Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Finale Reaction: A Satisfying Wrap-Up With a Few Missed Opportunities

Netflix's live action Avatar: The Last Airbender wrapped up its second season with the finale "Something Broken," and my overall take is that the show stuck the landing emotionally even though it clearly had to condense a lot to get there.

Before pressing play, my co-host and I talked about how much material this season had skipped just to reach the finale, and we wondered how the show would handle Zuko's arc, since in the animated series this is the point where he chooses to return to his family. We were also curious whether the live action version would bring in the more developed Zuko and Katara relationship from the original show. Our hope going in was that they would just leave that out entirely, because as we said, "it would be so forced if they put it in now." We also noted the show never went into the chakras with Aang the way the animated series did, and speculated they might be saving some of that material, including a possible drill attack on Ba Sing Se, for a later season instead.

Toph's Mother Drugging and Caging Her Daughter Hits Harder Than the Original Anime Version

One of the biggest changes we picked up on is that it's Toph's own mother, not two hired earthbenders like in the animated series, who drugs her tea and locks her in a metal cage. We actually liked this change a lot, because having it be her own mother adds another layer of betrayal and reinforces why Toph leans on her friends as her real family. That said, we did wish the show had built up Toph's discovery of metalbending more gradually rather than having her figure it out almost instantly once she declared herself the greatest earthbender in the world.

Sokka's Live Action Portrayal Earns Praise for Nailing the Character's Tone

Watching Sokka reunite with the group and crack jokes, I said, "I really do like his portrayal of Saka, though," adding that the performance even captured the character's intonation well.

Zuko Nearly Sides With Azula Before Turning on Her to Help Aang

During the climactic fight in Ba Sing Se, we thought for a moment Zuko might side with his sister again, with the guess, "I think this is her like join me moment," tying it back to Azula wanting her father's approval more than Zuko does. When Zuko instead turns to fight alongside Aang and the group, it plays as the payoff of the therapy-session-style talk he has earlier with Iroh about not pushing his friends away.

Katara's Decision Not to Heal Zuko's Scar Ends Up Saving Aang's Life

Katara offers to use the rare spirit oasis water to heal Zuko's scar but ultimately does not, and we were glad that moment did not go further, because that same water is what saves Aang after Azula strikes him from behind while he is unlocking his final chakra in the Avatar State.

Final Verdict on Adapting the Anime's Fight Choreography

Wrapping up the season, I said I think animation is simply a more boundless medium for storytelling than live action, especially for big fight scenes, because it does not require stunt performers or CGI specialists to replicate anime-style bending. Even so, I felt the cast handled the emotional beats well, particularly the friendship falling apart and coming back together by the end of the episode.

Do you think the show made the right call changing Toph's captor to her own mother instead of the anime's two hired earthbenders?