Why 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' is the Best Show Ever - Part II: 'No One Can Give You Your Honor'

Written by Kate McHargue

The hero factor is off the charts in this show and not in the cheesy, cliché, ‘one against the many’ way. The heroes in this show come in all different ages, shapes, sizes, genders, races and each brings their own unique talent to the fight. There are scrappy young kids who stand up to soldiers twice their age. There are older generations who refuse to bow down to tyranny. There are families who share their homes and food with weary travelers and refugees. There are friends who stand their ground against other friends because they know something is wrong. There are warriors and healers and spiritual guides and political activists and every day citizens! Literally everyone who isn’t a villain in this show, is a hero. And even the villains are sometimes heroes!
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Other shows and narratives have certainly accomplished this transformation of the quintessential bad guy becoming enlightened and joining the cause. But this show manages to do it about a dozen times! And what’s more, each time feels organic and true to the character rather than forced. And each character that makes this switch to hero status does so in their own unique way. General Iroh was once a fierce and destructive military leader who personally led the attacks that colonized and enslaved the Earth Kingdom’s people. But he spends the entirety of the show subtly guiding Prince Zuko towards a better path that will hopefully benefit the entire world. He saves Katara and Aang in the catacombs of Bae Sing Sae in season two and the retakes the city from the Fire Nation in season three (despite trying to conquer it years earlier). His story proves that it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you’ve made or how long you’ve lived, you’re never too old to do the right thing.

And then there’s Zuko, the banished crown prince of the nation that seeks to enslave the world and who’s only mission is to find and capture the one person who could save it. We watch throughout the series as he struggles with his rage and feelings of abandonment, brought on by a father who abused him and the scar that constantly reminds him of his “dishonor”. We feel for him as he struggles to do what is right when his title and family demand great evil of him. His hero journey is also one of self-acceptance. He finally joins the right side of history and explains, “I know now that no one can give you your honor. It’s something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what’s right.” In Zuko we find a hero that is rough around the edges. A hero who was not born or chosen by destiny or providence, but rather one that chose to do what is right of his own free will and at great personal cost.

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Then there’s Team Avatar. By the end of the series, the group has grown into a diverse force for good. Katara, a master water bender and great healer who uses her caring nature to support and inspire those around her to fight. Toph, a master earth bender who is seen as ‘disabled’ by most but proves herself more than capable of changing the world and even invents a new method of bending. Suki, a skilled warrior who leaves her homeland to protect the innocent people who are affected by the war. Sokka, a keen strategist and trained soldier who uses his innovative thinking to defeat any foe. Zuko, the aforementioned reformed villain and powerful bender. And finally, Aang, the Avatar, master of all of the elements and bridge to the Spirit World. He is the one who is tasked with restoring balance to the world and the one who has the greatest power, but he is hesitant to use it unless absolutely necessary. From start to finish, Team Avatar proves that being a hero is a team effort and isn’t about being the most powerful or being a certain age, gender, race, etc. It’s about celebrating and honing your own unique power and choosing when to use it to do the most good.

But let’s take this heroism one step further. While all of the characters I mentioned (and plenty of the ones I didn’t) have some well-tuned moral compasses and seriously big hearts, they also have flaws and moments of weakness that humanize them. Their hero pedestals are chipped and cracked in places and that makes them all the more deserving of praise. Each character does something that twists the traditional hero narrative and gives them an edge that makes them at once relatable and admirable.

Katara, the kindest and most caring of them all, in a fit of revenge nearly kills the man who murdered her mother. She spares his life but she makes it clear that it isn’t because she forgives him. It’s because she doesn’t want to sink to his level. She is capable of that hatred that drives us to commit evil deeds but chooses not to act on it.

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Toph proves herself to be incredibly greedy and, at times, insensitive to other’s pain. She can be judgmental of others but ultimately recognizes this is a defense mechanism because of her own sensitivity to being judged and the assumptions people make about her. She puts aside her prejudices against the world that has often times failed her and instead looks to help those who celebrate her ‘disability’ and to make the world a better place.

Even Aang, essentially the most enlightened being in existence and supposedly the most balanced of these characters, is a kid and therefore prone to emotions such as jealousy, fear, hatred, etc. We first meet him in a frozen iceberg, 100 years after the war started, because he ran away. And even after he has accepted his destiny and started on the path towards heroism, there’s an entire episode dedicated to Aang attempting to overcome and let go of these emotions that hinder his ability to bring balance to the world. And in this episode he chooses his selfish desires and love for Katara over the possible destruction of the entire world and the innocent people who inhabit it. Ultimately he becomes the hero the world needs him to be but his journey to that point is fraught with moments where Aang jeopardizes the good of all for his own personal gain and shortcomings.

Some might argue that this is not a new trend in hero portrayals. And to those people I say, I agree with you! Avatar: The Last Airbender is not the first show to have a lot of heroes, villains who become heroes, or heroes with a lot of flaws. That being said, it is the show that combines all of these to provide a complex portrait of what it means to be 'good' and to do 'good'. It paints honor as something that comes from within, a personal sense of right vs. wrong and the decision to act on what’s right no matter what you’ve done in the past or what you might lose in the process. It showcases the power of friendship, of inclusion, of empathy, of self-acceptance. This show teaches us that maybe not all heroes wear capes or are remembered by history but that each of us has a part to play in bringing balance to the world.

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