The show follows Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire.

On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Mae Whitman), Sokka (Jack DeSena), and Toph Beifong (Jessie Flower), and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko (Dante Basco) and princess Azula (Grey DeLisle).

As the group tries to book an important with the Earth King to discuss the plan for invading the Fire Nation on the day of the solar eclipse,[a] Joo Dee tells them they will have to wait a month.

The Dai Li agents bring Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Momo to meet their leader, Long Feng, who reveals that there is no mention of the war in Ba Sing Se to preserve the culture of the city and to ensure it remains a peaceful utopia, the last one on Earth.

Main cast members Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco and Dee Bradley Baker appear as the voices of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph Beifong, Zuko, and Momo respectively.

It is also revealed Long Feng has been controlling the city and making it into a utopia, establishing the themes of utilitarianism and indoctrination that would continue to play out in future episodes.

In creating Ba Sing Se's complex themes, the crew never had a concern that they would alienate the six-to-eleven year old target audience, with director Giancarlo Volpe stating that: Younger kids don't often fully understand how oppressive governments work, but they do relate to having parents or teachers or other authority figures always telling them what to do.

"[b] Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a rating of 8.6 out of 10, praising the comic relief and the "wicked sword fight between Jet and Zuko".

"[9] In 2007, the episode was nominated for "Outstanding Animated Program" at the 59th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards,[10] but it lost to South Park's "Make Love, Not Warcraft".