Film Theory: END the Avatar Cycle! (Avatar the Last Airbender)

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Water. Earth. Fire. Air. The Avatar, master of all four elements, is tasked with keeping peace between the four nations. We all know that! But have the Avatars actually done a good job at keeping the peace, Loyal Theorists? Between Aang, Korra, and Roku, I DON’T think so! So that begs the question: should there even be an Avatar?!
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Credits:
Writers: Matthew Patrick, Yosi Berman, Artie Ghosh, and Forrest Lee
Editors: Jerika (NekoOnigiri), Brandon_n_motion, and Koen Verhagen
Assistant Editor: Caitie Turner (Caiterpillart)
Sound Editor: Yosi Berman
#AvatarTheLastAirbender #Avatar #LegendofKorra #Aang #Korra #Waterbending #Firebending #Earthbending #Airbending #Nickelodeon #Theory #FilmTheory #Matpat #Trailer

[@boozashakes4254]

“But when KZbin needed him most he vanished” hits different now 😭😭😭

[@tbrowning6]

I came here for to say this.

[@satnus3388]

Same :(

[@magnusvaldez3201]

Yep

[@chrissyj_]

:(

[@KaysNewGroove]

I'm gonna cry!

[@umwha]

I think the ‘failures’ of avatars is a philosophical point about human life. Each generation tries its best, and accomplishes so much, but the butterfly effects of their failures will have to be dealt with by their descendants.

[@roshayredd4437]

Yes, a HUMAN having to play god over other humans..and we know how humanity is. There will be flaws and rebellion no matter what. Not everyone will be happy with something in order. And every avatar was a different person with different beliefs and priorities within themselves. This whole video just really highlights it.

[@auravaury]

It's kind of a reflection on the legal system and how it law has its consequences 🤔

[@jashash7213]

Yeah

[@TheRawrnstuff]

I think the "failures" aren't failures, at least as presented. Life is always at flux. It's not the job of the Avatar to stop life from happening. The Avatar is a power of good that applies themself to where they are needed the most - whether it's with upset spirits or power-hungry humans. How is the Avatar supposed to ensure no human will ever again attempt to gain power? By lobotomizing every human? No, they work to stop that individual, but that means they have already "failed" because what happened, happened already, and there's now a war going on.

[@flopps1051]

I agree. And yea, they made mistakes, but if they weren't there, would it really be that much better? It's hard to say. You can't really say that it's a bad cycle when this might be the better timeline compared to one without an Avatar

[@2stepjoey]

That intro hits different after his announced retirement

[@andyseasOandyplay017]

fr, maybe he will return after 100 years? 🫠

[@aniruddhaniloy]

maybe he is the last style theory bender@@andyseasOandyplay017

[@Angels-Kitty]

fr

[@zedmanwierdsma718]

So true

[@Kymani1_5]

Fr

[@Asian_Soul]

"When youtube needed him the most he vanished" Ironic....

[@jonathanp2978]

😢

[@lightningknight1284]

Indeed T_T

[@twosetter.]

coulda used irohnic

[@nightfall8102]

💀

[@Nubafoxy]

But everything changed when the film theory attacked

[@tariqveal7918]

We need the 4th channel this year to unlock MatPats full potential

[@childsworstnightmare8131]

Isn’t the fourth channel gtlive

[@matt_at_this]

@@childsworstnightmare8131 no

[@markstadix]

It's coming this month I'm pretty sure actually

[@striker7625]

Anime Theory or Music Theory will be perfect

[@davidjacobsen5898]

i think the 4th channel is the air theorist

[@mouse3872]

Mattpatt hit the nail on the head when he talks about how Aangs success as the Avatar was because of his friends. Each of his friends became highly respected international leaders and the most powerful Benders in the world. The Best example of this is Zuko when Aang died Zuko retired from being Firelord and began traveling the world playing the same role as the Avatar solving political problems all around the world, defeating warlords, and stopping the Red Lotus.

[@HQofrandom]

That's true for a lot of Avatars, it's a known thing that Avatar companions become some of the most powerful people of that time along with the Avatar. I know from the books that Kyoshi and Kuruk at least had extremely capable companions that helped them out. Yangchen probably had the least aid from what we saw but even she would've been screwed without help

[@Notsuspiciousguy5]

Each of his friends became highly respected international leaders and the most powerful benders in the world False. Sokka was aangs friend, but was not a bender Yes, I like to nitpick

[@freshacado4304]

Befriending world leaders / having friends to monopolise the thrones would be the right choice no?

[@edwardaucay8597]

In a way, the same thing can be said about Korra's success as the Avatar as well. Given how like with Aangs friends, her friends also showed the same type of determination to stand by her whenever she needed it the most.

[@freshacado4304]

@@edwardaucay8597 and we clearly know how roku had bad history about friendship💀💀 that was the cause of a 100 year war lmao

[@SWonYT]

This intro hits different post retirement

[@Chez77777]

Fr 😭

[@Luna14527]

Fr.

[@robbietheweirdo]

personally i like the idea that avatars fix the previous ones biggest mistake (Aang ending the war, Korra bringing airbenders back etc.)

[@jamescadet4450]

Now I hope for the next one is to bring back the Avatar connections and see what kind of mistake said Avatar will make for the next.

[@rex2546]

Slightly messed up to say it's aangs fault all the airbenders died but fair

[@robbietheweirdo]

@@rex2546wasn't my intent, i won't think it's aang's fault. i was more meaning that the next fixing a major problem the previous had

[@edythebeast7087]

@@rex2546nah it was all roku’s fault

[@BPgamemaster12]

I like how Matpat pointed out Aang's trust in friends as a key factor to being successful in his Avatar duties because it was a lack a trust that screwed over a previous Avatar. I mean MatPat talked a lot about how Kururk was too busy dealing with angry spirits to handle the affairs of the material world, but he failed to mention that Kuruk never told anyone what he was doing. To the rest of the world, even his closest friends, Kururk was just an super-powered party boy just doing the bare minimum of his Avatar duty with no idea that he been protecting the world from angry Lovecraftian entities. If he trusted his friends and fill them in on his turmoils, Kuruk may had been not only be able to figure out a better with dealing with the Dark Spirits (beside just killing them), but could have been able to make time to deal with the problems of the material world; and maybe his friends would in turn be better prepared to handle things forwards after Kuruk's death.

[@toonasag]

Agreed!

[@papingosstudios161]

You passed your 3rd grade fsa 😎

[@notanguished]

@Lady Tsunade 动态网自由门 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Free Tibet 六四天安門事件 The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 天安門大屠殺 The Tiananmen Square Massacre 反右派鬥爭 The Anti-Rightist Struggle 大躍進政策 The Great Leap Forward 文化大革命 The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution 人權 Human Rights 民運 Democratization 自由 Freedom 獨立 Independence 多黨制 Multi-party system 台灣 臺灣 Taiwan Formosa 中華民國 Republic of China 西藏 土伯特 唐古特 Tibet 達賴喇嘛 Dalai Lama 法輪功 Falun Dafa 新疆維吾爾自治區 The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region 諾貝爾和平獎 Nobel Peace Prize 劉暁波 Liu Xiaobo 民主 言論 思想 反共 反革命 抗議 運動 騷亂 暴亂 騷擾 擾亂 抗暴 平反 維權 示威游行 李洪志 法輪大法 大法弟子 強制斷種 強制堕胎 民族淨化 人體實驗 肅清 胡耀邦 趙紫陽 魏京生 王丹 還政於民 和平演變 激流中國 北京之春 大紀元時報 九評論共産黨 獨裁 專制 壓制 統一 監視 鎮壓 迫害 侵略 掠奪 破壞 拷問 屠殺 活摘器官 誘拐 買賣人口 遊進 走私 毒品 賣淫 春畫 賭博 六合彩 天安門 天安门 法輪功 李洪志 Winnie the Pooh 劉曉波动态网自由门

[@rosestar1324]

And it sucks a spirit killed his wife too

[@theallknowingfox83]

@@notanguished SCREW THE CHINESE SCAMMER'S WIFI LFGGGGGGGGGG

[@annabellajones7167]

"Controlling all the elements in this world is meaningless if you don't also control the element of friendship." Twilight Sparkle would be proud

[@N8ertot]

Anime protagonist tropes in a nutshell

[@alexthegreat1395]

Friendship is magic

[@myleswelnetz6700]

They have to make a point.

[@myleswelnetz6700]

There a bot among us.

[@annabellajones7167]

@@myleswelnetz6700 And your reasoning for a bot?

