Fire. Air. Water. Earth. Long ago, a television series won over the hearts of audiences across the globe. A world where elements could be bent, spirits could cross over, and hodgepodges of animals roamed free. In this world, one such bender bridged the spirit world to the material while wielding each of nature’s elements: The Avatar.
From Avatar: The Last Airbender to Avatar: Legend of Korra, fans were treated to adventures that explored the depths of its characters and expanded on the world-building. Just as Aang set out to restore harmony and Korra endured subsequent threats to the world’s natural state, the new avatar must find their direction.
Announced on February 20, 2025, Nickelodeon's Avatar: Seven Havens left fans with several questions about its premise. In a post-apocalyptic world, the new Avatar must contend with legions of upset spirits and humans on her journey to destiny. The world blames the Avatar for the disarray. If that weren’t enough, she and her long-lost twin venture out to uncover their mysterious origin.
I, for one am excited to see co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko return to the helm once more.
What did Korra do that set about the destruction of civilization? Was she truly responsible? Who exactly compromises the Seven Havens? Can the Avatar restore balance in a world that hates her?
These questions will remain unanswered until the show airs in the future. However, I’ve found five things that I feel are important to dig in for this new series.
The details in Avatar’s world-building
You may have noticed me listing the elements at the beginning of this article. The Last Airbender (ATLA) and Legend of Korra (LOK) begin similarly. Except it’s different. The same sequence is changed between those series as well. That’s by design. Waterbender and Aang’s companion Katara begins ATLA with “Water. Earth. Fire. Air.”, whereas Airbender and Korra’s mentor Tenzin begins: “Earth. Fire. Air. Water.” So far, current avatars are at the end of the mantra that opens each series. It’s a pattern, just like the Avatar cycle. This time, I expect it to be Earth.
And that’s but one little detail. I’d love to see other quiet, minute aspects of the series touched on. For instance, would the Kyoshi culture make a comeback? Will we see the Misty Palms Oasis? What types of bending would come about from the end of the world? Would ATLA’s Cabbage Merchant’s descendent benefit or suffer from this new world?
A charm to the Avatar series is that these details make the world feel lived in. Of course, there’s the larger presence of the overall world. Ba Sing Se and Omashu of the Earth Kingdom, it’s plausible they’re in ruins. It’s imaginable that the nomads of this broken world could retreat to the Air Temples. Certain cities and villages could be more powerful than others, creating a hostile, territorial environment. There are loads of obstacles the new Avatar will encounter during these travels.
Sociology and psychology of the Seven Havens
There’s undeniable depth to be found in the citizens of each haven the Avatar will visit. Some may have sympathy for her, bearing the sins of another incarnation. Others will direct generational rage and disdain, creating a trial to survive. It will not be an easy adventure.
In their split, the Seven Havens may have differing ideologies stemming from their lived experiences. One Haven could have beefed with another due to some territorial infraction, or another would be irate over a perceived or legitimate insult. With our world’s current events, I’d imagine the creative team to reflect this world’s denizens and their varying levels of pride.
ATLA tackled concepts like these so well. The way Ba Sing Se mirrored Beijing, China, with aspects of Pyongyang, North Korea, added to its eerie government activity. The Fire Nation followed the mold of Imperial Japan following the Meiji Reconstruction Era until post-World War II, yet it also reminds me starkly of American Exceptionalism. LOK’s Republic City not only emulated New York City’s structure but also the hectic mindset of such a metropolis.
These mindsets, combined with the progress of Avatar’s world, bring about the struggle for balance set by that series’s universe.
Spiritual balance or a potential lack thereof
When Avatar Wan split the world of mankind and spirits in flashbacks to LOK, there was little interaction between them, save for those who knew how to enter the other. One such being is the Avatar, as seen by Aang’s adventures and Korra’s integration of the spirit world into the material world.
While connecting all of humanity with spirits had been a good idea on the surface, it would be expected of one side or the other to sow seeds of dissent. Kuvira’s actions in Season 4 of LOK, “Book Four: Balance,” is a perfect example of this, forcing Varrick to work on spirit cannons—outright weaponizing the spiritual world for her goals of conquest to reunite the Earth Kingdom. Spirits had distanced themselves from humanity in the past for this reason. This is especially true in the case of the towering librarian owl Wan Shi Tong in ATLA and LOK who sunk his library from the material into the spirit world.
With Korra removing the barrier that separated the worlds, she unwittingly caused more problems in her time as Avatar. In any previous period, the merging would have been plausible, even helpful. But after Aang and Zuko united all four nations and built a civilization that reinforced that, it’s only plausible that issues would arise.
The state (and possible decline) of technology
Like two step-siblings forced to sleep in one room, Korra’s decision caused strife as spirits and humans struggled to coexist. In a setting like Republic City, the busy streets would undoubtedly be congested with an intersection of these life forms, creating conflict. I mean, trees actually sprouted up through the metro after Korra broke the barrier between both worlds.
Furthermore, how civilization evolved to the point where there would be Sato-mobiles, skyscrapers, and radios standing in the face of nature in Avatar’s universe. Industrialization upset the natural balance, especially in the earth’s connection to the spiritual matter of things. While Korra may not be the direct cause of what caused Seven Havens’s setting to be in disarray and social decay, these interminglings could very well have played a part. Her lapse in judgment undid the balance that Avatar Wan and the light spirit Raava that he was tethered to set in place.
Remember in Ghostbusters II, when the pink slime running around New York City caused civilians to act out of rage? Remember in LOK’s second season, “Book Two: Spirits”, when the childlike Korra’s anxiety and anger in the spirit world caused the nearby spirits and environment to warp around her the more upset she became? Republic City’s citizens and the spirit migrants may have caused this catastrophe, or so I theorize.
Well-developed characters
The Avatar series is lush with memorable characters. Their aesthetics are reflective of their identities. Each character arc is carefully constructed so that everyone in an Avatar’s journey feels like a real person. If one looks long enough at a character’s design, they’ll most likely immediately understand who the character is and what they might be about. The way a character bends elements or jumps into action, their dialogue, their backstory. By the time fans are entrenched in the story, it’s as though they’ve known these people like close friends or simply someone walking nearby in passing.
Characters like ATLA’s Sokka and LOK’s Bolin leave viewers engrossed as these comic relief goofballs grow as people, serving as the Avatars’ aids in important battles or travels. Zaheer’s anarchistic, anti-authoritarian antics in “Book Three: Change” come back in “Book Four” when Korra asks him for help in stopping Kuvira. He’s confronted with the consequences of his core beliefs, and he guides Korra as best he can in overthrowing the burgeoning Earth Empire.
Most notable, however, is the often-applauded banished Prince Zuko. ATLA’s primary antagonist for the first season and a half. Chasing the white whale of destiny that is capturing Aang to reclaim his preconceived notion of “honor” teaches him more about the world that goes against what he was brought up to. He’s stubborn, even sickened by having to change. But in the end, he stands against the father who excommunicated him and joins Aang and his friends in the key battles in the final season. He even helps Aang, Sokka, and Katara find out more about themselves.
This is one of the core elements that make the Avatar series so beautiful. DiMartino and Konietzko understood how to make a wondrous fantasy series something unforgettable. With each new Avatar, they’ve kept things fresh. They’ve been able to bring mature subjects from trauma to socio-political dialogue and turn it into a franchise that has served them and Nickelodeon well. This may seem a silly entry to this list, as this is crucial for any story, but this is a must-see, maintainable aspect that the series cannot lose.
The Avatar franchise is near and dear to my heart. It strengthened my bond with my brothers. It sits among the various works of fiction and personal life experiences that shape how I view the world. It’s a special series. Yes, it may not be for everyone. ATLA takes a while until things get heavy as it builds its world, while LOK had polarized fans through various decisions that were largely out of Konietzko and DiMartino’s hands.
But at its heart is a story with structure and world-building often compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series. It has characters as deep as prestige television, cinema, and literature. While most fantasy fans would mostly think of European fantasy elements such as castles, and dragons and wizards, Avatar reached for nature and the spiritual.
In curating this list, I feel I’ve touched on the various things I, and others, will be happy to see in the series. When Konietzko and DiMartino are at the helm, unimpeded, Avatar is a strong series that touches the lives of fans. I’m sure what they’ll come up with will far exceed expectations and create yet another entry that sticks out in pop culture.
I’m not sure what it will entail, but I feel it will lead us, and our earthbending Avatar somewhere wonderful and strange.