The live-action adaptation of beloved animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender has arrived on Netflix. For the uninitiated, Avatar, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, is an epic tale about Aang, a 12-year-old with the power to manipulate, or “bend,” air, living among other airbenders during a time of great peace between the four separate elemental kingdoms — I bet you can guess what earthbenders, firebenders, and waterbenders can do — all unified under the avatar, a master of bending in all four disciplines who is reincarnated after they die. That great peace, however, ends abruptly when the Fire Nation decides to wage war in an effort to take over the entire globe. The very day that Aang learns he is the new avatar, the Fire Nation attacks, wiping out every last airbender — except for one.
Aang survives frozen in an iceberg for 100 years and wakes up to a world completely unlike the one he came from — one in which he is tasked with restoring peace and harmony, all while being hunted down by agents from the Fire Nation. Not daunting at all, right? Through his journey to figure out this whole avatar thing and then put an end to the Fire Nation’s century-long war, Aang travels across the globe — and so do we. To make sense of the sprawling Avatar universe, we’re recapping all the adventures packed into season one, place by place. Below, find your guide to all the iconic locations Team Avatar visits, the notable people we meet there, and what happens once Aang & Co. arrive.
Southern Air Temple
This vertically blessed, surprisingly verdant mountain area was the training grounds for airbenders … until 100 years ago when Fire Nation arrived during the Great Comet Festival and torched it and all its inhabitants (save for one!) to the ground.
The VIPs
Aang: enthusiastic, kind, upbeat kid, the last airbender, and, oh yeah, the avatar, no big deal. Gyatso: father figure and friend to Aang who supervises his training and breaks the news to the kid that he is the avatar. Appa: the bestest little sky bison in all the land! Momo: winged lemur, hilarious.
What happens there
Well, we watch the Fire Nation wipe out an entire race of benders, which is horrifying, but thankfully Aang has already taken off, distraught over the news of who he really is and the enormous responsibility put on his tiny shoulders now knowing that he is the new avatar. Still, watching Gyotsa get it? I will never recover.
When Aang finally returns to this place of his childhood after 100 years on ice, it remains just as it did after that night of terror, though now overgrown and littered with the remains of Air Nomads. It is just enough devastation to fuel Aang into taking on the fight that lies ahead of him. He wants to make Gyotsa’s death, and the death of all of his friends, mean something. The truth of what happened there also sends Aang into the Avatar State, which he definitely cannot control yet but will for sure work on.
Wolf Cove
A small ice-covered village in the South Pole and a major part of the Southern Water Tribe. Three years prior to our introduction to it, the Fire Nation laid waste to Wolf Cove in search of its rumored last remaining waterbender. After this siege, the tribe’s warriors left in search of revenge against firebenders and never returned.
The VIPs
Katara: a teenage girl and the aforementioned remaining Southern Tribe waterbender. Sokka: Katara’s older brother left in charge to protect Wolf Cove by their presumed dead father, kind of a doofus but is also somehow a real ladykiller. Gran Gran: Katara and Sokka’s grandmother, knows what’s up re: history, gives Katara a secret guide to learn how to bend. Prince Zuko: banished Fire Nation prince with iconic scar across his eye who is on a mission to find the avatar, just happens to be sailing near Wolf Cove at this time. Uncle Iroh: once-great warrior accompanying his nephew on a futile mission, incredible beard, MVP of hearts everywhere.
What happens there
While out fishing, Sokka and Katara come across a strange iceberg. When Katara starts bending near it, it glows, bursts open, and wouldn’t you know, a tiny bald boy falls out of it. Aang is back. Gran Gran has to break the news to him that he’s been frozen for 100 years, a war has been raging for that entire time, and as the avatar, he is now their only hope to stop it! That’s a lot to process, and that’s all before Prince Zuko spots that glowy iceberg and realizes that the avatar he’s spent three years searching for — after being banished from his homeland by his father, Fire Lord Ozai, until he found it — is in his grasp, and heads to Wolf Cove.
