Some of the episode was really good, especially in the beginning, but ultimately, I think we had a better run mid-season with the Western Air Temple, Firebending Masters, and the Boiling Rock. I liked that Ozai made the plan to use the comet despite conquering Ba Sing Se, otherwise, I could understand Aang avoiding battle, if, for any reason, it would weaken the Fire Lord.

I also liked Aang's issue with killing the Fire Lord, despite even Zuko's protests to off him. A real aspect into the human condition, it was. The results of this were also quite favorable: Attempting to track him with Jun, and then making the plan to stop Ozai without him by finding Iroh. When Zuko was about to enter the tent, I seriously thought that Iroh would be dead, but then I remembered, it's a kid's show.

When the battle started is when I started to lose interest, which is odd, because I usually like the battles. I didn't see the point of the White Lotus attacking Ba Sing Se, especially if Zuko planned to take the throne. Decent action, but no real plot. For Sokka's plan, although I saw it fit perfectly with the plot, it just seemed to distract. It was the "C" plot, with Aang being the "A" and Zuko being the "B." Inevitably, that was going to be the result. I liked that Toph was downplayed in favor of Sokka, as Toph always seemed to get the superhero treatment. I wish they had shown Suki do some more fighting. She went from fan-girl to street brawler really quick.

Zuko's plot was actually really good, but Azula was what struck me as odd. Getting angry over a cherry pit and tardiness was actually very good, but her descent into psychopathy was odd. Although I thought the scene with Ursa's reflection was a bit out-of-character, it was very well done. The battle was pretty good, I liked that Katara didn't actually fight Azula, as it helped show that the comet really did heighten power by a lot, although I wish Zuko had been the one to subdue her. It was his fight to end as well as to begin.

As for the epic conflict itself, it was fairly boring. Maybe it's because it was so broken up, but I was more in-tune with Zuko's fight then with Aang's. The ending, and the part with the lion-turtle, was just odd. I really didn't get it. I would have thought that simply capturing and imprisoning Ozai, negating his firebending with restraints, would have just taken out that odd part.

As for the end, the story ended with more of a season finale then a series finale. By that, I mean leaving things open-ended with Ursa and leaving Azula out entirely (unless I missed something.) Too many questions, which are supposed to be wrapped up.

All in all, it had a great beginning, but the finale didn't blow me away. There was too much happening, and thus, it was broken up. And it wasn't an issue of length, it was more an issue of pacing. Maybe they could have done it like "Appa's Lost Days" and put Aang and the Fire Lord on one episode, Azula and Zuko in another, and Sokka and the airships in the third. They could have given us a really good reason to attack Ba Sing Se and then used that as a "B" plot for Sokka's. It might have gone from 6/10 to an 8 or 9.