As fans dive into Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, they might start to feel the itch to revisit the cartoon. Of course, with eight live-action episodes and 61 total cartoon episodes, moments from the live-action’s first season come from all over the cartoon map. To help out viewers, we’ve compiled a list of which Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon episodes correspond to the eight live-action episodes of the Netflix series. It’s a more complex map than you might think. Yip, yip! It’s time to explore which cartoon episodes inspired and made it into the live-action series.
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode One of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
Episode one of the Netflix live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, “Aang,” is one of the more straightforward episodes of the series as far as cartoon references are concerned. This episode chiefly adapts the first three episodes of the ATLA cartoon’s Book One: Water. It sets up the characters of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko. From Aang’s emergence into the world to Zuko’s menacing of the Southern Water Tribe to Aang’s fraught discoveries at the abandoned Northern Air Temple, it’s the closest the live-action series gets to a straight retelling of the cartoon.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Aang”:
- Book One: Water, 1.01 “The Boy in the Iceberg”
- Book One: Water, 1.02 “The Avatar Returns”
- Book One: Water, 1.03 “The Southern Air Temple”
- Book One: Water, 1.12 “The Storm” (Aang’s live-action time growing up in the Air Temple and his discovery that he is the Avatar are inspired by flashbacks that come from this episode of the cartoon.)
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Two of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
In episode two, Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series begins its remixing of the cartoon in earnest. Of course, since the episode is called “Warriors” and takes place on Kyoshi Island, it naturally borrows from the season one cartoon episode “The Warriors of Kyoshi.” But, in addition to this, it adds in details from later episodes. It even reaches into Books Two and Three of the cartoon. For instance, in episode two of the live-action, Katara reveals Gran Gran gave her a waterbending scroll. In the cartoon, that arrives in the picture only in episode nine. Additionally, in the cartoon, Kyoshi doesn’t make her first actual appearance until Book Two. Her presence in season one, episode two of the live-action series, brings information only discovered much later in the animated show.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Warriors”:
- Book One: Water, 1.03 “The Southern Air Temple” (Our meeting with Commander Zhao comes from this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.04 “The Kyoshi Warriors” (The Kyoshi Warriors, Kyoshi Island setting, the introduction of Suki, and her relationship with Sokka come from this episode. )
- Book One: Water, 1.08 “Winter Solstice, Part 2” (Precedent for Aang turning into one of the previous Avatars comes from this episode, although it is Roku and not Kyoshi in the cartoon episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.09 “The Waterbending Scroll” (Katara receives her Waterbending scroll from Gran Gran in the live-action series but steals it from pirates in the cartoon.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.01 “The Avatar State” (The information Avatar Kyoshi shares with Aang about the Avatar State comes from this episode.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.05 “Avatar Day” (Some background about Kyoshi’s time as Avatar comes from this episode.)
- Book Three: Fire, 3.16, “The Southern Raiders (The flashbacks to Katara’s mother come from this episode.)
- Book Three: Fire, 3.19, “Sozin’s Comet – Part 2: The Old Masters” (Aang seeks advice from his past life and speaks to Avatar Kyoshi in this episode.)
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Three of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
Episode three of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action adaptation kicks its cartoon reimagining into high gear. It smartly brings together many stand-alone Earth Kingdom characters into one tale. In the cartoon, fans met figures such as Jet, the Mechanist, and Bumi in their own separate episodic outings. But there’s no room for that in live-action, and the series instead combos all these cartoon figures into a singular narrative. It’s a great way to handle the number of characters Avatar has without cutting too many of them from the screen. Here’s what episode three, “Omashu,” entailed.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Omashu”:
- Book One: Water, 1.09 “The Waterbending Scroll” (Katara’s water whip move comes from this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.05 “The King of Omashu” (The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, including its fun system of chutes, is introduced in this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.10 “Jet” (The characters of Jet and his Freedom Fighters, as well as his full story, come from this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.17 “The Northern Air Temple” (The tale of the Mechanist and Teo, as well as the latter’s inventions and work with the Fire Nation, comes from this episode. The Fire Nation’s war balloon and Sokka’s hand in creating the invention also come from this episode.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.02 and 2.03 “The Cave of Two Lovers” and “Return to Omashu” (The idea of the Fire Nation causing trouble in Omashu comes to the cartoon in these episodes. Additionally, this Avatar: The Last Airbender episode is the first to properly introduce Azula, as well as her team of Mai and Ty Lee.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.14 “The City of Secrets and Walls” (Uncle Iroh and Zuko’s more peaceful moments in the Earth Kingdom city during the live-action’s third episode bring to mind some of their quieter Ba Sing Se moments from the cartoon.)
