Got the Katara Again Every Winte

It took several years of research, merely nosotros now know—considerately—that Nickelodeon'southward mid-2000s animated activeness-adventures series AVATAR: THE Terminal AIRBENDER is the best show ever made. But how exercise we objectively locate the best episode of what's objectively the all-time series?

Wonder no more. I've devised a rigorous system to quantitate the qualitative aspects of the show, and with it, I have ranked all 61 episodes of AVATAR: THE Concluding AIRBENDER, based on their objective quality.

Before we begin, a couple notes: Multi-office episodes and episodes which first aired on the same date are beingness considered as single episodes for the purposes of this listing. For brevity's sake, I have but credited the writers of each episode every bit the writer. Remember to applaud directors Giancarlo Volpe, Dave Filoni, Lauren MacMullan, Anthony Lioi, Joaquim Dos Santos, and the animators at JM, Moi, and DR Picture for their essential contributions to the series.

***

l. "The Fortuneteller" (Season 1, Episode 14) written by Aaron Ehasz & John O'Bryan

This episode is cute, but its cuteness doesn't make upward for its trite jokes. Considering how spirituality informed the rest of the prove is, one would believe an episode titled "The Fortuneteller" would have some fresh observations most prophecy and premonition. Sike.

+l points for Aang'south weaving skills. -25 points for a very convenient volcanic eruption. -25 points for the sexist flattening of our primary characters.

49. "The Great Divide" (Season ane, Episode eleven) written by John O'Bryan

Is this episode really every bit bad every bit every A:TLA fan who tells y'all to skip information technology says information technology is? Or is it nonetheless another underappreciated Season i precious stone? I lean towards the one-time. It'south true that this episode doesn't take any real point, direction, or relevance with the rest of the serial, but its biggest offense is that it'south ane of the ii A:TLA comedy episodes without consistently good jokes.

+fifty points for dandy art style shifts. +200 points for Rene Auberjonois (RIP). -150 points for banal tribalism clichés.

48. "Winter Solstice (Parts 1 & 2)" (Season i, Episodes seven-8) written by A. Ehasz / DiMartino

The majority of this two-parter is Spirit World exposition and setting up the stakes for the rest of the series. Unfortunately, the story these episodes tell isn't all that engaging when taken on its ain.

+100 points for smol panda friend. +200 points for Rokus and Dragons. -100 points for infodump overdose.

47. "The Painted Lady" (Season three, Episode 3) westward. Josh Hamilton

The Fire Nation invasion plot takes a backseat for some ecology awareness boosting.

+50 points for Doctor Shoe Bushi's rise-and-grind lifestyle. +100 points for a little colina with horns. +200 points for industrial-imperialist comeuppance. -100 points for two-headed fish.

46. "The Rex of Omashu" (Season ane, Episode 5) west. John O'Bryan

What starts out feeling like an obligatory usage of the Three Trials trope ends up being an entertaining showcase of Aang's best qualities. You actually tin can't help but love our tattooed flying monk boy afterwards this one.

+50 points for a newly refurbished bed bedchamber. +150 points for lost cabbages. +300 points for Swole King Bumi.

45. "Nightmares and Daydreams" (Season iii, Episode 9) w. John O'Bryan

A:TLA actively triggers insomniacs with this interlude well-nigh Aang's stress dreams.

+150 points for Sokka Freud. +250 points for Dream Aang'southward '90s shōnen gear. +350 points for Dream Aang'south Humphrey Bogart impression. -100 points because Aang's sleep-deprived eyelids are likewise relatable.

44. "The Runaway" (Flavor three, Episode 7) west. Joshua Hamilton

A problem going into Book 3 was the potential for Toph to get sidelined since earthbending would no longer exist Aang's focus and the state of war wasn't personal for Toph the way information technology was for Katara and Sokka. Coming upwards with compelling episode ideas for her must take been a real head-scratcher, so I'thousand glad we got something, merely this caper adventure lacks the teeth of its surrounding episodes.

+200 points for A:TLA's only cold open. +300 points for sweatbending. +350 points for "Sparky-Sparky Smash Human".

43. "Bato of the Water Tribe" (Season 1, Episode 15) w. Ian Wilcox

This episode introduces June, the #1 baddie of A:TLA. On another site, that would brand this the #1 episode of A:TLA. But over here at BMD nosotros like to keep things swish. In all seriousness though, "Bato of the Water Tribe" is a really touching episode.

