Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series) The Avatar Returns (2005) User Reviews

The Journey Begins

[hornsbyhavoc · 7/10 · 14 August 2017]

A good step forward following the first episode, this episode really begins the adventures of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, as Aang seeks to become trained in each of the elements. While occasional moments hold it back from being truly great, the show's grasp on its story and the first hints of what Aang could truly become lift it to a solid beginning of the journey.

After Aang and Katara accidentally set off a booby trap in a forbidden ship, cluing Zuko and the Fire Nation to where the Water Tribe is located, Sokka and Gran-Gran (understandably) banish Aang from the village. While the farewell is a bit over- emotional (with some pretty terrible child acting), it sets the stage for the invasion of the Fire Nation. Sokka's dismal attempts to protect his village are pathetic but brave, and the show's portrayal of it as comedic takes away from it a fair deal. Once Aang returns and voluntarily goes with Zuko to prevent the destruction of the village, however, the episode does pick up a bit. Sokka and Katara's decision to rescue Aang, and their grandmother's farewell as she wishes them good luck, are much more effective examples of emotion than the earlier farewell. Appa the flying bison's first airborne appearance is a crowd-pleaser, and leads the two to Aang, held hostage onboard the Fire Nation ship. Aang's single-handed escape from his confines are both goofy and impressive, showing the ease at which he could defeat opponents just by Airbending as well as his refusal to kill or cause serious harm. But it's Zuko's last- second attempt to drag Aang down that causes him to fall into the ice-cold water, and we suddenly get a sneak peek at the Avatar State, in which Aang temporarily gains waterbending abilities and once again defeats Zuko (with help from Katara's waterbending of her own). This preview of Aang's true power is the first glimpse of what he'll become, but for now it merely serves as a getaway device. As the trio sets off aboard Appa, the adventures to come ahead are planned, and the youthful enthusiasm as Aang details his plans for fun ends the episode on an optimistic note. After a consistently good but not great premier, the second episode of Avatar has lopsided quality, with a mediocre first half and great conclusion. It comes together solidly, though, and promises more adventure ahead. The show would later achieve far greater heights, but for a second episode this one's just fine.

"Well, you're just a teenager!"

[poseyfan · 8/10 · 19 June 2022]

Better than the first episode. I love aang's line: "Well you're just a teenager!" Pretty good episode, but it gets a lot better as the seasons go on. The animation is awesome.

Great premise that keeps you hooked!

[and_mikkelsen · 9/10 · 4 October 2023]

This episode along with thf first one, serves as a great premiere and introduction to the series! Great humor and action to keep you invested!

The show does a great job of introducing our main trio and the antagonist, Zuko! The chemistry that these characters have are really what drives this show! Its just fun to see them together!

The elements of the show are also creative and intrigueging! You are left wondering where things will go as the show establishes already what the main goal of our characters are at this point!

This is just a fun and charming experience that only gets better and more mature as the show progresses!

Breath of Fresh Water

[injury-65447 · 10/10 · 12 June 2020]

Wow!

The first episode was intriguing but this one was absolutely incredible!

The action sequences we get here are breathtaking:

• the confrontation in the village
• the battle in the halls of the ship
• the epic battle outside the ship

Stunning. The visuals and choreography are so exciting and full of finesse.

And we actually get to see the flying bison FLY!

Truly great action and tension

[wgnjcxo · 10/10 · 14 July 2021]

This is a huge step-up from episode 1. The action with Zuko is tense as he first comes to the village, and Aang's fighting style is very unique here, as this is the introduction to this part of himself. I would give minus points for not as much Iroh as there should be, but as this takes place at the South Pole, the scenery/aesthetic and action make up for it.

"well you're just a teenager!"

[thomasgouldsbrough · 8/10 · 19 September 2022]

This episode is quite a step up from the previous episode. It remains continuously tense, yet very lighthearted at the same time, eventually ending in a satisfying ending. The fight scenes with Aang is very enjoyable to watch, owing to his unique fighting style, unseen in other TV series. The animation is very smooth, making it quite exciting to witness. This episode can even be lighthearted during tenser moments, such as when the Fire Nation invade the South Pole. It's quite a serious situation, yet it manages to be quite humorous, by showing the inability for Sokka to fight them off. A pleasure to watch.