Sokka tries to fight to protect his home by challenging Zuko, but he is no match for the prince. Aang gives it a shot, too, but they are outnumbered, and to protect his new friends, he gives himself over to Zuko. Not to worry, Aang breaks free from where he’s being held, and Katara and (begrudgingly) Sokka hop on Appa and arrive at the exact right time to rescue the Avatar. Sokka might not like it very much, but at that moment, the three of them become Team Avatar. Don’t worry, it’ll grow on him.
Kyoshi Island
The extremely isolated island in Earth Kingdom that Avatar Kyoshi once called home now houses the Kyoshi Warriors. It’s gorgeously lush and quiet — I wouldn’t want outsiders coming in to mess it up, either.
The VIPs
Avatar Kyoshi: past Earth Kingdom avatar, a no-nonsense, duty-bound warrior, giant. Suki: leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, horny. Yukari: Village chief and Suki’s overprotective mother, not into outsiders. Commander Zhao: Fire Nation commander with very few skills but a whole lot of ego, spineless.
What happens there
With no real idea where to start with his training, Aang wants to talk to a past avatar, which is how they end up on Kyoshi Island looking to connect with the great warrior. Yukari isn’t thrilled with having visitors, even if one is the avatar, knowing what trouble he’ll bring behind him. She’s not wrong! When Zuko and Iroh seek some intel from Commander Zhao, he decides he wants in on the avatar hunting, goes behind Zuko’s back, and tracks Aang to Kyoshi Island.
While Aang’s spiritual visit with Kyoshi isn’t the warmest, she is quite helpful. First, by telling him the avatar must put duty above all else, then by warning him that tragedy awaits in the North Pole with the Northern Water Tribe, and then also explaining that by going into the Avatar State, Aang can draw on the power of all of his past lives — he will have the power of a thousand benders. Finally, when Aang can’t do that on his own, but Zhao’s men are attacking the village, Kyoshi does him a solid by letting him channel her power and returning to the natural world for a few minutes to whoop some Fire Nation ass.
The day and the island are saved, Aang escapes the clutches of both Zhao and Zuko, and Sokka even gets to make out with badass warrior Suki. Not a bad first run as Team Avatar. May they remember this feeling, because things are about to get much harder: Although he hates it, Zuko agrees to work with Zhao as long as Zhao keeps the existence of the Avatar a secret. Zhao, of course, immediately goes and writes to Ozai about what his son has discovered.
Omashu
Built as an homage to the love between the first earthbenders, Oma and Shu, Omashu is the gem of the Earth Kingdom. The bustling city is carved out of a living mountain (that’s earthbending for you!), with intricate tunnels and a gravity-defying delivery system. Omashu is full of innovative thinkers, but as the war has dragged on, the city has also become overrun with Fire Nation spies as well as rebels. It is both awe-inspiring and kind of dicey, to be honest!
The VIPs
King Bumi: an old friend of Aang’s — yeah, he’s old-old — who has become disillusioned by the hard choices the century-long war has forced him to make, loves puns. The Mechanist (Sai): a genius engineer who works for the king but also a long-time collaborator with Fire Nation spies in order to protect his son Teo, encourages Sokka to keep tinkering. Jet: twig-chewing rebel who hates the Fire Nation with a — pun intended — burning passion, super chill with collateral damage, sure he helps Katara have a waterbending breakthrough, but is without a doubt a real fuckboi. Badgermoles: earthbending pioneers, sound cute but actually terrifying. The Cabbage Merchant: a legend, an icon.
What happens there
What begins as a nostalgic pit stop for Aang on Team Avatar’s journey north winds up being an informative few days. Witnessing the carnage of the frequent and mysterious bombings throughout the city, Aang feels compelled to help, and he and Teo discover that Jet and his crew of rebels are to blame here, not the Fire Nation. Disappointed, since, come on, Jet is kind of dreamy (twig-chewing is hot, it’s science), Katara calls Jet out for killing civilians in the name of his cause; she is, however, grateful his chat helped her push through some trauma in order to excel in her waterbending. The water whip comes in handy when she and Sokka successfully stop Jet and his team from planting a bomb on the Mechanist to kill him, King Bumi, and countless others.