+100 points for an ice dodging anniversary. +300 points for Bato'southward reassuring presence. +500 points for Hakoda's heartbreaking departure. +600 points for June THEE Bounty Hunter.

42. "The Waterbending Roll" (Flavor 1, Episode 9) w. John O'Bryan

This one'southward a fun pirate hazard. Information technology also features a scene which added nuclear armament to the shipping wars.

+1,000 points for that Zuko-Katara necklace interaction. +one,000 points for a smoke-filled scramble for a gyre.

41. "The Swamp" (Season 2, Episode 4) west. Tim Hedrick

Does it brand a lot of sense that a tribal people in the center of an Earth Kingdom swamp has Cajun accents? Does information technology need to? "The Swamp" is an exposition/set up-up episode in the mold of "Winter Solstice", only this time it'southward a lot more tolerable because it'due south a ane-part episode.

+4,000 points for the "lemu"-hunting, plantbending Foggy Swamp tribe. (Note: if I ever go to make an AVATAR sequel serial, the new Avatar will be born in the Foggy Swamp. Non-negotiable.)

40. "The Earth King" (Season 2, Episode 18) w. John O'Bryan

There's not a lot to say about this episode since it mostly functions as a jerky wrap-upward for the Ba Sing Se conspiracy plotline and set-up for the Book 2 finale. The sequence where the gAang storms the Earth King's palace is sick as hell though.

+500 points for cinderblock dominos. +2,500 points for turning stairs into slides. +3,500 points for the most atoning siege in TV history. +3,500 points for Zuko'southward fever dream metamorphosis.

39. "The Cave of Two Lovers" (Season ii, Episode ii) w. Joshua Hamilton

Secret TUNNELLLL! SECRET TUNNELLLLLL! What? I never said this list would be near restraint.This episode is packed with hilarious moments. It oftentimes gets overlooked in the A:TLA comedies catechism because it's not a parody of pro-wrestling, nor is it an explosion of meta-sense of humour like a certain other episode.

+ten,000 points for too many jokes to list here. +five,000 points for my fav: "If the Earth Kingdom discovers u.s.a., they'll accept u.s.a. killed. But if the Burn Nation discovers united states of america, nosotros'll be turned over to Azula. *crush* World Kingdom it is."

38. "Boy in the Iceberg"/"The Avatar Returns" (Season i, Episodes 1-2) w. Michael DiMartino & Brian Konietzko.

It shouldn't go unappreciated how effective this pilot was in establishing the main characters, themes, and earth of A:TLA. A remarkable amount of idea went into making Aang, Katara, and Sokka immediately endearing, while likewise seeding their internal conflicts for the rest of the show. Zuko and Iroh also get key moments, fifty-fifty though their characters might come off as garish to the first-time watcher. A solid start.

+xx,000 points for "Water. World. Burn down. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories…"

37. "The Northern Air Temple" (Season 1, Episode 17) w. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

Elizabeth Ehasz probably has the most rock-solid portfolio of all the A:TLA staff writers, and her first "written by" credit on the show is no exception. "The Northern Air Temple" tackles the consequences of the Air Nomad genocide in an engaging fashion, and we get to see some more growth from Aang.

+10,000 points for aeriform siege defense activity. +20,000 points for that Air Nomad spirit. -v,000 signal it'south hard to believe in techno-industrialist utopians similar the Mechanist these days.

36. "Imprisoned" (Flavour one, Episode 6) w. Matthew Hubbard

This ane excellently displays why Katara is the nucleus of Team Avatar, and information technology's likewise one of the earliest episodes to show the ravages of the Hundred Year War. It's definitely A:TLA's second best prison intermission episode.

+x,000 points for an earthbending lemur. +20,000 points for Katara's NORMA RAE speech.

35. "The Avatar State" (Season 2, Episode 1) w. Ehasz, Ehasz, Hedrick, & O'Bryan

This episode is a flatulent way to tell viewers "No, Aang can't but go Avatar State Sicko Way on the Fire Lord, and so cease asking." It also seeds an impressive corporeality of Season 2 plot threads. Azula finally makes her outset real advent! The exploitative machinations of the Earth Kingdom General forces our heroes to reassess who they tin can trust… and non for the last fourth dimension.

+1,000 points for the World Kingdom soldiers not having a problem with that. +9,000 points for chopped top-knots. +xxx,000 points for anybody's favorite power-hungry, pyromaniac princess.

