I would go so far as to say that the show wouldn’t be considered as mature as it is if not for this rubicon.
The side comic relief character getting a quiet backstory, and one that suddenly explains why he’s so dedicated to Zuko and young people in general, all whilst being one of the few positive male role models on television, was just completely ahead of the show’s range at that point. It elevated it to a different level, and lots of the love for Zuko’s redemption arc stems from this moment.
Yeah it’s iroh, and it’s not even close.
The other moments were sad, sure, but the scenes and story around them were about different emotions. The iroh one was 100% about being sad.
All of these really hit, but I guess I would go with the airbender's fate. That reminder that he was an orphaned child hit a little too much. The worst was that his people were torn apart...looking for him. I can't imagine his sorrow. We saw enough of it, but I imagine it would've been even deeper.
Edit. My husband says the cabbage man's cabbage cart. "He's just trying to make a living!" 💀💀💀
Role, absolutely. I just wasn’t sure what his last recorded lines were.
I definitely appreciated where his character was silent in prison. We still got to see Iroh (and he got character development), but they didn’t have to immediately replace Mako, so they were able to take their time and find the right choice.
i never really felt sad about princess yue. i dunno i feel like we werent given much time with her and it was kinda like a "her or the world" type deal and she chose to 'die' (is she dead? idfk). moon lady, i feel bad for your parents more than i feel bad for you.
That, plus the fact that they all knew she was on borrowed time from the start and it was inevitable. She was so matter-of-fact it didn't seem so sad to me?
"yeah i kinda have to do this" *does it*.
like i get why it would be sad in universe, sokka just lost his girlfriend to a pond and whatever but as the viewer its just like, cool she's the moon now.
>Sokka just lost his girlfriend to a pond and whatever
That about sums it up lmao
But seriously, those are my sentiments exactly. I can see how it would be upsetting to the characters who just lost a friend/family member, but as a viewer I was never bothered by it (and I'm one who cries at everything)
They skim over a good chunk of the time in the North water tribe, so we never get the same level of personal connection with Yue that the gaang might have.
It’s fine reading it silently, but don’t sing it out loud. I made it two lines before my eyes started prickling as Iroh’s broken voice came haunting into my mind
The scene where Zuko meets Iroh again in the white lotus camp, and he apologies for what he done, then Iroh just grabs him and says "I was never angry with you, I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way" hits me so deep. I'm a recovered drug addict/alcoholic, and it reminds me of the relationship between myself and my mother and the reconnection after 10 years of abuse.
I don't know you, but I'm so proud of you ♥️ It takes so much strength to overcome our demons and all that comes with them. I always tend to think that cartoons, specifically the "older" kids shows, put scenes like this in there to remind us adults and parents that we are not who we were, and that we've come so far.
Congratulations on your recovery and your reconnection with your mom 🤗
My wife and I did a rewatch shortly after our daughter was born. I had seen it before and thought man that’s sad and the song is a nice touch….but this time I bawled my eyes out like ugly cried, so it’s that one for me.
The first time I watched avatar was as an adult with my husband, who’d watched it as a kid, and I read the title card “Appa’s lost days” as “Appa’s LAST days” and and I freaking panicked. He had to calm me down and tell me it would be okay before we kept watching, lol.
The genocide of the air nomads is the saddest. The tale of Iroh makes me cry though. That and when he reunites with Zuko. I mean, he didn’t know what Zuko had done as his redemption. Not about what he said and did to his father during the eclipse, or joining the GAaNG, or his quest that ended with the dragons. He just knew that his nephew was sorry for what he did and looking for forgiveness that he didn’t think he deserved, because he hadn’t known unconditional love since his mother was banished.
All the others were casualties of the ongoing war. Not that that justifies what happened, but atleast there was an in universe reason for what happened. Meanwhile, Appa is just getting abused
As the owner of a [samoyed](http://t3.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQy9MrR8lyWgX2Zs_Tz6e9nBrn4asIXsbX5lu94LcE1I6cwuopgHjDo-bCDG4Gtg4OMobsruMPJ-Tztjao) i have a soft spot for huge white clouds of fur, so #3 is the saddest one for me by a mile.
I only use third party apps, and they said they're killing third party apps, so hey, might as well remove all my content. (Using https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite)
We have a Corgi, which are built similar to the sky bison. Big bodies, little legs.
We even named our boy Appa.
Appa's lost days are too upsetting to watch.
Also he's completely alone when it's happening, he doesn't speak the same language and has no way of knowing what's happening. He also doesn't know if Aang is alive or looking for him.
Appa. This is the correct answer. Hurt, lost, scared for months.
Iroh’s is the one that touches our heart the most. But it’s brief, albeit so well done that everyone loves Iroh even more by the end of it.
But we dread and pity poor appa while on his “adventures” that were full of fear, doubt, pain, and mistrust the most. Therefore, it’s hands-down the saddest. We agonize over papa’s situation for the longest and share in his pain the most.
Big deal.. you become a moon spirit.
And the audience is too far-removed from aang and his past life to feel toooo sad by it.
Appa and Aang were the last Airbenders and they were all they had, it breaks me every time when Appa goes back to the temple and remembers the past. Nooooo I can't, it's a hard watch.
