Home Again

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Overview

Kyoshi returns to Yokoya for the first time in months, only to find both the land and her past steeped in decay and regret. There, she confronts Yun at the Avatar mansion for the last time, engaging him in a brutal battle. Aided by her allies, she heroically fights to contain his destruction and end his murderous rampage. When the tide of battle turns against her, Kyoshi resorts to trickery in a final, desperate act where she wields both power and mercy to bring a tragic end to her friend's life and to save her lover.

Synopsis

Yokoya is full of memories and ghosts for Kyoshi as she walks down its streets to the Avatar mansion. Jianzhu's demise has left the place in decay and even grimmer than before. A queasy feeling afflicts Kyoshi as she regrets her declaration to Rangi that her ties to Yokoya ended with Kelsang's death. She recognizes that her ties to her hometown are inescapable. Passing scampering children and toiling villagers, Kyoshi is relieved that she has not run into Aoma or anyone she knows. Her journey leads her to the Avatar's estate, now in a state of neglect, its decay mirroring the responsibilities she has struggled to uphold. The gates screech loudly as she enters the grounds, announcing her presence and erasing any chance at stealth. An eerie message written in pebbles awaits her at the entrance: "I'm inside".

After methodically checking each section of the mansion, Kyoshi finally locates her target: Yun, who awaits her in the dining room. A startling scene greets Kyoshi. Yun has positioned himself at the head of the table, calmly eating a bowl of Auntie Mui's dumplings as if nothing has changed between them while Mui waits on him tearfully. The sight of the kindhearted Mui trapped with the coldhearted Yun serves as a sickening recreation of the garden party hostage situation. Appalled, Kyoshi prepares herself to separate Mui from Yun by whatever means necessary, but she is interrupted by Mui rushing into Kyoshi's arms and embracing her. Sobbing with relief and ignorant of the precariousness of the situation, Mui addresses them both as if they are still the children she once knew. She tells them how wonderful it is to have them both together again and how everything can now go back to normal. Returning her embrace, Kyoshi assures Mui that everything will be all right from now on while Yun smirks and sips his tea. Yun mockingly suggests that Mui prepare a welcome-home dinner for Kyoshi, to which Mui wholeheartedly agrees. Kyoshi uses this opportunity to cleverly instruct Mui to buy Stalknose mushrooms for the dinner, an impossible task that will spare Mui from having to witness the coming battle.

Upon Mui's departure, Yun informs Kyoshi that the rest of the house is empty, since the remaining staff have the day off. He finishes his meal and inquires about Kyoshi's recent activities, speculating about whether she mastered the Avatar State or some other rare technique to defeat him. Kyoshi responds with a half-truth, that she was learning healing, and informs Yun of her intent to put him away. When Yun speaks of his plan to systematically wipe out all those who ever wronged him, Kyoshi's remaining hopes for a peaceful resolution are swept away. Yun is no longer the kind boy she once loved, but a man whose bitterness and resentment have twisted him beyond recognition, whose wrath would not end with merely the deaths of a few. The knowledge that Yun's actions are the result of his own free will and not that of Father Glowworm makes their conversation feel all the more painful, as though barbs were tearing out Kyoshi's flesh with each word. Kyoshi declares that he can no longer be allowed to roam free, to which Yun says that he does not wish to fight her. Kyoshi reaffirms her declaration, causing Yun to raise his eyebrows and begrudgingly oblige her desire to fight.

With a flick of his elbow, Yun makes the first move, raising a large stone column between them to serve as ammunition, breaking the wooden floor and overturning the table. Yun's playful smile serves as the signal to attack. Both combatants simultaneously launch a flurry of stones from the column in a frenzy, destroying the walls. Dodging adeptly, they both remain unscathed, with Yun utilizing spiraling airbending footwork to avoid the barrage. Kyoshi ends the bout by removing the column entirely, launching it through a wall. After clearing the dust with airbending, Kyoshi realizes Yun has disappeared, and sets off in pursuit. Proceeding through the most likely hallway, Kyoshi is reminded of all the memories she developed throughout these halls over the years, each room and hall a painful fragment of her past. Yun remotely ambushes her with a spike bursting from a painting, which Kyoshi barely blocks by grinding it to dust. Yun mockingly commends her strength, giving Kyoshi a direction to follow. Further in, a brick wall forms in front of her, blocking her path to Yun's quarters. Yun chides Kyoshi for trying to peep into his room, to which Kyoshi replies that she never did. Yun thanks her for that small kindness, but his voice gives Kyoshi an inkling of his location. Kyoshi launches a sudden airbending blast behind her, destroying furniture in a vain effort to hit a target who is not there.

