The Blue Spirit

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"The Blue Spirit" *Avatar: The Last Airbender episode*
The masked "Blue Spirit"
Book	One: Water
Chapter	Thirteen
Episode #	Thirteen
Prod. code	113
Airdate	June 17, 2005
Writer(s)	Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Director	Dave Filoni
Guest star(s)	Jodi Carlisle (Herbalist) Dee Bradley Baker (Miyuki) Nick Jameson (Colonel Shinu)

Previous episode "The Storm"
Next episode "The Fortuneteller"

"The Blue Spirit" is the thirteenth episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender's first season.

After Sokka and Katara get sick while they are journeying to the North Pole, Aang seeks out a cure. Meanwhile, Commander Zhao sends some of the Fire Nation’s best warriors to help him capture the Avatar. Aang is captured and imprisoned while trying to collect the cure. With all hope seemingly lost for Aang, his friends, and the world, there may be a glimmer of hope when a strange masked figure appears.

[edit] Episode synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

At a Fire Nation fortress, Commander Zhao requests the use of the Yu Yan Archers, an elite group of Fire Nation soldiers skilled in archery, in his hunt for the Avatar. His commanding officer, Colonel Shinu, strictly denies the request, until word suddenly arrives from Fire Lord Ozai that Zhao has been promoted to the position of admiral. Now the superior officer, Zhao smugly changes his request of the Yu Yan Archers' abilities into an order. Meanwhile, a figure watches the proceedings from the roof above and behind Zhao, his face hidden by a blue noh mask.

In an abandoned Earth Kingdom town, Sokka has fallen ill due to his exposure to the recent storm. He is delusional, and also exhibits flu-like symptoms. Aang learns of an herbalist who lives at the top of a nearby mountain, and makes plans to travel there to find a cure. The situation worsens when Katara quickly grows sick herself, leaving Aang to travel alone to the herbalist. He leaves his glider behind, as well as Momo and Appa, after being discouraged from flying by the sight of a flash of lightning.

Meanwhile, on Zuko's ship, the exiled prince is discussing what actions to take in pursuing the Avatar with his crew, having lost Aang's trail due to the recent storm. However, their planning is interrupted when a large Fire Nation ship, one of the many under Zhao's command, pulls alongside. Several Fire Nation soldiers board, revealing a wanted poster depicting Aang, and stating that all information regarding the Avatar is to be reported directly to Admiral Zhao. Zuko angrily reports that he has no information to report, and demands that the soldiers get off his ship and allow them to pass. He becomes further angered when the soldiers comply to his first demand, but state that under Zhao's orders no ships are being allowed in or out of the area. Iroh responds to all of this in his typical laid-back fashion, instead focusing on winning a game of Pai Sho with several of the crew members.

Aang races through the mountainside, using his Airbending abilities to speed his pace. He soon arrives at the herbalist's home, but not before passing an unnoticed pair of Fire Nation look-outs, who sound the alarm after their station is ripped apart by the winds in Aang's path. Meanwhile, Katara, too weak to move very much, asks Momo to take her flask to the river and fill it with water. Momo doesn't understand her request, and instead returns with a countless number of various knick-knacks. Zuko practices on the deck of his ship, having not given an order to his men in the hour since it was boarded. Iroh expresses concern over his nephew's behavior, and assures him that it is still possible that he could capture the Avatar before Zhao. Zuko expresses disbelief, as Zhao has far greater resources and power. He states, depressedly, that soon he will lose all that he has been fighting for in the years since his exile.

After a frustrating meeting with the herbalist, Aang learns that his friends must suck on the frozen bodies of hibernating frogs, which can be found on the bottoms of riverbeds. However, he makes little progress towards his destination before encountering the Yu Yan Archers, who waste little time in pinning his boots to the ground with arrows. Aang Airbends to defend himself from the succeeding shots, frees his legs, and jumps off of the mountain into the thick forest below. The archers react unblinking, however, leaping off to pursue him in a tremendous display of agility. Aang runs out of the woods, and unexpectedly ends up in a murky, partially-frozen river. He finds the frozen frogs he has been looking for, and even while avoiding the Yu Yans' arrows manages to scoop several of the amphibians into his clothing. However, while retrieving one of the frogs, several arrows catch the sleeve of his left arm and pin it to an overturned tree. Aang attempts to shield himself by Waterbending some of the river's water into a makeshift shield of ice, but the Yu Yan quickly shatter the shield with a few precise shots before pinning Aang's remaining arm to the tree as well, leaving him defenseless.

Aang is taken back to the fortress, and placed in a cell guarded on the outside by four guards, while his arms and legs are chained and held in place. Zhao enters the cell, and begins to taunt Aang by bringing up the fact that all the other Airbenders were slaughtered. However, Zhao states that he will not have Aang killed, as such an action would simply result in the Avatar being reincarnated, leaving the Fire Nation to find them again. Instead, Zhao promises to keep Aang alive, though he implies that such an experience will not be pleasant for him. As Zhao departs, Aang angrily uses his powerful breath to blow Zhao off-balance. However, before leaving, Zhao decides to have the last word, and states that there is no possible way for Aang to escape, and no one will come to rescue him.

The Blue Spirit, helping Aang escape.

However, as if to prove Zhao wrong, the same masked figure from before materializes amongst the bushes flanking the path into the fortress. The figure-the titular Blue Spirit-sneaks into the fortress by clinging to the underside of a carriage that is brought into the fortress, before moving stealthily through it to Aang's cell. Luckily for the Blue Spirit, Zhao is currently addressing all of the Fire Nation members in the fortress, saying that the Avatar has been captured and the Fire Nation will win the war in less than a year. This allows him to move across the fortress's inner-most wall unnoticed, before descending into a small sewage system and emerging within the fortress's main tower.

