Quick A:tLA viewing guide
rose_griffes asked at her post for a viewer's guide on which episodes are necessary for the plot in Avatar: the Last Airbender. I've attempted it? A:tLA fans, fill free to add on, it's been awhile since I watched the whole thing.
I want you to know that some of these cuts hurt me in my soul to make. I still never managed to cut more than 7 out of a 20 episode season.
Italics = episodes I think are necessary to understanding what's going on
Strikethrough = you can probably skip
Bold = episodes you should watch anyway, with reasons!
If it focuses on a character you've met by the first episode I've put them next to it. Listed by number and episode title.
Book 1
1-1 The Boy in the Iceberg
1-2 The Avatar Returns
1-3 The Southern Air Temple
1-4 The Warriors of Kyoshi
1-5 The King of Omashu
1-6 Imprisoned - Katara is why
1-7 The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)
1-8 Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)
1-9 The Waterbending Scroll - Katara, 'nuff said
1-10 Jet
1-11 The Great Divide - Aang I think?
1-12 The Storm
1-13 The Blue Spirit - Zuko, (ETA: losing this one won't hurt in understanding what happens but it's important for a couple of characters)
1-14 The Fortuneteller
1-15 Bato of the Water Tribe - I think. It may have less importance than I'm remembering.
1-16 The Deserter
1-17 The Northern Air Temple
1-18 The Waterbending Master
1-19 The Siege of the North, Part 1
1-20 The Siege of the North, Part 2
Book 2 - ok, I'm going to advocate for not skipping anything this season. Really. Not only does it introduce the most new characters, but it's the tightest plotted season and everything that's good about the show.
1-1 The Avatar State
1-2 The Cave of Two Lovers - one minor character I love doesn't change the fact that this is mostly filler. Might watch for Zuko's part. I'VE CHANGED MY MIND, BECASUSE I'D FORGOTTEN HOW WONDERFUL THIS EP IS. <3
1-3 Return to Omashu
1-4 The Swamp
1-5 Avatar Day - wounds my soul! Keeeeep for Kyoshi! But not much else.
1-6 The Blind Bandit
1-7 Zuko Alone - Zuko, his chicken-horse of despair (ETA: which is probably a ostrich-horse but is still of despair. Zuko's character arc might need either this one or what happens in The Cave of Two Lovers. Watch them both?)
1-8 The Chase
1-9 Bitter Work
1-10 The Library
1-11 The Desert
1-12 The Serpent's Pass - for traveling reasons
1-13 The Drill
1-14 City of Walls and Secrets
1-15 The Tales of Ba Sing Se - these are cute, short stories. They will take very little time to watch and bring joy to your heart. They are also completely filler.
1-16 Appa's Lost Days - my heaaarrt! :(
1-17 Lake Laogai
1-18 The Earth King
1-19 The Guru
1-20 The Crossroads of Destiny
Book 3 - Again, I would watch most or all of these. 1-9 is the only I think of as forgettable.
1-1 The Awakening
(before 1-10 almost everything is character based one-shots. I can't advocate for one over the other because YMMV on characters, but I think skipping all of them kills the flow of the season entirely. If at this point you still want to skip for just plot coherency, watch at least 1-2 and either 1-3 or 1-5.)
1-2 The Headband - Aang
1-3 The Painted Lady - Katara
1-4 Sokka's Master -Sokka
1-5 The Beach - later characters, but I love this episode like the excellent crack it is, so give it a shot anyway.
1-6 The Avatar and the Firelord - backstory
1-7 The Runaway - can't say yet, starts with a T, stands for "tough" ;)
1-8 The Puppetmaster - absolutely terrifying, but there are other reasons I've kept it as necessary.
1-9 Nightmares and Daydreams - Aang
1-10 The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion
1-11 The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse
1-12 The Western Air Temple
1-13 The Firebending Masters - Zuko, Aang, it nearly made the cut, but I couldn't remember anything so big you'd have to keep it. Still a good episode. (ETA: back in)
1-14 The Boiling Rock, Part 1
1-15 The Boiling Rock, Part 2
1-16 The Southern Raiders (No plot movement, but Do. Not. Skip)
1-17 The Ember Island Players - FILLER! Also the funniest episode the show ever did.
