Original artwork, not a still
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.
— Avatar: The Last Airbender · 2005
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the series' ritual invocation: four elements named in order, then a fable about a lost golden age that each episode asks you to believe in again. Giving it to Katara makes the epic a girl's hope rather than a historian's summary. The same words reopen the sequel comic The Promise, which retells the ending in the same rhythm, and "Water. Earth. Fire. Air." is still how fans quote the show.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Avatar: The Last AirbenderShow the scene
Katara's voice opens nearly every episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, laid over a montage of the four elements being bent and a map of the world. The pilot, "The Boy in the Iceberg" (Nickelodeon, 21 February 2005), had its own longer version that begins with her grandmother's stories. From the second episode on, the narration is rewritten to open with these words: the four nations once lived in harmony until the Fire Nation attacked, the Avatar vanished, and she and Sokka have now found Aang. The sequence ends on the title card.
Sources (2)
- Avatar Wiki: Opening sequenceNarration sectionReference checked
- Wikipedia: Avatar: The Last AirbenderEpisodes sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