Back in the Avatar's cell, the frogs, still stuffed in Aang's clothes, begin to thaw and crawl away, despite the young Airbender's protests. Just as several frogs, still partially-frozen, crawl under the door, the Blue Spirit appears, and deftly defeats the guards in his way. As he moves into the cell and unsheathes his swords, Aang becomes terrified, presumably believing the Blue Spirit means harm rather than help. However, his fears are soon dispersed as the Blue Spirit slashes through his bonds, and begins to leave the room. Aang questions the Blue Spirit's identity and intentions, but he does not answer, instead silently motioning for Aang to follow him. Aang concludes that this new figure means to help him escape, and follows him a short ways before spotting the half-frozen frogs that are still trying to escape. He attempts to collect the thawing amphibians, but the Blue Spirit stops him, and hurriedly drags him outside.

As Aang and the Blue Spirit exit the tower via the fortress's shallow sewers, Zhao strolls through its corridors while ordering a secretary to send a message to the Fire Lord recording his triumph. However, Zhao notices the four guards that the Blue Spirit has defeated, and after finding that Aang has escaped, he sounds the alarm. Just as the alarm sounds, Aang and the Blue Spirit are making their way up the rope that the latter used to descend the wall. The rope is cut, and the Blue Spirit and Aang are forced fight their way out of the fortress through its three sets of gates. Aang Airbends a group of soldiers out of their path and manages to reach the first gate easily, but the Blue Spirit does not possess his supernatural speed, and is soon overtaken by a dozen spearmen, who he begins to battle. Aang, noticing that his unexpected savior is in danger, moves to assist him, though the Blue Spirit appeared capable of easily matching his opponents. In the process, Aang yanks away one of the spears and snaps its blade off, turning it into a staff in place of his glider. Aang is able to use his Airbending abilities in conjunction with the staff to move himself and the Blue Spirit to the top of the second wall, but in the process drops the staff, leaving them with one more wall to overcome. Scores of Fire Nation soldiers ascend the wall with flexible bamboo ladders, but a quick-thinking Aang turns this against their pursuers. He turns the ladders into makeshift stilts, and, with the Blue Spirit hanging on his back, uses three of the ladders to get them across to the third wall. However, a Firebending soldier burns the last ladder beneath their feet before they can reach the final wall, and Aang and the Spirit are forced to jump. Although both manage to get hand-holds on the edge of the wall, neither is able to hang on, and they fall to the ground in front of the final gate.

A group of Firebenders launch a combined attack on the duo, and Aang uses Airbending to defend them before Zhao orders his soldiers to stand down. The admiral continues, stating that the Avatar must be captured alive. Hearing this, the Blue Spirit quickly places his swords at Aang's throat threateningly. Zhao appears angered, but decides not to take any risks. He orders the guards to open the gates, and the Blue Spirit, still holding his blades to Aang's neck, marches the two of them outside, never turning either of their backs to the fortress. Colonel Shinu is bewildered that Zhao is allowing the Avatar to escape, but the admiral remains calm. At the top of the outer wall, Zhao orders a Yu Yan Archer to knock out the Blue Spirit, which he does unerringly so with a single arrow to his forehead. The Blue Spirit falls over instantly unconscious, his life spared due to the protection provided by his mask. Aang immediately Airbends up a large dustcloud to conceal himself, while a group of Fire Nation soldiers raced from the fortress to capture them. He takes off the Blue Spirit's mask to learn that his rescuer is, to his immense shock, Zuko. He turns to run and leave the prince behind, but hesitates. When the dust settles, Aang and Zuko have vanished without a trace. Zhao is immensely angered, and his mood is not helped when suddenly one of the frogs from before appears alongside him, croaks, and leaps off the wall.

Later, Zuko regains consciousness to discover that morning has arrived, and he is with Aang in a wooded area. Aang speaks nostalgiacally of Kuzon, a Fire Nation boy he knew as one of his closest friends a century before. After reflecting, he asks Zuko if under different circumstances they too could have been friends. Zuko pauses, then responds by launching a fire blast, which Aang easily avoids before leaping through the trees. Zuko's stern expression softens slightly, and he opts not to pursue the Avatar, at least for now.

Aang returns to the swampy river to retrieve a new set of frozen frogs, while Zuko returns to his ship. Iroh greets him, questioning where he has been all night, but seems not to be too worried, being more concerned with the events of "music night" from the evening before. Zuko ignores these comments, and orders no disturbances while he tries to catch up on his sleep. An exhausted Aang finally returns to Katara and Sokka, placing a frozen frog in each of their mouths and repeating to them what the herbalist told him. At the same time in their respective places, Aang and Zuko attempt to sleep, while Katara and Sokka rapidly recover.

[edit] Notes

Zuko disguises himself as the Blue Spirit for the first time. He uses the same disguise for the episodes "The Swamp", "Avatar Day", and "Lake Laogai".
Zuko is skilled in the art of dual-wielding daos.
Zhao's speech makes it appear that, in the Fire Nation, both men and women can be in the army.
This is Michael DiMartino's second favorite episode (out of three) because of the mysteriousness of the Blue Spirit that was involved in it.
The Sunghi horn is played whenever Prince Zuko switches to his Blue Spirit alter ego.
During some airings of this episode, the title was mistakenly given as "The Red Spirit."
The herbalist's cat is the first appearance of a normal animal.
Kuzon's name appears to be the Udmurtian pronunciation of the Russian port city "Kazan," which mean 'cauldron.' In Esperanto, "kuzon" means 'female cousin.'