Avatar The Last Airbender is one of my favourite shows of all time. It is a deeply political cartoon that draws on the cultural practices, garments and architecture of numerous Asian cultures to speak on Imperialism and colonisation. You simply cannot get more political than Avatar The Last Airbender.

Everything from genocide to child soldiers to animal abuse is covered.

Not to mention, the show is incredibly well written, the characters are compelling, the art style is beautiful and the music is top-tier. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a rendition of Iroh’s “Leaves From The Vine” without wanting to cry.

So of course, my boyfriend has to watch this show. And thankfully for him, he’s actually been enjoying it and why wouldn’t he? This is one of the most well written shows I’ve yet to come across.

Now, spoilers for the entirety of the show. And if you are boyfriend, don’t you dare read on until you’ve finished the whole show.

The Best Disability Representation I’ve Seen

So many shows fall into the pitfall of removing a disabled character’s agency and individuality just to push an agenda. And yet, Avatar The Last Airbender isn’t attempting to push an agenda. It is simply portraying disabled characters with the same respect as their able bodied counterparts. And it is this that connects with people.

There are prominent disabled characters whose identities are simultaneously unique and separate from their disability, and yet, at the same time, those disabilities still have a great impact on the way they perceive the world. The way they interact with the world. Because while you can be a unique individual, and being disabled isn’t a monolith, there are still unifying experiences that are unique to certain disabilities. You can be sassy and still be traumatised. You can be self-sufficient and still have moments where you are more easily taken advantage of because of your disability.

You never forget Toph is blind. She never hides it from you. In fact, she’ll throw it at your face at every chance. But being blind doesn’t remove her agency. It means that she has to develop other skills to end up in the same place as everyone else. And in doing that, she actually makes herself the greatest earth bender in the Avatar universe.

I don’t subscribe to the ideology that has people calling it “differently abled” rather than disabled. I think it’s important to own it. Because I don’t think being disabled is a moral failure. And I don’t think being disabled should automatically exclude you from being a capable, competent and, maybe even, badass individual. If that is what you want to be.

However, denying that being disabled puts limitations on you is regressive. Because while you deny that being disabled is actually disabling, you also deny people the opportunity to have the support they need to succeed. Disabled people, depending on the disability, require different infrastructure to have the same chance of success. And while some may certainly beat the odds, there are many more who will fall down without being given the opportunity of an even playing field.

The truth is, Toph needs Team Avatar just as much as they need her. And it doesn’t make her any less than to admit she’s disabled. It doesn’t take away from her value and her inherent worth as a human being to admit she has limitations and there are certain things she cannot do.

She is a unique individual whose disability cannot be removed from the story and yet, whose disability doesn’t define her capacity for greatness. And this, this approach, is what’s missing from disability representation. It is something Avatar The Last Airbender did so well that even people who complain about “forced diversity” mention Avatar The Last Airbender as an exception.

Zuko Has The Most Well-Written Character Arc Of Any Show I’ve Watched

I would be remiss if I spoke about Avatar The Last Airbender without mentioning Zuko. Zuko’s character arc is my entire reason for getting into this show in the first place. As I’ve previously mentioned, I only watched half of episode 1 before leaving it for months on end.

But I was listening to a Trope Talks video about Redemption arcs and it intrigued me. At first glance, Zuko appears to be a spoiled Prince. Just another cartoon villain. But the longer you stay with the show, the more that theory is disproven.

Zuko is an abused child whose kindness is a threat to the fire nation’s imperialism. Yes, he’s angry and destructive but he’s also a teenager with severe PTSD. He’s not incapable of doing good. In fact, there are numerous instances where his kindness and empathy takes over. Like when he chose not to rob a pregnant woman or when he went out of his way to protect an Earth nation boy. He had no reason to do either of those things and yet, it was in his nature.

The reason why Zuko is such a compelling character is because he struggles. He spends two and a half seasons grappling with his need to regain his honour. He has a momentary change of heart when he lets Appa go and chooses to be good. But then he’s pulled back into the abusive cycle by his sister.

