Avatar: The Last Airbender creators refused to admit that they had created a perfect animated show on Nickelodeon. Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko shared that there were several scenes or moments in the original show that could’ve been improved. They particularly agreed with the criticism from fans that the episode The Great Divide from Book 1 was a “filler-y episode”.
The creators were also involved in Netflix’s adaptation of the series but left due to creative differences. DiMartino and Konietzko’s Avatar Studios will continue to come up with more projects in the AvatarVerse.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Creators Say The Animated Show Was Far From Perfect
Avatar: The Last Airbender ran for three seasons on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008 and received critical acclaim. The show blended some mature themes that were rarely seen in cartoons to make it appealing to an adult audience as well. It dealt with topics like war, genocide, imperialism, and free choice, while also handling the cultural references and themes with sensitivity.
Many fans hail the beloved show as the epitome of perfection among animated shows. The creators of the show Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko disagree with this perspective, sharing that there were a lot of things in the show that they would fix. Speaking to Dante Basco (who voiced Zuko) in the Avatar recap podcast, Braving the Elements, Konietzko shared that despite providing a powerful, complete package to people, the show still had scope for improvement.
The creators also addressed the fan criticism against the episode, The Great Divide. In the episode, Aang and his friends help two feuding clans cross a treacherous canyon safely. Fans criticized the episode, sharing that it had no relevance to the bigger picture and lacked substance in it. DiMartino and Konietzko couldn’t agree more with the fans. DiMartino admitted,
“The most famous one is The Great Divide one, which I’ll give them, I’ll say that’s pretty ‘filler-y.'” Konietzko added, “That’s terrible.”
For the creators, the episode was beyond saving as it left a huge gap in the plotline. When Basco asked whether changing the ending could’ve helped the episode, Konietzko replied, “Nah, I don’t think that would have saved it.”
The episode was skipped altogether in the play, The Boy in the Iceberg. In the play, Aang and his friends choose to fly right over the canyon without stopping. According to IMDb, The Great Divide is the lowest-rated episode of the series.
Avatar Creators Defended Another Unpopular Episode Among Fans
While the creators were in agreement with fans’ dislike of The Great Divide, they defended another episode that felt “filler-y” to fans. The King of Omashu is the fifth episode of Book One of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is the episode where fans are introduced to the recurring character Bumi, who is Aang’s friend from a hundred years previously.
The episode was unpopular among many fans, who criticized it for having no real plot involvement and focusing on developing Aang’s past. The creators disagreed in the podcast and shared that it was a “super crucial” episode in the show, particularly due to Bumi’s introduction.
While DiMartino and Konietzko hated The Great Divide, they loved one particular thing that came out of the episode. Konietzko revealed that he enjoyed the canyon crawler creatures in the episode. He shared, “Even the episodes that I wasn’t as stoked on, there were always moments that I really liked.”
All three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender animated show are now available for streaming on Netflix and Paramount+.