34. "The Headband" (Flavour 3, Episode ii) w. John O'Bryan

By this point in the series, A:TLA had already done riffs on countless martial arts films, STAR WARS, Sergio Leone movies, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, and more. And so now that we take an episode where the gAang adopts new identities and goes backside enemy lines the motion picture A:TLA chooses to have the most inspiration from ends up beingness… Footloose? Sure. Why not.

+iv,000 points for a Hotman'due south phone call. +6,000 points for a game of hide and explode. +20,000 points for a vivid representation of the mundanity of fascism. +25,000 points for Uncle'south silent treatment (RIP Mako).

33. "The Southern Air Temple" (Season i, Episode 3) due west. Michael Dante DiMartino

Rather than immediately jumping into hijinks like most adventure cartoons of this era, A:TLA lets its characters breathe, and establishes some backstory. While "The Southern Air Temple" might non be as revelatory as the series' other backstory episodes, it's definitely successful at making viewers care about the worldbuild-y tidbits like the air temples, Air Nomads, and the Avatar Cycle. We also gain more insight into the Fire Nation with the introduction of Volume 1 antagonist Zhao and the evidence's get-go Agni Kai.

+25,000 points for Momo, the final flying lemur. +35,000 points for that iconic Agni Kai theme music.

32. "The Warriors of Kyoshi" (Flavour 1, Episode iv) w. Nick Malis

The tertiary entry of the series establishes many of the show'southward fun qualities: its witty humour, its expressive animation and activeness scenes, the deftness with which it introduces supporting characters and memorable new locations, and its sense of levity without sacrificing the overarching story.

+70,000 points for a foaming oral fissure guy.

31. "Avatar Day" (Flavour two, Episode v) w. John O'Bryan

A:TLA does a riff on LAW & Order. Hilarity ensues. On the more serious side, Zuko parts means from Iroh for the outset (just not final) time.

+5,000 points for "Ruff Rhinos". +15,000 points for an ashamed foaming mouth guy. +xxx,000 points for Avatar Kyoshi'due south seismological castration of Chin the Conquistador. +35,000 points for sensitive prisoners. -five,000 points for gross, unfried dough consumption. -5,000 points for no "Ruff Rhinos Anthem".

30. "The Western Air Temple" (Season three, Episode 12) due west. A. Ehasz & Hedrick

The gAang'south world gets turned upside down, and not just metaphorically. Zuko nervously asks to become Aang's firebending teacher, and sometime resentments give way for a partnership we've all been waiting for.

+40,000 points for a Dante Basco Iroh impression. +l,000 points for Sokka's Game seven 3-point buzzer beater boomerang shot (RIP Sparky Sparky Boom Human being). -ten,000 points because I can't see with my feet.

29. "Return to Omashu" (Flavor 2, Episode 3) w. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

This episode does a great job establishing how Azula is a threat in a way that Zuko and Zhao but weren't. A large part of this are the additions of Mai and Ty Lee to the cast.

+20,000 points for a return of a king. +25,000 points for a twisted couple of recruitment-reunion scenes. +fifty,000 points for FAST & FURIOUS: OMASHU Drift.

28. "The Awakening" (Flavour 3, Episode one) w. Aaron Ehasz

A:TLA ushers in the new condition quo at an astonishing clip. The Hundred Years' War is no longer a state of war, and more of a ragtag rebellion. The Avatar is dead. Supposedly. Aang and Zuko both have to make up one's mind where to go next.

+10,000 points for the Burn down Lord's handsome, evil mug. +15,000 points for nappy-headed Aang. +100,000 points for Mae Whitman's vocal chops making me weep every time that Katara-Hakoda heart-to-heart comes around. -25,000 points for makeup-less Azula's incest vibes.

27. "The Boiling Rock (Parts 1&2)" (Season iii, Episodes 14-fifteen) westward. Chan / Hamilton

Sokka and Zuko's bonding adventure ends upwardly being a Great Escape. This 2-parter is a propulsive couple of actioners—exactly the kind of welcome diversion that A:TLA's episodic structure permits. My only caveat is that one of these episodes should have been from Suki's perspective.

+2,000 points for fire fists and hot squats. +18,000 points for buddies having information technology rough. +25,000 points for Mai and Ty Lee's mute/unfollow of Azula. +75,000 points for a Hakoda family reunion. +fourscore,000 points for Chit Sang.

26. "The Ophidian's Pass"/"The Drill" (Flavour 2, Episodes 12-13) w. DiMartino & Hamilton / DiMartino & Konietzko

The difficulties of getting effectually without a flying bison are made clear in this travelogue two-parter. While forces converge around Ba Sing Se—the last great Earth Kingdom stronghold—our heroes continue to evolve, and long-absent familiar faces show up. Ends with the coolest A:TLA setpiece outside of "Sozin's Comet".

+25,000 points for Jet and Zuko's short-lived bromance. +50,000 points for Sokka'southward Suki smoochie. +175,000 points for stomp-kicking a giant drill into submission.

25. "The Library"/"The Desert" (Season 2, Episodes 10-11) westward. O'Bryan / Hedrick

More than merely a pulpy chance interlude, this exciting ii-parter kicks off A:TLA'due south mad dash to the finale. Past this point, every episode raises the stakes or advances toward the concluding battle in some way. Appa'due south kidnapping—heart wrenching as it is—is just the beginning of a long serial of escalations.

+fifty,000 points for a peyote trip in a children's cartoon. +150,000 points for Wan Shi Tong's accurate portrayal of academia. -100,000 points for the rudeness of stealing Appa. +200,000 points for making ever viewer cry.

24. "Jet" (Flavour 1, Episode 10) w. James Eagan

This very special episode of AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER tackled kid soldiering and wartime collateral damage! In the procedure, it gave u.s. one of the show'south well-nigh interesting recurring characters.

+25,000 points for chewing wheatgrass. +300,000 points for riding Burn Nation soldiers like wild hog monkeys.

23. "City of Walls and Secrets" (Season 2, Episode xiv) west. Tim Hedrick

This episode'south achievements (in order from least impressive to most impressive) are that it 1) scored A:TLA its first Emmy nomination, and 2) spawned A:TLA's nigh obnoxious meme. Back in 2006, Long Feng's plot to obscure the Hundred Year State of war was seen every bit topical and resonated strongly with Bush Administration disillusionment. Now though… who am I kidding? This episode is still kinda topical. As I write this, we're probably only days away from the president obliviously retweeting a "There Is No COVID in Ba Sing Se" gif or something.

+25,000 points for but a bear. +75,000 points for Posh Toph. +100,000 points for a Liberty Fighter intervention scene. +200,000 points for Clancy Chocolate-brown's perfect casting.

22. "Sokka's Main" (Flavor three, Episode four) west. Tim Hedrick

A level-grinding episode for Sokka ends up becoming a honey letter of the alphabet to all the teachers, mentors, and great collaborators who have helped us motion frontward. This episode also "reveals" something that true A:TLA fans knew the whole time: that Sokka is a warrior.

+twenty,000 points for Swole Iroh. +fifty,000 points for a sword duel final examination. +180,000 points for a shiny meteor sword. +1,000,000 points for a million Lees. -750,000 points for the image of Aang using awful grimdark armor and a "wind sword."

21. "The Waterbending Master" (Season 1, Episode 18) w. Michael Dante DiMartino

Simply introducing the Northern Tribe, having the gAang finally detect a waterbending principal, and setting upward the climactic battle would accept been as well piece of cake for the A:TLA writers. They had to throw in a subplot near challenging patriarchal norms while they were at information technology. "The Waterbending Master" is a great episode, and an essential Katara episode.

+100,000 points for doing an activity. +400,000 points for not apologizing to a sour old human being.

20. "The Avatar and the Fire Lord" (Flavor iii, Episode six) west. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

Throwback! The past lineages of both Aang and Zuko are thrown in great relief and revealed to be securely intertwined. "The Avatar and the Burn down Lord" is a nice meditation on the things we inherit. The responsibilities forced on us by past generations can exist burdensome, simply they also leave open a door for redemption.

+100,000 points for Fire Lord Sozin's variation on the white man's burden. +150,000 points for tons of dragon-riding. +300,000 points for the but practiced inversion of the Luke-Vader reveal.

nineteen. "The Firebending Masters" (Season 3, Episode xiii) w. John O'Bryan

The clock is ticking for Aang to learn firebending, but Zuko tin't get it up! I mean, Zuko'due south alter of middle has inhibited his inner flame, so he and Aang decide to go dancing and they calorie-free information technology up with some dragon homies. An excellent and funny bonding episode.