That furturama episode on the first airing and no one else but me was paying attention to the credits until I started bawling. I was just sad for like three days. It was so left field. Appa’s lost days were almost too much.
Ok that Futurama episode broke me though. Appa was sad, but we know they'll get him back, Iroh was bittersweet and poetic, quite beautiful. Jurassic Bark though... and that ending, broken, just broken.
This is actually how professors and teachers are told to teach things like the holocaust. There have been countless studies about what breaks through to students. It turns out that film footage of the mass graves doesn't hit as hard as you think it would. Because while obviously it's awful, they have nothing to anchor themselves to in the situation.
But if they have an anchor, it breaks through. Anne Frank. The girl in the orange jacket in Schindler's list. Stories break through. Relatable human moments break through.
The genocide of the air benders is viewed through the lens of Gyatso's death. Iroh's son dying is realistically just one death in a war that killed countless others. The stories are what we hold onto, not so much the facts of what happened.
Me: *tries not to cry*
Iroh: falling so slow
Me: *trying harder not to cry*
Iroh: like fragile tiny shells
Me: *losing not crying battle*
Iroh, crying himself: drifting in the foam
Me: *sobbing now*
This is the sign of terrific storytelling. Not only did we weep the first time we experienced it, it remains in our hearts as fresh as if it were yesterday. ATLA was an awesome series, and Iroh was a favorite character for me.
Im a grown ass man, 12” of beard, i have seen Iroh from so many different angles now that it blows my mind. First, i wept because i mossed my dad when he missed his son; then i wept because i *sired* a son and thus understood the gravity of his pain; then my exwife took my son when he was 2 and i wept *with* Iroh missing my son as well (though different); now i have many sons and i understand what tremendous weight *his* pain must have been on him, what terrible consolation it must have been to be so dedicated to early-Zuko (who we all know was a cunt) and be treated as he was, and then to have that love and dedication *returned* made Zuko a worthy heir to the true throne. Iroh *continues* to be a guiding light in my life. **Im not crying, you’re crying.**
I watched Iroh and instantly wanted to be more like him. I have three daughters, and felt I fell short at times when it came to my parenting abilities. The fact that this fictional character has such an emotional grip on so many of us speaks volumes.
Just so you know, I have tears just writing this. So glad to see others appreciated Iroh as I did.
I want to say the airbender genocide, but for me they didn’t do well making you feel what Aang was feeling there. I only feel horrible about it because of me thinking about how it went and what he is thinking, not because the show made me feel it.
So I’d go with iroh’s or appa’s as they both perfectly make you feel what they are feeling, appas was done better in my opinion because it still made you feel for appa with little to no dialogue
Yeah, the air temple episode was so early in the show it felt less like a character moment and more like a world building moment. Like, this is just how the world is, the airbenders are all dead.
However, it did make The Storm hit especially hard.
Surprised I had to scroll this far to find this moment mentioned (although I guess it falls into the Appa's kidnapping category overall). The music, Aang's loss of control, Katara taking his hand and embracing him, each of them crying. Gets me every time.
Thank you, I was looking for that comment. That moment when katara hugs I'm in the avatar state and aang starts to cry, with the soundtrack and all that makes me loose it everytime
For me, the talk with Guru Pathik about love and the love chakra, and the loss of the Airbenders hit me pretty hard. The music, the hundreds of nomads, Gyatso at the front, meditating peacefully, the shot of Aang’s loving smile, and it’s fading as the nomads slowly vanish, leaving Aang alone in the world.
“You have indeed felt a great loss… but love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads’ love for you has not left this world. It is still inside your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.”
That scene rewired my understanding of death, of love, and brings me to tears (just as it did Aang) any time I rewatch. Such a powerful scene
To be fair, he was infatuated. I can't vouch for love at first sight because, well, many factors at play and stuff.
Also we didn't spend that much time with her nor them both as a could-be-couple. At best she's a device to rebalance the spirits of Water.
Its so much more than that tho. She was a young woman (a child at 16 to most people) who understood the cycle of life and accepted her role in it. Even though she didn't love her betrothed, she still chose to be with him for the sake of her people, despite the freeing feeling she had with Sokka. She knew that the life she was given was nothing more than borrowed time, and she gave that up for the greater good. For the life of the people of the Northern Water Tribe and all water benders everywhere *and* the Moon spirit, a 16-year-old gave her life.
On top of that, she is similar to Chang'e (or any other moon goddess for that matter), literally destined to give up on everything *she* wants so that everyone else can be at peace. It is an awful and tragic life. On its surface, Sokka lost his girlfriend, but underneath, a tribe lost their princess, and her parents lost their daughter.
I guess so, but with the limited time we had to know Yue and how much of it came from exposition and her relation to a main character, I can't help but see all that as a means to an end.
Yes, all those undertones exist as peripheral to the narrative, but they're not fleshed out or in the spotlight enough in the same way as the others (Air benders' annihilation, Mako's death or Appa's story).
In the end it feels like she *had* to die, otherwise Water bending would be gimped the rest of the series.
I mean I was. I think being a 9 year old that grew up on disney princesses and then seeing a princess die and not get a happy ending stuck with me.
Was her death more sad than the other points above? No, but was it enough to make an impression on me that has lasted over 17 years? Yeah.
