Why Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Only Has 7 Episodes

Netflix’s live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender returns for season 2 with a reduced episode count. As with most streaming shows, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 premiered with a total of eight episodes, chronicling Aang, Katara, and Sokka’s early journey through the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe. This was a major shift from the original cartoon’s nearly 20-episode, 20-minute structure. Still, it made sense for the show’s cinematic, action-packed approach, as Aang and the Gaang discovered the extent of the Fire Nation’s treachery and came together as a team.

While it was expected that season 2 of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender would follow in season 1’s footsteps by producing eight episodes, the debut of the upcoming season’s chapter titles in February this year confirmed the show’s new seven-episode format. Earlier this month, in an interview with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar+), executive producer Christine Boylan revealed that The Last Airbender season 2 was originally conceived as eight episodes; all the scripts were already written when Netflix ordered the new season cut to seven.

“Netflix gives very little real estate when it comes to episodes,” Boylan explained. She continued:

“We have seven episodes this time round, and while we wrote eight, cutting that down forced us to focus in on key themes. So while we knew we couldn’t include everything, fans can certainly expect to see elements of the fan-favorite episode ‘The Tales Of Ba Sing Se’ throughout the series.”

Boylan was quick to reassure fans of the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender series that other classic “Book 2: Earth” episodes, such as “Zuko Alone,” would also be featured in season 2’s overarching story. “The thing is, there’s never enough time to do everything one-to-one, but we try and draw as much inspiration as possible from every aspect of Avatar: The Last Airbender, be it the comics, novels, or the show.”

In a way, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2‘s shorter season length parallels what happened during the cartoon’s second season. While Nickelodeon’s The Last Airbender season 1 featured 20 episodes, season 2 consisted of 18 episodes (episode 18 is a 47-minute double feature titled “The Guru/The Crossroads of Destiny”). Of course, streaming shows enjoy additional freedom to produce longer episodes, as they’re not restricted by scheduling issues and advertising breaks. As such, while Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 may have fewer episodes, its total runtime hasn’t reduced all that drastically.

How Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2’s Total Runtime Compares To Season 1

As reported by What’s On Netflix, Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 will feature three episodes with a runtime of over an hour (not counting the four to five minutes needed for the credits). Every other episode is over 50 minutes long, too, while season 1 featured multiple installments that clocked in at less than 50 minutes. In total, What’s On Netflix estimates that Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 is only 18 minutes shorter than the show’s first season, despite its reduced episode count.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

Episode 1: “Somewhere Safe”

Episode 2: “A Fight, Once Begun”

Episode 3: “City of Walls and Secrets”

Episode 4: “The Water Falls, the Stones Emerge”

Episode 5: “Ten Thousand Things”

Episode 6: “The Parable of the Two Dragons”

Episode 7: “Something Broken”

That doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone’s favorite scenes or episodes from the original cartoon will be included, of course. Given Boylan’s and the team’s dedication to incorporating other aspects of the Avatar universe into this version of the story and the show’s shuffled sequence of events — a brief blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot in the official trailer for season 2 confirms that an important character from “Book 3: Fire” will make an early appearance in the new episodes — there are bound to be some changes. Still, the longer episode lengths promise an epic second outing, as master earthbender Toph Beifong finally joins the Gaang.

How This Affects Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 3

Netflix renewed Avatar: The Last Airbender for season 2 and a third and final season just weeks after season 1’s premiere. That means that the remake will be able to complete the saga and incorporate Aang’s final fight with the terrifying Fire Lord Ozai, as he and his allies attempt to defeat the Fire Nation and end the Hundred Year War once and for all. Season 3 has finished production and is expected to premiere next year.

It’s been reported that Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3 will also consist of seven episodes (via Knight Edge Media). However, given season 2’s increased episode lengths, it’s reasonable to assume that the third season will include even more super-sized chapters. The original cartoon’s four-part series finale, “Sozin’s Comet,” clocks in at an impressive 1 hour and 32 minutes, while other two-part episodes, like episode 10, “The Day of Black Sun,” and episode 13, “The Boiling Rock,” are both 45 minutes long.

The live-action adaptation will have a lot of ground to cover in its last season. Whether that means that certain episodes, like “The Beach,” “The Runaway,” or even the beloved in-universe recap episode, “The Ember Island Players,” will make it into the final season of Netflix’s The Last Airbender remains to be seen. In an interview with ScreenRant, Aang star Gordon Cormier shared his excitement for season 3, saying, “[it’s] going to be bigger. It is going to be the absolute peak of Netflix, TV, cinema.” For now, however, all eyes are on Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2.

Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 premieres on June 25, only on Netflix.