History Recap / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheBlueSpirit

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy:
** The guards at Aang's door hear one of their own being neutralized. They go to investigate... leaving one at the door. When they're both taken out, the last one instantly tries to sound the alarm instead of fighting the Spirit.
** Zhao doesn't want Aang killed because the Avatar would simply resurrect and the Fire Nation would have to hunt him down all over again.

* GenreSavvy: The guard at the gate thinks to look under a cart that's going inside.

-->'''Zhao:''' [[GenreSavvy Uh... no.]]

* [[ActionFilmQuietDramaScene Action Episode, Quiet Drama Scene]]: See MoodWhiplash below.

** BroughtDownToBadass: The Blue Spirit is actually Zuko, who just isn't using his firebending to avoid revealing his identity.

* ContinuityNod: Iroh playing the tsungi horn in front of the jewelled monkey statue, both bought in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingScroll The Waterbending Scroll]].

* EnemyMine

* FindTheCure

* GrandFauxnale: WordOfGod says that Nick wanted this to be the last episode, but they kept going.

* ShoutOut: Several to ''PrincessMononoke'', [[spoiler: including a masked intruder entering a fort, fighting it's inhabitants and shot down and unmasked by a projectile straight to the face (a bullet in the film, an arrow in this episode). The shots in which San and Zuko are unmasked are even similar]].

* WalkingSpoiler: It's next to impossible to refer to the episode or the Blue Spirit himself without mentioning Zuko.

* SplittingTheArrow: While the Yu-Yan Archers are shown at a firing range, one of them splits an arrow, then splits that arrow, and finally the third arrow in succession, so each is embeded in the other.

** The guards at Aang's door hear one of their own being neutralized. They go to investigate... leaving one at the door. When they're both taken out, the last one instantly tries to sound the alarm instead of fighting the Spirit.
** Zhao doesn't want Aang killed because the Avatar would simply resurrect and the Fire Nation would have to hunt him down all over again.

** The guards at Aang's door hear one of their own being neutralized. They go to investigate... leaving one at the door. When they're both taken out, the last one instantly tries to sound the alarm instead of fighting the Spirit.

* ColdSniper: The Yu-Yan Archers.

* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene: See MoodWhiplash below.

Quickly disappearing, Aang finally returns to Katara and Sokka with the medicine. Despite this and his escape, he seems melancholy.

* EliteMooks: The Yu Yan archers. They take down ''the Avatar'' with ridiculous ease.

* ThatsAnOrder: Zhao gets to do this when a messenger hawk arrives just after Colonel Shinu has denied his request to use the Yu Yan Archers.

* ShoutOut: Several to ''PrincessMononoke'', including a masked intruder entering a fort, fighting it's inhabitants and shot down and unmasked by a projectile straight to the face (a bullet in the film, an arrow in this episode). The shots in which San and Zuko are unmasked are even similar.

* CloudCuckoolander: Zuko's illness makes him more than a little loopy

* ContinuityNod: Iroh playing the tsungi horn in front of the jewelled monkey statue, both bought in [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWaterbendingScroll The Waterbending Scroll]]

* SorryILeftTheBGMOn: The atmospheric background music as Zuko returns to his ship turns out to be Uncle Iroh playing the tsungi horn.

-->'''Zhao:''' Uh... no.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Zhao receives word of his promotion to Admiral just as he's trying to recruit the Yu-Yan Archers, allowing him to make his request an order. How lucky can a guy get?

* ContrivedCoincidence: Zhao receives word of his promotion to Admiral just as he's trying to recruit the Yu Yin archers, allowing him to make his request an order. How lucky can a guy get?

-->'''Aang:''' You're insane, aren't you?

Seeing the sniper, Aang moves quickly; the arrow hits, knocking the mask off, and revealing the spirit's face. [[spoiler: It's Zuko, who freed Aang because he couldn't risk Zhao capturing his only way to return home. Fearful and uncertain, Aang decides that he can't leave the prince to be captured, and takes him away.]]

[[spoiler:Hours later, Zuko awakes in a swamp. Aang sits not far away, talking about how he loved visiting the Fire Nation when he was a kid, and how one of his best friends was from there. He wonders if they could be friends too.]]

[[spoiler: In response, Zuko throws a fire ball at him.]]

* BackToBackBadasses: Aang and the Blue Spirit [[spoiler: aka Zuko]]

** [[spoiler:BroughtDownToBadass]]: The Blue Spirit is actually [[spoiler: Zuko, who just isn't using his firebending to avoid revealing his identity.]]
* BecomingTheMask: Aang hoped that [[spoiler:Zuko]] would have become this. [[SubvertedTrope It didn't quite work that way]].

* [[spoiler: VillainousRescue: Zuko kidnaps Aang from Zhao.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: It's next to impossible to refer to the episode or the Blue Spirit himself without mentioning [[spoiler:Zuko]].

-->'''Zhao:''' Uh... no.