Into the Dark (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

"Into the Dark" is the fourth episode of the first season of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based on the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang (Gordon Cormier), the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko (Dallas Liu). The episode was written by Keely MacDonald and directed by Jabbar Raisani.

The episode, like the rest of the season, adapts the first season of the original series, with this episode also borrowing plotlines from the second season. In the episode, Aang meets his old childhood friend King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar) who gives him challenges to pass. Determined to find their friend, Katara and Sokka enter a secret tunnel under Omashu, and Zuko races to rescue his uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) from earthbending guards. The episode was released on Netflix on February 22, 2024, along with the rest of the season, receiving mixed reviews.

Plot
100 years ago, Aang remembers his childhood friend Bumi who always thought outside the box and created a bison whistle that Aang still uses today. In the present day, Aang has been captured by Earth Kingdom soldiers and is in captivity with Iroh. There, Iroh tells Aang that Zuko and him are more than their reputation. The Omashu soldiers take Iroh and prepare to transport him to “the Pit,” a dangerous Earth Kingdom prison, while Aang is taken to meet the king, who Aang deduces is a now-elderly Bumi. Bumi throws Aang a feast, but Aang can tell Bumi is angry at him for vanishing for 100 years. Bumi leads Aang into traps which avoids or uses airbending to escape from as a test, while also trying to remind Aang of their past together.

Katara encounters Jet once more who tries to apologize and explain himself, but Katara refuses to listen and freezes Jet with ice to a pole. Sokka and Teo become furious when they learn Sai was feeding the Fire Nation secrets and designs, but Sai defends himself by explaining that he was trying to protect Omashu from the Fire Nation, which would lead to safety for his son and himself.

Learning Aang has been captured, Katara and Sokka decide to rescue him and Teo reveals there are secret tunnels that run underneath the city that lead to the palace. Before leaving, Sokka urges Sai to give up the Fire Nation spies to the Earth Kingdom soldiers. Meanwhile, Zuko disguises himself as a soldier and finds out where Aang and Iroh have been taken, and he must choose between going after Aang or rescuing Iroh.

Entering the secret tunnel, Sokka and Katara encounter a group of singing nomadic minstrels who warn them of the secret tunnels and explain the tunnels were created by Oma and Shu, forbidden lovers each from a village that were at war with one another, who studied the movements of the badgermoles and built elaborate tunnels to meet with each other in secret. After Oma was killed in an attack, Shu used her earthbending to end the war and create the city of Omashu. The two siblings enter the tunnel to find the tunnels are moving due to badgermoles that live inside the tunnels and see through emotions. Because of Sokka and Katara's love for each other, the badgermoles don't attack them and lead them to the palace.

On the way to “the Pit,” an earthbender guard insults Iroh, bitter of the fact that Iroh, as a Fire Nation general, laid siege to the Earth Kingdom capital Ba Sing Se for 600 days. Upon claiming Iroh knows nothing of loss, Iroh has a flashback to when his son Lu Ten died in the battle of Ba Sing Se and Zuko consoled him at his funeral. When Zuko set off to find the Avatar, Iroh joined him as Zuko reminded him of his son. In the present, Iroh drops a White Lotus Pai Sho tile on the ground which Zuko later finds and uses to track the Earth Kingdom soldiers. He frees Iroh, but Iroh gets injured in the escape, as the two find a boat and try to get back to their ship.

Bumi challenges Aang to a fight to the death. While Aang constantly evades Bumi's attacks, Katara and Sokka arrive. Aang reminds Bumi of their past friendship and Bumi forgives Aang. Bumi is inspired to rejoin the fight against Fire Nation, helped by Sai who took Sokka's advice and betrayed the Fire Nation spies. Aang, Katara and Sokka leave Omashu on Appa, who Zuko sees flying above, but he prioritizes getting Iroh to safety.

Production
This episode was directed by Jabbar Raisani and written by Keely MacDonald; it aired on Netflix along with the rest of the season on February 22, 2024. The episode features plotlines inspired by many episodes of the animated series. Aang meeting his old friend Bumi is a plotline that occurs in episode five, “The King of Omashu”, where Aang figures Bumi's identity much later than in the live-action show, and where Bumi isn't as bitter towards Aang for vanishing for 100 years. Katara and Sokka finding secret tunnels that lead into the palace of Omashu is based on the twenty-second episode of the show, “The Cave of Two Lovers”, where Aang, Katara, and Sokka follow a group of singing nomads into the secret tunnels to get to Omashu. In the animated series, Aang and Katara's love for each other is the focus of the episode, whereas in the live-action show Sokka and Katara's love is the focus of the plotline. Zuko rescuing Iroh from earthbenders comes from the seventh episode, “The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)”, while Iroh's backstory comes from the episodes ‘’Zuko Alone” and “The Tales of Ba Sing Se”. Katara freezing Jet also comes from the show's tenth episode, while Teo and the Mechanist rebelling against the Fire Nation comes from the seventeenth episode.

Main cast members Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai appear. Utkarsh Ambudkar and Pradnesh Prakash star as the elder and young versions of King Bumi respectively. Danny Pudi, Sebastian Amoruso, and Lucian-River Chauhan reprise their roles from last episode as the Mechanist Sai, Jet, and Teo respectively. Albert Nicholas stars as Captain Dixit, an Omashu guard who is tasked with transporting Iroh to "the Pit," while Justin Wong, Emily Schonen, Shastina Kumar, John Ray De Buco, and Wilson Kwok play a group of nomadic minstrels inspired by the group of singing nomads from "The Cave of Two Lovers". Additionally, James Sie reprises his role as the Cabbage Merchant from the original animated series.

The episode's soundtrack uses an instrumental version of song "Leaves from the Vine" which was sung by Mako, the original voice actor of Iroh in the first two seasons of the original series, in the episode "The Tales of Ba Sing Se". The song was originally used as a song from Iroh to his deceased son Lu Ten, and in this episode it is used as an instrumental during Lu Ten's funeral scene.

Critical reception
The episode received mixed reviews. Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars writing “Episode 4 is a more introspective and character-driven chapter. Its eccentricities can be a little distracting, but it provides solid development for the heroes and villains alike.” Rich Eberwein from Winter is Coming gave the episode a B- score praising the character development for Iroh and Zuko saying the episode “adds so much depth to the Fire Nation storyline, because it explains the unyielding bond Iroh has with Zuko. He sees Zuko as a son now that his own is gone and Ozai has shunned him. Zuko was the only one there to comfort Iroh, and that's why Iroh sticks with him through his banishment. Good stuff.” Noah Petrillo of The Review Geek had mixed feelings on the 'Secret Tunnel' scene saying "The inclusion of minstrels satisfies a niche group obsessed with the Secret Tunnel tune. It’s pure fan service, but it’s handled with genuine humor. If anything, they sort of rushed through the main song in favor of an intro tune, which was a little disappointing." The Comic Crow of Fandom Pulse criticized the treatment of Bumi in the episode writing "Nothing in this episode of Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender makes any sense. Bumi is warped into a spiteful, hateful, would-be child killer who completely gives up on fighting the Fire Nation and really wants to commit suicide. And it is suddenly redeemed through the power of love and friendship, and it’s all just so awful."