Top 10 Most Shocking Avatar: The Last Airbender Moments
We are still clutching our pearls! Welcome to MsMojo! Get ready to divert some lightning, friends, because today we’re revisiting the Avatar: The Last Airbender that shook us to our very core.
Transcript
00:00 I've never felt more alive.
00:03 Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:04 Get ready to divert some lightning, friends,
00:07 because today we're revisiting the Avatar,
00:09 the last Airbender moment that shook us to our very core.
00:13 I'll show you lightning.
00:15 Number 10, the fate of the Air Nation.
00:24 The Fire Nation is ruthless.
00:25 They killed my mother.
00:28 They could have done the same to your people.
00:30 Just because no one has seen an Airbender
00:33 doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all.
00:35 They probably escaped.
00:36 In spite of Aang's optimism,
00:38 his status as the last Airbender doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
00:42 After all, it's pretty rare that whole societies just vanish peacefully.
00:47 Even knowing that, though,
00:49 we were as unprepared as Aang to confront the fate of the Air Nomads.
00:53 This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison.
00:56 Now there's just a bunch of weeds.
00:58 The episode "The Southern Air Temple"
01:00 introduced us to Aang's world through flashbacks.
01:03 And having gotten to know his wise and loving guardian, Monk Gyatso,
01:07 made us feel Aang's loss acutely when his remains were discovered.
01:11 The unvarnished truth of what had happened to Aang's people
01:14 hits like an avalanche,
01:16 bringing echoes of real-world tragedy
01:18 into what we assumed was just a fun animated adventure.
01:22 Did we mention this was only episode three?
01:24 I'm sorry.
01:25 It's okay.
01:26 It wasn't your fault.
01:28 But you were right.
01:29 And if Firebenders found this temple,
01:31 that means they found the other ones too.
01:33 I really am the last Airbender.
01:35 Number nine.
01:36 Worst vacation ever.
01:38 "Yu-Di, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai."
01:42 "I am honored to accept his invitation."
01:49 A lakeside getaway conjures up many images,
01:52 but a state-sponsored brainwashing operation?
01:55 Not so much.
01:56 From the moment the gang arrives in Ba Sing Se,
01:58 it's clear that something is off.
02:01 However, it's when Jet turns up that alarm bells really begin to ring.
02:05 "How did you get away from the Dai Li?"
02:06 "The Dai Li?"
02:08 "I don't know what she's talking about."
02:10 "He got arrested by the Dai Li a couple weeks ago.
02:13 We saw them drag him away."
02:14 "Why would I be arrested?
02:16 I've been living peacefully in the city."
02:18 It takes a little work,
02:19 but eventually Jet is able to recover his memories
02:22 from the literal sunken place
02:24 that is Long Feng's underwater base of operations.
02:28 The secret facility is home to a sinister mind control program,
02:31 allowing the Grand Secretariat and his Dai Li agents
02:35 to exercise untold control over the city.
02:38 And with those methods,
02:39 they were able to turn Jet into the pawn
02:42 that would lead Team Avatar right into Long Feng's trap.
02:45 "Now that's something different."
02:46 "You have made yourselves enemies of the state.
02:49 Take them into custody."
02:51 Number eight.
02:52 A royal betrayal.
02:54 We knew Sozin as the Fire Lord who tipped the world into a century of war.
02:59 So learning about his history with Avatar Roku,
03:02 it was clear the story couldn't end happily.
03:04 "You were friends with Fire Lord Sozin?"
03:07 "Back then, he was just Prince Sozin.
03:10 And he was my best friend."
03:12 We watched their brotherly relationship crumble away
03:15 as the Fire Lord's imperialistic ambitions
03:18 put him on a collision course with the Avatar.
03:21 But when Roku finds himself trapped by a volcanic eruption,
03:24 Sozin still comes through for him.
03:26 "Need a hand, old friend?"
03:27 "Sozin?"
03:29 "There's not a moment to waste."
03:32 For a moment, it seems like maybe there's hope for Sozin after all.
03:36 Until he has a moment of chilling clarity.
03:39 "Without you, all my plans are suddenly possible.
03:42 I have a vision for the future, Roku."
03:45 Given what he did to the Air Nomads,
03:48 it shouldn't really be surprising that Sozin would condemn his oldest friend to a horrible death.
03:53 And yet, the cruelty of this still caught us off guard.
03:56 Jet's Death
03:58 "This isn't good."
03:59 Despite limited screen time, Jet certainly made an impact on the show.
