Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender: 5 Biggest Questions We Have After Season 2’s Ending

Despite its changes to the Nickelodeon show, Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender sticks to the biggest beats of the original series — so, we have a fairly good idea of where things are headed. SPOILERS ahead for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 on Netflix. And although Season 2’s ending controversially cuts a crucial character and storyline for Aang, it leaves Team Avatar in the same place as their animated counterparts following the Crystal Catacombs fight. It also lays the foundation for some of the biggest moments that should show up in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, like the Day of Black Sun and Sozin’s Comet.

Some of the tweaks to the original story will undoubtedly affect how the live-action series handles what’s coming though. And given its history, it’s probably safe to assume certain narratives will be skipped or changed entirely. After watching Season 2, these are the questions we have about what’s coming. Hopefully, Season 3 provides satisfying answers.

5) Will Avatar: The Last Airbender Keep the Same Endings for Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula?

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 raises questions about where the show is going with Azula’s trio, since it’s characterizing them a bit differently than the Nickelodeon series. By pitting Mai and Ty Lee against one another in the premiere, it makes it more difficult to redeem the two ATLA villains in Season 3. It’ll need good character work if it hopes to keep them standing by one another in the face of Azula’s ire. Season 2 makes it clear they’re not there yet, and it also does nothing to build up Mai’s romance with Zuko either. As a result, I have to wonder if it’s planning new endings for them. And the latest episodes have me asking the same about Azula.

Azula isn’t as cartoonishly evil in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, which makes sense, as it’s not…well, a cartoon. But Season 2 also alters her backstory, revealing that the live-action Ursa tried to make away with Zuko and Azula before being caught and exiled. It changes Azula’s history and a key motivation for her character. That could mean the live-action show is planning to go in another direction with her. Hopefully, if it does, it won’t fundamentally change her.

4) Is Netflix’s ATLA Show Planning to Make Aang and Katara Endgame?

Avatar: The Last Airbender is hardly about romance, but Aang and Katara’s feelings for one another are obvious two seasons into the original show. That’s less true of the live-action series. Although there are brief moments that hint at them, their overall dynamic is different. The Netflix adaptation downplays their connection, making it less about romantic interest. That’s fine, but it leaves us to wonder whether they’ll be endgame in Season 3. Putting less emphasis on their feelings is one thing, but Season 2 removes the sequence from “The Cave of Two Lovers,” as well as Aang’s struggle to detach from Katara to enter the Avatar State. The former could be chalked up to ATLA Season 2’s seven-episode run, but the latter is a bigger change. It could mean it’s not taking the same approach to their bond.

Of course, it’d be strange if they never got together at all in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3 — especially if Netflix ever wants to adapt The Legend of Korra. So, will the live-action show squeeze their relationship in at the eleventh hour, or will it forgo romance entirely? I suppose we’ll find out when Season 3 gets here.

3) What Happened to Suki After Her Run-In With Azula?

Suki gets a decent amount of attention at the start of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, and the series touches on Sokka’s feelings for her in really interesting ways. That said, her fate is left ambiguous when the second outing comes to a close. The last time we see her, she’s facing Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula — and her absence after suggests the fight doesn’t go in her favor. That’s in line with the animated series, but it raises questions about where she is heading into Season 3. You’d think we’d get a glimpse of her in the finale, but she just sort of disappears.

This could mean we’re doing the Boiling Rock story in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, which would actually be a pleasant surprise. With the Day of Black Sun invasion and Sozin’s Comet showdown looming, it’s going to be hard to fit other major storylines into the Netflix show’s final season. Suki’s absence offers hope that we’ll get some version of the Boiling Rock prison break in spite of this. Fingers crossed.

2) How Will the Netflix Series Handle Zuko’s Return to the Fire Nation & Redemption?

Zuko’s narrative in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 follows his animated story fairly closely, which means Season 3 should do the same. The Season 2 finale ends with Zuko siding with Azula — despite all the signs he’s changing prior to the Crystal Catacombs. All that setup won’t go to waste, though, as Zuko’s return to the Fire Nation will challenge his worldview and force him to turn against his father. All of this seems like a given for the live-action show, but how it will handle it remains a question.

Since the Netflix series alters the dynamics between Zuko, Azula, Ursa, and Ozai, we may get a more dramatic departure from Zuko. He may also spend more of the third and final season conflicted. And once he does join Team Avatar, it’s unlikely the Netflix show will have time for all his solo adventures. He’ll have to gain their trust some other way. Perhaps his Blue Spirit/Painted Lady team-up with Katara will earn him some brownie points.

1) How Will Aang’s Avatar State Change Affect His Story Going Forward?

In one of the most surprising turns of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2’s finale, Aang actually enters the Avatar State at will — and seemingly figures out how to control it. As mentioned earlier, his connection to Katara doesn’t prevent him from reaching it in this version of the story. And Azula’s lightning doesn’t strike him down until he’s already mastered it and spared her. This could have no effect on his journey going forward, or it could be a complete game-changer for him. In the original show, Aang still struggles with the Avatar State in Book 3, and he only unlocks during his fight with Ozai.

With Aang being capable of reaching it, I have to wonder how Netflix’s adaptation will maintain high stakes throughout Season 3. Surely, if Aang can just enter the Avatar State whenever he wants, he can defeat anything the group faces. It will certainly make the Day of Black Sun invasion easier, and even begs the question of whether Aang needs to learn firebending. Perhaps the show will simply lean into his near-death preventing him from using it instead. That’d still be true to the original, but it’d probably be executed differently.

What questions do you have after Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!