With Netflix at its prime, and regular, aired television becoming less common, there are lots of old shows that have been forgotten and left in the past. One of these many shows, “Avatar: the Last Airbender,” follows the journey of Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen), a young boy in a fantasy world. In the show, he and his friends are trying to take down an evil dictator known as the Firelord. Many people grew up watching this show and because of this, Netflix decided to bring it to their streaming platform. This left a lot of people with a question who haven’t watched the show before, is “Avatar: the Last Airbender” worth watching in 2020? I will be giving you an in depth answer to that question, and will be exploring why so many people like Avatar in the first place.

One of the main reasons that Avatar holds up, in my opinion, is that it has many deeper themes in what at first seems to be a light-hearted show. Avatar’s story may seem like the simple “hero’s journey” at first: it’s about a group of friends trying to take down an evil villain who declares war on the entire world. However, you’ll quickly learn that it’s quite complex, especially for a Nickelodeon show. This is because throughout the show you get to see how war affects people’s lives, and it becomes a focal point of the story. For example, the show talks about how Aang’s people, the Airbenders, were genocided by the Firelord’s army, which is something that Aang’s family were victims of. Along with this, you get to see the effects of how war has ruined cities, or how people living under the Firelord’s rule have been manipulated into thinking he’s a great leader. This creates a very interesting setting because you feel like the entire world is against Aang and his friends due to its very real and harsh themes.

Another reason that I personally love “Avatar” is the magic. In the world of “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” you can wield one of four elements: air, earth, fire and water. Since Aang has a magical soul inside of him called the Avatar, he must learn to bend all four of these elements in order to bring balance to the world. Due to this, one of the most interesting things about the show is seeing the many different ways that bending is incorporated, whether it’s in the form of hurling massive boulders at your enemies, or something as little as heating up tea with a small conjured flame. Such simple concepts change the fundamental ways that the world works in “Avatar;” it’s far more interesting to watch than just another run of the mill hero’s journey.

The final reason that I still like Avatar is the characters. Aang isn’t the only one who has such an interesting story; for example, one of the main characters of the show is Zuko (Dante Basco), the Firelord’s son, who was exiled from his own home and nearly killed by his father. The show follows him on his quest to capture Aang and regain his honor, and status as prince. This makes for a very interesting show, as, since the two protagonists are against one another, you really don’t know who to cheer for while watching the show.

Overall, Avatar may just seem like a nostalgia blast for people who had watched it as children but in reality it’s much more than that. The show holds many deep themes, creative ideas, and interesting characters that make it special, which is why it’s worth watching in 2020. In the end, it’s one of the few shows that deserves the amount of attention it receives, and it is unique as a result.