Avatar: The Last Airbender

Bitter Work was a superb episode of Avatar The Last Airbender. I enjoyed watching this episode because Aang begins to learn Earthbending. Toph has a tough teaching style and Katara tries to add input. This episode is filled with humor, character development, wisdom and plot development, action, and suspense. I thought it was interesting that Aang was having a difficult time with his natural opposite, Earth, which he thought he might not be able to master. Meanwhile Iroh begins to teach Zuko a secret move to harness lightning and redirect its energy. Zuko however can't seem to over come his inner obstacles and so he runs off yet again to find his own way. I look forward to the next episode!!!!!!!

Nothing really happened in this episode, Aang learned Earthbending and Zuko learned how to redirect lightning. There was NO action whatsoever. It was informitive though, very little information though. The most exciting part about this episode is the very end of it. When Zuko was commanding to the heavens to strike lightning at him so he can redirect it and give it back. I laughed when Zuko said "Strike me!" I laughed so hard. Then he said "Strike me! You never held back before!" Then he starts crying and yells at the top of his lungs. Overall, I give this episode an 8.1.

Shounen animes usually have a segment within their lifespan where the main character rigorously trains to become stronger. They're usually all the same but it's hard to hate on hard work. Though Avatar takes it a step further; while Aang and Zuko are hard at work training their bending skills, we delve a bit deeper into the concept of elemental bending. It's really unique and insightful how Avatar combines elemental bending with actual martial arts and karate philosophies; stuff like the ying and yang, balance within, chi, etc. Although there have been more complex power systems in other forms of action entertainment, there are probably none that have a stronger and more well thought out basis than elemental bending.



It wasn't the training alone that gave this episode value though. On one hand we have Aang who doesn't seem to possess much self esteem and needs to be mothered to push forward. On the other hand we have Zuko who persistently wants to learn and get stronger everyday, getting ahead of himself too much and not letting anything get in his way. Having a hero and anti-hero combo like this just gives us an awesome two way perspective on different subjects, such as this episode which discussed about pride. Zuko's character development has been going smoothly so far and Toph is quickly becoming a great character herself with her no nonsense attitude. And of course there's always Sokka providing his share of comic relief, which he had plenty of in the episode.

This episode was so funny XD The best part was when Sokka was trying to hunt down this cute little snugly animal. He failed, and fell through a huge crack in the ground. He stayed there for hours waiting for someone to come look for him. While he was waiting, he made constant conversation with the little animal XD When Aang finally did come, he refused to help Sokka. He had had his first lessons with Toph that day, and he didn't do so well. He was afraid he would crush Sokka, so he sat with him to wait for Toph. Before that, the little animal's mother showed up, and Aang had to rely on earthbending to vanish it. Toph was sitting on a rock not far from them and saw it all. It was all her plan to teach Aang. Meanwhile, Zuko has Iroh teach him how to control and redirect lightning.

I am left in wonder at every single dialogue that comes out of Iroh. He is such a great character, and the writing for him is profound, hilarious and brilliant. I particularly liked his monologue on the characteristics of the four nations. It's this kind of writing that gives the show so much depth to the world, and brings it to life for me. We learn from Aang and Toph that perseverance is necessary to overcome a challenge. And we even learn from Sokka that compromising your own identity won't help get yourself out of life's little jams.

Bitter Work is a pretty good episode. Aang starts to learn earthbending, and through that we see more of Toph's harsh ways. Aang doesn't feel as if he's up to it, which leads to some conflict between him and Toph, and in the midst of all this Katara tries to convince Toph to ease up a bit in her teaching.

There is a humorous bit with Sokka trying to hunt a small animal and ultimately ending up being wedged in the middle of a crack in the ground. Sokka builds an odd connection to the small creature and has some pretty funny dialogue. This situation also leads Aang to try again to earthbend.

The remaining scenes of the episode follow Iroh, who teaches Zuko a move involving technique used in waterbending which may allow him to channel Azula's lightning. When Zuko is ready to test the move Iroh won't allow him, so Zuko goes off in the midst of a thunderstorm to test it out.

The last scene is very striking, and very powerful. Even though it's only maybe 20-30 seconds long, it makes this episode especially memorable. The last scene features Zuko standing atop a mountain waiting for lightning to try to strike him, but, like the rest of his life, the world ignores him and won't allow him to prove himself. He starts to shout, cursing the earth. This one scene explains the entirety of Zuko's life, and is a prime example of why Avatar is different from all other (American) cartoons. Sure the series has a lot of fun, and humorous moments, but it's also not afraid to have some pretty powerful moments.