04:04 In season one, he blew up a dam
04:06 and only skipped out on becoming a mass murderer because of Sokka's intervention.
04:11 "Sokka, you fool! We could have freed this valley!"
04:14 "Who would be free? Everyone would be dead."
04:16 His desire to make amends in Ba Sing Se saw him assisting the gang in finding Appa,
04:22 which was, unfortunately, just what Long Feng had counted on.
04:26 Though he is forced to fight against Aang,
04:28 Jet is able to fight his way out of the mind control and turn on his captor.
04:33 But Long Feng is quicker, taking Jet down with an earthbending attack.
04:37 This all happened so suddenly that we were in denial about the implications.
04:41 Yet, it's got the weight of realism to it, and that just makes it more brutal.
04:46 "I'll be fine."
04:47 "He's lying."
04:55 Number 6. The Banished Prince
04:58 With a chip on his shoulder and a single-minded mission to capture the Avatar,
05:02 Prince Zuko didn't come off as especially sympathetic in the beginning.
05:06 Until a season 1 flashback introduced us to a very different version of the character.
05:12 "What better to use as bait than fresh meat?"
05:16 "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that!
05:18 Those soldiers love and defend our nation. How can you betray them?"
05:22 Fire Lord Ozai did not see Zuko's outburst as compassion, but as disrespect.
05:27 Not only did he demand Zuko fight an Agni Kai as punishment,
05:31 but he took it upon himself to duel his teenage son.
05:34 "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son."
05:37 "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko."
05:40 "I won't fight you."
05:42 "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."
05:49 For Zuko's refusal, Ozai scarred and banished him,
05:52 saying he could only return with the Avatar in hand.
05:55 In one swoop, Zuko went from a basic antagonist to a layered and tragic anti-hero.
06:01 It was a masterstroke of character development, as unexpected as it was devastating.
06:06 "So that's why he's so obsessed. Capturing the Avatar is the only chance he has of things returning to normal."
06:14 "Things will never return to normal."
06:17 Number 5. Fire Family Treason and Treachery
06:20 "Dad's going to kill you."
06:21 "Really, he is."
06:24 Ozai is repeatedly shown to be cold and cutthroat,
06:27 willing to step over anyone to get what he wants.
06:30 Yet even his own father is outraged when he proposes to jump Iroh in the line of succession.
06:35 "You dare suggest I betray Iroh, my firstborn,
06:41 directly after the demise of his only beloved son? I think Iroh has suffered enough. But you?"
06:49 In Azulon, though, we see where Ozai gets his nasty streak.
06:54 Rather than punish Ozai directly, Azulon demands that he kill Zuko instead.
06:59 Ozai would have gone through with it too,
07:01 if not for Ursa striking a bargain to save her son and put her husband on the throne.
07:06 "Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them."
07:13 While it's never directly stated what she did, Azulon died shortly thereafter.
07:18 As these family dynamics revealed themselves, we felt less like we were watching a kids' show
07:23 and more like we'd stumbled into a rewrite of Macbeth.
07:27 "It was cruel and it was wrong."
07:29 "Then you've learned nothing."
07:30 "No, I've learned everything."
07:33 Number 4. Bloodbending
07:35 When Katara meets Hama, another southern waterbender in hiding,
07:39 she's excited. But as she learns from the older woman, things take a very dark turn.
07:45 Caught in the Fire Nation's campaign to eradicate waterbenders,
07:48 Hama survived by inventing bloodbending,
07:52 allowing her to manipulate a living body in frankly terrifying ways.
07:56 "Enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I had mastered the rats, I was ready for the men."
08:04 Over the years, her rage and grief festered inside her,
08:11 until she started to take sadistic pleasure in using her power for revenge.
08:15 Katara is justifiably horrified, especially when Hama expects her to continue her legacy.
08:22 "They threw me in prison to rot along with my brothers and sisters.
08:27 They deserve the same. You must carry on my work."
08:31 "I won't! I won't use bloodbending!"
08:33 When Hama targets Aang and Sokka,
08:36 she is forced to employ the technique to save their lives.
08:39 This whole episode was a doozy, but seeing Hama's glee in forcing Katara
08:43 to follow her footsteps truly leaves us speechless.
08:47 "My work is done."
08:50 "Congratulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender."
08:55 Number 3. Changing Teams
09:02 "You're not the man you used to be, Zuko.
09:05 You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been.
09:10 And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny."
