Avatar: The Last Airbender – Ranking The Best Episodes

Considered by many to be one of the greatest animated television series of all time, Avatar: The Last Airbender transcended the genre to become a widely beloved series. The adventures of Aang and his friends as he journeyed to try and stop the Fire Nation covered everything from the lovable pit-stop of the week all the way to huge battles and emotional showdowns.

One of the best entries into the world of anime for Western audiences, The Last Airbender series had many individually incredible moments. This makes it difficult to pick out the very best episodes, but there are some that fans have watched over and over since the show first released, exploring the surprisingly deep lore as it continues to grow throughout the show.

10 The Tales Of Ba Sing Se

IMDb Score: 9.2/10

• Episode 2x15

The absolute pinnacle of stand-alone episodes, The Tales Of Ba Sing Se, took place midway through the second season, and it managed in one episode to forge an emotional connection between the audience and this city. Aang and his friends moved about frequently, they didn’t call anywhere home for long, but they spent a lot of time in Ba Sing Se.

Thus, this episode, filled with some beautiful short stories about the adventures they had while living in the city, was hailed by fans as an instant classic piece of animated television, and it has been remembered as such by fans ever since, who deemed this one of the best "filler" episodes of television ever, especially for the fan-favorite Uncle Iroh's story.

9 The Siege Of The North Part.1

IMDb Score: 9.3/10

• Episode 1x19

The concluding duo of episodes that finished the first season of The Last Airbender changed the game for the show. For a first season that was relatively relaxed, involving Aang and his friends escaping Zuko multiple times in a lighthearted manner, this made for a truly different beast as a Fire Nation army approached the Northern Water Tribe.

Each member of Aang’s crew had their own journey and adventure throughout this double-part episode. In this first part, Katara was proving herself a true water-bending master in her own right, while Sokka bonded with the princess of the Water Tribe and helped them prepare their defenses. Aang faced his first major challenge as the Avatar, feeling a dent in his confidence because he felt incapable of taking on such a vast force. This episode prepared the entire team for their first defining victory.

8 The Day Of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse

IMDb Score: 9.4/10

• Episode 3x11

By the third season, the show had become much more serious and focused on the upcoming final battle with the Fire Nation. Aang and his friends gathered their forces for an attack on the Fire Nation, attempting to finish their war in one swift stroke during an eclipse, but in Part 2, it was revealed that the Fire Lord was prepared for this and wasn’t in the capital.

The heartbreak for fans as the team suffered major losses and defeats paved the way for their underdog victory when Sozin’s Comet arrived later in the season. In the meantime, Team Avatar found Azula and fought her agents, while Zuko found his father and learned the truth about his mother’s fate. The distractions enabled the Fire Nation to be ready to stop the Avatar’s forces from escaping, leading to most of them being captured.

7 Sozin’s Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

• Episode 3x19

The huge finale of The Last Airbender included four episodes, and they ramped up in intensity as the war against the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation came to a head. By the second part, Aang was trying to contact other Avatars to see if there was a way out of killing the Fire Lord when he faced him, while his friends worked with members of the Order of the White Lotus to find Iroh.

Many moments helped this episode build towards the great conclusion the series was bound for. But it also had some incredibly important moments of its own, like Zuko reuniting with his uncle and being forgiven, and Aang learning ancient power from the lion turtles, just as the comet finally arrived in the skies.

6 Zuko Alone

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

• Episode 2x07

Prince Zuko has the most intriguing character arc out of any in The Last Airbender series. At the end of the first season, he turns on the Fire Nation somewhat and walks away, traveling by himself across the Earth Kingdom and finding out for himself what kind of man he is.

In Zuko Alone, Zuko wanders into a small town in the Earth Kingdom, and finds a gang of bullying soldiers there repressing the local people. Meeting and falling in with a small family, Zuko was forced to make a decision to be somebody that helps people. This first easy move towards good was hugely significant for him.

5 The Avatar And The Fire Lord

IMDb Score: 9.5/10

• Episode 3x06

The third season was a huge one for The Last Airbender, as the war between the kingdoms finally came to a head. Avatar Roku and his relationship with Fire Lord Sozin made for a fascinating episode, one which furthered the character progression of Aang’s ancestor and of Zuko’s own ancestors as well, and explored the history of the Fire Nation. Showing the beginning of this lengthy war made the conclusion feel all the more significant.

This episode showed Aang and Zuko learning separately about Roku and Sozin’s friendship, and how it changed once Roku became the Avatar. The journey of this episode was another heart-breaking one, but it made for a fantastic one-off that helped fans see the war taking place in the series differently.

4 The Crossroads Of Destiny

IMDb Score: 9.6/10

• Episode 2x20

Known by fans as the Empire Strikes Back of this series, The Crossroads Of Destiny was a turning point in a show that was mostly kid-friendly. From Zuko’s betrayal of Iroh to the takeover of the Earth Kingdom by the Fire Nation, this heart-breaking end to the second season has been hailed by fans as the most devastating and shocking episode of the series.

Aang losing his connection to the Avatar State because of his love for Katara was a fascinating place to end the season. The darkness of the position this left him and his friends in was stunning. Though they would later manage to recover, the Fire Nation had finally taken Ba Sing Se after trying for a hundred years, leaving the world in a dark place.

3 The Siege Of The North Part.2

IMDb Score: 9.6/10

• Episode 1x20

The second part of the season one finale led to the destruction of the Fire Nation Navy as Aang managed to bring down the full power of the Avatar, the wrath of the elements was plain to see following the villainous Commander Zhao killing the moon spirit. The final huge sequence, taking place mostly in black-and-white, was incredibly impressive.

The sacrifice of Princess Yue, and the destruction of the Fire Navy, made for one of the most memorable and incredibly climactic moments of the series. Aang had shown that he was capable of matching up to the incredible levels of power required to bring down the Fire Nation once and for all.

2 Sozin’s Comet, Part 3: Into The Inferno

IMDb Score: 9.8/10

• Episode 3x20

The final two episodes of The Last Airbender are considered the very best; the grand finale the show had always been building towards had finally arrived. The third part of the four that ended the series featured Zuko and Katara traveling to the Fire Kingdom to face Azula and help Zuko take the throne, while Aang awaited Fire Lord Ozai.

Elsewhere, Toph and Sokka went after the air fleet assembled by the Fire Nation to take over the world, and Iroh retook Ba Sing Se alongside the Order of the White Lotus. All of this going on simultaneously made for a truly gripping finale, and some of the best animated television in history. The ending, featuring Zuko nearly sacrificing his life for Katara and Aang struggling against Ozai, made for the setup for one of the best television finales in history.

1 Sozin’s Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

IMDb Score: 9.9/10

• Episode 3x21

The finale of the entire series also made for the very best episode of The Last Airbender. Everything that Aang and his friends had been through led to this moment, when Sokka and Toph helped take down the Fire Nation fleet, while Katara finally brought down Azula, and Aang himself defeated the Fire Lord, stopping him and taking away his bending in a battle of the strongest benders in the series.

The finale was a grand moment, long awaited and well-earned by all the fantastic events that took place during the war between the nations. Aang fulfilled his promise of remaining a peaceful warrior by not killing Ozai, and the series ended on a brilliant and happy note, as Zuko was crowned Fire Lord and vowed peace would rule the nations.