Avatar S2E12: "The Serpent’s Pass"
Regaining hope on the road to Ba Sing Se | Grade: B+
Thanks for tuning in to my thirty-second of 61 daily reviews of Avatar: The Last Airbender! Yesterday, we watched S2E11: The Desert.
Several old characters return in this episode, in which our protagonists (both sets of them) make their way to Ba Sing Se as refugees. The first is Jet, the freedom fighter whom Katara left frozen against a tree after his failed plot to eradicate a Fire-Nation-occupied town in Season 1. Presumably, the Fire Nation forced him out of his forest after the events of that episode. Jet approaches Zuko and Iroh on the deck of their ferry, which is headed for the Earth Kingdom capital.
After the undercover prince gripes about the meager rations onboard, Jet brings him along on a Robin Hood-esque raid of the captain’s well-stocked pantry. It seems that the renegade has continued with his extralegal scheming. But, he later says, he’s not proud of his past, and he’s going to Ba Sing Se for a new beginning and a second chance. Iroh voices his approval.
I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances.
He punctuates his statement with a meaningful glance at his nephew. But has Jet really changed? We’ll find out. The rogue-turned-refugee tells Zuko that “outcasts” like them must stick together. It won’t be the last time we see him.
The other significant character who reappears, this time in Team Avatar’s plot, is Sokka’s original crush, Suki. The Kyoshi Warrior, nearly unrecognizable without her signature makeup, is working to help refugees reach Ba Sing Se. And she makes it clear that she’s interested in the young Water Tribe warrior, too. But Sokka is still hung up over Yue, and acts overprotectively towards an annoyed Suki.
Something happened at the North Pole and I couldn't protect someone. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again.
She leans in to kiss him under the moonlight, but he can’t kiss her back. After Yue’s sacrifice, he feels like the moon is watching him. But the next day, as Suki stammers out an apology for the previous night, Sokka pulls her into a deep kiss under the sun. But sadly for him, Suki cannot join the Gaang in Ba Sing Se. She returns to her job at the harbor at the end of the episode.
While Sokka and Suki reunite, the main action of this episode follows the Gaang’s attempt to escort a trio of refugees, including a pregnant woman, across the deadly Serpent’s Pass to Ba Sing Se. The narrow pass is aptly named for the giant sea monster that haunts its waters. There’s a bit of drama as the serpent attacks, and Aang and Katara fend it off while everyone else runs to safety. But it’s not really the most exciting battle, nor is it the point of the episode.
More interesting is Aang’s continued coping with his grief over the loss of Appa. He seems to have shifted from the taut anger of The Desert to a dull depression. When the pregnant Ying despairs over a Dantean mandate to “abandon hope” at the entry to the Serpent’s Pass, Aang agrees and says hope is “just a distraction.” But at the episode’s resolution, Ying gives birth to her baby ahead of schedule and the happy sight of mother and newborn moves the young Avatar to tears.
I thought I was trying to be strong. But really I was just running away from my feelings. Seeing this family together, so full of happiness and love, it's reminded me how I feel about Appa ... and how I feel about you [Katara].
With a newfound sense of purpose, Aang sets out ahead for Ba Sing Se to find Appa. But as he crests the great wall on his glider, a more pressing problem awaits: a colossal metal drill, emblazoned with the Fire Nation insignia, inexorably inching towards the city.
See you tomorrow for Episode 13: The Drill! Share your own thoughts on this episode in the comments.
Spare observations
The pregnant Ying and her husband appeared at the beginning of Zuko Alone.
Smellerbee and Longshot are with Jet, but where’s Pipsqueak and the Duke?
Aother character returns for his third appearance. “MY CABBAGES!!!”
“I see fifty Avatars a day and, by the way, not a very impressive costume.” [Pan to a gaggle of off-brand Aangs while a crappy rendition of the Avatar theme plays.]
The writers give a great sendup of the wretched, power-tripping bureaucrat.
“Normally it's only one ticket per passport, but this document is so official…”
“If I just gave away tickets willy-nilly to anyone, there would be no more order! You know what that means, no more civilization!”
Toph: “Oh Sokka, you saved me! Mwah…” Suki: “Actually, it’s me.” Toph: “You can go ahead and let me drown now.”
The macho Sokka is totally clueless when it comes to childbirth. “Now? Can't you hold it in or something?” He faints when he walks into the delivery room. Clearly, sex ed for men is lacking in the South Pole.
Friends of the White Lotus [SPOILERS]
This episode was originally aired together with the next episode as a two-part special called The Secret of the Fire Nation. The episodes are nominally unrelated, but the high-octane excitement of The Drill makes a good complement to this more character-driven one.
In Avatar Day, the Kyoshi Island elder mentioned that the warriors went off to help with the war. Suki may not stay with the Gaang after this episode, but her part in the series is certainly not over. She has an important role in Season 3. And before that, she’ll make a cameo in flashbacks from Appa’s Lost Days.