All in all, this is one of the better episodes of the series in my opinion. Compelling moral dilemmas, dramatic confrontations, and spellbinding sequences of animation make this a sensational addition to the show's catalog of great entries.
However, one reviewer here seems to think they've cracked some sort of code, exposing the "mediocrity" of this episode and by extension the series. So here's my counter debunking every "plot hole" they took issue with in the episode.
On average, a total eclipse occurs over a specific metropolitan area once every 5 centuries or so. Times between total eclipses over a specific metropolitan location can range anywhere from one century to over a millennium. Thus, this "major plot hole" lies completely within the realm of possibility. It's definitely possible that a total eclipse hadn't occurred over the fire nation during the span of its existence. We can also assume that the knowledge seekers and Wan-Chi Tong himself hid all information pertaining to eclipses found in his library from the fire nation, after growing distrustful of the fire nation soldiers who frequented it. This course of action would be very much in-character for Wan-Chi Tong, as he loathes humans who utilize knowledge for the advancement of militaristic/imperialistic ideals. This assumption is also supported by the knowledge seeker guiding Team Avatar to a secret chamber containing this information in the previous season. Thus it's entirely plausible that the fire nation never developed the technology necessary to track and predict the appearances of eclipses even if they were aware of their existence.
We never see Azula in possession of the Earth Kingdom's invasion plans, so Katara (who alone met with the Council of Five) likely felt that they would still retain some element of surprise with their attack even if the fire nation knew the day that the invasion was to take place. The others probably agreed with this sentiment, assuming that they'd still be able to overwhelm the fire nation army while they were unable to bend. Team Avatar had no reason to believe the fire nation would be as prepared as they were.
Regarding Toph's seismic sense, it's literally been explained that some states of earth are more difficult for her to see through than others (ie. Sand, metal, etc.). Although she can technically "bend" metal, at the time of this episode she can really only manipulate its consistency by touch. She can't "see" through it like she can standard earth. The bunker was composed primarily of metal, with Azula's and Ozai's respective chambers being entirely enclosed in it. Thus, there was no way for her to discern the layout of the bunker, let alone which chambers contained which members of the royal family. On the other hand, her "view" of the caverns under the mountain in the blood-bending episode was entirely unobstructed, with the only metal present being the shackles used to restrain Hama's prisoners.
Sokka, Toph, and Aang were determined to obtain Ozai's location via Azula. Given the size of the bunker and their time limit, they likely arrived at the consensus that it would be a more efficient use of their time to get the information out of Azula rather than fumble around the bunker searching for Ozai on their own. Therefore, they chose to fight through the Dai Li agents and pursue her. Azula's manipulation of Sokka took place over the course of maybe a minute, so Toph and Aang weren't "standing around" for very long at all. They were also understandably on their guard as the eclipse was coming to a close. Sokka taking Azula's bait in the heat of the moment is also entirely understandable given his history of being forcibly separated from the women closest to him (his mother, grandmother, Yue, and now Suki). Azula wasn't lying in that instance either, as Suki had been imprisoned.
The choosing of who should escape in the face of everyone's imminent capture also unfolded in a completely logical manner. Team Avatar and the youngest members of the invasion force were to escape on Appa, while the elders were to surrender and endure imprisonment. For one thing, the young members would prove to be a lighter load for Appa. Sokka had proven himself a more-than-capable leader, while Hakoda was seriously injured and wouldn't be of much use in mounting a counter attack; Haru is a competent earth bender; the mechanist's son has extensive knowledge of everything his father ever worked on; and The Duke can contribute plenty as a soldier. The elder members sacrificed themselves on behalf of their children, knowing that they'd be able to hold up better in a fire nation prison while waiting for a counter attack to be organized.
All of the compact war balloons that were deployed had been destroyed by Aang and Katara, so the fire nation army had no means of immediately pursuing Appa and the escapees. There are no "creatures" in the fire nation's ranks that could feasibly pursue them either, as dragons had been hunted by the fire nation into very near extinction (outside the two exceptions we come to learn about later). Zuko likely boarded one of the last remaining small war balloons, and almost certainly took measures to ensure that he wasn't followed.
Ozai has been established as perhaps the single greatest fire bender on the planet. His prized daughter and pupil Azula bested Aang in battle under Ba Sing Se even after he'd mastered three elements. Despite this Aang was ready to confront Ozai after the trio had given up on Azula and the eclipse had expired. However, Sokka and Toph persuaded him to abandon the futile effort in favor of preserving the remaining invasion force. They also had to consider that they would have had to fight through a considerable amount of fire nation reinforcements to even get close to Ozai.
And there you have it. Every action taken in this episode was justified. No plot holes, no logical inconsistencies. Just incredibly sound writing, world-building, and characterization. I'd definitely recommend paying attention to dialogue and character actions instead of trying to find insignificant "gotchas". There's a lot of marvelous stuff in this show, and the writing is remarkably tight.
Apologies for the long-winded defense of a show near and dear to my heart :) Thank you for reading. 10/10.
However, one reviewer here seems to think they've cracked some sort of code, exposing the "mediocrity" of this episode and by extension the series. So here's my counter debunking every "plot hole" they took issue with in the episode.
On average, a total eclipse occurs over a specific metropolitan area once every 5 centuries or so. Times between total eclipses over a specific metropolitan location can range anywhere from one century to over a millennium. Thus, this "major plot hole" lies completely within the realm of possibility. It's definitely possible that a total eclipse hadn't occurred over the fire nation during the span of its existence. We can also assume that the knowledge seekers and Wan-Chi Tong himself hid all information pertaining to eclipses found in his library from the fire nation, after growing distrustful of the fire nation soldiers who frequented it. This course of action would be very much in-character for Wan-Chi Tong, as he loathes humans who utilize knowledge for the advancement of militaristic/imperialistic ideals. This assumption is also supported by the knowledge seeker guiding Team Avatar to a secret chamber containing this information in the previous season. Thus it's entirely plausible that the fire nation never developed the technology necessary to track and predict the appearances of eclipses even if they were aware of their existence.
We never see Azula in possession of the Earth Kingdom's invasion plans, so Katara (who alone met with the Council of Five) likely felt that they would still retain some element of surprise with their attack even if the fire nation knew the day that the invasion was to take place. The others probably agreed with this sentiment, assuming that they'd still be able to overwhelm the fire nation army while they were unable to bend. Team Avatar had no reason to believe the fire nation would be as prepared as they were.
Regarding Toph's seismic sense, it's literally been explained that some states of earth are more difficult for her to see through than others (ie. Sand, metal, etc.). Although she can technically "bend" metal, at the time of this episode she can really only manipulate its consistency by touch. She can't "see" through it like she can standard earth. The bunker was composed primarily of metal, with Azula's and Ozai's respective chambers being entirely enclosed in it. Thus, there was no way for her to discern the layout of the bunker, let alone which chambers contained which members of the royal family. On the other hand, her "view" of the caverns under the mountain in the blood-bending episode was entirely unobstructed, with the only metal present being the shackles used to restrain Hama's prisoners.
Sokka, Toph, and Aang were determined to obtain Ozai's location via Azula. Given the size of the bunker and their time limit, they likely arrived at the consensus that it would be a more efficient use of their time to get the information out of Azula rather than fumble around the bunker searching for Ozai on their own. Therefore, they chose to fight through the Dai Li agents and pursue her. Azula's manipulation of Sokka took place over the course of maybe a minute, so Toph and Aang weren't "standing around" for very long at all. They were also understandably on their guard as the eclipse was coming to a close. Sokka taking Azula's bait in the heat of the moment is also entirely understandable given his history of being forcibly separated from the women closest to him (his mother, grandmother, Yue, and now Suki). Azula wasn't lying in that instance either, as Suki had been imprisoned.
The choosing of who should escape in the face of everyone's imminent capture also unfolded in a completely logical manner. Team Avatar and the youngest members of the invasion force were to escape on Appa, while the elders were to surrender and endure imprisonment. For one thing, the young members would prove to be a lighter load for Appa. Sokka had proven himself a more-than-capable leader, while Hakoda was seriously injured and wouldn't be of much use in mounting a counter attack; Haru is a competent earth bender; the mechanist's son has extensive knowledge of everything his father ever worked on; and The Duke can contribute plenty as a soldier. The elder members sacrificed themselves on behalf of their children, knowing that they'd be able to hold up better in a fire nation prison while waiting for a counter attack to be organized.
All of the compact war balloons that were deployed had been destroyed by Aang and Katara, so the fire nation army had no means of immediately pursuing Appa and the escapees. There are no "creatures" in the fire nation's ranks that could feasibly pursue them either, as dragons had been hunted by the fire nation into very near extinction (outside the two exceptions we come to learn about later). Zuko likely boarded one of the last remaining small war balloons, and almost certainly took measures to ensure that he wasn't followed.
Ozai has been established as perhaps the single greatest fire bender on the planet. His prized daughter and pupil Azula bested Aang in battle under Ba Sing Se even after he'd mastered three elements. Despite this Aang was ready to confront Ozai after the trio had given up on Azula and the eclipse had expired. However, Sokka and Toph persuaded him to abandon the futile effort in favor of preserving the remaining invasion force. They also had to consider that they would have had to fight through a considerable amount of fire nation reinforcements to even get close to Ozai.
And there you have it. Every action taken in this episode was justified. No plot holes, no logical inconsistencies. Just incredibly sound writing, world-building, and characterization. I'd definitely recommend paying attention to dialogue and character actions instead of trying to find insignificant "gotchas". There's a lot of marvelous stuff in this show, and the writing is remarkably tight.
Apologies for the long-winded defense of a show near and dear to my heart :) Thank you for reading. 10/10.
