In the Episode "Bitter Work" we see both Aang and Zuko growing their abilities beyond expectations, and we see Sokka trapped within the earth and denouncing meat and sarcasm. By the end of it he throws away those vows and Aang finally comprehends how Earthbending works, while Zuko tries to master the art of lightening. Bitter Work begins with failure for all involved -- even Toth and Katara go head-too-head on the proper methods of teaching Aang -- but at the end comes triumph for all.
The collection is wrapped up with "The Library," which details Aang's adventures in the desert. This mythical depository of knowledge buried under centuries of sand, proves to contain something that gives Aang an edge over the Fire Nation, but the library's guardian in not pleased with how the group will use this information. It is at this point -- while Aang battles the guardian and attempts to exit the library - that Oppa is kidnapped by nomads. The episode and the collection leave Aang in a very sad state, paving the way for a series of episodes dedicated to the search.
While some of these episodes are better than others they give viewers a real sense of where the avatar is heading and just who he's going to have to face by the end of the Earth book. All roads thereafter lead to Aang mastering fire bending and then taking the fight to the fire nation before it is too late. But beyond these episodes there's some great extras like commentary from the creators of the film that explain some interesting background on a particular episode or even how they decided to create a particular character. The commentary is just the icing on the cake as far as I’m concerned because this collection of episodes is just wonderful.
Avatar: Book 2 Earth Volume 2 goes a long way in further developing the series' marquee characters. These characters are all flawed to the core in their own ways, but as these five episodes play out we see the Avatar grow and Zuko change his way of thinking, setting us up for the next series of episodes that really push the plot to its limits. While this collection is pretty decent, I have to admit that I want to have the entire Book 2 Earth collection on one DVD set.
