Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3

Book 3: Fire
Season 3
Boxed set cover
No. of episodes	21
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Original release	September 21, 2007 – July 19, 2008
Season chronology

Season 3 (also known as Book 3: Fire) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series, aired from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008, consisting of twenty-one episodes. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and it starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, and Grey DeLisle as character voices.

The plot focused on Aang, the lead protagonist, mastering the four elements in order to defeat the Fire Lord. In the course of the season, the group leads a failed invasion of the Fire Nation as previous antagonist Zuko becomes Aang's firebending teacher and, with Katara, Sokka, and Toph; helps Aang put an end to the war.

This final season featured twenty-one episodes, as opposed to the twenty episodes contained within each of the prior two seasons. The season finale consisted of the final four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie. Season three received a similar critical reception to that of the previous seasons.

The season released four DVD volumes, with a complete box set to follow. Each of the four volume DVDs consisted of one disc and five episodes (with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes) and the boxed set will consist of all twenty-one episodes on five discs.

Production

The season was produced by, and aired on, Nickelodeon. The show's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside episode director and co-producer Aaron Ehasz. The majority of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding, Joaquim Dos Santos and Giancarlo Volpe. The episodes were written, or co-written, by a team of writers: Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan, and others. All of the show's music was composed by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who were hired because the former was a roommate of co-creator Bryan Konietzko.

All of the protagonists from season 2 remained the same, with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, and Jessie Flower, respectively. Zuko, who is voiced by Dante Basco, finally joins the Avatar during the episode "The Western Air Temple" (going from the antagonist/anti-hero). This leaves Azula, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle, as the main antagonist. Mark Hamill joins the cast to voice Fire Lord Ozai, who, while having a major role in the plot, has previously only been shown playing minor roles in the series.

Reception

Like the previous seasons, season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender has received much praise. Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk says, "In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender also has amazing animation. The character designs, with its roots in classic Asian folklore, are colorful and inventive, and the overall animation is smooth and consistently executed." While Jodie Houser of Firefox News says of two-part episode "The Day of Black Sun", "The only major disappointment in the episodes was Iroh’s jailbreak...All we got was 'He was like a one-man army!'" As for the third season in its entirety, Jamie S. Rich says in another review, "This final season in the trilogy is turning out to be the best...At this point in the story, major things are happening, with the characters going through changes and the various plot elements coming together. Thankfully, the show creators never rest, and the quality control is top-notch. The writing is smart, and the animation always impressive. Highly Recommended".

Episodes

#	Title	Director	Writer	Original Release Date	Production code
41	"The Awakening"	Giancarlo Volpe	Aaron Ehasz	September 21, 2007	301
Aang wakes up finding himself crippled on board a Fire Nation ship with the gang, Bato, and Hakoda, all in Fire Nation disguises. Aang discovers that following his injury in the second season finale, the world believes him to be dead. After some persuasion, Aang agrees to keep his existence a secret. Meanwhile, Zuko fears being rejected as he and Azula return home to be greeted by Fire Lord Ozai.
42	"The Headband"	Joaquim dos Santos	John O’Bryan	September 28, 2007	302
Aang and the rest of the team steal Fire Nation clothes as temporary disguises. Aang accidentally grabs a school uniform and is taken to a Fire Nation school where he gets into a fight and arranges a school-wide dance party. Meanwhile, Zuko is becoming paranoid with the Avatar's fake death and goes to the prison to plead for Iroh's advice.
43	"The Painted Lady"	Ethan Spaulding	Joshua Hamilton	October 5, 2007	303
Aang spots a village on a polluted river, and the gang heads to it for food. Seeing the starving and ill people, Katara wishes to help them. Over the next few days a mysterious spirit appears, heals the sick, and leaves food. Aang discovers it's Katara who has been acting as the spirit; so he helps her to destroy the factory polluting the water. After scaring off the angered soldiers the next day, they help clean up the river.
44	"Sokka’s Master"	Giancarlo Volpe	Tim Hedrick	October 12, 2007	304
Sokka feels left out when he is the only person who cannot use bending to stop a meteor shower. Sokka finds sword master Piandao, who trains him using a sword made out of a meteorite. Master Piandao gives Sokka a White Lotus Piece, which would become a plot piece later in the season. Meanwhile, Iroh devises a plan for escaping the prison and starts body building in secret while acting feeble in front of the guards.
45	"The Beach"	Joaquim dos Santos	Katie Mattila	October 19, 2007	305
Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee go on vacation to Ember Island where they learn much about themselves and one another. Meanwhile, Aang and the rest of his team are being chased by an assassin hired by Zuko, who has a unique ability to Firebend from his mind's eye. It takes the combined skills of the group to escape. When they do escape the assassin follows.
46	"The Avatar and the Firelord"	Ethan Spaulding	Elizabeth Welch Ehasz	October 24, 2007	306
The episode begins with both Aang and Zuko being told that they need to learn more about their past. Aang is told in a dream to go to Avatar Roku's birthplace, while Zuko receives a mysterious message about his great-grandfather’s past. Aang and Zuko learn about Sozin and Roku's childhood friendship. Zuko learns that Sozin and Roku are his paternal and maternal great-grandfathers.
47	"The Runaway"	Giancarlo Volpe	Joshua Hamilton	October 25, 2007	307
Katara expresses her disapproval when Toph begins defrauding Fire Nation civilians for quick cash. Toph thinks Katara is acting too motherly, and a rift forms within the group. When Katara decides to perform a scam with Toph, they are left vulnerable and are captured by local authorities when Combustion Man, the assassin from the previous episode, uses the two as bait in an attempt to kill Aang.
48	"The Puppetmaster"	Joaquim Dos Santos	Tim Hedrick	October 25, 2007	308
The gang discovers there have been strange disappearances in a spooky town. The old innkeeper, Hama, is secretly a waterbender from the Southern tribe, and the gang stay with her for a while. Hama teaches Katara some of the Southern Water Tribe's past and some special waterbending techniques. Katara discovers Hama has been causing the disappearances by kidnapping civilians with a technique called "bloodbending". The resulting battle forces Katara to fight Hama and save the others from her grasp.
49	"Nightmares and Daydreams"	Ethan Spaulding	John O’Bryan	October 26, 2007	309
The group arrives at the rendezvous point for an invasion four days ahead of schedule, but Aang begins to get nervous about confronting the Fire Lord. Feeling he is unprepared, he trains constantly causing him to hallucinate and have terrible nightmares. The group tries to help him relax in their own ways, but he soon stops sleeping entirely. It takes the collaboration of the other three to finally get him to relax and finally sleep well.
50	"The Day of Black Sun Part 1: The Invasion"	Giancarlo Volpe	Michael Dante DiMartino	November 23, 2007	310
The invasion begins on the day of the eclipse. Hakoda returns with all of the friends the group has made over their adventures: Haru, Teo, The Duke and Pipsqueak, the Foggy Swamp Tribe, The Boulder and Hippo, etc. The Mechanist has also put some of Sokka's ideas to work, including submarines and tanks. As the invasion begins, the gang seems to make a good deal of progress: breaking through many security barriers; e.g. The Gates of Azulon and many Fire Nation artillery.
51	"The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse"	Joaquim dos Santos	Aaron Ehasz	November 26, 2007	311
Sokka and Toph help Aang to find the Fire Lord in time for the eclipse, although Azula tricks them before they can find him. Zuko confronts his father and vows to help Aang defeat him. Ozai tries to attack Zuko with lightning, but Zuko redirects it back to him. Zuko then attempts to free Iroh and ask his forgiveness, but Iroh has already escaped. Aang escapes with the youngest members of the invasion to the Western Air Temple.
52	"The Western Air Temple"	Ethan Spaulding	Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick	July 14, 2008	312
Seeking redemption, and a chance to join the gang, Zuko follows Aang and his friends to the Western Air Temple. There, Zuko desperately tries to prove to them that he has changed for the better. It is only when he helps save the group from "Combustion Man" that he receives the group’s acceptance. However, Katara gives Zuko a dark warning afterward.
53	"The Firebending Masters"	Giancarlo Volpe	John O’Bryan	July 15, 2008	313
After Zuko's firebending powers have weakened substantially, he and Aang travel to the temples of the Sun Warriors in order to find the origin of Firebending. After discovering that the Sun Warriors still exist, Zuko and Aang are sent to confront original Firebenders, two dragons, to seek the origin of Firebending. After performing a firebending dance they learned earlier in the episode, Zuko and Aang are taught the real art of firebending by the firebending masters.
54	"The Boiling Rock, Part One"	Joaquim Dos Santos	May Chan	July 16, 2008	314
Sokka and Zuko travel to the Fire Nation's top security prison, the Boiling Rock, in hopes of saving Sokka's father, Hakoda. After discovering Suki, and realizing there are no Water Tribe members being held captive, Sokka and Zuko hatch a plan to escape. Chit Sang, a prisoner of the Fire Nation, overhears the plan and joins their escape efforts. As they are nearing escape, a new batch of prisoners arrives. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki decide to postpone escaping in hopes Hakoda is among these newly arrived prisoners, which he is.
55	"The Boiling Rock, Part Two"	Ethan Spaulding	Joshua Hamilton	July 16, 2008	315
Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Chit Sang (after the first plan had failed) redouble their efforts in escaping the Boiling Rock, involving Hakoda in their plans. They escape by creating a prison riot and kidnapping the Warden. However, problems for the gang arrive as Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee visit the prison. As the escape is on the verge of failure, Mai helps the gang in order to save Zuko. Azula plans to punish Mai for her actions, but Ty Lee stops her. Azula decides to punish both of them.
56	"The Southern Raiders"	Joaquim Dos Santos	Elizabeth Welch Ehasz	July 17, 2008	316
Zuko confronts Katara about her distrustful disposition toward him. Zuko finds that Katara is taking her anger about the death of her mother out on him. Zuko then decides to help Katara find the Fire Nation soldier responsible for killing her mother. However, Katara finds herself unable to kill the man when she finally confronts him. After returning, Aang is proud of her for not seeking her revenge and Katara finally forgives Zuko of his past betrayal.
57	"The Ember Island Players"	Giancarlo Volpe	Tim Hedrick, Josh Hamilton, and Josh O’Bryan	July 18, 2008	317
The group is hiding on Ember Island in the former vacation house of Fire Lord Ozai. Sokka discovers that the Ember Island Players, a local theater group, is putting on a production based upon the group's adventures. After deciding to see the play, everyone is furious at their portrayals except Toph, who is played by a muscular actor. Meanwhile, Aang is insulted at how the character of Katara refers to her love toward Aang as little brotherly and expresses his love to Katara.
58	"Sozin’s Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King"	Ethan Spaulding	Michael Dante DiMartino	July 19, 2008	318
As Aang reveals he has decided to wait until after the comet passes to confront Ozai, Zuko explains the Fire Lord's plan to use the power of Sozin′s Comet to destroy all of the Earth Kingdom forcing Aang to choose to attack the Fire Lord before the comet's arrival. Because the monks taught him to care for all life, Aang refuses to kill the Fire Lord. In the night, he is drawn toward an island which disappears before morning. When everyone awakes to find Aang missing, Zuko leads the rest of the group to the Earth Kingdom to meet a tracker whom they hope can find Aang. The Fire Lord crowns himself Phoenix King and Aang awakens on the island not knowing where he is.
59	"Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"	Giancarlo Volpe	Aaron Ehasz	July 19, 2008	319
While on the island, Aang seeks guidance from his past lives, but is not pleased with what he is told. The island, in fact, turns out to be a lion turtle from which Aang is given the guidance he had been seeking. After the tracker is unable to track Aang, the rest of the group decide they must find Iroh. Meanwhile, while tracking down Iroh, the group meets up with The Order of the White Lotus, a group which transcends the division of the four nations. After a discussion with Iroh the team decides to split up: Sokka, Suki, and Toph head to stop the Fire Nation's air fleet, the masters head to reclaim Ba Sing Se, and Katara, Zuko, and Appa head to defeat Azula.
60	"Sozin’s Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno"	Joaquim dos Santos	Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko	July 19, 2008	320
As the war rages on, Zuko and Katara attack Azula, but she challenges Zuko to an Agni Kai. Zuko is wounded by a blast of lightning while protecting Katara. Meanwhile, Aang finally confronts Ozai but finds himself overwhelmed by his enhanced power thanks to the comet. Sokka, Toph, and Suki attempt to halt the fleet but are soon separated, while the Order of the White Lotus battles for Ba Sing Se.
61	"Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang"	Joaquim dos Santos	Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko	July 19, 2008	321
Sokka, Suki, and Toph manage to destroy all of the airships after almost falling to their doom. Aang enters the Avatar State and ends up pinning Ozai to the ground. Instead of killing him, Aang bends the energy within Ozai and removes his firebending abilities. Katara battles and defeats Azula and heals Zuko. Mai is shown to have been released from prison, and she and Zuko reconcile. It is also revealed that Ty Lee becomes a Kyoshi Warrior after her imprisonment. Various members of each nation watch as Zuko is crowned the new Fire Lord. Later, Zuko is seen asking his imprisoned father where his mother is (the answer is never seen). The gang is then shown relaxing at the Jasmine Dragon. There, Katara and Aang share a kiss.

DVD Releases

The DVDs contain five episodes in four volumes, with a boxed set following. The first DVD was released on October 30, 2007, and the complete boxed set is scheduled for release on September 16, 2008. They are released by [[Paramount Pictures#Par |January 22, 2008 |align=center|1 |align=center|5

|-style="ba>Information obtained from Amazon.com

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