3×08, ‘The Puppetmaster’
“The Puppetmaster” was perhaps both the creepiest and most important episode of AtLA.
Not only did it set up the all-important Bloodbending for Waterbenders, it also scared us to the equivalent of the worst kinds of creepypastas. No one episode of AtLA set up such an important bending mechanic, save the Pilot, of course.
The setup of this episode was also ingenious. It starts off with the Gaang telling spooky campfire stories, where they are soon interrupted by the episode’s hidden antagonist Hama.
Once Hama reveals her abilities, how she gained them, and what she was doing with them, we couldn’t help but shudder. Katara’s triumph over this witch-like character was exactly what Hama intended, as this was what proved that Katara would be powerful enough to teach Bloodbending to future generations.
3×10, 3×11 ‘The Day of the Black Sun’ parts one and two
“The Day of Black Sun” is a two-parter that tells the story of Team Avatar and their allies launching an all-out assault on the Fire Nation during a solar eclipse. Aang reveals that he is still alive after being assumed dead in the events of the season 2 finale, and Zuko makes a life-changing decision.
Not only is the scale of this episode impressive as our heroes put all their training to use in battle, the personal stories manage to be just as important. We love Sokka stepping up as a leader, not only planning the invasion and designing new technology, but also bringing together people from multiple kingdoms and leading the invasion when his father is injured.
This is also the episode in which Aang and Katara share their first kiss, setting up their eventual romance.
But the standout storyline of this two-parter is Zuko’s, as he finally decides to defect from the Fire Nation. We can’t help but cheer when he confronts his father, no longer needing the man’s approval and calling him out on his cruelty, and when Zuko redirects Ozai’s lightning, we get chills. It’s a moment that has been a long time coming for the Fire Nation prince and, though the invasion ends up failing, is one that changes the course of the war.
3×14, 3×15 ‘The Boiling Rock’ parts one and two
“The Boiling Rock” is another two-parter featuring one of Zuko’s “field trips” with a member of the Gaang. In this one, Sokka and Zuko travel to the Fire Nation’s most infamous prison to rescue Sokka’s father, Hakoda, and while there, they discover that Suki is a prisoner as well.
We can’t help loving watching Sokka and Zuko’s friendship develop, first as they bond over girls on the ride to the prison – “My first girlfriend turned into the moon,” Sokka offers a saddened Zuko, to which Zuko memorably replies, “That’s rough, buddy” – and later as they work together to hatch an escape plan. Neither boy grew up with male friends their age, and they are both older than the other members of Team Avatar, so it’s fun to watch two teenage boys being, well, teenage boys.
Meanwhile Zuko is confronted by Mai, the girlfriend he left behind when he defected from the Fire Nation. Zuko pleads with her to understand that he left for the greater good and she eventually shows her loyalty to him, doing her best to shield him from attack as he and his fellow prisoners flee. When she tells Azula, “I love Zuko more than I fear you,” you can hear the sounds of our hearts breaking.
3×17, ‘The Ember Island Players’
“The Ember Island Players” is a light-hearted recap episode that brings some levity before the intense four-part finale that follows. “This is exactly the kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense I’ve been missing,” Sokka says, and we couldn’t agree more.
This episode is full-blown meta as Team Avatar attends a play about their exploits. The portrayals are completely over-the-top; Katara is constantly crying about hope, Sokka is a buffoon who only thinks about food, Aang is played by a woman and is an “incurable prankster,” Zuko is honor-obsessed with a scar on the wrong side and extremely long hair, and Toph is played by a buff man who uses sonic screams.
But our favorite part of the play is how the writers make fun of the show, like when Sokka tells Aang to “keep flying” when he mentions The Great Divide, a very unpopular episode, or when no one is sure whether Jet died.
Of course, it isn’t all fun and games as the play brings up underlying drama in the group as Aang and Katara’s relationship is rocky and Zuko has his mistakes thrown back in his face. And when the play’s ending kills Zuko and Aang and leaves the Fire Lord victorious, our heroes are no longer laughing.
3×21, ‘Sozin’s Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang’
Never before had we seen such an epic tale told on Nickelodeon (save the other seasons’ finales). There are so many utterly fantastic culminations in this episode that it’s difficult to single out any given one.
If we had to pick to, we’d focus on the two battles that occur simultaneously.
As Zuko and Azula battle in a deadly and crazed Agni Kai, Katara is forced to jump in to save her former enemy’s life in the nick of time. The best moment of the finale by far was when Katara Waterbent ice around her and Azula, swam around in the giant ice-spike, and chained the insane Azula before more damage could be done. Now that’s smart bending!
The other epic battle going on in tandem with the Azula one was Aang vs. The Fire Lord himself. Built up for the entirety of the series, Firelord Ozai lived up to the dangerous reputation he’d built up for himself. Only with Aang’s awesome combination of all four elements in a forced Avatar State could the harsh dictator be de-bended for good, bringing temporary peace to the AtLA universe. That is, until Amon showed up
Honorable mentions
1×13, ‘The Blue Spirit’
Zuko operating as an undercover rogue warrior with two blades and a disregard for the fate of lowly grunts? Sign us up!
2×01, ‘The Avatar State’
Aang is brutally manipulated by a soft-spoken Earth Kingdom general to access the Avatar State, with devastating results. Plus, we meet Azula. If anyone was worried about Avatar suffering a sophomore slump, well… they definitely don’t need to.
2×04, ‘The Swamp’
We can’t get enough of the creative ways to use Waterbending the creators come up with. As if Bloodbending wasn’t enough, making a giant swamp creature out of flora is also possible!
Did your favorite episode of ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ make our top ten list?
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Written by: Mitchel Clow, Michal Schick, and Caitlin Kelly
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