Avatar: The Last Airbender

Season 3

The Awakening

1. Aang's scar is right in the middle of his back and separates his tattoo which symbolizes his disconnection to the Avatar State.
2. This episode marks the first time we see Firelord Ozai's whole face, particularly his eyes. In previous episodes his face was only ever partially shown on screen.

The Headband

1. The popular scene where Aang and Katara dominate the dance floor with a passionate acrobatic dance together is nicknamed by fans as "The Kataango".
2. The episode is loosely based off of Footloose
3. Uncle Iroh appears but has no lines. This is possibly due to Mako, the voice actor who portrayed Iroh, passing away during season 2, and a new voice actor not yet found
4. Introduction of Combustion Man.

The Painted Lady

1. The "Invasion Schedule" that Sokka has is actually a standard schedule for animation deadlines, such as those used on the show.

Sokka's Master

1. Right near the end, Toph (Michaela Jill Murphy) earth-bends a piece of a meteorite into various shapes. The last shape is the Nickelodeon logo.
2. Master Piandao gifts Sokka with a white lotus Pai Sho tile when he finishes his training. Though not said explicitly, it is implied that through this action, Sokka has been invited to become a member of the Order of the White Lotus.
3. The design for the swordmaster, Piandao, is based on Sifu Kisu, the martial arts consultant for the series. The creators had originally wanted to use Kisu's appearance for Master Pakku, Katara's waterbending teacher from Season 1.
4. Piandao suggests Sokka use "Lee" as a fake name. In the second season, this is the name Zuko uses while hiding in the Earth Kingdom.
5. In the background of the interior of Piandao's home the design of the white lotus tile decorates the walls. The white lotus can also be seen surrounding the symbol of the Fire Nation on his front doors and on the tiles of the outdoor area the characters spar in.
6. The waterfall that Sokka is supposed to draw from memory in his training exercise is based on the waterfall Gullfoss in Iceland.
7. In supplemental material for the series it has been confirmed that Piandao was also Zuko's sword master.

The Beach

1. When Zuko leaves the party and is walking towards his childhood holiday house, we see flashes of his happier memories. One of them is of a man holding a baby, with another child next to him playinig on the beach - you could assume it would be Ozai holding Azula, with Zuko playing next to them. But if you look closely it's actually Uncle Iroh holding a baby Zuko, with Lu Ten next to them playing.

The Avatar and the Fire Lord

1. During this episode Katara ask if there are bathrooms in the Spirit World, Sokka then tells her 'as a matter of fact, there are not' this is a reference to an earlier episode when Sokka is trapped in the Spirit World for 24 hours and upon being freed he immediately needs to use the bathroom.
2. Whenever Zuko visits his Uncle in prison, Iroh is seen sitting in the light and viewed through the bars, not behind them - whereas Zuko is always in darkness with the 'camera angles' viewing him behind the bars. This symbolises Zuko's current inner turmoil and the fact that he feels trapped by his father's expectations and being loyal to his nation while still trying to figure out what is right.
3. This marks the introduction of Greg Baldwin voicing Uncle Iroh. Although Uncle Iroh has been seen in Season 3, this is the first time he has spoken since the passing of Mako, Iroh's original voice.
4. Sozin is shown riding a blue dragon and Roku a red dragon; the motif of red and blue dragons is used similarly to the concept of yin and yang in the Avatar world, with them frequently shown circling each other in a manner similar to Tui and La (the fish-shaped spirits more directly stated to represent the concept).
5. [Spoilers for The Legend of Korra] At the end of the episode Toph asks if it's really possible for a friendship to last more than a lifetime. In the sequel series The Legend of Korra, Avatar Korra bumps into an elderly Toph who says to her 'Good to see you again, Twinkle Toes' which was her nickname for Aang.
6. The title of the episode not only refers to Avatar Roku and Firelord Sozin but to The parallel story of Avatar Aang and future Firelord Zuko.

The Runaway

1. When Sokka reaches down to grab a brush to write the note to Katara, a small statue of a monkey encrusted with red gemstones can be seen briefly. It looks almost identical to the one Uncle Iroh takes/buys from the pirates in season one.
2. Combustion Man being hit in the middle of his forehead with a rock is a reference to the Biblical story of David and Goliath.
3. First time in the series Combustion Man is referred to by his given name.

The Puppetmaster

1. This is considered to be one of the darkest episodes in the series, as this was a Halloween special released in October 2007. It has many of the conventional elements of a horror film.
2. This episode was conceptualized with the name "The Dark Side of the Moon."
3. Firelord Azulon, son of Firelord Sozin, and father of Iroh and Ozai, is the one responsible for the destruction and capture of the Southern waterbenders. After he became Firelord, he attacked the Southern water tribe.
4. This episode was released in the UK during the month of October 2007 and released November 2007 in the United States.
5. During Hama's flashback, a fire nation ship is raised up in ice by waterbenders during the raid. This is the same ship seen in the first episode that Aang and Katara explore and inadvertantly set off a signal.
6. Although Katara uses bloodbending in a later episode, this is the only time the technique is actually mentioned in the series.
7. Aang does not bend any element in this episode.
8. Legend of Korra spoilers: The concept of bloodbending introduced in this episode plays a significant role in the first season of the series

