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Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s hero is the titular world’s last Airbender, Avatar Aang himself. He was born before the Hundred-Year War ever began, and he was there when it ended many decades later. Aang’s adventure is the stuff of legend, and some of his best decisions helped shape the course of his entire life and the entire world.
However, Aang doesn’t always know what’s best, and that is understandable. He is a 12-year-old boy with a destiny and responsibility thrust upon him, and the entire world hangs in the balance. The pressure is immense and Aang is only human. Sometimes, Aang made ill-informed or questionable decisions. Fortunately, he had friends and allies to help him out.
10 BEST DECISION: When He Spared Fire Lord Ozai’s Life
At first, it seemed highly questionable for Avatar Aang to spare Fire Lord Ozai’s life, given how incredibly dangerous Ozai was as a Firebender, national leader, and military commander. However, Aang might have poisoned his own soul if he killed Ozai in cold blood. He simply couldn’t do it.
Aang thus preserved his spirit when he spared Ozai’s life, but he did obliterate Ozai’s firebending and had him imprisoned from that point on. And, as the Dark Horse comics showed, Fire Lord Zuko needed some advice from his fallen father, so it was for the best that Ozai survives.
9 WORST DECISION: When He Ran Away From His Destiny 100 Years Ago
One hundred years ago, Aang believed that he was a fairly talented but ordinary Airbender. He was wrong; he was also the Avatar, and it was clear that Fire Lord Sozin was preparing for war soon. It fell to Aang to train as the Avatar to face this threat, but Aang was having none of it.
Aang shocked Monk Gyatso when he fled in the night with Appa, unwilling to face his duty. This allowed the war to begin at the expense of the Air Nomads, and Aang was absolutely wracked with guilt. Fortunately, he got the chance to fix everything when he emerged from that iceberg.
8 BEST DECISION: When He Accepted Zuko As A Teammate & Friend
Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation was determined to capture the Avatar to restore his honor and prestige. He and Aang were enemies for months on end. Eventually, Zuko realized that his destiny was not based on capturing the Avatar.
Zuko also realized that he had to help Aang take down Ozai to restore peace and end the tyranny of the Fire Nation, and Aang wisely accepted Zuko as a friend after some initial stumbling blocks. Zuko proceeded to teach Aang all he knew about firebending.
7 WORST DECISION: When Aang Tried To Run Away After Losing To Azula
During the finale of Book Two: Earth, the vicious princess Azula fought Avatar Aang underneath Ba Sing Se, and she very nearly killed him with her lightning. Katara narrowly saved Aang’s life when she used some healing water, but Aang’s spirit wasn’t so easily soothed. He ran away once again.
Aang was barely healed enough to move, and he pushed himself hard as he fled through a storm to a deserted island. However, running away would do no good for anyone; he had to forgive himself for losing to Azula, marshal his spirits, and keep fighting.
6 BEST DECISION: When He Recognized Toph As His Ideal Earthbending Teacher
Although Aang and the fierce Toph Beifong have very different personalities, they are on the same team, and Aang wisely recognized her as the perfect earthbending teacher. Aang’s old friend, King Bumi, advised Aang to find a teacher who can wait and listen to the earth.
Earthbenders such as The Boulder focused on showmanship, while Toph understood the essential fundamentals, and Aang learned much when he convinced Toph to join his team and coach him. No one else could have taught Aang to bend earth like that.
5 WORST DECISION: When Aang Hid The Map To Hakoda
Fortunately, this bad decision of Aang’s had limited consequences, and he and his friends soon patched things up. Still, Aang’s actions during the episode “Bato of the Water Tribe” were anything but praiseworthy. His petty side reared its head.
Aang felt left out when Sokka and Katara met up with Bato, one of chief Hakoda’s friends, and Aang spitefully hid a map to Hakoda’s location. Sokka and Katara were furious that Aang withheld the map, but they forgave him before long. The trio won’t split up over something like this.
4 BEST DECISION: When He Applied Toph’s Teachings To The Drill
In Book Two: Earth, Azula brought a massive drilling machine to the walls of Ba Sing Se, and not even Aang and Katara working together could destroy it from the inside . Then Aang realized something – that the drill is effectively a giant person, and he can use Toph’s teachings to take it down.
Aang’s creative use of bending paid off, and he and Katara damaged the drill’s support struts before dealing the final blow with an earth wedge from the outside. It worked, and the drill was finally halted and destroyed. Azula could hardly believe it.
3 WORST DECISION: When He Practiced Firebending Before He Was Ready
Aang got his first taste of firebending long before he was ready for it. He met a wise firebending teacher named Jeong Jeong and insisted that he teach him the basics, despite Jeong Jeong’s protests. So, Aang underwent some training, and he got carried away.
Aang didn’t appreciate the true nature of fire at the time, and he got carried away, burning Katara’s hands in the process. Katara healed herself before long, but Aang had still made a mistake, and on top of that, he unwisely resolved to never bend fire again. He would have to bend fire sooner or later, however, as he is the Avatar.
2 BEST DECISION: When He Opened The Inner Vault At The Northern Air Temple
Late in Book One: Water, Aang came across the northern air temple, which had some new inhabitants. The innermost chamber’s door was sealed tight, and at first, Aang refused to open it, so he could preserve the pristine Air Nomad history inside. But then he changed his mind, and this was a good call for two reasons.
First of all, opening that vault door revealed the Fire Nation weapons hidden inside, allowing Aang and his friends to resist local Fire Nation troops. Second, doing this helped Aang move on from the past and accept the changes of the present, which helped soothe his wounded heart. He likened this to a hermit crab adopting a discarded shell as its new home.
1 WORST DECISION: When Aang Wanted To Search For Appa At Whale-Tail Island
Appa got himself captured at the hands of the sandbenders, and was hauled off to Ba Sing Se, where he was hidden under Lake Laogai. Aang was desperate to find and rescue his sky bison friend, and while he was correct to begin his search in Ba Sing Se, he almost went completely off the rails with this quest.
Aang was led to believe that a private buyer had purchased Appa and shipped him all the way to Whale-Tail Island, which was quite far away. Aang immediately resolved to go there, regardless of the travel time, but it would have been in vain. Appa was actually still in Ba Sing Se, and once Aang cooled his head, he realized the truth and stayed in the city. He almost ruined everything by chasing a false lead.
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