Line #28 Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheKingOfOmashu


1	[[quoteright:333:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/avatar_king_of_omashu.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:333:King Bumi, aged 100 years since the last time Aang saw him.]]
3
4	->''"Bumi, you're a mad genius."''
5	-->-- '''Aang'''
6
7	The next stop on the group's trip around the world is the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. There, Aang shows Katara and Sokka the Omashu chute mail delivery system, which he and his friend Bumi (a Hindi word meaning 'Earth') used to ride for fun a hundred years ago. The trio give the chutes a try but run into trouble after their wild ride destroys a cabbage merchant's cart. Hauled in front of the crazy King of the city, the gang is unexpectedly given a feast. The King suspects that Aang is the Avatar and puts him through three deadly challenges to test his skills. After the last challenge, Aang is forced to figure out the King's name, and based on the nature of the challenges, he realizes that the King is his old friend Bumi. Bumi informs Aang of what his task as the current Avatar entails.
8
9	----
10	!!Tropes in this episode include:
11
12	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Sokka thinks this of the king's "jokes." Aang and Katara aren't amused because the jokes are pretty terrible.
13	* AerithAndBob: Aang and Katara's aliases: the Honorable Bonzu Pipinpadalopsicopolis III and his granddaughter, June.
14	* AirVentPassageway: ZigZagged. Aang suggests escaping through the air vents, but [[SubvertedTrope Sokka notes that they couldn't fit]]. Aang says that even though they can't fit, [[DoubleSubversion Momo can]]. However, Momo just [[ZigZaggingTrope gets stuck halfway through the air vent hole]].
15	* BadassBoast: When he [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass reveals himself]], Bumi boasts that he's the most powerful earthbender that Aang will ever encounter.
16	-->'''Bumi:''' You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see.
17	* {{Bookends}}: The episode ends the way Aang's flashback began; he and his friend Bumi riding down a mail chute as a slide.
18	* BewareTheSillyOnes: Throughout the episode, Bumi is portrayed as an absentminded and silly king. However, when Aang chooses to fight him in the final challenge, he learns that Bumi is a powerful fighter.
19	* TheCaligula: Bumi successfully gets the Gaang to assume that he's this. While eccentric, he's actually quite benevolent.
20	* ChekhovsGunman:
21	** Aang's friend Bumi shown in a brief flashback has a bigger role than he seems at first, as seen under TheReveal.
22	** Fire Lord Ozai is mentioned by name for the first time here.
23	* ChirpingCrickets: There's a RunningGag of some guy coughing in the silence following the king's crazy pronouncements or terrible jokes.
24	* ClarkKentOutfit: The King's elaborate, oversized robes, which hide how ridiculously muscular he is.
25	* CoverBlowingSuperpower: King Bumi utilizes this by throwing an object at Aang and forcing him to catch it with his airbending, revealing that he is the last airbender and the Avatar.
26	* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Bumi looks like a venerable eccentric, which he is -- but he is ''also'' a fearsome earthbender.
27	* DishingOutDirt: King Bumi is one of the most powerful living Earthbenders, and makes extensive use of his powers during the final trial to pummel Aang with flying boulders, shockwaves in the earth, and sudden quicksand pits.
28	* DisproportionateRetribution: The merchant wants the crew executed for destroying his cabbage cart, specifically demanding one head per ruined head of cabbage.
29	* ExactWords: Aang tries to use this when Bumi says that he will battle whomever he points at. Rather than the two warriors on either side of him, [[TakeAThirdOption Aang points at Bumi]]. Unfortunately, the king turns out to be a tougher opponent than Aang expected.
30	* FailedAttemptAtDrama: Averted mostly by Bumi most of the time, despite his goofiness. But when he orders the trio to be thrown in jail, he tries to make it a dramatic announcement and it falls flat. For the audience, this shows that we're not meant to be too worried about their fate.
31	* FluffyTamer: King Bumi and his legendary monster Flopsy.
32	* FluffyTheTerrible: "Flopsy" turns out to be the hulking gorilla-goat, not the cute little pet rabbit. However, it winds up being just as docile as you'd expect something named "Flopsy" to be.