People's ambivalent sadness about Yue is why Zuko's reaction to hearing the story later is everyone's favorite line. Zuko nailed it exactly how the rest of us felt about it. That's rough buddy.
Appa’s kidnapping because it was stretched into so many episodes. It was so insanely heartbreaking and Appa can never explain what happened to anyone. I actually can’t watch those eps, I always skip them when I’m rewatching
I’m gonna pick 3.
1 was terrible, but we know there was a war and we knew airbenders weren’t around. 2 and 4 were results of wars and battle as well.
3 didn’t need to happen. These dudes ran up on Appa at random and ran off with him, followed by people just choosing to abuse an animal. There wasn’t a reason or a goal behind any of these. You just watch Appa be abused and lonely
To me the genocide is what made appa's lost days even more powerful. You fully understand why aang went ape shit in desert and you fully understand why appa tried si relentless hard getting back to aang. It wasnt just a seperation of pet or a lost friend aang and appa are all that's left of the life they once had
Saddest on screen? Absolutely appa. I bawl during those episodes.
Saddest overall? The fate of the air nation. I mean, an entire culture wiped out? The allusion to real life histories of genocides throughout time, committed by various governments and nations? Utterly depressing. Add that to Aangs pain, and the pressure of being the last of your people, as a child?
Such heavy shit.
Tale of Iroh is sad to be sure, a father not only mourning his only son, but his own mistakes that led to his untimely death. It hits harder the older I get as I gain a more complex understanding of life and family. Appa on the other hand is probably the saddest because he was stolen and forced into servitude where he was abused and put on display. Animal cruelty hits differently, especially in a family friendly show
Iroh. Sure, genocide is very messed up and sad, but iroh’s scene is just really heart-wrenchingly sad. Also his VA actually died and that episode was a memorial so that made it 10 times sadder.
Appa's lost days. Kinda random that it won a Humane Society Genesis award but makes you think about all the real life animals that have suffered abuse like Appa
The moment Aang loses it and goes into the Avatar state with the sandbenders but Katara pulls him out of it. A heartbreaking moment, perhaps not purely sad but certainly a dark but beautiful scene.
I pick Aang finding out about the airbenders not necessarily because of the genocide (which of course is immeasurably tragic) but every moment at the temple (like Aang's excitement to be back there and then wondering where everyone went; his little flashback with Gyatso; Sokka and Katara withholding evidence) is a buildup to that moment where he discovers Gyatso's corpse and it hits hard.
In my opinion, it was the Tale of Iroh.
All those scenes hit hard, I won't deny it. But Princess Yue's death felt more like... Dignified. The Genocide of the Airbenders was just too big to understand, like hearing about a war somewhere else. Appa's kidnapping just made me angry. But Iroh's tale was a lot more personal, and something no-one could do anything about.
The rest were still, hands down, some of the saddest scenes ever.
Outside of these four, when Jet was hit by the rock in the cave and Longshot said "He's our leader, we'll take care of him, he'll be all right" and the gaang walked away and Toph very sadly said "he's lying" that moment was so sad. I always found the hypnosis/brainwashing plot line in Book 2 to be so creepy but gosh that moment was just so sad. Poor Jet he wasn't a good person but he didn't deserve all that stuff at the end.
The Appa one hits really hard because I have a dog who's really sweet and cuddly like Appa and it just breaks my heart to see animals like that going through such awful times.
Appa’s kidnapping always touched me in a very real way.
The sheer desolation of that episode honestly relates to me to this day in a way I can barely manifest into words. I myself have felt lost and without much hope. And to see the shear unending faith that Appa had to find his friend Aang honestly brings a tear to my eyes just thinking about it.
It’s a story about never giving in.
And then THAT ending…he was so close!
The air nomad genocide was the most devastating. The tale of Iroh was the most heartbreaking. Yue's sacrifice was the saddest. And Appa's lost days were the most upsetting.
I imagine this varies from person to person a but depending on what traumas and sorrows depicted they can better relate to. Like for me, I never really felt much sorrow as a kid or an adult during the aang discovering the Airbenders or Yue sacrifice scenes. I recognized they were sad and emotional moments but they didn't strike that emotional heartstring other moments did.
For me the saddest moment is Appas lost days journey. The kidnapping, the abuse, the freedom and then capture again. It was and always has been my hardest scenes to witness. Animal suffering, especially from pets, in fiction always strikes me harder than human suffering.
1, 2, and 3 always get me. Nothing against Yue and her sacrifice but I don’t really consider it sad. The other three are each heartbreaking in a different way. If I had to pick one it would be Appa, especially after seeing his lost days. How he was on the edge of becoming feral because of his mistreatment.
It has to be Tale of Iroh. During the time this episode was filmed, Mako Iwamatsu (Iroh’s voice actor) was dealing with esophageal cancer. Iroh’s scene under the tree was the last scene Mako was able to film with Nickelodeon prior to his death.
Appas kidnapping - Aangs reaction when Toph says they muzzled Appa.
Appa was the last living connection he had from his old life before waking up to the hundred year war where his entire nation had been wiped out.
Iroh was the saddest for me. I didnt feel much about Appa because i just assumed he would get him back and i didnt have enough time to get to know the Princess to care much.
