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troperville

Katara urges Toph to go to a spa with her; while initially reluctant, she enjoys herself in the end, and eventually opens up. Iroh is generally cool, as we see him being kind and hilarious around the city- before going to mourn the death of his son. Aang decides to help build a new zoo facility, and Hijinks Ensue. Sokka engages in a Haiku Rap Battle, Zuko is utterly Adorkable on a date, while Momo misses Appa.

Tropes:

Adorkable: Zuko, Zuko, Zuko.
Amplified Animal Aptitude: Momo can't understand most human speech, but both he and the puma creatures show startling amounts of intelligence. Momo can tie things around his wrist to keep hold of them, improvise in a performance, unlock things on a first try, give other creatures a second chance... Said other creatures are grateful enough to stop trying to eat him and become friendly, and to associate the thing on his wrist with a creature they saw an unknown amount of time ago, and they make the decision to take him to where that was. That's very smart.
Big Eater: Jin, as lampshaded by Zuko below.
Breather Episode: Comes right after an episode revealing a government conspiracy in Ba Sing Se, in which the Earth King was merely a figurehead for Long Feng.
Broken Aesop: Played for Laughs.
Iroh: It is usually best to admit mistakes when they occur, and seek to restore honor.
Giant Man: (Angrily.) WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU KIDS, THE WINDOW WON'T BE THE ONLY THING THAT'S BROKEN!
Iroh: But not this time! Run!
Broken Glass Penalty: In Iroh's tale.
Cat Smile: Jin, Zuko's date.
Chirping Crickets: At the end of the Haiku Rap Battle.
Compliment Backfire: "You... have quite an appetite... for a girl."
Cucumber Facial/Covered in Mud: In "The Tale of Toph and Katara". Just feel sorry for the attendant!
Dark Reprise: Brave soldier boy, comes marching home...
Day in the Life: The entire point of the episode.
Ending Memorial Service: In Iroh's tale.
Genius Bonus: Real Haiku has to employ imagery from nature, which is what the Haiku master does during her Rap Battle with Sokka. Sokka employs the modern style which is not bound to nature symbols, which is called gendai.
Getting Crap Past the Radar: Sokka is having a Haiku off with a leader of a poetry club which happens to be all girls. We get this exchange:
Sokka: Like I paddle my canoe,
I'll paddle yours too!
Hidden Depths: Toph and Katara's tale makes it clear that for all her claims of not caring what others think of her looks, Toph is actually quite hurt by such rejection.
In Honor Of Mako: Who had died after the completion of this season. Makes his story all the more sadder for it.
Manly Tears: Iroh weeps for Lu Ten.
Mundane Utility: What do you do when you've mastered three bending forms? Kung Fu Landscaping!
Mood Whiplash: The end of Iroh's sidestory. He sang a song to cheer up a little boy earlier in the episode, and at the end, sings it to a picture of his deceased son, Lu Ten.
- Momo's sidestory certainly seems to be the designated oddball segment, right? Cue the first clues of what happened to Appa.
Mugging the Monster: Subverted in "The Tale of Iroh". When a guy tries to mug Iroh, the old general can clearly fight him, but instead gives him advice on his stance and direction in life.
Serious Business: Haiku.
Bouncer: That's one syllable too many, bub. (tosses Sokka out)
She Cleans Up Nicely: Invoked in Toph's sidestory. When some other girls disagree, Toph and Katara bond by dropping the bridge from under them and washing them away.
- And for Zuko's sidestory, when he cleans up to go out on his date with Jin.
Shout Out: Sokka's last haiku with the line (pronounced with an "okka") references Digital Underground's song "Humpty Dumpty".
Socially Awkward Firebender: Zuko.
Tear Jerker: Iroh's tale both the tale itself and the dedication to Mako.
Vignette Episode
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?/Gilligan Cut: Aang's original plan for the zoo animals went cabbage-shaped fast.