This episode unexpectedly gives us some insight on what exactly happened to Katara and Sokka’s village before they were born.
This is some smart synergy between the writing and art departments. The nice woman’s secret isn’t some one-off story created for the episode, it’s directly related to some of our main characters.
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The episode takes place at night during a full moon because, as previously established, that’s when waterbenders are their most powerful. I appreciate how these tropes are used not just for the visuals, but because they make sense in the show’s world. Once again, it’s fitting that this confrontation takes place in the forest, this time under a full moon. And by the end, Hama has a long monologue that itself is a scary story, but one that truly happened to her.
As the episode goes on, we see some typical horror tropes: people mysteriously going missing the nice woman who seems to be hiding a dark secret most scenes taking place at night. As any horror writer can tell you, there’s something primal about the forest that incites fear in people. It’s fitting that the episode starts with the kids sitting around a campfire at night and telling scary stories. In large part, that’s because the team goes all-in on the horror aspects here, from a structural perspective through to the tiny visual details. This is the second horror-themed episode the show has done, and I think this one is much more successful than the previous attempt. Welcome back for another weekly review of Avatar! This week, we go straight for the jugular with a waterbending horror episode.