Line #8 Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernAirTemple


1	[[quoteright:333:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/avatar_southern_air_temple.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:333:Aang shows Katara and Sokka a statue of Monk Gyatso.]]
3
4	->''"Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and I, we're your family now."''
5	-->-- '''Katara'''
6
7	Aang decides to visit his old home, [[TitleDrop the Southern Air Temple]], to see how things have changed in one hundred years. Sokka and Katara, however, are incredibly apprehensive, knowing that the Fire Nation completely wiped out the Air Nomads in the first year of the war; afraid of hurting Aang, Katara actively tries to hide this information from him. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh dock at a Fire Nation harbor to repair their boat, and the damages draw the interest of Commander Zhao, who's curious about what the banished prince seems to be doing, ''exactly''.
8	----
9	!!Tropes:
10	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: The airball goal posts and the seal to the Air Sanctuary are CGI.
11	* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: Monk Gyatso's remains are found atop a pile of skeletons dressed as Fire Nation soldiers. Notably, the soldiers are burnt but his own bones are unmarred, suggesting that he somehow managed to turn their own firebending on them.
12	* BackstabBackfire: After losing the Agni Kai, Zhao tries to strike Zuko in the back while the latter is walking off. Iroh catches the attack and throws Zhao to the ground, before criticizing him for being a dishonorable sore loser.
13	* BadLiar: Zuko and Iroh struggle to come up with a convincing story to give to Zhao as to why their ship was so damaged, and end up repeatedly trying to pass the lie off to each other while unsubtly prompting each other to mislead Zhao.
14	* BigShadowLittleCreature: Momo's first appearance builds him up with what appears to be the shadow of a Fire Nation soldier. It is then revealed that he's just a tiny lemur.
15	* BilingualBonus: Aang names the lemur Momo after it steals a peach. If you don't speak Japanese, it's a weird non sequitur, but "momo" is actually Japanese for "peach."
16	* CombatReferee: After Zuko wins the Agni Kai, Zhao attempts a cheap shot while his back was turned, only to be stopped by Iroh, who catches his attack before tossing him away. He calls Zhao a disgraceful SoreLoser for the attempt.
17	* ContemplativeBoss: The leader of the Fire Nation troops when looking out the window with his arms crossed behind his back.
18	* CooldownHug: At the end, Aang snaps out of his angry SuperMode when Katara takes his hand.
19	* CoolOldGuy: Monk Gyatso is a kind and reasonable mentor figure for Aang who argues that he needs to be able to live his life as a normal kid before being thrust into his responsibilities as the Avatar. He also bakes pies for the sole purpose of pranking people with Aang.
20	* TheDayTheMusicLied: As Momo appears in the Air Sanctuary, the Fire Nation leitmotif plays.
21	* DeclarationOfProtection: Katara and Sokka both promise they'll stay by Aang's side as his new family, and that they won't let anything happen to him.
22	* EasilyForgiven: Momo is initially scared off by Sokka declaring that he wants to eat him, but after Aang has cooled down from entering the Avatar State, he returns to the group and gives Sokka some fruit to satisfy his hunger.
23	* FailedASpotCheck: Sokka fails to notice the dead Fire Nation soldiers, and Gyatso's body, until he's right on top of them.
24	--> '''Sokka:''' Hey Aang, you find my dinner yet? ''(notices Aang hunched over crying)'' A...Aang, I wasn't really gonna eat the lemur, okay? ''(notices Gyatso's remains)'' [[OhCrap Oh man...]]
25	* FollowTheWhiteRabbit: Aang discovers Gyatso's body chasing after Momo who disappeared into a cave.
26	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
27	** The explanation for Zuko's scar is hinted at. After Zuko challenges Zhao to an Agni Kai, Iroh worriedly asks Zuko if he remembers what happened last time he dueled a master, to which Zuko replies that he'll never forget, while the camera slowly pans from his good eye to his bad one.
28	** Furthermore, Iroh's blocking Zhao's cheap shot after losing the Agni Kai. While it stands to reason that Iroh was probably respected amongst Fire Nation leadership (or probably just tolerated) for what he had done in the '''past,''' the ''ease'' with which he tosses aside Zhao suggests that he's still an incredibly powerful figure in the '''present.'''
29	** The Fire Nation temple that's affected by Aang entering the Avatar State will play a large role [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWinterSolsticePart2 in several episodes]].
30	* FreezeFrameBonus: When Aang enters the Avatar State and obliterates the room he was in, only one thing remains untouched: Monk Gyatso's skeleton. Cue the tears.
31	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While Zhao tries to interrogate Zuko about what happened to his ship, Iroh knocks over a rack of weapons in the background.
32	--> '''Iroh:''' My fault, entirely.
33	* GenocideBackfire: So, not only did the Fire Nation extermination of the Air Nomads manage to miss the ''one'' person that they wanted to kill, it's also made him severely pissed. Give them credit, though; one hundred years is longer than this trope usually takes to come into effect.
34	* HeroicBSOD: Aang's reaction after discovering that not only has his entire people been wiped out, but Monk Gyatso in particular. Of course, being the Avatar, his BSOD creates a monstrous wind storm that threatens to throw his friends off the mountain.
35	* HotBlooded: Zuko tries to attack Zhao in his tent when Zhao takes charge of the hunt for the Avatar. He's also the one who declares an Agni Kai.
36	* JerkassHasAPoint: Zhao is a grade-A asshole, but he isn't wrong about the Fire Lord not particularly wanting Zuko back. After all, if the Fire Lord had any love for Zuko, why would he send him on an ImpossibleTask instead of rescinding the prince's banishment?
37	* LastOfHisKind: Aang learns that his fellow Nomads were all wiped out during his one-hundred-year hibernation. He becomes this trope, as the series title suggested.
38	* LastStand: We see the remnants of Gyatso's. He took dozens of firebenders (later revealed to have been boosted by [[CometOfDoom Sozin's Comet]]) down with him.
39	* MatchCut: One of many in the series. The face of Monk Gyatso's statue changes to a live version of him as a transition to a flashback and again back to the present time.
40	* MentorArchetype: Monk Gyatso's role (too bad he succumbed to the MentorOccupationalHazard). The statues also hint that this is the role of the past Avatars.
41	* MissingMom: Katara mentions her mother's death at the hands of the Fire Nation.
42	* MoodLighting: The flashback scenes to the happy times at the Southern Air Temple are depicted in golden colors while the present has a bluish tint.
43	* MoodWhiplash: Aang happily following Momo ends with him seeing Monk Gyatso's skeleton.
44	* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Aang recognizes Roku's statue on seeing it, despite no writing to identify him. He even admits that he doesn't know why.
45	* OneLinerNameOneLiner: Aang to Appa when reaching the Southern Air Temple.
46	-->'''Aang:''' We're home, buddy. We're home.
47	* OurDoorsAreDifferent: The gate to the temple sanctuary has a complicated opening mechanism ensuring that only airbenders can enter.
48	* PieInTheFace: Throwing pies at meditating monks was one of Monk Gyatso's training methods for improving young Aang's airbending aim, and because it's hilarious.
49	* APlaceHoldsMemories: At the temple, past events come back to Aang via flashbacks.
50	* ARealManIsAKiller: Zhao dares Zuko to finish him after he's won, and calls Zuko a coward for refusing to kill him.
51	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Iroh gives one to Zhao when the latter tries to attack Zuko when his back is turned.
52	-->'''Iroh:''' So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat. Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you.
53	* RepeatCut: Three takes of Zuko getting knocked back by Zhao, and three more of Zuko turning the tables. Note that this is the closest that the series ''ever'' comes to using StockFootage.
54	* RewatchBonus: "Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue." The full impact of Zhao's statement doesn't become clear until after learning in "The Storm" that Zuko was scarred and banished for speaking out of turn.
55	* ShirtlessScene: Zuko and Zhao for the Agni Kai, which helped launch the show's EstrogenBrigade PeripheryDemographic.
56	* SoreLoser: After Zuko refuses to kill Zhao, he calls Zuko a coward for refusing to kill him. After Zuko turns him back, Zhao attempts to blindside him, only to get humiliated by Iroh.
57	* SwirlingDust: {{Justified\|Trope}}. Aang, as the Avatar, can control the four [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elements]], so when the [[SuperMode Avatar State]] kicks in, wind, water, and/or earth swirl around him. They also blast off the entire room.
58	%%* SwordOverHead: Zuko to Zhao after winning the Agni Kai.
59	* TeamPet: In addition to Appa, this episode sees the addition of flying-lemur Momo to the gang.
60	* TitleDrop:
61	-->'''Aang:''' I really am the last airbender.
62	* TrueCompanions: Katara pulls Aang out of the avatar state by telling him that ''they're'' his family now.
63	* TwoLinesNoWaiting: The first of these episodes. The A story is the Gaang reaching the Southern Air Temple, while the B story is Zuko's rivalry with Zhao. There's no interaction.
64	* UnexpectedlyAbandoned: Aang is disappointed at finding the Southern Air Temple abandoned.
65	* WhamShot: Aang seeing Monk Gyatso's skeleton surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers.
66	* WizardDuel: More like an ''Elemental'' duel. Agni Kai has two firebenders duel one another, and Zuko vs Zhao is the first shown in the series.
67	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: While this is the overall theme of the episode for Aang, it's signified in the final shot where he sadly looks back at the abandoned air temple as Appa flies away from it until its obscured by fog.

Context Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSouthernAirTemple