The overall Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise is packed with incredible and hard-hitting plot twists that fans love, but at the time, some of those story developments actually felt unwelcome. First-time viewers, whether they were kids or adults, no doubt found some plot twists upsetting or downright strange, and the twists almost seemed to ruin the story at the time. Examples include self-referential humor, last-minute fixes, and retcons, among other story beats.

In hindsight, though, fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra don’t mind those odd plot twists nearly as much. That’s largely because the most devoted viewers have gotten over the shock and can rationalize the strangest plot twists with added context and analysis. Still, it’s easy to see why even the most enthusiastic viewers might have found certain plot twists unacceptable or uncomfortable the first time around.

10

Aang Gained Energybending at the Last Minute

There Was No Other Way for Aang to Win

One of the most contrived story developments in all of Avatar: The Last Airbender was Aang’s acquisition of the skill dubbed “energybending,” granted to him at the last moment by a helpful lion-turtle. Avatar: The Last Airbender hadn’t even hinted at the existence of energybending and Aang didn’t do much to earn it, so Aang’s usage of energybending to defeat Ozai felt far too convenient.

Even now, that plot twist seems questionable, but fans can forgive it because Aang had no other solution to his dilemma. As the Avatar, Aang needed to kill Fire Lord Ozai, but he refused based on his convictions, so he needed a way out. Energybending provided that out, allowing Aang to save the world without compromising his principles. He also would have set a bad example for young viewers by doing his duty and killing Ozai in their duel.

9

Korra Chose to Keep the Spirit Portals Open

Thanks to Korra, the Air Nation Returned

In Book Two: Spirits of The Legend of Korra, Avatar Korra’s villainous uncle Unalaq aimed to open the spirit portals, free Vaatu, and usher in 10,000 years of darkness and chaos. Spirits almost became synonymous with Unalaq’s plans and worldview, so it felt outrageous at the time for Korra to preserve part of Unalaq’s work. More specifically, when she visited the exotic Spirit World, Korra chose to keep the spirit portals open.

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In hindsight, there were issues with that decision, but none of them concerned Unalaq, so it’s not as though Korra was secretly getting on board with Unalaq’s plan or worldview. Instead, Korra honestly thought she was doing the right thing, and while there were consequences, some good came of it, too. Tenzin was deeply grateful how that led to more people gaining airbending to help rebuild the Air Nation.

8

Zuko Turned on Iroh in Ba Sing Se

Zuko’s Path to Redemption Couldn’t Be Too Easy

The conclusion of Book Two: Earth was called “The Crossroads of Destiny” because Prince Zuko was forced to choose between two very different paths as a rogue third party. He had to decide between his personal loyalty to Iroh and his quest to regain honor in his father’s eyes, and he chose the latter. First-time viewers must have hated Zuko for betraying his loving uncle and ruining his redemption.

By now, fans know Zuko needed to make that decision so he could return home and see his father’s evil ways all over again. Being exposed to yet more of Ozai’s flamboyant wickedness inspired Zuko to change his mind and become good not just because Iroh pushed for it, but because Zuko needed it. Also, it would have been a little too quick and easy if Zuko had committed to his redemption in Book Two.

7

The Gaang Saw Themselves in the Ember Island Stage Play

In Hindsight, It Was Hilarious Meta-Humor

Avatar: The Last Airbender may not have any true filler episodes, but it came close with the episode “The Ember Island Players” on the eve of Sozin’s Comet. The first time around, any Avatar viewer would have been annoyed that an entire episode was spent on the series making fun of itself. The plot didn’t move forward, and the episode ended up being fairly skippable.

Experienced fans of Avatar may love the simple plot twist of “The Ember Island Players” a lot more now, perhaps for nostalgia’s sake. Longtime fans are already used to all the series’ most important and serious plotlines, so it’s refreshing to see the series make fun of itself with the Ember Island Players production. That helps the series feel more grounded and balanced, even if it already had a lot of humor in other episodes.

6

Amon Robbed Korra of Her Bending

The Event Spoke Volumes About Korra’s Reliance on Bending

The masked villain Amon threatened Korra early in Book One: Air, saying he would “destroy” her by robbing her of all her elemental bending. Since heroes like Korra tend to have thick plot armor, first-time viewers must have expected Korra to escape that fate, but to their shock, Korra really did lose her bending to Amon. For a horrible moment, it seemed The Legend of Korra went too far and broke some unspoken rule about action heroes.

