The Avatar Returns

Six months later...we rejoin our regularly scheduled Avatar universe, already in progress. The Legend of Korra Book Two kicks off with a gurgle as angry squid spirits drag unsuspecting sailors to their watery graves, Korra has finally "mastered" airbending, and Mako does his best Horatio Caine impression. Chapters 201 and 202 introduce us to Korra's uncle Unalaq, who is boring but apparently impor...

M. Night Shyamalan directed a movie. Arlo made us watch it. We didn't like it. We talk about it. We're sorry. (Ed. note: we experience intermittent audio issues throughout recording, because even the universe didn't want us to discuss this garbage fire of a film.) Next: we finally get back to The Legend of Korra as we kick off Book Two: Spirits with chapters 201-204, "Rebel Spirit," "The Southern...

This week The Avatar Returns returns to the Avatar. We continue our discussion of Dark Horse Comics' ongoing Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel series with Volume 2 - The Search. We talk about how the shift from the larger, more epic story told in Volume 1 - The Promise to this much smaller, more intimate tale works for us, and more importantly for the characters. Whereas the previous book e...

Book One of The Legend of Korra closes with a bang as Team Avatar and the United Forces face off against Amon and the Equalists. Chapter 111, "Skeletons in the Closet" finally reveals the true identity of Amon, and reminds us just how truly horrific bloodbending can be. And chapter 112, "Endgame" rings out the season with Asami confronting her father, Korra getting "unbent," and an argument for wh...

This week on The Avatar Returns it's action, action, and more action! In chapter 108, "When Extremes Meet," we get a full-speed car chase, and a villain stands revealed as Korra goes one-on-one against Tarrlok...the bloodbender! Dun-dun-duuuun! Then in chapter 109, "Out of the Past," Lin Beifong suits up, and we learn that Tarrlok is Yakone's son. (He's whose what now?) It all makes sense at last!...

Ugh, teenage love triangles. Or quadrangles. Polyhedrons? Whatever they are, ugh! Even in the world of Avatar, kids have hormones. Fortunately, The Legend of Korra manages to deal with the bulk of this well-worn plot device in a single episode AND make it actually quite interesting, as chapter 105, "The Spirit of Competition" uses the backdrop of the Pro-bending Championship Tournament to examine...

Amon wants a revolution, but first we get a revelation. Chapter 103, "The Revelation" to be precise, wherein we learn that the leader of the Equalists, while really scary and kind of a dick, might possibly have a point? Paul and Eric are in full-on fanboy mode, but Arlo is initially uncomfortable with the muddy moral waters this new series is treading in, with "villains" that are actually the oppr...

It's a new age, and there's a brand new Avatar! 70 years have passed since Aang and his friends ended the Hundred Year War, and the world has moved on. Paul, Eric, and Arlo get the bend back together (get it?) to discuss the legend (and attitude) of Korra of the Southern Water Tribe. In chapter 101, "Welcome to Republic City," our new hero leaves her frozen homeland behind for the pseudo-steampunk...

The show may have come to an end, but the Aang Gang lives on as we take this opportunity to discuss "The Promise," the first collected volume in Dark Horse Comics' official graphic novel series continuing the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Written by Eisner and Harvey Award winner Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese; Boxers & Saints), with art by Japanese duo Gurihiru, "The Promise" picks...

Endings are hard. Storytellers have struggled with bringing narratives to a satisfying conclusion for as long as there have been storytellers. And audiences love to debate how well even the most venerated series have pulled it off. On this episode of The Avatar Returns Podcast our hosts have their say on whether, with "Sozin's Comet," the four-chapter series finale film event, co-creators Bryan Ko...

This week on The Avatar Returns podcast, Eric and Katara both feel the power of the Dark Side, one to run a marathon, the other to seek revenge (place your bets on which is which) as we take one last Zuko field trip in chapter 316, "The Southern Raiders." And then the show goes all Community on us and channels its inner Dan Harmon for chapter 317, "The Ember Island Players." Plus we reevaluate tha...

Apparently prison break stories lead to weird tangents. This week the boys talk about the verisimilitude of Hogan's Heroes, the connections between Avatar: The Last Airbender and Voltron: Legendary Defender, and that one time Paul and Arlo compared Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Linklater's Boyhood. There's also important stuff, like if bringing Zuko into the main cast and rendering the series es...

Hello, Zuko here. This week on The Avatar Returns, I finally get to join the A-Plot players as the Aang Gang welcomes me in with open arms in chapter 312, "The Western Air Temple." Paul, Eric, and Arlo discuss my journey through the series to this point, including how Avatar: The Last Airbender has actually been MY story all along. Then in chapter 313, "The Firebending Masters," my new best friend...

