5 Reasons You Should Be Watching ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’

This article contains mild spoilers for Avatar: Seven Havens. Tread carefullyThe franchise that began with Avatar: The Last Airbender all the way back in 2005 is one of the most beloved television series out there. It serves as the perfect example of how to blend being a show for all ages with mature, deep storytelling. But, in recent years, the likes of Paramount haven’t exactly been treating the franchise well—perfect example being the treatment of the recent movie, Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender—which has led to people being worried about the release of the newest series, Avatar: Seven Havens.

A fact many may not know is that the newest show has the lowest budget of any Avatar project ever made. Reported budget numbers estimate that Avatar: Seven Havens works on a budget of under $1 million per episode, while the previous two worked on about $1+ million per episode. It’s a real shame, and led to people believing this series wouldn’t be good. That, however, is beyond false. Avatar: Seven Havens is actually such a good ride so far, and everyone who’s been watching it is excited about what’s to come next. If you’re not watching the show, here are a few reasons you really should be.

5

The Importance of the Chakras

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The chakras of the Avatar cycle haven’t been super important to the series since Avatar: The Last Airbender, when the protagonist, Aang (Zachary Tyler Eisen), actually blocked his seventh chakra—the “thought chakra”—with his earthly attachments. Since then, they haven’t had as much impact on the show. In Avatar: Seven Havens, though, the chakras actually seem to be the main conflict. While people originally believed the “Anamoly” plaguing the location of Ellora to be the menacing Vatu (Jonathan Adams)—seen last in The Legend of Korra—many now think that it’s the manifestation of the root chakra, which is blocked by fear.

The world of Avatar: Seven Havens is filled to the brim with fear, especially when it comes to the Avatar. After the most recent episode, as of writing—Avatar: Seven Havens Season 1, Episode 9, “The Envoys: Part Two”—showed Pavi (Saheli Khan) seeing the root chakra being blocked, it’s more clear than ever that the Seven Havens of the world are going to be representing the seven chakras. The chakras being so important now makes Avatar: Seven Havens incredibly unique compared to the other projects in the series. This has drawn everyone in and has people truly guessing what could come next, defying everyone’s original expectations regarding the story.

4

The Worldbuilding

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The worldbuilding of the Avatar franchise has always been one of the best aspects of the entire series. The original vision of the world seen in Avatar: The Last Airbender, then the evolution of it in The Legend of Korra both allowed this universe to become one of the most beloved fantasy realities out there. The lore behind bending, the Avatar, the socio-political effects something like bending has on the world, and more, all give this franchise some of the best worldbuilding in the game.

This trend continues in Avatar: Seven Havens with grace and prowess. Rather than do what they did with The Legend of Korra, the creators decided that this time, they would set the world back. After Avatar Korra (Janet Varney) caused what is known as “The Cataclysm,” the world, as everyone knew, was completely destroyed. 200 years later, Avatar: Seven Havens shows how said world came back from the destruction of it. The Seven Havens of the planet are separated and almost blocked off from each other by a giant storm from said Cataclysm. This has people beyond excited to explore these Seven Havens.

3

The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

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Much like the name of the first book—season—”Survival” states, the people of the world in Avatar: Seven Havens are merely trying to survive. The Cataclysm may have been 200 years prior to the modern day in the show, but society hasn’t fully come back from the destruction just yet. Humanity is still hanging by a thread, trying to push through the effects of the Cataclysm. Stakes like this are some of the highest in the franchise.

The stakes are as high as the world quite literally being at stake. Society isn’t threatened by a tyrannical regime this time around. They’re at risk of genuinely being decimated by the horrors of the planet itself—supposedly all thanks to Avatar Korra (more on that later). To make matters worse, with the stakes being this high, it doesn’t make it any better that the new Avatars, Pavi and Nisha (Aishu Devan), are the youngest audiences have seen so far, being only 9 years old. How they’re going to stop humanity from being erased from existence . . . no one knows, but it gives viewers a dang good reason to keep watching.

2

Pavi and Nisha Are Great Protagonists

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When it comes to the Avatar franchise, having a good Avatar is everything. The newest entry in the franchise gets the benefit of having two Avatars this time around, though, and both characters are excellently written. With both of them being written like the previous two protagonists—Pavi being like Aang, and Nisha being like Korra—the way they contrast each other is great. Both of them want such different things in life, which both connect and create conflict with them, and keep things engaging.

Their character arcs are going in great directions and have people truly wondering if they’re going to end up united as Avatars, or end up going against each other (a major theory being that one of them is going to become a “Dark Avatar” by the end). They’re also extremely lovable. The two of them are lighthearted and youthful, bringing smiles from scene to scene, while also being emotionally compelling when it comes down to the wire, especially in episodes like Avatar: Seven Havens Season 1, Episode 9, “The Envoy: Part Two”.

1

The Korra Mystery

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As far as audiences currently know, the destruction of the world was allegedly caused by Avatar Korra. The people of Ellora put on plays depicting her death and even celebrate it. This not only causes great internal conflict for Pavi and Nisha—seeing that what they’ve become is so hated by those around them—but gets viewers interested in what the heck Korra did to supposedly cause the Cataclysm and destroy the entire world, leaving humanity struggling to survive. Many Avatar fans, however, aren’t fully buying into this idea that Korra of all people would do something like this.

While flashbacks show Korra intentionally ripping Republic City apart and smiling while doing so, only that moment is seen—zero context included. The amount of information being held back from the audience makes it clear that far more is going on here than people are led to believe, and it has everyone wondering why Korra did what she did. There are countless theories about the potential reasons or events that could have led to the decimation of Republic City at her hands, and the mystery is super strong. A good memory can truly keep people invested, and it’s really working when it comes to the Korra of it all in Avatar: Seven Havens.