's already traveling the world picking up master benders?
88** Storywise, it's so that the Gaang can trust Zuko. Character-wise, it's for Aang to realize that [[BadPowersGoodPeople firebending is not evil.]]
89*** Plus, it makes some sense that firebending would be a good way to defend against firebending. Rather than putting up brute force defenses against Ozai's fire attacks (water/earth/air shields), Aang could instead redirect and bend the fire to defend.
90*** Also, understanding the principles behind Firebending also allows Aang to devise ways of neutralizing fire with other elements more easily. The trick he did with the combination of air and water to break up Ozai's fire bolts probably wouldn't have been possible without an understanding of firebending as well.
91** Lighting redirection, general mastery of the elements, and Iroh style new techniques are all good reasons.
92** Given that lightning redirection saved his life during the final battle with Ozai? That counts as helping him quite a bit, actually.
93** Aang directly uses firebending during the finale in order to ground Ozai’s airship and deflect at least two of his attacks. He may not have used it that much, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t useful.
94[[/folder]]
95
96[[folder:Toph and Iroh in the events of ''The Chase'']]
97* Why doesn't anyone other than Toph and Iroh remember the events of ''The Chase''? When Katara meets Zuko in the prison, her last encounter with him was when he got into a massive firebending fight with Azula and then got depressed and angry when Iroh got burned. It seems like it should have gotten brought up a few times. Even moreso when the rest of the [=GAang=] meets Iroh. Also, you'd think Toph would have said, "You know the old guy who took a bolt of fire to the chest? I talked with him and drank some tea a little while ago."
98** That may depend on whether Toph actually recognized Iroh. We know he saw her, because it's that distraction that gives Azula her opening to strike her uncle. But IIRC Iroh doesn't speak during that scene where they're ganging up on Azula, and with no voice to go by, and so many people around it's not guaranteed that Toph could have identified him as anyone other than a firebender also fighting Azula. Although she has been able to tell people by how they move, like with 'twinkletoes', she wasn't with Iroh for long.
99*** Toph did recognize Iroh. When Iroh is on the floor, he, Toph's feet and then Toph's sad face are focused, indicating that she knew he was the old man she had talked before.
100** Arguably, it does come up, but not mentioned verbally. The mere fact that Katara is even willing to listen and consider what Zuko says indicates, to me, that she remembers Zuko's brief moment of non-villainy with Iroh. Without that scene, she would have had no reason to warm up to him once he starts talking about his mother.
101*** Katara has to ask Zuko why he is in there.
102** Also, Aang seems pretty cool with Iroh when they're going to get Katara and Zuko. I'd say that's another indirect example that Aang remembers ''The Chase''. They could have even said something about it to each other off-screen.
103[[/folder]]
104
105[[folder:Toph making sand castles]]
106* How did Toph make that ridiculously accurate sand miniature of Ba Sing Se? By her own admission, she doesn't know what she or anyone else looks like. But suddenly she knows how an entire enormous city looks like?
107** Because it's a city that's made of solid, most likely stone structures. She knows what it looks like the same way she knew she kicked a boat and how she gets around. The vibrations tell her vague shapes. Not good for reading ink on paper or getting facial features, but works just fine to tell her how a building looks like.
108*** Yet she made a detailed statue of the Earth King and his pet bear? It seems more like Rule of Cool, seeing as it's enforced she has no idea what people look like aethestically.
109*** I think Toph can remember the basic shape, but need the details filled in for her. As for the rest? Rule of Cool/Funny,
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Katara learning the name of Prince Zuko]]
113* This is just a little bit of fridge logic from Episode 4, but... when did Katara learn Zuko's name? The first time they met he didn't see fit to introduce himself, and as far as we know no one has ever addressed him within hearing of Aang or the Water Tribe siblings.
114** Probably an off-screen Infodump from the village leader. Though, that begs the question of how ''he'' knew Zuko's name.
115** Zuko isn't exactly quiet about who he is. It would make perfect sense for him to announce himself.
