Key Takeaways
- Book Two: Earth intensifies Aang’s journey with more enemies, allies like Toph, and high-stakes battles towards confronting Fire Lord Ozai.
- The battles in Book Two showcase new characters, techniques, and higher stakes, culminating in memorable confrontations with Princess Azula.
- Princess Azula becomes a prominent antagonist, leading to thrilling showdowns where Team Avatar overcomes challenges and allies betray each other.
Aang’s journey to master the power of bending the four natural elements Avatar: The Last Airbender becomes more intense in Book Two: Earth. As the Avatar grows more powerful, so do his enemies. Princess Azula becomes a more prominent antagonist in this phase of the series, and the Avatar gains more allies like Toph to help him fulfill his destiny to defend humanity and bring balance to the bending world.
The best fights of Book Two: Earth feature new characters in addition to fan favorites with brand-new techniques and bending styles. Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s second season continues to capitalize on the choreography and storytelling elements that make the battles in the series so memorable. Most importantly, the stakes feel higher than ever as the inevitable confrontation with Fire Lord Ozai creeps closer.
10 Princess Azula & Her Allies Clash With the Kyoshi Warriors
Book Two: Episode 16 — Appa’s Lost Days
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 16: “Appa’s Lost Days” |
Kyoshi Warriors vs Azula |
Azula defeats the Kyoshi Warriors |
The Kyoshi Warriors have historically been strong allies to the Avatar given their namesake, and their bond with Avatar Aang is created in Book One: Water when he first visits the village while fleeing from Prince Zuko. Their loyalty to Aang drives them to help him search for his missing sky bison, Appa, when Princess Azula arrives in hot pursuit of the Avatar.
With Appa’s fur in hand, Princess Azula appears with allies Mai and Ty Lee at her side. Immediately, the Kyoshi Warriors assemble into a neat formation with reinforced fans drawn like shields, and the heated battle begins. Mai’s daggers clash with fans and swords in midair while Ty Lee stealthily disables the Kyoshi Warriors with her skillful chi blocking. Azula briefly gains the upper hand when she proves ruthless enough to target Appa, but Suki lures Appa away using his fear of fire, hoping he’ll quickly reunite with Aang to help him escape Azula.
9 The Rough Rhinos Ambush Prince Zuko & Uncle Iroh
Book Two: Episode 11 — The Desert
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 11: “The Desert” |
Prince Zuko & Iroh vs the Rough Rhinos |
Prince Zuko and Iroh defeat the Rough Rhinos and escape |
During one of their many stints traversing the bending world alone because of their outsider status, Prince Zuko and Uncle Iroh come under attack while traveling. The assailants are the Rough Rhinos, and Zuko learns that the gang has an interesting connection to Iroh. The Rough Rhinos refer to Iroh as the Dragon of the West, a moniker he earned during his service in the Fire Nation’s military as an esteemed general.
After brief musings about the past, the Rough Rhinos volley their first attack at Iroh by swinging a ball and chain that he deflects into a rhino, all while dodging flaming arrows from an archer. Zuko zeroes in on the archer for a close-quarters solo battle, and the group is quickly defeated. Iroh and Zuko escape on the back of one of their assailants’ beasts, showing once more what a great team this nephew-uncle duo makes.
8 Katara Learns the Danger of Ty Lee’s Chi Blocking
Book Two: Episode 3— Return to Omashu
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 3: “Return to Omashu” |
Mai & Ty Lee vs Team Avatar |
Katara & Sokka escape on Appa |
Book Two: Earth of Avatar: The Last Airbender puts Princess Azula and her allies at the forefront of the narrative more than in the previous book, making her allies Mai and Ty Lee a regular part of the plot’s ensemble. Katara and Sokka learn the dangerous nature of Mai and Ty Lee’s unique fighting styles the hard way during their first fight against the duo.
Aang and his allies have been on the run nonstop leading up to this sequence, and the chase has left Appa so exhausted he begins to fall from the sky. While Katara and Sokka prepare to reunite with Appa and flee, Mai and Ty Lee suddenly appear and attack them head-on. Katara expertly blocks a flurry of Mai’s blades by forcing a block of wood upward from the floor below with her waterbending, but Ty Lee sneaks up and disables her bending with chi blocking. When Katara has lost hope, Sokka arrives with Appa and blows back their opponents to pave a path for escape.
7 Aang Uses Three Bending Forms to Defeat Princess Azula
Book Two: Episode 13 — The Drill
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 13: “The Drill” |
Aang vs Princess Azula |
Aang escapes Azula and stops the drill |
As part of Princess Azula’s plan to invade the kingdom of Ba Sing Se, she leads a squad of Fire Nation soldiers in a charge on the kingdom’s outer wall with a massive drill meant to penetrate the barrier and pave a direct path to the capital. In the final moments leading up to the collision of the drill and the wall, Aang is the last defense standing between Princess Azula and the barrier.
Azula and Aang face off on top of the massive drill as boulders from the wall’s defense team rain down from above. Aang desperately tries to waterbend his way through the drill until Princess Azula arrives to stop him using her trademark blue flames. With all his attention focused on Azula, Aang is forced to draw on all bending styles but fire to win the fight. Azula’s normally graceful fighting style is severely limited as the ground beneath them grows slippery with mud, eventually resulting in her loss when she slips and falls from the top of the drill shortly before an attack from Aang destroys it.
6 Princess Azula Is Forced to Flee Aang & His Allies
Book Two: Episode 8 — The Chase
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 8: “The Chase” |
Princess Azula vs Team Avatar, Prince Zuko, & Iroh |
Princess Azula flees after injuring Iroh |
Princess Azula is one of the greatest villains of the Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise and her story begins to be a more prominent feature of the plot in Book Two: Earth. Azula is just as relentless as Zuko in her pursuit of the Avatar, and one chase scene early in the second season leads her to an abandoned town where she appears to have Aang cornered alone but quickly realizes she’s outnumbered.
