Avatar Seven Havens
The Avatar franchise (not the blue one), has just announced its upcoming sequel series, Avatar Seven Havens. Avatar the Last Airbender was a huge part of my… childhood? Adolescence? You don’t need to know how old I am. It was a milestone in children’s entertainment for sure, and narrative-focused shows that followed clearly owe it a lot. The Legend of Korra was a somewhat uneven follow-up, but a beloved one even so.
Now let’s burn down all the nuance and rank the seven seasons of the original two series.
7. The Legend of Korra Book 2: Spirits — Overall, this one just doesn’t hang together (it turns out that dealing with a 10,000 year threat maybe should have taken more than 14 episodes). But even so, introduced some great stuff, like Varrick and the Wan episodes.
6. The Legend of Korra Book 1: Air — I actually quite liked this one, though once again, a bit too ambitious for just 12 episodes. The new Team Avatar is fun, and Amon ruled, but it’s hard setting up a sequel to one of the most popular fantasy shows of all time, and yeah, too much Pro-Bending. But this one does work.
5. The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance — This one had some terrific character moments, and quite frankly, its anti-fascist message is probably a lot more important now than it was when it aired, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.
4. Avatar the Last Airbender Book 1: Water — It’s weird to say that this show needed a little while to find its footing when the third episode is one of the best of either series, but there were a few growing pains in the first season. Nevertheless, absolutely terrific.
3. Avatar the Last Airbender Book 3: Fire — This one is neck-and-neck with Book 2: dramatic, high-stakes, and super rewatchable.
2. Avatar the Last Airbender Book 2: Earth — Like Book 2, but with those betrayal moments that stick with you years later.
1. The Legend of Korra Book 3: Change — I’ve held this opinion since the series was airing, and it has not changed; this season does all the things the original series did well in a tight 13 episodes. It cleverly reverses some of the tropes that made the original series so endearing. It barely features my favorite character, and it’s still the top spot.
Give me more to rank, Avatar Franchise! Bring on Seven Havens.