The Firebending Masters

"The Firebending Masters" is the thirteenth episode of the third season of the American animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the 53rd episode overall. The show follows Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), 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 (Mae Whitman), Sokka (Jack DeSena), Toph Beifong (Jessie Flower)), and Zuko (Dante Basco), and hunted down by Fire Nation princess Azula (Grey DeLisle).

The episode, written by John O'Bryan and directed by Giancarlo Volpe, follows Aang and Zuko travelling to the abandoned city of the Sun Warriors to find knowledge about the origin of firebending so Zuko can begin teaching Aang. The episode originally released in Canada on January 4, 2008, and later released on DVD on May 6 of that year, before its official premiere in the United States on Nickelodeon on July 15, 2008. The episode received critical acclaim from many critics and fans.

Plot
As Zuko prepares to teach Aang how to firebend, he finds his own firebending is very weak. Later that night, Zuko tells everyone he has lost his firebending. Aang hypothesizes that Zuko must not have enough rage to create fire like he used to in the past. However, Zuko says that he no longer wants to rely on anger and hatred, to which Toph Beifong encourages Zuko to learn from the original source of firebending. Toph describes how when she was young, she ran away and hid in a cave where she meet the badgermoles, the original earthbenders. By mimicking their movements, she learnt earthbending as not just a martial art but as an extension of her senses. Zuko claims this isn't possible as the original firebenders were the dragons, who have been extinct for some time. Knowing that either he needs to find another way to firebend or the Avatar needs to find a new teacher, Zuko tells Aang about an ancient civilization that died out thousands of years earlier called the Sun Warriors, who were the first known people to have learned from the dragons, hoping the ruins of the culture could provide an alternate but equally viable source.

Zuko and Aang fly to the Sun Warrior ruins on Appa. Aang asks Zuko what happened to the dragons, and Zuko reveals that the dragons became extinct because Fire Lord Sozin started the tradition of hunting them, and that the person who killed the last living dragon was his uncle, Iroh. They find a locked door that Zuko tricks into opening, and inside they find various statues which depict a firebending form called the Dancing Dragon. Aang imitates the first statue and discovers there are tile switches linked to the dance positions. He persuades Zuko to perform the dance with him and as they do, they activate a mechanism which makes a pedestal with a huge gold, egg-shaped gem to rise in the middle of the room. Zuko picks it up despite Aang's warnings, triggering a trap that leads to Aang and Zuko being stuck in slime.

That night, the Sun Warriors, who have not died out, arrive, rescue Aang and Zuko and tell them they will need to learn firebending from the masters Ran and Shaw. To complete a ritual, Aang and Zuko are instructed to carry a piece of the first fire to the them. Aang, while skeptical to firebend after his last encounter where he burned Katara's hands, eventually agrees and the two carry the fire to the masters. The Sun Warrior chief comforts Aang by telling him fire is not just destructive, and it can also represent life. They reach the lair of the masters, where the Chief tells them that Ran and Shaw will judge them to see if they are worthy of the knowledge. They are warned of the master's judgement, as Zuko's lineage is responsible for wiping out the dragons and Aang as the Avatar disappeared, allowing the dragons to go extinct.

The two climb a flight of steps and begin to present their flames. However, after Aang gets distracted his flame extinguishes, and as he tries to steal some from Zuko he causes Zuko's flame to also extinguish. The masters reveal themselves as two dragons, one red and one blue. As the dragons circle them, Aang comes up with the idea to perform "the Dancing Dragon" for them. When the two perform it, the dragons stop and breathe rainbow fire at them. Aang and Zuko realize that fire is not destruction, but life and energy like the sun, hence the Sun Warrior's names. The Sun Warrior chief reveals to them that Iroh lied about killing the dragons and instead learnt the knowledge from Ran and Shaw and let them live. Zuko realizes he was relying on anger, rage and the will to capture Aang to be his "inner fire", but instead decides to draw from the true source, his desire to bring balance to the world. Aang, realizing that fire is much more than destruction and death, is able to firebend as well. The two return to the Western Air Temple and they showcase "the Dancing Dragon," and they are mocked for the form looking like a dance.

