| Revision as of 22:19, 3 November 2006 edit64.12.116.65 (talk) →Notes← Previous edit | Revision as of 22:22, 3 November 2006 edit undo64.12.116.65 (talk) →NotesNext edit → | ||
| Line 83: | Line 83: | ||
| * The Eastren air temple is seen and Appa has a flashback of when Aang first picked him. | * The Eastren air temple is seen and Appa has a flashback of when Aang first picked him. | ||
| * We see a female monk: Sister Iio as said in (http://www.nick.com) | * We see a female monk: Sister Iio as said in (http://www.nick.com) | ||
| * When Appa removed a quill from the porcupine boar, it was the second time in the show where a character, human or animal, has bled. The first was when Azula scratched Zuko on his head in The Avatar State. However, several characters have been burned, like Zuko, Katara, Song, Aang, and Iroh. | * When Appa removed a quill from the porcupine boar, it was the second time in the show where a character, human or animal, has bled. The first was when Azula scratched Zuko on his head in "The Avatar State". However, several characters have been burned, like Zuko, Katara, Song, Aang, and Iroh. | ||
| * Pathik means "the traveler" and was a last name that Gandhi personally gave to the family of Magan Kumar, a child born to his ashram in 1938. Originally, they were from the upper Brahmin class and were named Shukla (Sanskrit for "white"), but by becoming Pathik, they were liberated from caste system and became one of the leaders in the movement to gain India's independence. However, changing the "K" from Pathik to a "C" would imply a completely different meaning of Greek origins, under the generally accepted rules of ]. | * Pathik means "the traveler" and was a last name that Gandhi personally gave to the family of Magan Kumar, a child born to his ashram in 1938. Originally, they were from the upper Brahmin class and were named Shukla (Sanskrit for "white"), but by becoming Pathik, they were liberated from caste system and became one of the leaders in the movement to gain India's independence. However, changing the "K" from Pathik to a "C" would imply a completely different meaning of Greek origins, under the generally accepted rules of ]. | ||
| * A ], a mythical rabbit with the horns of an antelope, is seen in this episode. | * A ], a mythical rabbit with the horns of an antelope, is seen in this episode. | ||
Revision as of 22:22, 3 November 2006
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Template:Infobox Avatar: The Last Airbender episode
"Appa's Lost Days" is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. It is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the series.
Appa's abduction is recalled from his point of view.
Episode synopsis
Template:Spoilers The episode spans a period of four weeks, from the end of "The Library" to just before "The Tales of Ba Sing Se," detailing Appa's adventures after he was captured by the Sandbenders outside of Wan Shi Tong's library.
The Desert
The episode begins with Appa's capture in the earlier episode. Sandbenders attack Appa with intent to capture him, while Toph, her "sight" hampered by the sand, and tormented by the need to prevent the library from sinking, is unable to help.
The Sandbenders try to drag Appa away, until Ghashiun, the leader of the group, orders Appa's saddle ransacked for any valuables. However, the Sandbenders find nothing more valuable than Sokka's club and Aunt Wu's umbrella. Appa tries to fight back once more, destroying one of the sand sailers, but Ghashiun is not fazed, as that sailer had been stolen from another tribe in the first place. He tosses the supplies on the saddle away, and continues with his plan to sell Appa to the Bedouins, a group of Earth Kingdom merchants with beetle-like hats.
After a little debate, the merchants decide to buy Appa, giving the Sandbenders a small chest with the money. The merchants secure Appa on a caged sled, but once Appa is fastened down, Aang, hunting for Appa on his glider, blows his bison whistle. Appa hears the whistle and begins to struggle, lifting the entire sled off the ground. The merchants shoot Appa with some Shirshu spit darts fired from a blowgun. The darts land in Appa's foot, causing Appa to fall to the ground and fall asleep. Before the tranquilizer takes total affect, he sees the giant mushroom cloud created by a frustrated Aang and hears the two merchants discuss selling him for parts.
The Circus
Appa next wakes up inside a small cage, along with several other animals. A Firebender talks to him and seems to sympathize, but it immediately becomes apparent that he is an Animal Tamer, and intends to forcibly break Appa to his will. He begins by feeding the other animals, but not Appa. Instead, he lets out a Vulture Griffin and shows how Appa will "earn" his food by sending the Vulture Griffin through hoops. While the Animal Tamer is performing tricks, Appa slyly sucks in air, pulling the cabbages from the cart to his mouth. The Tamer furiously threatens Appa with fire.