First this was really silly the way Toph wants to teach Aang earthbending. Aang is having a bit of trouble learning how to earth bend and Toph is trying to teach him. Sokka goes out for a hunt but ends up in a pretty sticky situation and tries to befreind an animal that was totally funny. Toph used Aang's stick thing that he flies with and Toph used it as a nut cracker and that was totally funny and it really craked me up like crazy. At the end Aang learns how to earth bend and that is totally great and has mastered a new bending type of form which is great.

what can i think of this time? oh i know, uhh great episode. . . ? uhh im just gonna put random, pointless, useless, son of a crap. wow. . . son of a crap? l . . . o . . . l man, i should do this for every review but its still a waste of my adn your time. 38 more dam freakin words . . . now 30, 28 left or right or up or down or front of behind uhh 15 more words now 12 damit i shouldnt do this all the time but hey... done

Toph's instructing abilities come into question when Aang cannot seem to overcome a block that keeps him from earthbending. Sokka gets himself in a jam while befriending what was, moments before, his next meal, and Iroh and Zuko begin training utilizing new philosophies and methods that originate from the other elements. Can Aang learn earthbending or did the world get an avatar who cannot master the four elements? Well he actually can. He got the block i think ebcause toph was treating him to rough and he needs some positive reinforcement, or "a gentle nudge"

he got the hang of it soon

The episode opens with a whoop from Aang as he celebrates the first day he begins instructions in Earthbending with none other than Sifu Toph, who appears to be equally enthusiastic as she explodes out of her tent, greeting her pupil, and even dedicates a moment to give Sokka a nice wake-up lift. Meanwhile, back in another part of the desert, Zuko explains to a waking uncle Iroh that Azula had unleashed a surprise lightning attack on him (which, in fact, wasn't all too much of a surprise). After a bitter taste of Zuko's home-made tea, it is agreed that Azula needs to be brought down, and to do so, Iroh will resume training Zuko in firebending. It looks like they'll be turning up the heat to match that of Azula, but doing so requires prince Zuko to face his shame and embrace humility. Things aren't looking so great for Aang when it becomes apparent that he can't move boulders, but they move him as his first attempt to imitate Toph in smashing a giant rock into the cliff turns into him airbending himself right into Appa. "Rock beats airbender" says a hungry Sokka, who goes off to look for some grub. As Sokka nears his next meal from afar in the tree tops, he prepares a jump that will secure his meal, but secures himself into a crevice instead. A nonchalant attitude sons turns into panic as he realizes he's gotten himself into a real jam that could very well spell the end of his days as a sarcastic meat-eater, or his own life if doesn't get out. Toph begins to put Aang through a series of trials in earthbending, each more trying than the one before it, but it appears to be improving his ability to sense the Earth, or so it seems. After a particularly rough few words from Toph, Katara pulls her aside and advises her to be gentler with Aang as he responds better to kind encouragement and a gentle nudge in the right direction. Seemingly agreeing with Katara, Toph blindfolds Aang, and tells him to stop a rolling boulder speeding toward him from the cliff top. At the last moment, he airbends above it, disappointing Toph to the point that she berates him even further. Aang trudges off with Katara to practice waterbending to take a break from something he obviously cannot master. The two talk and Katara reveals that just as Fire and Water are opposites, so are Earth and Air. As an airbender, earthbending will naturally come harder, but if he tries thinking differently, it will come to him. Sokka, still stuck in the ground, has befriended the little cuddly animal now resting upon his head, and shares with it his tale that if he ever gets out, he promises that he won't ever eat another piece of meat again, nor will he crack a wind of sarcasm either. Great, the two distinguishing features of his personality, now going to waste. As if to console him, the animal brings back an apple...which Sokka can't even reach. Zuko becomes frustrated that he can't seem to manipulate the energy and its balances correctly to create lightning, always receiving a blast in the face full of fire. Uncle Iroh reveals that he was afraid this would be the fate of his lesson. Zuko cannot master this technique because he still has too much turmoil inside of him that he must let go, allowing himself to be humble. Zuko seems to only partially understand as he confuses his pride for humility. Uncle finally imparts upon him the philosophies of the different groups, from fire nation to the very own water tribe. Zuko, confused, wonders why Uncle Iroh is teaching him about matters that would seem only relevant to the Avatar. He learns from his uncle that knowing more about who you deal with makes you a stronger contender in the long run, and leads him to learn how his Uncle created his own move to deflect lightning from the very waterbenders themselves. This pleases Zuko greatly. After an extremely annoying Toph reveals she has taken it upon herself to not only eat Aang's walnuts, but also of using his staff as a nutcracker, he becomes aggravated but continues his meditation. Yet again he is disturbed, but this time from Katara, who worries about Sokka and how although sunset is approaching, he has yet to come back. Aang decides it would be quicker to find him if they split up. Aang finds Sokka nestled in his little crevice with his snuggly little animal, but despite his airbending efforts to free him, is unable to ultimately get Sokka out of his jam. Sokka advises Aang use his newly found art of earthbending, but a depressed and disappointed Aang not only refuses to help because he can't, but also does not seek out Toph either. It is only when the snuggly little animal's mom comes around that both realize that Sokka's life is in jeopardy unless Aang can do something else beside his airbending. In a final attempt to stop the beast, Aang miraculously earthbends a wall that the creature runs into, and is shocked to discover Toph was watching the whole time. After a heated demand of an explanation of why she didn't do anything to help, she helps him realize he can earthbend now because he was able to stand up to her. Toph is the one to free Sokka from the ground because Aang, while he finally achieved earthbending, still could wind up crushing his poor friend. Zuko, armed with the knowledge that his uncle left him (in the deflecting lightning requires that you feel the energy travel from your fingertips, to your stomach and out your other hand - but never past the heart!), heads out into a developing storm. He had wanted his uncle to shoot lightning at him so he could deflect it, but after his uncle refused, he insisted he would find another way. Atop a mountain in the raging storm, he begins to tear as he realizes he might not get his chance to prove himself, as always seems to be the case for so much of his life. With that note and a blazing storm in the background, the episode ends. Retrieved from "http://avatar.wikia.com/ wiki/Bitter_Work"