- Book Three: Fire, 3.16, “The Southern Raiders (The flashbacks to Katara’s mother come from this episode.)
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Four of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
Episode four of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series continues the Earth Kingdom remix. It brings Bumi to the table as well as concluding the stories of Jet and the Mechanist for now. This episode titled, “Into the Dark,” also brings in Earth Kingdom lore from Book Two of the live-action and cleverly mixes in parts of Zuko and Iroh’s journey as well.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Into the Dark”:
- Book One: Water, 1.05 “The King of Omashu” (King Bumi and his tests for Avatar Aang come from this episode. Their live-action backstory as childhood friends also stems from this cartoon episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.07 “Winter Solstice, Part 1” (Clearly inspiring this live-action episode, in the cartoon episode, earthbenders capture Uncle Iroh, and Zuko must decide whether to save him or go after the Avatar. Uncle Iroh uses a slipper to mark the path of his captors in the cartoon and a lotus tile in the live-action. Zuko, of course, ultimately chooses to help his uncle, revealing the goodness of his heart.)
- Book One: Water, 1.10 “Jet” (Katara freezing Jet in place and leaving him there comes directly from this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.17 “The Northern Air Temple” (The Mechanist repenting for his betrayal comes from this episode.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.02 “The Cave of Two Lovers” (This cartoon episode introduces us to the tunnels near Omashu and the romantic Earth Kingdom myth of Oma and Shu, which explains how earthbenders use their power. The live-action episode even brings to life the cartoon gang of nomadic hippies who love to sing the song “Secret Tunnel.” The cartoon episode introduces us to badgermoles as well, which the live-action brings to life as it reimagines the storyline of Katara and Sokka stuck in the tunnels.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.09 and 2.15, “Bitter Work” and “The Tales of Ba Sing Se” (In these cartoon episodes, we get to know more about Uncle Iroh’s past and his now-dead son Lu Ten. The live-action’s fourth episode beautifully adapts these moments from the cartoon and even brings in the “Little Soldier Boy” musical cue so that we all cry.
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Five of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
Episode five of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series, aptly titled “Spirited Away,” takes us out of Omashu and into the Spirit World. The episode has a firm basis in the cartoon’s season one episode, “Winter Solstice, Part 1.” But in this episode, the live-action also spiritually adapts and literally references many other Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon outings. We especially enjoy the slew of cartoon episodes name-dropped at the Earth Kingdom bar as the locals share the tales they heard of the Avatar in this live-action episode, “Spirited Away.”
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Spirited Away”:
- Book One: Water, 1.05 “The King of Omashu” (The name Sokka gives to the villager girl’s doll in the live-action, Pippinpaddle Oppsookopolis, is the fake name that Aang gives to Omashu’s guards in the cartoon episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.07 “Winter Solstice, Part 1” (In this cartoon episode, Sokka is kidnapped into the Spirit World, and Aang goes to save him. In the live-action, Aang brings Katara and Sokka into the realm, and then they get kidnapped.)
- Book One: Water, 1.12 “The Storm” (Some of Aang’s interactions with Monk Gyatso in this live-action episode come directly from flashbacks in the cartoon episode, “The Storm.”)
- Book One: Water, 1.15 “Bato of the Water Tribe” (Uncle Iroh and Zuko’s team-up with June the Bounty Hunter comes directly from this episode. The cartoon also introduces the character of Bato, a close friend of Sokka and Katara’s dad, Hakoda, and the concept of the Water Tribe’s rite of ice dodging here. These ideas feature in Sokka’s live-action visions during this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.19 “The Siege of the North, Part 1” (Aang demanding quiet to focus on his spiritual journey comes right from this cartoon episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.20 “The Siege of the North, Part 2” (Koh, the face stealer, who is a primary antagonist in this live-action episode, is introduced into the Avatar cartoon world toward the end of season one.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.04 “The Swamp,” (Although in a different setting, the Avatar live-action’s “Spirited Away” strongly calls up and adapts the cartoon episode, “The Swamp.” Like in the swamp, Katara, Sokka, and Aang get lost in a fog of memories and fears.)
