Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 recap guide: All 8 episodes explained

Season 1 episode 7 recap: The North

The seventh episode opens with Lt. Jee sharing with Zuko what he overheard from a conversation between Lt. Dang and another Fire Nation member. He tells Zuko that the Fire Lord has sent a personal guard to come get him and bring him back to Capital City where he'll stand trial for treason.

Iroh then prompts Zuko to leave on a small boat before he's captured. But as Zuko sails away, he finds blasting jelly on the boat and it explodes. We find out that Zhao was the mastermind behind this heinous act. Zhao later offers Iroh the chance to join him as he plans to attack the Northern Water Tribe. Iroh accepts the invitation, but he has an ulterior motive for doing so.

Elsewhere, Team Avatar finally arrives in Agna Qel'a, where the Northern Water Tribe lives. Once they step foot on land, the Northern Water Tribe greets them with open arms. They meet the chief of the Northern Water Tribe (Arnook), the senior waterbending master (Master Pakku), and spiritual leader and Arnook's daughter (Princess Yue). Aang warns them that they're in danger, and they reply by saying they already know. They're confident they'll be able to stop the Fire Nation with the Avatar on their side.

Later, Katara speaks with Master Pakku about waterbending training, and he sends her to Yagoda, a female waterbender who specializes in healing. Meanwhile, Sokka bonds with Princess Yue, and they realize they have things in common, like the responsibility of having to take care of their villages. A Northern Water Tribe warrior named Hahn enters the room and tells Yue that she's needed for the evening blessings. We later find out that Hahn is Yue's ex-fiancé. As Yue walks away, Sokka looks at the pendant in her hair and realizes he's seen it before. It's the same pendant that he saw on the fox in the Spirit World. He puts two and two together and realizes later that Yue is the fox.

Elsewhere, Katara trains with Yagoda. She asks her when she will begin fight training, and Yagoda tells her that women don't fight and instead use their waterbending to heal. This discourages Katara and she goes to talk to Master Pakku. She tells him how wrong it is that women aren't allowed to fight, but Master Pakku doesn't really listen to her. He tells her it's not up for debate. Later, Yue takes Aang to Avatar Kuruk's shrine where he connects with his spirit. He asks Kuruk for help regarding the upcoming Fire Nation attack on Agna Qel'a, but Kuruk doesn't end up being helpful. While Aang is in the Avatar State talking to Kuruk, Sokka enters the room and talks to Yue. Yue shares a story from her childhood with him.

She tells him about how when she was a baby she was really sick, and her father pleaded with the spirits to save her life. The Moon Spirit answered her father's prayers and it imbued Yue with some of its essence and restored her life. Now she's half human, half spirit. That's why she was able to turn into a fox in the Spirit World. Sokka then asks Yue why she turned Hahn down. She explains to him that although Hahn is a nice guy, he's not the guy of her dreams. They share a sweet kiss afterward.

Elsewhere, on a Fire Nation ship headed towards Agna Qel'a, Iroh and Zhao talk about their upcoming siege on the Northern Water Tribe. Iroh warns Zhao of how strong the Waterbenders are, but Zhao tells him he has a plan that will ensure the Fire Nation's victory. Later, Iroh meets up with a mysterious person somewhere on the ship. The mysterious person takes off their mask and is revealed to be Zuko. He's alive!

Back at Capital City, Azula finally stands up to the Fire Lord and demands that he let her out into the real world so she can show him what she can really do. Although the Fire Lord doesn't say anything back, he does smirk at Azula, which could mean he's thinking about it. Azula had been stuck in Capital City constantly training. Now, she believes she's mastered firebending and can even create lightning. Her goal is to show Fire Lord Ozai why she should be next in line to the throne.

Back at Agna Qel'a, Katara challenges Master Pakku to a waterbending fight. Although Katara loses the fight in the end, Master Pakku gets to see for himself that she's a skilled Waterbender. The episode ends with soot falling from the sky indicating that the Fire Nation has arrived.