And it is when he has everything. When he has the life he’s always envisioned and his father is proud of him. It is when his sister and he are on good terms. It is when he is in a happy relationship with Mai and he has friends, that he chooses to leave the fire nation and his own family.

He decides, of his own volition, to be good. It isn’t because of his uncle or Katara. He does it because once he has everything, he realises just how wrong the Fire Nation is. He understands the impact colonisation and imperialism has had on the world. And despite his tremendous privilege, he chooses to give it all up.

His redemption isn’t handed to him. Even once he leaves, he isn’t accepted by Team Avatar. In fact, he almost dies to get that acceptance and even then, it takes Katara a while to warm up to him.

His actions have consequences and he’s forced to feel it. And despite how hard the journey is, he perseveres. He becomes a better person against all odds because he chose to.

And it is exactly this that makes him such a compelling character. This is my boyfriend’s first time watching the show and he’s already telling me he hopes Zuko changes for the better and becomes Aang’s fire bending master. Mind you, we’re only on season 2 at this point. And that just goes to show you how well written the show is.

The Tales Of Ba Sing Se & Appa’s Lost Days Are Enough To Break Anyone

It is the cruellest choice to have the two saddest episodes in the entire show, back to back. Sure, Tales of Ba Sing Se is mostly light-hearted. But then you’re brought to tears by Iroh’s heart breaking singing and then you’re devastated again once you remember the voice actor died before the episode was released. And you get a brief break before bam! You remember that Momo doesn’t understand why Appa isn’t there.

I can’t help but cry at the idea of Momo looking for Appa, dreaming of Appa and missing Appa. And there’s no way for anyone to explain to him why Appa isn’t there. Appa, who is not just Momo’s friend, but also his protector.

And just when you think you’ve had enough, you get to the next episode and it’s Appa’s Lost Days. I can’t even think about that episode without wanting to cry. It really exposes just how badly animals are treated. And I’m glad it received a Genesis Award from the Humane Society.

Because it really was that good.

Sweet Appa has literally been carrying Team Avatar for the entire show. And yet, he is viewed as nothing more than a commodity by the sand benders and nothing more than an animal to be broken by the circus trainer.

And even once he escapes the circus, Azula tries to capture him to get to Aang. Honestly, the only characters who value him as a living being are the little boy in the circus, the Kyoshi warriors and Guru Pathik.

It truly is a saddening reflection of our society. We are more than willing to exploit animals for their labour and yet, we do not view them as conscious beings capable of feeling pain and loss.

And I’m glad it’s mentioned. Animals are often a casualty of war, imperialism and colonisation. Just as Aang’s people were murdered, the native animals were also hunted. It’s honestly a little too close to real life. And I didn’t even realise until recently when I was trying to do research on European colonisers and learned they hunted North American bison to near extinction.

Because here’s the reality about colonisation. At the end of the day, it’s entitlement and greed. It’s driven by a people who believe they have a right to everything. And so of course, colonisers are going to destroy the native wildlife. They have no respect for the land. And if they can kill the people, the animals are nothing to them.

Animal cruelty is not worse than cruelty to humans. But it is a natural extension of the type of greed that values power and wealth over living beings.

Final Thoughts

Just as Zuko is one of my favourite characters of all time, Avatar The Last Airbender is one of my favourite shows of all time. If my boyfriend didn’t enjoy the show, I would’ve judged him heavily. Though, I’m pretty sure I still would’ve forced him to sit through the whole thing.

The show is fantastical and whimsical. It’s fun and it makes you laugh. But it’s also colonisation, imperialism and genocide through the eyes of children. It’s so deeply political and it’s a reflection of human history. And yet, it’s hopeful. It makes you believe that it is enough to be good.

I cannot possibly think of a way to improve this show. It’s well-written, it’s abundantly clear the actors are putting their all into it and every element works together to create something you cannot help but enjoy. I have yet to come across someone who doesn’t like the show.

And honestly, if you’ve never seen it before and you’ve made it this far, you should watch it. Because I’m telling you, even if I gave you every spoiler and ruined the whole thing, you’d still enjoy it.

Because in this case, the journey is so wonderful that knowing the destination doesn’t take away from the experience.