Here we are - the final week of lore for Avatar: the Last Airbender. The final Magic: the Gathering release of 2025 has come and gone, but there's still just a little bit more on the lore front to cover, and this week is a doozy.

The finale - Sozin's Comet - is densely packed with intense action that is sure to be a long one, so I'm going to jump right in.

In case you want to go back and catch up on the previous articles in this series, you can find them here:

• The Lore of Avatar: Book 1, Water - Part 1
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 1, Water - Part 2
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 2, Earth - Part 1
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 2, Earth - Part 2
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 2, Earth - Part 3
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 3, Fire - Part 1
• The Lore of Avatar: Book 3: Fire, Part 2

Episode 56: The Southern Raiders

The group, still at the Western Air Temple, are sleeping when a group of Fire Nation airships attacks them; the siege is led by Azula. They try to escape through a tunnel Toph made as Zuko tries to fight back. They are forced to separate when Appa refuses to enter the tunnel, causing the core group (Aang, Katara, Toph, Sokka, and Suki) to depart on their own.

Azula aims to go after them but turns her focus to Zuko as they battle. They knock each other off the airship. The group catches Zuko and leaves Azula hanging on the side of the cliff.

The group goes on to set up camp. As they do, they celebrate and cheer for Zuko being their hero. Katara, however, does not share the sentiment, having been betrayed and attacked by Zuko in the past. When Zuko asks how he can make it up to her, she suggests he retake Ba Sing Se or bring back her mother.

This leads Zuko to go to Sokka and ask what happened to their mother, since he thinks Katara connects that incident to him somehow. Sokka tells him about the Fire Nation raid that took away their mother. The raiders came and went quickly, capturing their mother. When Zuko asks if he can remember anything about the ships, Sokka tells him they bore the symbol of a sea raven - which tells Zuko they were part of the Southern Raiders.

With this information, Zuko waits outside Katara's tent and offers to help her find her mother's killers. Aang and Sokka try to stop the two of them from going but eventually relent, with Aang encouraging Katara to not choose revenge.

Zuko and Katara sneak into a Fire Nation information tower where messenger hawks relay intel on military positions. There, they find the Southern Raiders stationed near Whale Tail Island. As they head there, Katara recounts her version of the raid, how she saw her mother being approached by a Fire Nation raider and how powerless she was to stop it.

They attack the Raiders' ship and overwhelm the crew. When they confront the leader, Katara bloodbends him into submission, horrifying Zuko. However, she soon realizes that he is not the one who stole her mother. He tells them that the person they're after is the former leader, Yon Rha, who retired four years prior.

Katara and Zuko go to track down Yon Rha, stalking him for a while. He begins to feel suspicious, but before he can act, they take him by surprise and take him to his knees. He recognizes Katara and tells her how he was seeking the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe with her mother saying it was her.

As Katara reveals her mother wasn't the waterbender, Yon Rha asks who it was. Katara, in a fury, stops the rain around them in a bubble revealing it was her. She turns it to shards of ice aimed at Yon Rha but stops short of killing him. Seeing what kind of person he is, she can't bring herself to do it, leaving him to wallow in his fear and guilt.

They return to the others and Aang tells Katara he's proud of her for not taking revenge. Katara says she can't forgive him, but that she's ready to forgive Zuko. Zuko then comments on the trip being exactly what she needed, and that violence wasn't the answer.

When Aang responds that it never is, Zuko asks him what he will do when he faces the Fire Lord.

Episode 57: The Ember Island Players

The Ember Island Players episode essentially acts as a recap episode. Rather than taking the traditional approach of making a clip show out of it, we watch a group of actors reenact the events of the show. It takes place on Ember Island, where they have taken refuge at Zuko's family home, knowing it is abandoned.

Many of the actors are presented inaccurately for comedic purposes. Aang is played by a woman, Katara is treated as an overweight woman who screams about hope repeatedly, and Sokka is played as a simpleton who always seeks food. Zuko is played by an actor wearing his scar on the wrong side and Toph is played by a large, burly man. Most of the group despises these depictions aside from Toph, who loves hers.

Over the course of the play, the group confronts one another and talks about the impact of what's happened to them. The play continues, with Aang facing the Fire Lord, though he and the group (in the play) are soundly defeated. Ozai takes over the world and the crowd cheers, with Aang and the others looking on with horror.

They leave, disgusted, noting the effects were good at least.

Episode 58: Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King

Aang trains with Zuko while the rest of the group mess around and play on the beach. They get Aang to join in, doing things such as building sand sculptures. It's not long before Zuko jumps out and attacks Aang, reminding him that he needs to be ready to face the Fire Lord. Aang and the others suggest that Aang isn't ready and that they should wait until after the arrival of Sozin's Comet.

Zuko finally reveals to the group what he was told during the war meeting. After some discussion among his generals, Ozai declares that he will use the power of the comet to wipe out the Earth Kingdom as Sozin did with the Air Nomads.

Horrified at the revelation, the group doubles down on their training, with Toph playing the role of Fire Lord (or, Melon Lord) and throwing flaming boulders at the team. Aang makes it to the Melon Lord but realizes he can't strike him down. Sokka, frustrated by this, cuts the Melon Lord's head in half.

Aang continues to struggle with this moral dilemma because it goes against his peoples' teachings to take a life. The group tries to encourage him but allow him peace to meditate on what the right choice is.

As he does so, a large island approaches the beach, beckoning Aang and Momo towards it, so they go.

The next morning the group get ready to leave but soon discover they can't find Aang or Momo. Confused and worried, they try searching for the island. This turns up nothing, and they ultimately ask Zuko to track Aang since he's done it for them before. Thus, they head towards the Earth Kingdom at Zuko's suggestion. There they find June, with the hope of using her shirshu to find Aang.

Finally, Azula makes her way to her father's side as Ozai prepares to depart for Ba Sing Se.

Surprisingly, he tells her she is to stay in the Fire Nation. Azula is shocked and angry, but Ozai explains that she will reign as the new Fire Lord.

When asked about what will become of him, Ozai announces himself as a newer, higher title: The Phoenix King, perfect for someone who will burn the world and have it grow anew from the ashes.

Episode 59: Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters

The group presents June with Aang's glider staff to provide to her shirshu. Unfortunately, the shirshu stumbles around a little, trying to catch the scent, before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

June notes this means that he's gone, as in Aang no longer exists. When that doesn't work, Zuko provides her with one of Iroh's sandals to lead the group to him instead and seek his aid. They're led to the walls of Ba Sing Se, where they camp out to rest before going inside to find Iroh.

Meanwhile, Aang awakens to find himself on the island, wondering where he is or how he got there. He's even more puzzled when he arrives at a hexagonal spot where he is unable to earthbend.

He wishes Roku was there to aid him before remembering that Roku is always with him, leading to him seeking wisdom from his past lives. He speaks with past avatars Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen for answers on what he should when he faces the Fire Lord.

Despite their wisdom, Aang is left no less certain of what he needs to do.

At the same time, the others find their camp surrounded in flames. After a moment of panic, they see Master Piandao, Jeong-Jeong, Master Pakku, and Bumi standing above them, with Bumi excitedly proclaiming, "Well, look who's here!"

They reveal themselves to be members of the Order of the White Lotus, gathered from the Grand Lotus, Iroh. Bumi reveals he escaped during the solar eclipse and overpowered the fire nation invaders of Omashu to take back his city.

At the group's camp, Zuko is pointed in the direction of his uncle's camp. However, Zuko struggles to go to him. Katara convinces him to see Iroh, who is asleep. Zuko waits for him, and when he stirs, Zuko apologizes and Iroh embraces him.

Zuko is shocked, with Iroh stating he was never angry with Zuko, but rather sad because he was afraid that Zuko had lost his way.

Iroh tells the group that he plans to take back Ba Sing Se for the Earth Kingdom with the White Lotus' aid. He tells Zuko must return to the Fire Nation and face Azula so that he can assume the throne when the Fire Lord is defeated. Katara offers to go with him. Sokka, Toph, and Suki move to halt the airship fleet in any way they can.

Aang notices the island moving, and he swims underneath it to realize that it is not an island, but a giant beast.

The beast - a great Lion-Turtle - lifts Aang on its paw to see him directly. Aang asks for its aid in his dilemma and is shown how to energybend. The Lion-Turtle tells Aang to wait and the Fire Lord will come. Ozai is then shown in front of his airship fleet as Sozin's Comet arrives at last.

Episode 60: Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno

As everyone begins heading to their posts, Zuko and Katara steel themselves to prepare for their battle with Azula.

Azula is beginning to lose herself to paranoia, thinking everyone is out to get her, and blindly dismissing all of her attendants. This includes everyone from simple handmaidens to her elite Dai Li Agents. Her sanity frays as she grapples with the fact that many of those closest to her betrayed and abandoned her.

Sokka, Toph, and Suki reach the airship fleet just as they're starting to take off. Toph blindly flings them into the air where they catch onto one of the nearby ships. Ozai is heading the fleet as it pans out. They take control of the control room and, with a little deception, trick all the workers into the bomb bay to dump them into the water below.

At the same time, the Order of the White Lotus members begin their siege on Ba Sing Se. Iroh utilizes the power of the comet to send a wild fireball straight through the great wall of the city, taking the Fire Nation occupants there by surprise. They slowly fight back the forces in a coordinated attack as Jeong-Jeong dispels the fire from the soldiers.

Ozai, at the front of the fleet, uses the Comet's power to unleash a mighty fire blast upon the fields below as his assault begins. It's not long, however, before he finds Aang waiting for him.

Ozai abandons his perch and his armor to face the Avatar directly. As their battle commences, Sokka, Suki, and Toph move to ram their airship into the fleet to stop their assault against the Earth Kingdom.

As Azula is being crowned Fire Lord, Zuko and Katara appear on Appa.

As Zuko claims he will be the one to be crowned, Azula challenges him to an Agni Kai for the title of Fire Lord. As they exchange fierce blows, Zuko eventually gets the better of Azula and taunts her to use her lightning.

As she fires up an attack, she fires at Katara instead, with Zuko racing to get in its way as he manages to redirect it. Katara reaches out to aid him, but Azula lashes out madly.

Aang's battle with the Fire Lord commences in full swing, with Aang taking the defensive as Ozai cuts loose.

It's not long before Ozai begins firing lightning, which Aang redirects.

While the Phoenix King is momentarily stricken with fear, Aang redirects the lightning away from him. Ozai eventually corners Aang within a shell of rock, as he moves in for the attack.

Episode 61: Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

The battle continues with Sokka, Toph, and Suki taking out more airships as Ozai attacks the ball of rock that contains Aang.

Eventually, Ozai manages to break through the shell. In the process, however, he inadvertently sends Aang's scarred back into a rock. This action causes him to regain his full connection to the previous Avatars, allowing him to enter the Avatar State once more.

Azula and Zuko's battle continues, this time with Azula attacking Katara as Zuko lies helpless on the ground. Thus, Katara begins to fight back. Katara lures her in and binds her with a combination of waterbending and some chains.

Azula is unable to fight and is defeated, left to helplessly rage over the fact that no one is coming to her aid. Katara heals Zuko and they stand together, victorious, as they watch Azula struggle with her loss.

Meanwhile, Aang suddenly begins to dominate the battle as he unleashes the complete fury of a fully realized Avatar.

He simultaneously bends all elements around him in a display of his power and uses them in harmony to begin fighting back against the former Fire Lord.

Aang's might absolutely overpowers Ozai with an intense fury, cornering him atop a pillar. In the Avatar State, he nearly kills Ozai but manages to stop himself.

Aang then backs down from the Avatar State. Ozai states that he is still weak, but Aang attempts to incapacitate him using the technique he learned from the Lion-Turtle, energybending.

It appears Ozai's energy might overtake Aang, but the Avatar prevails and successfully uses the technique to remove Ozai's ability to bend - permanently. Thus, the war comes to an end.

Throughout the ordeal, we see flashes of Iroh taking back of Ba Sing Se. Ozai and Azula are jailed for their crimes as the group reconnects with their allies from throughout the series. Zuko is crowned the Fire Lord and proclaims a new era of peace alongside the Avatar. Zuko confronts Ozai to ask about the whereabouts of his mother.

Afterwards, the group reconvenes in the peaceful city of Ba Sing Se. They settle at Iroh's tea shop, and Aang and Katara embrace in a kiss as the show comes to its conclusion.

Paige Smith

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