Avatar: Seven Havens Eps 4-6 Review
Being a hero is never easy, but imagine what being a hero is like when the world is out to get you? Avatar fans got a taste of that back in the days of Aang, when our favorite airbender was the Fire Nation’s public enemy number one. But three hundred years later, his two successors, Pavi and Nisha, are facing something even worse. We all knew that the Ava-Twins were going to get outed sooner or later; it’s part of being the Avatar. But I didn’t expect it to happen so soon into the series.
Then again, that may just be because Paramount’s releasing three episodes a week. It’s not ideal, but we still get a lot to unpack with each batch! Case in point, this week we have to deal with bandits, more mysteries about the Twins’ origins, and even a zombie hospital scenario!
The Terror of the Ava-Twins
The fourth episode takes place some weeks after the third, and the Ava-Twins have started to adjust to their new lives. Most of the Brigade thinks that they’re Karthik’s nieces, and throughout the episodes, we get to see them get up to the usual mischief expected of kids. It’s often easy to forget with how powerful they are, but Pavi and Nisha are still 9 years old. Due to most Avatars being identified as kids or teenagers, they never really get the chance to have a “normal” life. In Aang’s case, learning about it at age twelve led him to run away. For Korra, learning at age four led her to spend her youth cooped up inside a compound. Neither had a normal childhood, so getting to see Pavi and Nisha act like sisters and the kids they are brought a smile to my face.
In addition, these episodes also highlight the contrasts found between the Avatars and how they do things. Nisha, who takes more after Korra, is brash and confrontational, willing to get in a person’s face about what she wants. Meanwhile, Pavi is more social and empathetic, able to get people to open up and trust her. We still don’t know why there are two Avatars this time, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe this wasn’t a freak twist on the part of Raava, the Avatar Spirit. Maybe she realized that the world had gotten so bad after the Cataclysm that one Avatar wasn’t going to cut it this time. Instead, two Avatars, each with her power and the personalities of their two immediate predecessor’s were what the world needed. But that’s just speculation on my part.
Faceless, Fear, and Afflicted! Oh my!
In this second batch of episodes, we learn more of the external and internal threats that Ellora’s currently facing. Those masked individuals we saw at the end of ep. 3 are bandits known as the Faceless. They’ve been raiding Ellora for weeks, first stealing their food supplies, and, as we see in the fourth episode, kidnapping Benders, including one of Jae’s own teammates. As a result, Ellora is running low on food, the Brigade is being pushed to its limits, and everyone is afraid. The entire city is in survival mode, and they are doing a terrible job at handling it, with their leader, Chancellor Kayoko, initially being too prideful to admit that they need help. Even worse, it’s shown that the remnants of the Anomaly are driving people mad with fear, with the sixth episode becoming a zombie horror scenario when the city hospital is overrun by these Afflicted. And all of them are afraid of the same thing: the Avatar.
It still breaks my heart to know that the Avatar, someone we know is meant to be a hero of good, is now viewed with such fear and hatred. Unfortunately for us, during their efforts to stop the Faceless, Nisha was accidentally seen using Bending two elements at the same time, leading to rumors about the Avatar being back. And in the sixth episode, we see just how scared people are about this when we see the perspective of the Afflicted. To them, Pavi and Nisha look like demons ready to tear them apart; it’s horrifying! We know that they wouldn’t do that to innocent people, but between that and the paranoia that is gripping Ellora, we see just what kind of uphill battle the Twins are facing.
The worst part? We’re not even sure if we can fully trust Karthik.
Is Karthik Sus?
In the fifth episode, the Ava-Twins get impatient at the lack of progress on finding their parents, so they decide to investigate. In the process, they discover something important. Karthik had told Nisha that he found her three years ago on the streets of Ellora. Yet that was a lie. In reality, Pavi and Nisha’s parents had messaged him about their kids and asked him to meet them, only for him to find only Nisha by the time he got there. Their parents and Pavi were nowhere to be found. Karthik claims that he didn’t want to burden Nisha with knowing her family might be dead, but I’m not so certain. He’s hiding something!
We are now at the halfway point for the season, and things are starting to ramp up. It’s only a matter of time before the Twins are outed, and if Ellora isn’t ready, everyone will be at risk. Kayoko does call for help from the other Havens, though, so it looks like the next batch will see our first look at what they’re like. I’m not sure what else will happen, but I am still hooked. At least we know we got three more seasons to enjoy after this, which should be enough time to romp in this new era.
I Give “The Faceless” a 4/5, “The One Left Behind” a 4.5/5, and “Night of the Afflicted” a 4/5
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