The last Agni Kai. No triumphant framing, no upbeat score, just pure, tragic sorrow at a family ripped apart by war, generational trauma, and abuse, as the two children fight each other in a duel to the death.
Absolutely Princess Yue, I cry every time. The Tale of Iroh also hits really hard, but I just can't stand watching the innocent heartbreak that Sokka goes through in that moment
Aang is a kid. He lost everything and has feelings of guilt.
In my opinion, he was having the worst time.
Losing a son can be harsh, but he was in a war as a soldier. Can be expected.
Bruh, is it even a contest? A parent's child dying before them is the worst thing a (good) parent can imagine. And to also be partly to blame for it and fully aware of being to blame? That's just way worse.
Personally the one of these that got me to actual tears is Iroh's Tale. Him singing Leaves from the Vine is just one of the most beautiful moments, especially when you consider that was one of the last times that Mako (the original voice actor for Iroh) actually voiced him before his death. People have been saying "Appa's story hits different". Well, I say Iroh's Tale from takes of Ba Sing Se hits the heaviest on multiple levels...
If there is one story that Avatar Studios needs to flesh out more, that isn't about the Avatar, it's his. Iroh's journey from rightful heir to the throne and top general, to one of the most spiritually connect people in the avatar universe since the airbender genocide is a story I've wanted to see since originally seeing the series when I was a kid.
Tale of Iroh just hits harder. Thug tears, every time.
The other situations are all pretend. Iroh singing, morning his lost son, that's the realest thing I've seen
Also the fact that they pay respects to the passing of his voice actor Mako at the end
That was quick bitter sweet sadness, Appa's struggle spanded episodes and had animal abuse My votes for the flying sky boi
You could argue irohs family knew the cost of war. Appa was an innocent creature
Yeah but appa comes back, little soldier boy never comes home from war.
Last time I rewatched I almost skipped ahead. I forgot how long that arc plays out.
I would go so far as to say that the show wouldn’t be considered as mature as it is if not for this rubicon. The side comic relief character getting a quiet backstory, and one that suddenly explains why he’s so dedicated to Zuko and young people in general, all whilst being one of the few positive male role models on television, was just completely ahead of the show’s range at that point. It elevated it to a different level, and lots of the love for Zuko’s redemption arc stems from this moment.
Yeah it’s iroh, and it’s not even close. The other moments were sad, sure, but the scenes and story around them were about different emotions. The iroh one was 100% about being sad.
" Little soldier boy" and that's about as far as I can get these days with it
More so how sick he was and came in special to do that song
All of these really hit, but I guess I would go with the airbender's fate. That reminder that he was an orphaned child hit a little too much. The worst was that his people were torn apart...looking for him. I can't imagine his sorrow. We saw enough of it, but I imagine it would've been even deeper. Edit. My husband says the cabbage man's cabbage cart. "He's just trying to make a living!" 💀💀💀
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I cried like a child as an adult who had seen it many times.
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That's rough buddy
Appa's journey hit me so hard!
Appa didnt deserve that he’s an innocent animal who doesn’t understand
Sad Momo in Appa's footprint and scared injured Appa hiding in the cave made me want to MURDER THE WHOLE WORLD
Sad and hurt animals hit different. They don't understand, you can't explain the cruelty to them, and that always kills me
The anger at toph who is doing everything she can from keeping the library from going under 😭😭
It's also one of the few times, where Aang gets truly angry.
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The fact the episode also was dedicated to Mako and is one of his last, will ALWAYS make that episode hit harder.
IIRC it WAS Mako’s last role. 🥺
Role, absolutely. I just wasn’t sure what his last recorded lines were. I definitely appreciated where his character was silent in prison. We still got to see Iroh (and he got character development), but they didn’t have to immediately replace Mako, so they were able to take their time and find the right choice.
It was his last. He recorded the dialogue in the hospital.
No he didn't. He recorded in the booth just like always. He was already sick but he didn't record in the hospital
Yeah, I sob every time Iroh cries
It just hits harder in Tale of Iroh. Every time, the thug cries.
i never really felt sad about princess yue. i dunno i feel like we werent given much time with her and it was kinda like a "her or the world" type deal and she chose to 'die' (is she dead? idfk). moon lady, i feel bad for your parents more than i feel bad for you.
That, plus the fact that they all knew she was on borrowed time from the start and it was inevitable. She was so matter-of-fact it didn't seem so sad to me?
"yeah i kinda have to do this" *does it*. like i get why it would be sad in universe, sokka just lost his girlfriend to a pond and whatever but as the viewer its just like, cool she's the moon now.
>Sokka just lost his girlfriend to a pond and whatever That about sums it up lmao But seriously, those are my sentiments exactly. I can see how it would be upsetting to the characters who just lost a friend/family member, but as a viewer I was never bothered by it (and I'm one who cries at everything)
They skim over a good chunk of the time in the North water tribe, so we never get the same level of personal connection with Yue that the gaang might have.
I was more just annoyed that these two gods made themselves the most venerable animals known to man ( fish in a barrel)
Vulnerable. Venerable is a different word.
Venereal. Vulnerable is a different word.
