Several hours after the family reunion, Katara finds a letter from Zuko, along with some flowers. The letter says that Zuko didn't want to wake Katara, but he's been called back home to deal with the Fire Nation Senate, and Aang has to come with him. He says they'll be back in two weeks, and says that he misses Katara already, he wants to send Aang's love to Toph, and wants Sokka to keep practicing so he'll "kick his ass" when he gets back.
Mai shows up, complaining that Zuko never got her flowers, even when they were married, and makes a passive-aggressive remark about Katara doing something right. Mai then remarks that they got there more quickly than they expected, and Katara asks who "we" is. Mai doesn't answer the question, complaining bitterly about Zuko pretending to love her while caring for Katara all the time.
Katara warns Mai to leave the estate, along with whoever she came with. Mai is unfazed, though, and then reveals the truth; that she was the one who poisoned Katara and caused her to miscarry, much to Katara's horror. Mai then says that Zuko will never find out, causing Katara to angrily tell her that there's "Not a fucking chance" of that happening, and wants to see Mai put on trial and executed.
I'd like to point out that the characters curse a lot more than they would in what is a kids' show, to the point at which the dialogue becomes even harder to take seriously than it is already.
Mai then declares that Katara will be the one who dies, and then does... something. It vaguely looks as though she's moving quickly enough to leave afterimages, but I didn't think Mai was that fast in canon. Mai throws two (or is it four? The afterimages make it hard to tell) knives at Katara, who does a cartwheel that enables her to avoid the knives, as well as any chance of her dress causing her to give us a Panty Shot. Apparently, in one fluid motion, Katara bounds over the railing of the balcony and leaps down at least two stories to the ground (it's hard to tell how large this building is or where Katara's room is in it), while Mai yells "You can't run from me, you little bitch!"
Meanwhile, Toph and Ursa somehow sense something is wrong, and with the help of their bending (while Toph's the most powerful earthbender in the series, with the possible exception of King Bumi, it's unclear that there's any proof of Ursa being a firebender apart from being Avatar Roku's granddaughter), rush over to help.
Meanwhile, Sho has found Sokka, and it seems clear that he and Mai were meant as evil counterparts to Sokka and Katara, as the older brothers and younger sisters face their counterparts in battle. Sokka demands to know why Sho is here, but he responds with cryptic threats, draws his sword and expresses a desire to face Sokka in combat. Sho gets under Sokka's skin by making suggestions about Azula, but says he hasn't touched her. He and Sokka then start fighting, which, like the other swordfights, consists of standing near each other in the same position.
Toph and Ursa continue to hurry to the scene. Sokka continues fighting Sho, and when Katara asks him what's going on, he's as confused as she is, and most likely, the readers. Katara blasts someone with a wave that sweeps through the courtyards of the Bei Fong estate; I can't tell if the target is Mai or Sho.
Azula then arrives. In spite of Sokka and Katara's warnings, she insists she has to act now. She recalls a conversation with Iroh regarding the possibility of reversing Aang's energybending her. Iroh says that it would be difficult, but not impossible to do so, because Azula's a firebending prodigy, and it was difficult to bend the bending out of her, as they put it. Her firebending was so strong, it became blue fire, the "cold blooded fire" (which is an oxymoron if I ever heard it), and with The Power of Love, it will return to her one day.
Azula then makes a "World of Cardboard" Speech, saying that she's seen her life until now for what it is, and will do everything she can to preserve the life she has and the people close to her, embracing the person she is after Character Derailment and Easy Amnesia forced that personality on her.
Azula prepares to unleash her newly regained bending. Katara then calls out to Sokka, whom Sho apparently has in a hold of some sort (do grappling techniques even work in a Sword Fight?) Sho, however, says that there will be no happy ending to this fairy tale.
Out of nowhere, a knife hits Azula in the chest, and, after a moment, she collapses. Sokka screams a Big "NO!" that the author can't even spell correctly, and begs for Katara's help. The thrower is revealed to be Mai, whom, as you might remember, nearly got killed by Azula in "The Boiling Rock," so this is perhaps a case of Laser-Guided Karma.
Toph and Ursa arrive, with Toph knocking Mai away, and Ursa seeing to Azula, confirming that her daughter is alive.
Katara then deals with Mai, who's screaming in pain. It turns out that Katara is bloodbending her. Katara declares that Mai has taken enough from her, and decides to give her "an end," before performing the coup de grace, killing Mai and causing her corpse to weep Tears of Blood.
How much was wrong with this scene? Let me count the ways.
- First, the bloodbending was performed in the daylight. Bloodbending is the most advanced form of waterbending, requiring a powerful waterbender (Katara or Hama) in optimal conditions (i.e. night on the full moon; waterbenders do better at night and are more powerful the fuller the moon is.) Essentially, it should have been far too difficult for Katara to do this under normal conditions; Yakone, Tarrlok and Amon could do this in daylight, but they had special abilities, and Yakone did it by day to prevent people from realizing that he was bloodbending.
- Second, bloodbending is a method of controlling victims more than killing them outright. Once Katara had Mai under her power, she should have been able to capture her and bring her to trial, thereby exposing what happened to Kuzon and Mai. It's a bit like using a crowbar to bash open a crate.
- Third, Katara does not kill in cold blood. While enraged by the murder of her mother, she ultimately backed down from killing Yon Rha after seeing how miserable his life was. The prospect of Mai spending the rest of her days in prison, or even being executed, would seem like an appropriate punishment in Katara's eyes.
In short, Katara breaks her own moral code and the laws of bending physics for the Avatar-verse, and the author expects us to cheer for her. If it isn't obvious enough already, the comic has some very skewed morals.
Katara, in yet another mis-application of bloodbending, uses it to pull Sokka over to Toph. Its use reminds me of the Leap of Faith spell from World of Warcraft (better known as "Life Grip"), much to Sho's surprise at the "dark magic" (I have to wonder if the Avatar-verse has magic apart from bending). Toph faces off against Sho in the courtyard, which looks suspiciously Italian, and hits him with an Earthbending spike, injuring him and causing blood to trickle out of his mouth.
Sho realizes he's outmatched, and says that he will return someday to make them pay, apparently for causing him to shed blood rather than for killing Mai, and that Katara will be the first to suffer. He then disappears using some form of firebending that allows him to escape.
After Sho vanishes, Sokka runs over to Azula, and begs Katara for help. Katara says they can't pull the blade out without killing her, since it's pierced her heart; in reality, she should already be dead. Knowing that her time is near, Azula decides to get one last monologue across, apologizing to Sokka (who says he's sorry for not being able to protect her), and wondering how he could cherish her after everything she's done, and with everything he has.
Katara comes up with a solution- taking Azula to the North Pole's spirit oasis to save her. Ursa tells Toph, Katara and Sokka to take Azula there, while she heads to the Fire Nation to inform Zuko and Aang.
Next time, we'll see Zuko's meeting, and the Gaang's journey north to save Azula.
What I liked
- Sho's dialogue was somewhat amusing to read.
- Sokka's Big "NO!"
- The horribly done fight scene panels.
- The idea of Azula monologuing after being stabbed in the heart.
What I didn't like
- The bloodbending. Enough said.
- Azula still being alive after being stabbed in the heart.
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