Avatar: The Last Airbender (2003–2008): Season 2, Episode 7 - Zuko Alone - full transcript
As Zuko tries to make it by in exile without his uncle, he remembers how his father became Firelord and what happened to his mother.
KATARA: Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
Long ago, the four nations
lived together in harmony.
Then everything changed
when the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar, master of
all four elements, could stop them.
But when the world needed him most...
He vanished.
100 years passed, and my brother and I
discovered the new Avatar,
an airbender named Aang.
And although his
airbending skills are great,
he has a lot to learn before
he's ready to save anyone.
AANG: Oof!
But I believe Aang can save the world.
NARRATOR: [READING]
Please, father, I only had
the Fire Nation's best interests at heart.
You will learn respect.
And suffering will be your teacher.
We no longer have anything
to gain by traveling together.
I need to find my own way.
You're like my sister.
My father says she was born lucky.
He says I was lucky to be born.
I don't need luck, though.
I've always had to struggle and fight,
and that's made me strong.
It's made me who I am.
[ANIMAL GRUNTING]
[SNIFFS]
[STOMACH RUMBLING]
[ANIMAL GRUNTS]
[SIGHS]
[GASPS]
MAN: Come on, spider-snake eyes.
[LAUGHS] Yeah!
[GRUNTS]
[ANIMAL GRUMBLING]
Could I get some water,
a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?
Not enough here for a hot meal.
I can get you two bags of feed.
[LAUGHING]
Ow!
Hey!
You throwing eggs at us, stranger?
No.
You see who did throw it?
No.
That your favorite word, "No"?
It had to come from somewhere.
Maybe a chicken flew over.
[LAUGHS]
Thanks for your contribution.
The army appreciates your support.
You better leave town.
Penalty for staying's a lot steeper than
you can afford, stranger.
Trust me.
SHOPKEEPER: Those soldiers are supposed
to protect us from the Fire Nation.
But they're just a bunch of thugs.
Thanks for not ratting me out.
I'll take you to my house
and feed your ostrich horse for you.
Come on, I owe you.
[STOMACH RUMBLING]
[OINKING]
No one can ever sneak up on us.
[SCOFFS] No kidding.
[CROWS]
You a friend of Lee's?
This guy just stood up to the soldiers.
By the end, he practically
had them running away.
Does this guy have a name?
I'm, uh...
MAN: He doesn't have to
say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela.
Anyone who can hold his own against
those bully soldiers is welcome here.
Those men should be ashamed
to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms.
The real soldiers
are off fighting the war.
Like Lee's big brother, Sensu.
Supper's going to be ready soon.
Would you like to stay?
ZUKO: I can't...
I should be moving on.
Gansu could use some help on the barn.
Why don't you two work for a while,
and then we'll eat?
You don't seem like
you're from around here.
Mmm-mmm.
Where are you from, then?
Far away.
Oh...
Where are you going?
Lee, give it a rest.
Stop asking the man personal questions,
got it?
[SIGHS] Yes.
-So how'd you get that scar?
-[GRUNTS]
It's not nice to bother people about
things they might not want to talk about.
The man's past is his business.
[BIRDS SINGING]
Hey, mom, want to see how Azula
feeds turtle ducks?
[SQUAWKS]
Zuko, why would you do that?
[QUACKS]
Ow, ow-ow!
Ow!
[QUACKING]
Stupid turtle duck.
Why'd she do that?
Zuko, that's what moms are like.
If you mess with their babies, hrum!
They're gonna bite you back.
[LAUGHS]
[GRUNTS]
-[LAUGHS]
-GIRL: Azula!
Watch this.
Mom, can you make Zuko play with us?
We need equal teams to play a game.
I am not cartwheeling.
You won't have to, cartwheeling's
not a game, dumb-dumb.
I don't care,
I don't want to play with you.
We are brother and sister.
It's important for us
to spend time together.
Don't you think so, mom?
Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea
to play with your sister.
Go on, now, just for a little while.
AZULA: Here's the way it goes.
Now what you do is try to knock the apple
off the other person's head, like this.
