Guru Pathik is a key part of Aang’s spiritual journey in Avatar: The Last Airbender, but what happens to him after the show’s conclusion? While Guru Pathik does not appear in many episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, he has a profound impact on Aang and the show and his legacy is an important one.
Pathik was introduced in season 2, episode 15, “Appa’s Lost Days,” in which he cares for a distressed Appa and sends the air bison off with a note telling Aang to come visit him at the Eastern Air Temple. In season 2, episode 19, “The Guru,” Pathik teaches Aang to open his chakras so that he can master the Avatar State. Throughout each season, Aang struggles to control his actions while in the Avatar State, or even enter the Avatar State in the first place. Guru Pathik helps him begin that journey by teaching him about chakras, centers of energy within the body that each have their own purposes, and blockages
Guru Pathik ultimately only reappears in flashbacks or as a hallucination, so what exactly happened to this character who made such an impact on Aang’s spiritual journey? Pathik never reappears on the show, nor does he return in any of the comics or in Legend of Korra. And while there's little by way of concrete confirmation, based on the little we hear about Pathik in Legend of Korra and what he tells Appa and Aang on their visits to the Eastern Air Temple it’s possible to theorize about what he may have done after training the Avatar.
In season 2 of Legend of Korra, which takes place around 70 years after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Tenzin and his family visit the Eastern Air Temple. Pathik is no longer there, meaning that he either died during the time between the series or left the temple. It’s quite possible that he died. After all, he did tell Aang that he was a spiritual brother to the Air Nomads as well as a close friend of Monk Gyatso, making him well over 100 years old. However, it’s also possible that he lived for much longer. This wouldn’t be unprecedented: Avatar Kyoshi lived to be 230 years old. While Pathik is not the Avatar, his focus on spirituality and how in shape he was when he met Aang could help him continue living for a while. If he’s still alive during Legend of Korra, where did he go?
When Guru Pathik meets Appa, he mentions that he had a vision of Aang and Appa years ago that led him to take up residence in the Eastern Air Temple to wait for them. This means that before the vision, he lived somewhere else. Perhaps he traveled back to his home or, keeping in touch with the Air Nomad traditions he practiced, roamed around the world and continued to teach people. That would be a fitting continuation of the Air Nomad legacy until the airbenders return fully in Legend of Korra.
There may be no canonical evidence of what happened to Guru Pathik, but that doesn’t mean his story ended with Aang. Based on his longevity and spiritual connection to the airbenders, it’s likely Pathik left the Eastern Air Temple to travel the world as a nomad. That even a minor character can make such an impact and raise questions about their future just goes to show the success of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s highly effective characterization.