Alright, I am calm... now I can explain why the first episode of season three disappointed me so... it was too much of a good thing. We had all this epic, emotional stuff going on but all of it could only happen in 22 minutes, we had Aang, Zuko, and Katara who all needed to develop and yet only Katara could really sort out her emotions in the end in a reasonable manner.

Characters:

Aang: Aang was being angsty for good reasons yet I couldn't really care, I understand why he's sad, but he only spends a few moments of being truly sad after we know why he's so upset before he runs away, then he's upset again, then he's alright... He was frustrated he couldn't fight and- I just didn't feel very sympathetic for him, which is sad since Aang is the hero and we should be able to sympathize with him.

And his hair looked bad and it was black, it's supposed to be deep brown.

Katara: She was probably the most emotional. She was mad with her father for seemingly no reason at first yet later she admitted her confused feelings and could overcome them, she was supportive and protective of Aang, and she was worried about everything. Yet she appears almost bipolar with her short appearances. Thankfully, we witness Katara confess her problems and overcome them in a reasonable manner. I still feel cheated. I was so... happy when Katara was crying because of her father, because she got her chance to be relatable and realistic. Way to go Katara!

Sokka: He didn't do much, he was unnaturally optimistic and didn't understand Aang's feelings (not that he ever really does but still). Sokka certainly did more in this episode than usual in previous episodes, but his presence was still lacking in favor of Aang, Katara, and Zuko. Sokka had better become more important because the only non-bender to the main cast deserves it.

Toph: Not surprisingly, Toph is once again comic relief, muscle, and part of the background. That is all.

Zuko: WTF! ZUKO AND MAI ARE ALREADY TOGETHER, no explanation at all! But as it turns out, their relationship does develop… in the comic included in the Avatar issue of Nick magazine; Zuko and Mai apparently had a MUTUAL childhood crush... dear goodness, they don't have to develop their relationship in the show at all, it was already done in the unseen childhood and comic book... this is disgusting. Not Maizu, I don't mind their relationship, but in how their relationship is treated; no need for them to struggle or anything, they already like each other so they'll be fine apparently.

When Zuko reunited with his father I felt absolutely no tension at all. Two seasons of doubt and pain dropped dead in this one minute reunion... I felt so cheated. We already know why Zuko is so nervous and concerned with meeting his father, but a brief reprieve would have been nice especially since we haven't seen any Avatar episodes for about 10 ½ months; but with the one liners of Zuko saying how nervous he is only to be greeted by jokes or answers that have nothing to do with him, you don't feel any tension or apprehension.

Nothing happened between father and son, Zuko has no reaction to his father, only towards his sister. Zuko doesn't react, nor does Ozai, it's just an exchange of words, maybe this can be expected from Ozai, but Zuko has spent three years and two seasons obsessing with pleasing his father but he doesn't seem to care… at all.

Azula: Awesome! Her role was unfairly small yet she still managed to be a manipulative b****, BRAVO! She looked strange without makeup and her hair in a ponytail, but her plain appearance was more attractive than her normal one. I'm glad with how Azula turned out; I just wish she had a little more time. I confess... I actually believed for a moment that she really wanted to help Zuko, I know, I was stupid, but I really wanted to believe in her. Nonetheless, her plot is so subtle and simple; I love how she can so easily make Zuko crazy and control him so simply.

Ozai: …I don't know what to say… he certainly didn't seem to be the same guy that appeared as only a mouth, nose, and body; he actually praised Zuko and welcomed him back… There was no real explanation; Ozai didn't really admit how proud he was of Zuko… This was a horrible reunion since it wasn't heartfelt on Zuko's part and was OOC on Ozai's.

His face suddenly popping into view hurt me. There was no tension leading to this, I expected some gruff leader trying to find the right words to thank his son with, but he was instead an almost loving father… WTF!

Mai: Weird... not much else; I have to admit, despite her romance with Zuko, she did remain in character for which I am glad.

Duke and Pipsqueak: Duke and Pipsqueak's sudden appearance was weird; no inquiry was made of what neither happened to the Freedom Fighters nor was any mention made of Jet. This could have been a great reunion especially since Aang and Pipsqueak seemed to have become good friends, but they only have a few lines and do nothing else aside from help Toph shoot rocks. This should have been heartfelt and sweet but it's glossed over.

Hakoda and Bato: Hakoda was okay but he never sounded too emotional. Bato did nothing... which doesn't seem right since an episode was once named for him.

Plot:

The GIANT, GAPING loophole consisting of Zuko being forgiven and thanked by his father for killing Aang despite the enormous effort placed into trying to capture Aang alive. But this is never mentioned at all. This only happened so Zuko can scheme to kill Aang.

A really random fight takes place for a random reason to show off Katara and Toph's bending... a lot of time that could have been spent developing characters.

The Earth King didn't stick with the gang like we thought, he just dressed up as a commoner, ditched Bosco's clothes, and left to see the world. How CAN he? He's lived in the palace his entire life and now he's going to see the world with his one of a kind pet bear as a ride and companion. They're both going to die.

Yue suddenly pops up in a manner reminiscent of an unneeded Deus Ex Machina to do some super Waterbending which wasn't really needed; what was the point? Avatar Roku also pops in for some supposed words of wisdom… kind of makes you wonder why he hasn't just popped into Aang's eyesight before instead of dragging his spirit out of his body.

Apparently, all Aang has to do is wear something over his arrow to disguise himself one again. You'd think that his friends would be more careful now that Aang's identity is even more precious but since the Avatar people are visually handicapped like the Pokemon people, Aang should be fine. I bet he could wear a shirt that said "I am not the Avatar" and he could stroll into the FN capitol.

Aang immediately reunites with the gaang... so running away was rather pointless because they find him the next day and everything is hunky-dory.

And let's not forget all of the really important stuff that happens in the comic not the show: Maizu actually happening, the Earth King deciding to remain with his beloved Bosco, and the gaang finding Hakoda. Why couldn't we have seen this as an episode?

*Sigh* so, this episode was very epic, but it was all crammed into 22 minutes. This could have been a TV movie, in fact, it should have been, we waited 10 ½ months without even the old Avatar episodes to pass the time. This episode had enough emotional turmoil to be longer and it certainly deserved more time to flesh out all of the characters. So, the episode is pretty cool, but I'm still annoyed in how rushed it is.