+100,000 points for a RAIDERS homage. +200,000 points for Baby Toph's first earthbending lesson. +300,000 points for the Dancing Dragon course.

18. "Appa's Lost Days" (Season 2, Episode 16) west. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

After spending the by several episodes stressing the states out by non showing where Appa's been, A:TLA stresses us out fifty-fifty more with this epitomize. Elizabeth Ehasz and director Giancarlo Volpe outdo themselves past putting you in the Final Flying Bison's perspective for one-half an 60 minutes.

-1,000,000 points for sky bison corruption. -500,000 points for the Suki vs. Azula cliffhanger. +2,150,000 points for Babe Aang and Baby Appa'southward meet-cute.

17. "Lake Laogai" (Season 2, Episode 17) westward. Tim Hedrick

Reunions grow in Ba Sing Se. Jet's Freedom Fighters link up with the gAang again. Appa finally returns to Aang. Simply the most potent reconciliation happens beneath Lake Laogai, where Iroh manages to recover Zuko'south long-buried better nature, if only for but a moment.

+fifty,000 points for an sometime man'south dream tea shop. +150,000 points for a prince who never thinks things through. +200,000 points for the rites of a fallen Liberty Fighter. +300,000 points for a found pet.

16. "The Chase" (Season 2, Episode 8) w. Joshua Hamilton

"The Chase" uses one of my favorite plot formulas. BATTLESTAR GALACTICA used information technology. FURY ROAD used it. THE Final JEDI used it. You lot can't go wrong with information technology.

+250,000 points for Toph and Iroh'southward teatime. +500,000 points for a four element Mexican stand up-off.

15. "The Deserter" (Season 1, Episode 16) w. Tim Hedrick

Equally an early on introduction to the ethos of firebending, this episode is effective in convincing you of the bending fine art'south danger. Out of the many mentor figures of AVATAR, I can't call up of ane I like more than Keone Young's Jeong-Jeong… except for maybe Avatar Roku. Which makes it all the more perfect they share a scene together (+800,000 points).

14. "The Tales of Ba Sing Se" (Season 2, Episode 15) west. Estoesta & Wahlander / Huebner / Scheppke / MacMullan / Mattila / Ridge & Volpe

With its knack for supplying even its i-off characters with color and interiority, at that place was never whatsoever incertitude A:TLA could pull off a micro-stories album.

+50,000 points for Sokka's rap battle. +100,000 points for Zuko's offset date. +600,000 points for Iroh'south kindness. +600,000 points for Mako's immortal grace. +600,000 points for "Leaves from the Vine". -1,000,000 points for messing effectually with an Appa bewilderment.

13. "The Beach" (Season 3, Episode 5) w. Katie Mattila

A Burn Nation episode that makes you sad there weren't more than episodes set within the Zuko/Azula coiffure. The standard Beach Episode trope is fabricated absurdly comic past juxtaposing the quirks of adolescence with the state of war that has divers these teenage soldiers' lives.

+100,000 points for Aang's rock-suit rocket launch. +300,000 points for teen melodrama. +600,000 points for Azula'due south flirting skills.

12. "Sozin's Comet (Parts ane-4)" (Season 3, Episodes 18-21) westward. DiMartino / Ehasz / DiMartino & Konietzko

"Sozin's Comet" delivers on about everything an epic fantasy conclusion needs to deliver on. Thanks to the titular comet, the stakes are raised higher than ever. The promised showdown betwixt the Avatar and the Fire Lord tin no longer be postponed. Along the manner, dear characters are put in peril, tender last moments are shared, and fan-favorites make clever cameo appearances. All of this gets to be presented with a new high bar in blitheness and score (areas where A:TLA was already exceptional).

The only downside is that Aang's graphic symbol arc was slightly mangled to make room for it all. It's cool that "Sozin'southward Comet" throws an ethical curveball at Aang right at the moment we're getting hyped for the final battle. It's just the follow-through with this conflict is half-hearted, peculiarly when contrasted with the show's other mature plotlines. And the more I watch the prove, the more than gratuitous Aang and Katara'southward final scene feels since it uses up fourth dimension that could take gone to Aang wrestling with his dilemma in a more than honest way.

