Click here for eppy

Here is a summary:

e start off the episode with Zuko trying to teach Aang and failing. Why? Because Zuko's firebending isn't working! Sokka isn't over fire and decides to call it "jerk-bending." Aang addresses Zuko as "Sifu Hotman" (you've got to love his archaic language in someways).

Zuko, upon realizing that this isn't going to do, tells Aang about the original source of firebending, who were the dragons. In relation to this, we get to see how Toph learned her earthbending! Little Toph was adorable! Also, they continue to make cracks at Zuko, who was already feeling like an outsider at the beginning of this scene, by being away from everyone. Zuko confesses that the source of his fire was his anger. To which Sokka replies that all they had to do was make Zuko angry, thus he begins to poke Zuko with his sword, till Zuko snaps but still no fire. Anyway, out of this, we hear from Zuko that the original pupils of the dragons were the Ancient Sun Warriors.

So Aang and Zuko venture off to the old civilizations, which isn't that far from where the Western Air Temple is. The dragons became extinct because of Souzin. Since they were the original and ultimate firebenders, anyone who hunted one down got the privilege of the title "Dragon." I know what you're thinking and yes, Iroh killed a dragon for that title, quite literally, thus his "Dragon of the West" title. According to Zuko, he hunted down the very last dragon.

They land at the civilization, which resembles ancient Aztec temples. Or Mayan, I'm not really good at telling the differences but I'm pretty sure it was Aztec. They go through to the main temple but the doors are locked, operating on a similar device as Roku's temple, meaning it would open when the solstice hit it but we don't have time for that. Zuko, being the smart little thing ^_^ he is, uses his swords to reflect light onto the gemstone over the archway and the door opens.

Within, we see a circular room of statues in various positions. The statues reminded of the first Tomb Raider movie, in the first temple Lara pillaged for the first half of the triangle. Anyway, Aang mimics one of the positions and realizes there's trigger stones on the floor. He gets Zuko to follow the statues and they go through the forms together or as he put it, "Zuko I want you to dance with me" ^_^ The entire form, expecially the last position, reminded me of DBZ's fusion dances, not surprising since there are moves in DBZ that are based off real life.

Just like that, a pillar shoots up with an golden egg-shaped artifact. I thought initially that it was a dragon egg but apparently not as the episode goes on further. Now for everyone familiar with Indiana Jones movies, you know what happens next. Booby traps and it's this black sticky stuff. Zuko being closest to the pillar gets shot up to a vent and stuck there. Aang manages to avoid a bit longer until the entire room has filled with the gunk so they're not both stuck on the vent like flies in a spiderweb. Aang yells for help but with no results as they are the only two there. The others hadn't come with them, which surprises me considering how suspicious everyone is. With nothing to do as they're stuck, Aang asks what Zuko thinks they should do. Zuko answers with "Think about our place in the universe?"

Turns out the Ancient Sun Warriors aren't dead. They're very much still alive and going on with their culture, apart from the Fire Nation. They free the two while they explain their purpose. However, our pair aren't getting off so easily to learn from these masters. First they have to prove themselves by bringing a flame of the first fire, the Eternal Flame, to the masters Wren and Shah (I believe that's how you spell them, at least according to the close caption), who live at the top of the mountain.

When Aang is given his flame, he's amazed for it "feels like a heartbeat" to which the chief responds "Fire is life." Aang's also struggling as he goes up the mountain because as he moves, the flames are growing smaller. We hear Zuko advise him to have more confidence because part of the reason it's going out is because Aang is too timid. He also adds in "I know you can, you're a talented kid."

When they get to the top, guess what they have to do? Go up this gigantic staircase that's on par with Aztecs. Oy vay, my knees were hurting just looking at the thing. At the top, they will receive their judgment by the two masters, who will deem them worthy or unworthy, based on who they are and their ancestry. Yeah, I wouldn't have wanted to be Zuko at this point.

The tribe performs an elaborate summoning complete with drums and firebending as the sun is at its highest. In Aang's nervousness, his flame goes out. Unfortunately, Aang can't make fire so he asks Zuko for his. Over their minor tumble (I can just see the icons slash fans are going to make out of this scene, really I do), Zuko's flame also goes out. Too late to make more since neither are able to firebend at this point and out comes...two dragons.

Two dragons are still alive. The Red and Blue dragons from Zuko's dream! These are the great masters. They twirl around our pair in waiting until Aang realizes that there was a part Zuko and Aang had to perform as well. They do the forms they did in the temple in parallel to the dragons' movements, learning the movements. The dragons curl around the pillar they're on and breathe out a spiral of fire around them in a swirl of colours. Coming down, they both realize that fire is not just death and destruction but also that "it's energy and life", like the sun. This is the true meaning of firebending.

The chief then reveals that Iroh did face the masters...he just didn't kill them. He went through the same thing to learn from them, which explains Iroh's calm demeanor in firebending. He was already enlightened. He just lied about killing them to protect them from their fate of being killed. In this revelation, Zuko and Aang have both found their purpose and are able to firebend, which Aang does without fear for the first time since that episode with Jeong-Jeong.

We end the episode with Zuko and Aang demonstrating the forms, and Sokka gives them jibes on defeating the Fire Lord with dancing. Zuko defends that they're ancient forms and yada yada. However, he gives in defeat when asked the name of the form. Zuko and Aang are never going to hear the end of the "Dancing Dragon" anytime soon.

End thoughts? I love Zuko and Aang's interaction! I'm also surprised at how calm Zuko could be, guess the last two seasons haven't been a waste. You can still see the tensions between everyone else and Zuko but he's getting somewhere if they're able to jibe him in humor. I still find it difficult to believe they didn't take anyone else with them if they were still suspicious of Zuko. This was definitely different from what I had originally been thinking about firebending but it definitely plays off the sun cultures of our world.