Avatar The Last Airbender: 10 Cool Facts About The Boiling Rock, Parts 1 & 2

Back in July 2008, a major television event took place when Avatar: The Last Airbender dominated the Nickelodeon airwaves in an event entitled “Countdown to the Comet.” It was a celebration of the forthcoming Sozin’s Comet story and it unfolded through a number of episodes, including the first and second parts of “The Boiling Rock.”

There is a ton of cool trivia about “The Boiling Rock,” too. From meta references to production facts to storytelling anomalies, both parts of “The Boiling Rock” are uniquely seminal in the entire lore of Avatar. Plenty of trivia is to be found, but these are the ten coolest facts.

10 Dee Bradley Baker

Every episode of Avatar credits Dee Bradley Baker as either the voice of Appa or Momo (or both, in many cases). However, the second part of “The Boiling Rock” features no credit for Baker at all.

This is the only episode in the entire series to not give credit to Baker’s talents. Granted, the characters he brings to life are hardly needed in the installment, but it’s still a bit jarring when he’s credited on every episode.

9 Previously On Avatar

Another bit of interesting production trivia comes in regards to the “Previously on Avatar” segment. The one that is present in the second part of “The Boiling Rock” actually goes down as the lengthiest segment in the entirety of the second and third seasons of the show.

It’s not surprising, though. After all, it’s the second part of a larger story that also works to recap much of what came before on The Last Airbender. But it’s still neat that this one clocks in as the longest with a great deal of heavy lifting.

8 Sokka And Suki

It wouldn’t be an episode of Avatar without a callback to a fun character dynamic from a prior installment. In the first part, Sokka approaches Suki in a disguise and when she lacks recognition, he quips, “Maybe you’ll recognize this.”

This is a delightful reference to something Suki once said to Sokka when she also disguised herself as a guard back in season two’s “The Serpent’s Pass.” What a fun pairing!

7 Azula, Mai, And Ty Lee

The character interactions between Sokka and Suki are not the only ones that are engaging throughout both parts of “The Boiling Rock.” When it comes to the dynamic between Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee, this episode is the last that sees all three together.

Granted, this is a bit more melancholy than sweet, but it helps to show the permanence and effectiveness of Avatar‘s stakes. It’s definitely cool to think of this two-parter as marking the end of a vital piece of the show.

6 Alcatraz

The prison in question in “The Boiling Rock” has a pretty explicit design homage that probably went over kids’ heads on first watch. The Boiling Rock prison is modeled after the real-life Alcatraz prison, one of the most infamous in the world.

It’s no coincidence that Alcatraz’s nickname (and, irrelevantly, Dwayne Johnson’s nickname) is “The Rock.” Rocks are pretty crucial for the understanding of isolated island prisons. Whether in the world of Avatar or in San Francisco, rock prisons are tough hangs.

5 The Great Escape

Alcatraz is not the only visual reference point in “The Boiling Rock.” There are also heavy homages and references to the classic prison escape film, The Great Escape.

For one, the notion of a “cooler” is an element present in both the series and the film (albeit with slightly different connotations). Additionally, the escape strategy is modeled after the one Steve McQueen concocts in the 1963 film.

4 Blue Fire

Speaking of cooling, typically, firebending is shown (especially with Azula) to cool down from blue fire to orange fire over the course of its implementation. Not in the second part of “The Boiling Rock,” though!

In this episode, in a moment of extreme rarity, Azula firebends on top of a gondola and witnesses her fire remain consistently blue throughout. The use of bending in these episodes was exceedingly creative, but this was one of the most engaging takes.

3 Zuko And Names

The role that Zuko plays in the episode is an enriching one. “The Boiling Rock: Part 1” marks the first time that Zuko has ever referred to Sokka and Aang by name.

In the case of Aang, Zuko uses Aang’s name in the form of a written note. However, that’s still a major shift. By the time “The Boiling Rock” came around, the winds of change were strong on Avatar. This just showed how unstoppable they were, especially in the case of Zuko and his interactions with others.

2 Non-Bender Aang

Another rare occurrence throughout Avatar happens to transpire in the first part of “The Boiling Rock.” In this installment, Aang does not do any bending. This shows how flexible the show could be with its storytelling, as it could afford to neglect a crucial element of the series for an entire episode.

And this wasn’t even the first time they did it! Aang also engages in zero bending activities in “The Puppetmaster,” an earlier episode from season three.

1 Firebending Only

The inventive use (or, non-use) of bending is also featured prominently in the second part of “The Boiling Rock.” This episode is the only one in the entire series that shows characters who can bend only ever electing to use a singular form of bending.

That, of course, would be firebending. Wind, water, air? Nope. They’re not featured in any moment outside of the show’s intro. Firebending is the only bending featured in the episode, marking a watershed moment for the series.

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