'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Season 2 Ending Explained And Summary: Did Azula Kill Zuko?

The live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon animated fantasy action series, Avatar: The Last Airbender, has been brought back for a 2nd season by Netflix, after the first iteration introduced us to the fictional world, its characters, and its main crisis back in 2024. Having mastered the skills of airbending and waterbending, the 12-year-old protagonist, Aang, who has also been bestowed the tremendous responsibility and power of being the current Avatar, now sets out on a journey across the Earth Kingdom to learn earthbending. But along the way, Aang and his friends come across a set of interesting new characters, while the news of a certain meteor shower, which is prophesied to make the evil firebenders even more powerful than they already are, makes things much more intense in season 2.

Spoiler Alert

What is Season 2 about?

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 begins in the Earth Kingdom, where a group of villagers run into a nearby forest to protect themselves from the Fire Nation’s soldiers, who have launched an attack on their homes. The Fire Nation, under the leadership of Ozai, is still attacking all other factions or groups of element-benders and their settlements, in an effort to eradicate them and ensure that the firebenders are the only ones left alive. Just as the soldiers track down the villagers in the forest, the Avatar, Aang, and his ever-trusted friends, Katara and Sokka, also reach the place, and an intense fight begins. With their element-bending skills, the heroes are able to save the day, and are also helped by the Kyoshi Warriors, led by Suki. Having already honed the skills of air and waterbending, Aang’s next move is to learn earthbending, and he plans to do so from Bumi.

The master earthbender and former king of Omashu, Bumi, is now kept locked up in a tower in his own kingdom, following the Fire Nation’s invasion of the place back in season 1. Aang manages to visit Bumi in the tower, but the old man is of no use to him, as his only advice regarding earthbending is that the protagonist must learn to listen, and calm his mind before even trying to control the earth. Confused by such vague advice, Aang continues to search for a master trainer who can teach him earthbending, while he leads his friends and new followers, meaning the villagers rescued earlier, to the safety of a town far from the reach of the Fire Nation, or so they believe.

It is at this town that Aang comes across a young girl named Toph Beifong, who is brilliantly skilled in earthbending, despite being blind since birth. Although he immediately wants to ask Toph to train him, convincing her is an extremely difficult task. Toph hails from the wealthiest and most influential business family of the region, and she keeps her earthbending abilities a secret from her own parents. It is only after a battle breaks out in the town square between Aang, Azula, and Zuko, and Toph uses her abilities in front of everyone, that she ultimately chooses to teach the Avatar and travel with his group. Together, Aang and his friends now start traveling towards the city of Ba Sing Se, after realizing that Sozin’s Comet, a comet that passes by Earth once every 100 years, during which time the powers of the firebenders are massively increased, is about to come the planet’s way very soon.

How is Ba Sing Se unaffected by the war?

Ba Sing Se, the capital city of the Earth Kingdom, is one of the last major frontiers standing in the way of the Fire Nation, although the city and its rulers do not play any part in stopping the ruthless firebenders. Believing that the king of Ba Sing Se is now the only person capable of putting up a resistance against the Fire Nation and essentially wage war against them, Aang and his friends travel to the city to convince the king of the imminent danger. However, what they realize at the city is quite confusing and alarming, for everyone at Ba Sing Se is clearly living in total denial. King Kuei, the ruler of the Earth Kingdom, is totally incapable of being a leader, and sits on the throne only because he was born into the royal family. In fact, he chooses to stay away from all political matters and instead tend to his passions, like gardening, delegating the real responsibilities to his Cultural Minister.

Therefore, it is very obvious that the Cultural Minister of the kingdom, Long Feng, is the one indirectly controlling every aspect of the place, including governance, administration, and security. Long Feng has created a private police force named the Dai Li, and has made it the highest authority in matters of security. The Dai Li operates like any other intelligence force in the real world, keeping an eye on ‘suspicious’ citizens and stopping any and all attempts at rebellion at a very early stage. News of the war raging outside the walls of the kingdom is carefully kept away from all the citizens, and also from the King himself, as Long Feng considers this to be the best means of upholding the kingdom’s safety and prosperity. It is in this twisted way that Ba Sing Se and its citizens remain unaffected by the war, even mentally, for they are totally ignorant about it, and their leaders in complete denial.

