Image grabbed from here.
About a week into Quarantine, my mother had purchased the first six seasons of The Big Bang Theory. We had been binge-watching the show but then we got to the fifth season. We were nearing the end and we were to hooked to stop. Before watching the sixth season, we went to Walmart to purchase the rest of the series. As we browsed the DVD section, I spotted something. I had seen the complete series for the Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend Korra. For now, let’s talk about Avatar.
When I saw the complete series on the shelf, it had jogged some memories from my childhood. The first episode aired in 2005 and finished in 2008. After thinking about it, I realized I had never seen the full series. So I changed that real quick.
Getting into the actual review, my memories were correct, this show is amazing! I love the concept, character, feelings, and goals of the show. The show also has a great bit of symbolism in it that I think everyone can relate to. I think this goes without warning but a spoiler alert is in order.
The Concept
If you haven’t seen an episode, the concept is pretty easy to understand and is extremely understanding. There are four main groups and each group can bend a certain type of element. The four elements are water, earth, wind, and air, for example, water benders can manipulate water. Originally, the four groups lived together but one day, the fire benders attacked the other three groups to gain full control. The Avatar, a young air bender named Aang, is challenged with learned how to bend all the elements to defeat the fire benders.
The Feels
Though this is an animated show, I have cried a couple of times. Aang has the flying bison named Appa and they have been companions for over 100 years. There is a series of episodes where Appa is stolen and both him and Aang fall into a small depression. Aang lashes out at his friends and attempts to ignore his feelings. Appa is physically abused by other benders and animals. After watching these two go through so much pain and then getting to see them reunite pulls at the heart strings. The show has a lot more than these couple of episodes to make you cry so buckle up.
Story Development
One huge issue I have with some television shows and other animated shows is filler episodes. The shows timeline is a little over three months so most if not all episodes are content and are important to the story. The character go through a lot to. Katara, a water bender traveling with Aang, is trying to perfect her skills with a dead mother and a dad that isn’t present. Saka, Katara’s brother, does his best to keep up with his friends and has some trouble because he isn’t a bender. Toph, an earth bender, trying to find herself and make her way through the world as a blind girl. And Zuko, an enemy to Aang, is dealing with some serious identity issues. This is the type of show that’ll leave you wanting to watch another episode.
Some Symbolism
In order to save the world, Aang needs to master the four elements and that is no easy task. Only a certain type of person can master all four elements as an adult but Aang is only 12. I think Aang’s purpose is a lot to what we think the perfect human is. As “responsible adults,” we are expected to know and have everything figured out. Aang trying to balance all four elements is just like us trying to balance everything in our lives. School, family, a lover, a social life, relaxation time and so much more. If there’s one thing this show is showing me is that time is short and while it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize, it is as equally important to have some fun while you do it.
Rewatching this series has been so much fun. It’s really cool to see something that came out 15 years ago still has an extreme relevance to our modern society. I would 100% recommend this show to anyone. Anyone can enjoy it and understand its meaning. I hope you give it a chance.
The Beat @APU 