Summary
Episode 6 shares some of Zuko’s backstory, helping the audience to empathize with his plight while Aang seeks the help of a former Avatar once again.
Episode 6 of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 is titled “Masks”, and for good reason. In it, Aang tries to figure out how to defeat Koh the Face Stealer, a malevolent spirit that wears the visages of others; he’s rescued from captivity by a masked swordsman. These are the literal interpretations. But there’s also a more symbolic underlying theme of the versions of ourselves we present to the world, or that the world expects us to wear for their benefit, being at odds with who we really are. And this is expressed predictably through Aang and also, surprisingly, through Zuko.
Zuko’s problem is Commander Zhao, at least in the short term, though as we see it’s more of a longstanding issue with his father Ozai, and his crazy sister Azula. Thanks to the latter’s meddling, the former hasn’t just sent Zhao extra resources but made him an admiral, putting him in charge of the entire search for Aang.
What’s worse is that Zuko’s crew don’t seem to mind. Some, like, Jee, are actively happy about it. Of course, Zuko hasn’t exactly been the most pleasant employer thus far, but so much for loyalty.
What does Roku give to Aang?
In the meantime, following on from Episode 5, Aang has infiltrated the Fire Nation without much fuss and made it to Avatar Roku’s shrine, where he’s finally accosted by some monks. Luckily, he’s helped out by one of the sages, Shyu, who buys him time to commune with Roku.
Roku has a very different demeanor to Kyoshi. He’s a bit of a joker. But he does get serious when Aang brings up Koh since Roku didn’t technically defeat him in the first place. Instead, he stole something precious to him and fled with it, which goes some way toward explaining Koh’s current vengeful nature.
The item is a totem that represents Koh’s mother, also the mother of identity itself, which kind of explains the whole face-swapping approach that Koh has adopted. It doesn’t quite explain why Roku has held onto the totem all this time despite Koh running riot in the forest. Isn’t he to blame for stealing it in the first place? Could he only return it via Aang? I don’t suppose any of this matters, but it’s worth speculating about.
Who rescues Aang?
Unfortunately for Aang, he’s captured by June before he can get back to the forest. The bounty hunter takes him to Iroh and Zuko, who have defied Zhao’s orders to pick him up, but Zhao arrives and claims Aang for himself.
Zhao takes Aang to a Fire Nation base while he works on bigging himself up for Ozai, but he’s in captivity for all of five minutes before a mysterious masked swordsman breaks him out. What follows is a pretty cool action sequence blending Aang’s bending powers with the more kinetic swordplay of his anonymous rescuer. The swordsman eventually takes an arrow to the face, destroying his mask, which reveals he’s Zuko. Aang takes him to safety.
Why was Zuko banished?
Episode 6 finally explains why Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation by his father, and it’s quite the tragic tale that builds a lot of empathy for the character, despite him being decidedly unlikeable thus far.
Back in the day, Zuko had participated in a war council wherein he had spoken out of turn, criticizing a general’s plan to sacrifice an entire military unit as part of a wider strategy. He thought the approach was callous and unbecoming of the Fire Nation, but his penance for embarrassing his father was being forced to participate in Agni Kai, a traditional Firebender duel. However, he was shocked to discover that his opponent would be his father.
Zuko fought back during the duel but pulled his punches when he gained an advantage, disgusting his father. To quell his compassion – Ozai says that “compassion is a sign of weakness”, a sentiment which Zuko later parrots to Aang – Ozai disfigures him by burning his eye. While he recovers, Ozai banishes him to strengthen his spirit and gives him the men of the 41st Division – those who would have been sacrificed in the initial military strategy – as his crew.
While Aang and Zuko have much in common, the latter, with all the trauma he’s carrying around, cannot quite bring himself to accept this just yet. He lashes out at Aang repeatedly, though they do share a few more tender moments before Aang sends Zuko on his little rowboat back to his ship.
When Zuko returns, he’s given a hero’s welcome. Iroh has told Jee how he came to be part of Zuko’s crew, and that Zuko’s sacrifice is the only reason he’s alive. So, despite having failed to retrieve the Avatar, Zuko has at least gained the loyalty of his men.
Aang, meanwhile, heads back to the Spirit World and returns Koh’s totem. In return, the spirit releases all of its captives, including Sokka and Katara.
What did you think of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 Episode 6? Let us know in the comments.
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