Arrogance is Azula’s leading coefficient, driving her to continue pursuing Aang as more and more of his allies appear to defend him. Prince Zuko is the first to arrive to Aang’s defense, and Azula predictably chooses to attack him first before turning her attention back to the Avatar. This cycle repeats itself until Katara, Sokka, and Iroh also arrive and surround Azula, backing her into a corner. The princess coyly pretends to surrender before taking a shocking shot at Iroh to distract her enemies and escape.
5 Jet is Arrested Trying to Expose Zuko’s Firebending
Book Two: Episode 14 — City of Walls and Secrets
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 14: “City of Walls and Secrets” |
Prince Zuko vs Jet |
Jet is arrested and Zuko remains undercover |
Jet of the Freedom Fighters makes a return in Book Two of Avatar: The Last Airbender during a sequence where he’s dead set on exposing Prince Zuko and Iroh as undercover firebenders. After witnessing Iroh heat one of his signature cups of tea using his breath as steam, Jet explodes into the tea shop where the firebenders sit, intending to force them into exposing their abilities by attacking.
Prince Zuko is limited to countering Jet’s weapon-based attack without firebending, forcing him to rely on the pair of swords he uses as his iconic alter ego, the Blue Spirit. Jet fights Zuko in a frenzied state, loudly calling attention to their clash to sway public opinion against the undercover firebenders. After an exciting back-to-back combat sequence, Jet is eventually arrested for causing the disturbance because several townspeople vouch for Iroh when the police arrive to address the conflict.
4 Katara Rescues Sokka From a Mysterious Monster
Book Two: Episode 4 — The Swamp
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 4: “The Swamp” |
Team Avatar vs Swamp Benders |
Team Avatar defeats the Swamp Benders |
When Aang’s crew lands on a mysterious island characterized by its lush overgrown plant life, a creature made of vines appears from the depths of a swamp and attacks them. At first it seems the island’s intense spiritual energy is to blame for the manifestation of the strange beast, but the true nature of the monstrous being is revealed during their battle.
Sokka lacks the bending skills that Katara and Aang are equipped with, and he becomes the first to be captured by the mossy creature. Aang and Katara begin tearing away at the vines forming the strange beast’s body using slashes of air and water, but their regeneration makes the battle feel like an endless war of attrition. However, Katara pulls out all waterbending stops to masterfully remove Sokka from the monster’s grasp and expose the man hiding beneath the vines, marking one of her personal best performances in the first episodes of Book Two: Earth.
3 Toph Is a Dominant Force in the Earth Rumble Tournament
Book Two: Episode 6 — The Blind Bandit
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 6: “The Blind Bandit” |
Toph vs Earth Rumble Benders |
Toph defeats the Earth Rumble Benders alone |
Toph’s series debut is explosive, showcasing the strength of her earthbending skills in the exciting Earth Rumble Tournament. When Aang is captured as a prize for an earthbending tournament, Toph rises to the challenge to save the Avatar from her fellow earthbending opponents, but it isn’t a fair fight this time.
One of Toph’s defining traits is her arrogance, and the ego driving it is on full display when she demands to fight Aang’s captors alone. In one sweeping attack, she blows back all of her opponents to set the tone for the battle. The resulting dust cloud puts the other benders at a disadvantage but leaves Toph unaffected because of her blindness. One by one, enemies emerge from the dust to attack, but Toph dodges every attack. Even in a three-on-one match, she easily defeats her enemies and shocks her father.
2 Team Avatar Overpowers the Royal Earthbender Guards
Book Two: Episode 18 — The Earth King
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 18: “The Earth King” |
Team Avatar vs the Royal Earthbender Guards |
Team Avatar defeats the Royal Earthbender Guards |
One of the best fight sequences in Book Two of Avatar: The Last Airbender manifests similarly to a fast-paced heist scene. Aang and his allies burst into the Royal Palace of the Earth Kingdom to deliver the urgent news of Princess Azula’s corruption of the kingdom’s Dai Li force.
The Royal Earthbending Guards are simply no match for Aang and his diverse caravan of fighters. Toph and Aang lead the charge, defending the group from projectile attacks with synchronized earthbending. Katara extends her arms with whips of water to take out groups of soldiers on her own to clear a path for the rest of the group. Perhaps the most creative technique of the sequence is when Toph and Aang flatten the palace’s massive staircase to cause the soldiers to slip down while they slide themselves upward on a platform of earth beneath them.
1 Princess Azula Knocks Aang Unconscious in Avatar Mode
Book Two: Episode 20 — The Crossroads of Destiny
Fight Episode |
Opponents |
Result |
---|---|---|
Episode 20: “The Crossroads of Destiny” |
Azula & Zuko vs Aang & Katara |
Katara escapes with Aang after Princess Azula injures him |
The best fight of Book Two: Earth is the final face-off featuring Aang and Katara against Azula and Zuko in the stunning depths of an Earth Kingdom gemstone cave. Avatar Aang and Katara artfully waterbend together, cornering Princess Azula until Zuko unexpectedly betrays his Uncle and comes to her defense.
Prince Zuko immediately targets Aang while Azula and Katara square off in an uncommon solo match-up. Azula later uses her trademark blue flames to propel herself from her hands like jets to attack Aang head-on. Aang is forced to summon the power of the Avatar state to compete after the Dai Li shows up in support of Azula, but the princess strikes him down mid-transformation, knocking him unconscious. Iroh suddenly arrives to hold off his family so Katara can gather Aang and escape using a tower of water to propel her to the exit above.