Return to Omashu

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"Return to Omashu" *Avatar: The Last Airbender episode*
Aang looking at the conquered city of Omashu
Book	Two: Earth
Chapter	Three
Episode #	Twenty-three
Prod. code	203
Airdate	April 7, 2006
Writer(s)	Elizabeth Welch Ehasz
Director	Ethan Spaulding
Guest star(s)	Andre Sogliuzzo (King Bumi) Paul Eiding (Governor of New Ozai) Tara Strong (Governor's Wife) Dee Bradley Baker (Tom Tom) Fred Tatasciore (Omashu Resistance Leader)

Previous episode "The Cave of Two Lovers"
Next episode "The Swamp"

"Return to Omashu" is an episode from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which airs on Nickelodeon. It is the third episode of the second season of the series.

The kids return to Omashu so that Aang can learn Earthbending from King Bumi. But when they get there, they are shocked to find the city is now in Fire Nation hands. Despite the danger, Aang enters Omashu in search of King Bumi.

[edit] Episode synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The gang finally gets to Omashu after the long journey through "The Cave of Two Lovers." When they reached up the mountain leading to Omashu, they discover that the Fire Nation has invaded the city and are devastated. Despite the dangers of being caught, Aang decides to go off and try to find Bumi, although, Katara believes that it might be time for Aang to get a different earthbending teacher. Aang explains to Katara that Bumi is not just an earthbending teacher, he is a friend. Aang, Sokka, and Katara find their way into the city by going through a sewer and emerge from it unharmed save for Sokka who has several creatures called Pentapuses stuck to his face. These turn out to be harmless, and Aang removes them from Sokka's face. Not two seconds pass and they encounter a Fire Nation soldier who questions why they are out during curfew. Aang quickly covers the arrow on his head with a piece of cloth and Katara says that they were just on their way home, and the soldier decides to let them go. Just as they were leaving, the soldier notices the marks left by the Pentapuses and asks about them. Katara quickly says that he has "Pentapox," a very contagious disease. The soldier runs away in fear, thus they avoid capture.

Meanwhile Azula is on her ship, plotting on how she is going to capture her brother and uncle, and figures out that she needs a small elite team to help her on her mission. She decides to ask some old friends to do exactly that. Azula finds her old friend Ty Lee, who ran away to the circus, where she developed into an incredibly talented acrobat. Azula requests her assistance on her mission, but Ty Lee is reluctant to do so. Azula capitulates, instead asking for a performance from Ty Lee which she will attend. Ty Lee apprehensively obliges, fearing some sort of machination from her cruel and unforgiving friend. It ends up being a trap; Azula has forced the ring master to set the net underneath Ty Lee on fire and to release every single dangerous animal that he owns. Ty Lee's performance becomes so dangerous, that she finally gives in and decides to help Azula with her mission.

Back at Omashu, a Fire Nation General, wife, baby son, and daughter Mai find out about Aang's presence in Omashu. Mai chases after Aang and tries to kill him by throwing hails of flying daggers at him. However Aang gets away and leaves Mai puzzled about where he had gone. The trio wonder where all the earthbenders have gone and an Earth Kingdom General reveals that King Bumi surrendered to the Fire Nation and that the rest of the Omashu Army were mad at him for not telling them to attack. Since it is too late to attack, Aang suggests for the earthbenders to retreat, so no more harm can be done. They devise a plan involving the Pentapox from a while back. The next morning, all the citizens of Omashu show up with marks on their skin. The governor asks what's wrong and the soldier with them mentions the Pentapox. The governor, who is Mai's father, orders the citizens to be driven out of the city.

The conquered city of Omashu

At this point, Aang is still searching for Bumi and Momo is looking for food which he finds in the governor's house. However, the governor's son sees Momo and decides to play with him against Momo's wishes. Momo tries to escape, but the governor's son follows him and they end up together with the escaping citizens of Omashu. Aang finds Bumi's pet Flopsie, but not Bumi himself. Back at the camp where the citizens of Omashu fled to, the leader says to Katara and Sokka that they have an extra person, the governor's son. Aang returns with Flopsie, and not long after, a messenger falcon appears bearing a message from the governor. Apparently, the governor thinks that the Earthbenders kidnapped his son and used the disease as cover. He offers to trade King Bumi for his son.

After the retreat, Azula and Ty Lee go to Omashu to find Mai, who turns out to be another friend of Azula. Unlike Ty Lee, Mai does not hesitate to help Azula. Azula meets with Omashu's new governor and decides he has done poorly due to the chain of events that occurred during the previous day and renames the city, "New Ozai". Azula decides to let Mai handle the exchange so that there will be no more screw ups. When Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai show up at the rendezvous point, they bring King Bumi, who is stuck in a coffin-like container with only his head free to move, out via a crane which lowers him down but decide to go back on the deal because they thought that trading a baby with a powerful Earthbender King was foolish. Aang tries to free Bumi by chasing after the rising Bumi, but in the process, the cloth on Aang's head comes loose and reveals the arrow on his head. Aang tries in vain to put it back, but Azula sees the arrow and figures out that he's the Avatar. Katara and Sokka fight Ty Lee and Mai while Azula goes after Aang. Aang gets to Bumi and tries to free him. Bumi tells him to wait, but Aang doesn't seem to hear. Azula shoots blue fire blasts at them, but Aang deflects it and breaks the chain supporting Bumi's container in the process. Aang and Bumi fall into Omashu's mail system with Azula following in pursuit. Meanwhile, Sokka and Katara fight Mai and Ty Lee. At one point, Ty Lee blocks the flow of chi in Katara, making it so she can't waterbend. Luckily, Sokka comes with Appa and Appa blows Mai and Ty Lee away with his tail.

Riding Appa, Katara and Sokka try to catch Aang and Bumi, but they miss and Aang and Bumi land in the mail system again. Azula fires a wheel of blue fire at them but Bumi uses his chin to bend the mail system and produces an outcropping of rock which blocks them from harm. After they get to the end of the track they were on, Bumi explains to Aang the value of Jing, or battle strategy. Aang says that he knows all about them and says that there's Positive Jing when one is fighting and Negative Jing when one is retreating. Bumi adds that there is Neutral Jing when one does nothing. Aang is surprised that there is a third one, and Bumi reveals that there are 85 in total, but tells Aang to focus on the Neutral Jing part. Bumi says that he deliberately allowed the city to be captured by the principle of Neutral Jing, where one should wait for a better time to strike and remain in place until then. This principle is the key to earthbending. Realizing the value of Bumi's judgment, Aang leaves on Appa while Bumi bends his way up the mail shaft again. At the end, Azula informs her friends that they now have three targets while Ty Lee asks Mai if she will be happy to see Zuko again, who simply turns her head and smiles. Meanwhile, Aang has gone to the governor's house to return his son.

[edit] Notes

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Return to Omashu

There are 85 jing in bending. However only 3 are named: positive jing (used for fighting), negative jing (used for retreating), and neutral jing (waiting for the right time to act).
Aside from being skilled in acrobatics, Ty Lee seems to be skilled in a form of Kyusho jitsu.
Mai is skilled in Shuriken-jutsu.
Omashu is to be renamed to "New Ozai," after the Fire Lord. The construction of a large effigy of Ozai can be seen through the scaffolding prior to the arranged hostage exchange and subsequent chase scene between Azula and Aang/Bumi.
Aang and Azula's fight atop the scaffolding is based on an unused fight scene from the pilot animation.