Another solid episode that better serves as part of a whole, the occasional problems suffered by this episode are evened out by the humor and light feel. It advances Aang and Katara's learning of Waterbending and has some nice sequences that put it in the "good" territory, though nothing is great enough to do more than that.
With Aang needing to learn Waterbending by the summer, Katara begins teaching him what she knows. She's upset when moves she'd taken months to practice come to Aang with ease, and when the gang comes across a group of pirates in a nearby village she swipes a Waterbending scroll the pirates had stolen from her tribe. After escaping the pirates, Katara again becomes upset with Aang when he quickly masters the more advanced moves on the scroll. While her continued pettiness is quite annoying, it's also understandable. Recklessly sneaking out at night to keep practicing, Katara lands everyone in trouble when Zuko, on a tip from the pirates, catches her. The pirates, who have Aang, and Zuko, who has the scroll, arrange to swap them, until Sokka uses his wits to pit the two against each other by outing Aang as the Avatar. The ensuing fight is highly entertaining, and along with Uncle Iroh's humorous quest for a Lotus tile for a game of his adds a lightheartedness to the episode. Sneaking off during the battle, Aang, Katara, and Sokka find themselves going over a waterfall, until a whistle Aang had earlier purchased summons Appa (hence this review's title). With the ongoing subplot of Zuko having Katara's mother's necklace adding some dramatic heft, this is another good but not great episode. It has some pacing issues and Katara comes across as annoying rather than sympathetic; however, the humorous touches and lightness of the story still make it an enjoyable watch.
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