In this episode of avatar the last airbender, aang is going to start learning some earthbending from his teacher toph. Toph has a different way of doing it, first she wants aang to stop a boulder, but he really has no idea how to do it since he can't earthbend.



Aang just can't do it, toph keeps pushing him and he just still can't do it! so when Sokka is out with aang, Sokka gets his foot suck and there's something coming for them. sokka can't get his foot out, the only way is for aang to earthbend it out. So in the end, aang gets sokka's foot out without toph's help. most importantly now, he learned how to earthbend.



Overall, this is a really great episode and i was cool on how he learned how to earthbend.

Great Characters- Check

Epic Story- Check

Polished Dialogue- Check

Beautiful Animation- Check



All of those things are what set Avatar above and apart from other shows. But beyond those things what makes it all work together is the detail of the 'Bending' properties. It just wouldn't be as exhilerating to watch if Toph didn't stomp on the ground, if Katara didn't dance with water, if Aang didn't float in the sky or if Zuko didn't have his burning punches. In this world, you have to do something to make your magic work.



The bending philosophies have always been well established and a lot of thought was put into it. There are opposite elements and similar elements. Air is opposite to Earth, but has similarities to Water and Fire. And so forth. Fans love this technical stuff, and this episode provides that in spades.



This episode cross-references the struggles of Aang and Zuko in breaking through a rut in their training.

Aang is a natural Airbender, so his mindset is attack and evade. Toph is trying to teach him Earthbending style, which is stand your ground and be just as stubborn and immovable. Obviously this is difficult for him, but it requires him to figure it out.

Zuko is a skilled Firebender, especially since he beat General Zhao at an Agni Kai. But he learned that Azula is in a whole other level, which humbled him and Iroh tries to teach him the masters level of Firebending. When Zuko struggles with the new techniques, Iroh then sits him down to explain the philosophies of all the different nations and benders.

That sequence alone makes the show. What makes the Avatar so powerful is not simply the combinations of the four bending styles, but it is learning of the four cultures and disciplines.



Everything else in the story is just toppings. Sokka's predicament was strange but comical. Favorite line, after throwing his boomerang just pass an apple, "Now come back boomerang."



Honest and entertaining, a must see episode if you want to know about this world.

Aang was soon tired of Toph's blunt teaching method, his airbending technics wasn't working at all when he was about to learn earthbending. Just as Toph said, Aang needed to thinkas an earth bender, he needed to be steady and strong. Not to find a prefect angle to hint the rock, but instead, he needed to have the will and courage.

Air was opposite of earth, Aang learning earthbending was a process to realize his other side of personality, and accept it. Just like Aang was on his journey of discovery to learn about himself and accept the fact he was the avatar, the audience were also put into a journey of discovery.

Now this is character development, not like other failed attempts at it (The Beach). This episode shows Zuko's struggles with himself, it shows how he can't seem to control something without getting rid of the turmoil inside of him. I feel sorry for him, he wants to learn so badly, but even with Iroh's help, it seems as though he'll never be able to improve. Iroh is at his best here, giving us a funny, insightful look at bending, how they have their own effects and differences. His speeches in this episdode are also quite touching, when you think about it. Here's a sixty year old man helping his nephew with an injury, and yet he keeps his confidence and humor. Aang also struggles to learn earthbending, which shows us that he's the oppisite of what he has to learn. Air is light and gentl, and earth is strong and stubborn. You feel for each character, you want them to win, you want them to prevail. Not just because they're good guys, but because the characters are so likeable.