Aang would’ve helped, but he’s too busy fighting Zuko; that prince really has the worst timing. After their bender battle in the Omashu markets (RIP, cabbages!), Aang gets arrested by earthbenders, but Zuko runs free thanks to Uncle Iroh valiantly taking his nephew’s place. Aang’s brought before King Bumi. The old friends have a quick catching-up session, but Aang quickly realizes this man is not the fun-loving kid he once knew. Bumi’s “games” devolve until he challenges Aang to a fight to the death. While previous avatars and kings alike might tell Aang that he’s all on his own, he knows better: Sokka and Katara travel through the haunted tunnels of Omashu to help save their friend. It not only works but softens Bumi’s heart a little. Thanks to the Mechanist returning to the good side, Bumi knows Fire Nation is headed toward them for a real battle, but Bumi isn’t going to just let them take Omashu — this old bird is back in the fight!
Meanwhile, we also learn that Zuko is different from other members of Fire Nation: He might actually have a heart. When faced with the choice to rescue his uncle or go after Aang, he chooses his Iroh. It seems these two have a habit of rescuing one another. In a flashback, we learn that Iroh’s son Lu Ten died in the great battle at Ba Sing Se, which broke Iroh. The only thing that even halfway mended him back together was Zuko’s kindness. When Zuko is banished and sent to search for the Avatar, Iroh doesn’t hesitate to join his nephew on this impossible journey. Nor does he hesitate to make sure Zuko knows he has a friend. Anyway, I would love it if a waterbender could swing by and do something about these tears sometime soon!
The Spirit World
It’s kind of like the natural world but with a filter popped on it. The Spirit World exists on the other side of a barrier that can become extra-thin in certain places, making it easier for people to cross over. Only the avatar is meant to exist in both worlds, so when other humans cross over, it becomes wildly dangerous. Also, a lot of animals have the ability to speak there — very cool!
The VIPs
The Spirit of Knowledge: a giant owl who is really kind of a downer. Koh: a dark spirit who feeds off of people paralyzed with fear. The Fog of Lost Souls: fog that traps people in their darkest memories, not cool. And hey, a guest appearance by Gyatso, who has been waiting to see Aang and try to ease him of his guilt!
What happens there
In a sacred spot within the Scorched Forest, Aang separates his soul from his body in an effort to travel to the Spirit World and save villagers trapped there. Unfortunately, the barrier is so thin — mostly thanks to Fire Nation laying siege to the forest here, infecting it — Aang accidentally brings Sokka and Katara’s souls with him. When the trio gets split up, Katara and Sokka are both trapped reliving their worst memories, while Aang stumbles upon Gyatso, who has been waiting. It’s a much-needed reunion in which Gyatso not only tries to make Aang understand that he couldn’t have saved the Air Nomads during the attack but also warns him about Koh, an evil spirit who is definitely going to eat the souls of those lost villagers and Sokka and Katara if Aang doesn’t do something about it. That “something” involves Aang taking leave of the Spirit World to go find another previous avatar to chat with.
Roku’s Temple
Sitting upon a volcanic island, this temple is a shrine to Avatar Roku, who hailed from the Fire Nation. Outside, there’s a real scorched-earth vibe; inside, it’s clear the sages here are not neutral guardians of an avatar shrine, but big-time Ozai worshippers.
The VIPs
Avatar Roku: the most recent avatar before Aang, very jovial for a Fire Nation dude, also believes friends are a liability to the avatar. Shyu: only sage who thinks worshiping Ozai instead of Roku is a bad idea. June: a merciless bounty hunter who Iroh and Zuko hired back near the Scorched Forest, travels with her companion Nyla, a creature that can paralyze people with her tongue, very good at her job
What happens there
Aang races to Roku’s Temple to find out how the previous Avatar bested Koh, but first finds a whole bunch of sages who could not care less that he’s the Avatar and attempt to apprehend him for Lord Ozai. Thankfully, not all of the sages have lost their damn minds, and Shyu rescues Aang and brings him to Roku’s shrine. Aang connects with Roku, who is much more pleasant than one would expect, and learns that Roku stole a totem that represents Koh’s mother — an item Koh would certainly trade for some human souls.