+iii,000,000 points for showing but how far our chief characters have come. +3,00,000 points since The Last Agni Kai remains the most impactful setpiece in TV history. +3,00,000 points for Sokka's painting of the skillful times together. -4,000,000 points for a fumbled spiritual conflict.

eleven. "The Ember Island Players" (Season 3, Episode 17) w. Hedrick, Hamilton, & O'Bryan

Who doesn't similar "The Ember Island Players"? By the killer jokes, past the meta-humor, by the nostalgia of having the show recapped for you, this episode is swell because we get to explore how the gAang views themselves and each other.

+1,000,000 points for The Merchant of Cabbage. +3,000,000 points for a scar on the incorrect side. -two,000,000 points for a horrible play. +four,000,000 points for decent effects.

10. "The Blueish Spirit" (Flavour 1, Episode 13) w. DiMartino & Konietzko

"If we knew each other back then, do you think we could have been friends, too?" The core tension of A:TLA is rendered painfully clear with a unmarried question. The forces which have made Aang and Zuko enemies—the war, past betrayals, by losses—are felt more than ever in one case we're shown how well these ii boys play together.

+one,000,000 points for Miyuki's dinner.  +ii,000,000 points for Zuko's Bluish Spirit costume. +three,250,000 points for escaping the Yuyan Archers.

9. "The Bullheaded Bandit" (Season 2, Episode half-dozen) due west. Michael Dante DiMartino

It isn't very often a prove manages to innovate a fan-favorite regular in the middle of the series, especially in cartoons, whose fandoms tend to exist hostile towards new characters (think Poochie). To get viewers to agree with a new character, you need a bang-up episode. With "The Blind Bandit", A:TLA served a phenomenal one, and that'due south why everyone agrees Toph Beifong is the Goat.

+100,000 points for a strip mall martial arts school. +600,000 points for wrestling fanatic Sokka. +900,000 points for a conflicted Bedrock. +1,000,000 points for the thoughtful design of sonic "vision". +five,000,000 points for the inflow of Toph the Undefeated, Long May She Reign.

8. "The Southern Raiders" (Season 3, Episode 16) west. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

As the mommy-glue that held Team Avatar together, Katara was rarely allowed act flawed in significant means. She e'er had to be the moral compass. Which is why it's so refreshing to meet Katara skirt the dark side a bit, and non in a superficial style, but for human, understandable reasons. This episode's take on revenge and forgiveness is nuanced plenty to earn it all-timer condition.

+500,000 points because of course Azula made it. +800,000 points because Sokka fucks now. +one,000,000 points for pausing the rain. +3,000,000 points for Katara's Eichmann in Jerusalem moment. -ii,000,000 points for Aang's judgmental ass. +seven,300,000 points for Zuko'southward checkmate of a final question.

vii. "The Storm" (Season i, Episode 12) w. Aaron Ehasz

Now this is a classic backstory episode. Probably more important to the arc of the evidence than any other Season i episode besides the premiere. "The Storm" is crucial to understanding the psychologies of Aang and Zuko, the 2 principal characters of A:TLA. "The Storm" is likewise deeply tragic, and an important step in the bear witness's steady foray into more than mature themes.

+one,000,000 points for not being too young to dice and still not wanting to. +eight,000,000 points for young kids making impossible decisions.

6. "The Guru"/"The Crossroads of Destiny" (Season 2, Episodes 19-20) w. DiMartino & Konietzko / A. Ehasz

And here is where A:TLA goes full EMPIRE STRIKES Dorsum. Our heroes separate to larn new skills and run across up with old allies. The enemy reveals themselves at the worst possible moment, there'southward a betrayal, and of a sudden it seems all hope is lost.

Just instead of being a mere mimicry of EMPIRE, this ii-part finale goes in a higher place and beyond. The same betrayal is felt much harder hither than in a gamut of stories which have attempted the aforementioned formula. The ofttimes-criticized decision to accept Zuko side with Azula at the last minute non merely makes proficient on the foreshadowing of previous episodes, but information technology also hits domicile 1 of A:TLA's core lessons: existent alter never comes easy.

+1,000,000 points for unlocking them chakras. +2,000,000 points for the Greatest Earthbender in the world never letting united states of america forget it. +iii,000,000 points for an Avatar Pieta. +3,500,000 points for the realest betrayal ever.

v. "The Siege of the North (Parts 1&2)" (Season i, Episodes 19-20) westward. O'Bryan / A. Ehasz

No other show has weaved together relationship drama, tense action, internal conflict, and otherworldly spiritual portent with this much ease. If you had whatever doubts almost AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER being the real deal, and so they were surely put to rest by Book One sticking the landing this difficult.

