Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender makes one major change to the original show’s story in the form of Aang’s goal for the end of season 1. For the most part, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon show is incredibly faithful to the source material. From the exploration of the past Avatars in Netflix’s The Last Airbender intro to the various details about the show’s Four Nations, the live-action show includes several familiar elements to fans of the original animation.
All Nations In Avatar: The Last Airbender Explained
Avatar: The Last Airbender consists of multiple nations with distinct and rich cultures, as well as unique traits that give the show a lot of depth.
Concerning where changes are made in Netflix’s adaptation, they mostly apply to the original show’s characters. Small tweaks to The Last Airbender‘s timeline and thus some alterations to character arcs mark the biggest discrepancies between both iterations of the story. For instance, one such change applies to The Last Airbender‘s Avatar Kyoshi, whose bigger role paves the way for another major change to the overall story of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1.
Netflix’s Last Airbender Uses Kyoshi To Send Aang To The North Pole, Not Sozin’s Comet
In the live-action show, the ending of The Last Airbender season 1 is brought about by the siege of the Northern Water Tribe. While this is the same in the animated story, the reason why Aang is there to prevent the Fire Nation’s attack is changed. The original show has Roku warn Aang about the return of Sozin’s Comet, insisting that the young Airbender must master the other three elements and defeat Fire Lord Ozai before it returns. This prompts Aang to travel to the North Pole to learn Waterbending, where he is conveniently placed to push back the siege.
Concerning the live-action story, Aang travels to the North Pole because of Kyoshi. The Last Airbender season 1, episode 2 shows Aang visiting Kyoshi Island to receive guidance on the Avatar State from its namesake. Kyoshi appears and warns Aang of the impending attack on the North Pole, showing her successor a vision of the Fire Nation siege. The Comet is not part of Kyoshi’s vision, with Aang traveling to the Northern Water Tribe specifically to prevent the Fire Nation’s conquest of the nation.
Sozin’s Comet Will Still Be The Endgame Of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender
Despite Aang not learning about Sozin’s Comet returning in Netflix’s The Last Airbender season 1, the powerful celestial event will still be the endgame of the live-action adaptation. This was proven in the final scene of The Last Airbender season 1. In this scene, Fire Lord Ozai is consulted by the Fire Sage from earlier in the season. The Sage tells Ozai that the Comet is due to return, teasing the importance of the Firebending phenomenon in future seasons of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
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
- Seasons
- 1
- Where To Watch
- Netflix