09:14 Zuko went on a journey in more than one sense across the series,
09:17 but at the end of Season 2, it looked like he was ready to accept a fresh start.
09:22 And then Azula showed up.
09:24 "And the only way we win is together.
09:26 At the end of this day, you will have your honor back.
09:30 You will have father's love. You will have everything you want."
09:34 It was obvious why Zuko would be tempted.
09:37 Everything that had ever motivated him was there on a silver platter.
09:41 But with all his growth, plus his scenes with Katara,
09:44 seemed to indicate that he was about to join Team Avatar.
09:47 Then everything changed when the Fire Nation… oh, you know.
09:50 Watching him throw all his progress out the window left us with our jaws on the ground
10:02 originally. It turned out to be a part of an even better redemption arc.
10:06 But at the time, we were not alright.
10:08 "I thought you had changed!"
10:13 "I have changed."
10:15 Number 2. Dark of the Moon
10:17 "If we don't defeat the Water Tribe before the full moon rises, they will be undefeatable."
10:22 "I assure you I have everything under control. I intend to remove the moon as a factor."
10:29 Admiral Zhao isn't the most securely hinged character on the show,
10:33 so it would be easy to dismiss his, well, moonshot as deluded.
10:38 Except Zhao has learned that the moon and ocean spirit
10:41 previously crossed over to the mortal world.
10:43 "I knew then that these spirits could be found and killed.
10:47 And that it was my destiny to do so."
10:51 When the inevitable confrontation comes,
10:53 Iroh tries to convince him that his idea would be catastrophic for everyone,
10:58 not just the Water Tribe. It's no good, though.
11:01 Zhao recklessly slays the moon spirit, sending the natural order into chaos.
11:06 It was impossible to imagine how balance could be restored.
11:10 Even if Zhao was defeated, sadly, it was Princess Yue who would give her life to
11:15 restore the moon spirit, linking one of the show's most shocking moments into one of its most heartbreaking.
11:21 "Goodbye, Sakura. I'll always be with you."
11:24 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:39 Not-So-Friendly Fire
11:40 The Avatar's loss of control left its mark on Aang, as well as Katara.
11:45 "Zhongzhong tried to tell me that I wasn't ready. I wouldn't listen.
11:48 I'm never gonna firebend again."
11:51 "You'll have to eventually."
11:53 "No. Never again."
11:55 Tough In Vents Metalbending
11:57 Not every shock has to be negative.
12:00 This surprise was a series game-changer from one of its ultimate goats.
12:04 "It's another one of her tricks!"
12:06 "There's a giant hole in the box! How is that a trick?"
12:09 "It's not! It's the real deal!"
12:12 Katara's Revenge Mission
12:14 It was a new and disturbing side to the usually compassionate Katara.
12:18 "Do you know who I am?"
12:20 "No. I'm not sure."
12:23 "Oh, you better remember me like your life depends on it!"
12:26 Ko the Face Stealer
12:27 Spine-tinglingly creepy, we'll admit that Ko still makes us jump in our seats a little.
12:33 "Welcome."
12:34 "Thank you."
12:37 "My old friend, the Avatar. It's been a long time."
12:43 The Ultimate Agni Kai
12:46 This face-off between Zuko and Azula is ferociously personal,
12:50 with a climax we didn't see coming.
13:01 Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about
13:06 our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
13:11 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
13:15 Number 1. Fatal Strike
13:19 "There's too many of them."
13:21 "The only way is to let her go."
13:24 "I'm sorry, Katara."
13:27 Avatar proved from day one that it was willing to subvert expectations and explore the shadows.
13:33 It did death, it did trauma, and when Aang decided to relinquish his earthly attachments
13:38 and unlock the Avatar state, it fit with themes about sacrifice, but not in the way we expected.
13:54 Struck square on by Azula's lightning, Aang plummeted to the ground and our hearts dropped
14:00 with him. You didn't have to be Katara to know this was a potentially lethal wound. In fact,
14:06 if it hadn't been for her spirit water, it would've been. Ba Sing Se fell, and Azula prevailed,
14:12 but it was Aang's brush with death that had us gasping in dismay. All these years later,
14:18 it still knocks us back in our seats.
14:20 "I didn't just get hurt, did I? It was worse than that. I was gone."
14:25 What moment are you still recovering from? Tell us in the comments.
14:28 "You have no right to judge me, Uncle. I did what I had to do in Ba Sing Se,
14:33 and you're a fool for not joining me."
14:35 Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo,
14:38 and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
14:43 [Music]