Avatar The Last Airbender - Season 2
Watch on Netflix
Episodes: 7 episodes that run from 56-67 minutes
Rated TV-14
Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender returns for an exciting second season! Aang, Katara, and Sokka journey deep into the Earth Kingdom in search of an earthbending master who can continue Aang's training as the Avatar. Along the way, they encounter new allies, powerful enemies, and the legendary city of Ba Sing Se, where political intrigue and hidden dangers threaten to undermine the fight against the Fire Nation. As Princess Azula tightens her grip on the war and old loyalties are tested, Team Avatar must unite the Earth Kingdom and prepare for the battles that lie ahead if they hope to restore balance to the world.
Themes:
The elements, control, war, mastering the elements, doing nothing vs. taking up arms and losing lives, loss, teamwork, hiding, power, proving oneself, strategy, outlaws, infighting, jin, the senses, xenophobia, bureaucracy, training, sibling rivalry, revenge, coverups, the military, treason, making money off of war, blackmail, hospitality, doing good, shadow leaders, love, plans, family, knowledge, sacrifice, the Parable of the Two Dragons, turmoil, forgiveness, self-hatred, and sky bison.
Language:
One character calls the Fire Nation “ash holes.”
Minor name-calling such as lying thief, scum, and melon head.
Stuff to be aware of:
Alcohol/Drugs -
Episode Four:
Two huge vases of wine are seen and discussed as being part of a “marriage proposal.”
Gross -
Episode One:
A character attends a man’s wound, which is bloody, but not overly graphic.
LGBTQ - None
Scary-
Episode One:
There is a giant sea serpent that attacks the heroes. The scene is intense and exciting, but not meant to be scary, though it could be scary for young viewers.
Episode Five:
Characters visit the spirit realm at a site that is said to be “haunted.” There isn’t anything in particular that is scary in the scenes that follow, but the site has a haunting atmosphere. The characters meet some individuals who are dead/spirits, but they just look like their normal selves.
During the visit to the spirit realm, the characters meet a giant owl, which is not scary at first. Later, his features become sharper and his neck elongates, and he eats people.
Episode Six:
There is a nightmare in which characters speak in an inhuman-like way.
Episodes Seven:
There is a prison in which prisoners are seen. One individual is being mentally tortured by repeating a phrase over and over again.
Religion- There is talk of spirits, and one character mentions praying, while who/what she prays to isn’t specifically mentioned; the scene implies she prays to a water spirit named the “pain
Sexual -
Episode Two:
A character says, “Who has the stones to challenge him.”
Violence/Gore - There is plenty of fighting akin to the first season. None is overly graphic, but I will mention more intense things here.
Episode Two:
A child throws a rock at a turtle duck (a duck with a turtle shell) and says, “I bet I can crack its shell.” Right after this, she slaps another child, knocking him down.
A man is seen dying with knives in his back; another is seen burnt and dead, while another is shown dying. The last one can’t talk but looks around.
A character appears to be killed by a large boulder falling on her.
There is an intense battle between many of the characters; while it isn’t graphic, someone is burned pretty badly.
Episode Four:
A man threatens to kill another man if he doesn’t give him his money.
There is an intense fight scene in this episode, but nothing gory or graphic.
Episode Five:
A large owl-looking creature picks up a person with his beak and swallows him whole. There is no blood, but you see him be swallowed all the way down to his feet.
Episode Seven:
A character is killed by receiving lightning through the chest. A charred area is seen on his chest.
Seeing It With Your Family
This season, much like the first, stays comfortably within its TV-14 rating and generally falls on the lighter end of that spectrum. With Koh the Face Stealer absent this time around, the season is noticeably less frightening than its predecessor. While there is still plenty of action and martial arts combat, the violence is presented in a largely family-friendly way, with little graphic content. Overall, parents who were comfortable with the tone of Season 1 should find Season 2 similarly approachable, if not a bit less scary.
One last thing I will mention is this season has no curse words. Last season only had a couple, but this one cut them all out, which is aweome!
What I Thought
I wish they had filmed this season a little sooner so we could have continued to see a younger Aang, but I’m still glad the series got a second season, and will soon get a third. Even with the characters getting a little older, it doesn’t take away from the story or the experience.
Season Two continues the strong writing, character development, and impressive world-building that made the first season work so well. One thing the writers handle especially well is balancing the growing cast. They give the returning characters plenty to do, allowing them to continue to develop and grow rather than getting lost as the world expands. At the same time, by introducing only a handful of important newcomers, everyone still gets their own moments to shine.
The characters continue to grow, the world feels bigger, and the story keeps moving forward in an engaging way. Overall, Season Two builds naturally on what came before and delivers another strong season that I enjoyed just as much as the first.