[S2E2] The Cave

While journeying to Omashu, Aang and his friends meet a group of carefree traveling bards, who lead them through a vast network of tunnels known as the Cave of Two Lovers. Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are sheltered by kind villagers after Iroh accidentally drinks tea made from a poisonous plant. Song, a young and compassionate healer, shows Zuko the effects of war from an ordinary citizen's perspective. After being separated from the rest of the group while navigating the elaborate tunnels, Aang and Katara grow closer as they discover the origins of the cave, which includes the tombs of the first two earthbenders. Both groups eventually escape from the labyrinth; Team Avatar arrives at Omashu, only to discover that it has been conquered by the Fire Nation.

[S2E2] The Cave

Before Aang, Katara, and Sokka enter the cave, Chong mentions that the tunnels form a labyrinth protected by a curse. Only those who put their trust in love can navigate through the maze; those who do not will be forever lost. Once they enter, a group of pursuing Fire Nation soldiers in tundra tanks destroy the entrance to the tunnels, trapping everyone inside. Scared but undeterred, Sokka creates a map to mark their progress while traveling though the labyrinth. Before long, however, Sokka's technique proves useless due to the fact that the tunnels are continually changing around them.

Meanwhile, the group is separated following a cave-in caused by Appa's panic at being underground, exacerbated by an attacking wolfbat and a carelessly wielded torch. Aang's quick actions protect everyone from being crushed by the falling rocks, but the group ends up divided. Aang, Katara, and Appa wind up together, while Momo and Sokka, much to the latter's dismay, are forced to travel through the tunnels with the musical nomads. Chong assures him that he should not not be let down by the cave in.

On their way to Omashu Aang, Katara, and Sokka meet a group of nomads who show them a shortcut through the "Cave of Two Lovers". But when the group becomes trapped in the cave, it's up to Aang and Katara to save the group by trusting in love, and possibly questioning their relationship. Meanwhile, Iroh gets a lethal rash and so he and Zuko head to a small Earth Kingdom town for help, hoping their real identities will not be discovered.

Meanwhile, Frog Lady has quietly tiptoed off to have a sneak spa in a hot spring that she's found. The Child spies hundreds of eggs on the snow-covered ground and naturally breaks one open to gorge itself on the gooey insides. And then, just as we start to imagine a worst-case scenario, almost in perfect synchronization with our new nightmare, all the eggs start to hatch and thousands, upon thousands of ice cavern-dwelling, carnivore, space spiders start to flock towards the Child, Djarin and the currently naked Frog Lady.

The ice cavern-dwelling, carnivore, space spiders are actually called Krykna and were first invented by famed sci-fi artist Ralph McQuarrie in his concept work called the "knobby white spider" for "The Empire Strikes Back." It was originally conceived that they'd appear on Dagobah, the planet where Luke finds Yoda, but as we know, that didn't happen. They later appeared in Kevin J. Anderson's 1995 Star Wars Legends novel "Darksaber" and "The Illustrated Star Wars Universe" and Dave Filoni succeeded in bringing the Krykna into official canon in his animated series "Star Wars Rebels," in "The Mystery of Chopper Base" (S02, E20) when the crew of the Ghost encountered them on the planet Atollon.

The Frog Lady uses the severed head of the droid Q9-0 to translate and says they cannot wait, admonishing the Mandalorian for breaking his word, and he reluctantly begins repairs. Later they find the Frog Lady in a nearby hot water pool, bathing with her eggs. The Mandalorian warns her that it is not safe and collects the eggs. The Child explores the ice cave, finding another kind of egg, which he eats. Nearby eggs hatch, and soon the cave is filled with white spiders of various sizes. They are chased by a cluster of spiders, and a giant spider attacks. The spiders surround them from all sides, but they make it to the ship's cockpit. A spider climbs onto the Child but the Frog Lady vaporizes it with a tiny blaster.

( They all begin to enter the cave. Cuts to a close-up of Appa as he groans. Several Fire Nation tanks rumble across the terrain toward the entrance of the tunnel and pause once they reach the mouth of the cave. )

Sokka: ( Cuts to an overhead shot of the group standing in the dark cave before switching to Sokka who looks up from the map. ) There's something strange here. There's only one explanation. ( Cuts to shot of the rest of the group before switching to Sokka who turns to face the camera. ) The tunnels are changing.