Alas, does it even matter? Once Aang returns to the land of the living and grabs the totem from the shrine, he is instantly paralyzed by bounty hunter June, who delivers Ang to Zuko and Iroh. But wait, does that even matter? Zuko and Iroh are stopped by Zhao and his men. Lord Ozai has made Zhao an admiral and has taken over this mission — to defy him is to defy Ozai. Zhao takes Aang for himself. He wants the glory of handing the Avatar over to the Fire Lord, and Zuko is thwarted once again.
Pohuai Stronghold
An impenetrable fortress within the Fire Nation. Attempting to attack it is typically considered a suicide mission.
The VIPs
Unnamed Fire Nation Soldiers Who Like to Party: like to party, bad at being soldiers. The Masked Mercenary: here to free the avatar, has excellent, if not very familiar, fighting skills.
What happens there
Zhao brings Aang to Pohuai Stronghold for the night ahead of delivery to Lord Ozai, and he orders everyone to celebrate — they’ve got this in the bag. Not surprisingly, Zhao is so very wrong. A mercenary in a blue mask breaks into the fortress, and through some pretty nifty fighting, he and Aang escape into the night. Quickly, Aang learns that this is not any masked mercenary; it’s Prince Zuko, who has come to take what is his (again).
While waiting out Zhao’s soldiers on the hunt for them, the two adversaries are forced to interact, and Aang, being Aang, takes it upon himself to compliment Zuko’s avatar notebook and thank him for helping him. The two, dare I say, bond a little? Things are going well until Aang suggests that once Zuko becomes the next Fire Lord, he should maybe give compassion a try — things could be different if he let them be. Things sour, and Aang ends up putting Zuko on a row boat and sending him back to his ship. Still, it looks like two impenetrable fortresses showed some cracks tonight! Plus, Aang is then free to return to the Spirit World, make the totem trade with Koh, and save Sokka and Katara.
Agna Qel’a
Now, this is the gorgeous, sprawling ice kingdom I’ve been waiting for (sorry, Wolf Cove!). Agna Qel’a is a thriving, snowy paradise full of masterful waterbenders who can use their powers to heal injuries, a breathtaking oasis where the Moon and Ocean Spirit come to visit, and an abundance of deep-seated misogyny. Okay, so not everything is great here.
The VIPs
Master Pakku: master waterbender, master misogynist. Princess Yue: spiritual leader of the Northern Tribe, sometimes moonlights as a fox spirit. Arnook: chief of the Northern Tribe. Hahn: kind, hot warrior who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, honestly, the total package, you know this dude is doomed. Kuruk: most recent avatar from the Water Tribe, battled and lost to evil spirits trying to infiltrate the natural world, very grumpy.
What happens there
It all comes down to this. When Team Avatar arrives in the North Water Tribe city, Chief Arnook is already well aware that the Fire Nation — an armada led by Zhao — is on its way to attempt to conquer it. They still have time to enjoy some good food and some important waterbending instructions, and Sokka even finds time to hang out with Princess Yue, whom he met in the Spirit World as a fox and who is super into him. How Sokka pulls so many hot women in this show is truly its greatest mystery.
Things go downhill quickly: Kuruk can offer Aang no assistance in the imminent battle, and Master Pakku refuses to let Katara or any of the women benders fight because he’s an old man set in his ways. Thankfully, Katara kicks his ass in a fight, becomes a master waterbender, and convinces him to let her and all the female benders join the frontlines.
No one sees Zhao’s big move coming: He uses the Mechanist’s war balloon to fly into the Water Tribe’s sacred oasis, knowing that on that night, the night of the Ice Moon, the Moon Spirit and the Ocean Spirit have taken mortal form to experience life in the natural world. The Ocean Spirit gives waterbenders their lives, the Moon Spirit, their powers. Zhao is going to kill the Moon Spirit while in its mortal form, thus stripping away all waterbenders’ power forever. And he does it! The son of a bitch does it!
