Aang’s decision to take away the Fire Lord Ozai’s bending changed everything

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a series filled with the most fascinating storytelling and through Aang’s eyes, the journey becomes an even more interesting one. Through three different seasons, the foundation is laid upon each nation, with the Avatar mastering all types of bending for one purpose alone, protection. The journey takes on with his realization of the responsibilities he bears to the strength he has.

Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender
In a way, he grows, he sets up the base for other stories. With crucial decisions and impactful storytelling, Avatar: The Last Airbender became a series worth watching no matter the era, age, or time. Unfortunately, no live-action adaptation, whether it be M. Night Shyamalan’s movie or Netflix’s series, has managed to live up to the fans’ expectations.

However, its sequel series, The Legend of Korra, happens to be a mix of both the good and bad that the universe can offer. In the eyes of its creators, one decision made by Aang holds the true reason for the show’s existence.

Aang Gave the Fire Lord Ozai a Fate Worse than Death

Avatar: The Last Airbender features a sequence that crushes the Fire Lord Ozai’s soul in ways metaphors would fail to do justice to. Aang makes the crucial yet paradoxical choice of sparing his life but, with a price. Having abilities of such magnitude, he took away the Fire Lord Ozai’s ability to bend. In an interview with Polygon, creators of The Legend of Korra, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, explained why the scene has more of an impact after Avatar: The Last Airbender, than before.
Fire Lord Ozai in Avatar: The Last Airbender

“For me, it’s more of an exploration into the ramifications of one’s choices, no matter how well intentioned they may have been. There are no easy solutions.”

According to them, that specific event became the skeleton of what Amon did in its sequel series. There are always difficult decisions to make. For someone with power, these decisions become the make or break of their own morals. Kill once, it becomes a window to kill again. In such a way, Aang chose not to kill Ozai despite having the power to do so.

This gave him the upper hand, the last word, and the power that defeated a formidable foe. He took away Ozai’s pride and joy, being defeated by a child and losing his ability to bend fire. It is a simple parallel to this that Amon reaped in The Legend of Korra.

The Legend of Korra is a Conversation with Avatar: The Last Airbender

According to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino via Polygon, The Legend of Korra and Avatar: The Last Airbender are constantly in conversation with each other. One’s actions directly affect the other. Similarly, while both Aang and Amon hold the power to take away other people’s bending, only one uses it to help people.
The Legend of Korra

“Aang used his power to defeat a tyrant while staying true to his values, while Amon is using his ability to manipulate and terrorize people. It’s not that the ability is all good or bad, it depends on the context and the intention behind the action.”

Amon is known as a master manipulator, using his enemies and their weaknesses to take away their ability to bend the elements. Aang on the other hand, used such a powerful tool to end the reign of a tyrant. He refused to kill the Fire Lord Ozai in hopes that without his bending, he would be rendered powerless.

On the other hand, Amon took away bending to gain power. The very reason why this was made, was because the creators wanted to show that power in itself is not what decides its morals and alignment, but the person wielding them.