116** Aang does hear Zuko refer to the Fire Lord as "my father." The name of the Fire Nation prince must be common knowledge. Their father confirms in Season 3 that he's heard of him, so his kids must have, too.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Team Avatar trying to meet the Earth King]]
120* Did Team Avatar really expect to get in in to see the Earth King? Long Feng controls all of the traffic around him, he knows what they're going to say to him, he told them to their faces about his brand of order and how important it is to him, and he practically told them the lengths to which he would go in order to enforce it and maintain his Orwellian police state... and yet the gang sits and waits for their request to be processed. Was he afraid of the kind of chaos that they ended up causing after he took the offensive against them? Did they think he wouldn't want to try to stonewall the Avatar? Is there a simpler explanation that I'm missing?
121** To be fair, only two people of the group had been to Ba Sing Se before: Toph and Aang (Which was before he turned into an Avasicle). Toph seems to be the one who knows more about Ba Sing Se but I assume she either didn't know or didn't care. The rest of them truly did think they could get in for a quick chat. As for Long Feng, since he controls the elite police force and is puppeteering the King, he's not that scared about them.
122*** Aang mentions "this is why I never came here before" in "City of Walls and Secrets" re: Ba Sing Se. Wholly possible that Aang was so used to most people being thrilled to see him in their cities and towns he could easily walk in.
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Katara not keeping her waterbending a secret]]
126* In the first two episodes of the series, it doesn't seem like Katara's waterbending is in any way a secret: she uses it openly and talks about it openly, with Gran Gran and others. However, during season 3 we find out the Fire Nation gradually took away all the waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe, until there were none left. Given all this, and given that the Fire Nation still appears to make random raids to the Southern Tribe (Katara's own mother was killed in one only a few years earlier), you'd think Gran Gran would make it absolutely sure Katara doesn't talk about her bending in public, and certainly doesn't use it in places where someone could see it?
127** No one except Kya knew that the Southern Raiders attacked the village because they were looking for a Waterbender, and Yon Rha killed her before she could tell anyone. So nobody would see any reason for Katara to keep her Bending a secret. Yon Rha also believed they succeeded, so the Fire Nation had no reason to continue raiding the village. What would they have gained from pillaging and plundering a tiny village of ice at the end of the world? It has no resources they can use, and now, as far as they know, no threats to neutralize.
128** Even if the purpose of that particular raid remains unknown to the other villagers, they would certainly know that Firebenders had gradually kidnapped and taken away all of their waterbenders. Older people like Gran Gran have living memory of this. Also, since the purpose of the previous raid was unknown, the villagers wouldn't know that the Fire Nation has no reason to raid the village anymore, so they might still expect a new raid any day. Furthermore, since benders can be born to non-bender parents, it would make sense for the Fire Nation to spy on Southern Water Nation tribes and occasionally raid them, to check out whether new waterbenders have emerged. This was the purpose of Yon Rha's raid, and most likely the Fire Nation was doing this every few years. So given all this, it makes no sense for Gran Gran to think Katara is safe, and to allow her to waterbend publically.
129** There hasn't been a raid in a decade. If something hasn't happened in a decade, yes, you'd generally assume that it's not happening again any time soon.
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:Sokka and Katara pretending to be Aang's parents]]
133* In ''The Headband'', Sokka and Katara pose as Aang's parents as they talk to the headmaster of the Fire Nation school. Question: Wouldn't he wonder how two clearly young teens are somehow the parents of a boy clearly around their age?
134** Yes. That's why they wear disguises like a false beard and a false pregnant belly.
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:Finding a new waterbending teacher]]
138* In "The Waterbending Master", why didn't Aang just decide to find a new waterbending teacher upon finding out women weren't allowed to learn waterbending? I know he said he wouldn't enroll in Pakku's classes if he didn't teach Katara, but why didn't he just find somebody else to learn from, like, perhaps, a former student of Pakku's, or perhaps any other waterbender? I mean, the Northern tribe certainly has no shortage of waterbenders, and Pakku certainly can't be the only teacher from the tribe, so learning from Pakku couldn't've been Aang's only option.
