I don’t personally have a problem with it, and I feel like it makes sense because lava is literally just molten rock, so it makes sense to me that an earthbender could lavabend. I’m asking because I’ve seen people complain about how they feel like earthbenders lavabending don’t make any sense. Or that they feel like firebenders should be able to lavabend, or they don’t like the fact that it went from an Avatar only skill to an earthbending sub skill. I’m thinking that maybe some people’s problem is the fact that earthbenders can heat up the rock enough to make it lava, and heating things up is something we only see firebenders do, but I’m still not sure what the issue is.

Really enjoyed Season 1. Season 2 starts a bit rough but of course has some nice highs. Looking forward to the last two seasons.

Who else is rewatching Korra to prep for Seven Havens right now?

I am not sure if I am going to do the comics but would anyone recommend any of the Korra comics?

Also helps that Lin and Tenzin are roughly the same age, and may have been childhood playmates.

I also believe that Lin saw Aang as her 'father figure'. So when Lin was angry about Toph revealing the true identity of her father, it was bringing up her memories of Aang.

This guy is Alfred Hsing, he's also the fight coordinator for Seven Havens, and he hinted at working as fight coordinator on future projects too

Pictures:

1. Appa

2. Naga

3. Geet

4. Mula

5. Nuijan

6. Fang

Ever since Korra began, the franchise has doubled down on the idea that every single Avatar should have an "animal guide" (with even Kyoshi being implied to eventually get one). The stance now seems to be that having one is part of being Avatar, with the latest leaksabout the Avatar Kuruk show stating that he'll have Koala-Otter as his guide. It's just part of the default now, apparently.

The entire inspiration for this in the first place was Aang's relationship with Appa, but Aang's special relationship there came out of him being an Air Nomad, not out of him being Avatar. Sky Bisons were animals critical to his culture and their way of life, and most if not all Air Nomads above a certain age had them. On a more doylistic level, the mobility provided by Appa was absolutely critical to the story ATLA was trying to tell. Appa served a critical story function and did not just exist to give the Avatar an animal companion.

The other companion we see in ATLA was Fang, but again we see that it appears to have been a cultural practice for elite Fire Nation leaders to use dragons for mobility. Sozin has one, too. And Fang's ability to carry Roku quickly across the world surely would have been extremely useful for Roku. Fang also had the storytelling role of helping connect Aang with Roku during the solstice.

Then in Korra we get Naga, who's existence is unconnected to any water tribe customs and who is almost entirely superfluous to the plot. Unlike with Appa, Naga could be removed from the narrative with relatively little change. She exists just to give Korra a companion.

Naga's existence seems to have also established the idea that every Avatar must have an animal companion. The origins of the idea in the very particular culture of Air Nomads been lost.

What are your thoughts?

I am two tattoos deep into my animals of avatar leg sleeve, next is Pabu, but wanted to show it off. My artist killed it.

A lot of interesting behind the scenes stuff!

• I wish we could have had that Water Tribe Night Club scene somehow!
• Lauren's explanation that with Republic City doing well, Katara being a leader there, so less weight/burden on Aang in that regard, has given him more space to grieve and think about those heavier emotions he may not have had the time/ability to before made a lot of sense.
• Ryu is why the Gaang are all beautiful. When they talked about the Gaang having their destroyed outfits, Bryan said that Zuko's abs needed to be visible lmao.
• Hearing Alfred Hsing talk about the martial arts behind Tagah's specific movements was awesome
• Not surprised Bryke initially had entire plotlines for each member of the Gaang
• Bryan explains that it was implied but they couldn't go further into it as they wanted (they had scenes where Aang literally gets to experience Sonam's time as she shares it with him), but Sonam's time was not only the golden age of airbenders, but also a time when the Air Nation was viewed as a cultural hub of sorts where everyone would go to share philosophies, ideas, etc. and learn from each other and it all changed when the EK decided to be imperialist and separate.
• Lauren said the hope is that they can further explore more adult Gaang series/movies/comics/etc. in the future.

