The Promise: The Omnibus (Parts 1-3)

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, graphic violence, and death. In particular, this section deals with issues of colonialism, cultural appropriation, and genocide.

In a dream sequence, the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom armies go to war. Zuko and Aang stand on a cliff overlooking the battlefield, with Avatar Roku’s spirit standing behind Aang and Ozai’s spirit standing behind Zuko. As Ozai urges Zuko to embrace his power over the Fire Nation, Zuko says, “I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling lost” (157). At this moment, Roku tells Aang to fulfill his promise to kill Zuko, and Zuko agrees. Aang enters the avatar state, prepared to kill Zuko, but as he does so, Zuko looks to Roku and sees the spirit of his mother, Ursa, standing behind him. Startled, he yells at Aang to stop. Both Aang and Zuko wake up from the dream in their respective sleeping places, shaken.

Aang and Katara arrive in Yu Dao with the mission of warning Fire Nation citizens of the Earth King’s plan to attack. However, they are attacked by a strange mixture of firebending, earthbending, and physical weapons. They discover that the attackers are Sneers (a member of the Freedom Fighters), Kori, and some earthbenders, calling themselves the Yu Dao Resistance.