History Headscratchers / AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheFourNations

*** The Air Nomads were wiped out because the Fire Nation wanted to stop blank the Avatar cycle. With no Air Nation the Avatar can not be reborn and the cycle stops. This was not a problem with the other nations as it wasn't their turn. If the Avatar was to be for the Water Tribes then the Water Tribes would have been the ones eliminated and the Air Nomads still would be around, and son on. Not wanting to deliver a child doesn't make sense for a genocide of that escale as even assuming all 100% of Air Nomads nor even one was willing to do it, there was still children, infants, elderly and other civilians who were not in the fight, and also as actual ''nomads'' the Fire Lord had to literally hunt them down all over the world. Too much effort just to erradicate a people because they didn't wanted to give a kid. The genocide only makes sense if they wanted to stop the existence of an Avatar forever. (Of course it coulde be argue that they have no way to know if without the Air Nomads the Avatar would just jump to the next one but otherwise the plan makes no sense as the amount of effort and resources to eliminate an entire nation would not be justify if they thought that is just going to jump to the next one, they were convice that no more Avatar would ever appear afterwards).

*** The Air Nomads were wiped out because the Fire Nation wanted to stop blank the Avatar cycle. With no Air Nation the Avatar can not be reborn and the cycle stops. This was not a problem with the other nations as it wasn't their turn. If the Avatar was to be for the Water Tribes then the Water Tribes would have been the ones eliminated and the Air Nomads still would be around, and son on. Not wanting to deliver a child doesn't make sense for a genocide of that escale as even assuming all 100% of Air Nomads nor even wan was willing to do it, there was still children, infants, elderly and other civilians who were not in the fight, and also as actual ''nomads'' the Fire Lord had to literally hunt them down all over the world. Too much effort just to erradicate a people because they didn't wanted to give a kid. The genocide only makes sense if they wanted to stop the existence of an Avatar forever. (Of course it coulde be argue that they have no way to know if without the Air Nomads the Avatar would just jump to the next one but otherwise the plan makes no sense as the amount of effort and resources to eliminate an entire nation would not be justify if they thought that is just going to jump to the next one, they were convice that no more Avatar would ever appear afterwards).

*** Sorry but it was make very clear in the show that the reason why the Air Nomads were genocided is to cut the Avatar re-incarnation cycle. It didn't stop because Aang was able to escape. There's nothing on the shows mythology that could justify to think that they expect the next Avatar to be among the Waterbenders, quite the opposite, they assume no new Avatar would ever appear because there was no Air Nation and the line was thus cut. Is outright said on the dialogue. In any it would not make sense to make a genocide of one nation if they thought that the next Avatar would only skip it and jump to the next one, and in that case then they would have to genocide the Water Nation and then the Earth nation, which aside from impractical doesn't seem to be the motive of the Fire Nation that wants ''an empire'' not to be the only one around.

** The sequel series tells us there's an offshoot of theOrder of the White Lotus who is aware of the weakness; they try to force Korra into the Avatar State before killing her so that they can plunge the world into anarchy. If they know about it, there could well be others who could've spilled the beans to Ozai or someone serving under him. It may not be common knowledge, but it's not something only the Avatar is in on.

** The sequel series tells us there's an offshoot of the White Lotus who is aware of the weakness; they try to force Korra into the Avatar State before killing her so that they can plunge the world into anarchy. If they know about it, there could well be others who could've spilled the beans to Ozai or someone serving under him.

** It's not that they don't teach women waterbending. It's that they don't teach women ''combat'' waterbending. What dod you think the healers Katara was sent to work with used, happy thoughts? Also, until Yue does her sacrifice, the moon spirit is a fish, not a humanoid female.

** The fact the Avatar cycle ends if you're killed in the Avatar State doesn't seem to be common knowledge, in fact it's implied to be a secret only the Avatars know, passed on to the current incarnation by the previous one. So how would the Fire Nation know about it?

*** It might be considered dishonorable to have vast scales of people killed unless you're using the ultimate weapon ; Firebending powered by Sozin's Comet. This is how Firelord Sozin wiped-out all the airbenders, and Ozai intended to do with the Earth Kingdom.

* So what happens if the avatar is born into the groggy swamp tribe or the sun warriors? I mean they’re pretty secluded, what would their methods be to tell?

** The Sun Warriors probably know about the Avatar already (especially after ‘’The Legend of Korra’’ revealed that it was the first Avatar who invented the Dancing Dragon), and it’s implied they were only in hiding during the first series because the Fire Nation in its current state is actively trying to destroy their firebending philosophy. I’m guessing they’d become less secretive after Zuko took the throne, also considering his dragon mount is said to be the spawn of the Masters Ran and Shaw.

** In LoK we see Tenzin's Air Temple Island has numerous non-benders in Air Nomad clothing. Presumably there were air-nomad civillians and what have you who did the grunt work.

** The designs are [[http://atla-annotated.tumblr.com/tagged/The-Fire-Nation-is-not-Japan actually closer to Chinese and Thai if anything]].

** They ''are'' the original Sun Warriors. The episode doesn't imply anything otherwise.