Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 has already begun setting up the biggest choice Aang will have to make in the entire franchise. Throughout The Last Airbender season 1, Aang was forced to confront his responsibilities as the Avatar. From the Avatars of Netflix’s Last Airbender intro to characters like the other Air Nomads and even The Last Airbender‘s King Bumi, Aang was endlessly taught that his responsibilities as the Avatar outweigh his own personal desires.
By the time of The Last Airbender‘s season 1 ending, Aang faced the reality that he must make sacrifices to win the war against the Fire Nation. One such way Aang faced this reality was through his connection with The Last Airbender‘s Ocean Spirit, essentially giving himself to the all-powerful being to push back the Fire Nation. While the Ocean Spirit eventually allowed Aang to return, this will not be the first difficult choice the young Avatar will have to make, with Netflix’s The Last Airbender season 1 already foreshadowing the biggest decision of all.
Kyoshi’s Painting Sets Up Aang’s Hesitance To Kill Fire Lord Ozai
The choice that Aang will eventually have to make is whether to kill Fire Lord Ozai or not. In the original show, the final confrontation with the Fire Lord leads Aang on a journey of self-discovery as his Air Nomad teachings make him hesitant to kill Ozai in cold blood. The decision Aang comes to serves as the culmination of the entire The Last Airbender series, with Netflix’s The Last Airbender episode 2 making a direct reference to this storyline.
In this episode of Netflix’s live-action show, Aang is shown learning more about the Avatar State in Kyoshi’s shrine. There, he and Katara notice a painting depicting Kyoshi’s defeat of an Earth Kingdom warlord known as Chin the Conqueror. As the painting is being shown, Katara reads its inscription: “Only justice will bring peace.”
In the original The Last Airbender show, Aang consults his past lives to help him make a decision about Ozai. Kyoshi tells Aang to kill the Fire Lord, recalling her defeat of Chin the Conqueror as reasoning and leaving Aang with the same words inscribed on her painting in Netflix’s The Last Airbender. Through these elements, Netflix’s live-action show is already setting up the biggest decision of Aang’s life as the Avatar.
Aang’s Interactions With Other Past Avatars Set Up His Season 3 Choice
Despite being less explicit than the Kyoshi Easter egg, Aang’s interactions with the other past Avatars also set up his choice later in the show. Be it Avatar Roku or Avatar Kuruk, Aang’s past lives reiterated the idea that he will have to sacrifice his own desires for the needs of the world. In the same scene in which Kyoshi utters the aforementioned words in the original show, the other Avatars also tell Aang to do what is necessary to defeat Ozai. This sets up Aang’s Avatar: The Last Airbender choice even more, foreshadowing the ending of the entire show.
All episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-Action)
Based on the acclaimed animated Nickelodeon television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an action-adventure fantasy series developed by Albert Kim. The series follows Aang, a young man training to harness the four elements to live up to the title of Avatar – the one who will restore balance to the world.
- Cast
- Gordon Cormier , Dallas Liu , Kiawentiio , Ian Ousley , Daniel Dae Kim , Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
- Release Date
- February 22, 2024
- Where To Watch
- Netflix
