Book 1, Chapter 9: The Waterbending Scroll

The Waterbending Scroll is a fun episode that, for the first time, focuses on Aang and Katara learning waterbending. So far in the series, Aang can only waterbend in the Avatar State, and Katara, as a result of her lack of formal training, possesses merely a rudimentary understanding of the waterbending forms. On their way to the North Pole, Katara decides to teach Aang the few waterbending moves she knows. With only approximately 9 months left to master all the elements, Aang must practice bending every chance he gets!

I think they found some "water to splash in." 😜

This episode is also notable for the first appearance of Iroh's board game of choice, Pai Sho. Some of you may not be aware of this, but over the years, dedicated fans have compiled a set of rules for playing Pai Sho and have even made the game available online! How amazing is that? Click HERE to read the rules and play the wonderful game of Pai Sho. If it's Iroh's favorite game, then it must be worth checking out!

Iroh explains his reasoning for changing course, "Most people think the Lotus tile insignificant, but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ." Do you think it silly that Iroh would change course for a game? Later in the episode, we learn that this change in fact led them straight to the Avatar... Is this merely a strange coincidence? You decide...

Here we see Katara teaching Aang some basic waterbending moves. Because Aang is already a master airbender, he is able to translate those skills to water quite easily. This is most apparent when he shows Katara how to "shift through the stances."

You may be thinking, "Well this is too easy, at this rate he'll be a waterbending master by the end of the week!" Similarly to air, water is all about change and flow, but on the other hand, earth and fire are about maintaining firm, unmovable stances and a strong will. It would be understandable that Aang may not be able to pick up on the other elements as quickly.

HAHA, I'd have this look too if I saw a tsunami barreling towards me!

Here's an up-close look at the waterbending scroll. The main move that Katara and Aang learn is the water whip, which appears to be the 3rd illustration down.

"Okay, two copper pieces!"
"It's not as amusing the second time, boy."

My only wish is for someone to love my blogs even a quarter as much as this man loves his cabbages. Considering how much he adores cabbage, this is probably pretty unreasonable, I know. 😋

Is it right to steal, even if it's from pirates? This episode brings up the moral grey area surrounding the issue, but it's apparent there's no moral white spot to land. This is because the answer is always no; stealing makes you just as bad as the pirates. I think this was an important issue to delve into, especially for the children who grew up watching the show.

Iroh's Tsungi Horn he buys at the village is actually an amazing piece of continuity in season 1. Iroh says that he will use it for music night. Indeed, he keeps his promise and is later seen playing it on multiple occasions. Also, the soundtrack changes to add the Tsungi Horn in an iconic upcoming theme! Pretty neat.

This may be easy to miss, and of course it's not significant in any way, but Iroh's face mimics the ruby crested monkey statue he bought on the pirate ship. For a nice finishing touch, a monkey screech was added in the background. Maybe this was meant to be humorous, but I find it pretty creepy... I don't like monkeys!

"I'll save you from the pirates."

Iroh can be straight up savage when he wants to! I love this part:
Katara says, "Aang, this is all my fault."
"No Katara, it isn't."
Iroh quips, "Yeah, it kind of is."

Momo has helped the group in a couple ways so far. In the last episode (The Winter Solstice: Avatar Roku), he went into Roku's chamber to fool the fire sages. Here, he steps up to unbind Katara!

Just a cool screenshot. Aang quickly realized his mistake and pulled the smoke back in.

Now we're at my favorite part of the episode! While the pirate captain and Zuko are busy fighting, the Gaang manages to steal the pirate ship!
Iroh scolds, "Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?!"
"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" Zuko retorts.
Iroh counters, "It's no proverb," and points to the ship.

Zuko just laughs at the whole thing. Wait a second, WHAATTT? Wanna know how many times he laughs in the series? Twice, including this one!
(...and what the hell is up with Iroh's face? lmao)

Well, in an extremely ironic twist, the remaining pirates are immediately seen at the helm of Zuko's ship!
What makes this whole scene great is what Iroh wonders next.
"Maybe it should be a proverb."

It is moments like these that elevate this show to new heights.

Now on with the chase! While the pirates and chasing the Gaang down the river, neither of them realize the grave danger lying ahead. One could say they were they too busy fighting to see it...

Momo gets his own action scene!

The bison whistle saved the Gaang!

Iroh had the Lotus tile in his sleeve the whole time! Still think it's a coincidence?? Seems like playing cat and mouse with the Avatar is just a big game to our beloved Uncle Iroh...

Again, I don't think the ending message was "It's OK to steal if it's already stolen." That's obviously more of a lighthearted joke to end the episode on. The real moral issues with stealing were addressed during the episode. The overall message is that stealing is wrong because it attacks your moral fiber; your own character is what's at stake.
It was nice to see Katara as a flawed human being. The show explores more of her flaws in the future, and because they are well-written, they end up highlighting her strengths.

Conclusion: Admittedly, this episode becomes better on a rewatch of the series. Seeds were planted here for them to emerge later on. Many scenes foreshadowed future events, so I obviously can't describe them here. Besides, it's more fun to come back to this episode later and discover them yourself.

There were some continuity errors. For instance, Katara's necklace is briefly drawn on her neck in the pirate ship, even though Zuko currently has it. Additionally, there was no way the pirates could have portaged their boats up the waterfall to arrive at the Gaang's camp. Honestly I don't really care about these small things and they can be easily overlooked, but it is more noticeable than in other episodes.

I thought the message about stealing was pretty well-handled and executed. The important questions about Aang's waterbending training were addressed. I thought the pirates were really cool side characters. Overall, it was a good episode.

I give The Waterbending Scroll a 7/10.

Thank you for reading! I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to improve my blog. I'd love to hear from you!

Don't worry, I have A LOT of great things planned for future episodes. These first few are widely considered the weakest, and I have to agree. I still enjoy the hell outa them though!