Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for The Reckoning of Roku by Randy Ribay.
Summary
A newAvatar: The Last Airbenderbook hit shelves in July 2024, andThe Reckoning of Rokuexpands on one of the Nickelodeon show’s best episodes. AlthoughThe Last AirbenderTV show ended with season 3 back in 2008, the franchise has continued in multiple mediums. This includes a series of YA novels, which tell coming-of-age tales of previous Avatars. The first fourLast Airbenderbooksfollow Kyoshi and Yangchen during their young adult years. And now,The Reckoning of Rokuby Randy Ribaytackles Aang’s direct predecessor.
Avatar Roku appears multiple times throughoutAvatar: The Last Airbender,offering Aang sage advice when he needs it most. And because Roku appears so frequently, viewers are given insight into his backstory in season 3. “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” reveals how the Hundred Year War began, and it depicts Roku’s role in the emergence of the conflict. Unfortunately, a single episode doesn’t give viewers all the details they’d like about Roku’s history and the Fire Nation’s conquest. Fortunately,The Reckoning of Rokudigs deeper into both.
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The Reckoning Of Roku Expands 1 Of The Best Episodes Of Avatar: The Last Airbender
It Delves Deeper Into Roku & Sozin’s Relationship Shown In “The Avatar And The Fire Lord”
The Reckoning of Rokuexplores what Roku is like as a teenager, and it also digs deeper into Sozin’s backstory. In this way,it expands on the relationship we see in “The Avatar and the Fire Lord.“As this is one of thebest episodes ofAvatar: The Last Airbender, it’s great to see the novel further fleshing out these characters and their history. There are questions that remain after the season 3 episode, including why Sozin feels so strongly about the Fire Nation’s conquest and how Roku fares during their years apart. TheLast Airbenderbook strives to answer such queries.
The Reckoning of Rokualso allows readers to get to know these characters better, depicting Roku’s path to becoming a fully formed Avatar — and highlighting the challenges he faces on his journey.The Last Airbenderbook also characterizes Sozin with more complexity than “The Avatar and the Fire Lord,” likely because it has more time to spend on him. The novel gives Sozin’s perspective as well, whileThe Last Airbenderepisode about his past is told primarily from Roku’s POV. Such elements ofReckoning of Rokumake it an ideal read for longtimeLast Airbenderfans.
How The Last Airbender’s New Book Changes Sozin & Roku’s Story
It Proves Their Falling Out Was A Gradual Thing
SinceThe Reckoning of Rokuexpands the history shown in “The Avatar and the Fire Lord,” it goes without saying thatthe book changes the narrative around Roku and Sozin’s relationship.The Last Airbenderepisode only has 25 minutes to explore the characters' friendship and falling out, while Ribay’s novel has upwards of 300 pages to do so. Ribay’s iteration of their story paints a more interesting picture of their bond, particularly when it comes to Sozin. The newLast Airbenderbook drops far more hints that Sozin has darkness inside him, confirming he doesn’t drastically change in adulthood.
The Reckoning of Rokuplants the seeds for Sozin’s betrayal much earlier, highlighting that he and Roku were always different from each other despite their shared roots.
The novel also explores the upbringing that makes Sozin this way, all while showing Roku’s difficulty disconnecting from his Fire Nation background. “The Avatar and the Fire Lord” weaves a story of two best friends whose temperaments and ideals change as they grow apart and age. By contrast,The Reckoning of Rokuplants the seeds for Sozin’s betrayal much earlier, highlighting that he and Roku were always different from each other despite their shared roots.
“The Avatar And The Fire Lord” Makes The Reckoning Of Roku Even Sadder
It Will Leave Readers Feeling Worse For The Former Avatar
The Reckoning of Rokusheds further light on the former Avatar’s backstory and relationships, butit also makes his ending so much sadder. After watching “The Avatar and the Fire Lord,“The Last Airbenderfans get the sense that Roku still feels deeply about his friendship with Sozin. It also seems more genuine in the Nickelodeon series, which makes it easier to swallow their fallout in adulthood.The newestLast Airbenderbook garners more sympathy for Roku, as it raises questions about whether Sozin ever cared as much as his friend.
One could say this weakens Roku’s backstory, but it also adds more tragic and interesting layers to it. Ultimately,that’s the point of theChronicles of the Avatarnovels: to expand on characters and world-building elements that didn’t get enough attention in the original Nickelodeon series. If Roku gets a second book, like Kyoshi and Yangchen, it could feature more revelations about his journey to becoming the Avatar. It’s a welcome development, even if it makes hisAvatar: The Last Airbenderfate harder to stomach.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Cast
Avatar: The Last Airbender, released in 2005, follows a young boy in a war-torn world of elemental magic as he reawakens to embark on a challenging mystical quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar and restore peace to the world.
