Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 (2007)

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can touch the poison of hatred without being harmed. Since beginningless time, darkness thrives in the void, but always yields to purifying light."

Following the events of season 2, Aang and the others find themselves hiding on a Fire Nation ship preparing to defeat the Fire Lord. To accomplish this they blend in to the Fire Nation population to gather intelligence and prepare for the final battle. While doing so they will continue to help the less fortunate and learn there may be more to the people of the Fire Nation than warmongers and destruction. Also pretty much every character receives some form of character growth as they go on this final leg of the journey. Both sides are equally served here, villians and heroes alike.

The final season of this trilogy of seasons is bigger and better in all respects. Animation and story are kicked into high gear with smooth and consistent quality. Action is packed full with not one, not two, but three multi-part episodes. An excellent run of episodes building up to a huge finale with returning characters and tons of the elemental martial arts to be seen along with the show's fine sense of humor. Quality animation, action packed plot and some good character growth makes this the best season of the three.

Episodes to See:
The Beach - An interlude giving perspective from the villains' point of view.
The Western Air Temple - A big plot point comes to fruition here.
Ember Island Players - The production crew essentially making fun of themselves. Also serves as a nice recap of the series before the finale.

Buyer's Guide:
Available as four DVD volumes or as a box set titled "Complete Book 3 Collection"

5 exhaustion induced hallucinations of samurai duels out of 5

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 (2006)

"It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements and the other nations will help you become whole."

Having sufficiently learned waterbending, Aang and the others make their way to the Earth Kingdom in search of an earthbending teacher and to bring crucial intelligence for the war effort to the Earth King in the capitol of Ba Sing Se. Along the way they are harassed by new antagonist, Azula. She is a Fire Nation princess, bending prodigy and a far more dangerous adversary. As Zuko's sister she is sent specifically to succeed where Zuko has failed. A recurring subplot is Aang attempting to master the Avatar State; a superpowered state that affords him the power of all the past avatars. This proves more difficult than bending since there are benders abound, but there are seemingly none who can teach him how to be an avatar.

This season continues the precedent of excellent animation and surprising depth for a kid's show set by the first season while bringing in a fresh batch of the new. New characters, stories, and new twists on old characters particularly on the part of Zuko as circumstance forces him to deal with a new set of problems other than hunting Aang that may change him forever. Any problems of the first season have been remedied and the show hits its stride if it hadn't already. Best of the old and a slice of the new equals some fine entertainment.

Episodes to See:
The Blind Bandit - Best character in the series is introduced and some funny digs at pro wrestling.
Tales of Ba Sing Se - Collection of vignettes that gives some personal perspective for each character particularly Iroh.
Crossroads of Destiny - Chilling season finale with some twists. 

Buyer's Guide:
Available as multiple DVD volumes or as a box set titled Complete Book 2 Collection.

4½ Manly Tears shed for Mako out of 5

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 (2005)

”Although his air bending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone. But I believe Aang can save the world.”

A 100 year war has raged between the 4 nations of the world; The Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Air Nomads versus the Fire Nation. Each nation has their own “benders”; people capable of manipulating their respective element of earth, water, fire and air through the use of martial arts. Only the Avatar can bring peace. As the human incarnation of the planet itself, the Avatar can manipulate all 4 elements and is tasked with maintaining the balance of the world, but he has been missing since before the war began.

Two siblings, Sokka and Katara, from the Southern Water Tribe find a boy frozen in an iceberg, He is Aang, an airbender and the new Avatar. Free from the iceberg, Aang must now fulfill his duty as Avatar and bring an end to the war, but first needs to master the other 3 elements and become a fully-realized Avatar. This proves a problem as there are few who can teach him. They embark on Aang’s flying sky bison named Appa to travel the world in search of a waterbending teacher, but are constantly harassed by Zuko, a banished Fire Nation prince looking to restore his honor, and Zhao, an ambitious commander in the Fire Nation navy out for the glory that capturing the only threat to victory would bring.

The series proved a hit for Nickelodeon as it found an audience outside of its target demographic. Creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko created a show that was very archetypical and had all the trappings of a kids show, but it was done very well. The lack of blood, often cheesy morality lessons and G-rated violence don’t stop the show from having some interesting themes and events including separation of families during war, racism and genocide. The effort and detail is evident in not just the characters and story, but also the authentic martial arts and asian influence that that make up the aesthetic. So audiences get a well done Hero’s Journey with cool supernatural martial arts that can appeal to all ages. Excellent.

Episodes You Must See:
The King of Omashu - Great humor and action.
The Siege of the North - Pretty epic as it should be for a 2-part finale

Episodes to Avoid:
The Great Divide - It could be removed entirely and not affect the series one bit. Throw in some annoying characters and this one is a definite skip.

Buyer’s Guide:
Available in multiple DVD volumes or as a box set titled Complete Book 1 Collection. Outside the US it is called The Legend of Aang instead of Last Airbender since the word “bender” apparently has some negative connotations.

4 Lotus Tiles out of 5