[@etantife]

Red Lotus propaganda

[@edythebeast7087]

I know right

[@ImGojoSatoruLilBro]

​@@edythebeast7087 .

[@perrilowe4708]

laughing hard asf at this

[@BatmanRobinson]

“Hearing when KZbin needed him the most, he vanished” hits a little bit harder now 2024😭😂 0:13

[@realrendor4801]

thats what im saying

[@Endertazer]

Fr

[@AnimeisGood-wg3up]

Lol

[@Pollypinolly]

I think It's good to note that the avatar is still a human, they will make mistakes. I can't even imagine the amount of pressure that they feel being basically the most important human on their planet.

[@omarrodrigomanzanares7474]

One could say that was the main point of The Legend Of Korra (along with the unconfortable but necessary aesop "In the right circunstances, good causes can and will be highjacked by bad actors")

[@rat2316]

One nation can basically kidnap and reprogramm avatar to conquer the world

[@guccifer764]

But that’s the problem. Why should one human have all that power?

[@transyuri4534]

Yangchen even made a point about how that was an important component to the avatar.

[@alamrasyidi4097]

which makes for a _divine premise._ great power with great responsibility, being under the immense weight of expectations...chosen ones are a classic trope for a reason

[@ThatElfNerd]

Aang succeeded the most in his case because his main circle of allies all represented important factors of the world. He was the last Airbender. Katara was the last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. Toph was an Earthbending prodigy. Zuko was the crown prince of the Fire Nation who eventually turned away from his tyrannical father. And finally, we have Sokka and Suki. Non-benders who, despite being out of their depths, manage to bring skills and brains to the table, allowing them to contribute just as much as all the others. Aang's team managed to include all four nations, along with non-benders, all working together to stop the big bad that is Fire Lord Ozai. He might not have managed to bring perfect harmony, but he did accomplish a great feat which did bring prosperity. Not everlasting, but at the very least, a way better place than it was when the journey began.

[@Wanderer1258]

Also you can see that avatars' success hugely depends on his upbrining conditions. The mentorship of airbending monks allowed Aang to reveal his potential in his early years and become wise beyond his age. But also the attitude of his contemporaries alongside with the monks overseeing his individual problems led to Aangs' emotional breakdown and to his flight from the temple. The air nomads were also notable for traveling around the world constantly (hence the name), and that had allowed Aang to create bonds around different countries, which helped him even a century later (acquaintance and old friendship with king Bumi, knowledge of the fire nation traditions, etcetera). So, you can say that even without 100 year ice imprisonement and war Aang would still be able to create strong bonds with various people and become a great avatar. And monk spiritual training is also essential to avatar. So I would suggest entrusting every avatar to the air nomads first as soon as his/hers identity is revealed. It contrasts a lot with Roku's training, who was probably living for many year in separate areas. Also I think that 20-30 year period, while the young avatar is growing/learning, creates a big power vacuum, which is very bad for the whole idea of maitaining balance in the world.

[@Your_Best_Self]

Reading your comment felt like a speech on why we should have allies or at least see it through the lens of others cuz the different things they experienced and what they can bring to make not only you but the world whole

[@FZone96Official]

*_But when KZbin needed him most, he vanished._*

[@cochlo]

😢

[@neokatwastaken]

The intro hits different now that Matpat is retiring..

[@marijnyboy8402]

And after the last avatar was killed. Another avatar was not found for 100 years.

[@TheMightySceptile]

As you touched on with Kyoshi a really important factor with Avatars is how theyre raised too. For example, Korra's biggest flaw throughout her series is her stubbornness and pride. This can easily be traced back to the fact that she discovered that she was the avatar way too young and was subsequently isolated a lot her life while she was trained. As a result while growing up she built her whole identity around being the Avatar and how great/important she is.

[@zurielschubert9410]

Indeed, and that makes her unfit to deal with the problems she was facing during the entirety of LoK. How are you supposed to solve the Equalists problems? How does she even know that converging the spirits to human worlds would bring this much chaos? How would she handle with the fact that the existence of avatars, and subsequently her entire identity is the reason why the world is imbalanced and how was she supposed to handle Kuvira when she can't even handle her internal demons? Avatars are humans too. Even with the power of a god. They cannot solve everything. Which is why I find LOK to be brilliant and albeit not on par. Is close to AtLA. And before people say AtLA is superior to LOK. Keep in mind that AtLA is so good that comparing it to the likes of Breaking Bad is blasphemy. Because AtLA is THAT GOOD.

[@wasi6798]

To be fair, she grew up in an isolated village learning about how Aang and his predecessors saved the world. About how the Avatar is the key to everything. Aang *wanted* Korra to be fed this information. Then when Korra enters the real world, the world has already moved on. The Avatar isn’t really needed as much because technology has compensated for a lot of what the Avatar does. Korra talks about how she’s the Avatar a lot because she’s compensating for her role being lost.

[@craigyeah1052]

@@zurielschubert9410 No doubt almost all Korra's failures are a result of her being way too young for the job. It does not help that she is only one human even more so than some other Avatar. She was unable to contact her past lives for much needed advice for quite some time. Shortly after gaining this ability, she lost it. Now Aang was young too, younger, and it's worth noting that if he wasn't then maybe the whole 100 years lost thing wasn't necessary, but he was at least mature for his age and able to contact past Avatars for advice.

[@zurielschubert9410]

@@craigyeah1052 because he's a monk. Not just any monk, a prodigy and he trained under a wise and lighthearted Monk Gyatso. He's wise because that's the culture and tradition of being an Air Nomad. Korra is the closest thing we had to a modern Avatar. And what makes it worst is by giving her everything she needs to become a good avatar physically. The first friends she made in her entire life was with Kai and Bolin. She was trained in her homelands as she is under the wings of the greatest benders at their time. So she doesn't explore much.

[@sspectre8217]

@@zurielschubert9410I completely agree with you. Korra had to deal with so much and most of it she did it alone in a way no other avatar before her was. She never had a clear road to follow and forced to make many impossible decisions. How would she have known that leaving open the spirit portal would create the world’s deadliest air bender? How would she have known that Kuvira would become a militant dictator while she recovered from almost dying due to mercury poisoning? All this while being a teenager and young adult in season 4, for someone who wasn’t allowed to have a childhood and have friends until she ran away.

[@icarus6492]

This is exactly the dilemma faced by Korra. As the world modernized and more people became “atheist” towards her, people start to question whether she is still needed or not.

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

Well, no,... she aint, it'd be better if everyone start developing from the sheep mentality of "this person can do it all so I'll relax" Even in reality we have that, only difference is, we dont have an avatar, just bish a$$ governments

[@doverboy1]

@@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman The fact that the government is still as bad as the avatars says alot.

[@GreyAres]

Dilemma?! There is no dilemma in the legend of Korra 🤗 There was a lot of bad writting and a total lack of a plan in a product that was produced probably to fast. And for the record is not like the last season and the ending of the original series was thaaaat great. I get it I loved the show too 🥲 but you are trying to explain in a conboluted way things that dont really have a good explanation beacuse... They are just incoherent due to bad writing. They messed up. Not that uncommon in the show bussines then or now.

[@tream1499]

Its funny how opposite Aang and Korra are, Aang didnt want to be the avatar in a world that needed one, while Korra wanted to be the avatar in a world that didnt need one. Makes me wonder how the avatar after Korra will fare, considering the more modernized the world becomes the less it needs an avatar

[@tream1499]

@@GreyAres sure, TLoK doesnt match up to ATLA but it is definitely not badly written (not counting season 2 though, that season sucked). Almost all the problems in the show are caused in some way due to Korra (as said in the video). Vaatu, Zaheer, Kuvira are all directly or indirectly due to Korra, making the viewer think about the absolute necessity of the avatar. ATLA showed Aang saving the world placing that idea of need in the viewers head, while TLoK flips that on its head and shows the viewer how the avatar caused a lot of major issues in the world, this is even directly referenced to in the clipshow episode in season 4. The dilemma the show gives to the viewer is precisely why this video was made in the first place, is the avatar truly a necessity?

[@tonettegraceorbena6078]

Actually, I really thought that the Avatar cycle just started because Wan (1st avatar) HAD TO PAY for the mistake he did. And the future avatars are caught up with it. Just think about it in that episode where it all began. Ravaa really didn't have a problem holding Vatu down and providing peace in the world. The world just became chaotic because Vatu became free. The avatar started the problem and it's not like people really have to thank him for it, because it was his actions that brought the chaos in the first place.