The other figure of authority in the city is General Sung, the Supreme commander of the Forces of the Outer Wall, and as the title of her position suggests, she is the leader of the army, responsible for guarding the wall and keeping all invaders out. Therefore, Sung obviously knows what is up in the outside world, especially after the Fire Nation soldiers set up a camp only some distance away from the wall. But General Sung cannot directly tell King Kuei about the development, and neither is she tactically strong enough to take a decision herself. Instead, she has to go through the unofficial hierarchy, by reporting things to Long Feng before she can even reach the king. For this reason, General Sung is clearly unhappy about the state of political affairs in the city, and is willing to join any direct or indirect effort against the authority of Long Feng. It is because of this very complicated political situation that Ba Sing Se finally falls.

Is Ba Sing Se finally under Fire Nation rule?

Back in the last season, the Fire Nation had already taken control of Omashu, and the capital of the Earth Kingdom, Ba Sing Se, was naturally next on their list. Fire Lord Ozai orders his commander, General Tran, to launch an invasion of the capital city, which understandably irks his daughter, Azula, as she wanted to lead such an attack herself. Therefore, Azula launches her own attempt at taking over Ba Sing Se in a tactical manner, since direct warfare would be useless against the walled city. Together with her two friends and assistants, Mai and Ty Lee, Azula pretends to be Kyoshi Warriors, dressing like them and also putting on their characteristic face makeup. They simply walk up to the soldiers at the wall and claim to have captured General Tran and brought him to the capital in an effort to stop the Fire Nation’s advance.

Soon, Azula realizes that Long Feng is the one taking all decisions in the city, even though he holds the somewhat ceremonious position of the Minister of Culture. Once her theory is confirmed, she tells Long Feng that she is willing to help him out in exchange for the promise that she will be allowed to hunt down and capture Avatar Aang and his friends. Meanwhile, Aang and the others had persistently tried to get in touch with King Kuei to inform him about the imminent war, which was becoming quite an irritating matter for Long Feng. Therefore he accepts this deal, and the situation is worsened by the fact that General Sung was also ready to make a deal to challenge the authority of the Minister of Culture.

When Katara approaches General Sung asking for help regarding getting the chance to speak to King Kuei privately, she helps the teenagers out. They eventually get caught, and Long Feng finds out about Sung’s insubordination, after having suspected it for some time now. With the two figures of authority essentially pitted against each other, and a toothless king on the throne, Ba Sing Se becomes easy picking for Azula. As soon as she realizes that she does not need to keep up her false identity anymore, Azula reveals her true face and announces the Fire Nation’s takeover of the city. Since both she, and also the very capable General Tran, are already inside the walls of the city, there is no way to stop them anymore, especially with Azula’s lightningbending abilities. Thus, the Fire Nation easily takes over Ba Sing Se, confirming their total domination over the Earth Kingdom.

Are Toph’s parents actually evil?

Toph is heartbroken to learn that her parents have actually been manufacturing and selling weapons to the Fire Nation for several years now, despite knowing that the faction has been attacking and killing every other faction mercilessly. For the most part of the season, she remains steadfast in her belief that Aang and his friends finally treat her as an equal and they are the truly loving and caring family that she deserves. But after an argument with Aang and the rest of the group, Toph visits her mother, Lady Beifong, who had been visiting Ba Sing Se. 

During the first part of the heartfelt conversation that follows, Lady Beifong tells Toph that she and her husband had indeed taken on manufacturing orders for the Fire Nation, but they genuinely believed that they were making farming equipment, not weapons, for Fire Lord Ozai. Toph is convinced by this claim and is ready to forgive her parents for having misunderstood them, but then it all goes wrong when she finally realizes that her mother has actually mixed sedatives in her tea to knock her out. The truth is that her parents had been very well aware of the nature of their business deals with Ozai, but they did not care about the moral or ethical implications. 

To hardcore capitalists like them, business is all that matters, and the question of whether they are on the right or wrong side does not bother them. Similarly, all they want from Toph is for her to be the well-mannered subservient daughter of the family who will soon be married off to their favorite suitor. To ensure this, they are willing to go to any extent, even to sedate their daughter and kidnap her. Toph’s parents might have had good intentions in wanting to provide a secure life for her, but the fact that they have been doing business with the oppressors, and then have also forced their will on their daughter make them appear evil and manipulative.

How had Zuko gotten his scar?