139** A few reasons. One is that Aang originally thought there wasn't any harm in learning from Pakku during the day and training Katara by night. It isn't until this plan was executed that he found out Pakku took it as an insult. Additionally, Aang has to go up against the most feared and powerful firebender on the planet in a battle that will decide the fate of the world; he wouldn't want to settle for anything less than the best when it came to learning the elements. Third, as I recall, he actually ''does'' suggest finding another teacher if it means stopping Katara and Pakku from fighting; Katara brushes him off, saying she's not fighting Pakku just to allow him back into the class anymore. And fourth, even if she had agreed, there's no guarantee that anyone at the North Pole would be willing to teach Aang after he and Katara had so brazenly insulted the utmost waterbending authority in their tribe and then refused to apologize.
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Zuko's accident on Toph's feet]]
143* There's one episode, I can't remember the name, where Zuko is having trouble getting the Gaang to let him join them, not without good reason. From what I recall, [[LivingLieDetector Toph]] is the only one to point out that Aang, Sokka, and Katara are letting their preexisting grudges against him cloud their judgement. She tries to go visit Zuko at night; Zuko, not realizing who it is, sears her feet with his firebending. Though she eventually agrees to let him join, she makes it clear that she's still upset with him burning her feet and still holds a grudge, even when it should be obvious that it was an honest mistake. Could she not tell that he felt genuinely remorseful, or is she just very hypocritical?
144** Look at it this way; imagine your best friend was with you and had an accident which wound up costing you your eyesight permanently. Yes, it was an accident, yes they feel very bad about it. That doesn't change the fact that the damage is done however and there will inevitably be some grudges held (unless you happen to be one of those "forgive and forget" people but not everyone is like that.) To Toph, her feet are her eyes. Zuko accidentally damaged them and it's unclear if it's permanent or not. Either way I'm sure Toph knows it was a mistake but that doesn't pardon him from possibly destroying the one sense she's honed her whole life on. If anything this troper got the feeling she would just do something to Zuko back and then they'd be even.
145** OP here: I understand ''the principle'' of her being upset. I'm not saying she doesn't have any right to hold a grudge against him, under general circumstances. What I don't get is why she's holding a grudge, after having just calling everyone else out for holding grudges, especially when Zuko's actions against her were an accident. If they'd taken out her telling them to let go of their grudges and consider trusting him, I would see no problem.
146** Toph has a different kind of grudge from the rest of the Gaang. Hers is less about the fact that Zuko's their enemy, and more about the fact that he burned her feet. She's calling the Gaang out on their unwillingness to believe Zuko's HeelFaceTurn because of those prior encounters, and considering she's a LivingLieDetector Toph knows something is different this time. The whole matter is complicated further by an accident that the rest of the Gaang saw as fitting in with what Zuko would do, which just proved Toph's point. Regardless, Toph's the kind of person to get even when she's been kicked down a few notches and I'm sure that while she knew it was an accident, she'd still get him back in some way.
147** Toph's just angry that he hurt her; accident or not. Just like Sokka was angry when Aang burned Katara. But Toph isn't going to hold a long grudge over it, especially considering her feet are healed up almost immediately. Toph's "grudge" in this case is a minor thing, resulting from a minor annoyance that the youngest -- and orneriest -- of the group was momentarily upset about. It's not nearly on the same level as the grudge the rest of the Gaang holds. She probably got payback between episodes by launching him into a river when he wasn't expecting it.
148** I don't even think she's that angry, really. There's sufficient room to interpret most of her actions in this episode as being calculated. This is not to say that she planned everything to go the way it did, but that she's clearly working towards a goal in this episode and takes every opportunity she gets to try and forward that goal: she wants to get the gang working with Zuko so that he can teach Aang firebending. After she visits Zuko and gets burned she understandably gets a bit freaked out from the pain in her feet and from not being able to see and panics, but once she gets out of there and safely back to the gang she's pretty upfront and clear to them that it was "kind of an accident". Realizing that this is not a super convincing position, she then goes along with their assessment that Zuko's dangerous and shouldn't be left alone and suggests that they should invite him back—which could be interpreted as her trying to subtly get them in contact with Zuko so he'd have a route to try and get in their good graces, which is really what she was trying to accomplish by visiting him in the first place. Then the events with Combustion Man happen and for the most part that takes care of it. When Zuko then apologizes to her and Aang asks for her opinion about letting him join, she's by far the quickest to say yes, and only adds the "it'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet" part so as not to make it seem like she's forgiving him too easy and, well, because she's Toph and enjoys making playful threats like that all the time.
