History YMMV / AvatarTheLastAirbender

* HarsherInHindsight: Iroh exasperatedly telling Zuko he'll never find the Avatar in the first episode. Once you know Zuko's whole backstory, it comes off pretty damn callous in a rewatch since he's basically offhandedly saying "Oh, just give up on ever returning to your homeland, family, and birthright and go to bed."
** The quotes listed under Funny Aneurysm Moment above.

*** Then again, even Zuko mentions that there "was a time when they were happy" (and visited Ember Island together), so it's likely that he wasn't always evil.

* {{Gainaxing}}: It's hard to tell unless you're really looking, but during the episode "The Beach" Ty Lee has a tendancy to... bounce quite often.
** Oh, don't worry. We're ''always'' really looking.

** And we have a new couple: YUE/ [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra KORRA]]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: Dark Horse [[http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/255/dark-horse-and-nickelodeon-bring-avatar-last-airbe has announced]] that they'll be publishing new canonical comics in early 2012 that bridge the gap between the end of the series and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', as well as an anthology of all the ''Avatar'' comics featured in the now defunct ''Nickelodeon Magazine''. Looks like the fans might get their "Book 4" after all.

** '''Zuko''': In-universe. Aang, Sokka, and Katara treat him like a violent sociopath when he shows up at the Western Air Temple, because from their prospective ''he is''. Zuko has only ever shown up around them to either assault them or, in the case of the Crystal Catacombs, stab them in the back after making peaceful overtures. They've never witnessed the same inner doubts and character growth that the viewers have. Only Toph has no history with Zuko, which is why she's the one willing to reach out to him first.

* {{Deuteragonist}}s: Many people argue that Zuko's as much of a protagonist as Aang, the story of the series being divided into two: Aang's quest to become the Avatar and Zuko's quest to find the Avatar/seek redemption. Indeed, the series frequently parallels both characters' journeys, and eventually both storylines converge at the end.

** Fire Lord Ozai can also qualify for being this too.

** Parodied with Sokka's Wang Fire persona, who [[AscendedMeme becomes a Fire Nation hero]].

* TethercatPrinciple: The last we ever see of Azula is [[spoiler:her being chained to a grate, completely insane and screaming in despair]]. While WordOfGod stated that [[spoiler:Azula was committed to a high security asylum,]] it's not actually shown in the series proper.

** Another smaller example would be the soldiers from "Zuko Alone". They pick fights for the sheer fun of it and willingly assault the people in the town they're staying in. Then, after a family didn't give them food (forcing them, of course), they took their youngest son and declared him old enough to fight in the war. What makes this worse is the soldiers openenly insulting the same family and taunting them that their eldest son is as good as dead, having been captured by the Fire Nation.

* MisBlamed: [[FanDumb Some people]] claim [[spoiler: the "spirit-bending" in the finale was thrown in as a DeusExMachina in order to avoid killing on a kids' show. Except that Mike and Bryan had that idea as the resolution of the conflict in the series bible from the beggining. And death has been dealt with plenty of times in the show before, so this was again, not a case of ExecutiveMeddling censorship. Aang was never going to end the war in a violent way.]]

** '''Kyoshi''': She's pretty much the LawfulGood of the Avatars so far that we seen. However people of Tumblr seem to be under the impression that just because she doesn't regret putting down Chin the conquerer to save her people, apparently she is now labled a full on BloodKnight, who apparently ''loves'' to battle and kill her enemies.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Apparently, ''The Promise'' seems to be heading in this direction. Not only is it showing that the ending for the series is not [[EarnYourHappyEnding the definitive one nor as happy as it initially seems]], but [[spoiler:Zuko is apparently slipping into WellIntentionedExtremist territory]]. A hundred years of warfare can't be unmade in just a few months, after all.

*** Really, all of the bad guys.

*** Another possible (and controversial, of course) interpretation of Ozai's behavior: [[CompleteMonster Is he a ruthless, merciless and heartless bastard]], hungry of power or deeply he is a JerkassWoobie and[=/=]or WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds with his own unresolved ''[[WellDoneSonGuy daddy issues]]''?

* MaryTzu: Azula is cold and calculative, [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy smart enough]] to ''predict'' the movements of the Gaang, [[ImprobableAge very young]], and already a skilled tactican. She conquers a city only with her friends, in a few days, and this city had resisted for 100 years without falling. Iroh failed to do this in 600 Days Siege. Did I mention [[spoiler:She killed Aang?]] [[{{Deconstruction}} All of her personal relationships are built around this trope.]] This is bad for her mental health.

* SeasonalRot: In Season 3. The first nine episodes amount to little more than filler with the Gaang having random adventures, with occasional character development for Zuko. As a result, the season doesn't make any significant progress until the invasion of the Fire Nation in episode 10. The interactions between Zuko and the Gaang amount to little more than field trips, with few glimpses of actual training from Zuko. Numerous plot elements, such as Zuko's mother, are left unresolved and several minor characters, such as Haru, are dropped altogether. It also creates minor plot holes, such as how Zuko was able to become Fire Lord with little resistance from a population who were still convinced that he was a traitor. Even the attempts at development for minor characters such as Ty Lee and Mai are carelessly forced and shoehorned in.

** Azula is an interesting [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]: in Season 2, she appeared to fit ''all three'' of the necessary CompleteMonster qualities. Then Season 3 came, she gradually unravelled, had her VillainousBreakdown, and ended up with only ''one'' of the criteria left (that she has committed horrible crimes.) In the end, although she did a good job emulating her father for a while, she couldn't escape being a TragicVillain.

** Possibly first-season Zuko--although he doesn't really accomplish much, he probably ''would'' destroy the world if he thought it would [[AbusiveParents make his daddy]] [[WellDoneSonGuy love him]]. He gets better in the second season, becoming a straight-out [[TheWoobie Woobie]].

* SeasonalRot: In Season 3.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Apparently, ''The Promise'' seems to be heading in this direction. Not only is it showing that the ending for the series is not [[EarnYourHappyEnding the definitive one nor as happy as it initially seems]], but [[spoiler:Zuko is apparently slipping into WellIntentionedExtremist territory]]. Hundreds of years of warfare can't be unmade in just a few months, after all.

*** Another possible (and controversial, of course) interpretation of Ozai's behavior: [[CompleteMonster Is he a ruthless, merciless and heartless bastard]], hungry of power or deeply he is a JerkassWoobie and/ or WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds with his own unresolved ''[[WellDoneSonGuy daddy issues]]''?

* GrowingTheBeard: In the trope sense, it seems most of the fans agree the show was great from the start but others like to point at [[YourMileageMayVary various points]] in the first season (and even up to Season 2) as to where it "really" hit its stride. However, there are a number of ''literal'' cases of sudden beard growth, too.