Avatar: The Last Airbender is the amazing series that started it all! We’ve picked the best episodes of the original series for the convenience of all super Avatards.

1×02, ‘The Storm’

For a lot of television shows, it might be a bad thing that one of the best and most pivotal episodes aired just past the halfway point of the first season. But for Avatar: The Last Airbender, “The Storm” illustrated what the show was capable of. The episode is a game-changer not just because it adds unforeseen depth and dimension to both Aang and Zuko, but also because the episode stretches the boundaries of what we thought an American cartoon could accomplish.

“The Storm” showed viewers that Avatar: The Last Airbender could play drama as well as comedy, that it could delve into character as easily as it tore off on adventure. By illustrating bitter, single-minded Zuko’s capacity for innocence, The Storm proved that the show understood the journey of the “bad guy” as well the good. Showing Aang’s fear, guilt, and anger made it clear that even the peaceful protagonist was capable of terrible – even deadly – mistakes.

And by winding Aang and Zuko’s stories together, “The Storm” proved that Avatar: The Last Airbender could craft moving thematic stories, and show us how to care about the pain that linked the doubting hero with the desperate villain. Viewers learned to set aside our expectations and get on board for the amazing and complex ride that Avatar: The Last Airbender was quickly becoming.

1×20, ‘The Siege of the North, Part 2’

The Book 1 finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender was one gripping moment after another. The show went fearlessly full-throttle in this episode, moving from mystical intrigue to breathless battle to heartbreaking sacrifice without skipping a beat.

The introduction of Koh – the infamous spirit being also known as “the Face Stealer” – is one of the episode’s major highlights. Though this is the creepy-crawly creature’s only appearance in televised episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Koh instantly captured fan’s imaginations. His power to steal faces may be terrifying, but Koh’s calm persona and powerful aura of knowledge have kept fans hoping that he will keep his promise, and meet the Avatar again soon.

“The Siege of the North, Part 2” also features not one, not two, but three significant deaths in the same episode. Zhao’s killing of Moon Spirit – a shocking moment – kicks off the chain of events that leads to Zhao’s death and Yue’s tragic sacrifice. Zhao’s hubristic decision to reject Zuko’s help and go to his death was a surprising twist in the “hero tries to save the villain” trope, and offered a fitting ending to Zhao’s megalomaniacal arc in the first season.

But of course, it was the loss of Yue that really made the episode a classic; the young, soft-spoken woman’s choice to use her mortal life to restore the moon spirit was nothing short of heartbreaking. Though her arc on the show was brief, Yue’s bravery and responsibility made a lasting impact in the fabric of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and in the fans who still remember her as a highlight of the increasingly epic series.

2×06, ‘The Blind Bandit’

Looking back, it’s hard to imagine a time when Team Avatar felt complete with just Aang, Katara, and Sokka, but before “The Blind Bandit” aired, we had no idea that the group could get even better.

Enter Toph, the tiny, blind, female earthbender whose skill surpassed any earthbending viewers had yet seen. And even better, Toph proved to be a strong, complicated character with heavily guarded emotional walls; her life had not been easy, and she wasn’t out to make anyone else’s life easy either.

But “The Blind Bandit” isn’t only great for the character it introduces. The episode is also terrific on its own, featuring a great slice-of-life experience for the gaang in the Earth Kingdom, Katara’s takedown of sexist bullies, Sokka’s whispered “Water Tribe”, and the surprising reveal of the smack-talking Blind Bandit’s sheltered double-life. The episode climaxes in an amazing fight sequence where, as wrestling fans rejoice, an utterly unphased Toph smoothly takes down every enemy the Earth Rumble can throw at her.

Toph’s incredible demonstration of both power and smarts endears her fully to the gaang and to the audience, so savvy viewers are only a tad disappointed when Toph’s father seems to agree to her leaving too easily.

But even this flaw quickly becomes an asset as “The Blind Bandit” pulls yet another twist – Toph is lying, her family believes she is kidnapped, and the episode ends with the promise of dangerous consequences lurking on the horizon.

2×07, ‘Zuko Alone’

“Zuko Alone” is a unique episode in Avatar’s second season in that it doesn’t feature any of the main characters; it is, as the title suggests, Zuko’s story as he travels solo across the Earth Kingdom. It’s an interesting departure from Avatar’s Asian-influenced norm, delving into Western inspiration with Zuko playing the role of the mysterious wandering cowboy and culminating in a high noon showdown.

We have glimpses into Zuko’s life prior to this episode, but the flashbacks give us greater insight into Zuko’s upbringing and how his family life shaped who he has become. It also sets up the mystery of what happened to his mother.

But more than that, Zuko protecting an Earth Kingdom family gives us hope that Zuko will eventually make the right choice to abandon the evils of the current Fire Nation reign. It’s not a happy story as Ozai becomes Fire Lord in flashback and Zuko is rejected for his heritage in the present, but it remains a turning point for a character whose destiny will become just as important as Aang’s before the end.

3×06, ‘The Avatar and the Firelord’

Though “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” probably wasn’t as highly anticipated as some of the other big-name episodes in Book 3, this episode easily lands among the best in Avatar: The Last Airbender. The story of how Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin’s deep friendship ultimately led to the war which has engulfed to the world for 100 years was told with a beautiful balance of humor and drama.

And while Sozin definitely does come off as the bad guy in the episode, “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” takes the time to show how evil can begin with positive intentions – and how the influence of friends can sometimes be misused. While Roku is the hero of this tragic tale, he definitely isn’t the winner, and his errors in making complicated judgements carry through into Aang’s struggle with Ozai – and beyond.

“The Avatar and the Fire Lord” also makes a brilliant move in consciously paralleling the pivotal season 1 episode, “The Storm.” Once again, Aang and Zuko are shown in contrast, but this time it is the two boys who learn the truth about their mutual past. The story of “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” may be about history, but it sets up a crucial journey for Aang and Zuko going forward. Their titles do not define their choices; rather it is their choices that will define the roles of Avatar and Fire Lord in the battle ahead.

This episode also ends on such a beautiful thought that it demands to be mentioned. After hearing the story of Roku and Sozin, Toph asks, “Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?” “I don’t see why not,” Aang replies.

Read on for more amazing ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ episodes!

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