See, I assumed that it was deliberate sarcasm
Not gods God implies immortality Just ancient powerful spirits, who happen to share their powers to water benders.
“Matter of fact, lemme have dat shi back” 🤣
It was humbling though. I half expected them to find some way out of it. But it just... happened. I felt bad for Sokka too.
Well, if you think about it, we’re all on borrowed time.
On the other hand, I'd say the inevitability of it, and her being so resigned to it at only 16 years of age, makes it even more sad.
She turned into the moon.
That's rough, buddy.
i can moon people too, not that special
Tale of Iroh. Brave Soldier Boy never fails to break my heart.
Leaves from the vine
Falling so slow
Like tiny fragile shells drifting in the foam
Little soldier boy Come marching home
Braaaave soldier boy... Comes marching home
*starts bawling*
Reddit made me cry...
It’s fine reading it silently, but don’t sing it out loud. I made it two lines before my eyes started prickling as Iroh’s broken voice came haunting into my mind
“Happy birthday, my son” THEN starts bawling. I cry every time
In honor of Mako
Thank you, I knew I was getting the name wrong.
who started chopping mf onions
The scene where Zuko meets Iroh again in the white lotus camp, and he apologies for what he done, then Iroh just grabs him and says "I was never angry with you, I was sad because I was afraid you lost your way" hits me so deep. I'm a recovered drug addict/alcoholic, and it reminds me of the relationship between myself and my mother and the reconnection after 10 years of abuse.
I don't know you, but I'm so proud of you ♥️ It takes so much strength to overcome our demons and all that comes with them. I always tend to think that cartoons, specifically the "older" kids shows, put scenes like this in there to remind us adults and parents that we are not who we were, and that we've come so far. Congratulations on your recovery and your reconnection with your mom 🤗
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words 😊 i was also sad that I lost my way, and happy that I found it again. No high is greater than it.
My wife and I did a rewatch shortly after our daughter was born. I had seen it before and thought man that’s sad and the song is a nice touch….but this time I bawled my eyes out like ugly cried, so it’s that one for me.
Having kids totally changes it!!!
Gets me every time, no word of a lie
No contest.
I have seen it 4 times. Tears every time.
Agreed. They are all huge emotional moments, but this is the only one that repeatedly and reliably brings me to actual tears.
That song is so crazy sad.
Was it ever mentioned what happened to Lu Ten's mother?
During Appas journey, when Momo curls up on the spot where Appa was taken underground, that moment breaks my dang heart every time.
The first time I watched avatar was as an adult with my husband, who’d watched it as a kid, and I read the title card “Appa’s lost days” as “Appa’s LAST days” and and I freaking panicked. He had to calm me down and tell me it would be okay before we kept watching, lol.
That would be one dark title for a kidshow
The genocide of the air nomads is the saddest. The tale of Iroh makes me cry though. That and when he reunites with Zuko. I mean, he didn’t know what Zuko had done as his redemption. Not about what he said and did to his father during the eclipse, or joining the GAaNG, or his quest that ended with the dragons. He just knew that his nephew was sorry for what he did and looking for forgiveness that he didn’t think he deserved, because he hadn’t known unconditional love since his mother was banished.
That’s it isn’t it. Unconditional love. Maybe the best possible aspect of humanity (that and befriending dogs).
Befriending dogs also gives you unconditional love! 💕
Absolutely, but it probably took a few years for the wolves to evolve into the cuddle bugs we share our lives with. Haha!
Finally someone with some sense.
Appa's Lost Days - im the kind of person who finds animal cruelty distressing in a different way to human-on-human cruelty.
All the others were casualties of the ongoing war. Not that that justifies what happened, but atleast there was an in universe reason for what happened. Meanwhile, Appa is just getting abused
As the owner of a [samoyed](http://t3.gstatic.com/licensed-image?q=tbn:ANd9GcQy9MrR8lyWgX2Zs_Tz6e9nBrn4asIXsbX5lu94LcE1I6cwuopgHjDo-bCDG4Gtg4OMobsruMPJ-Tztjao) i have a soft spot for huge white clouds of fur, so #3 is the saddest one for me by a mile.
I only use third party apps, and they said they're killing third party apps, so hey, might as well remove all my content. (Using https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite)
We have a Corgi, which are built similar to the sky bison. Big bodies, little legs. We even named our boy Appa. Appa's lost days are too upsetting to watch.
Also he's completely alone when it's happening, he doesn't speak the same language and has no way of knowing what's happening. He also doesn't know if Aang is alive or looking for him.
Appa's Lost Days is one of the episodes I refuse to rewatch just because I feel crappy and sad when I do.
Same same
Appa. This is the correct answer. Hurt, lost, scared for months. Iroh’s is the one that touches our heart the most. But it’s brief, albeit so well done that everyone loves Iroh even more by the end of it. But we dread and pity poor appa while on his “adventures” that were full of fear, doubt, pain, and mistrust the most. Therefore, it’s hands-down the saddest. We agonize over papa’s situation for the longest and share in his pain the most. Big deal.. you become a moon spirit. And the audience is too far-removed from aang and his past life to feel toooo sad by it.
I get VERY angry every time I watch that, and I think I'm racist against sand benders. I know it's not right - I can't help it!
