This summer, the Avatar franchise reintroduced itself by revisiting its most iconic character: Aang, the namesake of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and the original protagonist of a story that is now in its third decade. For its next act, the Avatar Studios brand — overseen by original series creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and charged with expanding the Nickelodeon children’s show into a multimedia venture — faces the more difficult task of introducing new protagonists and new ideas while preserving Avatar’s core appeal.
The Paramount+ series “Avatar: Seven Havens” literally takes the saga into the future. Specifically, it’s been more than two centuries since the conclusion of “Avatar: The Legend of Korra,” the sequel series that ended in 2014. “Seven Havens,” also created by DiMartino and Konietzko, uses that leap forward to fundamentally alter the makeup of this fictional world. (Longtime executive producer Ethan Spaulding and co-executive producer Sehaj Sethi also make up the creative team.) Gone are the four nations, corresponding to the elements, that coexisted in a harmony that was disrupted and then, episode by episode, restored. In their place is a world reduced to wasteland by an environmental cataclysm, supposedly caused by Korra herself. The namesake refuges are city-states that provide refuge from sandstorms, bandits, and other threats – and the Avatar, a quasi-messianic figure capable of “bending” all four elements, is a stigmatized bogeyman who hasn’t appeared in generations.
Enter Pavi (Saheli Khan), an orphan at Ellora’s shelter who spends her days foraging for food, trying to keep her multi-element bending abilities a secret and talking to the inanimate objects she keeps instead of friends. Pavi’s name is an indication of another way in which “Seven Havens” expands the Avatar mythos: by incorporating South Asian culture into the universe’s pre-existing mix of Chinese, Japanese, Inuit and other influences. Pavi’s favorite snack are kachoris knowingly left out by a local shopkeeper, herself voiced by veteran actress Sakina Jaffrey. Food, in general, is a concern for “Seven Havens”: Mochi, kimchi jjigae and bitter melon are all mentioned by name in the first few episodes only.
But an equally significant update that “Seven Havens” brings to cosmology is how the series depicts the natural world — always a concern for a story grounded in air, earth, fire and water. The “harsh lands” surrounding Ellora are filled with rocks, sand, and a strange, haunted beauty. The color palette of “Seven Havens” is warmer than that of the previous Avatar series, favoring oranges and pinks of an almost Saharan expanse. (The music, by franchise mainstay Jeremy Zuckerman, also sets “Seven Havens” apart aurally with a more electronic sound.) There are cats with monkey tails and camels that curl up into balls like armadillos! With a postapocalyptic landscape indifferent and even hostile to human needs, “Seven Havens” reminded me of “Scavengers Reign,” the magnificent but short-lived HBO Max series. Hopefully the IP tie-in will give “Seven Havens” more time to explore its surroundings.
And “Seven Havens” might take some time to develop. Pavi is a younger hero than Aang, even 12 years old, perhaps an attempt to introduce Avatar to a new generation of children where the film was more of a service to pre-existing fans. Shy, nerdy and a pacifist by nature, Pavi has a personality, even if it is still in training. She is supervised by Jae (Major Curda), a member of Ellora’s municipal bending squad, and her captain Karthik (Akshay Khanna), who has a more optimistic view of the Avatar’s potential than those who blame him for ending the world. In the six episodes submitted for review, this team hasn’t really come together as a unified team, but “Seven Havens” managed to cultivate enough curiosity about how its world works to buy itself some time.
“Seven Havens” introduces another oddity to the legend of the Avatar that I am forbidden to divulge, although it takes some pressure off Pavi as Karthik explores his theory that the Avatar can help revive the dying art of bending. (There are fewer benders born in each successive generation, we’re told, though manipulating the elements is a vital defense against the onslaught of lightning and wind.) Combined with the visuals and an expanded pool of references, “Seven Havens” makes it clear that this is a new and different kind of Avatar series, while retaining the transporting world-building that has helped the franchise endure.
The first three episodes of “Avatar: Seven Havens” are now streaming on Paramount+, with the remaining episodes releasing weekly in batches of three on Fridays.
Gn entert