[@SarungStreams]

"And when the world needed him most, he vanished" hits real different now that matpat's retired

[@dazai.kinnie.]

Yess😭😭😭

[@ludwigharisuo6261]

Sooo, in essence, the show successfully showcased how bad things can go in a realistic manner instead of dealing with problems like "because they got solved, deal with it"

[@insecure8926]

I mean, thousands of years and to this day we don't have an answer for every problem, and we don't even have powers. It makes sense that all Avatars are actually not perfect beings, but humans that carry a mission that's, in all honesty, impossible, yet they do what they feel is the best. Kinda insane how realistic it is.

[@kailucasanton3421]

really shows how much everyone involved in the avatar universe are really passionate about making it one of the best fictional universes out there

[@NewbyBushcraft]

Wath the Avatar need to do is to; Teach all nations how to teach how to create spiritual connections by meditation for them to discover the unmaterial world before the death time And to put them to work togeder having care by a full of fruits and veggies and plants for a full "year" by seeding, growing and not the last cooking a meal at the end with the nectar from the fruits; Only the morons would not apreciate the peace; IT is sufficient fur evwrybody and IT always was and IT will Be; You only eat with one mouth, so do your parents, your kids, your grandkinds, but also IT is the same for your neightbor, your friend, your teacher, the firefighter, the priest, the homeless, the CEO, the baseball player, the soccer player, the medics, sooo on; You can Be the humanity saviors, but IT starts with stop focusing on distractions crated by so called ekites or news, re conquer your mind and your self; I am out

[@NewbyBushcraft]

@@insecure8926 Wath the Avatar need to do is to; Teach all nations how to teach how to create spiritual connections by meditation for them to discover the unmaterial world before the death time And to put them to work togeder having care by a full of fruits and veggies and plants for a full "year" by seeding, growing and not the last cooking a meal at the end with the nectar from the fruits; Only the morons would not apreciate the peace; IT is sufficient fur evwrybody and IT always was and IT will Be; You only eat with one mouth, so do your parents, your kids, your grandkinds, but also IT is the same for your neightbor, your friend, your teacher, the firefighter, the priest, the homeless, the CEO, the baseball player, the soccer player, the medics, sooo on; You can Be the humanity saviors, but IT starts with stop focusing on distractions crated by so called ekites or news, re conquer your mind and your self; I am out

[@NewbyBushcraft]

@@kailucasanton3421 Wath the Avatar need to do is to; Teach all nations how to teach how to create spiritual connections by meditation for them to discover the unmaterial world before the death time And to put them to work togeder having care by a full of fruits and veggies and plants for a full "year" by seeding, growing and not the last cooking a meal at the end with the nectar from the fruits; Only the morons would not apreciate the peace; IT is sufficient fur evwrybody and IT always was and IT will Be; You only eat with one mouth, so do your parents, your kids, your grandkinds, but also IT is the same for your neightbor, your friend, your teacher, the firefighter, the priest, the homeless, the CEO, the baseball player, the soccer player, the medics, sooo on; You can Be the humanity saviors, but IT starts with stop focusing on distractions crated by so called ekites or news, re conquer your mind and your self; I am out

[@MegaTech81]

I think it's essential for us to remember that the Avatar, despite being the vessel for a powerful spirit, is still human and prone to making human mistakes. Roku not killing Sozin when he started showing signs of genocidal imperialism was a mistake, but you can still sympathize with his decision because they were childhood friends and he still loved him like a brother. I can't imagine how stressful it must be to have a major say in every decision that could change the world.

[@lilithium3940]

Which only supports the theory that they shouldn't have that responsibility put upon them in the first place. Humans can't handle the role and responsibility of a god

[@932ForeverLove]

@@lilithium3940 so true, so true. Even the Avatar with the best foresight might not be able to see far enough down the road to see the impact of their decisions.

[@thatrandoperson9454]

@@lilithium3940absolutely true, it’s brought up in the last airbender that aang can’t finish his training and unlock the complete avatar state because of his monk ties, as an airbender he’s supposed to let go of his earthly needs but as the avatar he needs to care for the earth and protect it

[@robbiestrong-morse730]

@@lilithium3940 But the Avatars do end up stopping many wars and also if you don't give power to the avatar, people like sozin and qing just become stronger. Even with no avatar we would still end up with horrible dictators.

[@Seriously-No_idea]

hello everybody what are your opinions on eggdog?

[@lifeiscats1337]

9:05 it’s not a coincidence since the Dai Li, the governing council of Ba Sing Se who influences the baby-minded Earth king like a puppet, was literally created by Kyoshi. What do you know? Some of the ONLY groups that stayed out of the war and did nothing were the ones created by Kyoshi. 💀

[@Nicknamed030]

“But when the world needed him most he vanished” has never rung so true😭🫡

[@guts60]

In Aang’s defense, his life as an avatar was rebuilding the world since the 100 year war finally ended, a war he stopped. And he did do _some_ dabbling in the spirit world, but we never really see a problem with the spirit world during Aang’s time as avatar except a few outliers like the undead panda

[@NewbyBushcraft]

Wath the Avatar need to do is to; Teach all nations how to teach how to create spiritual connections by meditation for them to discover the unmaterial world before the death time And to put them to work togeder having care by a full of fruits and veggies and plants for a full "year" by seeding, growing and not the last cooking a meal at the end with the nectar from the fruits; Only the morons would not apreciate the peace; IT is sufficient fur evwrybody and IT always was and IT will Be; You only eat with one mouth, so do your parents, your kids, your grandkinds, but also IT is the same for your neightbor, your friend, your teacher, the firefighter, the priest, the homeless, the CEO, the baseball player, the soccer player, the medics, sooo on; You can Be the humanity saviors, but IT starts with stop focusing on distractions crated by so called ekites or news, re conquer your mind and your self; I am out

[@cyrileo]

I don't think it's a one-size-fits-all model 🤔 We'll have to see what the next Avatar brings 🤞

[@MsAliciaRL]

@@cyrileo I can't wait to see the challenges the new Earth Avatar has to deal with.

[@jacobmisal470]

After the series ends, aang actually does quite a bit in the spirit world

[@Delta_Aves]

In Escape from the Spirit World, Yangchen explains to Aang the reason why the Avatar is human is because if the avatar is to keep the peace between nations and protect mankind, he/she must experience human emotions and turmoil to understand what it means to be human and why, in spite of all their failures and mistakes, humanity is still worth saving. And it makes sense given that the spirits, being more detached from the physical world, look down on human struggles and affairs, and choose to remove themselves from such conflicts.

[@jacobmisal470]

Yeah for an Eastern based show, the avatar is very similar to Jesus in that way.

[@sefewet]

exactly, this is why i found this theory quite one sided xD.

[@9051team]

@@jacobmisal470 well minus the amount if times they failed.

[@vyomrane1237]

@Snarfing Some Avatar humans were also said to have messed up horrendously, and neglect how humanity was worth saving. Nobody wins in any system over time, as shown with this theory

[@geardestroy]

@@sefewet that doesnt change that the avatar system barely works, if you can call that work

[@royrose785]

Here we are again, we miss you so much matpat

[@clanxea7661]

0:13 man this hits hard knowing he will be passing his channel onto the next generation of theorists. We'll miss you matpat ❤ I hope you have a wonderful time away from it all

[@bdletoast09]

I always liked that fact about the Avatar franchise. Keeping the world in balance is an impossible task, as long as there are humans, there will be conflicts. And no amount of godly power will allow a single individual to fix the entire world's problem, no matter how wise they are. The best each Avatar can do, is deal with it in the way they find suitable, and hope their successor will have an easier time.

[@yumi_cloud]

Same here, I like how it addresses the fact that no matter how powerful someone is or how amazing their friends are or how great the world is, there will always be conflict and balance is only possible in a virtual sense that yes, balance exists but true balance cannot be achieved

[@bdletoast09]

@drunkasaur Obvious bait is obvious.

[@Newt2799]

@drunkasaur I wouldn’t say it’s nonsense because there’s conflict as a result of a broken system. I mean conflict is one of the most important parts of a story. I’d argue that having characters trying to resolve an inherently conflicted world is a pretty good premise for a story.. and pretty good writing too.

[@kalinadesseaux8011]

Exactly. People are people. I mean if Jesus couldn't do it

[@nightmareTomek]

@@Newt2799 Like it's the other way around: conflict must be created for a story, so the Avatar will always have more problems to solve than he/she can handle.