That night, the circus is performing in a Fire Nation town. Appa tries to pull a bale of hay closer to him to eat, but it is much heavier than a cabbage. A small boy, waiting for his father to return with some "sizzle crisps," disobeys his father's orders not to move, and helps Appa by moving the hay close enough for him to eat. He stays with Appa, only leaving when the Animal Tamer comes back. The Animal Tamer speaks to the circus' Ringmaster of how Appa is not "ready" to perform and how he needs more time, but the Ringmaster tells him that a circus is, "the home of Fear and Danger," and that Appa will perform that night.
During the show, Appa is introduced as "The Wind Buffalo," and dressed in a garish costume and makeup. The crowd laughs at the sight of Appa, and the Animal Tamer attempts to get Appa to fly by shouting, "Up." Appa spins around, and the crowd laughs more, only infuriating the Animal Tamer, who strikes at Appa with a whip of flame. Appa flies up and goes through a burning hoop and stands up on a high-rising platform, then flies through another hoop. However, Appa's costume catches on fire, and he slaps the hoop to the ground, striking the Animal Tamer on the head and knocking him to the ground. The crowd laughs again. Appa lands, and sees the boy who helped him earlier, who reminds him of Aang. The boy yells at Appa, telling him to escape, and as Appa flies up, the Animal Tamers gets back up and is about to strike Appa with the whip, only to have Appa send him flying through the Circus tent. Appa manages to slip through an air hole at the top side of the tent, and escapes, leaving behind his costume for the small boy to watch and smile.
The Library
Appa flies back to the spot where the library was, only to find it completely buried. He tries to dig it out, but decides it a futile effort, and flies off. Feeling hungry, Appa lands to find food. He starts to move towards a giant purple egg, and just as he is about to eat it, a bipedal lizard runs off with the egg held above his head. He then turns over and goes to eat a cactus, scaring away a jackalope in the process: However, Appa eats the whole cactus, and gets a mouth full of thorns for his trouble. Appa lifts off again, and finds himself in the Buzzard-Wasp nest that Aang and the gang traveled to, quickly earning the ire of its inhabitants. Appa manages to fight them off, and collapses in the sand, trying to get at the honey on his feet.
That night, Appa wanders into a farm, where he goes into an open barn, and eats some hay and water. Appa then collapses, exhausted, on the ground, dreaming of his past: At the Eastern Air Temple, an airbending nun is preparing several children to bond with a group of young Flying Bison. She gives each of them an apple, telling them how to choose a bison carefully, because a bison is a companion for life. One of the boys is Aang, who soon finds Appa and offers him the fruit; Appa happily devours it before pushing Aang over and licking his face. Aang laughs, saying how this must mean the two will be together forever. The scene switches to Aang, sleeping with the group during "The Serpent's Pass," who is having the same exact dream as Appa.
Uncle Iroh
Appa is startled awake by a farmer who, frightened of Appa's immense size, is attacking him with a pitchfork. The man's wife, drawn by his cries, comes to the barn with a torch to check out what is going on. Appa, now frightened of fire due to his time with the Tamer, rears up and backs into the barn, damaging the wall before flying out straight through the roof and flying off. Appa's path takes him directly over the Serpent's Pass, where Iroh sees him in the sky. Zuko, awakened by his uncle's reaction, asks him what is going on, but Iroh tells Zuko to go back to sleep rather than let him know.
Suki
Appa continues to fly, finding his landing in the middle of a forest. Exhausted, he lands in front of an overgrown doorway. As Appa tries to stand up, a porcupine boar comes charging out of the passage, tackling him and sending them both tumbling down the hillside. Appa is stuck with several quills, but manages to fight off the boar, claiming the ruin as his own.
The next day, the The Warriors of Kyoshi are out picking berries when one notices the damage caused by the fight, as well as several clumps of white fur hanging from the bushes. Suki, recognizing the fur as Appa's, finds him still sleeping. (Dialogue indicates this part of the episode takes place after "The Serpent's Pass," meaning Suki has already left Aang and the others, and knows that they are in Ba Sing Se looking for Appa.) Appa, however is now frightened of people, and is reluctant to let her get closer, despite the gift of fruit she leaves him. Suki gathers the rest of the warriors, and calms Appa down by telling him how she wants to help him and return him to Aang. The girls remove the quills left from the boar and clean his fur, but their celebration is short-lived as a blast of blue flames knocks a tree over. Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee show up, still pursuing the Avatar. The Warriors of Kyoshi defend Appa, but Azula and her friends are far more formidable opponents than they've faced before. Suki tells Appa to get away and Appa does but then begins to turn back to help Suki. Suki grabs a burning branch in an attempt to keep Appa away. Still frightened by the fire, Appa flies off, as Suki engages Azula in combat.
