Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Ending Explained

Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2, episode 7.Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 ended with a major cliffhanger that left Aang’s life hanging in the balance, and it wasn’t clear if he actually died after Azula struck him with lightning. The finale of season 2 left the entire cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender in a grim place. Aang is grievously wounded, Zuko’s redemption has been interrupted, Iroh has been captured, and there’s seemingly nothing standing in the way of the Fire Nation anymore.

Amid all those defeats, there were some confusing moments in the finale. Aang’s fate, for example, isn’t clear, nor is Zuko’s reasoning for siding with Azula. Toph also developed a way to bend metal for the first time rather abruptly, and Azula managed to capture Ba Sing Se without so much as starting a siege on the walled city. It was an eventful and action-packed finale, and The Last Airbender didn’t have time to perfectly explain everything that happened.

Luckily, even though the live-action The Last Airbender changed quite a bit from the animated show, the finale itself largely followed the original series. Because of that, we know quite a bit about what happened to Aang, why Zuko chose to side with Azula, and more. The original series also provides a road map of what to expect out of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3, which has already been confirmed.

Aang Did Die In Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2’s Finale, But Katara Revived Him

Credit: Katie Yu/Netflix

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 made a point to emphasize that if Aang were to die in the Avatar State, the entire Avatar Cycle of rebirth would come to an end. The finale made good on that foreshadowing. Aang entered the Avatar State while fighting Azula and Zuko in Lake Laogai and managed to subdue both of them. As Aang was about to exit the Avatar State to spare Azula’s life, however, she blasted him with a bolt of lightning through his chest.

That lightning bolt from Azula didn’t just seem fatal, it actually was, as evidenced by the original animated show. Aang temporarily died, but Katara brought him back to life by using the water from the Northern Water Tribe’s Spirit Oasis that she got in season 1. The Last Airbender season 2 established early on that Katara’s water can heal injuries, and she even told Zuko earlier in the finale that “It’s been known to cure the deepest and most dire of wounds.”

While Aang was resurrected, he’s not out of the woods yet. In the original animated series, Aang was in a coma for three weeks after Azula hit him with a lightning bolt. Netflix’s The Last Airbender will presumably follow a similar time jump for season 3. On top of that, since Aang was in the Avatar State while he was temporarily killed, his connection to previous Avatars and ability to use the Avatar State will be temporarily cut off going forward.

In the original show, Aang only regained access to the Avatar State and his past lives during his final battle with Fire Lord Ozai. That series explained that one of Aang’s chakras, a center of spiritual energy within his body, was locked because of his injuries. Eventually, as the live-action show enters its third season, Aang will be able to restore the Avatar State and the Avatar Cycle.

Why Zuko Accepted Azula’s Offer & Undid His Redemption Arc

One of the biggest shocks of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 came from Zuko at the eleventh hour. Zuko has been on a redemption arc since the ending of The Last Airbender season 1, when he rescued Aang from General Zhao. That redemption arc continued steadily along this season, with Zuko using his alter ego as the Blue Spirit to protect the downtrodden people of Ba Sing Se, reconciling with his Uncle Iroh, and even risking his life to save Katara.

At the very end of the season, however, Zuko seemingly undoes his redemption arc. Azula offers Zuko a chance to share in the glory of capturing Ba Sing Se, and he later accepts by joining her fight against Aang. Zuko’s decision to fight the Avatar and join Azula goes against all the personal growth and character development he experienced this season, but there were actually a few good reasons he made his choice.

Zuko’s mother was likely a major factor in making him decide to join Azula. As The Last Airbender showed in flashbacks, Zuko’s mother, Ursa, wanted him and Azula to stay together and rely on each other. Azula was offering to do exactly that for the first time in years. Additionally, Azula was offering Zuko exactly what he’s wanted since the start of the show: a way to regain his honor, reclaim his rightful place as Fire Nation royalty, and return to his home. It was a very tempting offer.

Azula was also, importantly, offering Zuko a chance to end his life as a refugee. As shown at the start of the season, Zuko hated being on the run and having to endure the mistreatment and abuse regular citizens did. There’s a chance that he only started his redemption because he believed there was no other option than to be a fugitive. Once he had a chance to be a royal again, he chose that fairly easily.

Zuko’s poor self-image was yet another factor in his decision. He believes he’s too far gone to be redeemed, and that all the growing and changing he did this season can’t erase the sins of his past. That belief is plain to see in the way he interacted with Fei and Katara at various points. Zuko probably joined Azula because he doesn’t think he’s worthy of forgiveness, so he may as well go back to being the bad person he once was.