[SCREAMS]
[LAUGHS] See, I told you it would work.
GIRL: Aw, they're so cute together.
You two are such... Ugh!
I was just coming to get you.
Uncle Iroh sent us a letter
from the war front.
You're soaking wet.
Girls are crazy!
IROH: if the city is as
magnificent as its wall,
Ba Sing Se must be something to behold.
I hope you all may see it some day.
If we don't burn it to the ground, first.
[CHUCKLES]
BOTH: [LAUGHING]
"Until then, enjoy these gifts."
"For Zuko, a pearl dagger,"
"from the general who surrendered
when we broke through the outer wall."
"Note the inscription and
the superior craftsmanship."
"Never give up without a fight."
MOTHER: "And for Azula."
"A new friend."
"She wears the latest fashion
for Earth Kingdom girls."
If uncle doesn't make it back from war
Then dad would be next in line
to be Fire Lord, wouldn't he?
Azula, we don't speak that way.
It would be awful if Uncle Iroh
didn't return.
And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is
a picture of health.
How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten
wanted dad to die?
I still think our dad would make
a much better Fire Lord than
his royal tea-loving kookiness.
ZUKO: [MURMURS]
[GRUNTING]
-ZUKO: You're holding them all wrong.
-[YELPS]
Keep in mind, these are dual swords.
Two halves of a single weapon.
Don't think of them as separate,
because they're not.
They're just two different parts
of the same whole.
[GRUNTS]
[LAUGHS]
LEE: I think you'd really like
my brother, Sensu.
He used to show me stuff
like this all the time.
[OINKING]
SELA: Here, this ought to
get you through a few meals.
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING]
What do you think they want?
Trouble.
[OSTRICH HORSES GRUNTING]
[OINKING AND SQUEALING]
GANSU: What do you want, Gow?
Just thought someone ought to tell you
your son's battalion got captured.
You boys hear what the Fire Nation did
with their last group
of Earth Kingdom prisoners?
Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms
and put them on the front line
unarmed, way I heard it.
[SPITS]
Then they just watched.
You watch your mouth.
Why bother rooting around
in the mud with these pigs?
[LAUGHING]
Iroh has lost his son.
Your cousin, Lu Ten,
did not survive the battle.
What's gonna happen to my brother?
GANSU: I'm going to the front.
I'm going to find Sensu
and bring him back.
SELA: [SOBBING]
LEE: When my dad goes
will you stay?
No. I need to move on.
Here, I want you to have this.
Read the inscription.
"Made in Earth Kingdom."
The other one.
"Never give up without a fight."
[OSTRICH HORSE GRUNTING]
[OINKING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
You waste all your time playing
with knives, you're not even good.
Put an apple on your head and
we'll find out how good I am.
By the way, uncle's coming home.
Does that mean we won the war?
No, it means uncle's
a quitter and a loser.
What are you talking about?
Uncle's not a quitter.
Oh, yes he is.
He found out his son died
and he just fell apart.
A real general would stay and
burn Ba Sing Se to the ground.
Not lose the battle and come home crying.
How do you know what he should do?
He's probably just sad
his only kid is gone.
Forever.
Your father has requested
an audience with Fire Lord Azulon.
Best clothes, hurry up.
"Fire Lord Azulon."
Can't you just call him grandfather?
He's not exactly the powerful
Fire Lord he used to be.
Someone will probably end up
taking his place, soon.
Young lady!
Not another word.
What is wrong with that child?
OZAI: And how was it
great-grandfather Sozin
managed to win the battle of Han Tui?
Great-grandfather won... Because...
Because even though
his army was outnumbered
he cleverly calculated his advantages.
The enemy was downwind,
and there was a drought.
Their defenses burned to a crisp
in minutes.
OZAI: Correct, my dear.
Now, would you show grandfather
the new moves you demonstrated to me?
She's a true prodigy.
Just like her grandfather
for whom she's named.
[WHISPERS] You'll never catch up.
I'd like to demonstrate
what I've been learning.
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
[GRUNTS]
I failed...
No, I loved watching you.