( Cuts to shot of Sokka looking into the dark tunnel, his back to the camera. A low snarl can be heard from within the darkness of the tunnel. Momo flees from his shoulder. Sokka suspiciously holds the torch up to the tunnel to inspect the strange sound. Suddenly, a wolfbat flies from the darkness of the cave toward the camera, causing everyone to panic. )

Chong: ( Singing as he and the nomads pass the angry warrior. ) Oh, don't let the cave-in get you down! ( Cuts to shot of him. ) Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown! ( He goes off-screen and Moku passes by, nudging Sokka. ) When the tunnels are darkest, that's when you need a clown, hey! ( Re-enters. ) Don't let the cave-in get you down, Sokka!

( Disappointed and reluctant, Iroh mounts the ostrich horse and the two ride away, leaving Song upset. She quietly closes the screen door to the house. The scene switches to the cave where Aang and Katara are still wandering about hopelessly, their torch ready to burn out at any moment. )

( She silently walks over and grabs hold of his hand. Aang smiles up at her. The camera cuts to a close-up of Katara's face. The two are seen leaning into one another as the last of the torch light fades. Suddenly, the ceiling of the cave lights up revealing thousands of glowing crystals gleaming overhead. Meanwhile, Sokka and the band of nomads are journeying through the cave when they hear low growls. The camera zooms in on a dark tunnel where several wolfbats come into the light, racing toward them. Sokka waves his hands frantically in an attempt to scare them off. The creatures fly straight past him. )

( The caves rumble. Cuts to an overhead shot of the group as a wall of rock crumbles. Without warning, two giant badgermoles burst through the caves, causing the group to panic. One badgermole closes its hands together in a prayerful manner, closing off a tunnel behind it with earthbending. The camera shifts right across the group and cuts to the other badgermole which pounds the ground with its paws and raises a wall of earth, blocking off the exits. Cuts to an overhead shot of the cave where one badgermole is seen using earthbending to create a split in the earth between the nomads and Sokka. )

( She runs toward the exit. Aang stares after her before shaking his head and smiling. He and Appa follow close behind. They make their way out of the cave and into the outdoors. Appa bounds out of the tunnel and flops onto his back, tongue lolling out in content. )

( The two seem a bit concerned at first, but a rumbling is heard. Cuts to an overhead shot of the exit where at that moment, Sokka and the band of nomads emerge from the cave, riding atop badgermoles. Debris flies everywhere and Aang and Katara shield themselves from the rubble. The camera pans upward to Sokka riding atop one of the creatures, waving, Momo flying about. )

( He turns to the badgermoles and waves to them as they slowly plod their way into the cave again. Two walls of rock rise up where the badgermoles re-entered the cave. The camera pans to where Momo is seemingly communicating with Appa, telling him of his journey through the caves. Appa seemingly roars in response to the lemur. Katara is seen hugging her brother. )

Often when we don?t have a really good clue about something, we tend to make caricatures about it.? One good example of this involves the concepts of heaven and hell. Hell is often portrayed as a massive cave filled with fire, red minions, and Satan himself (bifurcated tail and hayfork at the ready). Heaven, on the other hand, is full of clouds with Saint Peter outside a gate, looking at a large book to see if people (and other animals) should be allowed inside.? But what is heaven and hell like from a spiritual perspective? In the second episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (Monday, 9PM/8CT Nat Geo), the focus is the afterlife?and it seems to bring up more questions than provide answers.

Of course, we can look up to the stars and get a sense of wonder and awe, or consider hell as a fearful place, as Freeman did growing up.? The question becomes a simple one: ?How have these unseen places changed the way we live our lives on Earth?? In the episode, he takes a look at a number of different perspectives?the Cherokee Indian version that mimics reincarnation; the Ethiopian church?s attempt to exorcise demons to eliminate hell on earth; a Pentecostal church bringing heaven to earth via speaking in tongues; a Hindu king?s attempt to mimic heaven in the form of Angkor Wat; Assyrian Christians escaping Iraq, only to move to Syria and face a worse life dealing with ISIS; and Mayan cenotes where heaven is found in underwater caverns (see top picture). 041b061a72