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Stephen B Baines

I think this episode starts to make sense IF you suspend your previous knowledge of the characters like Wong Shi Tong or Koh or Hei Bei from ATLA and think of it as a confusing journey into the spirit world with many diverse characters, like you get with Korra. This was an establishing episode for the spirit world in this version. I think we will see each of these characters again in future seasons. As for this episode, Katara, Sokka and Aang have to confront their trauma, insecurity, and guilt before they move on - like Zuko and his crew have to confront their issues in the next episode. It's a little heavy handed, but I think done in a way that has impact. Hei Bei's anger releases the fog of souls in his/her anger and pain, and Koh preys on the results. Wong Shi Tong is a spirit, so belongs here - but his role as herald may mean we don't get the library episode in the second season. The scene at the very end of this season supports that impression.

Natalie

I didn't like this episode when I first watched, but it's grown on me. My first impression was that they were trying to see just how many plots they could take elements from for a specific outcome. Once I started to look at the parts individually and acknowledge how they do fit together, it sat better with me. Bringing in Korra stuff early is fine. The fog is established as cannon in the spirit world, so it can be present here. It's not like they added a plot point from Korra. It makes sense for Koh to use the fog as a feeding ground, since in the og show he fed on you showing emotions, and the fog elicits your worst memories. Similar to Iroh in Korra, Gyatso chose the spirit world after he died so he could tell Aang the genocide wasn't his fault. Wan Shi Tong is a spirit, so I guess it's fine that he's here, but I do feel they mainly included him for fan service. The main thing that still doesn't sit right with me though is Hakoda. He always believed in Sokka as a warrior. It feels like they changed his character just so Sokka could have a convenient traumatic memory to use.