Avatar: The Last Airbender is a universally beloved show, and is still incredibly popular despite being over a decade old. Almost every episode is at the very least good, and some arguably manage to be the best cartoon episodes of all time. However, not every entry into the series is loved by fans.
The website Reddit allows fans to discuss their opinions surrounding the entire Avatar saga, and while not many fans consider there to be a particularly bad episode, it's easy to spot which episodes Redditors think are worse than others.
The Boy In The Iceberg
Often shows take a while to find their footing, and even ATLA has this issue, according to some Redditors. One Reddit in particular, Gman1012, states that "Going back and rewatching the series, I like the very first episode the least. Mainly Sokka wasn't the Sokka we all love and the characters sort of changed after that episode, which is when I started liking them."
Since the characters were brand new, it was hard to adore them as much as fans adore them now. Particularly Sokka, who acted quite sexist in the first few episodes. Thankfully, the episode was good enough that viewers decided to keep watching.
The Painted Lady
"The Painted Lady" may be one of Katara's best episodes in ATLA, but that doesn't make it great overall. According to Reddit keepitcutthroat, "it's just so irrelevant in a spot that could've been filled with a great episode."
Season 3 was an action-packed season, and considering how high the stakes were, fans were often turned off to the more simple season 3 episodes like "The Painted Lady," which didn't really further the plot in a meaningful way. But the episode does still have some merits, such as showing that the Fire Nation weren't all evil, and showing how comionate Katara was as a character.
Appa's Lost Days
Appa is one of the most beloved characters in the whole show, so "Appa's Lost Days," an episode which involves him flying around lost and being abused by multiple people, naturally rubs a lot of viewers the wrong way.
As stated by Reddit JRutterbush, "Do whatever you want to the main characters. Beat them, kill them, torture them, set them on fire. Take them to hell and back ... but do not hurt the animals. That's just wrong." The episode is definitely a difficult one to watch, as it's hard to see Appa suffer so much, but this makes it all the more satisfying when viewers see him reunite with Aang later.
The Great Divide
Considered to be the worst ATLA episode by IMDb, "The Great Divide" is also considered one of the worst by Redditors. Though thankfully, a lot of Redditors also argue that the installment isn't actually that bad, just not as good as the rest of them.
As stated by Redditor Paradoxius, "It would have been good in any other show, but it is the worst episode of Avatar. Sokka and Katara are 100% out of character, the two tribes are totally one dimensional and homogenous, and the only thing it really shows is that it's hard to be a good Avatar because people suck, which is shown in so many other episodes that are just better in general."
Avatar Day
"Avatar Day," while a relatively light-hearted detective romp, is definitely a frustrating episode to watch for anyone who doesn't find the village funny, which unfortunately a lot of Redditors don't. As argued by Reddit GoEnzoGo, "That entire village was so dumb. I didn't find any of the jokes funny. The animation was kind of off. The fight scenes weren't memorable or even that nice to look at."
Thankfully, as true to ATLA's quality, GoEnzoGo its there are still some good elements too: "The only good parts of the episode were the Kyoshi flashback and some of the scenes with Zuko and Iroh."
The Desert
"The Desert" is both a very funny and a very tense episode, as the Gaang get stranded and struggle to remain together. Many people like this episode, but not everyone. Reddit MadoZombie states their opinion: "I know why it's necessary to the overall plot of Book II, and there isn't really anything wrong with the writing. I think I just dislike desert settings. For the entire episode I'm just itching for the Gaang to GTFO."
In MadoZombie's defense, the desert isn't the prettiest location that the Gaang goes to throughout the series, and they do also state that "Sokka's drug-induced hallucination was the only thing I enjoyed from "The Desert." Sokka's antics make a lot of things interesting."
The Blue Spirit
The Last Airbender is a children's show, therefore violence couldn't be shown as graphically as it would have been in more adult shows. Most fans accept this, but not all of them. This includes Reddit MaximusPaxmusJaximus, who argues that the less violent action weakens "The Blue Spirit" episode overall.
They argue that "The lame action went on to resurface in episodes like "The Blue Spirit", where characters deliberately refrained from hurting each other because it's a Nickelodeon kids show and they can't do that." This may be an unpopular choice of one of the worst installments, as often this is considered one of Zuko's best episodes in Avatar.
Bato Of The Water Tribe
An unpopular Reddit opinion about Aang is that he can be selfish and annoying, and nowhere is this more evident than in "Bato of the Water Tribe," which actually ends up weakening the episode overall. Reddit moose1020 states that Aang's personality makes this episode one of the worst: "Aang is completely out of character for the most part and is extremely hateable."
There are other aspects of the episode that are weaker too. Bato isn't a particularly memorable character, and the animation isn't up to its usual standard of quality. But at least this entry introduces June, who is one of the better villains in the show.
The King Of Omashu
Redditor MaximusPaxmusJaximus states that their "least favorite episode is "The King of Omashu." This ep summarizes everything I hate about The Last Airbender: interesting lore and concepts ruined by kiddy-kiddy action, awkward humor, and instances of cringe writing. I didn't like Bumi, and I think his jokes are extremely forced and episode-skippingly immature. The action was slow and lame, occasionally interrupted by moments of noticeable melodrama, and there were plenty of moments where Aang was well out of character, furthering my dislike for him."
This opinion may seem harsh, but this episode has slightly lower stakes than many others, and not every installment is going to be everyone's cup of tea!
The Cave Of Two Lovers
According to Reddit Jakeowaty, the worst episode is "The Cave of Two Lovers. It's very predictable what's going to happen simply by reading the title. You already know what the episode is about, which immediately kills the whole excitement."
This episode is a slightly more chill affair, as it mainly focuses on the relationship, or rather, the relationship drama, between main characters Aang and Katara. This focus on romance has a tendency to turn fans off to this episode, as not everyone ships Kataang, or finds it interesting to watch two pre-teens bicker about whether or not they would kiss the other.