The Great Divide

There is nothing in this episode that contributes to the plot or ever comes up again throughout the series. You can skip it.

A terrific allegory on the pettiness of superficial prejudice (and its long-lasting consequences) based on miscommunication, misinformation and different interpretations of cultural lore. It works as a stand-alone episode so some people that are hungry for more long-term plot candy don't give it the love it deserves for just solid ethics building for adolescents.

This episode does not contribute much to Aang's growth in strength and power, but is in no way a bad episode.

The Avatar has long been hinted to "bring balance to the world", and we've seen times-a-plenty that Aang does it by taking part in the war - This is the most intuitive solution you'd expect of a cartoon. However, this episode shows that there is more to the character of Avatar other than pure power - it's spontaneous wits and problem-solving abilities - aspects of the character that weren't highlighted until this very episode.

The conflict between the two tribes, depicted humorously and light-heartedly, is a direct reflection of how ridiculous tribal prejudices and rivalries are - ones that even modern humans are guilty of committing. Partial judgement is internalized within a community, and as the boundary thickens, they become more polarized, and this just feeds to the perpetual vicious cycle.

An interesting allegory is that the ancestors of the Zhang and the Gan Jin have nigh-identical names - they are birds of a feather, separated by misunderstanding and polarized in tribes. Sounds familiar? That's because it's homo sapiens.

Skip it if you will. But this is a solid and entertaining episode that I am glad I didn't skip over.

Genuinely one of the worst episodes or might as well be the worst episode that has ever been a part of the avatar series. I mean, literally, the show literally pokes fun at it by Skipping it LOL. I understand how the episode does its take on familial conflict or conflicts between generations can be mistranslated and create a grudge on other people, but the take on here is super weak and the even the main cast feel their most flat yet.

I was enjoying the whole thing (and I didn't find it's boring) until Aang said he made up that story. I really don't want to see Avatar lies. Why did they decide to write such things?