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 reveals the extensive backstory of Zuko, from his childhood days, when he was confused and scared of his father’s stern and violent nature. From the very time that Zuko and Azula were mere kids, Ozai taught them how to fight and forced them to be fiercely competitive, often pitting them against one another. The siblings were made to fight each other and not give up until one of them was genuinely defeated, meaning beaten up. Their mother greatly objected to such training lessons, and she was the only one who saw the sensitive side of little Zuko. When she realized that her husband was simply ruthless and would never change his ways, the woman tried to run away with her two children, but was ultimately caught and killed by Ozai’s guards. Following this incident, Ozai grew even more fierce and controlling over his children, and he despised the soft and sensitive nature of his son. Eventually, it was he who injured young Zuko so fiercely that the boy got a scar on his face for life. Giving a burn scar to a firebender is not an easy task, as their bodies can usually withstand unnaturally high heat and also recover from such injuries, which only confirms just how terrible Ozai’s attack on his son must have been.

Why does Azula not kill Zuko?

From the moment Ozai orders Azula to deal with her brother at the beginning of the season, she repeatedly claims that is about to kill Zuko as soon as she can find him. However, when the two actually meet in the end, Azula does not try to kill her brother, but instead offers him to join her, so that they can share the spoils of the war together. Because of their father’s cruel training sessions, a sense of unhealthy rivalry had made its way into the siblings’ minds from their very childhood, especially in Azula, as she started to feel that her mother did not love her as much as she loved her brother. This was the reason why she still, as an adult, sees Zuko as her rival and opponent, and wants to destroy him.

However, along with their father’s ruthless nature, the two had also been affected by the genuine love and compassion of their mother. Therefore, their mother’s final advice to them before being dragged away by the guards, of always staying together no matter what, is what ultimately takes precedence in Azula’s mind. Instead of attacking him any further, she asks Zuko to team up with her, and despite having gone through a series of realizations and having reformed himself earlier, Zuko ultimately accepts his sister’s offer. It seems like Zuko had been desperate for any genuine display of affection from his family, and when Azula offers him a friendly hand, he has no hesitation in choosing sides. The siblings finally reunite, but this is not good news for Aang, as he and Katara have to now face both Zuko and Azula.

Is Aang dead?

Back when Aang met and talked to one of the Avatar ancestors in the spirit realm, after accessing it through the mythical library, she had asked him to be careful about just one thing. It was important that Aang not die while in the Avatar State, as it would not only kill him, but also sever the Avatar Spirit from the real world, meaning that the Avatar Cycle would stop forever. At present, an Avatar is magically born to one of the four element-bending factions, and they possess supreme powers from birth, intended to protect the balance of the world, by ensuring that there is peace between the four factions, or clans. Currently, it is Aang who is responsible for stopping the war being waged by the Fire Nation and restore peace, but if he fails and dies in the process, then a new Avatar will automatically be born, to essentially replace him.

However, the ancestor warned, if Aang got into his Avatar State during a fight and was struck down in this form, then the Avatar Cycle would end forever, bringing an end to all hope for peace and unity in the universe. In the final battle at the Lake Laogai prison, Aang entered the Avatar State and was on the brink of killing Azula, but stopped himself from doing so at the very last minute, with his inherent goodness and forgiving nature taking over him. But sadly for him, the firebending opponent he spares does not think the same way, and as soon as Azula realizes that Aang is no longer attacking her, she immediately strikes him with a thunderbolt. The damage is tremendous, and Aang is fatally injured and falls to the ground, his eyes still glowing, meaning that he was still in the Avatar State when struck down. Although Katara rushes to him immediately and then takes him away on Appa, along with their other friends, there is no sign of Aang waking up or responding till the very end of the season. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 ends with the possibility of Aang dying from Azula’s attack, since Katara’s Spirit Oasis water, which can heal the gravest of injuries on anyone, does not seem to have any effect on the boy. However, considering that Aang is the protagonist, and in the animated series, he is known to have passed away much later, of old age, we can rest assured that the Avatar does not actually die at the end of the season. The Spirit Oasis water has an effect on the injury, healing it completely, and for a very brief moment, Aang does seem to wake up, with his glowing blue eyes implying that he is still in the Avatar State. But the glow immediately fades, and although he seems to shut his eyes again, it confirms that the boy leaves the Avatar State successfully. Even if he dies, the Avatar Cycle would remain intact in this case. But Avatar: The Last Airbender will surely return with a new season in the future, where Aang will continue his fight against Fire Lord Ozai.

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