[@daltonlefler892]

There is a theory going around that each avatar’s greatest regrets are corrected in the next avatar (eg. korok regretted his short life so kyoshi ended up over 200 years old when she died and aang regretted taking so long to master elements other than air so korra learned them very quickly)

[@sitiyao]

pretty Shore aangs greatest regret was running away and not being there when the air nomad genocide took place, and korra helped rebuilding the air nomads

[@QuesoCookies]

Aang's biggest regret was that he ran away from being the Avatar, Korra wanted nothing more than to be the Avatar the moment she knew she was.

[@AdamCharron]

Pretty sure Aang was the youngest avatar to master all 4 elements.

[@Zolomight]

@@AdamCharron he didn't master them when he was a child though, he only learned them. He relied on the Avatar state to defeat Ozai in the end, which even then he struggled grasping.

[@Zolomight]

@tjm2218 huh I'm not rly sure, but it could be. Most people I've heard though say that he hadn't mastered it yet, he had only learned them.

[@acid4096]

0:14 foreshadowing

[@jonathantheking743]

Ultimate foreshadowing:(when KZbin needed him most he VANISHED)

[@jonathantheking743]

😢😢😢😢😢

[@UndeadGhostGirl]

Pretty sure Avatar Roku emphasized the importance of friendship, even implying that the avatar's companions also reincarnate to help them out. Also, I'm not entirely sure Aang would act "decisively" if Sokka one day told him that the southern water tribe was planning on "expanding."

[@DrTimes99]

I mean... Roku did stop Sozin. When he discovered the first colony he confronted Sozin and after he "indecisively" let Sozin live, Sozin stopped. The colony was gone, there was no conflict, no war, nothing until after Roku died. The Fire Nation was still on good terms with the world until the comet arrived and Sozin used it to start the war.

[@theblackoutexplorer2658]

na. he'd get his sister to smack sense into em

[@lulufan100]

Maybe that's why Sokka isn't in LOK 👀

[@itlogmanok6046]

@@DrTimes99 while your argument is sound, there is a huge hole in it: Sozin literally just waited for Roku to be gone to enact his plans. Roku failed to stop him, he just delayed it, and that delay wasn't even that negative impactful; the delay only strengthened the fire nation's army, navy, and air force. The comet was just icing on the cake by that time.

[@Audentior_Ito]

@@itlogmanok6046 is that on Roku or the inherent limitations of the Avatar cycle? Sozin & the Fire Nation are based on Imperial Japan's Meji Restoration period; their colonialism wasn't the fanaticism of one man, it was a much broader socio-economic movement. Say Roku does "end" Sozin after the first colony; either he'll need to full genocide-run the ruling elite of his own nation or Sozin's successor just waits out Roku's death to do exactly what Sozin did.

[@jimbrenneman2040]

Most of these "failings" of the avatar are caused by inaction rather than action. If the avatars were not there, I think things would only be worse

[@ethanpetree8327]

Exactly! Gosh this is the best comment and I'm annoyed Matt Pat didn't say much regarding it

[@nicholascharles9625]

If you have the power to act and do nothing that is still a decisive action. What's the phrase? "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing."

[@sovietcupcakes328]

Catastrophic consequences due to inaction - hence, a failure. Or worse, catastrophic consequences because the Avatar acted based on their own limited knowledge and biases, like creating a secret police. The Avatar's effect is that of an absolute monarch dictating over others, it's dependent only on random chance that we won't get one that is incompetent or insane.

[@RealSoulFireStudios]

What I believe he is saying is that the avatars need to end, but need to be replaced by a system including more than ONE person. He’s saying it never worked so find a new one, not nothing at all.

[@Terrariagrossmeister]

@@nicholascharles9625 The point of the video (at least according to the title) is to say that the world would have been better without any avatars to begin with. That is just not true, because if they hadn't existed, all the problems that were caused by them not acting on it, would have played out exactly the same AND the problems that they fixed wouldn't be fixed.

[@Sxyzua]

Foreshadowing of matpat leaving is wildddd

[@bengreene4972]

I would say at the end of the day, Korea was probably the most successful Avatar overall. Tenzin even said that she accomplished more in a few years than most Avatars did in their entire lives. Really her only actual failure so far was basically ignoring non-benders, but that was partially Aang’s fault as was mentioned in the video. In the short term keeping the portals open seemed like an issue in the long term it would be more beneficial and the avatar shouldn’t be the bridge since that only causes issues and was partially responsible for the constant failures of prior Avatars. While keeping the portals open gave zaheer airbending, it also revived the air nation. The loss of the connection to previous avatars really doesn’t seem like a big deal seeing as Aang constantly ignored their advice too and even severed his connection to Roku temporarily because even he felt that their advice and wisdom were outdated and not applicable to the current era, which would’ve been even more true for Korea anyways

[@LaptapGamer]

I think he sort of missed the fact that almost every avatar we see had a group of friends helping them Aang and Korra werent special cases, Kyoshi, Yangchen, Roku, & Kuruk all had great friends who helped them with their avatar duties, Even wan's spirit friends helped him bring peace

[@yournameisinthealphabet995]

oh yea

[@ManuraAriyathilake]

I really wish MatPat touched upon how Zaheer and the Red Lotus trying to end the avatar cycle ties into this

[@bdletoast09]

It was still pretty worthless. Like, they're right, the Avatar can't bring balance, but killing them doesn't help in any shape or form, it just creates a new power vacuum.

[@sovietcupcakes328]

@@bdletoast09 But that also means that having the Avatar around isn't any better in any way. They're just a centralized tool to benefit one institution or another based on the arbitration of one person's biases.

[@bdletoast09]

@@sovietcupcakes328 That's what all institutions are. At least with the Avatar, the power is in the hand of someone with the wisdom of thousands of past lives and a bit more insight of what the world needs.

[@ruppelspoopels]

@@bdletoast09 not in the case of korra lol

[@sovietcupcakes328]

​@@bdletoast09 That didn't stop catastrophic mistakes after mistakes. The "wisdom" imparted by previous avatars rarely matters in the vast majority of day to day events, let alone larger events where the Avatar ends up only having the effect of an absolute monarchy, and everyone else has to pray the next one isn't incompetent or insane. That's why institutions shouldn't be based on the whims of one dictator or another.

[@Eklulu10]

His retirement was forshadobed in this opening "but when youtube needed him the most he vanished" it was staring us in the face

[@biggledeboo3920]

2:25 safe to say it’s only better by default💀

[@maugos]

Right, it's the whole "chosen one" issue. The idea that only one person can fix everything despite how unrealistic that is. As you also pointed out it's why Aang is one of the most successful ones due to him realizing how important his relationships were. Not just with his close friends and colleagues, but with EVERYONE he helps along the way. This kind of thing can be applied to so many other characters throughout fiction. It's why it makes sense that Batman recruits other people to help him or why Harry Potter's trust in his friends helps him out so much. No matter how much power you wield, you are but one person and will need help even if just occasionally.

[@TheJadedJames]

The other thing is … can we really say the Avatar is a chosen one after knowing the origins of Avatar Wan? Wan was not selected to have his power or position. Wan broke the world by stealing freeing Vaatu and what we call the Avatar is the entirely accidental union of Wan/Raava on an eternal quest to redeem Wan’s mistake

[@adammorin2955]

@@TheJadedJames honestly being an avatar reminds me of how link and zelda is forever destined to be bounded to the triforce and demise. So yeah i can say they are consider “chosen” ones in a way. With the avatar needing to so many things to keep the balance while cleaning up the mess the last avatar left is honestly stressful. What is interesting though is how can Aang and Korea do so much with the friends they have but even with the friendship the other avatars had stuff still got messy

[@BPgamemaster12]

Also that "Chosen One" mindset the people of the World of Avatar have can be pretty detrimental. One of the reasons that the world is disarray in Kyoshi's era was due to the fact that it took so long find the next Avatar that some people lost hope and some people thought "this is my time to take control"

[@morganbeck402]

If you have to say "As you pointed out...", then it really doesn't need to be said. While the point is evident, and I do agree with it, it's already been said.

[@garrettviewegh677]

That’s why I really enjoyed moments where Tinzin, Korra’s spiritual mentor (because she’d mastered all elements by the end of season 1) told her that the rest of them can handle other problems while she’d delt with a primary threat. Almost all the Avatars before Aang had thought the task of protecting the world and keeping order fell to them alone. But, by journeying across the world, meeting new people and making life-long friends, he’d gained different perspectives, as Iroh had once said, and with their help, created a new form of unified government to keep all kingdoms in check. Though Korra may have done poorly in her duties as Avatar, to be fair, she’d had to deal with so much in such a short time, during a revolutionary time of change for the world. Despite the fact she’d brought the Spirt world and physical world back to unity, there is still the lingering question: could there still be a future in which bending and the old ways are simply forgotten to time? Not even the Avatar can control time, cultures, and ideas.