Without waterbending power, the fight is lost, and Aang knows this. He has to do something; he has to sacrifice himself, and so he gives his power over to the Ocean Spirit … who then turns into a giant, terrifying ocean monster and wreaks havoc. The Ocean Spirit Monster, powered by Aang’s Avatar State, decimates the Fire Nation. However, without the Moon Spirit, the Ocean Spirit is destined to wander the world looking for its partner — with Aang inside. The only way the Ocean Spirit can be stopped is if the Moon Spirit is somehow restored. The only way to restore the Moon Spirit is by Princess Yue sacrificing herself and giving back the piece of the Moon Spirit that was imbued in her to save her life as a little girl. She does it with no hesitation. Yue is gone, but the Moon returns, and with it, the waterbenders’ power and balance to the world. The Ocean Spirit is whole again, and Aang can come out of his Avatar State.
The battle is over! The Fire Nation has been stopped from taking over this waterbender stronghold! Hey, even Zuko and Iroh finally get to kill Zhao (of course not before he spews all this venom in Zuko’s ear about how Zuko’s father is only using him to build up Azula). Sure, Agna Qel’a is a little worse for the wear, and many people have died (Hahn, my man!), and Aang blames himself for all of it, but mostly … yay? At the very least, the good guys won, and now Aang knows that even though the road ahead of him will be hard, he has his family with him. Despite what past Avatars have told him, his friends aren’t a liability; they are his greatest strength. I mean, aside from the thing where he can turn into a giant ocean monster and stomp on boats and stuff. That’s a pretty big strength, too.
Capital City
The capital city of the Fire Nation (fireheads are too busy burning things to come up with names for cities!) and home to the Fire Lord. If you’re into fire-and-brimstone aesthetics, this is the place for you!
The VIPs
Fire Lord Ozai: You’ve heard of him; he’s the hottie with the body, absolutely zero empathy, and an obsessive desire to rule the world. Princess Azula: Ozai’s ruthless daughter who wields lightning and will do anything to become heir to the throne over her older brother, makes interesting bang choices.
What happens there
We spend a lot of time visiting Capital City throughout the season. At times, that is in flashback form, like when we learn the truth of what happened to Prince Zuko. At his first military-council meeting, he learns the latest plan is to use a unit as bait, sending them into a hot zone, knowing they will never return. Zuko is appalled at the disrespect for life and lack of compassion and calls it a “terrible plan.” Little does he know, the plan is his father’s. Ozai forces his son into a duel (called Agni Kai) with him. When Zuko hesitates to hurt his father during the duel, Ozai goes harder — all his son has shown is disrespect and weakness. When he has him pinned, he blasts Zuko’s eye with fire, giving him his iconic scar, before banishing him from the Fire Nation and sending him on the impossible mission to track down the avatar. We also learn that even in that moment, Zuko never forgot the compassion inside him (as much as he tries to hide it) and builds his crew from the unit Ozai had called expendable. Everyone on his ship owes their lives to Prince Zuko.
But we also visit Capital City in the present day, as Ozai stays on top of his army’s movements and Zuko’s progress and Azula, who is relentless in trying to prove her worth to her father. Unlike Zuko, however, Azula realizes her father is playing games with her and eventually has enough. She refuses to continue, tosses some lightning his way, and then tells him to truly test her by putting her out in the field. He must really trust her because he gives her the biggest mission of all. Surprise — attacking the North Water Tribe was just a distraction for Ozai’s real target: Omashu. I mean, distraction is kind of Fire Nation’s go-to move, you’d think someone would’ve picked up on that by now. Alas, Azula leads the Fire Nation Army to victory, capturing King Bumi and taking one of the biggest strongholds in the Earth Kingdom. With only Ba Sing Se left to conquer and the great comet that amplifies Firebenders’ power making its return after 100 years, everything’s coming up Ozai … for now.
Related
- 20 Essential Episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra
- Avatar: The Last Airbender Will Always Feel Relevant
- Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Best Minor Characters, Ranked
Maggie Fremont , 2024-02-23 18:10:12
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