Katara and Zuko reach Yon Rha's island, and prepare to ambush him when he's on his way to the marketplace. They catch him in a spot where they can attack him without catching anyone's attention, and Katara confirms that they have the right man this time. If you saw the episode, you know how this goes.
Katara and Zuko then get the drop on Yon Rha, and Yon Rha remembers Katara after all these years. Katara's mother admits to being the last waterbender, on the assumption that she'd be taken prisoner and Katara would be spared. The latter happened, but the former did not, so Katara, remembering this, feels dark rage yet again.
Katara, summoning all her power, stops the rain, and terrifies both Yon Rha and herself. But at the last moment, she can't go through with killing him. She realizes that it would not bring her mother back, but would only make her a murderer.
Yon Rha offers an apology, but it's insincere, and in hopes of saving his own skin. He even goes so far as to offer up his own mother in his place; even if Katara doesn't know that he and his mother don't get along, she's clearly unimpressed. Katara tells him he's pathetic, sad and empty. Katara and Zuko walk off, leaving Yon Rha in tears.
Katara, after the ordeal of confronting her mother's murderer, breaks down and cries in a most undignified manner, into Zuko's chest, as he tries, in his own awkward way to comfort her. But Katara's tears are not of sadness, and there's a catharsis factor in it. It's a highly moving scene that would have been nice to see in the series.
Katara notices that it's been raining all this time, and finds it appropriate. She dries everyone through waterbending. Zuko asks her if she's alright, and she says that she is. She says that murder was not the solution, and Zuko agrees. Zuko says Kya would have been proud of her decision, and Katara, unsure of how to express her change of heart regarding Zuko, says her mother would like him, the highest praise she can give him. For the first time, Katara's memories of her mother bring her joy rather than sorrow, which is nice to hear.
Katara realizes she's been talking about her mother for the past three days, so the time has come to talk about Zuko's mother. He then reveals what he's learned about Ursa- in short, that she disappeared the night that his grandfather died, and had been banished for treason, rather than killed. He and Katara then promise to go looking for her.
Of course, keep in mind that this fic was completed on August 24, 2011, two years before The Search was completed and Ursa's fate was revealed, so obviously, even if the author doesn't declare Fanon Discontinuity, Ursa most likely won't be found where, when and how she was in canon.
The author mentions the banality of evil, and how most Fire Nation soldiers, like the Nazis, were ordinary people who did terrible things because they were ordered to do so. Of course, even considering their circumstances, they are making a conscious decision to do these evil things; I'll get into that more later, but for now, I will say that if Katara's mother had been the waterbender, and had killed him while protecting her daughter, she would have been entirely justified in doing so. Because Yon Rha only does what he's told, he i thus so pathetic that he's Not Worth Killing, but confronting him and "frighten(ing) the bejeezus out of him" does help bring her peace.
The author points out that Katara "needs a big fat cry" after facing dark emotions and running on adrenaline for days. Zuko, despite having little experience as the comforter, does his best to comfort Katara, having come to see her as a friend, and the fact that they have become closer means they are more intimate during the process.
The author then points out where she got the "try on a teacosy" story of Katara's, and suggests that the search for Ursa would be a happier process than the search for Yon Rha, since it's about a reunion rather than revenge.
What I liked
- Katara's discussion of why she didn't kill Yon Rha.
- Katara finding inner peace
- Katara and Zuko becoming closer.
What I didn't like
- Actually, I can't really think of anything this time. The chapter was fairly close to canon, but this is a fairly important episode for Katara and Zuko, so it was natural that it would, and it did a good job of showing the episode's importance for them.
