The Tales of Ba Sing Se

"The Tales of Ba Sing Se"
Avatar: The Last Airbender episode
The episode's title card
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 15
Directed by	Ethan Spaulding
Written by	The Tale of Toph and Katara Joann Estoesta and Lisa Wahlander The Tale of Iroh Andrew Huebner The Tale of Aang Gary Scheppke The Tale of Sokka Lauren MacMullan The Tale of Zuko Katie Mattila The Tale of Momo Justin Ridge and Giancarlo Volpe
Production code	215
Original air date	September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29)
Episode chronology
← Previous "City of Walls and Secrets" Next → "Appa's Lost Days"
Avatar: The Last Airbender (season 2)
List of episodes

"The Tales of Ba Sing Se" is the 15th episode of the second season of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the 35th episode overall. The episode, written by Joann Estoesta and Lisa Wahlander (The Tale of Toph and Katara), Andrew Huebner (The Tale of Iroh), Gary Scheppke (The Tale of Aang), Lauren MacMullan (The Tale of Sokka), Katie Mattila (The Tale of Zuko), and Justin Ridge and Giancarlo Volpe (The Tale of Momo), and directed by Ethan Spaulding, the episode originally aired on Nickelodeon on September 29, 2006. It features six short vignettes of several of the series's main characters as they go about an average day in the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se. The episode constitutes a break from the previous more serious, plot-heavy episodes, and instead focuses on character development; the main plot of the season is advanced only in one of the six vignettes, the tale of the winged lemur Momo.^[1]

The first tale is of Katara and Toph, who spend a day at the spa. The sage, yet comedic Iroh's tale is next; he helps various residents of Ba Sing Se, before making a tearful tribute to his son, who died in combat trying to take the city of Ba Sing Se. Aang helps a zookeeper, though not without causing some trouble. Sokka inadvertently enters a haiku contest. The generally brooding Zuko goes on a date. The last tale centers on Momo, who searches for Aang's lost pet skybison, Appa.

"The Tales of Ba Sing Se" received widespread acclaim from critics, with reviewers considering it to be one of the series' best episodes. "The Tale of Iroh" has been especially well-reviewed and is a fan favorite. The episode was dedicated to Iroh's voice actor, Mako Iwamatsu, who died before the episode's airing.