Just to balance out everyone's positive comments before you start Season 3, I will say that I HATE season 3 and think it's terribly BORING. You are not prepared... for the boring.

Mark, I've created this account today so you can understand how and why this episode has effected me more than any other in the show. Or any other show for that matter. It is the most depressing episode I have ever seen in my entire life.

Simply put, Appa is the last of his kind in a significantly more permanent sense than Aang is and this episode distinctly reminds us of that fact. When Appa remembers flying around with all his little brothers and sisters in his dreams, it's sweet and cute, adorable in every sense of the word. But I also know that there will never be any little sky bisons ever again, they won't ever fly like they used to. I know the world as a whole has lost this incredibly intelligent species that can make friends and love and care for them. The entire species of the sky bison will cease to exist when Appa does. It doesn't help that they can fly so majestically, are so innocent of violence they're entirely vegetarian and damnit they're so cute. Knowing all of this and knowing that there will never be any sky bisons ever again is literally the most depressing thing I can think of.

I literally started crying (full waterworks) as I wrote this post for what it's worth. Now I just have to think about how Mako is actually dead and I'll be out of commission for the rest of the day.

Damnit.