Avatar: The Last Airbender is an exciting anime-style action story starring Avatar Aang, the world’s last Airbender and last hope to end the dreadful Hundred-Year War. Aang’s adventure includes plenty of wild bender action, but it’s not just bending that defines this series. The heroes and villains are also smart strategists, and they come up with all kinds of devious plans.
Sometimes, things go exactly as planned, such as when princess Azula overthrew King Kuei and captured the city of Ba Sing Se. Plenty of other times, though, a plan completely fell apart because nothing went as expected, or a plan almost succeeded but was ruined at the last moment. When were ten instances of a plan going bust?
10 When Chit Sang Botched His Boiling Rock Escape
The Boiling Rock is a formidable prison complex found in Fire Nation territory, and eventually, Sokka and Zuko infiltrated the prison to rescue Hakoda. Along the way, they met a prisoner named Chit Sang, a Firebender who wanted to escape. He temporarily joined the team, but he wasn’t always a reliable asset.
Sokka and Zuko’s plan unraveled when Chit Sang cried out in pain when his improvised boat was halfway across the lake, and then the warden managed to extract vital intel from him later. Chit Sang didn’t feel too good about any of that.
9 When Zuko & June Failed To Capture Aang
At one point, Katara had lost her mother’s necklace, and prince Zuko recovered it. That necklace had Katara’s scent on it, so Zuko hired a bounty hunter named June whose mount could easily track down Katara with that scent. So far, it was a solid plan to find Aang through Katara.
Sure enough, Zuko, Iroh and June had Katara and Aang cornered at an abbey, but then Sokka, being resourceful as ever, used jugs of perfume to throw June off the literal scent. In the end, Zuko and June both got paralyzed with the shirshu’s tongue, and Aang and Katara escaped. June and Zuko were furious.
8 When Azula Failed To Drill Into Ba Sing Se
Princess Azula took over the mission to capture Aang, and along the way, she also helped the Fire Nation’s military capture key Earth Kingdom cities, such as Omashu. Then, Azula moved on to the great Ba Sing Se, where she oversaw the use of a massive drill to breach the city’s famed walls.
Azula was confident that this bold plan would work, and she would succeed where Iroh, the Dragon of the West, had once failed. However, Team Avatar showed up to save the day, and they destroyed the drill from within. Aang also fought off Azula personally, and Azula and Mai reluctantly admitted defeat.
7 When Zuko Failed To Capture Aang Up North
Zuko tried many times to capture Aang, and his simple plans failed over and over. Near the end of Book One: Water, Zuko’s most complex and daring plan yet was launched, and it seemed that this time, he would find success and show the scheming Admiral Zhao how it’s done.
Zuko let Zhao believe he had died, then slipped into the great Northern Water Tribe and snuck his way to Aang during the battle. He finally captured Aang, but he had no way to finish the job. He confessed some personal matters to an unconscious Aang, and eventually, Team Avatar came to the rescue. They generously helped Zuko escape, too.
6 When Zuko’s Squad Had An Awkward Time At The House Party
During a sunny vacation to the charming resort of Ember Island, Zuko, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee all had fun at the beach, and then they were invited to a house party. Zuko and his allies planned to have a good time while hiding their true identities, but they were in for a rough time.
Zuko and Mai were at each other’s throats, and Zuko’s jealous side emerged. Azula, meanwhile, tried her hand at flirting, but she botched it, and Ty Lee got more attention than she had bargained for. The night was practically ruined, but in the end, Azula and Zuko had fun demolishing the house. That certainly wasn’t the original plan.
5 When Aang Lost To Azula In Ba Sing Se’s Catacombs
During the climax of Book Two: Earth, Aang and Katara reunited in the catacombs under Ba Sing Se, and by now, even uncle Iroh was on their side. Aang and Katara planned to finish off Azula and save the city, but the opposite happened.
Zuko, to Iroh’s dismay, sided with Azula to regain his honor, and fought Aang and Katara. Eventually, Aang went into the Avatar state, but even that last-ditch plan failed, and Azula blasted Aang with her lightning. Iroh was captured as a traitor, and Katara barely escaped with Aang as Ba Sing Se finally fell.
4 When The Eclipse Invasion Failed
At first, this brilliant plan actually did go according to Sokka’s designs, but the Fire Nation was ready for this. The united invasion force stormed the Fire Nation’s capital and pushed deep into enemy territory while Aang went ahead on his own to confront Fire Lord Ozai.
However, Ozai had retreated into an underground bunker, and there was no hope of capturing or killing him. Then, the Fire Nation struck back with its formidable fleet of battle zeppelins, and the invasion force had to surrender. At least Aang and his group escaped to the Western Air Temple.
3 When Katara & Toph’s Scam Went Bust
While Aang and his friends toured the Fire Nation in disguise, they visited a lively town where Toph saw an opportunity to live up to her troublemaker reputation. She, Sokka and Aang kept pranking and scamming the townsfolk to get cash, and at first, Katara disapproved. Soon, though, Katara changed her mind.
Katara and Toph arranged to have Toph captured for her bounty, then break out of jail with metalbending. However, Toph was thrown into a wooden cell instead, and Katara was soon thrown in there with her. Then Combustion Man the assassin arrived, and things got even messier.
2 When Aang Failed To Negotiate King Bumi’s Release
Partway through Book Two: Earth, Azula and her Fire Nation allies captured the city of Omashu, and the elderly King Bumi got himself captured, too. Then, by chance, Aang’s side got their hands on the local Fire Nation governor’s baby son, Tom-Tom, and the governor’s family was desperate to get him back.
Aang’s side acted quickly, confronting Azula’s team and demanding a trade, Bumi for Tom-Tom. At the last moment, Azula called off the deal, and a fight broke out. Aang failed to free Bumi that day, and Omashu remained in Fire Nation hands, but at least Azula failed to capture or defeat Aang. Not all was lost.
1 When Aang Was Put On Trial On Avatar Day
When Aang and his friends found some giant wooden statues of Aang and the mighty Avatar Kyoshi, they thought they had found a town that absolutely loved the Avatar. But the opposite was true — the people here hated the Avatar and regularly burned wooden effigies of Avatars.
Aang was actually put on trial for Kyoshi’s past actions, and Katara and Sokka tried to set up Aang’s legal defense, only for Aang to completely botch the details. It seemed hopeless until Kyoshi manifested her spirit through Aang and talked things out. Aang is simply helpless in the courtroom.
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