[@timothyott6281]

Fun thing, while yes the avatar can weild all 4 elements, people can learn from each one. Iroh became one of the strongest benders because he could wait for the right moment like an earth bender and could use an opponents power against them like a water bender. If you watch zuko fighting azula a few of his moves aren't fire bending, their bending styles like earth and water.

[@PBandJellyfish126]

Avatar iroh fanfic needs to be a thing

[@musofir2204]

"It is important to take wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale." That's my favorite Iroh quote

[@timothyott6281]

Forgot about how Iroh taught Zuko air bending technique too. The breathing he was telling zuko about at the north pole invasion is an Airbending technique that you can see Anng uses constantly. Notice how no matter the temperature Anng wears the EXACT same outfit (until book 3) even in the north pole. He's not bothered because he bends the air constantly to keep himself warm. Zuko proves this isn't common among fire bender in the boiling rock when any other fire bender put in the cooler can't bend, but he can and does to keep warm.

[@mznerdtheories]

I think the key component missed in this episode is that the power vacuum wasn't opened up by Aang's disappearance - the new netflix series helps show this. The fact that Roku died and Aang wasn't ready to be the avatar is what caused that issue. The flaw is the system - the avatar should be trained BEFORE the former avatar passes, but there is no way to identify that person because they are not born until that happens. You'd think, then, that the avatar would put systems into place to holdover for 15 years or so after their death until the new one is ready to take up the mantle. Of course, it is accurate that Roku should have dealt with Sozin when he knew what was going on.

[@CrouchingTigress01]

Knowing he’s retiring, makes this cold open hit so hard 😢

[@magicdance4273]

12:30 She's not _unbothered_ by taking a life, she recognizes a very specific maxim: when you have the ability and opportunity to prevent a death and you don't, that death is on your hands. Like how Roku's refusal to be decisive with Sozin led to the war, which meant the death of an entire culture was more or less on his hands. Kyoshi is taking responsibility for her part in Chin's death.

[@ygotsvlog3762]

Why take responsibility? Mf really just subjucated the entire continent he deserves to die in a much more gruesome death🤣

[@NewbyBushcraft]

Wath the Avatar need to do is to; Teach all nations how to teach how to create spiritual connections by meditation for them to discover the unmaterial world before the death time And to put them to work togeder having care by a full of fruits and veggies and plants for a full "year" by seeding, growing and not the last cooking a meal at the end with the nectar from the fruits; Only the morons would not apreciate the peace; IT is sufficient fur evwrybody and IT always was and IT will Be; You only eat with one mouth, so do your parents, your kids, your grandkinds, but also IT is the same for your neightbor, your friend, your teacher, the firefighter, the priest, the homeless, the CEO, the baseball player, the soccer player, the medics, sooo on; You can Be the humanity saviors, but IT starts with stop focusing on distractions crated by so called ekites or news, re conquer your mind and your self; I am out

[@bruced.1537]

Yeah i don't like how he changed shyoki story to fit his theory...

[@Emma-ei2zk]

@@bruced.1537 especially with the flash game dialog literally disproving his points, kiyoshi didn't hate the people rebelling, she was upset at how it was being done, she valued the cultural history of the earth nation, and also along with that, they were also destroying the city as well.

[@neptunemiller2276]

in korra's defense, her decision to leave the portals open changed a lot but eventually people and spirits lived harmoniously together and although it gave zaheer airbending too, it gave a huge upstart to the air nation's return

[@omarrodrigomanzanares7474]

It would be interesting to see how the reappearance of the Air Nation influences the geopolitical scenario if we ever get a series post-Korra. Like, how would pro-bending accomodate to airbenders?

[@lassegrotkjr6326]

@@omarrodrigomanzanares7474 havent you seen the video yet, he lituraly Stated that were getting a Series after Korra in a few years.

[@jaspercat6407]

@@omarrodrigomanzanares7474they didn’t cover it in the comic books?

[@jaspercat6407]

In korra’s further defense, it’s not her fault that the nations fell out of balance as she was recovering. The nations kept peace for the 15~17 years she was growing up and training perfectly fine without an avatar, so they should’ve been able to maintain peace while korra was recovering.

[@saadqazi3833]

It's hard to say what the ramifications of Korra's decisions are though after such a short time having passed, since it impacts the next 10,000 years. We saw how the spirits terrorized humans in _their own_ world (the spirit world was always a separate place) and kept them confined to the lion turtles who sheltered them. That decision wasn't made lightly by Wan and we can see just how powerful and cruel spirits can be when they want to.

[@jackdikoko3137]

Given the context of this year watching the opening is really painful

[@PERIX_QR]

Ah yes, style theory!

[@ordeaux26]

One thing you kind of didn't really look at is that in the world the mere existence of the Avatar has caused every single nation to rely on it for everything, instead of solving the problems on their own they are looking for a magical fix. Which you can imagine the problems the causes, especially as we see through Aang when he goes missing where barely anyone is doing anything to fix the war and just waiting for the Avatar to come and fix it for them.

[@edselcervantes6229]

and even when aang beat ozai, they still needed a fire lord and would have been an issue if zuko didnt change sides. Aang plan was literally beat ozai war over.

[@LaptapGamer]

thats not true at all, in kyoshi she made a point she couldn't just step into the firenation and fix all their problems it had to be at most a partnership, and aang during the invasion tried to team up with the earth kingdom and the foggy swamp tribe to win the war, another example of this is the earth kingdom war in republic city Korra tried to gets the firenation and earth nation rulers to do the fighting

[@ordeaux26]

@@LaptapGamer I mean sure the avatar has certainly tried to do that, but they haven't actually been all the successful.

[@MisterIncog]

You are being too generous in your statement. Matt didn’t just “didn’t really look at”, he failed to connect his arguments with his point. Almost all of his points lead to a conclusion that avatars just didn’t succeed in their responsibilities. They did nothing. And doing nothing is very different from making it worse. Without avatars the world wouldn’t even have as little as avatars manage to accomplish. So, the only point that would give all these arguments power, the connective tissue for all of Matt’s arguments - is what you pointed out. The reliance on avatars. And, I might be wrong, but I don’t really remember it being shown in the show. It could be, but I would beed proof. You know, maybe a part of the video dedicated to proving the world actually neglectfully relied on an avatar and that led to some wrong decisions… idk

[@johanstenfelt1206]

Another good point.

[@JB-so3ux]

I've recently started binge watching LOK again, and Toph touches on this when telling Korra to "get over yourself." Toph explained that as police chief, she worked hard to bring peace to Republic City, but realized that "the names change but the streets stay the same." This is also alluded to when Avatar Wan takes his final breath saying he failed to bring balance, only for Raava to tell him they will continue to bring balance in all of his lifetimes. I don't think the Avatars "bring" balance per se, the Avatars themselves ARE balance. Before Raava merged with Wan, she and Vaatu were entwined, wrestling for eternity. The Moon and Ocean spirits, represented by the Yin and Yang Koi fish, circle each other in an eternal dance of balance and harmony (push and pull). Therefore, balance is not 100% peace, nor is it what Zaheer preached (100% chaos), balance is the ebb and flow of order and chaos coming and going. Therefore ending the Avatar would be imbalanced, as the dance between order and chaos would end, just like when Wan separated Raava from Vaatu.... but also, just like if Raava or Vaatu are destroyed, one would grow within the other until the next harmonic convergence. So if the Avatar ends, something else would form to bring balance to the world.

[@BrokenFist]

I agree with this take more than the rest.

[@Chaosmancer7]

This also makes sense if you LOOK at the Avatar state instead of looking to the novels and stories. Mattpat names, what, six avatars? Look at that crowd. There were certainly dozens of Avatars. The stories we tell are of the ones that were "interesting". And, it isn't an old chinese curse to live in "interesting times" for nothing.

[@X9Killbot]

@@Chaosmancer7 Yeah, stories about peaceful times and how good leaders brought good things are quite boring. "You don't hear about the good people do, but you do hear about their fuckups." -Me.

[@ChargeQM]

@@X9Killbot Bruh it comes off as extremely douche-y to quote yourself. At the very least, you can pull an 'As I always say...' instead of trying to sound like Plato.

