Why ATLA is a Good Show

The show Avatar: The Last Airbender follows a pretty generic “Hero’s Journey” plot: our protagonist, Aang, is a peaceful monk living at the Southern Air Temple, but the rapid changes in the world (Fire Nation wants world domination) force him to embrace his identity as the all-mighty Avatar and travel the world with his friends to master all four elements to defeat the Fire Lord to bring peace to the world.


In my opinion, what makes this overused plot line work for the show are the characters and relationships that developed in the prolonged rising action (the episodes where Aang is training). A character who shows amazing growth is Toph.


She was raised by overprotective parents and joined an underground wrestling group to escape her parents’ grasp, so she is extremely reluctant to rely on others. By only relying on herself, she can regain the freedom that her parents took away. This mindset, however, causes tension with others because of the selfishness that comes with it. 


It is through this tension that Toph actively grows. Her differences with Katara, like conflicting views on what a team player is, leads her to grow the courage to ask for someone else’s help to write her parents a letter (she’s blind so she can’t write). She not only learns to trust other people for help, but she is also able to confront her past which she was previously too scared to do. 


The drawn-out rising action of ATLA gives room for amazing character development and relationship building, and it allows the show to avoid being a stereotypical Hero’s Journey plot.

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