What If Aang Never Ran Away?
What if Aang Never Ran Away ?
Aang Running Away from his destiny is the Canon Event in Avatar because it transformed the show into a personal story about redeeming oneself, facing one’s fears, taking responsibility and finding hope in a world that was thrown out of balance.
Those were some of the main themes of the show. The story’s core messages.
But what if Aang Never Ran Away?
Would it have been better for everyone and himself if he stayed back, initially facing his destiny.
Making sure that when the world needed him most, he wouldn’t vanish
In this post we’ll try to figure out what would happen had Aang made one different decision.
The first question we have to ask is: Would Aang have survived the Fire Nation’s Deadly First Strike?
Context: Surviving Round 1
Aang in the Avatar State is the Strongest Person in the Avatar Universe (during his era). No question. This glowing bald kid easily folded Comet-Powered Prime Ozai like he’s freshly-dried laundry on a Sunday Morning.
But let’s not forget that the Red Team was very strong and prosperous in that era, all thanks to the past efforts of Avatar Roku and Avatar Szeto, and we can infer that Fire Lord Sozin raised up enough military strength to be able to Split His Army up into Four formidable groups to Attack all the Air Temples Simultaneously during Sozin’s Comet, making sure the Avatar wouldn’t escape.
By then, if Aang really stayed, he likely would’ve been sent to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his airbending training far away from Monk Gyatso like what was initially planned. That’s probably where he would meet the hot & steamy Fire Army that will be buffed by the comet in their surprise attack.
Based on the number of times he had been saved by his reliable Avatar Powers in the show, I think that in 8 out of 10 chances, Aang would be triggered into the Avatar State during the day of the comet. If that happens, Aang would most likely end up saving the Eastern Air Temple from complete destruction… well, if he doesn’t end up accidentally destroying it himself.
Unfortunately for the other 3 sites though, as he was not a yellow-haired ninja with the red buff and the power of multitasking, he would be powerless to save the other 3 temples that will also be attacked at the same time.
After witnessing his fellow brethren fall to the flames beside him with his own eyes in the Eastern Temple, I think we would have seen a more vengeful, angry, and traumatised Aang. A more season 1 Zuko kind of Aang. Someone who would be less innocent and cheerful. A person who would feel very frustrated at himself for losing his honour, knowing that despite having the potential to wield all the power in the world, he could not save every single one of his people.
And so the Deadly First Strike would ultimately send the young Air Nomad into a life on the run.
A Different Aang
Fire Nation’s Response
The Fire Nation, knowing certainly that their biggest threat, the Avatar, survived their strongest wave of attack under the comet, would have gone All-OUT and All-IN in the aftermath, using up all their resources to hunt down Aang and the survivors within the Air Nation more intensely than how they did it in the canon story of the show and the comics.
That would really up the stakes and heighten the tension within the show.
And another thing that we need to fully grasp is the notion that if Aang really did stay and not run away, he would be facing all these ensuing challenges without the help of a Waterbender with Overwhelming Potential, two Elite Warriors with Extremely High Battle IQ and Versatility Stats, an ingenious Fire Prince who has Danced among Dragons, and the Strongest Earthbender of her generation. That would be a severe handicap indeed.
I’m sure Aang would end up finding his own team avatar in that era soon enough but I don’t think it would be as stacked as the Dream Team in the Canon Story.
After leaving the Air Temple, Aang’s best move would be to seek refuge within Omashu, Ba Sing Se or the North & South Poles where he can find his bending masters. Taking him in would put those cities in the crosshairs of the Fire Nation War Apparatus but I think the World Leaders wouldn’t close their gates to the Avatar, their strongest player in the World Stage, especially now when their aggressive neighbour has just launched a full-scale attack on one of the Four Nations. Once he gets stronger, Aang could then join military campaigns and serve as a powerful asset in defeating the Fire Nation.
Here’s a totally positive thing for Aang and the whole world if he did decide to stay:
Damage Control
He still would’ve had the chance to stop the Fire Nation at a Stage wherein the damage to the whole world was not yet that widespread. He has the opportunity to end the war as soon as he could and not let it linger for a hundred years.
Fresh Reinforcements
The Air Nation would have been almost decimated but the vast lands and strongholds of the Earth Kingdom, and the icy fortress of the North Pole and the frozen tundra of the South were yet to be reached by the Red-Flagged War Machine. Aang still had full armies that could help him up to defeat the Fire Nation.
Not the Last Airbender
And Aang putting his all in rescuing and saving all the Air Nomads who were displaced by the war and escorting them towards safe places to seek refuge would not make him the Last Airbender.
One crucial decision on his part would have entirely transformed the entire landscape and tone of the show indeed.
And let’s not forget that Sozin’s Comet is not due for another 100 years.