This episode is a real character peice, which is done with such flow and pacing, such precision and heart. This may be my favorite episode of the series, or at least one of them.

The episode opens with a whoop from Aang as he celebrates the first day he begins instructions in Earthbending with none other than Sifu Toph, who appears to be equally enthusiastic as she explodes out of her tent, greeting her pupil, and even dedicates a moment to give Sokka a nice wake-up lift. Meanwhile, back in another part of the desert, Zuko explains to a waking uncle Iroh that Azula had unleashed a surprise lightning attack on him (which, in fact, wasn't all too much of a surprise). After a bitter taste of Zuko's home-made tea, it is agreed that Azula needs to be brought down, and to do so, Iroh will resume training Zuko in firebending. It looks like they'll be turning up the heat to match that of Azula, but doing so requires prince Zuko to face his shame and embrace humility. Things aren't looking so great for Aang when it becomes apparent that he can't move boulders, but they move him as his first attempt to imitate Toph in smashing a giant rock into the cliff turns into him airbending himself right into Appa. "Rock beats airbender" says a hungry Sokka, who goes off to look for some grub. As Sokka nears his next meal from afar in the tree tops, he prepares a jump that will secure his meal, but secures himself into a crevice instead. A nonchalant attitude sons turns into panic as he realizes he's gotten himself into a real jam that could very well spell the end of his days as a sarcastic meat-eater, or his own life if doesn't get out. Toph begins to put Aang through a series of trials in earthbending, each more trying than the one before it, but it appears to be improving his ability to sense the Earth, or so it seems. After a particularly rough few words from Toph, Katara pulls her aside and advises her to be gentler with Aang as he responds better to kind encouragement and a gentle nudge in the right direction. Seemingly agreeing with Katara, Toph blindfolds Aang, and tells him to stop a rolling boulder speeding toward him from the cliff top. At the last moment, he airbends above it, disappointing Toph to the point that she berates him even further. Aang trudges off with Katara to practice waterbending to take a break from something he obviously cannot master. The two talk and Katara reveals that just as Fire and Water are opposites, so are Earth and Air. As an airbender, earthbending will naturally come harder, but if he tries thinking differently, it will come to him. Sokka, still stuck in the ground, has befriended the little cuddly animal now resting upon his head, and shares with it his tale that if he ever gets out, he promises that he won't ever eat another piece of meat again, nor will he crack a wind of sarcasm either. Great, the two distinguishing features of his personality, now going to waste. As if to console him, the animal brings back an apple...which Sokka can't even reach. Zuko becomes frustrated that he can't seem to manipulate the energy and its balances correctly to create lightning, always receiving a blast in the face full of fire. Uncle Iroh reveals that he was afraid this would be the fate of his lesson. Zuko cannot master this technique because he still has too much turmoil inside of him that he must let go, allowing himself to be humble. Zuko seems to only partially understand as he confuses his pride for humility. Uncle finally imparts upon him the philosophies of the different groups, from fire nation to the very own water tribe. Zuko, confused, wonders why Uncle Iroh is teaching him about matters that would seem only relevant to the Avatar. He learns from his uncle that knowing more about who you deal with makes you a stronger contender in the long run, and leads him to learn how his Uncle created his own move to deflect lightning from the very waterbenders themselves. This pleases Zuko greatly. After an extremely annoying Toph reveals she has taken it upon herself to not only eat Aang's walnuts, but also of using his staff as a nutcracker, he becomes aggravated but continues his meditation. Yet again he is disturbed, but this time from Katara, who worries about Sokka and how although sunset is approaching, he has yet to come back. Aang decides it would be quicker to find him if they split up. Aang finds Sokka nestled in his little crevice with his snuggly little animal, but despite his airbending efforts to free him, is unable to ultimately get Sokka out of his jam. Sokka advises Aang use his newly found art of earthbending, but a depressed and disappointed Aang not only refuses to help because he can't, but also does not seek out Toph either. It is only when the snuggly little animal's mom comes around that both realize that Sokka's life is in jeopardy unless Aang can do something else beside his airbending. In a final attempt to stop the beast, Aang miraculously earthbends a wall that the creature runs into, and is shocked to discover Toph was watching the whole time. After a heated demand of an explanation of why she didn't do anything to help, she helps him realize he can earthbend now because he was able to stand up to her. Toph is the one to free Sokka from the ground because Aang, while he finally achieved earthbending, still could wind up crushing his poor friend. Zuko, armed with the knowledge that his uncle left him (in the deflecting lightning requires that you feel the energy travel from your fingertips, to your stomach and out your other hand - but never past the heart!), heads out into a developing storm. He had wanted his uncle to shoot lightning at him so he could deflect it, but after his uncle refused, he insisted he would find another way. Atop a mountain in the raging storm, he begins to tear as he realizes he might not get his chance to prove himself, as always seems to be the case for so much of his life. With that note and a blazing storm in the background, the episode ends. Retrieved from "http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Bitter_Work"

