The North (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

"The North" is the seventh episode 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 Audrey Wong Kennedy.

The episode, like the rest of the season, adapts the first season of the original, with this episode specifically adapting episode eighteen, "The Waterbending Master". It follows Aang and his friends as they arrive at the Northern Water Tribe where Aang asks Avatar Kuruk (Meegwun Fairbrother), one of his past lives, for advice, Katara faces sexism in the tribe as they refuse to let her learn to fight, and Sokka meets and grows close with the tribe's princess. The episode was released on Netflix on February 22, 2024, along with the rest of the season, receiving mixed reviews.

Plot
On Zuko's ship, Lieutenant Jee returns with the information he received from a drunk Lieutenant Dang that Fire Lord Ozai was coming to visit Zuko. Iroh prompts Zuko to escape on a small row boat while he handles Ozai, but Zuko finds blasting jelly on the boat and it explodes while he's on the water. Admiral Zhao watches from afar, revealing he was the mastermind of the explosion. He later offers Iroh the chance to serve as his general as he leads a siege on the Northern Water Tribe.

Meanwhile, Aang and his friends arrive at the Northern Water Tribe and are treated with hospitality by Chief Arnook and his daughter Yue. Aang tells Arnook about a war that is coming but both Arnook and the tribe's waterbending master Pakku are unimpressed by the fact that Aang has only mastered one element, airbending, and won't be able to help end the war.

Arnook throws Aang and his friends a feast where Sokka sees Princess Yue working in the kitchen to create food for the children. The two bond and she later reveals she was the fox that Sokka saw in the Spirit World. Yue explains that when she was born she was very sick and on the verge of death. So Arnook used some of the Moon Spirit's energy to heal her. This makes Yue "part spirit, mostly human" and someone who can enter and interact with the Spirit World in her dreams. Aang visits Avatar Kuruk's shrine to learn from him, and he asks him to take over his body, like Avatar Kyoshi did. Kuruk refuses, claiming his adventures into the Spirit World has disrupted his ability to access the Avatar State. He also tells Aang that his friends will be burdensome to his responsibilities as the Avatar, harkening back to what Avatars Roku and Kyoshi had previously said. Aang decides he needs to fight the Fire Nation alone.

In the Fire Nation, Azula is constantly tested by her father and she begins to become annoyed. Knowing herself to be the best firebender, Azula refuses to participate in one of her father's challenges, instead showing him her ability to generate lightning, which Ozai seems pleased with.

Zhao and Iroh approach the Northern Water Tribe, where Iroh talks to a masked guard, who is revealed to be a disguised Zuko who survived Zhao's explosion. Katara goes to learn waterbending from master Yagoda where she learns how to use it to heal wounds. When she asks when she can learn how to fight, Yagoda reveals that women in the tribe do not fight as it goes against tradition. Katara confronts Pakku on the matter, and he refuses to teach her. She challenges Pakku to a duel, which Pakku wins but Katara's effort inspires many members of the tribe, including Pakku himself. Katara and Sokka reassure Aang that they will stay and fight with him, just as the Fire Nation arrives at the tribe.

Production
This episode was directed by Jet Wilkinson and written by Audrey Wong Kennedy; 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 episode eighteen, "The Waterbending Master".

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 stars as Yue, the princess of the Northern Water Tribe. A Martinez, Nathaniel Arcand, Irene Bedard and Joel Oulette star as Northern Water Tribe characters Master Pakku, Chief Arnook, Master Yagoda, and Hahn respectively. Meegwun Fairbrother stars as Avatar Kuruk, one of Aang's past lives. Elizabeth Yu, Thalia Tran and Momona Tamada star as Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee respectively while Ruy Iskandar and Ryan Mah play Fire Nation Lieutenants Jee and Dang respectively. Matt Yang King stars as the vocalizations of Appa and Momo.

Critical reception
The episode received mixed reviews. Rich Eberwein from Winter is Coming gave the episode a C- score saying “I feel like I'm saying this for every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it's true: "The North" has things I really liked and moments that I despise. This time, Team Avatar arrives at the Northern Water Tribe.” Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut gave the episode 3.5 out of 5 stars writing the episode “sets the stage for the finale, tying several threads and details together in time for the final battle.” Noah Petrillo of The Review Geek gave the episode 3.5 stars out of 5 saying ""The North" serves as a well-rounded lead-up to the climactic battle ahead. While full of strong attributes, a few deeper issues were made clear in this episode that may be too far in to correct before the season ends." and "this episode was saved by Sokka’s undeniable charm and Katara’s feminine rage. Her duel was exhilarating, and Sokka and Yue have a fairytale romance" The Comic Crow of Fandom Pulse gave the episode a score of 4 out of 10 writing "The Zhao scenes are really entertaining, but there’s so much catch-up being done by the showrunners to get ready for the final episode we don’t get to see much of the relationships between the characters grow naturally."

In their ranking of all 8 episodes from the first season, Tyler B. Searle from Collider ranked this episode 3rd out of the 8 episodes writing that the episode "does a good job of giving time and development to the many new characters from the Northern Water Tribe, especially Yue, whose relationship with Sokka feels genuine. Sadly, it again suffers from the rushed pacing, especially in Katara and Aang's storyline."