Avatar: The Last Airbender is a TV show known for having almost no filler episodes. This makes it surprising that one of the best episodes is practically a stand-alone installment. Running for just three seasons, Avatar covers more ground and tells a tighter story than most fantasy shows, cementing it as one for the ages. There’s a lot to recommend about Avatar, as even the less important episodes tell the audience a lot about the wider world of the story and give vital insight into the best part of Avatar: the characters.
While there are some Avatar episodes I skip on a rewatch, I would never miss this installment, as it shapes the way I see so many characters in the series, particularly Prince Zuko. The disgraced and troubled son of Fire Lord Ozai, Zuko, spends most of the series tracking Aang and trying to bring him to the Fire Nation to restore his honor. Though Ozai treated Zuko cruelly in Avatar, he still wanted his father’s affection for many years. It’s through redemptive episodes like “Zuko Alone” that the young prince realizes what he really thinks about the war.
Zuko Alone Is The Best Episode Of Avatar: The Last Airbender
This Episode Showcases What Avatar Does Best
As one of the highest-rated and most talked-about episodes of Avatar, “Zuko Alone” instantly made its mark on the fabric of the story. The seventh episode of season 2, “Zuko Alone,” shows viewers a side of Zuko they’d never seen before, as it catches up with him in the wake of parting ways with his Uncle Iroh and traversing the Earth Kingdom by himself. It flashes between the past, when Zuko lost his mother and his father became the Fire Lord, and the present, where he encounters an Earth Kingdom family who are struggling because of the war.
“Zuko Alone” has a rating of 9.5/10 on IMDB for a reason, as audiences and critics instantly recognize what a turning point this is for Zuko’s character. While it’s somewhat surprising to rank an episode of Avatar that doesn’t feature Aang or Team Avatar so highly, “Zuko Alone” is a brilliantly written installment. At this point in the show, the viewer has started to feel empathy for Zuko and relate to his journey for acceptance and love, and “Zuko Alone” comes at the perfect time in the season to make the audience care about where he’s going next.
This Episode Encapsulates What Makes Zuko’s Redemption Arc So Perfect
Zuko’s Redemption Is Perfectly Paced
Throughout most of season 1, Zuko is on a single-minded quest to capture the Avatar and can’t see anything beyond his desire to return home and shame at his banishment. The Fire Nation’s war against the other kingdoms is a far-away issue that is only tangentially related to his personal sadness and struggles. In “Zuko Alone,” he becomes keenly aware of how most people view the war and what the Fire Nation is doing to people simply trying to live their lives. He begins to see himself as a villain for one of the first times.
Zuko doesn’t immediately become “good” after “Zuko Alone,” but it’s a critical step that humanizes him.
Zuko doesn’t immediately become “good” after “Zuko Alone,” but it’s a critical step that humanizes him. His redemption arc is one of the best on TV because it’s so well-planned, realistic, and deliberate. Unlike the poorly executed TV character redemption arcs, Zuko takes a long time, and the character makes his fair share of mistakes along the way. He comes close to renouncing the Fire Nation many times, but “Zuko Alone” is one of the many slow steps he must take to realize how estranged he is from his father’s cause.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
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Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005–2008) |
100% |
98% |
Zuko Alone Explores The World Of Avatar Through The Lens Of His Character Study
Though We Only Spend Time With Zuko, We Learn About So Much More
Through the episode, we understand the true cost of the Fire Nation’s war, which opens Zuko’s eyes to the reality of the world. Additionally, the flashbacks give content to his relationship with Azula, the grief of losing his mother, and tease Iroh’s pain at losing his only son to the war. “Zuko Alone” showcases that the never-ending desire for conquest that plagues the Fire Nation harms everyone, no matter what side of the conflict they’re on. The viewer begins to connect Zuko’s personal pain to the clear need for him to distance himself from the Fire Nation.
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Spending time in different corners of the world in Avatar fleshes out the world-building and is what makes the series so immersive. “Zuko Alone” spends critical time developing Zuko’s character, and through this, it gives the audience insight into how Zuko interacts with the world and why he lashes out. His actions in “Zuko Alone” are a clear precursor to the season finale, “The Crossroads of Destiny,” which sees Zuko’s need for his father’s admiration overshadowing his personal beliefs. These conflicting desires define Avatar: The Last Airbender. Zuko’s hardships are never more clear than in “Zuko Alone.”