The biggest reason Zuko decided to join Azula, however, is because his redemption arc isn’t over yet. Zuko has taken a lot of meaningful steps towards becoming a better person, but he still has growing to do. The very fact that he was willing to accept Azula’s offer is proof that he values his honor and life of luxury more than he does being a good person. Now, Zuko has to go back to his old life to learn that he won’t be satisfied by it, and that he has become a better person than he thought he was.

Katie Yu/Netflix

Another surprise development from the finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 surrounded newcomer Toph Beifong. In the final episode, Toph’s mother, Lady Beifong, convinced her to meet over tea in Ba Sing Se. After what seemed like a heart-to-heart between mother and daughter, however, Lady Beifong drugged Toph’s tea, knocking her unconscious. When Toph awoke, she was trapped in a metal box on her way back home.

Luckily, Toph was able to escape the box and rejoin the rest of Team Avatar by bending the metal. As she declared shortly after doing it, Toph became the first Earth bender to ever bend metal in that moment. The Last Airbender established that no one had ever metal bended before Toph, but it only hinted at the reason why she was able to do it, or why she was the first person to figure it out.

Just before Toph figures out metal bending, she uses her ability to “see” by using Earth bending to feel vibrations in the metal. As the show visualizes what Toph sees, flecks of lighter material can be seen within the metal. Those lighter flecks are impurities in the metal, and Toph can manipulate those impurities using Earth bending. Since she’s one of the only people who ever learned to detect vibrations from badgermoles, she’s the only person who realized that those impurities can be bent.

Toph’s newfound metal bending should be a major advantage for both her and Team Avatar going forward. As The Last Airbender already showed, she can now easily break down the metal doors the Fire Nation so often uses. She’ll also be instrumental in fighting against the Fire Nation’s war machines and ships. Additionally, the fact that she invented metal bending will give the Gaang a huge element of surprise.

How Azula Took Over Ba Sing Se & What It Means For Avatar: The Last Airbender

The biggest development of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 for the show’s world came from Azula and Long Feng, the shadow ruler of Ba Sing Se. Instead of tunneling under the walled city as she originally intended, Azula infiltrated Ba Sing Se and discovered that Long Feng and the Dai Li were manipulating the Earth King and ruling from the shadows. She then entered a partnership with Long Feng and took the city for the Fire Nation.

Azula, crafty and ruthless as ever, altered the conditions of her deal with Long Feng as soon as it was too late for him to back out. She killed Ba Sing Se’s remaining generals and had the Dai Li assume command of the city’s defenses. Under threat of death, Long Feng essentially became a puppet for Azula, allowing her to open the city’s gates and let the Fire Nation forces in. To top it all off, she met with the Earth King under the guise of diplomacy and, thanks to Long Feng’s manipulation, presented herself as an ally of the kingdom.

Azula taking Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation is the single most impactful moment in the entire Hundred Year War. Ba Sing Se was an impenetrable fortress and the last bastion of the entire Earth Kingdom. With the Air Nomads gone for a century, the Water Tribes devastated, and now this, there’s very little standing in Fire Lord Ozai’s way to world domination. It’s a devastating defeat for Team Avatar, and one that puts them on the back foot heading into Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s final season.

How Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2’s Ending Sets Up Season 3

Netflix has already confirmed that Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3 is in the works, and the ending of season 2 did quite a bit to set it up. The obvious first step season 3 will have to take is resolving Aang’s injuries at Azula’s hand. Aang will have to work to reestablish his connection to past Avatars while also learning the last remaining element, fire bending.

The effort to stop the Fire Nation also laid quite a bit of groundwork for season 3. Team Avatar discovered the date of Sozin’s Comet during their trip to the Spirit Library, which gives them a deadline to race against. They also discovered the Day of Black Sun and will presumably still be trying to launch an offensive against the Fire Nation during the solar eclipse, when fire bending is impossible.

Every other character in the show also has a fairly clear path forward. Zuko has to continue his redemption arc and come to terms with his decision to join Azula. Katara will likely continue her work as the Painted Lady. Sokka still has to reunite with Suki and figure out his feelings about Yue. Toph is still on the run from her parents and honing her metal bending. Iroh has also been captured by Azula, though his newfound connection to the White Lotus will play an important role in his future.

The ending of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 set up a climactic resolution in season 3. The fate of the world, the Fire Nation, and even the Avatar Cycle hangs in the balance and rests on Aang and Team Avatar’s shoulders. They’re all that stands between Fire Lord Ozai and world domination. Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has set the ball rolling for a truly monumental conclusion next season.

Release Date

February 22, 2024

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Albert Kim

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