Nightmares and Daydreams

1. Aang's outfit in his first dream fight scene is an homage to Dragon Ball Z (1989). His second dream fight costume is an homage to Vash the Stampede from Trigun (1998). In the third, he is wearing his traditional airbender clothes. In the final dream, the costume is meant to mirror Ozai's. In Aang's hallucination where Momo and Appa have a sword battle, Momo is dressed like the comic book character Miyamoto Usagi.
2. Aang uses the drawing of Firelord Ozai he received during his tenure at the Fire Nation school in Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Headband (2007) as target practice.
3. During the dream sequence in which Momo and Appa fight, Momo scratches his face. This may be an homage to Toshiro Mifune in Seven Samurai who scratched his face regularly.
4. What happens in the war meeting during this episode will be told to the audience later in the season.

Day of the Black Sun

1. The Boulder and Hippo were the first two competitors in the Earthbending Tournament in episode 2.6 "The Blind Bandit."
2. In this episode, the world-famous tennis player Serena Williams voices the character Ming.

Day of the Black Sun

1. Zuko deflects lightning, a technique he learned from his Uncle Iroh during the ninth episode of Book 2, 'Bitter Work' (2007).
2. First time we see Firelord Ozai lighteningbend.

The Western Air Temple

1. At the end of the episode, Aang greets Zuko with the Fire Nation greeting he learned during S3E2.

The Firebending Masters

1. The Sun Warriors chant is the same tune as the one that plays during the credits of the show.
2. First time any form of bending is referred to as a martial art.
3. The Sun Warrior Chief uses words such as 'decline' and 'disappearance' when talking about the dragons which is a subtle foreshadowing of the fact that there are still dragons in existence.

The Boiling Rock: Part 1

1. This is the only episode featuring Toph where she doesn't use earth-bending, except to see when she is walking.
2. This episode marks the first time Zuko uses both Sokka and Aang's names. Although he doesn't actually say Aang's name until a later episode, he does write it on a note he left for him which Katara reads out.

The Boiling Rock

The Southern Raiders

1. The voice actor of Katara and Sokka's mother, Kya, is the same woman who plays Azula, Grey DeLisle.
2. Kya was the original plan for Katara's name before they decided on Katara.
3. The Southern Raiders uniform is taken after their mascot, a Sea Raven. An animal we never see in the Avatar world.
4. This is the second and final time we see Katara use blood bending in the series.

The Ember Island Players

1. Derek Basco, who plays Actor Zuko, is the brother of Dante Basco, the voice actor for Zuko.
2. The design of the poster for the play mimics the design of the DVD cover for the complete first season.
3. The Ember Island play actually spoofs the series itself, and the play's characters are mostly caricature versions of the series characters. In a more subtle spoof, Sokka notes that it was really unclear in the play whether Jet and "Combustion Man" died or not. This ambiguity is true for the series itself. Also, Toph says that she prefers herself being played by a big muscular guy. Originally, Toph was indeed supposed to be a big guy, and not a very small girl. The name of the play is "The Boy in the Iceberg" - just like the first episode of the series.
4. "Actor" Azula is voiced by Grey DeLisles's friend Tara Strong (who had done some additional voice work on in the series ).
5. John DiMaggio who voices the Actor Toph on this episode has worked with Dante Basco (Zuko) and Mae Whitman (Katara) on another animated series, American Dragon: Jake Long. DiMaggio voices the title character's talking dog/animal guardian. Basco voices the title character Jake while Whitman voices his love interest Rose.
6. The portrayal of Aang by a woman in the play, is a nod to past productions of Peter Pan. Traditionally the character of Pan is played by a small woman instead of using a 8- 10 year old boy.
7. The poster that the Ember Island Players use to promote the play is a nod to the Book 1 DVD Collection cover of Avatar the Last Airbender.

Sozin's Comet

1. The music playing in the tavern at the end of the episode is the same music playing during an earlier episode 'The Headband' when Aang and Katara dance together. The dance is affectionately referred to by fans as the 'Kataango'
2. During this episode Aang is struggling with the concept of taking someone's life and he suggests using 'glue bending' to stick the Firelords arms and legs together so he can no longer firebend. In the final showdown between them, Aang does actually defeat Ozai by taking away his ability to firebend, not with glue, but with a technique he learnt from a giant lion turtle.

Sozin's Comet

1. When Aang talks to his previous lives, you could hear elemental sounds as they leave.
2. This is the first appearance of Avatar Kuruk, the avatar that preceeded Avatar Kyoshi.

Sozin's Comet

1. This episode shares a title with the video game based on Book 3 of Avatar, entitled "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Into the Inferno".

Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

1. Zuko, a firebender, saves Katara, a waterbender, by redirecting lighting, a technique his uncle Iroh invented following the principles of waterbending. Katara ultimately defeats Azula with a trick based on breathing, which is described as the foundation of firebending. This shows the fluidity and adaptability of the members of Team Avatar and the power of cooperation. Moreover, Katara's presence at Zuko's side, standing by her friend, is also in stark contrast to the loneliness of Azula, who lost the friendship of Mai and Ty Lee.
2. Aang removes Firelord Ozai's ability to firebend. This ability plays a significant roll in first season of The Legend of Korra (2012).