Unlike the Game of Thrones showrunners just happening to know the books' ending ahead of time, this signaled to the audience that A:TLA had no intention of continuing for years and years until it ran out of steam: The show was picked up for three seasons right from the start, meaning that the creators had a clear end goal in mind and were always building up towards that ending.
Already in Episode 8, we had a ticking clock in the form of Sozin's Comet, which gave the show a one-year timeframe, after which the Fire Lord would have enough power to conquer the world unopposed. But while some shows do manage to give satisfying endings, few have done so as perfectly as Avatar: The Last Airbender, now celebrating its 16th anniversary today.įrom the opening moments of the first episode, the story of Avatar Aang was building up to a clear ending: an epic fight against Fire Lord Ozai to restore balance to the world.
Thus, it is very easy for TV shows to fail to deliver any of these and be branded as disappointing. Audiences expect an escalation of events that topple all previous season finales, tie up loose ends, and give every character a moment to shine, all while delivering an emotionally-satisfying closure to character arcs and the overall story.
Sticking the landing to a TV show is an incredibly hard thing to do, especially in long-form TV narratives that build a story up over several seasons.
