Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Ending Explained: Does Aang Die?

The second season of Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender‘ continues the story of Aang and his Gaang as they embark upon the next phase of their adventure. The previous season ended with a showdown between the Gaang and the forces of Fire Nation led by Zuko and Commander Zhao. While Aang and his friends won a bittersweet victory, it turned out that their battle was a distraction while the Fire Nation attacked Omashu. Now, the villains have set their sights on Ba Sing Se, the seemingly impenetrable fortress that has stood the test of war and time. As the Avatar and his friends try to save the city, they also learn some hard lessons along the way. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Plot Synopsis

The city of Omashu has fallen, and the forces of Fire Lord Ozai are wreaking havoc across the Earth Kingdom. While most are surrendering to their fate, hoping to survive while the Firebenders take over as their overlords, others are fleeing in the hopes that they will continue the fight and one day return home. It is a band of such refugees that the Gaang saves from the Firebenders and leads them through treacherous terrains to the gates of the heavily fortified Ba Sing Se. Before leaving, Aang tries to rescue his old friend, King Bumi, who refuses to leave his captivity for reasons unknown. However, he does advise Aang to find an Earthbender who is a master of neutral jing, and the Avatar finds his teacher in a girl named Toph.

Born blind, Toph has learned to see the world around her in a unique way, which makes her an unparalleled Earthbender. However, she has to keep her powers a secret because her parents see her as a fragile little girl. So, when Aang asks her to join his team and be his teacher, she agrees. As his training continues, the gang also encounters enemies ranging from massive creatures to dangerous villains like Azula. Last season, she won a major victory for Ozai by bringing Omashu to its knees, and now, she has a plan to conquer Ba Sing Se. However, Ozai hands that task to someone else and instructs his daughter to find Zuko and bring him home.

Azula is frustrated by this, but she sees an opportunity to address several problems at once. To get to Zuko, she focuses on finding the Avatar. Meanwhile, Zuko and Uncle Iroh are living as peasants in the Earth Kingdom. While Iroh wishes for his nephew to learn from his misfortune, Zuko is frustrated by his circumstances. However, the more time he spends with the commonfolk, the more he realizes how the Fire Nation is a villain in everyone’s story and how hated Firebenders truly are. His journey converges with those of Aang and Azula, leading to the final showdown in Ba Sing Se, which isn’t as safe as they expected.

What Happens to Ba Sing Se? Does Fire Nation Attack It?

The main focus of this season is the city of Ba Sing Se, which has avoided conquest due to its fortifications. Everyone, including Fire Lord Ozai, knows that it would be impossible to bring down the walls that protect the city, which means they have to try something different. Initially, Azula comes up with the plan to use Earthbenders from Omashu to dig a tunnel leading their soldiers into the heart of the city, which they can then easily conquer. But changes in her father’s plans lead her to improvise. She discovers that the real king, Kuei, has checked out of his responsibilities, and real power lies in the hands of the so-called Culture Minister, Long Feng. In truth, he controls the secret police, which keeps every citizen in check.

Under the guise of Kyoshi warriors, Azula fakes the arrest of General Tran, entering Ba Sing Se, and then reveals herself as a Firebender to get an audience with Long Feng. She makes him an offer: she will give him the name of everyone who would pose a threat to his power (hence labeled as a traitor, and he will let her find her brother and the Avatar. The thirst for power leads Long Feng to accept her offer, but the moment the council of ministers sits down the decide the city’s fate, she kills them all, leaving Long Feng with no choice but to open the doors to the Fire Nation army gathering outside their walls and surrender to their rule. With this, a lot of bloodshed is avoided, but that doesn’t mean the city and its people are safe.

Why Doesn’t Aang Kill Azula?

Aang and his friends come to Ba Sing Se to warn King Kuei about the impending arrival of Sozin’s Comet. They hope that once he understands the gravity of the situation, he will help them fight against the growing power of the Fire Nation. However, Long Feng’s manipulations put a stop to their plans. The villain picks them off one by one and throws them into the underground prison, which is impossible to escape. Aang manages to hide right as the secret police enter his quarters to find and arrest him. Now, his focus is on finding and rescuing his friends, including Appa. He is aided in this endeavor by Iroh, whose nephew, Zuko, has also been arrested for helping Katara. The rescue mission is a success, but before everyone can leave, Azula arrives.

In the end, a brutal battle takes place between her and Aang, with Zuko joining his sister, while Katara fights to help her friend. However, Katara is overpowered when she is surrounded by the Fire Nation soldiers, and Azula turns out to be too powerful for Aang to defeat on his own. She asks him to surrender, believing he will do it to save Katara. Instead, he taps into his Avatar form, which gives him the power to easily beat Azula. The fight comes to the point where Aang can kill Azula with one move, but he is not a killer. So far, we have seen him advocate pacifism, and even as he fights to save innocent people, he never actually kills anyone. He is not a ruthless killer, which is why, even when he has the chance, he chooses not to kill Azula.

Does Aang Die?

Aang’s holding back becomes the opportunity for Azula to strike him with a lightning bolt. This happens while Aang is still in Avatar state, which is what he had been warned against. In an earlier episode, Aang was told by Avatar Yangchen that if he dies in his Avatar state, the circle of reincarnation will be broken, which means no more Avatars. This would plunge the world into a complete state of hopelessness, as things will forever be out of balance. This is the worst-case scenario for an Avatar, and this is exactly what happens. The lightning bolt actually does kill Aang, severing his connection to the Avatars that came before him.

When Katara comes to his rescue, Azula is ready to strike again, but Uncle Iroh stops her. In the end, Katara escapes with Aang and the rest of the group on Appa. Below them, the soldiers of the Fire Nation take over the city. Katara uses the Spirit Oasis water, which briefly brings him back to consciousness. Since he opened his eyes, it is confirmed that the water’s power has brought him back to life. However, he is yet to fully recover, and his physical wounds are the least of his worries.

When Azula’s lightning struck him, we saw the lights go out in the spirit world, meaning Aang’s connection to his ancestors had been severed. While the water may have resurrected him, it is not powerful enough to restore his connection with the spirits. The next time we see Aang, there is a good chance he will still be recuperating from his wounds and trying to find a way to get back in touch with his ancestors. Without that, he will never be able to access the Avatar State again.

Why Does Zuko Join Azula? What Happens to Uncle Iroh?

One of the major plot points of the second season focuses on Zuko’s character development. While he was introduced as a villain in Season 1, he eventually turned out to be a much more complicated character. With the help of Uncle Iroh, he embarks on a journey, even if unintentionally and unwantedly, that helps him see the world from a different perspective. His character growth is confirmed by the fact that there comes a point when he has Aang right where he wants him. He could have captured or even killed the Avatar when he was vulnerable. But Zuko chose to walk away. Later, he helps Katara, due to which he is captured and thrown into a cell with her. This is where he opens up to her about his parents and the events that shaped him.

His story leads Katara to understand what he has been through, and she sympathizes with him to the point that she is ready to use the Spirit Oasis water to heal the scar on his face. She really believes he has changed, or at least that he has the potential to do so. So, when Azula shows up and attacks her and Aang, Katara is inclined to think that Zuko has entered the battlefield to help them. She is shocked to discover that he is actually helping her sister. What Katara didn’t see was that the siblings had had a confrontation moments ago. Azula easily overpowered her brother and could have even killed him, but she decided not to. Instead, she asked him to join her, because this is what their mother had wanted for them.

She expresses her regret for what happened with their mother, but now, they have a chance to work together rather than against one another, which is what their father had always encouraged. In the end, she leaves the decision to him. He can choose to walk away, and she won’t hunt him again. Or, he can choose to join her. He makes his decision when Azula fights Aang. This seems to be a complete undoing of his character development, but it only goes to show the extent of his family’s hold on him. Since the events of last season, the banishment from his home had thrown him into a turbulent state of mind. So, when he discovers that his father wants him back home and his sister is ready to patch things up with him, it is too good a situation to pass up.

While he may have developed a softer side, he still sees the Avatar and his friends as his enemies, no matter what heart-to-heart he had with Katara. This doesn’t mean that he is back to being the ruthless villain that he was in Season 2. His journey this season has left marks that cannot be so easily removed. Moreover, Uncle Iroh is arrested for helping Aang and Katara, and no matter what, Zuko loves his uncle. Thus, the possibility of him flipping to the good side still exists, and with Iroh in prison, it is likely he will remain conflicted, especially since he has a better sense of right and wrong now that he has witnessed the atrocities and pain inflicted on others by the Fire Nation.

How did Toph Bend Metal?

One of the most interesting and exciting additions to Season 2 is Toph. The Earthbender becomes Aang’s teacher, but over the course of the season, she grows to love the band of misfits, who are now her loyal friends. After a minor dispute, Toph decides to visit her mother, who came to Ba Sing Se to meet with her. While their conversation gives her hope that her parents will turn towards the right path while also understanding what she wants, she is proven wrong when her mother sedates her and puts her in a metal box, and drives back home. Toph is heartbroken to discover that the heart-to-heart she thought she had with her mother was a farce.

She is also angry because her mother has taken her away from Ba Sing Se just when her friends need her the most. Toph wishes to return to them, but her imprisonment in a metal box makes it impossible for her to leave. Or at least, it would have been impossible for a normal Earthbender. Her anger towards her mother and her desire to return to her friends are so strong that they lead her to a breakthrough. As she feels her surroundings, she notices that the metal isn’t entirely pure. Because it is extracted from the Earth, traces of the same remain in it, which she can use to her advantage. Instead of the metal, she focuses on the traces of Earth inside it and manipulates them to bend the entire metal door.

With this one stroke, Toph invents Metalbending, something that no one has ever done before. Even she is surprised that her logic worked out the way it did, and it gives her even more confidence in her abilities, which had already been unprecedented. The ability to bend metal also gives her an added edge, which becomes useful when she returns to Ba Sing Se to rescue her friends. Metal doors and bars are no obstacle to her anymore, which makes the rescue effort, which is already in full force thanks to Aang and Iroh, much easier. In the end, we see her on Appa’s back, flying forward with her gang as they ponder what the future holds for them, especially for Aang.