Legends (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

"Legends" is the eighth episode and finale of the first season of the Netflix adventure fantasy television series Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is based on the animated television series of the same name (2005–2008). The show follows Aang (Gordon Cormier), the last airbender and the “Avatar”, on his journey to bring balance to a war-torn world by mastering all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire. On his quest, he is joined by companions Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) and hunted down by Fire Nation prince Zuko (Dallas Liu). The episode was directed by Jet Wilkinson and written by showrunner Albert Kim.

The episode, like the rest of the season, adapts the first season of the original, with this episode specifically adapting the two-part season finale episodes nineteen and twenty, "The Siege of the North". It follows Aang and the Northern Water Tribe fighting against the Fire Nation to protect the tribe and the moon and ocean spirits, while Zuko infiltrates the city to capture Aang. The episode was released on Netflix on February 22, 2024, along with the rest of the season, receiving mixed reviews.

Plot
Aang, Katara, and Sokka manage to ambush a Fire Navy ship and defeat the soldiers on board before they realize they are too many for them to fight themselves. A battle begins as the Fire Nation tries to break through the wall protecting the city Agna Qel'a of the Northern Water Tribe. Katara convinces Master Pakku to let her help, and she joins the forces against the Fire Nation, while Chief Arnook tasks Sokka with protecting his daughter, Princess Yue.

Zuko sneaks into the Northern Water Tribe and tries to find the Avatar, while Iroh warns Zhao not to send all of his forces to the front of the city and not to attack the Tribe during the night as the waterbenders would gain more strength due to the upcoming Ice Moon. Zhao reveals that he found a knife in Avatar Roku's temple that once belonged to Avatar Kuruk and was capable of killing the Moon's spirit's physical form, and he plans to render the waterbenders powerless by destroying the moon. Iroh warns him against this.

During the battle, Momo is fatally injured while saving a child. Yue takes Sokka to the tribe's spirit oasis, where the Moon spirit healed her as a child. There, Yue heals Momo in the water. Sokka and Yue hide as they see Zhao, Iroh, and a small group of firebenders arrive in the Spirit Oasis using a Fire Nation hot air balloon. During the battle, Avatar Kuruk's spirit appears to Aang and tells him he senses his knife nearby and that the Moon and Ocean spirits are in danger. Aang and Katara rush to protect the spirits, but Zuko arrives intent on capturing the Avatar. Katara engages in a fight with him while Aang rushes to the Spirit Oasis. Iroh once again warns Zhao about killing the Moon spirit, which has taken the form of a koi fish, but Zhao kills it anyway.

As all water benders lose their bending abilities, the Fire Nation breaches the wall of the city. Iroh defeats Zhao's firebending guards while Zhao flees. Aang merges with the Ocean spirit, creating a giant rampaging spirit monster. The monster walks through the city, defeating all the Fire Nation forces, and Katara pleads with Aang to come back to her as she needs him. Zuko confronts Zhao and duels him, eventually winning.

A defeated Zhao reveals Azula was backing up toward his search for the Avatar, telling Zuko that his entire mission has been Ozai's way of inspiring and testing her. Zhao, about to strike Zuko, is killed by Iroh, and the two escape the tribe together. In the Spirit Oasis, Yue realizes that since she has a portion of her life that was given to her when the Moon spirit saved her as a child, Yue is the only one who can bring the Moon back. Sokka tries to stop her, but Yue, still retaining her waterbending abilities, freezes Sokka's feet, gives up her life, and becomes the new Moon spirit, restoring the waterbender's abilities. Aang and the Ocean spirit separate, and the Fire Nation retreats after facing heavy damage.

In the aftermath of the battle, Aang decides to begin mastering the other three elements: water, earth, and fire. Pakku assigns Katara to be Aang's waterbending teacher. Meanwhile, Fire Lord Ozai reveals that the attack on Agna Qel'a was a distraction for Azula to take over Omashu and capture King Bumi. The Great Sage also informs Ozai that Sozin's Comet, a comet that grants firebenders additional power, will be returning "soon".

Production
This episode was directed by Jet Wilkinson and written by showrunner Albert Kim; it aired on Netflix along with the rest of the season on February 22, 2024. The episode features plotlines inspired by episodes of the animated series, primarily episodes nineteen and twenty, two-parter "The Siege of the North".

Main cast members Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Ken Leung as Admiral Zhao, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, and Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai appear. Amber Midthunder, A Martinez, Nathaniel Arcand, Irene Bedard and Joel Oulette star as Northern Water Tribe characters Princess Yue, Master Pakku, Chief Arnook, Master Yagoda, and Hahn respectively. Meegwun Fairbrother stars as Avatar Kuruk, one of Aang's past lives. Elizabeth Yu stars as Fire Nation Azula while Utkarsh Ambudkar appears as Aang's old friend and king of Omashu, Bumi. François Chau stars as the Great Sage, and Matt Yang King stars as the vocalizations of Appa and Momo.

Critical reception
The episode received mixed reviews. Noah Petrillo of The Review Geek gave the episode 4.5 stars out of 5 saying "The season finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender sticks the landing. There were moments that felt underutilized, but others that managed to utterly dazzle. Despite the changes, hollow areas, and missed opportunities, “Legends” manages to deliver a powerful climax and leave us wanting more." Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars writing the episode “has some resonant emotional beats and large-scale action, but it’s just the beginning of a much larger story.” Rich Eberwein from Winter is Coming gave the episode a D score saying “The culmination of an entire season of multi-million dollar storytelling, and it fell short of my expectations.”

In their ranking of all 8 episodes from the first season, Tyler B. Searle from Collider ranked this episode 2nd out of the 8 episodes writing that the episode "delivers a satisfactory climax to Netflix's Avatar, with plenty of strong action and character moments. Nearly every major player gets a moment to shine, from Zuko and Zhao's showdown to Aang merging with the ocean spirit to unleash wrath and ruin upon the Fire Nation." Umair Malick from The Gamer in their ranking of all 8 episodes of the first season ranked the episode 3rd saying "The finale of Netflix’s Avatar managed to be such a huge upgrade compared to the original live-action movie that it managed to go beyond expectations of the final fight."