That's who you are, Zuko, someone who
keeps fighting even though it's hard.
AZULON: Prince Ozai, why are you
wasting my time with this pomp?
Just tell me what you want.
Everyone else, go.
-What are you...
-Shh!
OZAI: Father. You must have realized,
as I have,
that with Lu Ten gone,
Iroh's bloodline has ended.
After his son's death, my brother
abandoned the siege at Ba Sing Se.
And who knows when he will return home?
But I am here, Father.
And my children are alive.
Say what it is you want.
Father, revoke Iroh's birthright.
I am your humble servant,
here to serve you and our nation.
Use me.
You dare suggest I betray Iroh?
My firstborn?
Directly after the demise
of his only beloved son?
I think Iroh has suffered enough.
But you?
Your punishment has scarcely begun!
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
♪ Dad's going to kill you ♪
Really, he is.
Ha, ha, Azula, nice try.
Fine, don't believe me.
But I heard everything.
Grandfather said dad's
punishment should fit his crime.
"You must know the pain
of losing a firstborn son."
"By sacrificing your own."
Liar.
I'm only telling you for your own good.
I know! Maybe you could find a nice
Earth Kingdom family to adopt you.
Stop it, you're lying.
Dad would never do that to me.
MOTHER: Your father would never
do what to you?
What is going on here?
I don't know.
It's time for a talk.
Azula always lies, Azula always lies.
Azula always lies.
[OSTRICH HORSE GRUNTS]
You have to help.
It's Lee, the thugs from town
came back as soon as Gansu left.
When they ordered us to give them food,
Lee pulled a knife on them.
I don't even know
where he got a knife.
Then they took him away.
They told me if Lee's old enough to fight,
[SOBS] he's old enough to join the army.
I know we barely know you, but...
[CRYING]
ZUKO: I'll get your son back.
Hey, there he is!
I told you he'd come.
[GRUNTING]
Let the kid go.
[LAUGHS]
Who do you think you are?
Telling us what to do?
It doesn't matter who I am.
But I know who you are.
You're not soldiers.
You're bullies.
Freeloaders abusing your power.
Mostly over women and kids.
You don't want Lee in your army.
You're sick cowards messing with a family
who's already lost one son to the war.
Are you gonna let this stranger
stand there and insult you like this?
[GRUNTS]
[WHIMPERS]
[GRUNTING]
[YELLING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
[YELLING]
Huh?
[SCREAMS]
[LAUGHS]
[SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
Give him a left!
A left!
It's not a fistfight.
He's got a left sword, don't he?
[GROWLING]
[GRUNTS]
-Look out!
-Behind you!
[GRUNTS]
[YELLING]
ALL: [GASPING]
Mom?
Zuko, please, my love, listen to me.
Everything I've done,
I've done to protect you.
Remember this, Zuko.
No matter how things may seem to change,
never forget who you are.
[WHISPERS] Get up.
[YELLS]
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
Who... Who are you?
My name is Zuko.
Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai.
Prince of the Fire Nation
and heir to the throne!
CROWD: [MURMURING] Fire Nation...
Liar!
I heard of you, you're not a prince,
you're an outcast.
His own father burned and disowned him.
[WHIMPERS]
Not a step closer.
It's yours, you should have it.
No, I hate you.
Mom?
Mom, mom!
-Where's mom?
-No one knows.
Oh, and last night, grandpa passed away.
Not funny, Azula. You're sick.
And I want my knife back, now.
-ZUKO: [GRUNTS]
-Who's going to make me?
Mom?
Where is she?
MAN: Azulon, Fire Lord
to our nation for 23 years,
you were our fearless leader
in the battle of Garsai.
Our matchless conqueror
of the Hu Xin provinces.
You were father of Iroh.
Father of Ozai.
Husband of Ilah, now passed.
Grandfather of Lu Ten, now passed.
Grandfather of Zuko and Azula.
We lay you to rest.
As was your dying wish,
you are now succeeded by your second son.
Hail Fire Lord Ozai!
[CLOSING THEME PLAYING]
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
Long ago, the four nations
lived together in harmony.
