Nostalgia Critic - Top 11 BEST Episodes of A:TLA

11. "The Ember Island Players"

He almost put it on the "Worst Episodes" list, but ultimately feels that, as far as series recaps go, it is one of the strongest.

Note: In a commentary for this episode, Doug admitted that had he known that this joke was already made and upon second thoughts he would have changed this episode with Tales of Ba Sing Se, specially for The Tale of Iroh.

10. "The Chase"

He heavily praises the action, ruthlessness of the character of Azula and the depiction of the difficulties the characters go through.

9. "The Firebending Masters"

He heavily praises the hero's journey Aang and Zuko go through, particularly the ending with the dragons.

8. "The Day of Black Sun"

He considers it one of the best two part episodes ever, heavily praising the turmoil the characters suffer, the villains' cruel nature, the tragic ending and the twist of Zuko joining the team.

7. "Zuko Alone"

He praises the flashbacks to Zuko's past and the relationship between him and Lee, and the ending for successfully making the audience feel bad for a villain.

6. "The Puppetmaster"

He considers it a chilling episode, heavily praising Tress MacNeille's performance and the depiction and animation of Bloodbending.

5. "The Guru"

He considers it a great build up to the Season 2 finale, comparing it to The Empire Strikes Back and feeling that the build up and the fact that only Toph's story is resolved gets everyone hyped for what happens next.

4. "The Southern Raiders"

He praises Katara's emotional journey and Mae Whitman's performance, the bittersweet conclusion, and the fact that she gets so obsessed that she Bloodbends at one point.

3. "The Crossroads of Destiny"

He considers it a strong season finale, further emphasizing the similarities to Empire as it leaves the heroes in their worst position in the show and leaves you wondering what will happen in the next season. He also makes another note on what a great villain Azula is.

2. "The Storm"

The only Season 1 episode on the list, he heavily praises the backstories of Aang and Zuko and the parallel created between them, considering the look they share at the end to be very profound.

1. "Sozin's Comet"

Along with a much calmer Dante, they consider it a solid series finale that a show like this deserves, as it wraps up all the major plot lines, makes strong use of all the characters, and is a perfectly exciting and satisfying note to end the series on. They also defend against some of the criticisms from this episode, such as Katara being the one to beat Azula, and the way Aang beats Ozai with their own opinions.