Avatar: The Last Airbender 3x13 "The Firebending Masters" | First Time Reaction 

Ah yes, the first life-changing field trip with Zuko.

Aang:”I don’t normally play this card, but I’m the Avatar.” Who does he think he’s kidding? The whole of the first and second seasons was him saying I’m the Avatar and getting free stuff.

This episode isn't just about teaching Aang firebending, it's also about re-teaching Zuko. Aang needs to embrace his firebending., and Zuko needs to understand that firebending isn't rage.

The way they make you think that Iroh actually did something bad, but then to find out that he’s an even better person than we all thought he was is great.

So this episode makes the second episode of Book 3 even more tragic. Knowing that dancing is banned and then finding out that the oldest firebending form is called The Dancing Dragon, is heartbreaking to see how much the Fire Nation is destroying their own culture in addition to the damage they are doing to the world.

I think they're the 1st reactors to comment on Zuko and Aang's older brother / little brother relationship. I feel like Zuko never felt like an older brother to Azula because she was generally better than him both academically and physically. The last time Zuko felt like that was when he was bonding with Lee in "Zuko Alone" as he got to teach something to someone else. Now Aang and Zuko got to learn something together.

This is my favorite episode of Avatar. Zuko's quiet "I understand" makes me tear up with joy every time

This proves that Jeong Jeong was the wrong master for Aang. He taught Aang important lessons about discipline and patience but he was always talking about how fire only brings destruction and pain (likely due to his own experiences being a high ranking member of the Fire Nation military). The Sun Warriors showed Aang that fire can also bring life. Just imagine if we didn't have fire. Humanity would never have progressed and we'd still be eating raw food and sleeping in caves and fearful of the night and darkness.

When I first saw the scene with the firebending masters, I wept too. I wrestled with anger for a long time and seeing how there was a different way to live just broke me down. Amazing how one can find that sort of thing in a cartoon.

If you guys pay attention to the way Zuko used to fire bend to the way he is now, he used to make all these grunts (anger) when fighting, now he changed it starting this episode that he doesn't grunt when fire bending. This shows that he changed his ways of fighting with fire to understanding it.

Really cool detail about this episode is that the key to unlocking the secret of Firebending was a dance. Remember earlier in season 3? No one in the Fire Nation knows how to dance, and actively tries to stop it from happening. Kind of poetic.

Iroh is such an amazing character, even when he's not on screen he's making the story move forward.

Many believe that this is where Iroh learned how to breathe fire.

Seeing aang smile when he firebended for the first time chokes me up. It made him hesitate for so long. So to see firebending make him happy as opposed to frightened

Man... if this made you emotional, some of the coming episodes must have wrecked you guys. I'm excited to see your reaction to the finale.

I just noticed that the colorful dragon fire doesn't really have any blue in it, which is the color of fire Azula produces

8:22 In other words Aang needs to stop being timid about fire bending whereas Zuko needs to accept that fire bending isn't about rage.

If you noticed, Zuko's fire changes color slightly throughout the series. From reddish flames to almost a red/black combination when he loses sight of himself. Eventually turning into a golden hued fire. Azula was a prodigy skating by on simply being talented. Zuko on the other hand is literally forged in fire and comes out free from the impurities of his family. His honor restored and his hopes rekindled. It is wonderful to see that message in a kids show. Its a lesson that is timeless. You are not your parents. You are not beholden to any path save your own. You, and you alone, are in control of your destiny. When you are lost, return to your roots and seek a path worthy of you. No one can give that which should be earned. Embrace the pain, you will rise all the stronger for it.

Something that I never see commented on is that from this point forward, the sound of Zuko's fire is now this more crisp and sharp whooshing fire blast over the typical, more dulled fire whooshing sounds the show uses for firebending. Zuko also gains a big boost in raw power with his firebending which is just fuckin sweet. This is such a nice compact level up for both characters and it gets reflected in such a subtle use of great sound design that I love.

