HOKAY.

So this episode was AWESOME. Like, magical beef layered with happy cheese and coated with AWESOME SAUCE and rolled into one big WONDERFUL BURRITO OF PURE WIN.

Man, when Zuko saved her from the falling rocks I think I had a heart attack. And he wasn't very quick to get off either. HEE!

And then WTF is up with Zuko all of a sudden? That's been like, 3 times he's FLOWN in a matter of TWO episodes. IN A ROW. Seriously.
Also, has anyone noticed that Azula's face has been drawn differently lately? It looks older and scarier and- forgive me for saying so- sort of ugly. But when her hair can out, I just grabbed the computer and was like, "DAMN, AZULA IS A HOTTIE!" You can't deny it, the girl has GREAT hair.

But Katara...whoo, Katara. I mean, I've stood by her the whole time; defending her rights to be a bitch. Even her distainful little "haha" could be understood...kinda. But when she whipped out that, "Bring my mother back" my mouth just dropped. Come on now, Katara. Though I don't think anything compared with her remark to Sokka.
"Then you just didn't love her the way I did."
DAYUM. That was COLD. It freaked me out, I'll tell ya.

And then- SUKKA SEX!!!
Zuko cock-blocks not once, but TWO times! It must run in the family. XD
I gotta tell ya, I loved Suki's reaction. I'm not a big Suki fan (no pun intended), but it's those little lines of hers that repeatedly restore her in my good books.

And so Zuko waited. And waited. And waited. He waited ALL NIGHT. There's some dedication right there.
It was freakin' adorable!!!

Was it just me, or did it seem like Zuzu was kinda playing the part of the groupie? You know, with his whole, "goody guru" thing? Like he was acting like the child who wants to be accepted and liked by the cool kid so they agree with everything they say? Probably; I mean, that IS what he was trying to do for the most part, right?
So they attempt steal Appa. Of course.

The flashback was so sad! And Baby!Katara was just too adorable. But WHOA! Her mom looked completely different from how I had pictured. But I like canon!Kya better than my version, so that was awesome. Also, she has blueprint!Katara's name, which I suspected she might. (so many exclamation points....)

Zuko was awesome in this episode. He stood by Katara the whole time and didn't give up on the mission. Part of it might have been because he was afraid that she wouldn't forgive him if they didn't find her mother's killer, but he also genuinely wanted her to come to a closure. It wasn't just for his sake. Why? Because he really CARES about her. It's like he said to Sokka, he cares about how she thinks of him- you don't care that much if you just don't want someone glaring daggers at you all the time.

And the hug. Oh, the HUG. It was beautiful, tear-wrenching, and pulled at everyone Zutarian's heartstrings.
Her voice was soft and welcoming to him. It was closure from Ba Sing Se- something she's been needing for over half a season. When she wrapped her arms around him and he held her tightly in his, and they closed their eyes, and breathed in their new friendship; their bond...well, for that moment, everything was right in the world. Their was no Firelord, there was no war, no hate, no sadness, no destruction; just a boy and a girl together under a sunset coming to a new understanding. New feelings. Maybe not love- not YET. But a close bond that couldn't be broken.

The only thing that really left me confused was...how the HELL did Aang get there? I'm under the impression that they took Appa to a faraway island. Did he fly there? Why? What was the point, Aang?
Or maybe I'm being dumb and they had already gone back to their campsite. But it looked just like the island where they had attacked the retired Raider....oh, I can never remember new character's names! The one with no real feelings and mommy issues (with good reason. What a BI-OTCH. Seriously, who can't chew tomatoes?). Besides, why wasn't Sokka there with him? Surely it would be a bigger deal for him than for Aang?


Anyway, it was a fantastic episode. 'Nuff said.

NOW ONTO THE EIP PREVIEW.

HOLY AGNI, YUE, TUI, AND LA THEY HAD THE FUCKING CAVE SCENE! I KNEW IT!!!

"I thought you were the Avatar's girl!"
"Why, he's like a little brother to me!"

FIRST OFF: Zuko's hair!!! And the scar is STILL on the wrong side!

SECONDLY: DO NOT FEAR. The cave scene involves Zuko and Katara, most likely in a romantic situation- otherwise "Zuko's" line wouldn't be in there. This will undoubtedly provoke embarrassment and awkwardness from both Zuko and Katara. After all, they're sitting RIGHT next to each other. No where to hide.
Now NOTE KATARA'S FACE. It has the guilty look again. By now, she knows Aang's feelings for her and the actor's choice of words isn't helping the situation she's in. That is: SHE DOES NOT LOVE AANG THE WAY HE LOVES HER. Her face says it all, really. She's looking away from him so as not to have to show him her guilt. But when Aang has her backed into a corner outside, what does she say? "Now just isn't the right time." To which he responds with, "when is the right time?" The answer is, NEVER. Yes, that's right, I said NEVER.

Now, I've thought this out for a while. I know many of you are worried that it may come up again after the finale with a "right now" or something of the sort, but it won't.
I admit that it bothered me too at first, but remember that Nick has been showing previews that look like they lean towards Kataang. Ok, but look at all the Zutara moments they have left out of the commercials. They didn't even include the hug in TSR trailer! Come on, now!
Truth is, the previews have been leading us in the wrong direction. Because I'm pretty darn sure Kataang is near its close. Zutara IS leading somewhere. It's getting closer and closer to canon, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Another thing to point out is the kiss in DOBS when Katara looks away with regret and guilt.
Now, I was worried that the look on her face then might have been dealing with the whole, "not the right time" deal, BUT! Even if she wanted it to go somewhere but didn't think it could work then, she still would have said something of the sort. After all, she was so SURE that Aang would come back after defeating the FL. Wouldn't she be happy that they could be together after the war ended? Wouldn't the kiss earn some sort of smile, some kind of revealing? If that was the case, then yes. But it wasn't. And honestly, they haven't had any time together after it to talk about their feelings or for her to "grow to love him". Gimme a break, she likes him or she doesn't! That's how it is in Avatar for all three seasons and don't expect it to change much in the span of 5 episodes. Now I'm not saying she won't start to like Zuko in that amount of time. Five episodes is enough time to start to like someone, definitely, but if nothing has changed between Aang and Katara after a KISS then I seriously doubt it will. Romantically anyways. But Zuko and Katara have bonded very deeply and will even more as the episodes progress. They understand each other and are on similar levels that Aang and Katara will never be on. They are so very alike that they can't help but be drawn to one another.

Now, I do think that it's important to be prepared if a show should take any sharp turn and that is why I think that every shipper should be ready for their ship missing the finish line. It's hard to do, and may still result in tears, but it's important. That means Zutarians, try to be prepared for Kataang, and Kataangers try to be prepared for Zutara.

I still do believe that Zutara will become canon though. There is so much evidence and foreshadowing and chemistry between them that it would be nearly impossible for it not to.
While I may be on my guard, I'm waving my flag prouder than ever. In fact, when I saw the EIP preview I thought to myself, "I think I want Zutara to become canon more than ever before." I seriously LOVE this ship you guys. With all my heart. And I know you do too.

Crunchy, signing out for now.