Kyoshi moves toward the back of the mansion into the dilapidated training grounds, exposing herself to attack from all sides but luring Yun into the open where the Flying Opera Company can ambush him. Her voice echoing throughout the courtyard, Kyoshi vainly pleads with Yun to let go of his lust for revenge, no matter if he kills her or not. Unable to contain his animosity, Yun emerges from the shadow of an alcove to confront Kyoshi, unleashing a tangible wave of malice and wrongness akin to what she felt back in the Qinchao teahouse. Yun reprimands Kyoshi for having the gall to suggest such a thing after she helped him kill Jianzhu. Unfazed, Kyoshi continues her plea, telling Yun that revenge brought her no peace, that he had every right to blame Jianzhu, but that he must learn to live with his anger without harming others. Kyoshi's efforts at persuasion backfire, pouring more fuel onto the fire, causing Yun to retaliate against Kyoshi with a surprise attack. He sends a shoulder-high wave of liquid earth at Kyoshi from behind in a mimicry of Tagaka's form, knocking her over before solidifying it around Kyoshi's body, trapping her. Kyoshi is momentarily befuddled, speculating that Yun somehow became a waterbender, before realizing that he accomplished this feat with earthbending skill alone, melting stone without heat. Yun begins to disarm her of her fans while chastising Kyoshi, explaining how the world is like a petulant child that needs to be slapped. After claiming that he would never hurt Kyoshi due to their shared past, he notices her armor and scars and scorns what Kyoshi has become. He speculates that it must have only been the crushing duty of her Avatarhood that made her treat her truest friend in this way. Defiant of all his remarks, Kyoshi rebukes him, asserting that her armor and scars are a part of her and that she has far truer friends than Yun.

As if on cue, Kirima chooses this moment to launch a series of water whips at Yun, which he narrowly dodges, forcing him away from Kyoshi. Riding a tide of water across the roof while maintaining the offensive, Kirima signals Wong to free Kyoshi. Wong dust-steps into the arena and weakens Kyoshi's prison, allowing her to burst forth suddenly and nearly catch Yun by surprise with a grapple. Skating on his element out of arm's reach, Yun blocks another attack from Kirima before counter-attacking with the very stone he used as a shield. Kirima narrowly dodges the missile which gouges the roof. Yun compliments his new opponents on their use of dust- and mist-stepping, which has allowed them to bypass his seismic sense and sneak up on him unaware. Yun inquires if Rangi is there as well, and in response she falls from the sky fist-first toward him. Noticing her attack, Yun rolls out of the way, causing Rangi's fiery fist to hit the ground instead, creating a smoking crater. Jinpa circles the courtyard overhead on Yingyong, who has served as Rangi's launching platform. Kyoshi laments the amount of money she had to spend to hire the Flying Opera Company for this job, and laments the fact that Lao Ge did not show up. But with her friends now at her back, her confidence soars.

Unimpressed, Yun disdainfully calls them all daofei scum and asks Kyoshi if these are truly the Avatar's companions. Kirima responds jokingly, saying that they have not socialized enough to be considered companions, before once again attacking Yun. Yun's stone defense is hit from the side by Wong, allowing Kirima's water blast to strike true, knocking over Yun. Kyoshi attempts to sink his limbs into the earth like Yun did at the garden party, but her attempt proves ineffective against the more skilled earthbender. Scolding Kyoshi, Yun tells her that earth is his element and he merely lets others borrow it. Wong takes this moment to build up a mass of tiles behind Yun in an attempt at a sneak attack. But the attack splashes off of Yun's back with a flick of his shoulders, much to Wong's surprise. Yun snidely encourages his opponents to try a different tactic. Rangi steps forward and accepts his challenge in an attempt to avenge her mother's honor. She takes three deep breaths before firing a devastating, nearly white fire blast that none could withstand. Riding a swell of earth, Yun avoids the deadly stream of fire as it destroys all in its path. Rangi changes the course of the blast to follow his movements, chasing after him until her fire eventually runs out. The end of her ferocious attack creates a break in the fight, leaving the battlefield in stunned silence.

Impressed by her intensity, Yun finally decides to start taking things more seriously, remarking that now he is playing for keeps. His eyes darkening, he takes a low stance, striking fear in Kyoshi, who has never seen him use fundamental earthbending until now. Liquefying and annihilating the stone around him, Yun creates a violent earthquake, knocking his opponents off their feet and wobbling the entire mansion like jelly. Wong and Kirima attempt to mist and dust-step out of the area, but their columns of dust and mist collapse where they meet the vibrating ground, causing them to crash back to earth.

In an effort to save his companions, Jinpa dives toward the battlefield on Yingyong, but Yun counters with stone spears launched skyward. Jinpa maneuvers the sky bison to where the saddle endures two of the attacks, but in doing so exposes the rider, causing himself to be skewered in the shoulder as Kyoshi screams out in fear for his life. As Jinpa's expression turns from shock to acceptance, Yingyong roars in anguish and flees the battlefield with its rider. Yun shouts to be heard over the sound of the collapsing mansion, telling Kyoshi that bringing her friends was a mistake that makes her vulnerable. Wong and Kirima attempt to sneak around toward Yun's blind side, but Yun senses their trajectory with seismic sense and creates a chasm in front of his opponents without needing to glance at them, snapping both their legs.

