The Shadow of Kyoshi cut scene 2

"Those were your memories."

— Kyoshi to Kuruk, acknowledging new revelations about his past.

Template:Chapter infobox"The Shadow of Kyoshi cut scene 2" is a deleted segment from The Shadow of Kyoshi that would have been set during the events of "Second Chances" and "Lost Friends".

Background

Initially written into an earlier draft of The Shadow of Kyoshi, the text comprises some excerpts that were altered only slightly and others that never appeared in the final version of the novel published on July 21, 2020. It was instead distributed nearly two years later as additional bonus content in the Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition of The Dawn of Yangchen, which was officially released by Amulet Books on July 19, 2022, and features events that did not occur in the completed novel's narrative as well as page-by-page commentary from F. C. Yee regarding the challenges of maintaining continuity when writing about existing characters in an established franchise. A previous cut scene became available on October 19, 2021.

Overview

Kuruk shows Kyoshi his past with Father Glowworm and how he met Ummi.

Synopsis

Initially experiencing Kuruk's memories as if they were her own, Kyoshi accidentally trades names with Father Glowworm during their battle in the Spirit World. Upon realizing the act had cemented a curse that will unite them in conflict for a long time, Kyoshi fights back harder but ultimately accepts neither can defeat the other. Kuruk, having now regained perspective over his own flashbacks, believes he has done enough damage to the spirit to keep it out of the physical world for at least a generation. By the same token, he finds his own body and spirit similarly taxed and consequently seeks out pleasures and bending challenges just to feel alive.

To that end, Nyahitha proposes a jaunt to the North Pole for the New Moon Celebration, both so he could become the first Bhanti to visit the Spirit Oasis and because the Northern Water Tribe would throw Kuruk an unforgettable party. The experience of returning to his childhood home has such a sobering effect on the Avatar, however, that he finds himself wandering the streets of Agna Qel'a with his hood drawn on his first day back to anonymously relive his youth rather than join Nyahitha at one of the many welcoming feasts.

After getting lost and needing to return to the Chieftain's Palace for an important function, Kuruk tries to hail a ferry; but they are all full, and it does not occur to him to reveal his identity. Nevertheless, a young woman eventually takes pity and shares her ferry ride. Though neither could see the other's face through the thick furs of Kuruk's hood, they strike up a pleasant conversation, Kuruk mostly listening happily to avoid unintentionally exposing himself. Introducing herself as Ummi, he learns she is from the Southern Water Tribe and impressed that she makes the long trip every year to visit her cousins for the holiday.

When they reach Ummi's stop, she asks if they will see each other at the celebrations that night. Kuruk easily affirms, used to making false promises and having enjoyed the warmth he felt from hearing her lively stories. It is at this moment while helping her off the boat, however, that his hood drops, allowing them to see each other's faces for the first time. Worried that Ummi will think he was deceiving her for some unrevealed purpose, Kuruk stands quickly to apologize but ends up falling into the icy water while Ummi covers her mouth with her hands and doubles over in laughter.

Suddenly back in the Spirit World rather than Kuruk's memories, the Water Avatar gasps at Kyoshi to stop, having been forced into a prostrating position at Kyoshi's reaction to discovering he used to hunt spirits. Kyoshi falls back painfully too, then notices the spirit meadow splintered by her emotions has repaired itself. Kuruk subsequently clears the phlegm in his throat before confiding his surprise that they could impact each other. Kyoshi eventually responds, acknowledging that she had just witnessed more context to his memories than what she had seen in North Chung-Ling and confessing to not really knowing about Ummi until now. Replying wistfully, Kuruk recalls Ummi's beauty and admits that he stared at her "like a slack-jawed fool" for the entire New Moon Celebration, each time feeling as if he were looking at her for the first time.

Production notes

Series continuity

• Ummi cannot help but laugh after Kuruk falls into an Agna Qel'a canal when she catches him off guard, intended by Yee to parallel a similar scene in "The Waterbending Master" where Yue expresses amusement after Sokka tumbles into the canal when she leaves him moonstruck.
  • Justifying the connection, Yee adds that statistically speaking Sokka could not have been the only person to fall into the canal while distracted by thoughts of love.
• Kyoshi and Kuruk unwittingly knocking each other back through their outburst of emotions while interacting in the Spirit World is a nod to when Aang and Sokka accidentally bonk each other on the head in "City of Walls and Secrets".
  • Expounding on the connection further, Yee clarifies that he was originally trying to characterize their relationship in this scene as comical and sibling-like to contrast the more wise and guidance-focused dynamic Aang had with Roku and Korra had with Aang.
• Kyoshi finally learns how Kuruk meets Ummi after Kelsang name-drops her in "Revelations" as part of another tragedy that befell his friend.

Character revelations

• Kuruk's battle with Father Glowworm leaves him with permanent physical, psychological, and spiritual trauma.
• Contrary to his outward bravado, Kuruk falls in love with Ummi for her ability to make him feel human as opposed to simply how she looks.

Goofs

• On the first page of this chapter, Father Glowworm is misgendered twice with the pronouns "him" and "he" instead of "it".
• On the fifth page of this chapter, North Chung-Ling is misspelled as "North Ching-ling".

Trivia

• Recalling how living Avatars have been depicted experiencing their prior lives' memories in a variety of ways, such as when Aang stands side-by-side with Roku in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" or when Korra observes Wan from afar in "Beginnings, Part 1" and "Beginnings, Part 2", Yee tries to convey a similar scenario between Kyoshi and Kuruk by having the former live out the latter's memories through a shifting point of view during the fight with Father Glowworm. After the editing team found it confusing, however, he concedes the method comes across better in television than literature.
• Yee's attempt to retcon the putative interpretation of Kuruk's motivations in Escape from the Spirit World and "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters" by giving an alternative reason for his actions stemmed from a desire to provide more aspects of his life for Kyoshi to engage with and feel challenged by.
  • He also wanted to offer a less superficial reason for Kuruk to fall in love with Ummi than her appearance but realized that, besides the leaps in logic his extended portrayal of their interactions took to fit into the established continuity, it was unnecessary to the story because readers could use their own "narrative sense" to fill in the blanks and infer a more nuanced reason for Kuruk liking Ummi beyond her looks.
• Whilst discussing the value of Escape from the Spirit World to Avatar's underlying continuity by providing fuel for new lore, Yee speculates that Kyoshi might have been led to believe creating numerous talented fighting groups was a good idea by virtue of her main love interest, Rangi, who was "incorruptible", being part of one.