Then everything changed
when the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar, master of
all four elements, could stop them.
But when the world needed him most...
He vanished.
100 years passed, and my brother and I
discovered the new Avatar,
an airbender named Aang.
And although his
airbending skills are great,
he has a lot to learn before
he's ready to save anyone.
AANG: Oof!
But I believe Aang can save the world.
NARRATOR: [READING]
Please, father, I only had
the Fire Nation's best interests at heart.
You will learn respect.
And suffering will be your teacher.
We no longer have anything
to gain by traveling together.
I need to find my own way.
You're like my sister.
My father says she was born lucky.
He says I was lucky to be born.
I don't need luck, though.
I've always had to struggle and fight,
and that's made me strong.
It's made me who I am.
[ANIMAL GRUNTING]
[SNIFFS]
[STOMACH RUMBLING]
[ANIMAL GRUNTS]
[SIGHS]
[GASPS]
MAN: Come on, spider-snake eyes.
[LAUGHS] Yeah!
[GRUNTS]
[ANIMAL GRUMBLING]
Could I get some water,
a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?
Not enough here for a hot meal.
I can get you two bags of feed.
[LAUGHING]
Ow!
Hey!
You throwing eggs at us, stranger?
No.
You see who did throw it?
No.
That your favorite word, "No"?
It had to come from somewhere.
Maybe a chicken flew over.
[LAUGHS]
Thanks for your contribution.
The army appreciates your support.
You better leave town.
Penalty for staying's a lot steeper than
you can afford, stranger.
Trust me.
SHOPKEEPER: Those soldiers are supposed
to protect us from the Fire Nation.
But they're just a bunch of thugs.
Thanks for not ratting me out.
I'll take you to my house
and feed your ostrich horse for you.
Come on, I owe you.
[STOMACH RUMBLING]
[OINKING]
No one can ever sneak up on us.
[SCOFFS] No kidding.
[CROWS]
You a friend of Lee's?
This guy just stood up to the soldiers.
By the end, he practically
had them running away.
Does this guy have a name?
I'm, uh...
MAN: He doesn't have to
say who he is if he doesn't want to, Sela.
Anyone who can hold his own against
those bully soldiers is welcome here.
Those men should be ashamed
to wear Earth Kingdom uniforms.
The real soldiers
are off fighting the war.
Like Lee's big brother, Sensu.
Supper's going to be ready soon.
Would you like to stay?
ZUKO: I can't...
I should be moving on.
Gansu could use some help on the barn.
Why don't you two work for a while,
and then we'll eat?
You don't seem like
you're from around here.
Mmm-mmm.
Where are you from, then?
Far away.
Oh...
Where are you going?
Lee, give it a rest.
Stop asking the man personal questions,
got it?
[SIGHS] Yes.
-So how'd you get that scar?
-[GRUNTS]
It's not nice to bother people about
things they might not want to talk about.
The man's past is his business.
[BIRDS SINGING]
Hey, mom, want to see how Azula
feeds turtle ducks?
[SQUAWKS]
Zuko, why would you do that?
[QUACKS]
Ow, ow-ow!
Ow!
[QUACKING]
Stupid turtle duck.
Why'd she do that?
Zuko, that's what moms are like.
If you mess with their babies, hrum!
They're gonna bite you back.
[LAUGHS]
[GRUNTS]
-[LAUGHS]
-GIRL: Azula!
Watch this.
Mom, can you make Zuko play with us?
We need equal teams to play a game.
I am not cartwheeling.
You won't have to, cartwheeling's
not a game, dumb-dumb.
I don't care,
I don't want to play with you.
We are brother and sister.
It's important for us
to spend time together.
Don't you think so, mom?
Yes, darling, I think it's a good idea
to play with your sister.
Go on, now, just for a little while.
AZULA: Here's the way it goes.
Now what you do is try to knock the apple
off the other person's head, like this.
[SCREAMS]
[LAUGHS] See, I told you it would work.
GIRL: Aw, they're so cute together.
You two are such... Ugh!
I was just coming to get you.
