The second season of Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender‘ continues the fight against the Fire Nation, as Aang and his friends head towards the city of Ba Sing Se to chart the next course of action. With the fall of Omashu in the Season 1 finale, they collect refugees along the way, who hope to find a home at their next destination. The group also includes the mechanist, Sai, and his son, Teo, whom the Gaang befriended last season. Teo was integral during the Gaang’s arc in Omashu, but he is surprisingly absent from the second season, and there is a good reason for that. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ba Sing Se’s Strict Rules Lead Teo to Find a New Mission
When Aang, his friends, and the refugees arrive in Ba Sing Se, they discover an entirely different world. To begin with, the city’s extensive fortifications have made it impenetrable, meaning it has remained unconquerable so far. The wall has kept the war and other dangers from entering the city, and inside, strict rules have been enforced to make sure that no trouble stirs among its citizens. One of those rules includes a ban on flying over the city. Due to the near-complete eradication of the Air Nomads, Ba Sing Se has never feared an airborne attack. But science and technology have allowed people like Teo to fly, and the last remaining frontier of the Earth Kingdom cannot risk having someone there they can’t reach.
Because Teo is paraplegic, flying is the way he goes around. Without it, he will be restricted to one place, and that’s something neither he nor his father wants. So, instead of accepting the rules and entering the city, he decides to move on to the next phase of his journey. It is a difficult decision because it means separating from his beloved father. But this is clearly their only choice, and they say their goodbyes, hoping to see each other again. With the fall of Omashu to the Fire Nation, Teo’s desire to help the war efforts and stop the Fire Nation in its tracks, if not beat it entirely, leads him to go further North. Sai tells Sokka that the Kyoshi warriors told Teo about the people who have been continuing the fight, and Teo decided to join them.
Flying has proven to be an incredible tool in fighting the war, especially with no other Airbenders left. So, Teo takes Sai’s designs, wishing to share them with the soldiers in the North. He plans to make gliders for them that can give them an edge over the soldiers of the Fire Nation. Undoubtedly, this will help greatly in a war that is intensifying with each round, and for now, seems to be completely in favor of the Fire Nation. Teo’s efforts will hopefully make a dent, particularly as the season ends on a rather shocking note for Aang. While the Ba Sing Se arc justifies Teo’s absence in Season 2, it doesn’t mean that this is the last we have seen of him.
In the original animated series on which the Netflix series is based, Teo’s arc takes a different turn, but he eventually separates from the main group and goes on an adventure of his own. He returns at the end of the war, which means that whatever dangerous missions he embarks upon in his side quest, he survives. Considering that the next season will also be the show’s last, it is possible that Teo may return to update the Gaang on what he has been up to and what is going on with the war efforts. His knowledge of mechanics might also make him useful in unique ways. What other role, if at all, he plays in the upcoming events remains to be seen.
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