It's the midseason climax as the invasion of the Fire Nation finally begins! But before that happens, your hosts debate the merits of the comedic palette cleanser that is chapter 309, "Nightmares and Daydreams." Say what you will about it, we are forever in it's debt for giving us Momo Yojimbo vs. Appa Mifune!   Once all of that is out of the way, it's time for chapters 310 and 311, "The Day of Bl...

Back from another mini-hiatus, The Avatar Returns finds AJ dying. Again. But before he expires this time, we manage to squeeze in a discussion of the Fire Nation's Imperialist Japan fetish as chapter 306, "The Avatar and The Fire Lord" reveals the secret history of Roku and Sozin, and the genesis of the 100 Year War. Then chapter 307, "The Runaway" has Toph building a criminal empire, and because...

Another episode of The Avatar Returns is here to teach you a lesson...ON YOUR FACE! The boys fight over who gets to be Dock, Xu, and Bushi as they critique chapter 303, "The Painted Lady." In 304, "Sokka's Master," our favorite "regular guy" gets a cool meteor sword, and Eric enrolls in Tae Bo by Iroh. And finally, it's Beach Blanket Zuko in chapter 305, "The Beach." AJ is still iffy on Sideways E...

There seems to have been some confusion among the ranks of hosts this week. To clarify, we are only discussion two chapters this time around, not three. Okay, Eric? Only two. But thanks for the enthusiasm, son. The two (not three, two) chapters we discuss this week are 301, "The Awakening," which picks up a few weeks after the tragic events in the Book Two finale, with Aang and Co. traveling on a...

The Earth Kingdom has fallen. Avatar: The Last Airbender Book Two comes to its Earth Kingdom-shattering conclusion. In chapter 219, "The Guru," Aang zips right through chakra training to master his Avatar State, but can't quite close the deal as he is drawn back into helping his friends. Then, in chapter 220, "The Crossroads of Destiny," Azula ruins everyone's lives. Seriously. She lies, she manip...

Yeah, let's break some rules! We radically shift the format of the show this week [Editor's note: no, we actually don't at all] as we reach the penultimate episode of our Book Two podcasts with chapters 216-218, "Appa's Lost Days," "Lake Laogai," and "The Earth King." Paul defends Dai Li dickbaggery, AJ identifies with Azula in a really uncomfortable way, and Eric finally likes a Jet storyline. An...

This week gets off to a weird start as AJ raises an existential question which, among other things, reveals Eric's secret desire to totally mess up some random 16-year old kid's life. Pretending we heard none of that, we move forward with Avatar Book Two. In chapter 214, "City of Walls and Secrets," the full splendor of Ba Sing Se finally begins to open up to us. We talk about the peaceful life Ir...

The Avatar Returns returns! We're back, having survived our various chemically altered holiday adventures. And due to some odd digital episode numbering, we end up with a bonus chapter this week which we hadn't anticipated watching yet. But perhaps it all works out for the best, since it turns out chapters 210, "The Library," and 213, "The Drill" bookend this discussion with more action-oriented,...

A rare celestial event on The Avatar Returns this week as all three hosts agree on all three chapters. In what could conceivably be dubbed the Zuko Cycle, chapters 207-209, “Zuko Alone,” “The Chase,” and “Bitter Work” focus almost exclusively on everyone’s favorite banished emo prince as he pulls a Caine from Kung Fu and walks the Earth…Kingdom. The boys talk about the obvious homages to classic w...

Man, rednecks ruin everything! This week, Avatar: The Last Airbender goes all Deliverance on us, and at least two of our hosts ain't down for that. Chapter 204 takes us to "The Swamp," and introduces us to the Duck Dynasty of the Avatar world. Then we drain the muck our of our boots and celebrate "Avatar Day" with Sokka Holmes and some really friendly townsfolk in chapter 205. And finally, the epi...

Sleep deprivation, unpopular opinions about lava, and oblique references to midichlorian-bending take us into the Holiday season and mark the beginning of our journey through Avatar Book Two: Earth. The chapters guiding us this week are 201-203, “The Avatar State,” “The Cave of Two Lovers,” and “Return to Omashu.” It’s definite hard to follow the explosive finale to Book One we discussed last time...

The boys are back, closing out the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender discussing chapters 18-20, “The Waterbending Master,” “The Siege of the North, Part 1,” and “The Siege of the North, Part 2.” Our intrepid heroes have finally reached the Norther Water Tribe, but their troubles have only begun. Cheer as Katara kicks some misogynist butt! Shudder at the horror that is Koh, the Face Steale...