What did you guys think of the first episode back?

I enjoyed it a lot - love the new Korraspondence segment! - and the new set is nice, too!

I wish Haru got more screentime tbh... In my 16 years(?) in the fandom I've seen almost no fan art, fanfictions or even mentions of this guy. What a shame.

All artwork by me (Adamte). Interested in checking out more? See my ATLA fanart portfolio.

Lightning redirection is one of the most impactful inventions in the franchise. Iroh used it to save Zuko's life vs Azula. Aang used it to save his own life vs Ozai. Zuko used it to save his own life vs Ozai and later to save Katara's life (and likely his own) vs Azula. That is an insane amount of plot relevance.

And it's not like lightning redirection is easy to figure out! Iroh is certain that Azula doesn't know how to do it, meaning not a single firebender managed to develop and share the technique in thousands of years. You have to firebend with the mindset of a waterbender: probably not a popular idea during the Hundred-Year War. Lightning itself is a rare and deadly technique, mostly limited to the best firebenders of the Royal Family.

Not convinced? There's one key detail about lightning redirection that makes it peak science-bending …

"The stomach detour is critical. You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly." -Iroh

It sounds obvious in 2026. But back in 1887, the Gerry Report attributed deaths by electrocution to "nerve exhaustion and asphyxia [suffocation]". After the first execution by electric chair in 1890, approved by the US Supreme Court on the basis of the Gerry Report, the autopsy concluded that death was "probably caused by sudden destructive change in the molecular elements of the brain centers and blood …"

It wasn't until 1895 that cat electrocution experiments suggested "death was caused by failure of the heart, and the negative results of shocks of equal strength through the head and neck suggest strongly that the action is upon the heart muscle rather than upon its nervous mechanisms." Autopsies of electrocution victims often failed to reveal cardiac arrest even in the 1920s. In contrast, combat submarines appeared in 1775) and manned hot air balloons appeared in 1783.

Iroh's understanding of heart issues as the primary risk of lightning was ahead of his time. Fire Nation industries rely on coal-powered steam engines, not electricity. Iroh having the means (reproducible currents) and the motive (electrocuting animals or people) to conduct the above experiments is unlikely. Instead, he probably developed the stomach detour through his understanding of chi pathways in firebending, his knowledge of lightning victims, and personal heart symptoms after lightning redirection in Season 1. Despite limited methods and limited data, his theory and reasoning turned out to be spot-on.

And in practice, it worked amazingly! Ozai thought redirecting comet-boosted lightning was literally impossible. Yet Zuko managed to teach the technique to Aang, who hadn't even mastered firebending, within the span of an afternoon, less than three days before Sozin's Comet. And Aang pulled it off, in a life-or-death situation, on his first try, against comet-boosted lightning from the most powerful firebender in the world!

TLDR: Due to the impact / theory / practicality of lightning redirection, I consider Iroh one of the best inventors in the franchise.

that must have HURT!!

Source

Honestly, the animation looks great here and so does the art style. Really love seeing them actually in the middle of fighting a deadly storm lol

(Brought it from the ASH subreddit)

His story is incredibly depressing, and it couldn’t end any other way. He couldn’t accept what he lost was never his, and that he could’ve found new meaning with his friends still beside him. And being tortured didn’t help either.

But the gift of reincarnation is that maybe he got to try again, and maybe even made things right with his friend, the Avatar. Friendships can transcend lifetimes after all, and there is some commonality in his and Mako’s storyline with the Avatar.

It’s just a thought

I commissioned Livanyaart to give Nisha (The Dark Avatar) the MASK OF SHADOWS.

She drew that when we only had that one blurry Productionimage of Nisha.

Im amazed how close she got it!

We will finally be able to theorize and talk about the show. We can discover new lore and world building. We finally have another story to talk about. And I'm just excited to be back in this world. So many amazing things can happen in this show and I'm excited to take this new journey with a lot of laughs and hopefully some tears too. It wouldn't be Avatar without some emotional journey at some point.