33	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The King throwing the Gaang a feast instead of throwing them in jail is a clue that he knows exactly who they are. Adding to that, the fact that the King knows how to fight an airbender in the final challenge, despite the fact that no one has seen an airbender in over a century, is a clue that he's a lot older than he looks, old enough to have been alive before they disappeared.
34	* FruitCart: The Cabbage Merchant and his cabbages, which is destroyed first by the guards and then by the main characters. Becomes a RunningGag here and in later episodes.
35	* GilliganCut: Katara tells Aang that he'll need some kind of disguise before they enter the city, and Aang sarcastically suggests that he could grow a mustache. Cut to Aang with a fake mustache and hair made of straw and Appa's fur.
36	* GoodAllAlong: The King is set up as an antagonist, but he turns out to be Aang's old friend Bumi, and the challenges were his way of helping train Aang to think creatively.
37	* HeroAntagonist: Bumi is the quasi-"villain" of the episode. He provides the primary antagonistic force, but doesn't actually mean harm to the main characters -- mainly, he's posing a HiddenPurposeTest and screwing with their heads.
38	* HeyWait: Aang, Katara and Sokka talk their way past the guards at the city gate, with Aang pretending to be their elderly grandfather. Just as they're being let through, one of the guards notices something and calls them back... but it turns out it was to berate Sokka (whom the guard notes seems very strong and muscular) for apparently not showing respect to the elderly by not carrying his grandfather's pack for him -- Aang immediately tosses the bag he is carrying to Sokka.
39	* HiddenPurposeTest: The King is Bumi, and the tasks are partly a test to see if Aang can think creatively.
40	* InstantlyProvenWrong: Aang's statement, "The people here are the friendliest in the world," is immediately challenged by the guards mistreating the cabbage vendor.
41	* ItAmusedMe: When Sokka and Katara question Bumi on why he didn't just tell Aang who he was instead of making him do the three challenges, Bumi admits that he finds it fun to mess with people. The other reason was to get Aang to think creatively, which will help him when he faces off against the Fire Lord.
42	* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: After Bumi's identity is revealed, Bumi takes offense at being called old.
43	-->'''Katara:''' So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?\
44	'''Bumi:''' Who are you calling "old"?![[note]]When Katara said "[[AmbiguousSyntax old]]", she meant as in "friend from the past" rather than "elderly"[[/note]]
45	* KickTheDog: Okay, so those cabbages couldn't come into the city, but did the guards need to catapult them into a ravine?
46	* LamePunReaction: When Aang claims to be from "Kangaroo Island", King Bumi replies that he's heard that it's "really hopping". This is followed by a stretch of awkward silence from his stone-faced guards and interlocutors, punctuated by a long cough... and ended when Sokka bursts out laughing.
47	-->''...what? It was pretty funny.''
48	* LetsGetDangerous: Aang eventually rises to all Bumi's challenges. Including starting a mini-cyclone to send Bumi's giant rock back at him.
49	* LoopholeAbuse: Aang attempts one during the final trial: when told to pick anyone as his opponent, he chooses the weak-looking king. It bites him instantly when the king turns out to be a lot stronger than he looks.
50	* LuxuryPrisonSuite: The heroes' prison cell is newly refurbished and looks like a nice hotel room.
51	* MadEye: Bumi's loose grasp on sanity is visually shown through one of his eyes being much larger than the other.
52	* NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe: A hundred years have naturally changed Bumi's appearance, and though the clues are there (his mismatched eyes, squint, and missing tooth), it's his personality that Aang recognizes him by.
53	* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: When the Gaang is arrested, the king proclaims their sentence: "THROW THEM... a feast!"
54	* NotSoInnocentWhistle: Aang does it when the king eyes our destructive heroes, about to pass judgment on them.
55	* OffWithHisHead: The cabbage merchant demands that Aang, Sokka and Katara be beheaded as punishment for destroying his cart.
56	-->'''Cabbage Merchant:''' Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage!
