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Usually, summary installments are disliked among audiences as a pointless diversion, or perhaps accepted as essential in television in the age of episodic releases. That wasn't always the situation, though Avatar: The Last Airbender demonstrated this with "The Ember Island Players," a popular segment during its concluding run now being receiving an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair release.

Information about the special release

The complete Secret Lair superdrop for the soon-to-release Avatar: The Last Airbender edition was announced recently. Containing five Secret Lairs, and even though one titled "My Cabbages!" is certainly amusing nod to the series' best background character, the remaining sets seem somewhat uninspired, except for one standout: "The Ember Island Players."

Based on the seventeenth episode of the third season of the animated show, this special set includes these specific cards:

• 1x Phantasmal Image as "Absolutely Accurate Actor"
• 1x Braid of Fire
• 1x Cursed Mirror
• 1x Mask of Memory
• 1x Thespian's Stage

Why this segment remains memorable

Audiences of the show warmly cherish this particular episode, which functioned as a review of the protagonist Aang and the group's adventure prior to the final episode. Unlike standard summary installments, or retrospective segments, "The Ember Island Players" was not driven from financial limitations or creative challenges. The creators truly wanted to provide audiences a moment to revisit the overall plot, but they decided to approach it inventively.

During the installment, the crew observe a stage show inspired by their journeys in a theater set on Ember Island, called The Boy in the Iceberg. The play itself is inaccurate, cheesy, and completely amusing. It works because it plays with the characters' perception of themselves, contrasting them with how the world (and notably the Fire Nation) views them. It contains the right amount of introspective humor, and it results in perhaps the top rendition of the series available to date.

Worth and pricing

In terms of value, this represents an excellent Secret Lair for one simple reason: Braid of Fire. This particular card is valued between $20 and $40 on online marketplaces at the time of writing, and at $29.99 you can snag the entire Secret Lair, or alternatively $39.99 for the premium foil treatment.

Magic's Avatar: The Last Airbender edition can be accessed during early access events beginning November 14 and releases worldwide come November 21.