[@X9Killbot]

@@ChargeQM Meh. It's fine.

[@tiagghho]

And now matpat vanished 😢

[@alexy9997]

"When youtube needed him the most he vanished" hits hard after hes literally gone...

[@presentlycrescent]

I do remember thinking that the idea of the Avatar was unfair to everyone Unfair to expect the avatar to handle everything and unfair to refuse anyone else the power needed to do change I remember loving how the Gaang split up, trusted each other to do their part for the world and work together. They didn’t make Aang do everything alone. The avatar is neat and all but maybe they shouldn’t be tasked with keeping the whole world in check - it’s impossible and setting them up for failure.

[@kwayneboy1524]

When you really think about the reason why Anng and Korra worked so well was because they learned that one person can't always make a difference that you need to rely on others and have people place there faith in themselves to fix a problem.

[@LaptapGamer]

if anything the idea is most unfair to the avatar themselves considering the moment your born a spirit decides your life is dedicated to the world and fixing it, if you wanted a normal life too bad you have to fight the firelord on the day of the comet as a 12 year old. Thats definitley the most unfair

[@oxcare5]

I mean, the Avatar's only task is to be a connecting bridge between the human world and the spirit world, that is about it

[@MsAliciaRL]

@@LaptapGamer Just look what it did to Aang. He was told WAY too early, and because of it, he was isolated by his peers and was over-trained by the monks (except Gyatso), leading him to run away. Luckily for Aang, running away saved his life, but that amount of pressure on a child is AWFUL.

[@MsAliciaRL]

@@oxcare5 You make it sound like that's easy...

[@brianhanes5413]

Korra merging the spirit and physical realm could have catastrophic consequences. While new allies might be found, some seriously powerful enemies would emerge.

[@yukiotacon2846]

The Varic manage to weaponize spirit vines within years means the destructive consequences of her actions are already stirring

[@richrobin7070]

That literally means the face stealer is walking around in the real world somewhere… yikes 😭😭

[@yukiotacon2846]

@@richrobin7070 exactly, imagine all the messes the new avatar has to deal with after Korra's reign

[@fcasias7]

I was pleasently surprised that he harped on Korra as much as she did. None of her big decisions seemed thought out at all.

[@yukiotacon2846]

@@fcasias7 I am not looking forward to the poor Avatar who has to clean up her mess. Especially with how her poorly thought decisions will end up snowballing into a horrible disaster

[@purevitality327]

“BUT WHEN THE WORLD NEEDED HIM MOST, HE VANISHED” hits different now 😭

[@ADRNIX1002]

I love how in the intro u can make out the word STYLE.

[@robmack519]

The real problem seems to be that everybody else in that whole world is incapable of fixing anything. It seems to me that the only real responsibility the avatar has is maintaining relations with the spirits, since they're literally the only person with the power to do so. In my mind, everything else should be secondary.

[@abiean222]

the fact that the one time the avatar disappeared was the start of a massive technological and social advancement is proof that the avatar hold the world back. thousands of years and very little change in the world and then after only a hundred years of the avatar being MIA and boom, we now have cars and people are marrying those from outside their birth nations.

[@somedudewatchintv5297]

@@abiean222 The FireNation was already on the verge of all that, none of the avatars stood in the way of such advancement even indirectly.

[@HectorT52]

@@abiean222 Except that wasn't what happened? If you are talking about the fire nation colonies I am not sure that is a great point to make considering what had to happen before it and it was not a lack of avatar that made that possible, it was the existance of war. Plus people from different nations alredy married between them for generations we see that in the kyoshi novels; sure it happened more by the occupation but it was because of that, an occupation where there were second clas citizens and upper class who where the aggresors. More tecnológical advancements were made in the time of Aang so that doesn't seem like the avatar is the issue.

[@justin-dr6fl]

True except airbenders could also connect with spirit though not on the same level as the avatar

[@kimorajackson8167]

@@abiean222 nah, without the avatar the fire Nation could go completely unchecked and do whatever they want. Including exploit the other nations for their labor and materials.

[@gryfon_gamez8184]

I can't believe this actually ended with 'maybe the real avatar is the friends we made along the way'

[@Mahlak_Mriuani_Anatman]

Lol

[@pri2108]

hits different now doesn't it

[@manlyminotaur99gaming8]

0:16 This hits much harder now that MatPat’s retiring

[@whodatboi2567]

In defense of Roku, It seemed that after warning Sozen he was able to stop the Fire Nation from imperialism for decades until he happened to die in the unlikely event of a volcanic explosion.

[@eghoseisiramen1892]

True but u could argue that he should have known his friend better

[@amorfatikhb]

@@eghoseisiramen1892 would you see the worst in your friend just off the bat? a person could be a really good friend to you and people around you, but be a crappy person outside of this circle. we’re not all-seeing. we’re human.

[@majormononoke8958]

@@amorfatikhb Lol, he literally invaded the Earth kingdom... And you even could argue the only reason he exterminated the air nomads was to get rid of the guy that shamed him, neglected him, destroyed his dream left him in the rain his friend... If, Rooku had helped him or at least at stayed connected with him or just let him conquer the world. The extermination of the air nomads would never have taken to that extent...

[@ellieganj3973]

That was honestly the most stupid thing he did why would he risk his life saving a empty island with no lives threatened

[@MegaTech81]

It must also be stated that Avatar Kuruk had to focus on the spirit world BECAUSE the avatar before him, Yangchen, neglected her duties to the spirits in her lifetime. It got so bad that Kuruk had to single-handedly stop an invading spirit army from invading the humans. Since there's also no open communication between the two worlds (other than the Avatar themselves), his victory with the spirits went unpublished to the human world with only his absence being noted. He died binging balance but was remembered for being "lazy" and MIA. Of course, all this just perpetuates the cycle of current Avatars having to clean up on the messes of the previous.

[@dheriantavarez]

Who’s here after MatPat’s retirement

[@Fireflame42]

When we needed him most he vanished is too real😭😭😭

[@jessicadurham]

MatPat overlooked the fact that toward the end of Korra, the airbenders became nomadic peacekeepers again (like Jedi). Because balance is a team effort.

[@samfisher6606]

When you talk about Kyoshi at 11:40. The books also state that she isn't vengeful like you make her appear. She has a very rigid sense of justice. If she was vengeful, she would've killed Fire Lord Zoryu at the end of _Shadow of Kyoshi,_ not simply threatened him. Though, the person who she sent with the threat thought he should've been killed. But Matt, your point is kind of made in universe. Multiple people, even Korra herself, say that the avatar isn't necessary anymore. That it's an old ceremonial position at this point.

[@Gorgosauruslibra]

@@goofyyahyou are one

[@LaptapGamer]

@@goofyyah Yeah Im totally gonna click your link ._.

[@joshuawey4928]

0:15 the foreshadowing…

[@Aweirdpotato21]

Matpat the last film theorist But when we needed him the most …😭😭😭

[@Anonymous-xb2yb]

Quick thing I think Mat misunderstood: The choice of Korra keeping the spirit portals open wouldn't make people airbenders, the harmonic convergence happens anyway, which made people airbenders

[@angelr194]

Actually it was messing with the Harmonic convergence (Avatar vs. Dark Avatar) what altered the balance of the world and gave people the power to Airbend

[@stevenle9960]

also Zaheer was ONE DUDE. Harmonic convergence saved airbenders from literally becoming extinct

[@Enchie]

@stevenle9960 No, they were repopulating. It just would have taken them a century or two to get back up in numbers. So long as they keep having more than two kids.

[@braveheartalice]

@@angelr194 No, just Harmonic Convergence existing whether or not Raava and Vaatu were involved that triggered the return of Airbenders. Harmonic Convergence is literally the rebirth of the world, and when that phenomenon occurred, it restarted the cycle by providing the world with new Airbenders.

[@rh0dr1]

@@stevenle9960 no only that, Korra had no idea Zaheer even existed, nor that he would get Airbending.

[@baconeater4133]

I think in order to make a judgement as to whether the Avatars help, you'd have to imagine the world events without the presence of the Avatars. Sure they all had failures, but they did end up stopping most major conflicts eventually and prevent any world domination. Who knows, maybe Chin's descendants would have been in charge all the way up to Korra's time if not for his death

[@EinstinStinium]

But mere presence of a figure like the Avatar already changes how politics works in the world. Sozin for example waited until after Roku's death to start the war. Without Aang the United Republic might never exist. No Szeto and the fFire Nation may never become a unified state. The list goes on, so with no Avatar the entire world would look different politically and culturally.

