When adapting an animated series as a live-action show, it’s inevitable that some details will be cut — but Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 makes a dubious choice in leaving out an important player from the original. The character’s exclusion changes one of Aang’s biggest conflicts in the series, and it raises questions about the events of the finale, as well as his journey going forward. SPOILERS ahead for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 on Netflix. Following ATLA‘s time skip in Season 2, Aang sets out to master Earthbending with Toph Beifong as his teacher. However, there’s another aspect of being the Avatar he must also face: the ability to enter the Avatar State.
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Although Aang uses the Avatar State to his advantage during the Siege of the North in Season 1, he has no control over it. This serves as a conflict for him throughout Season 2, something that’s also true for his animated counterpart. Aang fears the Avatar State, and he avoids it for that reason. However, in one of the major changes from the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Netflix show doesn’t have him seek out a specific teacher to address this fear. Instead, it cuts that character and downplays one of his hardest choices.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Cuts Guru Pathik From the Original
In the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang seeks out Guru Pathik at the Eastern Air Temple in the hopes of mastering the Avatar State. Book 2 episode “The Guru” is dedicated to them opening Aang’s chakras together, a process that’s intended to bring him closer to gaining balance, and thus, control. But the last chakra is one that Aang initially can’t open, as it requires him to relinquish his earthly attachments — Katara included. At this point in the animated series, Aang is fully aware that he loves Katara. As such, he balks at the idea of choosing “cosmic energy over” her. And when Aang tries to do as Guru Pathik says, he sees Katara in danger and departs from the Eastern Air Temple, despite the Guru’s warning that it will prevent him from going into the Avatar State entirely.
This whole sequence is cut from the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, as is Guru Pathik’s character. Although Season 2 touches on Aang’s fear of the Avatar State, he doesn’t make as thorough of an effort to address it. This is likely because Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 is just seven episodes long, but it’s a shame this is among the casualties of the condensed outing. Because the show cuts the Guru, one of Aang’s biggest conflicts doesn’t get the attention it deserves. It’s a strange choice for both the adaptation and its main character.
Removing the Guru Ignores One of Aang’s Biggest Struggles From the Original Show
Aang’s decision at the end of “The Guru” is an important one, as is his later choice to let go of Katara during the finale’s Crystal Catacombs fight. He’s struck down before he can fully do so, once again preventing him from reaching the Avatar State. Yet all of this is important characterization. It highlights Aang’s consistent struggle between his own humanity and his role as the Avatar. He’s supposed to consider the greater good of his world first and foremost, but he’s also a kid who wants normal things like human connection and love. It’s the entire reason he runs away from the Southern Air Temple in the first place, and it’s a battle that takes many forms for him throughout the show.
It’s surprising, then, that Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 cuts Guru Pathik and Aang’s Book 2 decision. In general, the Netflix show minimizes Aang’s feelings for Katara, which likely contributes to this choice. But the finale goes beyond that, even having Aang master the Avatar State before Azula strikes him with a near-fatal blow. It doesn’t offer much insight into why he’s suddenly able to tap into this power, despite his glance at Katara beforehand. Perhaps we’re meant to read this as him letting her go, but there’s so little build-up that it falls flat. The nature of this moment changes because of all the deviations, and especially because of the guru’s exclusion. Aang’s path forward will likely look different due to it, too.
This Change Completely Changes Aang’s Story Ahead of Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3
This change to Avatar: The Last Airbender alters Aang’s story going forward, as it removes his struggles surrounding Katara, along with his future problems going into the Avatar State. Because Aang is mid-transformation when Azula strikes him in the animated series, he’s unable to open his final chakra or access the Avatar State until the very end of Book 3. Since the Netflix adaptation changes the circumstances of Azula hitting him, this might not be the case. On top of that, it’s looking like Aang won’t continue to teeter between his feelings for Katara and his responsibilities as the Avatar. That’s a shame, as he arguably finds a decent middle ground in Book 3.
The omission of “The Guru” storyline doesn’t bode well for Aang’s larger conflict in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3, either. Another extension of Aang’s humanity vs. Avatar debacle, Aang’s biggest challenge in Book 3 is deciding whether he should listen to his past lives and kill Fire Lord Ozai or spare him based on the Air Nomads’ teachings. Hopefully, the series won’t downplay this internal struggle, as it’s crucial to Aang’s character. Some changes to the original series work, but anything that drives Aang’s journey to this extent should really be included. This is why Guru Pathik’s absence in Season 2 proves so frustrating. Hopefully, it’s the last controversial change on this front.
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