Reeling in the line

[ssccoottttyy · 9/10 · 25 October 2020]

If the last episode was the hook, this second part of the (loosely defined) two part series premiere serves to reel in the line and convince viewers that this show is worth watching, which it certainly succeeds in.

This episode is worse in some key areas than its predecessor but supplements "The Boy in the Iceberg"s comparative lack of engaging action with a thrilling extended escape sequence compromising the majority of the episode. We get to see much more air, water and firebending in action than we did in the previous episode. Additionally, we were given a small glimpse into what it's like when Aang goes into the Avatar state, further teasing what's to come.

Ultimately, "The Avatar Returns" serves as a perfect cap for "The Boy in the Iceberg" that, while not as deliberately crafted as the previous episode, is a more engaging watch that propels the characters, and the audience, into the adventure to come.

8.5/10 (rounded to 9, because of IMDb)

"You're the Airbender?! You're the Avatar?!"

[matitya-33937 · 10/10 · 9 February 2024]

Finally. We get the pay off to what the previous episode set up. Sokka's paranoia is vindicated and Sokka rightly punishes Aang by banishing him from the Southern Water Tribe. Aang takes responsibility for his actions and shows remorse and contrition. Aang is revealed as the Avatar Sokka and Katara's decision to go find him manages to be both funny and serious. And I like how Gran-Gran supports their mission especially considering how the most recent Nickelodeon cartoon to air Danny Phantom had parental opposition to heroism built into its premise. I love the comical interactions between Prince Zuko and Uncle Iroh and how throughout the episode Prince Zuko is a serious threat. And the action scenes are all engaging and exciting. And come the end of the episode, you (by which I mean I) simply cannot wait for more of this to come. Especially given we now know the premise of this season. That Aang, Katara and Sokka are traveling the world seeking to go to the North Pole and find a Waterbending teacher for Aang and Katara whilst continually hunted down by the villainous Prince Zuko who has sworn never to underestimate Aang again. This episode shows a show with the makings of greatness in it. For this, I have naught but praise.

Sprinkling in Action, Comedy, and Character Depth

[e_daneva · 9/10 · 28 February 2024]

The Avatar Returns is a spectacular episode. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the first episode, but this episode is just a lot better. To me it has much more depth and emotion. The last episode didn't have this much emotion, but this one is full of it. I personally think a lot of the characters had to face difficult challenges such as like who to trust . This choices make and expand this characters and help them learn and grow. This episode just adds lots of depth to all of these characters and makes them seem more realistic and reliable. From the start, even the villian feels like he was depth. I've only watched this episode and the first episode of this show, and I already feel that these characters will still be developing all along the way. It doesn't just take two episodes of a TV show to fully develop a character in it. It takes a long time for the show to figure out who and what type of person that character is. I hope that Avatar keeps developing this awesome characters and help them learn and grow. I also loved the beautiful action scenes. They were beautiful animated, swift, and fast, but not too flashy and fast that they make you just tired looking at them. You could tell that these scenes were very carefully and well planned. I also loved the brief elements of humor in this episode. This episode only has brief moments of comedy, but whenever the comedy happens it's hilarious. In the first episode there was more slapstick comedy, but now there's just regular comedy. I like regular comedy better than slapstick because slapstick relies on actions while regular comedy relies on words. The best slapstick comedian is definitely Charlie Chaplin though. I guess this is the start of the group's adventure. I'm excited to see what happens on this adventure and what type of things and dilemmas they have. I can't wait to watch and review the next episode soon. In all, I give this episode a 9.1 out of 10.

After the first episode, this one can't sustain the pace and tension

[olgun_kacmaz · 7/10 · 8 October 2019]

After a fine first episode, this one falls flat.

At the beginning, Aang is banished from the tribe. Katara attempts to go with Aang, but then gives up after Sokka chides her for leaving her family. This immediately stops her from going with Aang. Why? From the beginning Katara is shown as a water bender(the only one in her tribe actually) and she seems really enthusiastic to actually master this magic by travelling to north pole if necessary. Now is her chance and she decides to stay? Not to mention that Aang and Appa are a very interesting, adventurer duo and Katara has that "adventurer" spirit in her as well. This "refusal of the call" is too forced, I think.

Then Aang and Appa leave(but not completely, they just hang around near the tribe), Fire Nation show up with their giant warship, Sokka prepares defense and Aang also sees the approaching doom. Then the warship arrives. There is a little scene where Sokka's hand built watchtower collapses completely when warship shows up. The tower is the pride of Sokka and seeing how it is demolished by a whim shows how much overpowered Fire Nation is. This also causes Sokka to realize that this is a much bigger threat than it is and soon, he'll see the powers of Aang and will agree with Katara that Aang must be supported in the upcoming journey.

There is also this montage of both Zuko and Sokka preparing for the battle. They are both serious, but the audience already knows that Sokka and the entire village is no match for Zuko. So it produces a serious but comical and also an emotional scene at the same time. I liked that.

Zuko arrives and defeats Sokka without breaking any sweat -- as expected. He demands Avatar and he gets Avatar. After a fierce fight with Aang, both him and the village(and the audience) realize that Aang is really a very strong character. But here his merciful, good side is also shown when he sacrifices himself in exchange of saving the village. If civilians were not around, Aang would have probably defeated Zuko, but he didn't want any harm to come anyone. Also, an interesting detail here: Zuko agrees with his demands and leaves the village without any harm. We get a glimpse of Zuko's character here. Yes, he is represented as the epitome of "evil" or "main antagonist", but there is also mercy and humanness inside of him as well.

Aang is taken to ship as prisoner; Sokka and Katara prepare a rescue operation. Appa proves it can fly.

Now these scenes are what make this episode weak. The suspense of Aang being taken prisoner aboard Fire Nation ship made completely useless when he attempts escape after spending like a minute on the ship. He easily dispatches guards, runs to get his glider/stick thing, defeats Zuko on the way and is stopped by Zuko from escaping at the very last moment. I am surprised by Zuko's attempt, but when you show Aang this powerful, it is useless to also show Zuko hanging on to his glider and bringing him down. This suspense doesn't work as Aang can easily defeat Zuko and his henchmen again.

Also, the "rescue operation" of Katara and Sokka just turns into a observation of Aang's devastating abilities. They just watch Aang from air, doing nothing. Aang falls to the sea(and somehow immediately begins to drown when the same fate will befall Zuko and he will climb back, two times), and then his "Avatar mode" gets unlocked, he unleashes devastating water bending powers upon Fire Nation ship and soldiers, defeats all and loses his consciousness.

Katara, Sokka and Aang then climb on top of Appa and fly away. They decide to go to north pole to master water bending power.

This episode could have been better, I liked the established conflicts between Zuko and Sokka, also Zuko versus Aang confrontation was continued. But it falls flat for now as Aang is ridiculously powerful against his enemies. We'll see how he'll get challenged in future episodes.

"Ang"sposition

[jmansmannstjohnslrev · 9/10 · 6 August 2021]

Ok, the title of the review is pretty pathetic, but if episode 1 set up the main characters around Ang, this is really his episode. True, it's the beginning of the journey, the beginning of the adventure, but this episode really serves to show who Ang is and the power of the Avatar. In episode 1, Ang is a "goofy kid" who does some cool glider tricks. In Episode 2, Ang almost singlehandedly destroys a Fire Nation Ship. I remember this episode standing out more when I first watched it years ago because I didn't exactly know what to expect. It was surprising to see how easily Ang dispatches of the enemy. True, the fire nation is portrayed a bit incompetently, but it also established Zuko as an enemy who will not give up, someone you know will be hunting down the protagonists to the bitter end.

All in all, it was a fun episode, but not one that really stands out when thinking about the memorable episodes of the show.

The Avatar is Nice???

[amazingfun · 7/10 · 14 April 2024]

The Avatar (Aang) develops more it is so cool to see his awesome personality. I love it. It was a good way to show off aang in the 2nd episode and what he is capable of. Katara is now learning how to water bend and they will learn it together. Also the antagonist is also really cool but I thought he would be a bit stronger it might be because he under estimated aang but like what. Also uncle iroh why is he always sleeping like wake up and help. What's the point of him like dude. Overall I had fun watching it visuals for 2007 were stunning. Would recommend watching it if you like amazing shows like me.