Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series is finally here, and we on Fiction Horizon are going to be covering the series, explaining all the changes from the original animated series, as well as some crucial story elements that you might be wondering about. The live-action series introduced Uncle Iroh early on, and we know that he is one of the most important characters in the whole series. In this article, we are going to discuss one specific scene that appeared early on in the animated series, when Iroh was able to see Aang in the Spirit World. How is that possible?! Keep reading to find out!
- Article Breakdown:
- In one of the early episodes of the original animated series, Uncle Iroh was able to see Aang riding on Roku’s dragon in the Spirit World, which was a major moment from the series.
- Due to Iroh being alive and the series still being in its first season, many fans are wondering just how Iroh was able to do this.
- The series never explained it properly, but there are several theories suggesting that Iroh’s previous visit to the Spirit World strengthened his bonds with the Spirits and that he was, thus, able to see Aang.
Iroh saw Aang in the Spirit World fairly early in the series
Avatar: The Last Airbender is known for the effort that the authors put into crafting the personalities and stories of its characters. And while the live-action series simply builds on that, it still succeeds in creating a world of its own, where known images have received a refreshing new depiction. Uncle Iroh is a character with a long-standing tradition, and he is unanimously considered to be one of the best and most important characters in the series.
Now, while there are many interesting aspects to Uncle Iroh’s story, this one is actually going to be related to his connection with Aang. Namely, although Iroh was a member of the Fire Nation, he was not loyal to its tyrannical rulers and helped Team Avatar on more than one occasion, which is why he was labeled as a traitor in his home nation. This also influenced his relationship with Zuko in a major way, but that is a wholly different story. What concerns us here is Aang.
If you remember the early episodes of the original animated series, you might remember a scene where Uncle Iroh notices Aang riding Roku’s dragon in the Spirit World. This was a major scene that foreshadowed Iroh’s connection to Aang and his journey, but it is also one of the more confusing moments in the series.
Iroh noticing Aang is not as problematic as the mechanism behind it. Even after all these years, we still don’t know how Iroh was able to see Aang so early in the series and how he was able to see him in the Spirit World when he himself was not a Spirit. Sure, we know that Uncle Iroh had been to the Spirit World after the death of his son, and we also know that he was a very skilled person, which gives us some background and a basis for this moment, but we still don’t know how it happened, which brings us to the second section of this article.
The series never properly explained this, but there are some sound theories
As we’ve said above, the series never explained this scene. It happened, we moved on, and either the authors forgot about it, or it didn’t seem important enough to return to it, as explaining it wouldn’t change much. Still, we as fans want to know, and in our search for an answer, we have found several fan theories, and most of them claim the same: that Iroh’s previous visit to the Spirit World enabled him to form a bond with that world that later allowed him to interact with it even though he wasn’t part of the Spirit World. This… actually makes sense!
We actually agree with this, and it makes a lot of sense. Iroh was incredibly skilled, and he possessed many abilities that certainly put him above other characters. In that aspect, his previous visit to the Spirit World really does seem to be pivotal here, and the theory that he has managed to form a connection to that world, a connection so strong that it allowed him to interact with it even while he was alive, makes complete sense, and we can only agree with it here.
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