The Last Airbender’s Lowest-Rated Episode Is Saved By Its Hilarious Ending

Though Avatar: The Last Airbender’s lowest-rated episode challenges the notion that Avatar is the greatest animated series of all time, its twist ending is still funny and has something to say. With each episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang learns more about the elements, the spirit world, his power, the lasting implications of war and prejudice, and what it means to be a leader. Though the show has very few “filler” episodes, one such episode in season 1, “The Great Divide,” is widely believed to be the cartoon’s worst.

“The Great Divide” has even been called out by ATLA’s creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who agree that the episode lacks the substance, wisdom, and heart of the show’s other stellar outings. DiMartino admitted it was “pretty filler-y,” while Konietzko added that it was “terrible,” and that it would have been impossible to save the story, even with a different ending (via FandomWire). The pair even went so far as to “erase” the story from Team Avatar’s journey, skipping over it entirely during the in-universe recap episode, “The Ember Island Players.” Is the ending really that bad?

“The Great Divide” Is The Lowest-Rated Episode Of Avatar: The Last Airbender

There Are A Lot Of Things Missing From This Episode

“The Great Divide” is Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s lowest-rated episode on IMDb, with a 6.8 user rating. For comparison, the second-lowest rating for an episode of ATLA is 7.3. A score of 6.8 is still relatively average, though, which not only speaks to The Last Airbender‘s overall quality – the worst episode of a great show is often still better than the best episode of a bad show – but also hints at the “great divide” between ATLA’s audience. While the episode received several one, two, or three-star reviews, it also received a few high ratings.

In “The Great Divide,” two feuding tribes flee the encroaching oppression of the Fire Nation, but must cross an Avatar-style Grand Canyon to do so. Unfortunately, only one Earthbending canyon guide is available to help them. Since they can’t agree on which side should go first, Aang is forced to play mediator, leading both tribes through the canyon simultaneously. What ensues, of course, is a silly, off-beat trek filled with creepy Canyon Crawlers, Sokka and Katara losing their minds, and Aang learning, on a small scale, what it truly means to be the Avatar.

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Those who downgraded “The Great Divide” mostly agree that the episode adds nothing to Aang’s, Katara’s, or Sokka’s journeys, focusing instead on a trivial feud between two warring tribes who never reappear in the show’s lore. They also believe that Aang’s solution to resolve the conflict, which involved lying to both sides about the origin of their feud, felt out of character for the young Avatar. I don’t think I agree with them on that point, though.

“The Great Divide” Highlights Some Of Aang’s Biggest Challenges As The Avatar

The Avatar Is Also A Mediator, And Aang Was Still Learning

While I agree that “The Great Divide” is The Last Airbender‘s weakest episode overall, it presented some interesting ideas about the dangers of legend-based tribalism and our first glimpse of Aang as a peace broker. Yes, learning to master all the elements is an important part of what it means to be the Avatar, but there’s so much more to it than that. He’s the bridge between the four nations and the spirit world, which involves conflict resolution. As an Airbender, doing so without violence is arguably even more important to Aang as a character.

I’ll readily admit that, despite the episode’s intention, the conflict between the Gan Jin and the Zhang feels silly, even for a kids’ show, especially when they argue about things like hygiene and pretentiousness. It’s easy to see why “The Great Divide” is ATLA‘s lowest-rated episode, as it could have explored the prejudices held by either side in more depth and given Aang, Sokka, and Katara more to do, but actually, the episode’s humorous tone created one of the show’s most surprising and funniest endings; an ending that did have something to say, too.

This Avatar: The Last Airbender Episode Still Has One Of The Funniest Endings

Aang’s Choice May Be Juvenile, But He Saved The Day Anyway

While one of the most common complaints about the episode is Aang’s lie to the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes about the origin of their feud, it’s still a genuinely funny moment. Remember, Aang may technically be 112 years old, but he’s just a kid. Whereas the respective tribes’ legends involved theft, 20 years in jail, and violence, Aang instead told them that their feud was born from a simple game. The tribes immediately accept the Avatar’s explanation, which not only goes to show how petty their differences were but also just how fragile history can be.

No one knew the truth, so why couldn’t Aang’s silly story of eight-year-old twins playing with a sacred ball be true, too? Yes, it’s usually wrong to lie. And yet, both tribes proved that even surviving the canyon together wasn’t enough to resolve their conflict – they immediately turned on each other again. Aang used the only means he had left; he gave them a new version of the story to believe in, one that ended a century-long feud without resorting to violence.

Aang’s unconventional decision to give the tribes a reason to get along is also reinforced by Katara and Sokka’s reaction to the feud. Rather than condemning the divide, they get swept up in it, proving that the endless, petty cycle of violence would have continued no matter what. Aang’s comical tale about two twin boys inventing a game called “Redemption” changed the future for the better, and did so humorously. He chose and cultivated peace, and that’s part of why we love him so much in Avatar: The Last Airbender.