This is one of my favorite episodes as it shows Aang and Zuko learning how to fight. In the series, it seems like people are just naturally good at fighting and never have to train. However this episode shows the strenuous exercises and the commitment of both Zuko and the GAang to their fighting ability. As you watch Aang fail at earthbending, you can't help but feel sorry for him. Same goes for Zuko, who just can't seem to get over his inner conflict. During this time, we still get comic relive via Sokka being stuck in a hole, Toph's sarcastic comments, and Iroh's attempts at humor. The combination of these points make this an episode worth watching again and again.

In this episode Aang begins to learn the ways of earth bending. He has some trouble learning earth bending because it is the element that is opposite of air bending, which is his natural element. However when Sokka gets trapped in a hole and cant get out Aang has to stand up to a Saber-tooth Moose Lion. After he does this Toph tells him that he is now thinking like a true earth bender. Elsewhere Zuko resumes his fire bending training with Uncle. This episode was really good and showed Aang having some trouble with his earth bending. We also see Uncle as a more positive person to the other elements than other fire benders so far.

In this episode of avatar the last airbender, aang get to learn earthbending!!!!!!!!!!!!! During this episode, aang is learning his earthbending from toph. aang is having a lot of trouble with it. he can't seem to bend it. then toph keeps pushing him and pushing him, but he can't seem to get it. so then in the end, sokka get suck in the earth and toph isn't around. so aang uses the earthbending successfully and saves sokka. most importanatly, he learned how to earthbend for the first time.



overall, this is a very good episode and has my favorite thing, bending :)

sokka getting stuck in a hole,classic.aang learning earthbending was really funny too,except when he finnaly learns it.overall this was the best avatar episode.it had a mixture of funny aang learns earthbending and some action.i`m going to stay one word great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great

In a rocky quarry within the southeastern Earth Kingdom, Aang awakes from his sleep, excited that today is the day he will finally commence his earthbending training with Toph, waking up a weary Katara and a cranky Sokka in the process. After Toph also awakens and bursts from her stone tent, Aang bids his Sifu good morning and enthusiastically questions what high-level techniques he is to learn first, only to have Toph reply that they will start by learning simply how to move a rock.



As the tutelage begins, Toph imparts to Aang that the key to earthbending is a firm, steady stance. That rock is a stubborn element and in order to move it, one must essentially be like a rock. She demonstrates the actual motion by sending a rock into a wall. Believing to have grasped the basic concept, Aang attempts to emulate her, but ends up blasting the rock with air and propelling himself backwards into Appa.



On a grassy hill, a much younger Iroh runs past a tree, being chased by his son, Lu Ten. Lu Ten imitates a firebending motion with his hands which Iroh playfully pretends to get hit by and falls to the ground. Lu Ten falls on top of him and the two share a warm laugh. Years later, an older Iroh kneels in the rain before Lu Ten's grave set under the same tree, telling his beloved son that he will see him again. Iroh awakens from his dream to find his nephew Zuko watching over him within a partially destroyed home not too far from the previously visited deserted town.



Zuko explains to Iroh that he was knocked unconscious after a surprise attack by Azula. After serving him a some tea, Zuko goes on to state that he has contemplated the situation and has come to realize that it is only a matter of time before they encounter Azula once more. He feels the need to learn more advanced firebending techniques if he is to stand a chance against his sister. To Zuko's surprise, his uncle agrees with him and decides it is time to resume their training.



Back at the quarry, both Katara and Aang are perplexed as to why he was not able to the move the boulder, as he executed the exact same motion as Toph. Aang suggests trying to find an alternate solution such as coming at the rock from a different angle, but Toph explains that flexible thinking is precisely the problem; earthbending requires a head-on approach over a clever solution. As Aang shows signs of being unsure of himself, Katara takes Toph aside to explain that as his former teacher, she has come to notice that Aang responds well to positive teaching methods. This includes plenty of encouragement, praise, kind words, and a gentle nudge in the right direction if he is doing something wrong. After thanking Katara for her advice, Toph proceeds to engage Aang in several rigorous activities involving earth, including carrying a heavy boulder on his back, punching solid rock, and balancing on stone columns, yelling at him to be more "rocklike" all the way. After a few initial failures, Aang gradually starts to become successful with the many different training activities.While the others oversee Aang's training, Sokka is off hunting alone in a small forest just outside the quarry. Hiding in a tree, he spots a small, cute, but unidentifiable creature. Sokka casually states that even though the creature is cute, it also happens to be made of meat. Once it is close enough, he jumps down from the tree to deliver the blow. However, he falls through a crevice straight into the ground. Buried up to his neck and deprived of the use of his arm, he is now stuck in the crack.



