Avatar: The Last Airbender had been really great so far, but for it to really solidify itself as a near masterpiece, it needed to stick the landing. Thankfully, Avatar's third book is easily its best, bringing the whole cast together for a packed and dramatic final outing for the show.
Avatar's third book is split into two halves. The first half is about Team Avatar and pretty much the whole side cast gathering together to storm the Fire Nation at their absolute weakest. Outside of this buildup, the characters are mostly biding their time throughout this half, which allows for the show to give pretty much every major member of the cast their own focus episodes, from Azula's "The Beach" to Katara's "The Puppetmaster" to Toph's "The Runaway". The sheer amount of character development this half of the season manages to squeeze out is nothing short of immaculate, and it all builds up to the bombastic and devastating Day Of The Black Sun two-parter, which references so many of the show's past characters and shows just how well thought-out the whole show is. Obviously the cast isn't gonna win, not with ten episodes left, which is why I love the fact that everyone is captured outside of the truly important characters. It ups the stakes for the second half while also narrowing the focus to those who truly matter.
But even with how good this first half is, would you believe me if I said the second half was even better? We finally get Zuko's redemption arc, which is handled pretty much perfectly. He gets an episode to spend with Aang, Sokka, and Katara respectively before we get to the massive four-part finale, and even though he doesn't spend too long on Team Avatar, there's enough focus on fun character interactions that I still felt satisfied by the end. The finale itself is also pretty amazing on its own merits. Everyone gets something to do, and the side characters who weren't brought back for the first half were brought back here. The whole cast gets a satisfying and happy resolution, and the final confrontations with Ozai and Azula are both some of the best set pieces in the whole show. My only gripe is that the way Aang defeated Ozai was slightly "Deus Ex Machina", but when that's my only problem with an otherwise air-tight three-season show, it's a testament to just how amazing Avatar is as a whole.
There are a lot of amazing episodes this season. Once again, there's so many other episodes I wanted to include, but here's a lineup of some of the best:
Sokka's Master: I like it when there are characters in an otherwise superpowered cast who manage to prove themselves without any abilities (note Xander from Buffy). Sokka can't bend, but this episode has him train to fight on his own merits. The final battle between Sokka and his master is one of my favorite action scenes in the show, really allowing him to show off his creativity and improvisational skills.
The Beach: This episode feels like the Breakfast Club if it starred the Fire Nation. It's both funny and awkward to watch Zuko, Ty Lee, Mai, and especially Azula try to integrate among normal people, and the dramatic campfire scene does a great job of giving all of these characters a ton of depth.
The Avatar And The Fire Lord: Once a season, Avatar provides an amazing flashback episode, this one being about the friendship between Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku. It manages to pack in a ton of intriguing lore and pretty much solidifies the connection between Aang and Zuko with the reveal that Zuko's grandfather was an Avatar. It's almost like they're destined to fight together or something!
The Puppetmaster: While generally this season isn't as dark as the Ba Sing Se arc, this episode is absolutely horrifying. It introduces the concept of blood-bending (used way more frequently in Korra), which is insanely creepy to watch. The final act is phenomenal, packing in the best water-bending fight in the series and a truly ominous ending where Katara is forced to blood-bend to save her friends.
Day Of The Black Sun: Of course this episode is on the list. It's the big battle that the entire first half of the season built up to, and it didn't disappoint given the massive roster that managed to show up. While it was fairly predictable that the good guys wouldn't win this time around, this episode still has Zuko finally confront his father, Sokka lead an entire army, and the exciting cliffhanger to kickstart the second half.
The Western Air Temple: This is the "Zuko redemption" episode which has him attempt to join Team Avatar to help them defeat the Fire Nation. Obviously this is easier said than done since everyone hates him now, but Zuko's adorable awkwardness throughout the episode makes his attempts at redemption a joy to watch. And the final battle with Combustion Man is incredibly exciting as well.
The Ember Island Players: Recap episodes aren't usually that great, but The Ember Island Players is actually my favorite episode that isn't a part of the finale. The play recreation of the events of Avatar is absolutely hilarious, packing in some of the funniest moments in the show, and the meta humor on show is executed perfectly. But despite the light-hearted premise, the episode is also packed with character development, sweet interactions, and a very ominous ending that pumps you up for the finale.
Sozin's Comet: Sozin's Comet was a stunning, satisfying, and climactic four-part series finale that resolved all of the character arcs, wrapped up all of the plot threads, and solidified Avatar as one of the greatest series of all time. Here are my two favorite entries in the finale:
Into The Inferno: The third part of Sozin's Comet (and penultimate episode) is probably my favorite individual episode in the whole show. It's insanely intense from start to finish, from Aang returning to fight with Ozai, to the absolutely stunning final Agni Kai. It's also great to see Sokka, Toph, and Soki fight on the sidelines, and the big cliffhanger at the end is devastating.
Avatar Aang: I'll be honest. This finale does have a few missteps, particularly Aang's Deus Ex Machina moments, but it's still a phenomenal end to the show. It's chock-full of emotional moments, satisfying resolutions, and badass fights, feeling like a fittingly grand ending to the show.
Overall, Avatar's final book is easily the best season of the show, packed with amazing character development and satisfying payoffs. It does such an amazing job of tying everything up into a neat bow that it solidifies Avatar as a nearly perfect show in my eyes.
5/5 Stars
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