10 Avatar State Mysteries That Need Explaining

[Music] the avatar state is not only a core part of the avatar series but also one of the most vague aspects with plenty of its origins and functions shrouded in mystery there's so much about the avatar state that's unexplained especially relating to aang before the legend of korra came out aang's mastery of the four elements and his avatar training was the extent of any discussion on the subject well let's not stick around to find out now that some of avatar's lore has been revealed and perhaps become more complicated many of the questions that popped up during the original series have only grown with time from the specifics of aang's avatar state to larger implications for the series let's take a look at 10 avatar state mysteries that need explaining you're an airbender our introduction to aang in book one episode one shows him preserved in a glowing ball of ice that ends up breaking when katara accidentally uses her water bending during an argument with her brother saka as aang emerges from his cryostasis his eyes and tattoos lose their glow hinting to the sibling duo that's something special about him since aang was already glowing when he came out of the iceberg it's entirely possible that he was in fact in the avatar state for all 100 years he was missing here's the real question though why did it freeze him instead of giving him the ability to get out it's possible that the avatar state responds to the desires of its user since we all know aang didn't want to be the avatar at first aang struggles to master the avatar state over the course of the show with its potential to put his friends in danger like at the southern air temple when he loses control like that it tends to be tied to extreme emotions however it's totally possible that aang's subconscious took the range when he fled in that storm and that his avatar state responds to that rejection by locking him in ice when aang harnesses the avatar state for the first time in book 1 episode 3 we see a montage of different temples all over the world lighting up in response to his supernatural ability though a small scene it has a huge impact on the rest of the show since it alerts the entire world to his presence and that certainly wasn't an entirely good thing with zuko hot on his trail finally what exactly is the connection between the avatar state and these temples how often do they show a glowing connection to the avatar and if that wasn't the case how long did the avatar have to be dormant for such a huge display especially when he produced a beam of light after katara freed him from that iceberg while the jury's out on an exact answer to the odd timing of these different avatar state uses it's notable that the temples specifically light up when aang harnesses the avatar state out of deep emotional pain and not just self-preservation in book 2 episode 5 avatar day aang is accused of crimes he committed in one of his past lives the famed avatar kyoshi so you'll help me with my case while the gang spends the whole episode trying to prove aang's innocence it all goes down the drain when kyoshi appears before chin village to confess her crimes i killed chin the conqueror not just to confess either she gives the village a piece of her mind to the crowd's dismay kyoshi appears in full form and without any remorse it's possible that she manifested through her connection to aang's avatar spirit but it isn't confirmed whether this happens because aang wears her things or not does the avatar state have some kind of material connection avatar or did kyoshi appear solely because of aang's avatar spirit something similar happens in the comic continuation of the promise where aang burns a meditation necklace after talking with roku but that necklace wasn't confirmed to connect to anything so connecting to past lives might really just be an avatar state of mind it's time you learn the avatar state is tied to a bunch of character arcs in the show and it isn't just limited to aang's experiences with his past lives for this next point it's time to turn to everyone's favorite onion and banana juice loving elder guru patik hello i am guru patik the guru appears for just a few episodes of avatar in book 2 during the penultimate conflict of the season during these episodes he puts aang through an avatar state boot camp of sorts training him to clear each of the chakras that make up the flow of energy in the body as a friend of aang's mentor monkeyatso he's got a wealth of knowledge on all things avatar that he's waited over a hundred years to teach the guru's knowledge on the avatar state was cut short as aang left in a hurry to help katara so we may never know what other secrets this wise old man had for us were there other steps in unlocking the avatar state that went beyond chakras it's safe to say that the guru left us with one last lesson in spirit chakras can taste good trusty and sarcastic toff was of course the first metal bender in the avatar franchise she pioneered an entirely new style and ended up teaching others the technique in later comics however did she ever teach aang as the avatar he should be able to pick up all kinds of bending in theory that is truth is aang struggled to grasp even the regular four elements while he was trying to defeat firelord ozai earth and fire in particular were tough to master because of how different they were from what he knows and all the mental blocks