Avatar: Seven Havens – Episodes 4 to 6 Review

Avatar: Seven Havens had a strong start with its first three episodes, and episodes four to six keep to that high standard.

Ellora has fallen into a state of crisis. Bandits have raided the city for its resources, more people are suffering from a fear-induced psychosis, and rumours of the Avatar’s return are spreading after a guard witnesses Nisha airbend. Amidst all this, Pavi and Nisha continue the search for the parents and training, although Pavi is struggling to keep up with her sister.

The strengths of the Avatar series have been its world-building, lore, and characters. Compared with the action, animation, and finding the right balance between light and dark. I was an adult when I watched The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra and enjoyed both shows. Avatar: Seven Havens is managing that quality even though it is a different beast from its predecessors.

Avatar: Seven Havens is a more restrictive show than The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, at least at the moment. The Harshlands are currently an impenetrable barrier surrounding Ellora, and Pavi and Nisha are only nine; they are not going globe-trotting like Aang and Korra. Pavi and Nisha acted their act; they were playful, mischievous, and a complete handful. The twins’ introduction in “The Faceless” was Karthik being worn out from having to look after them. Pavi got a chance to be a normal child, having lived as a lonely street child before meeting her sister. It felt like Tenzin’s introduction in The Legend of Korra, having travelled to the South Pole with his three hyperactive children. The executive producer/head writer, Sehaj Sethi, was interviewed by CBR, and she stated she made Pavi and Nisha so young because she’s became a mother when developing the show. She could relate to the struggles of childcare.

Even though Pavi and Nisha were confined to Ellora, they still go on adventures. In “The Faceless”, they teamed up with Jai to find Uki (Kimberly Woods) because she might know about the twins’ parents and in “The One Left Behind”, they teamed up to break into Karthik’s office so they could find Pavi’s records and end up discovering his secret room of relics. These adventures and the mystery regarding Pavi and Nisha’s lineage made the fourth and fifth episodes feel like early Harry Potter stories where young characters sneak around as they try to solve a mystery.

Episodes Four to Six did continue to show the contrast between Pavi and Nisha. Nisha has had a three-year head start over her sister, making her a more accomplished bender. Pavi was naturally scared when a large man who was training the child punched fireballs at her. Pavi’s skill was being more in tune with the spiritual entity causing chaos in Ellora. Nisha was a natural fighter, which made her more like Korra, whilst Pavi was more like Aang when facing the entity. Despite Pavi’s kind and trusting nature, she was also a determined character. She refused Nisha’s help, even when she was struggling on one leg. Pavi didn’t want to be pitied because she only had one leg.

The growing crisis was the issue that connected this block of episodes. It started with the bandits raiding Ellora, which led Pavi to accidentally expose herself and cause tensions to rise in the city. Adding to that, the Entity was a Chornobyl-like event because benders had to work a dangerous job building around where it was buried. This dangerous job led to more benders suffering from the fear disease. This led to the best episode in the series so far, “Night of the Afflicted”. Pavi, Nisha, and Karthik get trapped in the city’s hospital and have to fend off The Afflicted. It was a horror-inspired episode that had an eerie atmosphere, with the heroes having to navigate tight corridors and avoid the possessed people. The Afflicted saw Pavi and Nisha as monsters, which added to the chilling nature of this episode.

Avatar: Seven Havens has already developed a fan base, and they are coming up with theories. One that had credence is that the Seven Havens are representations of the seven chakras, with the first to overcome being fear. The Entity makes people and animals experience crippling fear, and fear was spreading because of rumours that the Avatar had returned. Adding to this was Pavi’s immunity to the Entity. Whenever Pavi has faced the Entity, she experiences visions of her past.

There have been questions and debates amongst the fanbase regarding Karthik’s motivations. In the first three episodes, he came across as a kind father figure, but this block showed the man having a lot of secrets. He has kept information from Nisha, which has led to a conflict between the twins since Pavi became more suspicious, and Karthik had been secretly communicating with other people about the emergence of The Avatar.  Karthik did perform the same move as Zaheer did to the Earth Queen, which was a horrific action. It would be a big twist if Karthik turns out to be a villain, but it wouldn’t be the first time a secret society formed with good intentions gets corrupted in the Avatar series.

Episodes Four to Six were a strong block of episodes that move the story at a more gradual pace than the previous episodes. It builds on the mystery it had set up, and it was great entertainment for all ages.