149** Toph has shown many times that, despite her usual tough guy exterior, she can be VERY sensitive and dismissive when she's feeling vulnerable. Losing her earthbending foot-sonar would leave her feeling EXTREMELY vulnerable, so she's naturally pushing Zuko away. It wears off.
150[[/folder]]
151
152[[folder:Aang working with Zuko]]
153* Was the rest of the Gaang really okay with Aang going on a day trip into the Fire Nation, with Zuko, who's only just joined their team, ''completely alone'', in "The Firebending Masters?" Even if Zuko lost his firebending (which none of them can actually be sure of, really), we've seen him get by with his dual swords alone, and there's at least a possibility that he could lead an unsuspecting Aang into some sort of trap. I can't imagine why at least Katara wouldn't have insisted on coming along.
154** Toph would know that he's not lying and she herself has no reason to lie to the Gaang, and the fact that his firebending is failing should make a statement that he isn't relying on anger and hatred anymore. Aang is also the one riding Appa with Zuko giving instructions, so if anything felt off about where they were going Aang could easily turn back. Even had Zuko secretly been trying to lead Aang into a trap, he wouldn't have much but his dual swords to fight him, which is a big disadvantage.
155** But she told them that Zuko was being truthful in the last episode, and they didn't believe her then. And even if they do all trust that Aang will be safe with Zuko, I don't understand why they all wouldn't have gone with them anyway... They've always stuck together on journeys like this, and there's still the possibility of them falling into some sort of trap or something. (Like they eventually do.)
156** They didn't believe Toph before because what she was saying conflicted with what Zuko's done before, plus he burnt her feet albeit by accident. It's not like the Gaang ''won't'' believe her if she says Zuko is lying about his Firebending or his alliance. It would also be unlikely to be a trap since Toph's the one who recommended Zuko to try looking for Firebending at its source, which led him to decide on going to the next best thing: the Sun Warrior ruins, A.k.a. an island which should have no people on it anymore much less soldiers. A trap isn't effective if the people in on it don't know where to be. And for the record, this isn't the first time the Gaang have split up.
157** It's probably the first time they've split up willingly and without any reason for it. What were Katara, Sokka, and Toph doing at the Air Temple so that they were too busy to go with Aang and Zuko? And, we've already been shown that Katara is behaving almost irrationally with regard to her distrust of Zuko. It doesn't really make sense that she wouldn't insist on going with them.
158** Plotting their next move, most likely. After the failure of their invasion of the Fire Nation during the Day of Black Sun, they had to regroup to the Air Temple and figure out what they should do next. Near the end of the book it turns out they were going to continue Aang's training and let Sozin's Comet pass, until Zuko revealed what his father was planning to do during that event.
159** Two points to consider: 1) Aang was perfectly capable of handling Zuko on his own even back in season one when he only knew one element and had little combat experience, now he's had a ton of experience and can wield three elements, Zuko doesn't stand a chance against him and 2) Katara made it very clear what the consequences of betraying their trust would be and everyone knows she means it. Zuko pulling something would be pointless and suicidal.
160[[/folder]]
161
162[[folder:Zuko learning of Appa's wherabouts]]
163* How did Zuko know that the Dai Li were holding Appa in "Lake Laogai"? Aang and co. didn't have a clue until they found out about Jet's brainwashing. Even if Zuko didn't know and was only threatening that guy for information, what would make him think he had anything to offer?
164* In relation to the above, how did Appa get out of the hidden facility beneath the lake? He wasn't small enough to fit through the door, and Iroh and Zuko couldn't earthbend to let him escape...Did they just grab a random Dai Li agent and force him to do it for them?
165[[/folder]]
166
167[[folder:Katara's morals on stealing]]
168* Why did Katara give Toph a hard time over scamming a scammer in "The Runaway" when she earlier gave us the aesop of "Stealing is wrong...unless it's from pirates!" in "The Waterbending Scroll"?
169** Because they were undercover and Toph was drawing unwanted attention to them. Katara didn't really care until they started doing it a lot, and what happened? Combustion man heard about them, figured out who they were and set a trap for them.
170** Also, season 3 Katara is a different person from season 1 Katara. For starters, Season 3 Katara knows that if you steal from someone, they're eventually going to find out and come after you for it.