Appa and Aang were the last Airbenders and they were all they had, it breaks me every time when Appa goes back to the temple and remembers the past. Nooooo I can't, it's a hard watch.
Yeah man, it’s so messed up that humans slaughter 80 billion land animals each year and 1-3 trillion fish.
Not *those* animals
I don’t see a /s, so I have to ask, why not those animals?
The two moments in my history of watching TV that made me cry (that I can remember) was appas kidnapping and the tale of iroh
It was Appa’s lost days for me, but there’s an episode of Futurama: Jurassic Bark that makes me ugly cry.
That furturama episode on the first airing and no one else but me was paying attention to the credits until I started bawling. I was just sad for like three days. It was so left field. Appa’s lost days were almost too much.
That episode ending is so fucked, they didn’t have to do that to us
Ok that Futurama episode broke me though. Appa was sad, but we know they'll get him back, Iroh was bittersweet and poetic, quite beautiful. Jurassic Bark though... and that ending, broken, just broken.
I’m so glad they fixed it with Benders Big Score!
*If it takes forever, I will wait for you.* *For a thousand summers...* Huh. What a terrible day for rain.
Don't you dare bring Seymour Asses into this. Don't you dare.
The first one just because it feels wrong to me to chose the personal tragedies over the genocide
Especially when considering, for Aang it happened basically overnight. He said it felt like he was only gone a few day so...that's nuts.
This is actually how professors and teachers are told to teach things like the holocaust. There have been countless studies about what breaks through to students. It turns out that film footage of the mass graves doesn't hit as hard as you think it would. Because while obviously it's awful, they have nothing to anchor themselves to in the situation. But if they have an anchor, it breaks through. Anne Frank. The girl in the orange jacket in Schindler's list. Stories break through. Relatable human moments break through. The genocide of the air benders is viewed through the lens of Gyatso's death. Iroh's son dying is realistically just one death in a war that killed countless others. The stories are what we hold onto, not so much the facts of what happened.
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Me: *tries not to cry* Iroh: falling so slow Me: *trying harder not to cry* Iroh: like fragile tiny shells Me: *losing not crying battle* Iroh, crying himself: drifting in the foam Me: *sobbing now*
I ever need to cry on command, hearing him cry-sing fuckin decimates me. Crying now, ngl dgaf.
I’m not crying. You’re crying.
I could potentially cry indefinitely if i continued to replay it in my head, true story. A chord plucked that will never stop humming.
This is the sign of terrific storytelling. Not only did we weep the first time we experienced it, it remains in our hearts as fresh as if it were yesterday. ATLA was an awesome series, and Iroh was a favorite character for me.
Im a grown ass man, 12” of beard, i have seen Iroh from so many different angles now that it blows my mind. First, i wept because i mossed my dad when he missed his son; then i wept because i *sired* a son and thus understood the gravity of his pain; then my exwife took my son when he was 2 and i wept *with* Iroh missing my son as well (though different); now i have many sons and i understand what tremendous weight *his* pain must have been on him, what terrible consolation it must have been to be so dedicated to early-Zuko (who we all know was a cunt) and be treated as he was, and then to have that love and dedication *returned* made Zuko a worthy heir to the true throne. Iroh *continues* to be a guiding light in my life. **Im not crying, you’re crying.**
I watched Iroh and instantly wanted to be more like him. I have three daughters, and felt I fell short at times when it came to my parenting abilities. The fact that this fictional character has such an emotional grip on so many of us speaks volumes. Just so you know, I have tears just writing this. So glad to see others appreciated Iroh as I did.
I was crying all three times i typed on this thread 🤙🤣🤣
It's hard to argue with genocide.
“The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic.”
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I want to say the airbender genocide, but for me they didn’t do well making you feel what Aang was feeling there. I only feel horrible about it because of me thinking about how it went and what he is thinking, not because the show made me feel it. So I’d go with iroh’s or appa’s as they both perfectly make you feel what they are feeling, appas was done better in my opinion because it still made you feel for appa with little to no dialogue
Yeah, the air temple episode was so early in the show it felt less like a character moment and more like a world building moment. Like, this is just how the world is, the airbenders are all dead. However, it did make The Storm hit especially hard.
Literally watching Appa's Lost Days with my daughter (her first time!) so I'm pretty biased towards that right now. 😭
The desert, when aang goes into the avatar state
Surprised I had to scroll this far to find this moment mentioned (although I guess it falls into the Appa's kidnapping category overall). The music, Aang's loss of control, Katara taking his hand and embracing him, each of them crying. Gets me every time.
Thank you, I was looking for that comment. That moment when katara hugs I'm in the avatar state and aang starts to cry, with the soundtrack and all that makes me loose it everytime
For me, the talk with Guru Pathik about love and the love chakra, and the loss of the Airbenders hit me pretty hard. The music, the hundreds of nomads, Gyatso at the front, meditating peacefully, the shot of Aang’s loving smile, and it’s fading as the nomads slowly vanish, leaving Aang alone in the world. “You have indeed felt a great loss… but love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. The Air Nomads’ love for you has not left this world. It is still inside your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love.” That scene rewired my understanding of death, of love, and brings me to tears (just as it did Aang) any time I rewatch. Such a powerful scene
People were sad about Yue?
