Book Three: Fire

This article is about the third book of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For the third book of The Legend of Korra, see Book Three: Change.

The Complete Book 3 Collection's cover features Avatar Aang in the foreground with a depiction of Fire Lord Ozai's face in the background.

Book Three: Fire (火) is the title of the third and final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and the sequel to Book Two: Earth. The title refers to the Avatar Cycle: water, earth, fire, and air, and the book primarily focuses on the story of Aang learning firebending in order to become a fully realized Avatar. It consisted of twenty-one chapters.

The season began on September 21, 2007, with the airing of "The Awakening", and ended on July 19, 2008, with "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King", "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno", and "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang" all airing on that date. It was followed by several comic trilogies and a sequel, The Legend of Korra, starting with Book One: Air. The series stars Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Greg Baldwin (replacing Mako Iwamatsu as Iroh, who died in July 2006), Grey DeLisle, and Mark Hamill as the main character voices.

Official summary

"Having survived the terrible battle with Azula, Aang faces new challenges as he and his brave friends secretly enter the Fire Nation. Their quest is to find and defeat Firelord Ozai. Along the way, they discover that Ozai has plans of his own. The leader of the Fire Nation intends to use the massive power of Sozin's comet to spread his dominion permanently across the four nations. Short on time, Aang has a lot of bending to learn and no master to help him learn it. However, his friends are there to help, and he finds unexpected allies deep in the heart of the Fire Nation. In the spectacular four-part conclusion, Aang must fulfill his destiny and become a fully realized Avatar, or watch the world go up in smoke. This deluxe box set includes all 21 action-packed chapters from Book 3: Fire."

Episodes

01 | The Awakening Original air date: September 21, 2007 Written by: Aaron Ehasz Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 301 Summary: Aang wakes up on a Fire Nation cruiser with hair after having been in a coma for a few weeks. Zuko returns home after restoring his honor.

02 | The Headband Original air date: September 28, 2007 Written by: John O'Bryan Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 302 Summary: Mistaken for a Fire Nation school student, a disguised Aang is forced to enroll in a Fire Nation school but finds trouble obeying the rules. Aang's hair helped to disguise him better with his headband. Meanwhile, Zuko tries to confront Iroh in his prison cell. He later hires Combustion Man to kill Aang in secret.

03 | The Painted Lady Original air date: October 5, 2007 Written by: Joshua Hamilton Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 303 Summary: When the group travels to a starving fishing village, they meet a mysterious spirit.

04 | Sokka's Master Original air date: October 12, 2007 Written by: Tim Hedrick Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 304 Summary: Sokka feels as though he is not contributing to the team because he lacks bending abilities, so he seeks out a swordmaster who will teach him the way of the sword. He later goes on to make a sword out of a meteorite.

05 | The Beach Original air date: October 19, 2007 Written by: Katie Mattila Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 305 Summary: Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee go on vacation to Lo and Li's beach house, where they learn much about themselves and each other. Meanwhile, Aang and the rest of the team are being chased by the man, sent by Zuko, who fires explosive blasts with his mind from a tattooed "third eye".

06 | The Avatar and the Fire Lord Original air date: October 26, 2007 Written by: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 306 Summary: Aang and Zuko are taken on parallel adventures, which give them both insight into their forefather's pasts.

07 | The Runaway Original air date: November 2, 2007 Written by: Joshua Hamilton Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 307 Summary: Katara expresses her disapproval when Toph discovers a way to make quick cash, resulting in a rift that leaves the group vulnerable and produces nearly disastrous consequences after the arrival of Combustion Man.

08 | The Puppetmaster Original air date: November 9, 2007 Written by: Tim Hedrick Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 308 Summary: The gang looks into strange disappearances in a spooky town. There, an old lady named Hama teaches Katara some secret waterbending techniques.

09 | Nightmares and Daydreams Original air date: November 16, 2007 Written by: John O'Bryan Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 309 Summary: The group arrives at the rendezvous point for the invasion four days ahead of schedule with Aang beginning to feel nervous about the fast-approaching confrontation with the Fire Lord, leading him to have nightmares and subsequently stop sleeping entirely.

10 | The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion Original air date: November 30, 2007 Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 310 Summary: It is the Day of Black Sun and the group meets up with the invasion force with Aang ready to take on the Fire Lord. However, they soon realize things are not going to go according to plan and their surprise attack is not so unexpected.

11 | The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse Original air date: November 30, 2007 Written by: Aaron Ehasz Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 311 Summary: The eclipse has started and the gang only has a few minutes to infiltrate an underground bunker and find and defeat Ozai. Zuko confronts his father and learns about his mother's banishment while Aang, Sokka, and Toph fight Azula and her Dai Li agents.

12 | The Western Air Temple Original air date: July 14, 2008 Written by: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz & Tim Hedrick Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 312 Summary: The gang leaves the Fire Nation, humbled and embarrassed by the failure of the invasion. They head to the Western Air Temple. However, unbeknownst to them, Zuko is also following them in the hope of joining their group to teach Aang firebending.