171* While the team is out swimming in "The Beach", Toph asks if it's a good idea for Aang's arrow tattoo be exposed. At the time she says this, Aang is floating on his back in the open water - how can she sense him to tell whether his arrow is covered or not?
172** I was thinking she might've accidentally touch him or rubbed against him after he undressed. That's just my two cents though....
173** Either she sensed him while they were all going to the water together or she has a lick of common sense and knows that you generally strip down to your skivvies when you go swimming.
174*** Oh, yeah...For some reason, I was only thinking about the tattoo on his forehead. Somehow I'd forgotten about the ones on his arms and legs, which wouldn't be covered up unless he was wearing a wetsuit. My bad.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:Aang staying bald]]
178* In the few weeks that he's comatose between season 2 and 3 Aang's hair grows out a bit. How did he manage to stay bald for the first 2 seasons? I mean even if he had a razor of some kind surely it would've been on Appa's saddle and been lost when he was kidnapped.
179** Razors and other sharp blades are really not that hard to come by.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Wanted posters of Aang]]
183* In "The Deserter" the Gaang finds out there are "WANTED" poster with Aang's picture and description spread throughout the Earth Kingdom. Why the heck doesn't Aang switch to Earth Kingdom clothes right there and then? Even if he sometimes tries to cover his tattoos, the fact still remains that he's wearing traditional Air Nomad clothes, which no one else has really worn for the last 100 years. This should make him extremely easy for anyone to spot, even with his head covered. Most likely the "WANTED" posters include depictions of his travel companions too, and it doesn't seem like Southern Water Tribe travellers are that common in the Earth Kingdom either. Yet for the first half of season 2 the Gaang still travels around the kingdom in their tradional tribal clothes, seemingly without any worries of being spotted.
184** The vast majority of the Earth Kingdom ''likes'' the Avatar and supports what he and his friends are doing. They don't worry about being spotted because for the most part they're in friendly territory.
185[[/folder]]
186
187[[folder:Katara learning how to waterbend]]
188* In episode 1, why did Katara think that Aang could teach her how to waterbend? She knew he was an airbender and she didn't know he was The Avatar yet, so she had no reason to believe that he knew how to waterbend. Are the different forms of bending not distinct arts?
189** It's possible that she is not aware that the different bending arts aren't all the same in form at that time, since all she intrinsically knows is her home. Not to mention, Aang himself points this problem out when she asks, in spite of being the Avatar. That being said, Iroh ''did'' suggest that one elemental bender could learn from the disciplines of other benders to make new techniques; it's how he invented lightning redirection from watching waterbenders regularly redirect in their bending motions, after all.
190[[/folder]]
191
192[[folder:Aang's firebending skills]]
193* In "Nightmares And Daydreams", Aang says he doesn't know any firebending, and yet, he learned firebending in "The Deserter", so how can he not know any of it?
194** He means he doesn't know any firebending moves.
195[[/folder]]
196
197[[folder:Toph detecting airborne projectiles]]
198* In “Awakening”, a ship of the Fire Nation attacked the disguised Gaang by shooting burning rocks. How was Toph be able to hit the burning rocks in the air? She should not be able to feel any airborne objects.
199** The rocks were made of Earth. Avatar Extras stated that Toph could sense Earth even if it's not connected to the ground. Pipsqueak and the Duke could've also told her where to strike.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder: Liar, liar, Toph's on fire.]]
203* Judging by her other attempts in ''Lake Laogai'' (all successful), Toph only needs to stand somewhat close to a person on the same earth to determine if they are telling the truth or not. So why wasn't she able to tell that Old Sweepy was lying about Appa's location? All the prerequisites were there.
204** Keep in mind that we learn later on that Azula is able to lie convincingly enough to where Toph can't tell that she's lying, even when Azula's telling a blatant lie. The fact that Azula could spoof Toph's lie detection ability (which suggests that people with enough composure can counter Toph's ability), coupled with how Old Sweepy was in league with the Dai Li, would suggest that maybe Old Sweepy is a capable liar akin to Azula, or at least to a degree where Toph would be none the wiser as to whether what he's saying is a lie or not.
205[[/folder]]

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