Book Three: Fire is the third and final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
The series stars Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Greg Baldwin (replacing Mako Iwamatsu as Iroh, who died in July 2006), Grey DeLisle, and Mark Hamill as the main character voices.
The final season focuses once again on Avatar Aang, now seeking to learn Firebending, and his friends Katara, Sokka, and Toph, who must defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord Ozai before the arrival of Sozin's Comet.
Concurrently, it also follows Prince Zuko, who is finally welcomed back into the Fire Nation after betraying his uncle Iroh and helping his sister Azula conquer Ba Sing Se in Book Two.
The third season aired on Nickelodeon from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008, consisting of 21 episodes and concluding with the four-part series finale "Sozin's Comet".
Aang flees with his friends at the urging of Hakoda, alongside the youngest members of the invasion force, to the Western Air Temple with Zuko following in a stolen balloon.
Toph suggests they learn from the original source of firebending, revealed to be the dragons, who first imparted their knowledge to a seemingly-extinct civilization called the Sun Warriors.
Part 1: The Phoenix King: Aang has decided to fight Ozai after Sozin's Comet passes, needing more time to master firebending.
Ozai bequeaths the Fire Nation throne to Azula and declares himself "The Phoenix King", supreme ruler of the world, while Aang awakens on the unknown island.
Part 2: The Old Masters: On the island, Aang seeks guidance from his past incarnations, but they too suggest he may have to take violent action against Ozai to protect the world.
The team decides to split up to stall the Fire Nation's plans, realizing that Aang will have to face Ozai directly: Katara and Zuko will face Azula at the Royal Palace; Sokka, Suki and Toph will attempt to stop the airship fleet bound for the Earth Kingdom, and Iroh is to lead the White Lotus in the liberation of Ba Sing Se.
Part 3: Into the Inferno: Abandoned by her friends and father, Azula's mental stability begins to deteriorate as her coronation as Fire Lord approaches.
Their fighting engulfs the palace, and when Zuko gains the upper hand, Azula decides to target Katara with a lightning strike.
Part 4: Avatar Aang: The Order of the White Lotus liberates Ba Sing Se, while Sokka, Suki and Toph disable the Fire Nation attack armada.
Katara takes over fighting Azula, eventually immobilizing her in ice to chain her to a grate in the ground, then rushes to heal Zuko.
Ozai accidentally causes Aang to enter the Avatar State by knocking him into a rock that pierces his lightning wound, unlocking his chakras.
[3] The season's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside head writer and co-producer Aaron Ehasz.
[5] Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch, Tim Hedrick, and John O'Bryan, along with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.
Additionally, Mark Hamill reprises his role as Fire Lord Ozai in a greater capacity after having minor appearances throughout the first and second seasons of the series,[5] while Greg Baldwin now voices Iroh due to Mako Iwamatsu's death.
Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk remarked, "In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender [sic] also has amazing animation.
[8] Jamie S. Rich wrote in another review:[9] This final season in the trilogy is turning out to be the best... At this point in the story, major things are happening, with the characters going through changes and the various plot elements coming together.
Nick Lyons from DVD Talk felt that the video quality appeared better than previous seasons, which had also garnered additional awards.
[12] Joaquim Dos Santos also gave Avatar: The Last Airbender a nomination at Annecy 2008 for his work with "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse".