Avatar: The Last Airbender stands as one of the best animated children’s television shows of all time. With surprising depth, the series showcases a world with rich and detailed lore, charming character writing, and layered themes. From its debut, it elevated what viewers could expect from both children's programming and animation on TV.
With such depth and complexity, the series often featured moments of heavy emotional resonance that can be absolutely heartbreaking, and such heartbreak is often expressed through emotional dialogue that hits hard. All these years after the series finale, it's still impossible to forget these lines.
When Axula Shares Her Pain
“My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt.” — Azula.
“The Beach,” one of Reddit's favorite Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes, plays much like a John Hughes movie set in the ATLA world, especially at the bonfire scene. The fire gang sit around, somewhat salty with each other, and relay their various woes. Azula lays out hers, and while a stunning representation of her character, it’s still rather sad.
Azula is a monster, but she’s also a child, and one could argue that her mother really didn’t think that of her at all. Like Iroh, Ursa also wanted what was best for Azula, and only wanted to guide her towards the light. What’s truly heartbreaking is that Azula couldn’t recognize that.
When Aang Really Is The Last Airbender
“I really am the last airbender.” — Aang.
It’s the title of the show, so it was going to come up. Aang learns what really happened to the air nomads, triggering his Avatar state. Katara calms him down, stating she and Sokka are Aang’s family. Broken and grieving, Aang lies in Katara’s arms and solemnly admits the truth.
Given that it’s the title, audiences usually take it for granted that the main character would know that. But Aang doesn’t, and having to watch him learn it in real time and process the many emotions that come with it, such as grief and guilt, is difficult to watch.
When Zuko Loses It
“Leave!” — Zuko.
After being apart due to an argument, Zuko and Iroh reunite, and briefly team up with the Gaang to fight Azula. Azula escapes by striking a distracted Iroh. Zuko rushes to his side, angry with himself that his uncle got hurt, and their last words may have been spoken in anger. Katara could help, but Zuko’s not about to be vulnerable with the enemy.
ATLA’s resident sadboy is, of course, going to be the source of a lot of emotional power. So much anger sits in his heart like a malignant growth, and his frustration, anger, and grief is overwhelming, even if Iroh does turn out to be alright.
When Katara Lashes Out At Her Brother
“You didn’t love her the way I did.” — Katara.
In an effort to get in Katara’s good graces, Zuko offers to help her find her mother’s killer. Instantly seeing red, she goes on a warpath. The rest of the Gaang tries to stop her, particularly Sokka. So blinded by her rage, ATLA's strong female character Katara spits this venomous line at her brother.
The emotional impact is twofold here. On the one hand, it’s hard to see how the grief affects both children all this time later, but seeing how it manifests in each sibling is especially painful, at two emotional extremes.
When Ursa Says Her Last Words To Zuko
“Never forget who you are.” — Ursa.
Zuko recalls the fond memories he had of his mother during a time when he was separated from Iroh, and the circumstances that led to her mysterious disappearance. Before she leaves, she sneaks into Zuko’s room and says her last words to him.
The crushing irony is that Zuko would forget who he was, even in this episode. Ursa’s last words to her son were spoken to remind him of the large heart he somehow has despite the culture of cruelty he was born into. Zuko later declares that he is the Prince of the Fire Nation as he defends a small town from corrupted Earth Kingdom Soldiers, and while he was doing the right thing, he was ultimately doing it for the wrong reasons.
When Aang Is Overwhelmed With Relief
“Can I have some onion-banana juice, please?” — Aang.
As Guru Pathik guides Aang through opening his chakras, they come across one blocked by grief, and Aang certainly knows grief. However, Guru Pathik tells him the love from Aang’s people is still in the world, and has transformed into a new love. Relief flows through Aang, and leads him to shyly and tearfully ask for the juice.
As much as Aang is surrounded by people he loves throughout his journey, the sense of loss he feels from the genocide of the air nomads still weighs on his heart heavily. It’s heartbreaking enough on its own, but the sense of relief he feels opening this chakra is palpable.
When Aang Finds His Second Wind
“It’s not over.” — Aang.
Zhao kills the Koi moon spirit and plunges the world into an off-balance darkness. Team Avatar despairs. Yui solemnly declares it’s over. And all at once, somewhat in control, Aang taps into the Avatar state and responds, “No. It’s not over,” before joining with the other Koi to wreak vengeance on the Fire Nation Army.
This is one of the first major steps in Aang’s development as what is essentially a child soldier. He’s certainly been in fights before, but this was the first time he used his awesome and terrible power to fight in an actual battle, and he wrecks house. In that moment, Aang loses some of his innocence, which makes the scene an emotional punch to the gut.
When Zuko Admits His Self-Loathing
“I’m angry at myself!” — Zuko.
Like Azula, Zuko also relays his woes to his friends at the bonfire. His confusion, his insecurities, his imposter syndrome (justified, in this case). He’s angry, and his friends ask why, or at who, each thinking it might be because of them.
Zuko's done many terrible things. He's achieved everything he wanted, but at the cost of what he needed, and loved. Iroh played a large part of it, but it was also Zuko’s self-respect and the knowledge he gained on his journey that the Fire Nation are indeed the baddies. He’s angry at himself, and after all the time the audience has spent with him, they’ve grown to care for him.
When Zuko and Iroh Reunite
“I was never angry with you. I was sad, because I was afraid you’d lost your way.” — Iroh.
The line comes from the reunion between Zuko and Iroh, or, more to the point, the first meeting of the reformed Zuko and the freed Iroh. They began as boy and man fighting for the wrong side. Here, they approach the end as two men fighting for the right side.
Being a character with big main character energy, Iroh’s handling in Book 3 was heartbreaking in and of itself because of voice actor Mako’s untimely death. Greg Baldwin still manages to deliver this line, this forgiveness and absolution (at least in Iroh’s eyes) of his nephew with such subtle power and weight, it’s impossible not to cry.
When Iroh Mourns His Son
“Leaves from the vine.” — Iroh.
In an episode showcasing a day in the life in Ba Sing Se from various perspectives, Iroh spends his day preparing for the birthday of his son, who fell in battle. He sets up a small shrine at the base of a tree, and sings a traditional Fire Nation ballad, “Leaves From the Vine.”
There’s a lot going on here. It’s rare to see Iroh break down and cry, and rarer still for the subject of his son to come up, understandably so. Seeing him tearfully sing the song is poignant enough on its own, but then the segment ends with the words “In honor of Mako,” who died before Book 2 finished airing. Far and away, it’s the most heartbreaking moment of ATLA.