Iroh is always portrayed as a good guy but he has a very dark past as a general. The 600-day siege of Ba Sing Se is the most known one. I would love a short series about his redemption arc. Zuko's & Iroh's stories are very similar. Both are much kinder & sympathetic compared to the rest of their family. The difference is that Zuko's setback in life came when he was just a child, with no life experience. Iroh was older & wiser when his life fell apart. I think it would be interesting to see how Iroh's life experience helped him find his way to the person he's in Avatar: the last airbender.

what i love about this show is in this episode in specific the drawing department didn't recicle the shots. they drew different angles for the dragons and you notice everything is hand drawn when the perspective moves. great reaction.

"I understand." One of my favourite Zuko quotes

Sokka was just teasing Zuko about the form and having fun with him trying to help making him feel more welcome with the group.

You know it's funny that, on paper, Toph is a Mary Sue. Multiple crazy OP powers, arrogant/unstoppable personality, child prodigy, and less development than any other team avatar character. But you will NEVER get that feeling while watching.

The outro theme playing during this episode represents the end of Aang and Zuko's series long arc as parallel but opposing characters in the show. This is the turning point in the show where they become true allies, and the conflict between them that was central to the story for so long is finally fully resolved.

A cool detail is from this point forward Zuko no longer grunts when fire-bending as his new source of fire comes from a place other than rage and hate

Nice catch on the music, there’s a yt video talking about how that whole time, that song was a light motif to Aang and Zuko’s relationship, so the fact that you said “I’m gonna think about this scene everytime” was spot on

Remember in the first season when iron was training zuko he says “no fire comes from the breath, not the muscle” so it shows you even in season 1 episode 1 or 2 (I forgot lol), he was taught by the dragons and is on another level compared to normal fire bender!

Easily my favorite episode of Avatar. Love the origins of fire bending, the dragons, Zuko finding his purpose. Also the Ancient Sun Warriors. They take a lot of influence from Aztecs and Mayans (among others ancient culture's too) and myself, being Mexican, felt such a connection to them. Just ugh 😭 love this episode so much

Sorry if this ruins if for anyone, but the shot of Aang and Zuko in being engulfed in the fire has Zuko’s scar on the wrong side of his face lmao

About getting sad with the ending approaching, and getting attached - I (and I'm sure many others) felt super emotional when the "The End" card showed up in the finale with Avatar's Love playing. It felt like saying goodbye to childhood friends. Such an incredible show.

This mountain was chosen for this ritual for a specific reason: It's the tallest mountain in the region, and therefore closest to the sun.

If these ladies have been crying/tearing...I cannot wait for the 2nd parter of Sozin's Comet. Nice video ladies.

This episode is one of my personal favourites, it’s so well made, loveeee the dragons, also Aang and Zuko have such a strong older brother and younger brother dynamic, it’s so precious

This is my favorite episode of the series, for so long the show has painted fire as a bad thing, but here it gives the true meaning of it. Also dragons!! But think about how the fire nation change because of Sozin! He wiped out the dragons and the air benders. I like a quote that line from captain America that’s says “people forget that the First Nation the Nazis invaded was Germany. Same thing here the fire nation lost so much from the war! They were lied to about history, they weren’t allowed to express them selves, they were polluting their own nation.

1:48 I love this tale about Toph about how she learned Earthbending 10:45 the moment that change the concept of fire bending

Spiritually speaking (though not in blood) Aang was Zuko's great-grandfather because Aang used to be Roku.

