Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Ends Season 1 on an Ominous Note
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SEASON 1 OF Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is finally out. While it may not have won over all the diehard fans of the original, it's possible the show could interest people previously unfamiliar with the animated series it came from, or entice fans who may have been on the fence but are intrigued by the idea of a live-action version of a childhood series.
The original series is a three seasons, each with around 20 episodes. The show follows Aang, a young boy who–after being frozen in ice for 100 years–emerges to discover he's the last of his kind, and has the near impossible task of bringing peace to the world. But before he cane take on his biggest adversary, the leader of the Fire Nation, he has to travel the world, mastering the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Netflix's rendition made some notable changes. With only eight episodes in the first season, there's far less time to watch the characters throughout their journey. The show has the major challenge of hitting all the key highlights and points of the original series, without compromising on what made viewers love the original in the first place: great character arcs, incredible lore, and epic fight scenes.
But now that the show is out, we finally know how they've recreated some of the most memorable parts of the animated series. Here's how Netflix ended Season 1 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and here's what the show teases for a potential Season 2.
Netflix ended Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 with major changes.
The show follows much of the original animated series's format, picking up on the cusp of war. The Fire Nation army has followed Aang (Gordon Cormier) and his friends wherever they go, invading villages and cities to stop Aang before he gets too powerful. The trio has made their way to the Northern Water Tribe and its capital city Agna Qel’a, and have prepped the people for the Fire Nation's arrival.
What Happened at the Northern Water Tribe?
Commander Zhao (Ken Leung) kills the Moon Spirit, stripping all water benders of their powers. To give the people a fighting chance, Aang calls on the Ocean Spirit and merges with it to become Whalezilla. Literally, a whale godzilla. The two take out swaths of the Fire Nation. But it's not until the heir to the Northern Water Tribe, Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder), sacrifices herself to become the new Moon Spirit.
The Northern Water Tribe survives for another day, but with major casualties.
What Happened at Omashu?
It turns out the attack on Agna Qel’a was a diversion. Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu) led her own army to Omashu to capture the kingdom and King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar). With Omashu taken, that means the only thing standing in the Fire Nation's way of taking over the Earth Kingdom is Ba Sing Se.
Did Princess Yue die?
Yes! Just like in the original show, Princess Yue has a tie to the spirit world (and is also a water bender). As a young child, she needed the Moon Spirit to heal her, and in becoming the Moon Spirit she returned the favor. It's a sad and quick goodbye for Sokka, who falls in love with Yue. In the animated series, Yue becomes the moon itself.
What happened to Commander Zhao?
Despite his attempts to make himself the next Fire Lord (which never would have happened), Zhao didn't make it out of the Northern Water Tribe battle alive. When he reveals to Zuko (Dallas James Liu) that the entire mission to capture the Avatar was "a sham," Zuko attacks him. And while Zuko is stopped by Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Iroh throws Zhao into the sea. Think of Zhao as the Season 1 antagonist. With him out of the way, it means Aang and his crew now have a new big baddie to deal with: Azula.
What's Sozin's Comet?
As you probably guessed by now, Avatar: The Last Airbender is all about nature and weather. Much like the moon and its tie to the water benders, the comet ties to the fire benders. In the original series, the comet is mentioned much earlier. Once every 100 years, the comet comes and enhances fire bender's powers, meaning it's the perfect time to make a major military move. Showrunner Albert Kim explained to Entertainment Weekly the change was made to account for the changing ages of the main actors. The animated series takes place over the course of a single year. But much like Stranger Things, you can't keep real human actors the same age to tell a story at a slower pace.
“We removed that particular ticking clock from our show for now because we couldn't know exactly how old our actors would be for the subsequent seasons," he says. "We definitely thought about that going into season 1 so that we can accommodate for puberty, adolescence, time passing—all of those fun things that happen to real-life human beings that don't happen to animated characters."
Teasing the comet to come "soon," gives the writers some leeway in terms of figuring out their aging actors problem, but still adding urgency to the rest of the series.
While we don't have a definitive green light on more Avatar: The Last Airbender just yet, if Netflix goes ahead with Season 2, we know what's on the way.
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