Unlike my previous two articles (see "What to Expect: Part I" and "What to Expect: Part II," which focused on “Book Three Guarantees,” stuff you can be absolutely sure of, this article is full of nothing but . . . well . . . speculation! So, without any further ado . . . Let the speculations commence!

The Season III Premiere

• Will Hakoda and the tanglemines play a pivotal role in the Book III opener? Although the scenes between Sokka and Hakoda are often forgotten amongst everything else that happened in the season finale, they were very beautifully well done, showing what family really should be like. “The Guru” opened with the revelation that Hakoda and crew have been guarding the river that leads to Ba Sing Se, which seems significant considering that the city has just been captured by the Fire Nation. They even introduced a new weapon we haven’t seen in use yet: tanglemines.
  
  Are they going to leave us hanging with those scenes, or will Sokka get to fight with his dad as he’s wanted to? Did the tanglemines only exist to tell us about where Sokka gets some of his character (sense of humor and ingenuity) from, or will they serve as a plot point?
  
  
• Will Fire Lord Ozai think Aang died? What will Azula report to Ozai? Will she proclaim Aang died? If so, will that give the Gaang an easier time of infiltrating the Fire Nation?
  
  
• What will the Gaang do with Bosco and the Earth King? Drop him off at the Eastern Air Temple with the Guru? • Will Iroh escape Ba Sing Se? I’d guess that Iroh will escape Ba Sing Se. Will he then join up with the Aang Gaang and teach Aang firebending? Nobody knows.
  
  
• How will Azula set up the government in Ba Sing Se? Presumably she’s not interested in sticking around to govern the place. Who will she leave in charge? Who can she trust to keep the Dai Li on the side of the Fire Nation? Will she open the gates for the Fire Nation troops to come in?
  
  
• Will the way the season begins hint at the way the season ends? Mike and Bryan did this in Book I (listen to the audio commentaries especially), and they did it in Book II. Of course, the Book II finale drew very heavily on the Book I beginning as well, but I would expect the Book III ending to be strongly connected with the Book III beginning. We’ll have to wait and see.

Show Mysteries

• What caused the tornado in the swamp? I wonder about this frequently. As far as I’m concerned, this hasn’t been satisfactorily answered. This is speculation, but I’ll bet Book III will answer this. Further speculation: you know, the creators have suggested Aang isn’t really the last airbender after all . . . *wink wink*
  
  
• When will we see the Fire Nation hot air balloons? I’d say it’s 99% likely that we’ll see hot air balloons in Book III. We’ve been waiting for them ever since the end of I.17, after all!
  
  
• Who will teach Aang firebending? Will it be Jeong Jeong? Iroh? A character we haven’t met yet?
  
  
• Will we finally learn more about Iroh’s journey into the spirit world and ability to see spirits? Iroh has a new voice actor for Book III, so the character is going to stick around in some capacity. We’ve been teased about Iroh’s spiritual knowledge and abilities for a long time now. Will we finally learn more about Lu Ten and about Iroh’s journey?
  
  
• What became of Suki? My guess is that we’ll find this out very shortly (basically, as soon as there’s any Sokka angst). If she’s , she’ll add to Sokka’s over-protectiveness. If she’s in a prison somewhere, she’ll probably still add to his over-protectiveness but also conveniently provide a storyline for a Book III episode.
  
  
• Who will become Fire Lord at the defeat of Ozai? Iroh would make a great Fire Lord, but Zuko could become Fire Lord too.

Part II will focus on romance, bending, and recurring characters!