"I understand" Gives me goosebumps every time 🥲

When I was a kid I loved this show, but didn’t watch it for yearssss. Then I saw it on Netflix and decided to give it a rewatch when I was like 16-17 and I loved it even more 😂😂 I had a better understanding of the philosophy and beauty of the world of Atla. This episode is one of my favorites because it really emphasized zuko and his character growth and it also showed how aang matured and was able to move past what he did to katara accidentally. Also the beautiful representation of the fire the dragons showed aang and zuko has so many meanings in my opinion. It shows how many different colors can all still live beautifully together just like the 4 nations and people all together. Fire is also not just something used to destroy, like zuko said fire can be destructive like it is, but it also can hold beauty just like everything in nature. Damn I typed a lot more than I thought 😂😂

yall's reactions to this show are the best I've seen on this channel. Not to say the others aren't good, but watching how deeply these episodes affect you is like experiencing my first time watching the show all over again. Kudos ladies, you're both doing a fantastic job.

My favorite episode of all time, so many meaningful moments and lore from the Avatar world :')

"The Firebending Masters" is tied with "Bitter Work" for my favorite episode in the entire series. This one is often overshadowed by the upcoming (excellent) episodes, but the glimpse into bending philosophy, the incredible and beautiful climactic scenes, and (last, but not least) the comedy duo of Aang & Zuko (or, Mr. Sunshine and the Emo Kid, lol) make it unforgettable. :)

Remember what iroh said in the beginning firebending comes from the breath not the muscle

"What about this situation makes you think they want us to dance" One of my favorite lines of the series.

Watch the way Zuko moves in the last scene after they get back. He no longer grunts of shouts when fire bending like he did back in the first 2 seasons.

I love the cute little moments where they just interact together and aang tries to get a piece of zukos fire in front of the masters haha it's just so cute and unexpected for the viewers in comparison to eeeverything we saw before

If you remember back to the first couple of episodes, Iroh was trying to teach Zuko this way of firebending instead of using anger like most of the Fire Nation does.

Seeing how emotional you guys by witnessing the master's teaching. I think you might try to firebend now.

I love that whenever they were first fire bending and it didn’t work. It made a fart sound, and when they had fire presenting it to the masters and it went out and it still made the fart sound.

This is probably my favorite episode. Since the start of the series Fire bending has been so awesome but for the whole show it’s been used mostly by the bad guys to hurt innocent people. So for this episode to highlight it’s good qualities was so cool. Aang realizing it’s “little heartbeat” and Zuko’s line “I understand” always get me.

Remember back to the headband episode where they weren’t allowed to dance? They were literally stopping anyone from learning true firebending

Many ecosystems benefit from periodic fires, because they clear out dead organic material-and some plant and animal populations require the benefits fire brings to survive and reproduce. Wildfires are nature's way of regenerating the earth, allowing important nutrients to re-enter the soil, and creating new habitats for plants and animals to thrive.

Yeah, Zuko telling us that Sozen was the one who STARTED hunting Dragons for glory is just sickening when you think about it. Not only was he essentially spitting in the face of Fire Bending origins, but he HIMSELF axctually HAD a Dragon companion. so chances are extremely HIGH that HIS first Dragon kill was cowardly. He likely killed his own Dragon in its sleep and claimed to have fought some epic glorious battle.

The visuals in this episode are especially beautiful and I am obsessed with the Zuko and Aang dynamic! Loving your reactions!

This explains why fire bending comes from the breath and never the muscle. It was how the dragons did it.

take a moment to think...what would the fire nation have been like if Iroh had assumed the throne like he was suppose to? He would have most likely had to deal with his brother, as Ozai would have still had aspirations for the throne, but I think Iroh would have been the very ruler the fire nation needed.

I am watching this with new Eyes since i looked up their socials lol

13:31 Sorry, it’s going to be water works 😭 from here to the end ladies. Thanks for uploading though! I’m loving this series!

I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets so emotional from these beautiful, dramatic scenes 🥲

Notice how Zuko doesn’t grunt anymore when he firebends now 🤌🏽😌

It was very nice to see the dynamic between Aang and Zuko change right after this adventure as well seeing the origins of firebending, wasn't it? 😄 Also, I'm now in the habit of pointing out moments Zutara shippers love to cling to. Like, when Katara teased Zuko about losing his firebending power ("Maybe you're not as good as you think you are."), Zutarians actually saw it as possible sexual tension on Katara's side. 😁

In high altitude there's less oxygen, but it doesn't affect firebending like this.