[@SamGarcia]

@@EinstinStinium One can also imagine a world also if the Avatar cycle ended there and then for some contrived reason. It's not like there's just one hypothetical of Avatar never existing in the first place.

[@TheJadedJames]

Yeah, say what you will about the world Aang built after the war. If Aang had never come back, the Fire Nation would have taken over the entire world. It would be so much worse and there is an extent that you are only free to judge Aang because we never saw that very possible alternate future where Ozai wins

[@rushspire6257]

“When KZbin needed him the most, he vanished” cuts deep

[@collinschlein7656]

coming back to this on 3/11/24 after matt patts disappearance .........only 99 years and 363 days till he comes back

[@ZElementPlayz]

and saves youtube

[@Valorian6167]

Honestly, everyone was so dependent on an avatar to save them that simply having the avatar helped form a rebellion group. Before book 3, there was no rebellion aside from some small groups (like the water tribe). But once team avatar gathered people, a rebellion was finally formed. Having an avatar was crucial to morale, and in that big battle in the beginning of book 3, once azula strikes aang the battle s lost because people lost that spirit.

[@fink_rat]

@Goofy ahh bot

[@twintyara6330]

Derpy

[@blackshake444]

In Korra’s defense, while unlocking the spirit portal was not all good for everyone… It did bring about a new age of Air Nomads which fixed Roku’s greatest failure and was Aang’s greatest hope. Also, wanted to point out that this video highlights one of my favorite things about Avatar which is that you have real people making real choices that have real consequences they have to live with. Because everything matters it makes the world feel real/believable.

[@theking-jn8es]

That’s right. She save the air benders from going extinct. She definitely had it the hardest tho. I feel like every avatar had one big problem to solve while she had one big problem in like every season and also with like the strongest villains we’ve seen in the avatar universe(Amon, Zaheer). Amon even might be the strongest villains of all time.

[@GreatUniter]

@@theking-jn8es She did that on pure accident. Unalaq was the who got her to open the portals. She could have easily restored airbending to the world by giving the Air Acolytes airbending via energybending.

[@theking-jn8es]

@@GreatUniter I totally agree that it was on accident but she and the air nation needed that luck to not go extinct. Now there is a whole new generation of air benders. I’m not sure if she can give someone bending powers if they didn’t have it before if I’m not mistaken only the giant turtle could do that. But if she is able to do that then yeah that would’ve been the better solution

[@alexzero3736]

Actually, closing portals won't take powers from them. So you are not very correct.

[@nicsongerson4583]

@@GreatUniter when was it established that you can give non benders bending??

[@RedLogicYT]

0:18 he did vanish.. rip Matpat enjoy your retirement..

[@EARLy0]

MatPat is the Avatar, Mastering the four elements (Game, Film, Food and Style). But soon he will vanish :(

[@kingthormak5821]

MatPat, please bring balance to your fandom by giving us the other 3 parts of the 'How to bend' series.

[@aryes5349]

Still waiting for science behind earthbending here

[@kwayneboy1524]

3 isn't an even number we need balance

[@LaptapGamer]

@@kwayneboy1524 we already have water.

[@lovelylipbonesouwwwwwwwolv2198]

I agree!

[@cron1807]

The biggest issue to me, at least, is that there weren't enough Avatars to deal with everything. No matter how powerful you are, a person can only deal with so many things in their life time

[@erenhearthandsherc1481]

But what if those Avatars started hurting heads? People with vastly different personalities and lives like Aang and Kyoshi likely won’t see eye to eye on how to solve certain issues. And, let’s say there were 4 Avatars alive at the same time, one to tackle each of the 4 duties of the Avatar. What happens when their actions end up affecting the works of the other Avatars? What happens when they reach a disagreement on how to handle something? What if those disagreements turn violent? What will happen to the people who aren’t nearly as strong as them getting caught up in the violence? Even if the Avatars got along well and had a solid plan to account for as many things as possible, the biggest issue they can’t fully account for is humanity. Someone will always be opposed to how the state of things currently is, and that will lead to them pushing for change. Even if that person gets taken out of the picture, someone will take their place, again and again until a revolution is sparked by their desire for change. No matter how many Avatars there are, they can’t make a “perfect” world without stripping away everyone and every being’s will.

[@derekclinton9438]

In Hinduism, the avatar is the incarnation of a deity in human or animal form to counteract an evil in the world. In mythology, this mainly refers to the avatars of the God Vishnu. However, there were avatars of other deities as well, but in Avatar we only see the avatars of Raava (and one for Vaatu). What if humans discovered a way to permanently fuse with spirits, and then certain humans merged with the primordial spirits of their world (like Tui and La).

[@zedantyorant]

​​@@derekclinton9438e already saw that, in Korra a villane fuses whit the evil spirit and become the dark avatar, no reason we cant have other avtars

[@MYLIFESUCKS872]

@@erenhearthandsherc1481maybe if 4 avatars at the same time come from the same nation e.g if 3 more avatars were with Aang they would have agreed more on things because they understood each other being from the same nation and if one avatar dies they will not reincarnate until the others pass away

[@AllenTheAnimator004]

Superman: I approve this

[@casterxo4548]

He really did vanish this time💀

[@endlesstreamofconsciousness]

That intro hitting a little different these days😢, I believe too

[@jsange]

Also note that in most cases, there's generally a sixteen year gap between avatars. So whatever issues the last avatar left, the new one inherits after that conflict spends at least sixteen years festering and taking root - and that's only if the avatar gets right to work, rather than spending some handfuls of years learning their other elements beforehand.

[@morganrussman]

Well, there is no gap between them, the next avatar just doesn't know they're the avatar for that long.

[@nathanielbass771]

@@morganrussman not exactly but it does take them something like 4 years to "test" for the avatar and then as was mentioned, they are not supposed to be introduced to the other elements until they are sixteen because before then, they are a child. Monk Gyatso showed the devastating effects of this: Aang was socially isolated from all of his peers because they thought that his life was unfair to them. He basically lost every friend that he had just by that revelation and he then had adults trying to treat him as a weapon.

[@morganrussman]

​@nathanielbass771 it may take time to test and track down the avatar, but, I do think it was mentioned, or, implied in an episode or 2 that one avatar passes away, and then the next one is born practically immediately after.

[@nathanielbass771]

@@morganrussman this is true, but if say there are 1,000 children born in a single day... and news can only travel at its fastest in Korra's time via phone and TV... it takes a while

[@watermelon3266]

@@morganrussman and also the avitar is like 1

[@Farenhyte-]

The problem doesn't seem to be the idea of the avatar itself, merely that there is FAR too much responsibility forced onto a single person who never even got the choice to be the avatar to begin with

[@Elleore]

That’s more or less Matpat’s point

[@mathnerd97]

And compounding that, there's no guarantee how old they'll be when a crisis arises. Something that an adult could easily handle peacefully could end poorly if it happens while the avatar is 10 or younger.

[@Farenhyte-]

@@Elleore I saw, I was only halfway through the video or so and the title seemed to imply differently. My bad, I should have watched the whole thing first

[@TheJadedJames]

Avatar Wan did more or less choose to become the Avatar, so they did all choose this roll in a way whether they realize it or not

[@thulasipandiansundarapandi1851]

MatPat IS GONE, OnLY LEe REMAINS

[@lillyrose9084]

6:58 he only did so because Yangchen neglected the spirits

[@Open.Close.]

I think that’s why I enjoy the show so much, it’s real. These avatars lacked to solve problems that snowballed into bigger issues that had to be addressed by the next. These issues even arise in personal matters, Aang was a good avatar but a bad father and it just goes to show us that all people, regardless of how much good or change we bring, are ultimately flawed in some way or another.

[@TheMeloettaful]

Was Aang a bad father?? I never watched The Legend of Korra because it didn't quite grab me like it's predecessor did. But I can understand where you're coming from though. Aang would be so busy trying to set up some kind of new political system for the people among a bunch of other things an Avatar is supposed to do he ends up neglecting time with his kids in turn 😟.

[@nicholasduca5221]

@@TheMeloettaful that was part of it. the other part of it was he felt responsible for bringing back the airbenders so when he had all 3 of his kids he unintentionally played favorites with tenzin. the only airbender at the time. Not to say he was a bad dad but he felt it was necessary to teach tenzin about the culture and bending so the next avatar would have an airbending teacher and 2 so the airbenders could continue through tenzin. Problem was he hyper focused on tenzin and neglected his other 2 kids in some aspects.

