Avatar: The Last Airbender Ending Explained: What Happened to Aang, Katara and Sokka?
Avatar: The Last Airbender will be available on Netflix from 22 February 2024. This is the highly anticipated TV series based on the Nickelodeon animated series of the same name. The protagonist is a 12-year-old boy who has a great mission: to restore peace to the world which is divided into four nations. Each of these is characterized by one element: air, water, earth, and fire. Fans of the well-known animated series couldn’t wait to follow the events featuring the very young Aang. But let’s see together how the first season ends and what is known about the second.
Based on the Nickelodeon animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is the Netflix live-action created by Albert Kim that tells the story of Aang, the last Airbender, who must learn to master the four elements and restore balance in a world threatened by the Fire Nation. The Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads lived in peace until Fire Lord Sozin decided to take advantage of the fact that the current incarnation of the Avatar had not yet emerged to conquer the rest of the world. The first step is to eliminate all the Air Nomads, which they do just as little Aang finds out that he is the next Avatar and goes for a walk to assimilate his new reality. As the war breaks out, the protagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender and his sky bison Aapa faces a strong storm, and Aang is subsequently trapped in a huge block of ice. A century later, two brothers from the Water Tribe, Sokka and Katara, find him and take him to his village.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Plot Summary
The protagonist of this story is Aang (Gordon Cormier), a young Airbender. The twelve-year-old boy lives together with the air nomads in the southern temple, but winds of danger are approaching to upset his peaceful life: the fire nation led by Lord Sozin (Hiro Kanagawa) wants power over the other three nations and to do so he knows which must strike before the next Avatar manifests. The Avatar is the only one capable of governing the four elements together and is destined to bring peace and balance to the world. Such a complex and important role falls precisely on the shoulders of our Aang who, not feeling ready yet, leaves the temple to clear his head together with his flying bison Appa. Far from home, Aang will be surprised by a storm and will not realize that at that moment the warriors of the fire nation are wiping out the nomad temple and all its inhabitants. While everything he loves is destroyed, Aang risks drowning in a tumultuous sea, only thanks to his Avatar powers can he save himself by locking himself in a sphere of ice.
One hundred years have passed since these tragic events, a century in which the Fire Nation has almost taken total control of the world, annihilated the other nations, and increasingly reduced any type of opposition. It will be Katara (Kiawentiio), the only waterbender of her tribe, together with her brother Sokka (Ian Ousley), who accidentally awakens Aang, who remains frozen not far from their village. The three, after some initial difficulties, decide to leave together with the rediscovered Appa on a dangerous journey: Aang will have to learn to govern his powers, fomenting the spark of rebellion in the subjugated nations. It won’t be an easy task, in fact on his heels is Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu), the exiled son of the king of the Fire Nation, ready to do anything to find and take the Avatar prisoner.
Its superficial story may have been that of good versus evil, fighting to save the world, but beneath it was discovered that this fight had many nuances because the motives of each character responded to reasons that were coherent in one context and unthinkable in another. The saga was concerned with showing love towards any community, towards nature, teaching us that those body movements that made the rocks shake or the winds raised were the reflection of a deep connection with the elements and even with spirituality. The lands of Avatar: The Last Airbender seemed alive because they have always been in constant evolution, developing their characters and the four nations through new television series, comics, or books that enrich this universe and make it more solid than usual which can be appreciated by reviewing each published material independently.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Ending Explained: What Happened to Aang, Katara and Sokka?
Prince Zuko, the banished son of Fire Lord Ozai who must capture the Avatar to return home, glimpses the light that emerges when Aang is freed, so he orders his crew to follow the trail despite his uncle’s advice, General Iroh, who believes it is another wrong signal. Upon awakening, Aang learns that he slept for a hundred years and that his home was destroyed by the Fire Nation along with all its members. But he doesn’t have time to process the loss of him, as Zuko arrives at the gates of the village and threatens to burn it down. To prevent more deaths, Aang surrenders without a fight.
