The Perfection of The Tales of Ba Sing Se - Avatar The Last Airbender

Avatar the Last Airbender is one of the crowning achievements of animated TV and really TV in general.

Tales of Bossing is an episode told in a series of short vignettes, some fun and goofy and others surprisingly moving.

One of the things I like most about this episode is how it makes some of these characters confront how cut off they are from everyday life.

This is a pretty low key story, but one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is that it forces Zuko into a situation we're not used to seeing him in.

IRO is maybe the best example of how the show isn't willing to settle for bland, predictable characterization.

I think it's some of the absolute best and most subtle world building that a Nickelodeon show ever did.

This episode delivers so many character moments, large and small, funny and sad, in just a few short minutes.

Almost everything the show did well is on display here, and that's the reason I'm still talking about this episode years later.

Matar the Last Airbender was always a show that excelled at writing character moments.