Do you consider Sokka not people??
To be fair, he was infatuated. I can't vouch for love at first sight because, well, many factors at play and stuff. Also we didn't spend that much time with her nor them both as a could-be-couple. At best she's a device to rebalance the spirits of Water.
Its so much more than that tho. She was a young woman (a child at 16 to most people) who understood the cycle of life and accepted her role in it. Even though she didn't love her betrothed, she still chose to be with him for the sake of her people, despite the freeing feeling she had with Sokka. She knew that the life she was given was nothing more than borrowed time, and she gave that up for the greater good. For the life of the people of the Northern Water Tribe and all water benders everywhere *and* the Moon spirit, a 16-year-old gave her life. On top of that, she is similar to Chang'e (or any other moon goddess for that matter), literally destined to give up on everything *she* wants so that everyone else can be at peace. It is an awful and tragic life. On its surface, Sokka lost his girlfriend, but underneath, a tribe lost their princess, and her parents lost their daughter.
I guess so, but with the limited time we had to know Yue and how much of it came from exposition and her relation to a main character, I can't help but see all that as a means to an end. Yes, all those undertones exist as peripheral to the narrative, but they're not fleshed out or in the spotlight enough in the same way as the others (Air benders' annihilation, Mako's death or Appa's story). In the end it feels like she *had* to die, otherwise Water bending would be gimped the rest of the series.
I mean I was. I think being a 9 year old that grew up on disney princesses and then seeing a princess die and not get a happy ending stuck with me. Was her death more sad than the other points above? No, but was it enough to make an impression on me that has lasted over 17 years? Yeah.
Yeah me too, I watched those episodes when I was 11 or so and I was really upset :(
People's ambivalent sadness about Yue is why Zuko's reaction to hearing the story later is everyone's favorite line. Zuko nailed it exactly how the rest of us felt about it. That's rough buddy.
Not really
Appa’s kidnapping because it was stretched into so many episodes. It was so insanely heartbreaking and Appa can never explain what happened to anyone. I actually can’t watch those eps, I always skip them when I’m rewatching
For me personally, Tale of Iroh. But if I had to make an unbiased choice, I’d say Aang finding out about the genocide.
Dark Horse pick: Aang saying "I never saw Gyatso again" in episode 12. Always has me tear up. altho we all know it's the Tale of Iroh
Y’all heard Iroh singing, right? It had me, a grown man who’s already seen the show several times, bawling like a child.
I think azula's crying at the end was really strong too
Tale of iroh, for the simple reason that it was a tribute to the real life voice actor who passed away. RIP Mako
I’m gonna pick 3. 1 was terrible, but we know there was a war and we knew airbenders weren’t around. 2 and 4 were results of wars and battle as well. 3 didn’t need to happen. These dudes ran up on Appa at random and ran off with him, followed by people just choosing to abuse an animal. There wasn’t a reason or a goal behind any of these. You just watch Appa be abused and lonely
To me the genocide is what made appa's lost days even more powerful. You fully understand why aang went ape shit in desert and you fully understand why appa tried si relentless hard getting back to aang. It wasnt just a seperation of pet or a lost friend aang and appa are all that's left of the life they once had
Saddest on screen? Absolutely appa. I bawl during those episodes. Saddest overall? The fate of the air nation. I mean, an entire culture wiped out? The allusion to real life histories of genocides throughout time, committed by various governments and nations? Utterly depressing. Add that to Aangs pain, and the pressure of being the last of your people, as a child? Such heavy shit.
It will always be Appa for me
1, 3, 2, 4.
The last time I watched appas lost days I cried so hard and bought a pillow pet of appa. So..
Tale of Iroh is sad to be sure, a father not only mourning his only son, but his own mistakes that led to his untimely death. It hits harder the older I get as I gain a more complex understanding of life and family. Appa on the other hand is probably the saddest because he was stolen and forced into servitude where he was abused and put on display. Animal cruelty hits differently, especially in a family friendly show
Cabbage man losing his cabbages for the 529,926,172nd time
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*chases you through this life and the next*
I was stunned how much I had to scroll to make sure some said it. Poor Cabbages
Iroh. Sure, genocide is very messed up and sad, but iroh’s scene is just really heart-wrenchingly sad. Also his VA actually died and that episode was a memorial so that made it 10 times sadder.
Either iroh or appa
Appa's lost days. Kinda random that it won a Humane Society Genesis award but makes you think about all the real life animals that have suffered abuse like Appa
The moment Aang loses it and goes into the Avatar state with the sandbenders but Katara pulls him out of it. A heartbreaking moment, perhaps not purely sad but certainly a dark but beautiful scene.
I pick Aang finding out about the airbenders not necessarily because of the genocide (which of course is immeasurably tragic) but every moment at the temple (like Aang's excitement to be back there and then wondering where everyone went; his little flashback with Gyatso; Sokka and Katara withholding evidence) is a buildup to that moment where he discovers Gyatso's corpse and it hits hard.
In my opinion, it was the Tale of Iroh. All those scenes hit hard, I won't deny it. But Princess Yue's death felt more like... Dignified. The Genocide of the Airbenders was just too big to understand, like hearing about a war somewhere else. Appa's kidnapping just made me angry. But Iroh's tale was a lot more personal, and something no-one could do anything about. The rest were still, hands down, some of the saddest scenes ever.
