Toph (Micheala Jill Murphy) and Katara’s (Mae Whitman) relationship becomes even more strained, when Katara disapproves of the group’s way of making some fast cash, scheming local con artists out of their money by using their abilities, and even doing some con work themselves.

After much bickering, the pair come up with a way to run the ultimate scam, to turn Toph in, because her parents are looking for her. This puts the two of them, and the rest of the group in serious trouble and in the sights of the Combustion Man!

The Runaway was written by Joshua Hamilton and was first broadcast on 2 November, 2007.

Katara and Toph have been at one another’s throats since the blind earth-bender joined them, but perhaps things go too far this time. After the events of the episode, the pair can reconcile, and Toph even sees a message home to her parents.

But before that happens we get a better look at both Toph and Katara while Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) and Sokka (Jack De Sena) try to stay out of the way, but things get serious when they clash with the silent assassin, Combustion Man.

It’s a great episode that allows the characters to grow and move the overall narrative forward.

The Puppetmaster could be the closest the series gets to a horror story. Written by Tim Hedrick, this episode first aired on 9 November, 2007.

Aang and the rest of the gang encounter Hama (Tress MacNeille), a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. But Hama isn’t to be trusted just because she’s from the water tribe. It seems she has a very dark secret, she’s learned a darker form of bending, one she’s conducting on innocent Fire Nation citizens… blood-bending.

When Katara and the rest try to stop Hama from hurting others, the young water-bender reluctantly has to use blood-bending to stop the elderly woman from hurting more people, including Aang and Sokka.

And in a terrifying moment, Hama commends Katara on her use of blood-bending. It’s a spooky look at how far power can be taken when you aren’t worried about balance, compassion or the innocent.

The episode, while still keeping in synch with the established animation style, leans towards darker images and shadows and it’s a very unnerving experience as Katara sees and deals with how dark she could become, and the things she will do to protect her loved ones.

Nightmares and Daydreams first aired on 16 November, 2007 and was written by John O’Bryan.

The invasion is drawing closer, and Aang is increasingly convinced he’s not ready yet to face the Fire Lord. He’s so unsure that he’s having nigtmares about it. There are some nice homages to a couple of classic animes, but Aang is slowly becoming completely wired and unable to deal with the fact that things are going to be coming to a head very soon.

He’s super-stressed, and his friends do their best to help him relieve his stress, but the weight of all of it is driving Aang to the edge, and his nightmares are getting more intense. But maybe with some understanding and conversation Aang can let go of the stress and maybe, just maybe get a good night’s sleep.

Meanwhile, Zuko (Dante Basco) is dealing with being a prince of the realm again, and it’s both good and bad. His relationship with Mai (Cricket Leigh) is progressing, and he’s settling into palace life, but he isn’t invited to a War Meeting with the Fire Lord (Mark Hamill) and Azula (Grey Griffin). Having said that, Zuko will attend the meeting, though we won’t hear the plans until we see things playing out later in the season.

We’re getting very close to the end now, and things are ramping up! How will things play out for Team Avatar? I guess I’ll have to wait until next weekend to discover more as I delve further into Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Complete Series on Blu-ray, available now from Paramount Canada.