Without a deadline, Aang would have had a full lifetime, all the time in the world to master all the elements, under the protection of the immovable fortresses of the other Nations that were capable to repel the Fire Nation for a hundred years according to the canon story.
The Avatar as a Symbol
The Avatar is a symbol of hope, justice, righteousness, and order. Let’s remember that a big reason why the whole world was immensely pushed back in the canon timeline was because they lost their hope and guidance when they thought that the Avatar perished in the initial invasion. Now, in this instance, having the Avatar on the side of the other Nations would have boosted their Army’s morale and their people’s inner strength. Having Aang participate in World Matters for years or decades, might also weaken the legitimacy of the Fire Nation’s campaign to their own citizens because going against the Avatar, the symbol of hope and moral virtues is just a bad PR move. And according to many episodes in the orginal series, the Fire Nation isn’t all filled with fire-crazed monsters. There are good, sensible, and rational people within the fire islands who have their strong grasp in virtue and morality. They could influence their countrymen in withdrawing support from the Firelord, weakening the Nation’s Imperial Stances if they played their cards right.
Aang would probably have the support of the oppositional minority within the Fire Nation together with the influential Fire Sages who were not yet corrupted by time and the pressure exerted by the Firelord, remaining loyal to the reincarnation of Avatar of Roku.
Here’s my Final Verdict and it’s practically pointing out the obvious: It definitely would have been better for the whole world if Aang decided to not run away from his destiny.
In the episode of the Storm, Katara even reasoned with Aang saying that if he had stayed back, there is a high chance that he would be killed by the comet powered firebenders.
But with the Power of the Avatar State as the Ultimate Defense Mechanism, I think Aang probably would’ve survived the initial attack and saved hundreds of Airbenders under his protection.
Yes, him not having the Dream Team would have been a big loss indeed but if he stayed active and unfrozen in his own era, he would have had the best chances to stop the Fire Nation from causing the Max amount of damage to the whole world. I’m sure there would be challenges and conflict from other world leaders, especially from the leadership in Ba Sing Se, but if he managed to convince the biggest city in the Earth Kingdom, together with the other strongholds and major factions in the other Nations due to the crucial fact that they share a common enemy, I think Aang’s job would have been a lot easier.
He would have been able to save countless lives and prevent a lot of souls from experiencing decades of pain and suffering.
But this post is not about me judging Aang for the things he did and did not do. How could I? Aang probably has the most gentle soul in the world and he’s done nothing but save lives and help people wherever he goes. How could we blame a 12 year old kid when the whole world put such a heavy weight and responsibility on his shoulders? It’s not like he knew the full extent of the Fire Nation’s cruel master plan and it’s not like he volunteered to stay frozen in time during the Storm.
I’m not criticising the decision of one of my most loved Characters of all time but rather this post was made in order to explore the other possibilities and scenarios that would have taken place if only our boy made one different decision. It’s a thought experiment that allows us to fully-immerse ourselves in the rich, haunting and profound themes of such a well-written redemption story.
With all that being said though, even if I think that it would be better for the people in the Avatar Universe if Aang stayed, I think that that would have impacted the messages and the overall feel of the show. The story wouldn’t have hit as hard and it wouldn’t have been as interesting. It would’ve ended up as an entirely different and almost unrecognizable show.
The story is about redeeming oneself, facing one’s fears, taking responsibility and finding hope in a world that was thrown out of balance. And Aang staying back would have toned a lot of those messages down.
Plus, there’s a deep sense of immersion in watching our favorite characters navigate a world ravaged by a hundred years of conflict. There’s this sense of comfort, belonging, and hope in witnessing the hard work, ingenuity, and strength of people who, despite being hurt and damaged by the war, still do their best to face each day, picking themselves up from the fall, brushing dust from their clothes and giving themselves the chance to rebuild everything from the ruins and the rubble.
By removing Aang’s mistake, if the creators made him stay instead of flee in the beginning, we remove a huge chunk of what made him who he is now because we are also taking away such a crucial factor for his development and growth. Aang wouldn’t have been as fully-developed and as great as he turned out to be in the canon story. A big part of his character was him finally accepting that he made a colossal mistake. An error that made him hateful and ashamed of himself for a time. And learning how to forgive himself for his imperfections while fully-embracing his role, responsibility, and true identity was one of the greatest milestones of his character. How can we take that away?
In conclusion, it’s best for the whole world of the Four Nations if he stayed but his original decision in the story canon is what made the show what it is today. A Masterpiece.
I just couldn’t stop talking about Avatar’s pretty much got everything I could ever ask for in a show. It’s well-written. It’s got the best characters. The fight scenes are insane. And it teaches us a lot of profound lessons about life, teaching us that we can learn from our mistakes, redeem ourselves, and find hope even in our darkest hours.