Yun focuses the earthquake on his last remaining opponents, localizing it to Kyoshi and Rangi's area, forcing them to fall each time they try to stand. With his remaining opponents trapped in a kowtow position, Yun batters them with earthen training disks with a point of his finger in an effort to punish them. With a final disk to the jaw, Kyoshi and Rangi fall to their backs where they concoct a plan together. Choking on dust, Rangi tells Kyoshi that she must use what she was taught after the raid on Governor Te's mansion in order to win. Kyoshi agrees, and together they spread their own blood upon their ashen faces to recreate their 'daofei makeup.

Yun allows them to stagger to their feet and says he recalls seeing Kyoshi use that same type of face to confront Jianzhu. Kyoshi responds that he can now see it as well before she boosts herself forward with fire jets. Surprised, Yun reacts by sending another pulse of earth toward her in vain as she flies over it. Her collision with Yun sends him rolling across the courtyard until he halts his momentum with earthbending, only for Rangi to rain down fire on him from above. She uses prolonged jet-stepping to stay clear of the shaking ground and gain an advantageous position to attack from, causing Yun to raise an earth shield against the flames. Not wanting to waste her only shot, Kyoshi adds to the onslaught with a massive fireball of her own, but Yun dodges it with a smirk. Reacting faster than both of them, Rangi mimics waterbending to redirect Kyoshi's fireball toward Yun once more. He raises another earth shield at the last second, but in his haste the shield was not made thick enough, so it explodes on impact in a burst of light and smoke. When the smoke clears, Kyoshi is shocked to see that Yun is nowhere to be found. Rangi shouts a warning to Kyoshi that comes too late. Tunneling behind Rangi, Yun uses a spout of soil to reach her mid-air, stabbing her in the back with an earthen dagger like he did to Hei-Ran.

Kyoshi catches Rangi as she falls to the ground. With her friends all crippled and her lover bleeding out in her arms, Kyoshi nearly succumbs to entering the Avatar State, the past lives urging her to use their unstoppable power as the answer to her despair. Only Rangi's voice snaps her out of her languishing and prevents her from raging out of control. Rangi smiles and asks Kyoshi to stay here with her. She reaches out to Kyoshi before falling unconscious. Yun approaches Kyoshi, telling her that although it should not have ended like this, this is how things will continue to be if Kyoshi keeps opposing him. Kyoshi realizes that Yun would rather destroy the world than destroy his own selfishness. She finally says what she knows Yun so desperately wants to hear: "I'm sorry". She apologizes for how she treated him and for robbing him of everything, all in a quiet voice to lure him in close. Yun kneels beside her to savor the moment, encouraging her to continue. Kyoshi complies, telling him she is sorry for saying he had to live with the pain, because now he will not. Reaching out in a feigned gesture of comfort, Kyoshi touches Yun's chest, sending a wave of deathly cold through his body using a fatal version of Atuat's healing technique. With his internal organs frozen and ice briefly sprouting from his back, Yun collapses and dies. Placing that same death-dealing hand against Rangi's wound, Kyoshi uses tears of light and the aid of the past lives to reach out to the nearest water source. With Kuruk no longer blocking her connection, their voices guide her where to look, gathering the same water she once hauled as a servant to now heal Rangi, quieting Kyoshi's fears.

When Rangi finally wakes up in the infirmary, she asks Kyoshi how they ended up here. Kyoshi explains that it was one of the few parts of the mansion left standing, and that she has been working on Rangi ever since she brought her here. Kirima complains about her lack of treatment and lack of medicine, waving her broken leg around. Kyoshi retorts that Jinpa's need was more dire. Jinpa has become loopy from all the medicine he has been given, singing tavern songs a monk should not have known. Wong supported Kirima, arguing that treatment should go to sworn members of the company before others. Kyoshi shuts down all their protests, informing them that Atuat is on her way to treat them as they speak. Concerned about Rangi, Kyoshi warns her of the complications her injury might cause. But Rangi brushes off her concerns, much to Kyoshi's dismay, since the knife missed her vitals by less than an inch. When Kyoshi informs her that Hei-Ran was on her way, Rangi grows quiet and asks what became of Yun. The others grow silent at the question until Kyoshi answers that it is over. Together, they cry over their lost friend.

Production notes

Series continuity

• Kyoshi reaffirms her ties to Yokoya despite vowing in "The Inheritance" to never call the place her home again.^[1]
• Kyoshi accepts that Yun will not let go of his pain and anger, giving up on her belief from "Desperate Measures" that he could not hold a grudge.^[2]
• Kyoshi uses waterbending to freeze Yun's heart and lungs, a healing technique foreshadowed in "Aftermath" when Atuat warns that lowering one's body temperature too much will turn the person's fluids to ice and destroy the organs from the inside out.^[3]

Trivia

• Out of all the elements, Kyoshi overlooked waterbending the most.

References