Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender showrunners Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani explain why they wrongfooted viewers with their Netflix-original season 2 cliffhanger.
Spoilers for the Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 ending follow.
The second season of Avatar's live-action adaptation sees the Gaang confront Azula. To turn the tide, Aang enters the Avatar State, though the Airbender hesitates over killing the Fire Nation princess.
In retaliation, Azula hits Aang with a lightning bolt, with the 'lights' going out on not only him, but the lineage of Avatars that preceded him. While Aang is recovered, it appears he is dead – with Katara's water healing doing little to help. Unlike the Book 2 equivalent in the Nickelodeon animated series, this season ends on the cliffhanger that Aang, apparently, is dead.
"I want my mom to think, 'Oh no, he's dead!'" Boylan jokes in an interview with GamesRadar+. "This is a show for rabid fans of the animated series, which all of us are, and also for people who like historical drama, fantasy, and other kinds of anime… It should feel surprising. It should feel like a serious cliffhanger. We were always going to do that; that was from [the] jump."
Fellow co-showrunner Raisani added, "It's a really nice, natural break from where we go from [season 2] to where we find [season 3]. It is a great place to just take a moment away, and also leaves you 'What is the worst thing that could have happened?' And that's where you get left."
Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. For more, discover what we know so far about Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3.
