History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderReturnToOmashu

* BittersweetEnding: With King Bumi in captivity ([[MakesSenseInContext by his choice]]), Aang will have to find a different earthbending master to teach him, and Omashu remains under the Fire Nation's rule. However, King Bumi's subjects escape their captive city, and Aang gives Tom-Tom back to his family safe and sound.

* MistakenForDisease: Played for Laughs and subverted in "Return to Omashu" when Aang, Katara, and Sokka sneak back into the titular city only to get caught by some Fire Nation guards (as the Fire Nation had recently conquered the city), until one of the guards spots some strange marks along Sokka's neck, which the Gaang plays up as the result of a disease called "pentapox". Too afraid of catching "pentapox", the guards just let the kids go. As it happens, "pentapox" is actually just the result of the harmlessly adorable pentapus latching on to whatever it's swimming near, with the suckers on it's tentacles leaving behind a few purplish marks, and the kids later use this to far greater effect when aiding every non-Fire Nation citizen in Omashu to escape the city by turning it into a false epidemic, then convince the guards into opening the city gates to let them all out.

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: As the Fire Nation army was advancing on Omashu, King Bumi... surrendered without a fight. As he explains to Aang, it's one of the Jings - waiting and listening for the right moment.

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Aang, Katara, and Sokka sneak into Omashu through the sewers.

* AnswerCut:

* BittersweetEnding: With King Bumi in captivity ([[MakesSenseInContext by his choice]]), Aang will have to find a different Earth-bending master to teach him. So Omashu remains under the Fire Nation's rule. For now anyway. But not only have King Bumi's subjects escaped their captive city, Aang gives Tom-Tom back to his family safe and sound.

* ChaseScene: A chase scene ensues between Aang, riding Bumi's ark, and Azula.

* ChekhovsGun: The "pentapox disease" Sokka uses to scare off the Fire Nation guards.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: Tom-Tom, though the leader of the Omashu resistance argues he won't be innocent when he grows up.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ty Lee gets her EstablishingCharacterMoment talking about pink auras.

* {{Egopolis}}: Azula renames Omashu New Ozai, after her father, and has a statue raised in his honor.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The governor and his wife care deeply about their young child. Though they really seem only like PunchClockVillains.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: Bumi can earthbend with just his face.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Notable on rewatching - Mai mentions Ty Lee told her she was running away to the circus, whereas Azula clearly tracks her down and has to fake stumbling on her by accident, a sign that Ty Lee isn't as ditzy as she appears, and closer to Mai than Azula.

* GenkiGirl: Ty Lee.
* GrotesqueCute: The Pentapus.

* MeaningfulRename: On arrival, Azula declares Omashu will be renamed "[[{{Egopolis}} New Ozai]]".

* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Mai laments, "This place [Omashu] is unbearably bleak. Nothing ever happens." [[TemptingFate Cue the assassination attempt.]]

* PassThePopcorn: Mai's reaction to the "Pentapox" plague is to watch while eating some fire flakes.

* PrisonerExchange: Tom-Tom for King Bumi.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: King Bumi's general, who is leading an underground resistance. Despite the Avatar foiling their assassination attempt on the governor's family, the resistance saves them, understanding they didn't know the circumstances. The general shows respect to the Avatar, explaining what has happened in the months that he was gone.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The Purple Pentapus again, ESPECIALLY when one strokes their head.

* ShipTease: "It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again. Won't it Mai?"

* SquishyWizard: Katara's a waterbending master, but the second Ty Lee disables her bending, she's completely helpless. Mai lampshades this:

* WheelOfPain: Flopsy is forced to work it until Aang frees him.
* WithMyHandsTied: Because "they didn't cover my ''head!''" See FingerPokeOfDoom above.

''[[caption-width-right:333:Omashu under Fire Nation rule.]]''

* WouldntHurtAChild: The rebels refuse to hurt Tom-Tom when he accidentally flies into their camp clinging to Momo. While their general says that one day he'll grow up to be another solider, he refuses to do anything to the child.

