Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender is adored by fans and critics alike for its amazing story, engaging premise, world-building, and loveable characters. Characters are goofy and hopeful in one scene and dark and serious in the next, yet not once does it feel out of place or uncharacteristic. The show is now streaming on Netflix.
Despite clearly being a children's cartoon, the show has many dark moments and perfectly balances these with silliness, hilarious jokes, and goofy characters. It has as many sad, dark scenes as it has hopeful, light-hearted scenes. So, here are 5 times Avatar: The Last Airbender was heartwarming, and 5 times it was heartbreaking.
Heartwarming - Iroh and Toph Have Tea
In the season 2 episode, "The Chase", Toph has just recently joined Team Avatar, and she and Katara have been fighting about Toph being a lone wolf. Topjh storms off, and meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh have also split ways.
Toph and Iroh run into each other on the road, and Iroh serves her tea, and they have a heart to heart about caring for the people you love. It's heartwarming to see the sullen Toph and optimistic and cheerful Iroh talk like this, especially since neither of them has any idea they're on opposite sides of the battle.
Heartbreaking - Zuko Yelling At Lightning
In Book 2, "Bitter Work", Zuko asks Iroh to teach him how to bend lightning and he teaches Zuko the motions. But he refuses to strike him with lightning, and Zuko storms off towards the dark clouds approaching them, saying he'll "find [his] own lightning".
He stands at the top of a hill and yells at the thunderstorm above him, challenging lightning to strike him, saying he can take whatever it throws at him and that it has "never held back before". No lightning strikes him, however, and he falls to his knees and starts crying. Zuko's life had never been easy - he had been cast away, stripped of his honor, and desperate to win it back - all while being just a kid.
Heartwarming - Zuko Helps Save Sokka's Dad
After Zuko joins Team Avatar in Book 3, Sokka asks him where prisoners of war might be taken, and Zuko tells him about Boiling Rock, a fire nation prison camp. He finds Sokka about to go to Boiling Rock, where Sokka's dad might be. Instead of stopping him, Zuko insists that he's coming along with him, to help him liberate his dad.
It was great to see Zuko helping his new friends when they had been enemies for such a long time, and Sokka and Zuko's conversation on the balloon was hilarious as well as heartwarming. When Sokka tells him that his first girlfriend turned into the moon, Zuko pauses and says "That's rough, buddy.".
Heartbreaking - Uncle Iroh's Story
In "The Tales Of Ba Sing Se", an episode that features short stories about each main character's life in Ba Sing Se, viewers see Iroh having a day out in the city. He quietens a crying child by singing a song about a soldier boy coming home from war. He helps out many people along his way, till he reaches a hill.
It is revealed that he was holding a memorial for Lu Ten, his only son, who had died during the siege of Ba Sing Se. He wishes him a happy birthday, then proceeds to sing the song he had sung for the crying child, but this time, it is Iroh who starts crying, as he mourns Lu Ten's death.
Heartwarming - Aang Reunites With Bumi
While in Omashu, the Mad King demanded that Aang pass several tests of strength, wit and will, before asking his final question - the Mad King's real name. Aang realizes this person is a grown-up Bumi - one of his best friends from a hundred years ago before he was trapped in ice.
It was sweet to see that someone from Aang's history survived, as everyone who he knew from a hundred years ago was now gone. He tells him he must think like a "mad genius" (something Aang used to call him) if he was to defeat fire lord Ozai. He and Bumi then spend the day riding the chute delivery system as they did when they were kids.
Heartbreaking - Aang Realizes He Is The Last Airbender
One of the saddest moments in the entire series was when Aang visits the Southern Temple, where he was raised as an Airbender nomad, and finds it completely empty and abandoned. Exploring a bit further, he finds the corpse of his mentor and friend, Monk Gyatso, who was slaughtered in the raid by Fire Nation soldiers.
It was only then that Aang realizes the full weight upon his shoulders, both as the Avatar and as the Last Airbender. He realizes he needs to save the world from the tyranny of the fire nation, and defeat Fire Lord Ozai.
Heartwarming - Sifu Katara
After Aang addresses Toph as 'Sifu' (a term of respect for a master), Katara gets jealous as she realizes that Aang never called her Sifu. As Aang gets increasingly frustrated at being unable to master earth bending, however, Katara helps both him and Toph realize their shortcomings, as Toph needs to be more supportive, and Aang needs to be more assertive.
Katara tells Aang he's having trouble with earth bending since he's trying to control the opposite of his nature - air bending is about dodging and clever thinking, while earth bending was all about standing your ground. At the end of their training, Aang addresses Katara as Sifu, and they bow to each other with respect.
Heartbreaking - Appa's Lost Days
Animal abuse and torture are one of the saddest things to see, and "Appa's Lost Days" is full of this heartbreaking cruelty. The episode follows Appa as the adorable Bison is kidnapped and sold into a circus before he escapes and gets wounded in a fight with another animal.
He is found by Suki and her Kyoshi warriors, but they're attacked by Azula and her team, and Appa escapes to the Eastern Air Temple, before returning to Ba Sing Se. He ends up getting captured by Long Feng and is taken to the underground Lake Laogai. The entire episode makes viewers sad about the abuse and pain Appa endures.
Heartwarming - Zuko Frees Appa
After Zuko finds Appa in a cell, he thinks of baiting the Avatar, but Iroh shows up and pleads with him. He requests him to look inside himself and make his own destiny, and not follow the one his father forced in him. He also reminds Zuko that if Aang had not saved him at the North Pole, he would not be alive.
This marked the beginning of Zuko's life as a new person, even though he still makes mistakes such as siding with Azula and returning to the Fire Nation. But him dropping the Blue Spirit disguise was a significant moment of Zuko's arc.
Heartbreaking - Zuko's Scar
The origin of Zuko's scar was shown in the season 2 episode, "The Storm". After speaking out of turn at a Fire Nation meeting and accidentally disrespecting his father, his father challenges him to a fire bending fight.
Zuko, however, refuses to fight, and falls to his knees and apologizes, but Ozai tells him he will suffer for his "shameful weakness" for refusing to fight. He scars Zuko and exiles him; only by capturing the Avatar will he be allowed back home. It's heartbreaking to see his father scar him when he was just a little child and banish him from his home.