Guru Pathik
Appa flies far away, passing over a group of Water Tribe ships. He eventually makes his way back to the Eastern Air Temple, where he remembers his early days, playing with his siblings as a calf. As Appa walks around, he stumbles upon a bald old man who he thinks is an Airbender monk. After tackling him and licking him happily he finds that the man is not an Airbender, and he backs away and growls at the stranger. The man, who calls himself Guru Pathik, understands that he is not the person Appa expected, and he simply lies back, looking at Appa ever so often, and receiving a growl in return. Eventually, night settles in, and Appa falls asleep. The Guru reads Appa's energy, remarking on how Appa is so full of love and trust, but at the same time fear is moving into where trust should be. He also tells of how he had a vision of Aang and Appa years ago, and decided to come to the Eastern Air Temple and wait for the two. He then leaves Appa to rest, saying how Appa must let the clouds in his mind part and be at peace.
Come morning, Appa follows a trail of fruit made by the Guru which eventually leads Appa to find the Guru meditating with a group of animals surrounding him. Appa decides to leave the man alone, and after flying around a bit, he comes to rest next to the guru at the top of the Temple. The Guru gives Appa a note, which he ties to his horn, and then proceeds to tell Appa about how much his energy and Aang's is intertwined. As he tells Appa this, he puts his hand to Appa's forehead, and tells Appa where to find Aang. Appa flies off, heading off to Ba Sing Se.
Ba Sing Se
As Appa flies into Ba Sing Se, two Dai Li members can be seen crouching on the rooftops, then sliding off the roof. Appa continues to fly around, until suddenly he hears something. Under the gaze of three Pygmy Pumas, Appa lands in the middle of the city, where, deep in the shadows, he sees a man blowing a whistle. The man, however, is revealed to be Long Feng, and after a swift and powerful Earthbending move, he flips the ground beneath Appa's feet and captures him underground, leaving only a single footprint in the mud. The Pumas will lead Momo to find the footprint later in "The Tales of Ba Sing Se."
Notes
- In "The Desert," Toph claimed to have heard that Gashuin said to "put a muzzle on" Appa. However, this is the first time we actually hear him say it.
- Apparently, they use tranquilizers in the Avatar World, as shown when the beetle headed merchant inserted one in a tube and blew it at Appa's feet as he was just flying away. The beetle merchant refers to the tranquilizers as 'Shirshu' spit darts, referring to June's mount in Bato of the Water Tribe.
- At the Fire Nation Circus, Appa is dressed to resemble a Chinese Imperial guardian lion. Also, judging from the brief appearance of the white bearded ringmaster who wanted "The Wind Buffalo" in the show, the circus Appa was sent was the same one Ty Lee performed in before joining Azula.
- The Guru locates Aang by focusing on his unique energy, the exact same way that Aang found Appa in "The Swamp." This dismisses Sokka's suggestion that it was "Avatar stuff."
- The footprint from the previous episode is revealed to be of Appa before being sent underground by Long Feng.
- In the events of this episode, Appa becomes afraid of fire because of his experiences at the Fire Nation circus.
- This episode introduced several new weapons used by the Kyoshi Warriors. In addition to their trademark fans, they also use a katana (adding to their samurai like appearance) and a kind of folding shield, capable of deflecting even Azula's blue flames and Mai's darts.
- The Eastern Air Temple is seen for the first time in this episode. Appa's flashbacks suggest that he was born there.
- A female airbender is seen up close and in detail for the second time, and it appears that the front part of her head is shaved in order to accommodate the blue arrow tattoo that signifies a master airbender. The only other was a short scene in "The Avatar State".
- This is the first time we see Aang without his tattoos. This implies that airbenders select their bison before they master Airbending.
- When Sandbenders ransack Appa's cargo, Sokka's blue-balled club and Aunt Wu's umbrella are discarded.
- This is the first time firebending has been used as an actual whip, although it was used by the magician as a fake whip for the fake dragon in The Deserter.
- The viewers do not know what happened to Suki after the fight.
- The Eastren air temple is seen and Appa has a flashback of when Aang first picked him.
- We see a female monk: Sister Iio as said in (http://www.nick.com)
- When Appa removed a quill from the porcupine boar, it was the second time in the show where a character, human or animal, has bled. The first was when Azula scratched Zuko on his head in "The Avatar State". However, several characters have been burned, like Zuko, Katara, Song, Aang, and Iroh.
- Pathik means "the traveler" and was a last name that Gandhi personally gave to the family of Magan Kumar, a child born to his ashram in 1938. Originally, they were from the upper Brahmin class and were named Shukla (Sanskrit for "white"), but by becoming Pathik, they were liberated from caste system and became one of the leaders in the movement to gain India's independence. However, changing the "K" from Pathik to a "C" would imply a completely different meaning of Greek origins, under the generally accepted rules of transliteration.
- A jackalope, a mythical rabbit with the horns of an antelope, is seen in this episode.