Today, Avatar Studios officially released the first three episodes of their first animated series, Avatar: Seven Havens. It is a sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. The studio has been developing the series since early 2023 and has also been working on the Avatar: Aang: The Last Airbender feature-length movie. Ethan Spaulding and Sehaj Sethi co-created the series alongside original co-creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konieko. It stars newcomers Saheli Khan as Pavi, Aishu Devan as Nisha, Major Curda as Jae, and Akshay Khanna as Captain Karthik.
Many in the fandom have been waiting for a worthy successor since Avatar: The Last Airbender ended in 2008 and The Legend of Korra in 2014. After more than a decade, the series returns with Avatar: The Seven Havens. However, instead of moving forward in time, the series creators take a massive swing by placing the series in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, and it pays off. The greatest part of Avatar: The Last Airbender was always its use of ancient real-world cultures in this fantastical universe of benders. A major plus for Seven Havens is that it brings back that ancient feel despite heading into the future, something The Legend of Korra was missing.
The series creators also take a massive swing, bringing forth the almost fanfiction idea of twin Avatars. Never in history has the universe produced two Avatars until this series, and the first three episodes don’t explain how it happened. The way the show writes Pavi and Nisha is a great counterbalance. Many might automatically assume one is the “good” Avatar and the other is the “bad” Avatar, but the show takes a much more nuanced approach. Pavi is much shyer and more reserved about her bending ability, having lived alone on the streets her whole life. Nisha is much more outgoing and ready for a fight, having been trained in secret her whole life. This dynamic drives the series and highlights the young cast bouncing off each other. The series also quickly reveals that the two are very much the Avatar so that it can get that out of the way. The real plot is to find out how this happened and why the world hates Avatar Korra so much.
Other highlights from the series are actually the two male characters, Jae and Karthik. They are both airbenders with a special connection to Pavi and Nisha. In a way, Jae is very much the twins’ older brother. He comes across as Karthik’s apprentice. He has much to learn but also much to teach from his experience in the bending brigade of Ellora City. Jae is also the group’s wisecracking good two shoes, much like Bolin and Sokka were in the previous shows. But the two twins are already bringing out the more rebellious nature he tries to keep under control.
We don’t exactly know how the world got its first set of Twin Avatars. The show sets up a perfect mystery plot that the viewer will experience alongside the characters as they journey to discover their origins. They will also need to uncover the truth behind Avatar Korra’s death and, in time, reconnect with her, as the Avatar Cycle was broken in her time. Many fans will love how the same humor and character one-liners from both original shows remain prominent here, 20+ years after “The Boy in the Iceberg” debuted on Nickelodeon. However, a major grip online is the distinct difference in animation between all three shows. The French animation studio La Chouette Compagnie made this show, and it’s unique. However, once you jump back into this immersive universe, you don’t really notice anything wrong with the style. Sometimes, when switching from scene to scene, the animation quality drops slightly on the characters’ outlines, which hopefully will be fixed.
4.0 out of 5.0 starsAll in all, Avatar: Seven Havens took a massive swing and ranks alongside Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. It remains to be seen if the series can stick the landing on explaining how Twin Avatars even exist in this universe. The show’s character writing is a breath of fresh air while staying true to the original series. Suppose the show fails to give a satisfying ending to Avatar Korra and explain why the world is a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Many fans may drop off before we even reach the series conclusion without giving Pavi and Nisha their time to shine in this ever-expanding universe.