- Book Two: Eart, 2.07 “The Library,” (The owl-shaped spirit of knowledge Wan Shi Tong is introduced in this episode of the cartoon under different circumstances than the live-action.)
- Book Three: Fire, 3.16, “The Southern Raiders (Katara’s visions of her mother’s death at the hands of the Fire Nation come from this episode.)
- Quickfire Cartoon Episode References from the Earth Kingdom bar: The live-action references episodes 1.09 “The Waterbending Scroll” (The Gaang vs. pirates), 1.11 “The Great Divide” (Canyon Guide who saw the Gaang fight Canyon Crawlers), 1.14 “The Fortuneteller” (The Gaang stop a volcano), 1.05 “The King of Omashu” (Aang vs. King Bumi).
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Six of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
Two of the best cartoon episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, “The Storm” and the “Blue Spirit,” converge to create episode six of the live-action adaptation, “Masks.” The show hits some great notes as its focus shifts to Zuko’s backstory and his complex relationship with the Fire Nation and Avatar Aang.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Masks”:
- Book One: Water, 1.08 “Winter Solstice, Part 2” (Aang’s encounter with the Fire Sages at Avatar Roku’s temple comes from this cartoon episode, as does Aang finally getting to meet and learn about Roku himself.)
- Book One: Water, 1.12 “The Storm” (Zuko’s backstory is first revealed to the audience in the cartoon episode, “The Storm.” The live-action Avatar adaptation takes the flashbacks to Zuko speaking out at the war council and his Agni Kai with Fire Lord Ozai and expands them wonderfully.)
- Book One: Water, 1.12 “The Blue Spirit” (The live-action Avatar takes the core of “The Blue Spirit” and brings it life. While the cartoon episode has a funnier bend, the live-action is all business, but the change is effective. Aang still rescues Sokka and Katara as he does in the cartoon episode but under slightly different circumstances. (And no frozen frogs are involved this time.) The live-action also expands on the cartoon conversation between Zuko and Aang, creating an early basis for their later friendship.)
- Book One: Water, 1.18 “The Waterbending Master” (In this episode, Zhao demands to take over Zuko’s ship and announces he’s planning to be the one to capture Avatar.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.07 “Zuko Alone” (In “Zuko Alone,” Avatar gives us a glimpse of the sweet child Zuko was before his exile and the death of his mother, something the live-action adaptation clearly uses in its episode six Zuko flashbacks.)
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Seven of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
As the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series starts to draw to a close, it focuses on specific cartoon episodes once again. But, even still, a few other inspirations creep in to complete the live-action chapter.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Adapted in “The North”:
- Book One: Water, 1.15 “Bato of the Water Tribe” (Katara and Sokka’s love of stewed sea prunes is introduced in this episode.)
- Book One: Water, 1.18 “The Waterbending Master” (The Northern Water Tribe as a whole, Yue, and Katara’s conflict with Master Pakku all come from this episode.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.18 “The Guru” (The idea that Aang has to let go of his friends and connections, especially Katara, to succeed at being the Avatar comes from this cartoon episode.)
- Book Three: Fire, 3.19, “Sozin’s Comet – Part 2: The Old Masters” (Everything we learn about Avatar Kuruk in the live-action is featured in this late episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.)
The Cartoon Episodes Adapted in Episode Eight of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Live-Action
The final episode of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series is a straightforward retelling of the two final episodes of the cartoon’s Book One: Water and the battle of the North Pole. But it does bring a little season two twist to the table.
The ATLA Cartoon Episodes Referenced in “Legends”:
- Book One: Water, 1.19 and 1.20 “The Siege of the North, Part 1 and 2” (Everything from the battle at the North Pole to the tangles with the ocean and water spirits come from these cartoon episodes.)
- Book Two: Earth, 2.02 and 2.03 “The Cave of Two Lovers” and “Return to Omashu” (The live action closes with the Fire Nation taking over the city of Omashu, leaving only Ba Sing Se untouched in the Earth Kingdom. This storyline comes from Book Two: Earth’s second and third cartoon episodes.)
Nerdist Editor Rotem Rusak has been an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan for nearly two decades. You can learn all about her love of Zuko’s story on Nerdist’s Laser Focus Podcast.