** Mai is shown to be deadpan, stoic, and quiet, and a dangerous KnifeNut.

* AbsenteeActor: Though mentioned, Zuko and Iroh sit this episode out.

* AccidentalKidnapping: When Aang and his friends are leading the citizens of Omashu out of the conquered city, they accidentally get Tom-Tom, the governor’s son, in their camp. The governor believes it was an intentional kidnapping and offers Bumi in exchange for his son’s safe return.

* ChekhovsGun: The “pentapox disease” Sokka uses to scare off the Fire Nation guards.

* LaResistance: Omashu has one with the goal to rid the city of the Fire Nation. Part of the Gaang’s objective is to get them all out of Omashu.

* OhCrap: Ty Lee's [[FreezeFrameBonus blink-and-you-miss-it]] series of expressions between the point she hears Azula approach and the point she starts smiling is revealing.

* SquishyWizard: Katara’s a waterbending master, but the second Ty Lee disables her bending, she’s completely helpless. Mai lampshades this:
-->”How are you going to fight without your bending?”

* AdultFear: Mai’s parents worry about the whereabouts and the safety of their toddler son who wound up in the resistance’s camp by accident. Thankfully, Aang eases their worries by bringing him back home at the end.

* FromBadToWorse: The Gaang now have Azula & co. on their tail.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

-->'''Azula:''' It's not just Zuko and Iroh anymore. We have a third target now.
-->(''Fade to Aang.'')

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Mai.

* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Azula's invitation to Ty Lee to join her on her quest is very friendly, and she very obviously won't take no for an answer.

* PerkyFemaleMinion: Ty Lee.

* TheSnarkKnight: Mai.

* YouWereTryingTooHard[=/=]WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: The philosophy behind Neutral Jing, "when you do nothing!"

* IceBreaker: Aang breaks a chain after freezing it twice, first when freeing Flopsy, then when freeing Bumi.
* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: This episode establishes that a bender's bending can be disabled with precise attacks on the body, to give Ty Lee a way to effectively fight benders without any weapons. This disabling process will go on to be a very important plot point in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''.
* IShallReturn: Bumi assures Aang that they will see each other again, when the time is right.

* YouWereTryingTooHard/WinsByDoingAbsolutelyNothing: The philosophy behind Neutral Jing, "when you do nothing!"

* YouWereTryingTooHard: The philosophy behind Neutral Jing, "when you do nothing!"

* DragonInChief: Azula temporarily serves this role to Mai, since Mai is ''technically'' supposed to be the one leading the negotiations with Aang, Sokka and Katara.

* {{Irony}}: Azula told Mai's dad she would take control of the trade because she's certain he would only mess it up. Yet, for all her competency and cunning, the trade does not go as planned (it was called off on principle that Tom-Tom wasn't worth as much as King Bumi) because of Azula herself.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Azula pities the governor for losing his son, but points out that it wouldn't've happened if he hadn't herded the citizens out of the city.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: As the Fire Nation army were advancing on Omashu, King Bumi... surrendered without a fight. As he explains to Aang, it's one of the Jings - waiting and listening for the right moment.

* PassThePopcorn: Mai's reaction to the "Pentapox" plague is to watch, while eating some fire flakes.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Ty Lee and Azula witness a difficult platypus-bear leaving an egg behind when it's dragged away by its handlers.

* WithMyHandsTied: Because "they didn't cover my ''face!''". See FingerPokeOfDoom above.

* IShallReturn[=/=]WeWillMeetAgain: Bumi assures Aang that they will see each other again, when the time is right.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Parallels between [[ThoseWackyNazis the Nazis]] and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Fire Nation]] have been made before. However, the occupation of a once great city with LaResistance sneaking civilians out drives home the resemblance to [[WorldWarII/WarInEuropeAndAfrica Nazi-occupied Europe, Vichy Paris most famously.