Avatar: The Last Airbender (animated) season two

I gave season one of Avatar: The Last Airbender an A+. But I think season two is just a little bit better. Do I have it an A++? I suppose I must.

Creative Storytelling

Season two offered three entire episodes that broke from the normal narrative flow.

• Episode 7 Zuko Alone devotes an entire episode to Zuko’s journey;
• Episode 15 The Tales of Ba Sing Se presents a delightful series of short stories that explore the individual characters, including one for Momo that is brilliantly followed by
• Episode 16 Appa’s Lost Days where we discover what has happened to Appa during his abduction. And this episode directly relates to the final two episodes of the season.

I’m constantly impressed with how the creators are able to make simple stories that are entertaining for adults and presumably engaging to children.

Character Arcs

I think I most enjoy the arc that Zuko is on. He has a great deal of internal conflict and it all feels natural. The young man’s desire to please his father, the shame of letting him down, his reckless abandon in trying to capture Aang, the conflict he has with his sister and most of all, the relationship he has with his uncle. I’m especially impressed that Zuko’s arc doesn’t take a straight path toward enlightenment and self-acceptance. Instead, when he is faced with an opportunity to choose his path he recedes from what feels right to what feels safe and familiar.

Katara and Sokka continue to mature. They don’t make any magnificent leaps because there is little or no conflict in them.

Toph continues to learn more about her bending abilities. She is placed in a perfect scenario to level-up her bending skills.

Lastly, Uncle Iroh’s character doesn’t really evolve, but he continues to be the voice of reason to Zuko and we learn just a little more about Iroh in the aforementioned episode of short stories The Tales of Ba Sing Se.