Uncle Iroh sent us a letter
from the war front.
You're soaking wet.
Girls are crazy!
IROH: if the city is as
magnificent as its wall,
Ba Sing Se must be something to behold.
I hope you all may see it some day.
If we don't burn it to the ground, first.
[CHUCKLES]
BOTH: [LAUGHING]
"Until then, enjoy these gifts."
"For Zuko, a pearl dagger,"
"from the general who surrendered
when we broke through the outer wall."
"Note the inscription and
the superior craftsmanship."
"Never give up without a fight."
MOTHER: "And for Azula."
"A new friend."
"She wears the latest fashion
for Earth Kingdom girls."
If uncle doesn't make it back from war
Then dad would be next in line
to be Fire Lord, wouldn't he?
Azula, we don't speak that way.
It would be awful if Uncle Iroh
didn't return.
And besides, Fire Lord Azulon is
a picture of health.
How would you like it if cousin Lu Ten
wanted dad to die?
I still think our dad would make
a much better Fire Lord than
his royal tea-loving kookiness.
ZUKO: [MURMURS]
[GRUNTING]
-ZUKO: You're holding them all wrong.
-[YELPS]
Keep in mind, these are dual swords.
Two halves of a single weapon.
Don't think of them as separate,
because they're not.
They're just two different parts
of the same whole.
[GRUNTS]
[LAUGHS]
LEE: I think you'd really like
my brother, Sensu.
He used to show me stuff
like this all the time.
[OINKING]
SELA: Here, this ought to
get you through a few meals.
[HOOFBEATS APPROACHING]
What do you think they want?
Trouble.
[OSTRICH HORSES GRUNTING]
[OINKING AND SQUEALING]
GANSU: What do you want, Gow?
Just thought someone ought to tell you
your son's battalion got captured.
You boys hear what the Fire Nation did
with their last group
of Earth Kingdom prisoners?
Dressed 'em up in Fire Nation uniforms
and put them on the front line
unarmed, way I heard it.
[SPITS]
Then they just watched.
You watch your mouth.
Why bother rooting around
in the mud with these pigs?
[LAUGHING]
Iroh has lost his son.
Your cousin, Lu Ten,
did not survive the battle.
What's gonna happen to my brother?
GANSU: I'm going to the front.
I'm going to find Sensu
and bring him back.
SELA: [SOBBING]
LEE: When my dad goes
will you stay?
No. I need to move on.
Here, I want you to have this.
Read the inscription.
"Made in Earth Kingdom."
The other one.
"Never give up without a fight."
[OSTRICH HORSE GRUNTING]
[OINKING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
You waste all your time playing
with knives, you're not even good.
Put an apple on your head and
we'll find out how good I am.
By the way, uncle's coming home.
Does that mean we won the war?
No, it means uncle's
a quitter and a loser.
What are you talking about?
Uncle's not a quitter.
Oh, yes he is.
He found out his son died
and he just fell apart.
A real general would stay and
burn Ba Sing Se to the ground.
Not lose the battle and come home crying.
How do you know what he should do?
He's probably just sad
his only kid is gone.
Forever.
Your father has requested
an audience with Fire Lord Azulon.
Best clothes, hurry up.
"Fire Lord Azulon."
Can't you just call him grandfather?
He's not exactly the powerful
Fire Lord he used to be.
Someone will probably end up
taking his place, soon.
Young lady!
Not another word.
What is wrong with that child?
OZAI: And how was it
great-grandfather Sozin
managed to win the battle of Han Tui?
Great-grandfather won... Because...
Because even though
his army was outnumbered
he cleverly calculated his advantages.
The enemy was downwind,
and there was a drought.
Their defenses burned to a crisp
in minutes.
OZAI: Correct, my dear.
Now, would you show grandfather
the new moves you demonstrated to me?
She's a true prodigy.
Just like her grandfather
for whom she's named.
[WHISPERS] You'll never catch up.
I'd like to demonstrate
what I've been learning.
[GRUNTS]
[PANTING]
[GRUNTS]
I failed...
No, I loved watching you.
