The chapter begins with the group discussing Sokka, Zuko and Suki's exploits in The Boiling Rock. Chit Sang (the prisoner who muscled his way in on Zuko and Sokka's breakout plan, and appears unusually sympathetic here) appears concerned about Zuko, and Zuko is concerned about Mai. Katara briefly comments on Mai, noting her decision to betray Azula but not appearing all that sympathetic to her.
Chit Sang brings out some sake, and Katara wants some, but Hakoda says no. Drinking ensues, followed by a drunken firebending duel. Katara is glad to have her father back.
The group sings some of their native songs. They then decide to put the boys to bed. Zuko, while being carried off, doesn't precisely recall when the last time he was carried, or how many times he's been knocked unconscious. Katara finds talking to Zuko while he's drunk to be an interesting change of pace.
As the various drunks are put to bed, Aang muses about the training he'll have to do with Zuko, but is glad to have him back. Zuko isn't happy about being made to drink water, even if it's reasonable advice for him. Katara notices that while drunk, Zuko is soppy, affectionate, yet tough, and has skewed opinios of how cool Katara's father is.
Katara wakes Zuko, who has a hangover. The others recover from their hangovers, but Chit Sang still is concerned about Zuko, apparently for reasons not related to the hangover. Zuko is unhappy with Aang's training, saying that the flames Aang firebends are "too bright," (whatever that means, although it could be just him being overly sensitive as a result of being hung over). After telling Aang to start training at sunrise, he goes to have a nap. Katara decides Zuko should not have any more sake, since he's grumpy when hung over.
So that's it for this chapter. Since "Stalking Zuko" only goes up to "The Southern Raiders," and I'm less than halfway through it, there seems to be little directly related to the plot until then. Granted, this is a Zutara romance fic, the author has to cover a lot of ground in little time, and she doesn't like the lack of development for Kataang, but it's not hard to see why this might seem sluggish.
Another author's note follows. The author begins with an overview of the experienced drinkers (Hakoda and Chit Sang), the lightweights (Zuko and Sokka) and those who haven't had much (Katara and Suki), and suggests that the experience is a way for Zuko (as well as Sokka, to a lesser extent) to relax and show another side of himself. This is good, but could have been explored more in the chapter; surely, Katara realizes what this means for her brother.
The author points out that Hakoda is not a hypocrite for not letting Katara have sake, pointing out that he's protective of her, she's younger than Sokka, and she didn't just go through a prison break(although she's been in her share of harrowing experiences), making this a legitimate perspective, although not one that Zuko and Suki, being Katara's friends rather than her parents, share. Hakoda has Zuko's respect, given that he's a good parent. This is a reasonable observation, but I don't think all victims of Abusive Parents are automatically astonished and in awe of parents that treat their offspring decently the same way someone who lives in a third world country might be when going somewhere people have three square meals every day. I'm sure Zuko knows enough about parents to know that there are good ones out there, even if his father is not one by any standard.
The author mentions hinting at something that will become important in the next chapter, and the hint seems to be Chit Sang's concern. As if to indicate what it is, the author then wonders why the guards point out that Chit Sang won't be firebending in the cooler, suggesting that it's not so much that he can't, but that it's not a good idea.
What I liked
- The author's notes shed a great deal of light on the characters.
What I didn't like
- Not much happened in this chapter.
- Most likely, not much will happen in the next ones, either.
- Some of the authors' notes could have been incorporated into the fic more.
