Katara mentions that Zuko has a new "Stalker"- The Duke. Katara doesn't like this, partly because only she gets to stalk Zuko, and another because it's not safe for the Duke to watch Aang and Zuko firebending without knowing that he' s there (one has to wonder how Katara does it safely). Her attempts to convince him fail, and he asks Zuko to train him, causing Katara to think of Zuko as an idiot.
The Duke argues that Zuko said doing so was okay, and, asks why Katara doesn't go to Zuko to learn firebending (only the Avatar can bend more than one element), or how to wield Dao Swords. This is largely because The Duke, as a seven year old, has far fewer reservations about asking Zuko about things like his scar.
Zuko experiments with leaving Aang to his own devices while training, telling him to practice a form called Crouching Dragon on his own, an interesting departure from before. As much as Katara was less than fond of Zuko's strictness with Aang, she questions whether this is a good idea, saying Aang needed supervision and encouragement. Unfortunately, this means she can't find Zuko to berate him for this.
Katara eventually tracks Zuko down and berates him for training The Duke, questioning how he'll manage to make sure The Duke doesn't stab himself, and it turns out that Zuko is looking for some sticks to help The Duke practice. Katara learns that Sokka approved of this, and she comments about boys and their swords with chagrin.
Katara believes that children the Duke's age should only worry about eating their broccoli, which is an admirable sentiment, but Katara herself, who's fairly young, has been fighting for a long time. Zuko agrees with that sentiment, but says The Duke lost his parents at a young age, and felt powerless to stop it. Zuko believes that learning self-defense is good for the Duke, as it will make him feel safer, but Katara, unconvinced, bops Zuko on the head and leaves.
The Duke is disappointed that he can't firebend at all, while Aang glides with Teo rather than practice Crouching Dragon, much to Zuko's chagrin.
After several humorous accidents, and a possibly not so accidental Groin Attack on Haru, the Gaang votes that teaching The Duke how to use swords is a bad idea. In spite of that, Katara concedes Zuko's point that it's good to teach kids how to defend themselves, wondering if she could have saved her mother. She wonders if Zuko ever felt helpless at any point. Katara notes that Zuko is a good teacher, and in spite of The Duke's failure, he's a more diligent student than Aang.
The author reveals that "The Boiling Rock" is next, and wanted a chapter to do something with the secondary cast, which is a good idea.
The author chose The Duke as the focus character because all the others would be occupied, and believes that the Duke would look up to and bring out a softer side in Zuko, who has a soft spot for kids, particularly rambunctious ones who want to fight.
The author points out that Zuko and Katara have good points about the debate. Katara wants to be able to protect the kids from everything, while Zuko wants the kids to be able to protect themselves, both as a warrior and as a realist.
The author points out that Aang is unused to having difficulty with things, whereas Zuko, who "is so used to shit being ridiculously hard and pressing ahead anyway", that he has little patience for Aang. The author has sympathy for Aang slacking off when he runs into trouble, and Zuko getting irritated with him for doing so, but also concludes that not everyone may agree with this interpretation; I find it a bit simplistic on Aang's end.
The author thanks us for reaching the end of the long author's note, and asks whether she should go as far as "The Southern Raiders", or go all the way past the end of the series. By now, it's clear that she went with the latter, as Not Stalking Zuko and Not Stalking Firelord Zuko show, which means I have a long way to go.
What I liked
- Developing the secondary cast.
- The debate between Katara and Zuko over self defense training.
'''What I didn't like
- The author's interpretation of Aang seemed slightly simplistic.