Credits
Main cast members Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco and Dee Bradley Baker appear as the voices of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph Beifong, Zuko, and Appa respectively. Appearing as guests are Robert Ito as the Sun Warrior chief, and Brian Tochi as Ham Ghao, a member of the Sun Warriors.

The episode was directed by Giancarlo Volpe and written by John O'Bryan.

Production
The animation was done by MOI Animation.

The episode aired as part of the promotional event "Countdown to the Comet" where episodes of the show aired all week in the leadup to the four-part series finale on July 19, 2008. Because of this, this episode is the only episode of the show to air on a Tuesday. However, it was originally released in Canada six months earlier on January 4, and was released on DVD on May 6 before its Nickelodeon premiere. The episode includes many references and illusions to other pieces of media and historical and religious stories. When the glowing artefact appears in front of Aang and Zuko, Aang tells Zuko he is "very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals" referencing the opening sequence of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The episode also introduces the Sun Warrior tribe, whose architecture resembles the Aztec society as well as incorporating some aspects of Indian Buddha Stupas and Tibetan monasteries. The idea the Sun Warriors have of an eternal fire that should never go out is a common idea in many religions, such as in the Hebrew Bible. The Sun Warriors also seem to use a Shofar, an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes.

In the series, firebending is based on the martial art Northern Shaolin kung fu. In this episode however, "the Dancing Dragon", a type of firebending form, bears resemblance to the Southern Dragon kung fu style 'Long Ying Mo Kui', which was based on a mythical Chinese dragon. The final movement of the form also bears resemblance to the "Fusion" move from Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996).

Reception
The episode received critical acclaim from fans and critics, with many considering it one of the best of the show.

Hayden Childs of The A.V. Club praised the episode, stating "While the idea of splitting the Aang Gang up to have individual adventures with Zuko may seem more like a series of one-offs than an arc, there is the sense that the Aang Gang needs to reach closure on some issues before they will truly be ready to shut down the Fire Nation War for good." Tony Ireland Mell of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.3 out of 10, writing that "I thought that the pay off with the last two dragons, and Aang and Zuko's path to enlightenment was a little weak, and didn't provide me enough visual information. I would have liked to have seen some sort of rapid history of true Firebending in the "good fire" or in their eyes as they are watching it, but they did sort of make up for it with their revelations on what Firebending is."

Sam Cheeda of Screen Rant placed the episode as it the eighth-best of the show, stating that "The episode is notable for presenting a big piece of Avatar’s lore, as fans got to see the firebending masters. It also went a long way in establishing Aang and Zuko’s alliance, which would have been impossible to consider when the series first began with Zuko as an antagonist." Christian Holub and Rachel Yang from Entertainment Weekly ranked the episode as the twelfth-best of the show, praising the reevaluation of firebending with Holub writing "One of the great joys of Book 3's final stretch is showing how things don't have to be that way. By journeying to meet the Sun Warriors tribe and the last dragons they're protecting, Aang and Zuko learn that fire can also be beautiful, colorful, and life-sustaining. Far from being inevitable, Firelord Ozai's reign of terror is a perversion of the world (a good reminder in our own age of seemingly endless war)."

Max Nicholson of IGN ranked the episode as the seventh-best of the show, writing that "It was cool to see Aang and Zuko work together again (this time on purpose), especially given their violent history together. This was really the first time we got to see Zuko proving his loyalty to Aang -- and what better way to do that than explore some ancient ruins together?" Rotem Rusak also placed the episode on their list of favorite episodes (not ranked), praising the animation calling it "second to none" and stating "It all comes together emotionally but remains infused with that trademark ATLA humor."

In 2020, Millie Mae Mealy of The Harvard Crimson ranked the episode as the 11th best of the show, writing that "Now that Zuko has joined the Gaang, Aang and Zuko are finally in harmony with themselves and each other. So as they stand to learn the truth of firebending from the last surviving dragons, we hear the end credits swell in the middle of the episode — because we are so close to the end, and Aang and Zuko are so nearly ready."