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Fortunately, the end of the episode “Endgame” reversed all the damage when Avatar Aang’s spirit arrived to restore Korra’s lost bending with energybending. That got Korra in shape to resume her adventures in later seasons, though it also necessitated a borderline deus ex machina to fix a problem Korra couldn’t solve on her own. Then again, in hindsight, fans can appreciate that plot twist as an example of how Korra relied too much on bending to shape her identity as the Avatar and as a person.

5

Appa Got Kidnapped in the Siwong Desert

Aang’s Fury Highlighted His Love of Animals

In the episode “The Desert,” Avatar: The Last Airbender fans must have felt terrible as Toph Beifong helplessly witnessed a squad of sandbenders capture Appa, and Aang flew into a fury when he learned the truth of what happened. It was a terribly sad plot twist that separated two friends, but the separation did help comment on Aang’s and Appa’s characters.

The plot twist doesn’t feel so bad now, since fans have gotten over the shock. Also, Aang’s and Appa’s separation proved all over again how strong their bond was, right around the time fans could take that bond for granted. Such a twist reinforced the notion of Aang’s strong affinity for animals, and the episode “Appa’s Lost Days” was a chance to show what a tough and resilient hero Appa was when alone.

4

Aang Failed to Find & Fight Ozai During the Eclipse

Zuko Needed Time to Join the Gaang, After All

This is another plot twist that felt gut-wrenching and horrible at the time, but by the series’ end, any fan can see why it was necessary. In the two-episode sequence of the eclipse invasion, Aang got himself ready to face Fire Lord Ozai, only to realize Ozai had anticipated the invasion and had fled the throne room. Even more frustrating was how Azula taunted the Gaang about it, keeping Aang away from Ozai until the eclipse ended.

For first-time viewers, it would have been vastly preferable to see Aang defeat Ozai on schedule and have the invasion play out as planned, but action stories don’t work that way. Avatar needed higher stakes than that for Aang’s victory over Ozai to feel satisfying, and besides, that plot twist bought Zuko more time to join the Gaang. For a handful of episodes, Zuko was in the Gaang and embraced his new destiny as the Avatar’s key ally in the war.

3

Korra Ended Up Traumatized After Fighting Zaheer

Korra Had to be Broken to Come Back Stronger

The members of the Red Lotus organization captured Korra near the end of Book Three: Change and tried to kill her, which was an exciting climax for the season. However, first-time fans may have been concerned or frustrated at how Korra lost the fight and needed the airbenders to help her capture Zaheer. Most tragically of all, Korra had to spend a few episodes in Book Four: Balance trying to heal herself as a broken Avatar.

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Fans tend to not like seeing their action hero moping or being weak, but vulnerable times like those are essential for any character’s arc. Korra’s PTSD was a normal reaction to her extreme trauma, and besides, the recovery period helped Korra break herself down and rebuild herself as a more patient and wiser Avatar. That was how Korra became someone who actually favored diplomacy and patience over action.

2

Bending Was Revealed to Come From the Lion-Turtles

There’s Still Room for the Original Benders

The two-part flashback storyline with Avatar Wan seemingly contradicted pre-existing lore about the origins of elemental bending, which probably confused or even annoyed some viewers the first time around. Wan’s flashback showed how humanity gained bending from the lion-turtles, as opposed to learning elemental bending from badger-moles, dragons, sky bison, and the moon.

Then again, as fans may now think, the lion-turtle flashback had some profound messages about people and groups needing to be brave and accomplish things on their own as they grow up. Also, it’s possible humanity forgot about the lion-turtles, then learned bending all over again from the four original sources outlined in Avatar. If so, humanity actually learned bending in two different ways, but not at the same time, so there’s no contradiction.

1

Korra Had a Love Triangle With Bolin & Mako

It Was Korra’s First Foray Into Romance

When fans first saw Korra trying to find love in Republic City, they must have winced at Korra’s clumsy attempts to date Mako and Bolin, which led to the Fire Ferrets bending team turning on itself. Korra and Mako, in particular, made total fools of themselves, and that may have convinced viewers to dislike them both. Creating a dramatic love triangle felt like nothing but a hassle at the time.

In hindsight, the love triangle still isn’t that good, but fans can at least see what it said about the characters. Korra was still largely ignorant of the world and hadn’t met many people, so of course her first forays into romance were awkward and fruitless. It was a learning experience for Korra, and it helped her get used to personal bonds so she could form more meaningful connections later, most of all with Asami Sato.