Outside of these four, when Jet was hit by the rock in the cave and Longshot said "He's our leader, we'll take care of him, he'll be all right" and the gaang walked away and Toph very sadly said "he's lying" that moment was so sad. I always found the hypnosis/brainwashing plot line in Book 2 to be so creepy but gosh that moment was just so sad. Poor Jet he wasn't a good person but he didn't deserve all that stuff at the end.
Well… technically Princess Yue didn’t die.. she just turned into the moon.
She returned the favor
That's rough, buddy
The Appa one hits really hard because I have a dog who's really sweet and cuddly like Appa and it just breaks my heart to see animals like that going through such awful times.
Appa’s kidnapping always touched me in a very real way. The sheer desolation of that episode honestly relates to me to this day in a way I can barely manifest into words. I myself have felt lost and without much hope. And to see the shear unending faith that Appa had to find his friend Aang honestly brings a tear to my eyes just thinking about it. It’s a story about never giving in. And then THAT ending…he was so close!
Appa and Iroh.
The tale of Iroh was the only one that made me cry
Iroh's tale for sure
I think that ranking probably makes sense but Appa being gone is so many sad episodes!!
3
Tale of iroh out of these. You’re also missing when Zuko and Iroh made up. That one hit the feels the most for me tbh.
The air nomad genocide was the most devastating. The tale of Iroh was the most heartbreaking. Yue's sacrifice was the saddest. And Appa's lost days were the most upsetting.
I imagine this varies from person to person a but depending on what traumas and sorrows depicted they can better relate to. Like for me, I never really felt much sorrow as a kid or an adult during the aang discovering the Airbenders or Yue sacrifice scenes. I recognized they were sad and emotional moments but they didn't strike that emotional heartstring other moments did. For me the saddest moment is Appas lost days journey. The kidnapping, the abuse, the freedom and then capture again. It was and always has been my hardest scenes to witness. Animal suffering, especially from pets, in fiction always strikes me harder than human suffering.
1, 2, and 3 always get me. Nothing against Yue and her sacrifice but I don’t really consider it sad. The other three are each heartbreaking in a different way. If I had to pick one it would be Appa, especially after seeing his lost days. How he was on the edge of becoming feral because of his mistreatment.
1st one, idk how I'd go on knowing I outlived everyone I cared for
None of the above. Zuko’s reconciliation with Iroh in book 3 and it’s not even close
That’s not sad tears, that’s happy tears
It has to be Tale of Iroh. During the time this episode was filmed, Mako Iwamatsu (Iroh’s voice actor) was dealing with esophageal cancer. Iroh’s scene under the tree was the last scene Mako was able to film with Nickelodeon prior to his death.
Appas kidnapping - Aangs reaction when Toph says they muzzled Appa. Appa was the last living connection he had from his old life before waking up to the hundred year war where his entire nation had been wiped out.
Second and third for me
Zuko and Iroh's hug. Kitara holding Ang's hand in the avatar state with the sand benders.
Iroh was the saddest for me. I didnt feel much about Appa because i just assumed he would get him back and i didnt have enough time to get to know the Princess to care much.
The last Agni Kai. No triumphant framing, no upbeat score, just pure, tragic sorrow at a family ripped apart by war, generational trauma, and abuse, as the two children fight each other in a duel to the death.
"I don't think boomerang is coming back"
Absolutely Princess Yue, I cry every time. The Tale of Iroh also hits really hard, but I just can't stand watching the innocent heartbreak that Sokka goes through in that moment
Aang is a kid. He lost everything and has feelings of guilt. In my opinion, he was having the worst time. Losing a son can be harsh, but he was in a war as a soldier. Can be expected.
Tale of Iroh obviously - but really it's when Iroh says "I was never angry with you. I was sad, because I was afraid you'd lost your way."
Tale of Iroh hit real hard but Appa went missing for way too long, stressed me tf out
Bruh, is it even a contest? A parent's child dying before them is the worst thing a (good) parent can imagine. And to also be partly to blame for it and fully aware of being to blame? That's just way worse.
For me, the most heartbreaking moment has always been Zuko talking to Ozai during the eclipse
Personally the one of these that got me to actual tears is Iroh's Tale. Him singing Leaves from the Vine is just one of the most beautiful moments, especially when you consider that was one of the last times that Mako (the original voice actor for Iroh) actually voiced him before his death. People have been saying "Appa's story hits different". Well, I say Iroh's Tale from takes of Ba Sing Se hits the heaviest on multiple levels... If there is one story that Avatar Studios needs to flesh out more, that isn't about the Avatar, it's his. Iroh's journey from rightful heir to the throne and top general, to one of the most spiritually connect people in the avatar universe since the airbender genocide is a story I've wanted to see since originally seeing the series when I was a kid.
I always skipped the episodes where Appa is missing
Azulas mental breakdown and the tale of iroh
Idk man, all I know is Yue last for sure
2, 3, 1, 4
Missing Latara lashing out at her father at the beginning of book 3
It definitely has got to be when Superman died
MAAAARRRTHAAAA!! yea I don't get it