"The First Lady just asked me to go get boozy with her. Don't you think I want to write a book some day?"

Among other things, this scene (and the whole episode) does a good job of showcasing Azula's superficial charm, which masks the menace beneath and how she alternately inspires terror and an intense desire for approval and validation (we get to see that more in Return to Omashu), a trait common to almost all…

Yeah, excellent point. The Zuko of Season 1 (and still for most of 2) understands his trauma as a deeply personal one, something that sets him apart and makes him special in a way, and this episode is the first step toward him recognizing that his trauma connects him to other people.

Just thought of something
I hadn't watched Cave of Two Lovers in a really long time. I always remembered it as a mediocre episode, for some reason. But there's a neat, subtle moment when the Earth Kingdom girl (forget her name) shows Zuko her scars and says something about the Fire Nation having hurt him too. It…

Yeah, I was indifferent to most of the Season 2 stand-alones, just because the Toph episodes and the whole back half of the season are so awesome, but Cave of Two Lovers is much better than I remembered. Same goes for Avatar Day.

Yeah, the whole introduction to Azula, including that bit of dialogue and the training scene ("Almost isn't good enough) is inspired. Easily one of my favorite character, good or evil, of all time.

I doubt it's an explicit callback, but the connection is there nonetheless. As I understand it, in some Asian (and Native American) cultures, cutting one's hair is a sign of mourning and/or shame.

Yeah, it's important not to overthink it. Schwing's answer seems pretty convincing.

I used to have a theory that Azula was Ozai's preferred heir from childhood and that the Agni Kai between Zuko and Ozai was the culmination of the latter's subtle attempts to get rid of him.

Also: "I'm sorry. I forgot you have baby skin."

Avatar Thermodynamics
I try not to obsess too much about the physics of the world of Magical Kung-fu Jesus, but I've always been curious about the control firebenders have over the heat going into/out of their own bodies. I guess Zuko is capable of preventing heat from escaping his body in freezing cold water that…

The shipping wars are among the least interesting aspects of this show, for me.

There's precedent for that kind of insecurity/paranoia downward spiral in the real world too. Stalin started jailing/executing members of his own party at one point. Actually, I think that's part of the Psychopathic Dictator Handbook.

This episode also introduces us to the fact that Iroh—seemingly alone among the Fire Nation characters—understands communal interdependence in a culture that seems to be dominated by people obsessed with the single-minded, narcissistic pursuit of individual or national "destiny."

I get chills when Aang says in Avatar voice, "No, it's not over," and disappears into the pool. Very well executed.

I'm slightly ashamed of it, but I weep openly at the Yue death scene every goddamn time I watch this episode.

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