13 | The Firebending Masters Original air date: July 15, 2008 Written by: John O'Bryan Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 313 Summary: Aang prepares to start his firebending training only for Zuko to realize he has lost all his firebending power, as he no longer draws his firebending power from rage, anger, and his desire to capture Aang. They journey to find the true source of firebending.

14 | The Boiling Rock, Part 1 Original air date: July 16, 2008 Written by: May Chan Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 314 Summary: Sokka and Zuko break into the Boiling Rock Prison, the Fire Nation's highest security prison, to rescue Hakoda. When they develop an escape plan after finding out Hakoda is not there, other prisoners become involved and ruin it. Now the two and a recently discovered Suki have to find another way out of the inescapable fortress.

15 | The Boiling Rock, Part 2 Original air date: July 16, 2008 Written by: Joshua Hamilton Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 315 Summary: Sokka, Hakoda, Zuko, and Suki form a new escape plan, but it is complicated by the arrival of Princess Azula. In a desperate bid for freedom, the four escape due to the assistance of Mai, leaving Azula shocked and dismayed.

16 | The Southern Raiders Original air date: July 17, 2008 Written by: Elizabeth Welch Ehasz Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 316 Summary: Katara and Zuko journey together to find the man responsible for the death of Katara's mother, Kya, who was killed in a Southern Water Tribe raid.

17 | The Ember Island Players Original air date: July 18, 2008 Written by: Tim Hedrick, Joshua Hamilton & John O'Bryan Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 317 Summary: The gang goes to the Ember Island theater to see a play about their journeys, but are not happy with the production and the inaccurate portrayals of themselves.

18 | Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King Original air date: July 19, 2008 Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino Directed by: Ethan Spaulding Production number: 318 Summary: Aang is informed of Ozai's plans to burn down the Earth Kingdom with an airship fleet. He disappears during the night, having sleepwalked onto a mysterious moving island. His friends cannot find him and seek aid from June. Meanwhile, Ozai is crowned Phoenix King.

19 | Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters Original air date: July 19, 2008 Written by: Aaron Ehasz Directed by: Giancarlo Volpe Production number: 319 Summary: The gang finds Iroh with June's help. Iroh suggests that Zuko challenge Azula for the position of Fire Lord, with Katara to help. The others decide to intercept the airship fleet. Meanwhile, Aang comes to the conclusion that he must kill Ozai after talking to previous Avatars only to find out the island he was on was a lion turtle. Sozin's Comet finally returns.

20 | Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno Original air date: July 19, 2008 Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 320 Summary: Sokka, Toph, and Suki begin destroying the airship fleet. Aang duels Ozai, but is soon overwhelmed because of his reluctance to kill him. Zuko fights Azula in an Agni Kai, but is shot by lightning in the process of saving Katara from the oncoming bolt.

21 | Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang Original air date: July 19, 2008 Written by: Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko Directed by: Joaquim Dos Santos Production number: 321 Summary: Katara eventually defeats Azula by trapping her in ice and heals Zuko, driving Azula into insanity. Sokka, Toph, and Suki destroy the airship fleet. Aang defeats Ozai after going into the Avatar State and removes his bending abilities. Afterward, Zuko is crowned Fire Lord, and Aang and Katara share a kiss.

The episodes were first released on four DVDs, with five episodes per DVD (except for the last DVD, which contained six episodes), before a box set containing all twenty-one episodes of the season was marketed. The DVDs were initially released throughout 2007 and 2008.

DVD Volume title	Episodes	Release date
Avatar The Last Airbender – Book 3: Fire, Volume 1	"The Awakening", "The Headband", "The Painted Lady", "Sokka's Master", "The Beach"	October 30, 2007
Avatar The Last Airbender – Book 3: Fire, Volume 2	"The Avatar and the Fire Lord", "The Runaway", "The Puppetmaster", "Nightmares and Daydreams", "The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion"	January 22, 2008
Avatar The Last Airbender – Book 3: Fire, Volume 3	"The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse", "The Western Air Temple", "The Firebending Masters", "The Boiling Rock, Part 1", "The Boiling Rock, Part 2"	May 6, 2008
Avatar The Last Airbender – Book 3: Fire, Volume 4	"The Southern Raiders", "The Ember Island Players", "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King", "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters", "Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into the Inferno", "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang"	July 29, 2008
Avatar The Last Airbender – The Complete Book 3 Collection	All episodes of Book Three – see above	September 16, 2008

Cast

Starring	Zach Tyler Eisen Mae Whitman Jack DeSena Dante Basco Jessie Flower Dee Bradley Baker Greg Baldwin Grey DeLisle Mark Hamill

Trivia

• The season-finale aired as a two-hour television movie viewed by 5.59 million viewers in the U.S. This is the highest rating both series have ever had.
• This book has the most chapters in the Avatar franchise, reaching 21 episodes.
• Like the previous seasons, the third book received critical acclaim and won several awards, including "Best Animated Television Production for Children" at the 2008 Annie Awards.
• Greg Baldwin becomes the new voice of Iroh this season, replacing Mako Iwamatsu, who passed away in 2006.

See also

• Avatar Extras (Book Three: Fire)
• Book One: Water
• Book Two: Earth
• List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes