All 8 episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender ranked from worst to best

3. Episode 1, "Aang"

The first 20 minutes of this episode are among my favorite scenes in the entire show. We get a first-hand look at Fire Lord Sozin and his dastardly efforts to start the 100-year war. Him leading the invasion of the Southern Air Temple was arguably the coolest addition from the original animated show. The fact that he personally killed Monk Gyatso just adds insult to injury.

I also think that the show did a great job explaining everything. It's easy for fans of the original show to just jump in, but it's easy for us to forget there is a lot of detail in this world. While some people aren't fans of exposition dumps, I think the one Avatar Kyoshi delivers at the beginning of this episode was necessary to get newcomers up to speed.

Once we get to the main plot 100 years after Sozin, it's fine... I generally enjoy how faithful the story's commencement is to the original, but it did feel a bit rushed. In the span of 40 minutes, Aang wakes up in the iceberg, meets Katara and Sokka, fights Zuko and they fly to the Southern Air Temple.

2. Episode 2, "Warriors"

We knew going into this show that team Avatar would spend a lot of time on Kyoshi Island. This storyline wound up encompassing an entire episode and it did not disappoint. Mostly. My main critique is that when Avatar Kyoshi manifests through Aang, it ends with an anticlimactic encounter where she flings a bunch of Fire Nation dudes against walls. I couldn't stop thinking about Roku redirecting the firebenders in the Nickelodeon show and using lavabending to destroy his own temple. Way cooler in my opinion.

The lackluster Kyoshi performance aside, I enjoyed this episode quite a bit. Sokka particularly shined and actor Ian Ousley cranked up the charm for his romance arc with Suki. Suki gives Sokka great lessons in non-bender fighting and how to overcome that disadvantage. With future seasons of the show confirmed, I'll be eager to see them rekindle their relationship later on.

Before Kyoshi takes control of Aang's body, she delivers some quintessential Avatar Kyoshi harshness. She urges Aang to take a leadership role in the world conflict and become a general, enforcer or mediator when need be. I honestly wish more people talked to Aang like this. Or he at least took the advice to heart because he really doesn't. Kyoshi explains that in order to become a fully realized Avatar and harness the power of the Avatar state, he needs to master the other elements. But he makes no progress on this front for the rest of the season so it's kind of a let down.