1-18 Sozin's Comet, Part 1
1-19 Sozin's Comet, Part 2
1-20 Sozin's Comet, Part 3
1-21 Sozin's Comet, Part 4
I want you to know that some of these cuts hurt me in my soul to make. I still never managed to cut more than 7 out of a 20 episode season.
Italics = episodes I think are necessary to understanding what's going on
Strikethrough = you can probably skip
Bold = episodes you should watch anyway, with reasons!
If it focuses on a character you've met by the first episode I've put them next to it. Listed by number and episode title.
Book 1
1-1 The Boy in the Iceberg
1-2 The Avatar Returns
1-3 The Southern Air Temple
1-4 The Warriors of Kyoshi
1-5 The King of Omashu
1-6 Imprisoned - Katara is why
1-7 The Spirit World (Winter Solstice, Part 1)
1-8 Avatar Roku (Winter Solstice, Part 2)
1-9 The Waterbending Scroll - Katara, 'nuff said
1-10 Jet
1-11 The Great Divide - Aang I think?
1-12 The Storm
1-13 The Blue Spirit - Zuko, (ETA: losing this one won't hurt in understanding what happens but it's important for a couple of characters)
1-14 The Fortuneteller
1-15 Bato of the Water Tribe - I think. It may have less importance than I'm remembering.
1-16 The Deserter
1-17 The Northern Air Temple
1-18 The Waterbending Master
1-19 The Siege of the North, Part 1
1-20 The Siege of the North, Part 2
Book 2 - ok, I'm going to advocate for not skipping anything this season. Really. Not only does it introduce the most new characters, but it's the tightest plotted season and everything that's good about the show.
1-1 The Avatar State
1-2 The Cave of Two Lovers - one minor character I love doesn't change the fact that this is mostly filler. Might watch for Zuko's part. I'VE CHANGED MY MIND, BECASUSE I'D FORGOTTEN HOW WONDERFUL THIS EP IS. <3
1-3 Return to Omashu
1-4 The Swamp
1-5 Avatar Day - wounds my soul! Keeeeep for Kyoshi! But not much else.
1-6 The Blind Bandit
1-7 Zuko Alone - Zuko, his chicken-horse of despair (ETA: which is probably a ostrich-horse but is still of despair. Zuko's character arc might need either this one or what happens in The Cave of Two Lovers. Watch them both?)
1-8 The Chase
1-9 Bitter Work
1-10 The Library
1-11 The Desert
1-12 The Serpent's Pass - for traveling reasons
1-13 The Drill
1-14 City of Walls and Secrets
1-15 The Tales of Ba Sing Se - these are cute, short stories. They will take very little time to watch and bring joy to your heart. They are also completely filler.
1-16 Appa's Lost Days - my heaaarrt! :(
1-17 Lake Laogai
1-18 The Earth King
1-19 The Guru
1-20 The Crossroads of Destiny
Book 3 - Again, I would watch most or all of these. 1-9 is the only I think of as forgettable.
1-1 The Awakening
(before 1-10 almost everything is character based one-shots. I can't advocate for one over the other because YMMV on characters, but I think skipping all of them kills the flow of the season entirely. If at this point you still want to skip for just plot coherency, watch at least 1-2 and either 1-3 or 1-5.)
1-2 The Headband - Aang
1-3 The Painted Lady - Katara
1-4 Sokka's Master -Sokka
1-5 The Beach - later characters, but I love this episode like the excellent crack it is, so give it a shot anyway.
1-6 The Avatar and the Firelord - backstory
1-7 The Runaway - can't say yet, starts with a T, stands for "tough" ;)
1-8 The Puppetmaster - absolutely terrifying, but there are other reasons I've kept it as necessary.
1-9 Nightmares and Daydreams - Aang
1-10 The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion
1-11 The Day of Black Sun, Part 2: The Eclipse
1-12 The Western Air Temple
1-13 The Firebending Masters - Zuko, Aang, it nearly made the cut, but I couldn't remember anything so big you'd have to keep it. Still a good episode. (ETA: back in)
1-14 The Boiling Rock, Part 1
1-15 The Boiling Rock, Part 2
1-16 The Southern Raiders (No plot movement, but Do. Not. Skip)
1-17 The Ember Island Players - FILLER! Also the funniest episode the show ever did.
1-18 Sozin's Comet, Part 1
1-19 Sozin's Comet, Part 2
1-20 Sozin's Comet, Part 3
1-21 Sozin's Comet, Part 4