Hope and Responsibility- Avatar the Last Airbender Season 1 Review

One would be hard pressed to find someone who has seen Avatar the Last Airbender series who didn't enjoy it. The Americanime (Yeah I made that word up) show that first aired on Nickelodeon in 2005 is probably one of the best written stories lines of the decade. With a well rounded plot, 3 Dimensional characters, and a super fun fictional world, ATLA remains a favorite of mine and a ruler by which a measure the quality of other stories.

A huge part of what really makes a good story is the underlying themes and metaphors that it possesses. As one of my writing professors said, "Metaphors make it memorable!" and subtle metaphors are the best. A subtle metaphor gives a story a meaning and a purpose, a blatant metaphor is either preachy or makes it seem like the author thinks the audience is stupid. When a subtle metaphor is made, especially if it conveys truth, the story becomes more than pretty animation and talented actors. It becomes good. It becomes a work of art.

One such theme exists in the first season. Of course there are many themes and metaphors in this show, but one of the most meaningful themes int he first season for me is the theme of Hope.
The first sign of this is in the opening intro which serves as a brief synopsis.

"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements. could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. One hundred years past and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang, and although his airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world."

From here on out, there will be spoilers. You have been warned!

The speaker in the intro is a girl from the Southern Water Tribe named Katara and her brother is named Sokka. When they discover Aang, the Southern Water Tribe is little more than a tiny village floating on a block of ice. Most of the men have gone off to fight in the war and Katara is the only known water bender in the entire South Pole. With no one to teach her waterbending, Katara has little to no skill with her ability and since Aang is the first bender she's ever encountered besides herself, she's hoping he can teach her. Before they even understand who Aang is, he becomes a massive source of hope for Katara. He's her best chance at becoming a better version of herself, of developing her gift, seeing the world and getting off her lonely block of ice. This 12 year old boy has the ability to change her fate and her future.

Yeah, this guy is supposed to save the world.

Once they discover that Aang is the Avatar though, even more hopes rest on him. War has ravaged the world for the past 100 years and Aang had been trapped in an iceberg that whole time, unaware of the war. The mightier Earth Kingdoms have withstood the constant barrage of Fire Nation attacks, and the fortress of the Northern Water Tribe is nearly impenetrable, but various places in the Earth Kingdoms have fallen under Fire Nation control and many families have been destroyed throughout the world because of the war. Aang suddenly becomes the world's best hope for peace. We also find out that although the war has been going on for 100 years, that a massive comet is coming in six months time and the Fire Nation can use it to win the war for good. The time needed to save the world, suddenly becomes very limited. The world has never needed the Avatar so badly and a slightly clueless 12 year old boy suddenly finds himself in the archetype of the Promised Savior.

Prince Zuko

The example of Hope that I find most interesting however is Zuko. Zuko is a pretty interesting character and for now I am going to not reveal too much about him in case you haven't seen the show before. To summarize, Zuko is the son of the dreaded Fire Lord and he's been sent on a mission by his father to find and capture the Avatar. Zuko had been sent on this quest while Aang was still trapped in the iceberg so no one had seen the Avatar in past 100 years. In other words, he had been sent on a virtually impossible mission. Despite the uncanny odds of being able to find someone who's been missing for 100 years, Zuko was determined to succeed where others have failed, no matter what. His drive for doing this? To "regain his honor." I'm not going to tell you how he lost his honor to begin with, but suffice it to say Zuko cannot return home until he captures the Avatar. Zuko's hope for redemption therefore rests squarely on Aang.

I think this theme of Hope and the message that this story conveys is hugely important. This world has reached it's darkest moment and it's being felt on various personal levels. The hope for the salvation of the world is found in a small, insignificant, 12 year old child, yet the characters in the show repeatedly cling to this hope. The plot, and archetypes of the characters, feel mythological and it gives the story impact.

The other large theme in ATLA that I want to discuss is the importance of Duty. This is something that we don't see often enough in kids shows. Duty is a call from something greater than oneself to do something or become something greater than you were before. This call usually comes at great personal cost, and selfishness has to be put aside for the good of others.

Aang is confronted with his duty as the Avatar right away. Shortly after he imerges from the ice berg and finds himself in the Southern Water Tribe, Zuko and Fire Nation soilders discover them and attack the South Pole. All the men, including Sokka and Katara's father, have all gone to fight in the war so the Southern Water Tribe defenses are ... well Sokka and his trusty boomerang. Sokka has a fighter's spirit, but like Katara, has had little to no training in armed combat. To protect his new friends, Aang gives himself up to Zuko. From the very beginning Aang shows himself to be selfless and faithful to his call, even though he never wanted to be the Avatar.

Sokka also has a strong sense of Duty. As the oldest man left in the Southern Water Tribe, he feels he must provide and protect the women and children who are left as best as he can. He especially takes seriously the duty to protect his sister, since their mother is dead and their father is gone fighting in the war, his sister is nearly all he has left of his family. When Aang is taken by the Fire Nation, Katara insists on going after him. Sokka supports Katara and helps her to go after Aang, because, even though he doesn't really seem to care about leaving himself, he knows that going after Aang is something she needs to do and that she'll need her brother with her as well.

After Aang and the others acknowledge that he is the Avatar and the world's best chance at finding peace in 100 years of war, they plan to take Aang to the Norhtern Water Tribe to learn waterbending. (The Avatar has to learn to bend the four elements in the proper order; so even though it's the furthest away, waterbending comes first.) They then fly across the world on Aang's giant, flying, six-legged, sky-bison named Appa. (Don't laugh. That bison is awesome!) Every stop along the way reinforces for Aang and his companions the necessity of what they are doing.

Don't laugh. Appa's amazing.

The first thing they encounter really demonstrates how desperate the world is for the Avatar. They discover that Aang's entire people of Air Nomads have been completely destroyed by the Fire Nation. (Hence the title "Last Airbender.") As they continue North, they come across countless families that have been destroyed or separated by the long war,  and in some cases (Jet ) minds are damaged and senses of morality have been dangerously skewed. Even the Spirit World (Winter Solstice Part 1 ) is in disorder due to the damage caused by the war. So as the trio continues North, the importance of their journey and their mission are driven home more and more, but the weight and difficulty of their quest increases with it as well. They have a duty to the world now, and it is going to demand much from them.

The biggest expression of the theme of Duty however is seen in a supporting character during the season finale named Yue. Yue is the daughter of the chief of the Northern Water Tribe. Since people from the sister tribe on the other end of the world don't show up with the one and only Avatar everyday, Sokka, Katara, Aang are treated as royal guests by the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka and Yue are about the same age and they hit it off right away. Unfortunatly, Yue, as the princess, is already betrothed to an arrogant young man who was chosen for political purposes, not because he cares about Yue at all. It's hard for Sokka to accept that, but for Yue it's her duty and she'll marry her betrothed out of the love for her people.

I'm not going to give the whole story of Yue away either, but it is eventually her sense of Duty and her love for her people that saves them all when a massive Fire Nation invasion hits the North Pole.

Hope, Duty, Sacrifice, and Redemption. These are the real elements that most of the best stories have. These are the things that truly matter. So if you haven't seen this show yet, go watch it, because it has these elements. If you have seen it... go watch it again. You know you want to.


That's all for now!
~JMJ~




If you are interested in buying Avatar: The Last Airbender on DVD, check out the links below!