So...are we getting both episodes of The Boiling Rock tomorrow or do we wait till next week?

The tearing up ain't over yet. Still more moments to come. Lol

The "Life-Changing Field Trip with Zuko" arc

Nickelodeon has gone pretty hard with emotions on other series like RUGRATS when we are seeing and told what happened to Chucky Finster's birth mom.

"Hi there, we're a secret society and we protect the INCREDIBLY SECRET fact that these dragons are still alive. Please don't tell anyone." "Okay" *5 seconds later* "So check out this technique we learned from these dragons we found-"

The Sun Warriors have seen many people face the dragons, but only a few of them have been deemed worthy.

This is definitely one of my favorite episodes. To watch them perform the dancing dragon while both dragons flying around and doing the same moves was cool. Now we're getting down to the nitty gritty. Awesome reaction you two. Hope you two are having a great Sunday and hopefully y'all are really enjoying this wonderful show

that scene always makes me cry, i’ve never seen a reactor cry during it too, i feel so affirmed ahhaha

The Sun Warriors city is inspired by the ancient Aztec civilization. A lot of this city is mirrored in today's Fire Nation structures.

Maple been looking fine asl these past few episodes

The highest praise this show ever received was from a pediatric psychiatrist from Harvard who wrote a a paper on childhood trauma and grief based off of this season of the show.

Due to Zuko being a descendant of Avatar Ruko, that means Aang and Zuko are indeed family!

This ritual illustrates the essence of Sun Warrior philosophy.

im surprised at how many reactors cant fully grasp the idea that the avatar reincarnation cycle is not the same thing as a family tree. aang and zuko dont have the same ancestry. zuko is descended from the last avatar and aang was born to the air nomad monks.

This episode is so amazing. Zuko's arc is amazing. God I just LOVE this show so much. Great reaction!

Yeah... It might be a good idea to go light on makeup for the rest of the season. 😅

When the Dragons were breathing fire around Silk and Ang you can see the scar change sides real quick.

"I understand" always gets me

My favorite episode by far. Simply because of the dragons 🥹

Let's goooo!!!

There are 2 beautiful reasons for watching this

Idk if ive commented this but other than the final 10-15 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, this last 10 episodes of Avatar are the best ending episodes of any show.

This is my favourite episode and idk why I cry everytime too :(

One of my favorite Book 3 episodes

i seriously tear up EVERY time the masters put aang and zuko into the rainbow fire tornado. this show shouldnt make me this emotional but here we are

Can't wait to see what you think of the ending, hope you had extra tissues handy, lol.

This is ny favorite episode in the entire show, the dragons are powerfully beautiful.

This is my favorite episode in the whole series lol

That "gemstone" is a dragon egg. You'll meet the dragon in Legend of Korra.

“He’s so angsty” He is the original eboy “ watch Hook.

This episode always makes me cry and I’m not even sure of the reason for it. In any other context “fire is life” is almost meaningless, but hearing it here makes me sob. Tbh watching your reaction to those words was super validating lol

Iroh is the 🐐

"It's like a little heartbeat"

11:16 That's why it's called the Dragon Dance.

I suppose I may be jumping ahead a bit, so I'll restrain my self as much as possible. When Toph says "I learned Earth Bending; not just as a Martial Ar, but as an extention of myself." That line is SOOOOOOO Important for Avatar Lore as a whole. It's the reason why for many This series does better than it's follow up. It's the essential missing component of the next series. Bending isn't treated with the same respect as it is here. And no this isn't a spoiler; I'm talking about the entire thiing as a general personal view. It has NO details about the show whatsoever. this is na observation that I think the show creators purposefully ignored just make Korra a Girl-Boss.

Aww I loved your reaction to this episode 🥺❤️🔥

The girl on the left got massive cannons

soon