+1,000,000 points for raw talent alone not existence enough. +one,000,000 points for Admiral Choi preparing to run across his fate.  +2,000,000 points for Koh the Face Stealer. +2,000,000 points for the monochrome Agni Kai. +two,000,000 points for Yue'southward heroism. +2,000,000 points because a man needs his residuum.

4. "Zuko Solitary" (Flavour 2, Episode 7) due west. Elizabeth Welch Ehasz

A mount of ink has been spilled over this one episode, so rather than attempting to find a new style to describe how amazing information technology is, I'm just going to link y'all to Hoai-Tran Bui's pitch-perfect entry on this televisual accomplishment. (While yous're at it, read the remainder of her list. It doesn't take an objective indicate arrangement like mine, but information technology's still very accurate.)

+1,000,000 points for baby turtle-ducks. +one,500,000 points for a belly-laughing General Iroh. +1,500,000 points for sharp weapons as metaphors. +8,000,000 points for a sublime graphic symbol study of A:TLA's #1 sorry boi prince.

3. "The Puppetmaster" (Season 3, Episode eight) w. Tim Hedrick

Nobody thought A:TLA would go at that place, merely A:TLA did. Plenty of stories like to play effectually with a make clean version of "elements" that really simply part as a color-coded organisation for hitting people—yous know, your Captain PLANETs and your NARUTOs, etcetera. Few stories take pains to admit that elements, by their definition, make up everything effectually us. And when they do, they sometimes forget that elements are within of u.s. too.

This is besides truthful for the forces of oppression—the relationships of ability which allow us and drive us to dominate ane some other. Anyone can exist subjected, and anyone is capable of subjection. With the parable of Hama, A:TLA hauntingly forces viewers to ask how to acquit themselves in such a system.

+ane,500,000 points for Tress MacNeille's delivery of "They're simply flowers." +two,000,000 points for the gnarliest prison house break in Nickelodeon history. +4,500,000 points for Hama's tragic, twisted psychology. +five,000,000 points for the most memorable i-off graphic symbol in AVATAR.

2. "The Solar day of the Blackness Sun (Parts 1&2)" (Season 3, Episode x-eleven) w. DiMartino / A. Ehasz

This ii-part battle episode is a sea of payoffs. Not only does all the strategic and combat experience our heroes take accumulated come in utilise; we besides get a LORD OF THE RINGS-style reunion with the all the allies the gAang has made.

Just the main reason "The Day of the Black Dominicus" remains so memorable is because of the miles of growth nosotros see from Aang and Zuko. I don't demand to tell y'all how cathartic it is to come across Zuko tell off his father and defect from the Fire Nation. And Aang's announcement that he can face the Burn Lord without an eclipse is the bravest darn thing ever. It inspired me every bit a kid, and it inspires me today.

+500,000 points for stammering Sokka. +1,000,000 points for bringing our bald boy back. +one,500,000 points for Azula's tag skills. +2,000,000 points for Serena Williams. +4,000,000 points for Comrade Zuko'due south radicalization. +v,000,000 points for an Avatar's promise to make information technology upward to you lot.

1. "Biting Work" (Season two, Episode 9) w. Aaron Ehasz

"Bitter Piece of work" is the A:TLA episode I've plant my adult-cocky returning to the nearly. That's partly because of its location inside the serial—late plenty that the writing has sharpened and all the major players are on the stage, nevertheless early enough that the shit hasn't completely hit the fan—but it's also because information technology'south filled to the brim with applied life lessons. When I feel stuck or hesitant about something, I literally hear Toph's voice now: "You lot've got to face information technology head-on."

Simply what elevates "Bitter Work" to Greatest Episode condition is its window into A:TLA's main philosophy. Of course, I'm talking about Iroh's lecture on the iv angle arts. People similar to point out that A:TLA is a prove about war, and while that'southward not a wrong assessment, on its ain information technology leaves out the reason why we would make a children's show about war in the showtime place. At its core, A:TLA is a evidence about imparting empathy. "Understanding others—the other elements, and the other nations—volition help you become whole."

+3,000,000 points for Zuko begging for lighting from a rainstorm. +iii,000,000 points for the rainstorm refusing. +3,500,000 points for Aang's worldview being challenged in a tangible way. +five,500,000 points for the catharsis of finally seeing Aang move that rock.

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Source: https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2020/05/29/an-objective-ranking-of-every-avatar-the-last-airbender-episode

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