Meanwhile, Iroh explains to his nephew the essence of lightning and how a Firebender can come to engender it. Lightning, or the "cold-blooded fire" as some call it, is a pure expression of the elemental art and completely without aggression, constrative to the other forms of firebending. Much like his sister Azula, it is precise and deadly and performing lightning requires a peace of mind.Outside the decrepit building, Iroh continues with his lecture. Positive yin energy and negative yang energy must be separated, creating an imbalance, and only a select few Firebenders can separate the energies. When the different energies recombine to restore the balance, they come crashing back together. The role of the Firebender is to provide release and guidance, thus creating lightning. Iroh successfully demonstrates by releasing a massive stream of lightning into the distance. Taken aback, Zuko states that he is ready to try it. Though he is able to mimic his uncle's motions, rather than lightning, he instead creates a fiery explosion that throws him backwards.



At the canyon, Toph decides to take a change of pace. She informs Aang that instead of moving a rock, he will instead stop a moving one. After blindfolding Aang, Toph rolls a huge boulder down a steep slope straight towards him. Sensing the boulder rolling closer and closer, Aang panics at the last second and jumps over the rock. His downtrodden over his dismay is only made worse by Toph berating him over his extreme passiveness and calling him a jelly-boned wimp. Katara tries to console Aang by offering to help him work on his waterbending.



Becoming enraged as well as frustrated over the unsuccessfulness with lightning, Zuko comments on how it just keeps blowing up in his face, like everything always does. Iroh concludes that Zuko's inner turmoil is hampering from creating lightning and that he will never be able to master the art until the turmoil is dealt with. Unable to fully comprehend his uncle's words, Iroh opts to teach Zuko a firebending move that he made up himself.



Still stuck in the crack, Sokka scornfully converses with the mooselion. He relates that he truly does not have anything against the creature, hunting and eating meat has simply been apart of his nature. However states that he has convinced himself to lead a "karmacly" correct vegetarian existence if he can get out of this alive.In a marsh, Aang and Katara practice moving a small mass of water around and between each other. Katara reminds Aang that the block can only be temporary and tries to persuade Aang to face the issue instead of avoiding it. Aang, on the other hand, feels to dejected to even talk about his problem, let alone face it. He also expresses frustration and confusion as to why he cannot seem to do it. Katara relays her belief that because Aang is working with his opposite element, earth, it is especially hard for him. She also holds the believe he will figure it out in the end. Katara then surprises Aang by abruptly breaking off and hurling a reed at him, but Aang is able to use a wave of water to cleanly slice the reed into two halves just before it hits him. Katara congratulates Aang for having the reflexes of a waterbending master. Aang in turn bows and thanks her, affectionally addressing her as "Sifu Katara."



Iroh gives further detail about the four nations to Zuko. The Fire Nation symbolizes power and desire, the Earth Kingdom symbolizes endurance and diversity, the Air Nomads symbolize freedom from worldly concerns, and the Water Tribes symbolize love and community, especially in the face of change. He explains that people can gain wisdom by understanding each other. If wisdom is drawn from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Zuko injects that this is beginning to allude towards the Avatar. Iroh goes on to claim that that it is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful, and that it can do the same for him. To puncuate his point, Iroh reveals that he learned his special technique by studying the Waterbenders.



At sundown, Toph taunts Aang about his submissiveness by abusing his staff, using it as a nutcracker. She walks away just as Katara arrives, worried that Sokka has not yet returned. Aang and Katara split up to search for him.



Sokka is now more than ready to give up meat and sarcasm in order to escape from the crack in the ground, as well as to change his karma. This is proven to be hypocrisy when Aang finds him, and Sokka immediately asks Aang if he has any meat. Aang attempts his airbending to free him, but it proves to be ineffective. Sokka opts for earthbending to be used to free him, but Aang sadly says he cannot. Sokka then requests that Toph should be brought to help, but Aang describes the notion as uncomfortable. He then goes to share with Sokka his feelings towards learning earthbending and the pressure he feels, with Sokka interjecting dry responses along the way. Suddenly, the critter returns, who Sokka named Fu Fu Cuddly Poops, and Aang identifies it as a saber-tooth moose-lion cub. Aang asks the cub if he lost his mother. Sure enough, the fully grown mother of the cub arrives, and she is furious.