[@nicholascharles9625]

@@nicholasduca5221 it also weird he didn't teach his other children about airbending and air nomad culture. Like sure they weren't Airbenders but that doesn't mean they couldn't learn about it and spread that knowledge on themselves. Like we learn he never took kya and bumi to the air temples just tenzin. Which is a little more than neglect. He's deliberately cutting them off from their own history as his children air benders or not they're in some way apart of the air nation and as his descendants its their history as much as it is tenzins

[@3bodYking99]

@@nicholascharles9625 yup, all nations had non benders, but those non benders were still part of those nations and it's people.

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

I mean aang could of been way worse tbh if you really look at it, it's just obviously he would see tenzen as a possible way to kickstart the air nation again which would put a lot of pressure on him and tenzen. And I don't feel that he was as neglectful as people say, I mean his daughter is one of the best water benders as well if I recall and they all seem healthy albeit all up in each other's business but their siblings, of course they would be like that a little.

[@venusgalaxy3720]

Honestly, if there were just 2 or 4 avatars, then each could do a different part of the avatar. Which is why I love how the last Airbender gang split up and trust eachother to do their part and to keep working together. I think it's what makes the balance better for so long, makes it fair so that people are working together with the avatar. I love this series so much!

[@HectorT52]

2 may be the key as 4 may just become a superweapon for each nation, because then they would not be the avatar of the world, they would only be a powerfull bender that only happens once every generation and can commune with the spirits. Basically Setzo but worse since they could be more likely to be used in war.

[@526235680]

so basically naruto and other jinchurikies 😄

[@abbycollins4820]

This would be a fantastic fan fiction idea! Wonder is anyone wrote something similar.

[@Axlken214]

I think it'll lead to more conflict honestly

[@pranav3848]

@@HectorT52 Imagine if they ended up on different sides of a conflict though. Could make things even worse.

[@hzvloggaming1526]

game, film, food, style, the 4 channels lived in harmony but it all cbanged when retirement and the youtube algorithm attack, only mat pat, master of all theories could stop them, but when he is at his peak, he retired, but I believe he can save the platform

[@mugspilled]

i knew the intro was foreshadowing something XC

[@m.ubaidaadam]

i guess aang was the most successful avatar in the sense that he sort of broke the cycle by introducing the least amount of problems. in fact his group had each bending type (zuko fire, katara water, toph earth, sokaa non bender)

[@kwayneboy1524]

Pretty much true I guess Aang cleaned up the old messes and Korra tied up any of Aang's loose ends which I think were only 3 or 4.

[@MayaKetchum]

My disgruntled opinions of Legend of Korra aside, I really think the major issues with Aang's reign as avatar was that he was told by the monks who he trusted the most that he was the avatar at the age of twelve, as the other avatars (Kyoshi and Roku are the ones I know of) weren't told until they were sixteen, and Gyatsu reflects this by saying that he himself wanted to wait until Aang turned sixteen before telling him he's the avatar.

[@guccifer764]

That was because the war was coming very soon. The Monks knew that Aang needed to train quyickly if they had any chance at stopping the Fire Nation. A bit heavy-handed yes, but they weren’t wrong either.

[@shaykhmhssi3246]

iirc Yangchen was also told before 16 but for different reasons

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@guccifer764 That's still no excuse and they were going about it all wrong, no wonder Aang ran off. They told a literal child the fate of the world is on his shoulders, that literal child was feeling more and more isolated because his friends didn't want him to join in on games because they were already making unfair assumptions about his abilities, and then the adults wanted to separate Aang presumably without telling him.

[@staticradio724]

I'm more bothered by the fact that the monks, who probably knew Aang pretty well, didn't anticipate that he would try to run away or make any attempts to prevent such a thing from happening. But hey, story's gotta story.

[@StarryEyed0590]

@@staticradio724 They didn't know him well.They made these decisions without the input of and against the wishes of the monk who did know him well. It's like at a school. Not every teacher is going to know every child, even if that child has been there for years - but that child's teacher should know him well.

[@crazyconniegamming4083]

but this is why i like the new air nation in tlok because now they took some of that resposibilty of fostering peace in all the nations meaning the avatar could be more efficent

[@ayakashiamori8068]

The intro hits different now 😂

[@adamdahlstrom2095]

Avatar: The Last Airbender is just such a great show. Watching it as a kid I loved it, watching it now I still do. From the music to the animation I love it all. Truly a MASTERPIECE

[@eiavops4576]

Its not just great, its the best

[@ravenclawsaregreatttttttt]

Nothing less than a masterpiece.

[@MaryamQQQ]

That intro tho😂😂

[@ravenclawsaregreatttttttt]

@here is the full clip it’s a link to making pizza

[@Supasmartguy]

It's overrated in my opinion. People claim It's mathematically flawless and the single greatest peice of media ever produced.

[@pradeepkumaryadav3365]

In Legend of Korra, there is a scene where the very first Avatar, on his deathbed, surrounded by ruins of war, realizes that all his life he tried to improve things, tried to bring peace to the world, and yet he failed. The spirit of Raava talks back that it doesn't matter as there will be more opportunities to do this as they are fused together for eternity (more like 10000 years).

[@olaf-chan-728]

the good god is kinda sus tbh

[@PoorlyDrawnGoldenTeeth]

​@@olaf-chan-728 you mean Raava? Elaborate?

[@salvatoregnocchi9586]

they need to end bending in general before people can figure out how to split and fuse atoms. like just imagine an earthbender pulling a bunch of rocks out of the ground, separating it by atomic weight so that they have 2 pieces of uranium that are just barely sub-critical mass. Then you hit them together really really hard. or an airbender that is so powerful they can force hydrogen gas into such small spaces that it fuses.

[@izeharmontanez4413]

0:11 It hits different knowing he actually is leaving.... :(

[@BioshadowX]

This kind of feels like a miss. Part of the message of Korra is that as the world progresses, the traditional role of the Avatar becomes less relevant and that tying your sense of self to your "destiny" or what other people tell you to be can be self destructive. This feels exactly like what the more minor antagionsts - the mayor especially, put pressure on Korra for, that she isn't saving the world perfectly. I don't think it's wrong for the avatr to exist or the world would have been better without them, It's about everyone doing the best they can can in the moment, and depending on others to shore up their faults and blindspots. It's also up to the people of the world to make the right choices. It's a little insane to think a single person was the cause of the 100 Year World, no matter how influential the fire lord is. Soldiers and people had to go along with it. It's also why being connected to past Avatars is one of the most important (yet underused) powers. They alloe thr Avatar to draw on centuries of knoeledge that no one person could have. That still doesn't make them less human and they are still prone to mistakes though.

[@django4013]

It also begs the question if the Avatar is really needed.

[@ruffuzx4058]

na bro the point of korra is being a bad show that doesnt make sense and fucks the lore of the original, like with the spirit world

[@therealeikichionizuka]

@@ruffuzx4058 nah

[@neilstone3583]

Had Roku killed Sozin the war wouldn't have happened especially if he did it when they were younger as he could use his powers to force the Fire nation into stopping their rampage

[@frankcaggiano8282]

@@neilstone3583 see we don't know that, maybe the fire Nation would have taken it as an act of aggression that the avatar wanted to intentionally weaken the fire nation in the face of the other nations' growing power of something. There's no telling what would have risen out of the ashes of that act, and I think that's kinda the point. Not acting will not solve any problems, but doing something cannot solve every problem.

[@SpaceRaccoon22]

The thing is even if the avatar were a world-stabilising force, it would be an unreliable one as the avatar is mortal. When the avatar dies the world would have to wait for a new avatar to surface. Case in point, it took 16 years for Kyoshi and Roku to even realise they were the avatar, let alone become fully trained. A lot can happen in 16 years, particularly with such a prominent power vacuum.

[@irisa198]

I was just thinking that while watching this. Even if we had perfect avatars, we don't have perfect non-avatar people. If somebody really wanted to start a war, they could just exploit the time it takes for a new avatar to grow up. Some people in-universe even realized this, as Sozin's plan to destroy the nation where the avatar would be born next, while he was still a child, was essentially a version of the same idea, although he probably intended it to be more permanent. But he was dead anyway by the time that Aang returned, so as far as he knows, his plan worked and he got everything he wanted.

[@kennyholmes5196]

Aang even made it worse, what with his hundred year freezer nap leaving the position open.

[@LifeOFTorii]

I’ve only just watched two of your videos but the effort you put into your videos are amazing

[@kpoppie4928]

I loved it in the intro the tease style theory, so hard with the right coloring and you can hear them say it over distorted background