Avatar: Why Aang Struggled So Much To Learn Firebending

In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang procrastinates and struggles with learning firebending. This is the last of the four elements Aang masters, and despite his abilities as the Avatar, he does not trust himself to handle firebending. Even as the Gaang nears the arrival of Sozin’s Comet — and the end of series — there’s a fair degree of uncertainty regarding whether Aang will be able to fight using this element at all. But why does Aang struggle with fire bending so much in The Last Airbender?

Aang faces a plethora of external circumstances that prevent him from mastering firebending in Avatar: The Last Airbender – the primary one being that he cannot find a teacher. The absence of a firebending master gives Aang an easy excuse not to learn the element. When Zuko arrives as a potential teacher, however, it becomes apparent that the reasoning behind Aang’s struggles is not quite that simple.

Related: What Really Makes Aang Different From Past Avatars

When Aang struggles to learn earthbending, the reason seems simple enough: earth is the opposite element of air. As Katara explains, air is free-flowing and light while earth is solid and stubborn. But earth is not the only element that goes against Aang’s natural affinity as an Air Nomad. Aang’s air bending training largely consists of avoidance and deflection as he cleverly evades his opponent’s attacks. Firebending is much more straightforward: fire benders attack directly and brutally. This destruction goes against Aang’s values as a pacifist Air Nomad. Therefore, Aang’s struggles with firebending are not necessarily due to a lack of talent, but to his attitude.

Aang’s psychological block towards firebending begins in Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1. He is afraid of the element and explicitly admits that multiple times. Early in the series, Aang begins to learn firebending under Jeong Jeong, who instructs him to start slow and focus on his breathing. Aang is impatient, however, and accidentally burns Katara in his recklessness. Despite Katara’s forgiveness, Aang has trouble moving past this incident and procrastinates in his firebending training for fear of hurting the people he loves.

But this incident may not be the only reason Aang avoids firebending; rather, it simply highlights an even deeper concern. Although The Last Airbender never states this fear explicitly, it is also possible that Aang is afraid to use firebending since he associates it with the enemy. In Aang’s lifetime, the Fire Nation has primarily used firebending as a tool of destruction and domination. Firebending destroyed Aang’s people and culture, and the Fire Nation continues to use it to hurt him and his loved ones. Aang may not just be afraid of hurting Katara again, but of the overall influence that the element could have on him. Aang is only able to excel at firebending after he visits the Sun Warriors with Zuko and learns that fire is not an inherently destructive force.

Aang is not the only one with an incorrect notion towards firebending — even Zuko briefly struggles with the true meaning of the element. By the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender, it is clear that none of the elements have an inherent sense of morality. Despite fire being difficult to control, it can be used for good or evil, just like any other element. Once Aang accepts this fact, he becomes a formidable firebender.

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