57	* OhCrap: Aang, when he finds out that King Bumi isn't some weak and wimpy-looking old man, but is in fact "the most powerful earthbender you will ever see."
58	** Bumi himself has a moment of this when Aang manages to use a tornado to reflect the giant rock he throws at him.
59	* OhCrapSmile: Aang, when turning around to see the real Flopsy, is indeed nervous.
60	* OldFriend: Bumi to Aang; both metaphorically as they knew each other 100 years ago, and literally since Bumi grew old during the time Aang was stuck in the iceberg.
61	* PuppyDogEyes: Katara tries this to get King Bumi to be lenient in his punishments.
62	* {{Pun}}: Quite a few, thanks to King Bumi, such as turning Katara's demand that he "let us leave!" into "lettuce leaf".
63	* RecurringExtra: The poor cabbage merchant's first appearance.
64	* TheReveal: It may be ItWasHisSled nowadays, but the King turning out to be Aang's friend Bumi was very surprising when it first aired.
65	* ReversePsychology: In a way -- the king's first two tests are to see whether or not Aang can creatively work out of tough situations, but the third test ''punishes'' Aang for creatively using the King's ExactWords for an [[TheWindowOrTheStairs apparently easier solution]].
66	* RunningGag:
67	** This episode not only debuts the series-wide cabbage gag, but it also counts within the episode itself. First the gate guards inspect the cabbage cart and throw it off a cliff, then the Gaang knock over the cart while surfing the delivery rails, and one more time offscreen when Aang and Bumi go rail surfing.
68	** A quiet cough heard after a bad pun.
69	* SesquipedalianSmith: Aang initially identifies himself as "Bonzu Pipinpadalopsicopolis III," with Katara introducing herself as "June Pipinpadalopsicopolis."
70	* SignatureLaugh: Bumi's snort-filled laughter. Once Aang reveals that he knows who the king is, the king gives the same laugh to confirm that he is indeed Bumi.
71	* SinkOrSwimMentor: While downplayed as Aang and his friends were never in any real danger, ''they'' didn't know that. Suffice to say, Bumi takes the kiddie gloves off when testing his old friend because he knows the [[TheDreaded Fire Lord]] ''[[NoNonsenseNemesis won't]]'' pull any punches.
72	* StealthMentor: While his admitted love of {{Trolling}} plays a part, the main reason why Bumi acted how he did was to prepare Aang to eventually face the Fire Lord.
73	* TakeAThirdOption: In the final test, the king tells Aang to pick a strong warrior to fight against and presents him with two intimidating options. Aang chooses the king himself, hoping for an easy fight, but it backfires as the king turns out to be an extremely powerful earthbender.
74	* ThirdTimesTheCharm: Aang is able to fetch the key from the waterfall on his third attempt.
75	* UnpronounceableAlias: The "Pipinpadalopsicopolis" surname, although Katara and Bumi can keep up with it just fine.
76	* VillainOfTheWeek: Bumi, but he turns out to actually be a HeroAntagonist.
77	* WhamLine: When Aang chooses the King as his opponent. It doubles as a PreAsskickingOneLiner.
78	-->'''[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass King]]:''' Wrong choice.
79	* TheWindowOrTheStairs: The titular King is putting Aang through a series of tests. For the last one, he tells Aang to choose a warrior to fight. Aang tries to TakeAThirdOption and choose the old, crazy King himself--but he was expecting this, informing Aang that he's an incredibly powerful earthbender and a tougher opponent than either of the warriors presented. In fact, he's the strongest in the entire series until Toph comes along, and even then it's debatable (even in-universe) who is the better earthbender.
80	-->'''His Majesty:''' Heh heh, wrong choice!
81	* WorldsBestWarrior: Bumi proclaims himself the strongest Earthbender that Aang will ever see.
82	* WrongGenreSavvy: Aang thinks that he's outwitted Bumi by choosing to face him rather than one of the two warriors provided. Instead, he walks right into Bumi's trap.
83	-->'''Bumi:''' I'd hoped the Avatar would be less ''predictable!''

Context Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheKingOfOmashu