As the third season of this Emmy-winning animated series unfolds, Aang wakes up to two significant surprises: The first is that he's trapped aboard an enemy ship of the Fire Nation, and the second is that he has a full head of thick, black hair. Meanwhile, as Aang's fellow prisoners Katara, Sokka and Hakoda explain the series of events that brought them to their current circumstances, Prince Zuko journeys home to face his father.

1. The Awakening - Aang awakens to find himself gravely wounded on board a stolen Fire Nation ship with his friends. He is shocked and dismayed to discover that the world believes him to be dead. Zuko and Azula are welcomed home as heroes, where Fire Lord Ozai congratulates his son. After a great deal of persuasion, Aang agrees to keep his existence a secret. In the end, he also burns his glider in the lava of a volcanic mountain. 4.125 stars (Dale-4, David-4.25)

2. The Headband - Aang and friends steal Fire Nation clothes as temporary disguises so they can live among its citizens. Aang is accidentally taken to a Fire Nation school, and must wear a headband to hide his tattoos. He later arranges a school-wide dance party for the up-tight Fire Nation kids. When the authorities learn about the party, the kids help Aang and his friends escape. Capoeira is shown as a Fire Nation traditional dance. Capoeira is one of the many non-East Asian elements given to the Fire Nation. Meanwhile, Zuko hires an assassin to find and kill Aang. 4 stars.

3. The Painted Lady - The gang arrives at Fire Nation village populated by sick and starving people. Katara wishes to stay and help them. She becomes "The Painted Lady," the town's mythical patron-saint figure, healing their sick and providing food while they sleep. She also destroys the nearby factory which pollutes their river, sparking soldiers to attack the village. Katara reveals herself to be the Painted Lady and saves them with the help of her friends. in the end, Katara is thanked by the real Painted Lady. 4.75 stars (Dale-4.5, David-5)

4. Sokka's Master - Sokka feels left out as he is the only person of the group unable to bend. He finds sword master Piandao to help further his skills as a warrior, forging his own sword out of a meteorite. He and his friends realize just how important he is to their group. Meanwhile, Iroh devises a plan to escape prison and starts bodybuilding in secret. 4.5 stars.

5. The Beach - Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee go on vacation to Ember Island against their wishes. They try to act like normal Fire Nation teens but have little success. They reveal their inner problems and discover more about each other. Meanwhile, Aang and friends are attacked by Zuko's assassin, "Combustion Man" (nicknamed by Sokka for his ability to channel and cause explosions through his third eye). 3 stars.

6. The Avatar and the Firelord - Aang and Zuko learn about Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin's shared past which resulted in the War. Their childhood friendship, their falling out, and Sozin's betrayal of Roku to his death. Zuko discovers that Roku is his maternal great-grandfather, giving him significant insight into his internal struggle. 4.125 stars (Dale-4, David-4.25)

7. The Runaway - Katara expresses her disapproval when Toph begins scamming Fire Nation civilians for quick cash. Toph thinks Katara is acting too motherly, and a rift forms within the group. To patch things up, Katara decides to pull a scam with Toph, but they are caught by Combustion Man. He uses them as bait in an attempt to kill Aang, but Katara's quick thinking saves the day. 3.25 stars (Dale-3.5, David-3)

8. - The Puppetmaster - The gang discover there have been strange disappearances in a spooky town. They befriend an old innkeeper named Hama, who reveals she is a Waterbender from the Southern Tribe. She becomes Katara's mentor and shares with her the tragic story of her life as a prisoner of the Fire Nation. Katara discovers Hama is kidnapping civilians with a dark ability, Bloodbending, a technique which can only be used during a full moon by a skilled Waterbender, to enact her revenge. The resulting battle forces Katara to use the technique against Hama to save Aang and Sokka. 3.25 stars (Dale-3, David-3.5)

9. Nightmares and Daydreams - The invasion is four days away, and Aang begins to feel nervous about confronting the Fire Lord. Feeling that he is unprepared, he trains constantly and loses sleep, causing him to hallucinate and have nightmares. After three straight days, it takes the collaboration of Sokka, Toph, and Katara to get him to finally sleep and feel confident about facing the Fire Lord. 2.75 stars (Dale-3, David-2.5)

10-11. The Day of Black Sun Part 1: The Invasion - On the day of the solar eclipse, many of the characters from the previous episodes reunite with the gang to help them fight and the invasion begins. Hakoda returns with a ragtag team of several allies whom the group has met during their adventures. They successfully infiltrate the Fire Nation capital as the invasion force breaks through many security barriers. Upon reaching the Fire Lord's palace, the eclipse begins, but Aang finds no one home. The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse - Sokka and Toph attempt to help Aang find the Fire Lord in time for the eclipse, but Azula stalls them and the eclipse passes before they can find him. Meanwhile, Zuko confronts his father and vows to help Aang defeat him. Ozai attempts to kill his son with lightning, but Zuko redirects it and escapes. Iroh frees himself from jail and disappears. The invasion force is captured, Aang and his friends flee on Appa and retreat to the Western Air Temple for safety as Zuko follows on an air balloon. 3 stars.

12. The Western Air Temple - Zuko follows Aang and his friends to the Western Air Temple, seeking to join their group. There, Zuko desperately tries to prove to them that he has changed for the better. It is only after Zuko helps save them from Combustion Man that he receives their acceptance as Aang's Firebending teacher. However, Katara refuses to trust Zuko and warns him of the consequences of any treachery. 3 stars.

13. The Firebending Masters - Zuko prepares to teach Aang Firebending, but for unknown reasons can't Firebend. He and Aang travel to the temples of the extinct Sun Warriors to learn about the ancient origin of Firebending. Zuko reveals to Aang that his grandfather caused the extinction of the dragons, the original Firebenders. After discovering the Sun Warrior culture still exists, Zuko and Aang are sent to see the Firebending Masters, later revealed to be the two last surviving dragons in the world. After teaching them the true nature of fire, Zuko's powers are restored and Aang no longer fears Firebending. The culture of the Sun Warriors is a mix of Aztec, Thai, and Polynesian as shown by their dress, the Dragon Dance, their music, their respect for dragons, and their architecture. 4 stars.

14-15. The Boiling Rock, Part 1 - Sokka and Zuko infiltrate the Fire Nation's top security prison, the Boiling Rock, in hopes of saving Sokka's father Hakoda. After realizing Hakoda wasn't held there and instead discovering Suki, Sokka and Zuko hatch a plan for the three of them to escape. Chit Sang, another prisoner, overhears the plan and joins their escape efforts. As they are nearing escape, a new batch of prisoners arrive, including Hakoda. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki decide to postpone escaping to save him. The Boiling Rock, Part 2 - Sokka, Zuko, Suki, and Chit Sang create new plans for escaping the prison, involving Hakoda in their plans. They escape by creating a prison riot and kidnapping the Warden. However, problems arrive in the form of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, who are visiting the prison. As the escape plan teeters on the verge of failure, Mai helps Zuko and the others escape. Azula attacks Mai for her betrayal, but Ty Lee intervenes. Azula has them both imprisoned. 4 stars (Dale-3.5, David-4.5)

16. The Southern Raiders - The Avatar and his friends are forced on the run again after Azula finds them in the Western Air Temple. Zuko confronts Katara about her distrust of him and tries to gain her friendship. He decides to help Katara find the Fire Nation soldier responsible for killing her mother, despite Aang's warnings that violence is rarely the answer. Together they find the man, but Katara is unable to take revenge on him. After returning, Katara finally forgives Zuko. 4 stars.

17. The Ember Island Players - Sokka discovers that the Ember Island Players, a Fire Nation theatre group, is debuting a play based upon their adventures. The play turns out to be Fire Nation propaganda, and although the audience enjoys the play, Aang and his friends are embarrassed by the inaccurate and exaggerated portrayals of themselves (with the sole exception of Toph, who is amused by her depiction as a large muscled man who employs a primitive form of sonar by yelling at everything). The play ends with the Fire Nation winning the war and the Fire Lord killing the Avatar, which triggers a standing ovation from the audience and fright from Aang. 3.5 stars.

18-21. Sozin's Comet Part 1: The Phoenix King - Aang has decided to fight the Fire Lord after Sozin's Comet passes. Zuko derails this plan by revealing that Ozai intends to raze the entire Earth-Kingdom continent while under its influence. The gang begins a frantic training regime while Aang struggles with his responsibilities: his friends exhort him to simply kill Ozai, but Aang clings to the pacifist beliefs of his Air-Nomad heritage. In his sleep, Aang is drawn towards a mysterious island that appears suddenly in the sea; the next morning, his friends find June the Bounty hunter to attempt to locate him again. Ozai bequeaths his throne to Azula and declares himself "Phoenix King," ruler of the known world, while Aang awakens on the unknown island now in the middle of the sea. Sozin's Comet Part 2: The Old Masters - On the island, Aang seeks guidance from his past lives, but they too insist he must kill the Fire Lord. The island turns out to be a giant lion turtle, which gives Aang the guidance he has been seeking. After June is unable to find Aang, Zuko decides to find his uncle instead. They meet the Order of the White Lotus, its leader being Iroh. After reuniting with Iroh, the team decides to split up and go in different directions to help stop the Fire Nation: Zuko and Katara will handle Azula at the capitol of the Fire Nation; Sokka, Suki and Toph will attempt to deflect the Fire Nation airships encroaching on the Earth Kingdom, and Iroh is to lead the Order in the liberation of Ba Sing Se. Sozin's Comet arrives and the Phoenix King prepares to destroy the Earth Kingdom. Sozin's Comet Part 3: Into the Inferno - Azula's mental stability, undermined by the betrayal of her friends at the Boiling Rock, begins to deteriorate as her coronation as Fire Lord approaches. Zuko and Katara confront her, but Azula challenges her brother to a Agni Kai. Zuko, although initially winning, is gravely injured when Azula throws lighting at Katara and he dives in the way. Aang duels Ozai without result, still unwilling to kill him. Sokka, Toph, and Suki attempt to halt the Airship fleet but are soon separated, while the Order of the White Lotus battles for Ba Sing Se's freedom. Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang - Ozai accidentally causes Aang to enter the Avatar State. The Order of the White Lotus successfully liberates Ba Sing Se, while Sokka, Suki and Toph disable all of the Airships. Katara freezes and chains Azula then heals Zuko's injuries. Aang easily overwhelms Ozai, yet still refuses to kill him. Aang uses his knowledge from the lion-turtle—a new type of bending (described as "Energybending" on the Nickelodeon website)—to strip Ozai of his Firebending, defeating the Fire Lord without taking his life. Newly appointed Fire Lord Zuko declares the war over, and Aang and his friends celebrate together. Aang and Katara kiss before a sunset, thus ending the series. 3.875 stars (Dale-4, David-3.75)

2007 TV-Y7 4 discs / 16 episodes

3.70 stars. Great series. Glad we watched it and enjoyed it.