Iroh begins to teach Zuko how to redirect lightning. Lightning goes through one arm, into the stomach, and out the other arm. They practice the hand motion to feel the pathway. When Zuko thinks he has mastered it, he demands that Uncle Iroh strike him with lightning. However, Iroh refuses because of the possibility of hurting his nephew. Gazing off at the dark clouds approaching, Zuko rides to "find his own lightning."The mother sabertooth moose-lion roars and charges at Aang and Sokka. Aang initially tries to avoid the beast and distract it away from Sokka, but all that serves to do is leave Sokka open for attack. Determined not to leave his friend again, Aang stands his ground before the crack as the mother faces another of the mother's charge head-on. With a strong gust of air, he manages to blow back the beast, which loses interest and walks away. Toph, who was silently observing the conflict, half-heartedly congratulates Aang and continues cracking nuts with his staff. Incensed that she callously stood by and did nothing as Sokka's life was in danger, Aang forcefully demands that she return his staff. Toph then says that Aang is thinking like an Earthbender and tells to do the rock again, which Aang is successfully able to accomplish. After deeming Aang as a true Earthbender, Toph drags Sokka out of the hole, finally giving him freedom.



Aang, Toph, and Sokka eventually make their way back to the campsite and reunite with Katara, Appa and Momo. Relieved that her brother is safe and after witnessing Aang's newly acquired earthbending ability, Katara takes Toph aside and questions if she tried the positive reinforcement. Toph replies that she did and it worked wonders.



At the top of a mountain, Zuko stands defiantly yelling into the raging rainstorm as the lightning crackles overhead. He dares the storm to strike him, however the storm, in a seemingly mocking manner, does not oblige. Zuko suddenly sheds a tear, falls to his knees and cries out in anguish.

this epi is so fun when the gang is in rocky quarry ,Toph give to aang clses of earrthbendeing.in Bei Fong way .Toph proceeds to give Aang in several tough activities involving earth, including carrying a heavy boulder on his back, punching solid rock, and balancing on stone columns, yelling at him to be more "rocklike" all the way. After a few initial failures, Aang gradually starts to become successful with the many different training activities but went toph make a huge boulder roller down a steep slope straight towards him. Sensing the boulder rolling closer and closer, Aang jumps in the last second over the rock BAd idea.



While Sokka is off hunting alone in a small forest Hiding in a tree small, cute, but unidentifiable creature he jumps down from the tree to deliver the blow. However, he falls through a crevice straight into the ground in the end aang save sokka to be eating for a saber-tooth moose-lion.Toph, who inthe conflict,give half-heartedly congratulates Aang .the funny par is went toph free sokka but in that way ha she not respect him.In a other way At the top of a mountain, Zuko stands defiantly yelling and angry into the raging rainstorm as the lightning crackles overhead. He dares the storm to strike him, however the storm, in a seemingly mocking manner, does not oblige. Zuko suddenly sheds a tear, falls to his knees and cries out in anguish.poor man. note viva panama y latinoamerica.

So there is so much that could be said here about the utter coolness of Toph's training techniques but I have to say I just absolutely love the ROCK-LIKE sequence! In this episode we not only see Aang overcome his fears about working through his polar opposite, the element earth, but we also see the the true depth of his connection to Katara as well. Everyone I think takes it for granted that the reason why Aang learned waterbending so easily was because of his innate Avatar abilities. In this episode we really see that perhaps his superior bending skills may in fact have been inspired by Katara's gentle nudge-like teaching methods!

Nothing really happened in this episode, Aang learned Earthbending and Zuko learned how to redirect lightning. There was NO action whatsoever. It was informitive though, very little information though. The most exciting part about this episode is the very end of it. When Zuko was commanding to the heavens to strike lightning at him so he can redirect it and give it back. I laughed when Zuko said "Strike me!" I laughed so hard. Then he said "Strike me! You never held back before!" Then he starts crying and yells at the top of his lungs. Overall, I give this episode an 8.1.

This show has never let me down. In this episode Aang has trouble earthbending with Toph as his instructor while Zuko is trying to learn to bend lightning from Iroh. As it starts off, Aang slowly learns the basic stances and things like that, not bending a rock yet. Zuko fails at his first try at bending lightning, and he learns about the four elements. Aang then fails to stop a rock and his named a coward by Toph. He then gets some encouragement from Katara(KATAANG!!!) and when Sokka is stuck in a little earth thing when he trys to hunt food Aang saves him with airbending. Aang bends the rock with Toph's not so gentle encouragement. Zuko has not learned to bend lightning yet. I loved this episode as any other, and it does not let me down in any way. Loved it!

In this episode, Aang starts his Earthbending training with Toph. Unfortunately, due to Earth's being the opposite of Air, he develops a block and is unable to Earthbend right away. Aang has never had a problem mastering something before, and he becomes very down on himself. It doesn't help that a lot of Toph's methods involve insulting Aang.