he had along the way in the legend of korra the reverse happens when we see korra pick up metal bending in no time while bolin just can't tap into it try as he might nah it's okay avatars as well as regular benders seem to have a hard time with metal bending with a huge variety of bending more of a topic of conversation now the avatar might start needing to master these sub elements in the future as well just to help them keep the peace in a fast-changing world back in the sosan's comet finale aang was only able to defeat the frightening firelord oh sorry the phoenix king with the help of mysterious lion turtles that gave him the power to take bending away known as energy bending aang is seen using this power in korra's visions as he restrained and defeats yacon a fearsome bloodbender by this point aang has passed on and korra is the new avatar but this doesn't stop aang from imparting little lessons to her through their avatar connection since korra couldn't use the spending until the book 1 finale it just might be possible that aang passed down the ability to her through the avatar state much like the lion turtle did for him during the sozen's comet finale could aang be the first energy bender well the lion turtles continue to be a huge mystery for the avatar series and their close connection to the creation of the avatar in the first place only furthers their importance in later installments hopefully we'll get some answers someday as a newer piece of avatar lore it's unclear how exactly rava fits into the last airbender's take on the avatar state perhaps aang might have learned about her if he had seen his training with the guru all the way through while that ship might have sailed rava's very existence in the avatar universe is made all the more mysterious for how she was technically with aang all along maybe aang needed to be especially trained to censor or maybe the avatar state itself just got so tangled with the idea of rava that the two blended together over time korra's rediscovery of rava in beginnings definitely made a case for this sort of hidden element of the avatar state and helps to connect her journey to angs more spiritually aang belonged to an avatar tradition that wasn't interrupted and he had help from his past lives all the way through while korra had to sever ties with them permanently and that loss definitely explains the focus on rava later on even with all that when did rava start to slip out of common knowledge it's a question maybe only the guru knows the answer to indeed another major avatar state game changer is none other than the dark avatar introduced in the legend of korra book 2 the dark avatar is the opposite of the avatar's good nature of darkness not much is known about the dark avatar outside of unilak's fusion with vatu and book 2's finale but fans speculate that dark avatars can only bend one element and with the example of unalok it's also possible that the power of the dark avatar state increases when the user is more spiritually strong unawatu seems to bank on his high level bending first and his dark avatar state second while the avatar state of aang and korra is more focused on inheriting a legacy and working to uphold it than anything else one of aang's biggest responsibilities is his role as a bridge between the spirit and natural worlds through the avatar state aang goes in and out of the spirit world by meditating and later cora uses the avatar state to bring the two worlds together after centuries of separation as a connection between the spirits and humans the avatar has to act with both camps in mind not an easy task the avatar states connections to both spiritual and physical memories is what gives an avatar so much power aang's meditations throughout the series clearly show him learning from his past avatars like roku kyoshi kuruk and yang shin aang slowly learns how to use this power over time and given that he was able to stop the fire lord we'd say he did a pretty good job putting all that into practice even with all these details and theories from such a devoted fan base avatar still sometimes manages to leave us with more questions than answers the series is so vast and rich that it offers a ton of great speculation for everyone to indulge in so what is the avatar state exactly even with official sources timelines and even in-universe confirmations of the goings-on in the avatar world the mechanic at its core is clearly still a mystery not only is the avatar state a superpower to guard the avatar cycle it also brings a balance between spirits and people it regulates good and evil not to mention it's a danger magnet for everyone the avatar knows it's equal parts myth and fact and it's the mix of those two things in one person that makes them so legendary even within the avatar's lineage there's a ton of mixed info they have been a thing for a very long time after all aang's avatar state definitely raises a lot of questions and it's clear that even with some of these details ironed out in current or future installments of the avatar universe something about it will always need to remain a mystery just goes to show how one simple concept can create unlimited potential

Channel: CBR

Views: 190,556

Keywords: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, roku fire nation, the legend of genji, kyoshi Earth Kingdom

Id: S1U6Lt6pXYA

Length: 10min 25sec (625 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 06 2021