After several fantastic episodes in a row, I have to admit that I found “The Firebending Masters” to be a bit of a letdown.  It was very much a necessary episode, and I think that the pure necessity took something away from it.

While it isn’t exactly stated how long it’s been since Zuko joined the group, the fact that he’s only starting to teach Aang would make it seem like it’s only been a couple of days at most.  And yet he already feels like a part of the group.  Even Katara’s loathing seems to have softened into snark.  As for Aang and Zuko, they’re almost the perfect odd couple.  While Aang’s optimism and Zuko’s cynism cause them to butt heads at times, it’s also clear that they both have a lot of respect for each other.   Zuko even says so outright, when he tells Aang he’s a “talented kid.”  And although it is something of a throwaway line, it’s rather heartwarming to see Aang refer to Zuko as his friend in front of the Sun Warriors.

The timing of Zuko’s loss of firebending is a bit suspect.  Sure, it’s believable that his Peter Parker syndrome was caused by a shift in his world view, his purpose.  But if that’s the case, would making the decision to join the Avatar be the impetus, rather than actually being accepted by him?  Would he really have been able to go toe to toe with his father or face Combustion Man with his drive to capture Aang already gone?  Judging by his ability to redirect the lightning, he was at his peak as a firebender after making that decision, not on the decline.  If this transition had been hinted at a little better in the proceeding episodes, it might not have seemed quite as jarring in this one.

The main problem I had with this episode was that everything was practically handed to the heroes on a silver platter.  There happen to be ancient ruins conveniently nearby where a conveniently forgotten group of firebenders who are conveniently independent from the Fire Nation in the war lead Zuko and Aang to some conveniently hidden dragons who conveniently teach the pair all the secrets of firebending in a conveniently short amount of time after they execute a dance they conveniently attempted once and yet still perfectly remember.  While there were a number of very interesting details, including the true meaning of firebending and an explanation of how Uncle Iroh got both his nickname and his awesomeness, they were really too shoehorned in to make as much of an impact as they should.  It feels like lazy writing, though I'd suspect the real reason has to do with a headlong rush to resolve a multitude of plot points before the end of the series.  Hopefully, this won't be a trend for the remaining episodes.
 
One interesting thing I’ve noticed is that since the Day of Black Sun, we’ve seen nothing of Azula and the Fire Nation.  Considering how much focus there’s been on her since she became a main character, the absence is conspicuous.   It makes me wonder just what happened in the “safehouse” after Zuko and Team Avatar escaped.  And if Ozai even made it out alive.