LogFAQs > #937370157

#56: Bato of the Water Tribe (1.15)

Like the previous one, this episode is in this position for making Sokka act out of character, only it also extends to Katara this time.

The main plot is that Aang is feeling jealous of Bato for hogging the attention of his friends, and he is afraid of them leaving him, so he acts selfishly and hides a message from their father. The friends eventually find out, and they react by... deciding to leave Aang permanently.

Look, Aang made a dumb mistake, alright. The episode is about him growing up. But all of those kids make dumb mistakes every other episode, and they never react like they did here. Sokka and Katara suddenly forget all the shit they went through with Aang. They also forget Aang is the only hope of mankind, who Katara herself spend years dreaming about finding. It's very forced.

What ironic is that Bato is the most mature one here, not making a big deal about Aang's mistake and constantly asking Sokka and Katara if they are okay with leaving. This is a rare case where the NPC is the voice of reason trying to keep the protagonists from acting in a dumb way.

The good parts are the scenes with Zuko and Iroh hiring June to track Aang, Iroh hitting on June and Aang figuring out how to defeat her beast. Sokka's ritual of adulthood is pretty cool, too. Another episode where the Zuko side is pretty solid, but not enough to carry the episode.