After touring Zuko’s ship, Aang escapes with the help of Sokka and Katara. Together they embark on a fantastic, action-packed quest to save the world. The first step is to reach Kyoshi Island and connect with the Avatar of the Earth Kingdom. While the protagonist of Avatar: The Last Airbender sees a vision of the Northern Water Tribe facing an attack, Commander Zhao attacks the place to trap the Avatar. Although Zhao claims to help Zuko, he is ambitious and wants to take all the credit. When the fall of the place seems imminent, Avatar Kyoshi shows Aang what an Avatar is capable of. The enemies flee and Aang can continue on his way. On the island, Sokka meets Suki, the leader of an elite force.
The next stop is Omashu, one of the Earth Kingdom’s strongholds, where Aang is arrested after confronting Zuko, who escapes thanks to Iroh’s help. A conspiracy, a mechanist, and a group of rebels complicate Aang, Katara, and Sokka’s plans. Iroh is sent to another location, from where he is rescued by his nephew, and Aang is brought before the king, who is none other than Bumi, an old friend of the new Avatar. Bumi is angry at Aang for abandoning them when they needed him most, but after some wacky tests and a fight, they make peace. As the main group advances, they raise their powers and abilities, but upon entering the Spirit World they need more than that. Sokka and Katara become trapped by a primal spirit called Koh the Face Stealer, so Aang must visit Avatar Roku’s shrine to save them.
After escaping from Zhao with the help of Zuko, Aang and his group in Avatar: The Last Airbender arrive at the Northern Water Tribe. Katara believes that this is the right place to hone his skills but discovers that women are not allowed to fight. To change that, she faces Master Pakku but is defeated. However, she earns the respect of many. For his part, Sokka forms a bond with Princess Yue, a priestess who can travel through the spirit world because when she was little, she was saved by a piece of the moon’s spirit. She is charged with protecting her when the Fire Nation attacks, and she insists on helping her.
What Are Zhao’s True Plans?
After having the support of Azula, Princess of the Fire Nation, Commander Zhao is confident that his ambitious dreams will come true. To do this, he has a secret plan that he does not share with Iroh: to attack on the full moon, when the Water benders reach their maximum level, to take away their powers. The avatar Kuruk of the Water tribe warns Aang that Zhao plans to kill the moon spirit, so together with Katara, who is finally allowed to fight, he goes to find Yue and Sokka at the oasis. Zuko’s appearance complicates things, but Katara takes care of him, while Aang goes to save the moon spirit. However, he fails and causes chaos in the world.
To control the damage, Aang surrenders to the Spirit of the Ocean, despite Yue warning him that he will be lost in the spirit world. Before it’s too late, Yue remembers that she has a small part of the moon spirit and uses it to save her. The sacrifice calms Aang and the ocean spirit. Meanwhile, Zuko confronts Zhao for ruining his mission, but the commander reveals that Ozai does not want him to return home and that he has only used him to motivate Azula and make her the successor of the Fire Nation. The news leaves him overwhelmed, which Zhao takes advantage of to attack, but Iroh arrives just in time to save his nephew.
Although they managed to resist the attack, Aang is aware that he must learn to master the other elements to save the world. Now that Katara has become a Waterbender, she will be in charge of teaching him to control that element. At the end of “Avatar: The Last Airbender“, Fire Lord Ozai learns of the attack but does not consider it bad news, since it was a distraction for Azula and her army to reach Omashu and arrest King Bumi. It is also revealed that the next target is Ba Sing Sae. Does it mean there will be a second season?
Is Princess Yue Dead?
In the finale of Avatar: The Legend of Aang, Princess Yue sacrifices herself to save the Moon Spirit. She does so because Zhao ensures that she will kill the spirit to ensure the Fire Nation’s rule. Yue makes sure Sokka can’t stop her, while her father asks her spirit to save her life. After the princess’s sacrifice, you can see the moon light up, implying that it worked. In the Netflix TV series, Yue dies.
What Happens to Aang, Katara and Sokka?
After defeating Zhao and Zuko, in the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender the three friends are still together. Katara is asked to stay to help train the next generation of water benders, but she refuses. Aang is, however, heartbroken over the destruction caused by the Fire Nation, believing he has failed as the Avatar. Katara and Sokka advise him to focus on what he still has to do. The last episode of the first season of the TV series on Netflix sees Zuko confronting Zhao, telling him that his father only used him to motivate his sister Azula. Zhao loses control and blasts Zhao but does not kill him. Zhao ultimately meets her end as Zuko and Iroh watch her body go up in flames.
