Avatar: The Last Airbender's Most Criticized Episode

Avatar: The Last Airbenderis one of the greatest animated shows of all time, but it still wasn’t immune to having a few lackluster episodes. Filled with complex characters, rich lore, gorgeous animation, an incredible sense of humor, and weighty thematic elements,Avatar: The Last Airbenderis an animated masterpieceand a staple of Western animation as a whole.

20 years later, theharsh realities ofAvatar: The Last Airbendershow that the series wasn’t perfect. Still, the show’s highs vastly outweigh any of the slight negatives that are present. While certain episodes ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderare perfect television,Avatarhad its share of less-than-stellar stories, with one being an obvious weak spot.

The Great Divide episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

“The Great Divide” Is Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Most Criticized Episode

There Are A Lot Of Issues With “The Great Divide”

While not every episode ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderis “Sozin’s Comet” or “Zuko Alone,” the majority of them are very well-made, with the occasional stumble over the course of three seasons. This is the most obvious in season 1, episode 11,“The Great Divide,” which is largely considered the worst episode in the entire series.

“The Great Divide” focuses on two warring clans that Aang attempts to help cross a dangerous canyon. Though the premise itself is interesting, the episode was lackluster overall, and is the only episode in the entirety ofAvatar: The Last Airbenderto be rated less than 7/10 onIMDbby its fans, coming in at an underwhelming 6.8.

The reception to the episode makes sense.Characters are extremely one-dimensional, and it inexplicably muddies characterization that had already been established in previous episodes, with Aang telling a lie to get the tribes to stop fighting being the most egregious. The biggest issue with “The Great Divide,” though, is how inconsequential it feels to the series as a whole.

Discourse around filler in TV shows, especially when it comes to animated series, will always be divided. While filler does have its place, it’s undeniable that"The Great Divide" truly did nothing to not only push the plot forward in any meaningful way, but it also didn’t take its cast of characters into any interesting directions.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender episode The Ember Island Players

Even The Last Airbender’s Creators Agreed That This Episode Has Too Much “Filler”

While the overwhelming consensus among fans is that “The Great Divide” isAvatar: The Last Airbender’s weakest episode, the sentiment is cemented even further by the show’s creators. In 2021, co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko hopped on an episode of Dante Basco’s Avatar podcast,Braving the Elements(viaEW), and they had choice words for “The Great Divide.”

While they defended some of the filler episodes ofAvatar: The Last Airbender, they couldn’t do that for “The Great Divide,“mostly agreeing with fans' views on the episode. DiMartino highlighted the episode in particular, conceding the idea that it is the most filler in the entire series, saying:

“The most famous one is ‘The Great Divide’ one, which I’ll give them, I’ll say that’s pretty ‘filler-y.

Konieztko was particularly harsh on “The Great Divide,” but it makes sense that they wouldn’t be happy with it, given how it stacks up to the rest of the series. After Basco suggested that changing the ending could have improved the episode, Bryan Konietzko stated:

That’s terrible. Nah, I don’t think that would have saved it… You’ve got this big gap; it’s a big empty hole, yet it is filler… Yeah, I was not happy with it. Even the episodes that I wasn’t as stoked on, there were always moments that I really liked.

Sometimes, showrunners jump to the defense of the more divisive episodes in a given series. The fact that both DiMartino and Konietzko can agree with the idea that “The Great Divide” is the worst episode inAvatar: The Last Airbenderonly highlights how much it stands out alongside the rest of the show.

Despite Complaints, Filler Helped Make The Nickelodeon Series Great

Some Of The Last Airbender’s Best Episodes Could Be Considered Filler

Those who are against filler episodes of animated shows usually point to them lacking any sort of significance in progressing the overall plot. While this is understandable, filler episodes can also be a great way to slow down and explore characters in even more depth. This issomething thatAvatar: The Last Airbenderdoes better than most of its peers.

Episodes like “The Beach” and “Zuko Alone” contain some great character moments, with the latter beingone ofAvatar: The Last Airbender’s best. “Ember Island Players” might be a clip episode, but it is arguably the best clip episode of all time, hilariously recapping everything that had led up to the show as Aang prepares his final battle against Fire Lord Ozai.

Most notably,“The Tales of Ba Sing Se” shows how incredible filler episodes could actually be. It doesn’t do much to push the narrative forward, but it has some of the best character episodes in the entire series, with Uncle Iroh’s story being one of the most significantly quiet moments inAvatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar: The Last Airbenderhas endured as a staple of Western animation for two decades, and for good reason. Not only is the storytelling incredible, but it takes its time in exploring its characters in greater depth than most other shows. Even though “The Great Divide” might be its worst episode,Avatar: The Last Airbenderis second-to-none with its filler.