That's who you are, Zuko, someone who
keeps fighting even though it's hard.
AZULON: Prince Ozai, why are you
wasting my time with this pomp?
Just tell me what you want.
Everyone else, go.
-What are you...
-Shh!
OZAI: Father. You must have realized,
as I have,
that with Lu Ten gone,
Iroh's bloodline has ended.
After his son's death, my brother
abandoned the siege at Ba Sing Se.
And who knows when he will return home?
But I am here, Father.
And my children are alive.
Say what it is you want.
Father, revoke Iroh's birthright.
I am your humble servant,
here to serve you and our nation.
Use me.
You dare suggest I betray Iroh?
My firstborn?
Directly after the demise
of his only beloved son?
I think Iroh has suffered enough.
But you?
Your punishment has scarcely begun!
[FIRE CRACKLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
♪ Dad's going to kill you ♪
Really, he is.
Ha, ha, Azula, nice try.
Fine, don't believe me.
But I heard everything.
Grandfather said dad's
punishment should fit his crime.
"You must know the pain
of losing a firstborn son."
"By sacrificing your own."
Liar.
I'm only telling you for your own good.
I know! Maybe you could find a nice
Earth Kingdom family to adopt you.
Stop it, you're lying.
Dad would never do that to me.
MOTHER: Your father would never
do what to you?
What is going on here?
I don't know.
It's time for a talk.
Azula always lies, Azula always lies.
Azula always lies.
[OSTRICH HORSE GRUNTS]
You have to help.
It's Lee, the thugs from town
came back as soon as Gansu left.
When they ordered us to give them food,
Lee pulled a knife on them.
I don't even know
where he got a knife.
Then they took him away.
They told me if Lee's old enough to fight,
[SOBS] he's old enough to join the army.
I know we barely know you, but...
[CRYING]
ZUKO: I'll get your son back.
Hey, there he is!
I told you he'd come.
[GRUNTING]
Let the kid go.
[LAUGHS]
Who do you think you are?
Telling us what to do?
It doesn't matter who I am.
But I know who you are.
You're not soldiers.
You're bullies.
Freeloaders abusing your power.
Mostly over women and kids.
You don't want Lee in your army.
You're sick cowards messing with a family
who's already lost one son to the war.
Are you gonna let this stranger
stand there and insult you like this?
[GRUNTS]
[WHIMPERS]
[GRUNTING]
[YELLING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
[YELLING]
Huh?
[SCREAMS]
[LAUGHS]
[SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
Give him a left!
A left!
It's not a fistfight.
He's got a left sword, don't he?
[GROWLING]
[GRUNTS]
-Look out!
-Behind you!
[GRUNTS]
[YELLING]
ALL: [GASPING]
Mom?
Zuko, please, my love, listen to me.
Everything I've done,
I've done to protect you.
Remember this, Zuko.
No matter how things may seem to change,
never forget who you are.
[WHISPERS] Get up.
[YELLS]
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
Who... Who are you?
My name is Zuko.
Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai.
Prince of the Fire Nation
and heir to the throne!
CROWD: [MURMURING] Fire Nation...
Liar!
I heard of you, you're not a prince,
you're an outcast.
His own father burned and disowned him.
[WHIMPERS]
Not a step closer.
It's yours, you should have it.
No, I hate you.
Mom?
Mom, mom!
-Where's mom?
-No one knows.
Oh, and last night, grandpa passed away.
Not funny, Azula. You're sick.
And I want my knife back, now.
-ZUKO: [GRUNTS]
-Who's going to make me?
Mom?
Where is she?
MAN: Azulon, Fire Lord
to our nation for 23 years,
you were our fearless leader
in the battle of Garsai.
Our matchless conqueror
of the Hu Xin provinces.
You were father of Iroh.
Father of Ozai.
Husband of Ilah, now passed.
Grandfather of Lu Ten, now passed.
Grandfather of Zuko and Azula.
We lay you to rest.
As was your dying wish,
you are now succeeded by your second son.
Hail Fire Lord Ozai!
[CLOSING THEME PLAYING]