Meanwhile, in a parallel story, Zuko resumes his Firebending training with Uncle. Zuko wishes to learn how to bend lightning like his sister Azula, but due to his emotional turmoil, he is unable to do it. Uncle teaches him instead a method for redirecting lightning, but when Zuko masters the technique, refuses to shoot any lightning at his nephew to test the newfound skill.



For comic relief, Sokka gets stuck in a crack in the ground while trying to hunt a cute little animal that he names Foo Foo Cuddly Poops after it becomes apparent that he is not going to succeed in his hunting and he is firmly lodged in the crack. Near sunset, the others notice he is missing, and Aang sets out to find him. He finds Sokka just as Foo Foo Cuddly Poops's mother- a ferocious saber tooth moose lion- shows up. Aang protects Sokka by chasing away the monster. Unbeknownst to them, Toph has been watching, and after the monster runs off, demands that Aang Earthbend. He is finally able to do so.

I absolutely love this episode, and I have seen it like 10 times already.



Many people didn't like the technicalities that came with Iroh explaining to Zuko how both the lightning bending works as well as how the counter move works. I thought it was very informative and should definitely be done more often in the show. It was nice to see Aang struggle for a change while learning a new bending type or even a new fighting move. Ofcourse, after this episode he seems to go from an amateur earth bender to an expert earth bender pretty fast. Toph makes for one impatient teacher, but her teaching methods were both scary and hilarious at the same time.



The Aang - Katara scenes were well executed and the mix in of water bending was a very nice touch. Sokka's jokes throughout the learning process was absolutely hilarious and added for a great blend between comedy and action.



The Sokka scenes with the sabertooth mooselion cub were really good. The creature was really cute and Sokka's desperate attempts to catch it and then try and get out of the hole were absolutely hilarious. There was only one aspect of the episode that I didnt like which was Zuko's attempt to use the lightning counter move by shouting at the rain clouds to shoot lightning his way. I see how it is important for him to experience something he has learnt in theory but the shouting at the clouds bit is a little extreme. All in all the best avatar episode so far and probably the best episode ever in this series. Hopefully, we get a lot of classic episodes like this with seasons to come. Infact, im hoping that the episode where Aang learns firebending is a little like this since he is reluctant to learn firebending just like he was reluctant to learn earthbending (midway through the episode).

Toph, Aang's earthbending teacher, finally starts to train Aang. At first, Aang has a lot of trouble moving a rock, but as things move along he starts to get the hang of the basics. Iroh also tells Zuko about the four elements and their strong and weak points. He also attempts to teach Zuko about lightning. In the meantime, Aang is still trying to move a rock. Katara tries to support Aang, telling him Air is the opposite of Earth, but still he is frustrated. Sokka gets trapped in a hole and has a talk with Foo foo cudly poops. In the end, Aang earthbends and finally realizes why Toph was so hard on him. Zuko, unlike Aang, doesn't create lightning because of a turmoil within himself (according to Iroh). Overall, I think this was an important episode and very well written.

this episode is a classic. the interaction between toph and aang is great.espesially with her kind of encourage"keep your knees high twinkle toes."aangs struggle with earthbenging finally discourges him and decides to take a break....meanwhile sokka gets stuck in a hole. he and foofoo cuddley poops sit out the day there. zuko wants to learn more advaced fire bending to use agianst azula so uncle teaches him to redirect lightning. that was a good part of the episode but not the best. my personal favorite part is when sokka promised he would give up meat and sarcasm if he could get out alive.

This episode is so good because Aang learns earthbending and Iroh teaches Zuko how to re-direct lightning but he does not do it because is dangerous.



The episode opens with a whoop from Aang as he celebrates the first day he begins instructions in Earthbending with none other than Sifu Toph (What? No Sifu Katara?), who appears to be equally enthusiastic as she explodes out of her tent, greeting her pupil, and even dedicates a moment to give Sokka a nice wake-up lift.



Meanwhile, back in another part of the desert, Zuko explains to a waking uncle Iroh that Azula had unleashed a surprise lightning attack on him (which, in fact, wasn't all too much of a surprise). After a bitter taste of Zuko's home-made tea, it is agreed that Azula needs to be brought down, and to do so, Iroh will resume training Zuko in firebending. It looks like they'll be turning up the heat to match that of Azula, but doing so requires prince Zuko to face his shame and embrace humility.

This is what happened in this episode. Aang can't earthbend if he is thinking like a airbender and that is what Toph is trying to teach, how to think like an earthbender. Sokka gets himself stuck im the ground, Iroh and Zuko begin training using methods that originate from the other elements. My favorite part of the episode was in the begining when Sokka was sleeping and they woke him up. Another part of this episode that I liked was when Sokka got stuck in the ground and he tried to eat an animal but he couldn't reach him so he promised that is he got out of the whole he would stop eating meat.