20 Worst Episodes Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Nickelodeon’s popular TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender remains one of the most beloved cartoons to this day, and some would reasonably say that this is a show with no outright bad episodes—but there is room for criticism. The animated series follows Aang after her spends 100 years frozen in an iceberg and emerges to find he's the last of his kind. As the Avatar, it's his responsibility to restore balance to the world, but he's also only 12 years old, and the power can be a burden to him. With his friends, Aang finds his way.

The show was greatly praised for its mix of different Asian cultures while also depicting a fantastic story filled with memorable characters. The Last Airbender balanced a lot of mature themes in a fun, kids’ show. The cartoon did so well that, a few years after its conclusion, it even launched a spin-off series, The Legend of Korra. While there are, arguably, no bad episodes of Avatar, the worst episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender are those that feel out of place from the larger series as well as those that don't seem to move the story forward with quite as much impact.

Appa’s Lost Days

Season 2, Episode 16

Like all of the episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender considered among the “worst,” the truth is that “Appa’s Lost Days” isn’t a bad episode. The story is compelling, and the animation holds up. Instead, fans consider it one of the worst because of the subject matter.

The episode strays from the main storyline of the season by focusing on what’s happening to Appa when he’s taken from Aang and his friends. If straying from the main path wasn’t already hard enough for fans, it also routinely harms Appa, placing him in peril and making everyone sad. Emotionally, it’s an effective episode. As Redditors have pointed out about Avatar, they don’t want to watch the animal companions get hurt.

"Appa's Lost Days" won a Genesis Award from the Humane Society for its depiction of cruelty when Appa is forced to perform for the Fire Nation Circus.

The Desert

Season 2, Episode 11

In this particular episode, Aang and his friends end up stranded in the desert and struggle to actually stay together. It’s one of the episodes that really proves Katara is the mom-friend of the group as she attempts to keep everyone together while they are all finding it difficult to keep their heads above the sand, metaphorically.

It features some great character moments as morale is low, and Sokka and his cactus juice have become the subjects of countless memes. For some fans, however, Sokka’s “Drink cactus juice. It’ll quench ya. Nothing is quenchier. It’s the quenchiest,” is the best part of the episode.

The Headband

Season 3, Episode 2

The second half of season 3 is the climax of the series. It’s where all of the training pays off for the central characters and where all the conflict comes to a head with Fire Lord Ozai and Princess Azula. That being said, the first half of season 3 meanders through a few different, mostly filler, episodes. “The Headband” is one of those.

The episode does allow Aang to have a bit of breather from his responsibilities and bond with Katara, but it comes right after a heavier episode, making it feel a little jarring. It also features Aang teaching a bunch of Fire Nation teens how to let loose and dance when they’re forbidden from doing so. It’s very Footloose, and not a horrible idea, but the placement of the episode is questionable. It might have made for a better early series one.

The Avatar Returns

Season 1, Episode 2

Several early episodes of the show can be considered some of the worst The Last Airbender episodes only because the story was still finding its footing. That’s certainly the case for the first two episodes of the show, which act primarily to set up the central characters.

While the first episode brings Aang to Katara and Sokka, the second episode introduces Zuko to the trio. It sets up Zuko as the show’s initial primary antagonist, and it does that very effectively. It is, however, all still a prologue. The show truly gets its start once Aang, Sokka, and Katara get to leave the Southern Water Tribe village to start their adventure.

The Cave Of Two Lovers

Season 2, Episode 2

“The Cave Of Two Lovers” features a group of nomads who sing their stories, badger-moles living in the secret tunnels of a mountain, and Aang’s crush on Katara being placed front and center. In the episode, the group of friends gets lost in secret tunnels, and much of the focus is on the possibility of Aang and Katara’s feelings being able to lead them out of the tunnel, but it’s mostly awkward and ignored in the next batch of episodes.

The Netflix live-action series actually improves on this episode. Instead of making the story about Katara and Aang dancing around their potential feelings for one another, it’s the familial love between Sokka and Katara that allows them to get the badger-moles to lead them out. That idea doesn’t pull the audience out of the story and has them focusing on the future romance between Aang and Katara.

The King Of Omashu

Season 1, Episode 5

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In this season one episode, Aang, Katara, and Sokka make their way to Omashu, looking to have a little fun where Aang used to play with one of his friends 100 years ago. Instead, they get caught, and the local king puts Aang through his paces, testing him when he discovers he's the Avatar. In the end, very few fans were likely surprised that the king turns out to be Aang's old friend.

Like all of the "worst" episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the episode itself is not horrible. It works to set up some of Aang's history. Like most of the early episodes of the show, however, it feels like a diversion instead of part of the larger story.

The Runaway

Season 3, Episode 7

This season three episode doesn't sit as well with fans simply because it repeats story beats they've already seen before. Katara and Toph don't see eye-to-eye on almost anything, and here, Katara has enough when she realizes that Toph's scheming and conning the locals could get them into trouble.

Katara and Toph end the episode closer than ever, but considering all of the bonding they've already done in the past, it makes for a redundant story.

Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World

Season 1, Episode 7

Only the seventh episode of the series, this episode starts Aang's introduction to the Spirit World, but it does it with a story that seems like Aang could never win. One of the best things about the series is that there's always a little bit of hope.

Aang spends the episode pretty adamant that he has no idea what's going on or what to do, and it takes the majority of the story for him to get answers. For that reason, this episode feels a bit more meandering than most, despite setting up a lot of pieces that come into play later in the series.

The Boy In The IcebergSeason 1, Episode 1

Yes, the very first episode of the series is considered one of the worst by many fans. Considering the episode serves as mostly set up, it's not surprising it would be a low-ranking one. When a series has more than 60 episodes of story, it stands to reason that the very first episode introducing the main characters isn't going to be as great as an episode with a hugely emotional arc or one that solves a major mystery.

The Northern Air Temple

Season 1, Episode 17

As the first season nears its end, Aang makes a journey to one of the Air Nation temples with Sokka and Katara. What he finds there initially disgusts him, as civilians have made their home in the temple, destroying things Aang finds sacred, but they simply see them as items no longer in use.

Aang spends the episode learning about change, while the people he encounters learn a lesson in secrets and survival. Like a lot of the early episodes of the series, it sets up a lot of interesting pieces and introduces a lot of great characters, but the story doesn't grab the audience like later episodes.