Sozin's Comet (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

Sozin's Comet is the four-part series finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was directed by Ethan Spaulding, Giancarlo Volpe and Joaquim Dos Santos, and written by Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Aaron Ehasz.

Why It's an Amazing Finale

 * 1) The show's already-gorgeous animation is at its absolute best here.
 * 2) A great plot centered around Aang's final battle with Fire Lord Ozai.
 * 3) From the opening moments of the first episode, the story of Avatar Aang was building up to a clear ending: an epic battle against Fire Lord Ozai to restore balance to the world. It's a great story.
 * 4) This is also an emotional conclusion to Zuko's character arc of the previous three seasons, as he finally embraces his good side and achieves redemption by fighting his sister in a duel for the heart and soul of the Fire Nation.
 * 5) Zuko is not the only one who had an emotional conclusion to their character. Sokka, the one non-bender of Team Avatar who always came up with the battle plans and always came up short of victory, realizes that he won't be able to help Aang fight the Fire Lord, but he can help take down the Fire Nation fleet with nothing but ingenuity, a good Fire Nation accent and a birthday party invitation.
 * 6) The final showdown between Aang and Ozai is epic and truly awesome to watch.
 * 7) This ended the series on a proper high note and is truly amazing.
 * 8) The last 5 minutes of the episode. We don't want to spoil it, so go check it out for yourself!

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The scene where Aang removes Ozai's ability to firebend, while rewarding for the audience and in-character for Aang, could be considered a "Deus Ex Machina" by some.

Reception
Sozin's Comet received universal acclaim, with many considering it to be the greatest animated cartoon finale of all-time. It was praised for its action between Aang and Ozai and its animation as well, receiving a 9.9/10 on IMDb.

Ed Liu of Toon Zone stated that it made Avatar "one of the finest animated television series ever made", Andrew Whalen of Newsweek called it a "rare accomplishment", and IGN proclaimed that this "film" deserved an Academy Award. Toon Zone praised the skill of the animation directors in designing the sweeping movements of the battle scenes, as well as the slower scenes, "including one moving reconciliation and the quiet coda that ties off many of the remaining loose ends of the series".

IGN reviewer Tory Ireland Mell wrote that she would "put it in the top ten films of all-time". She also praised the artistic skill of the designers, stating that the "whole dark tone was gorgeous to look at", especially the "art of the Lion Turtle". She thought that Sozin's Comet lacked plot holes, as well as unnecessary plot devices, stating that the "story moved and kept us moving right along with it from beginning to end". She gave the episode a 10 out of 10 "Masterful" rating. Susan Stewart, reviewing for The New York Times, praised the show's effort at philosophizing, noting that "this is complicated stuff, the reconciliation of religion and violence, and it’s beautifully rendered: simple enough for Nickelodeon fans and subtle enough for their parents, with humor to puncture the pomposity inherent in the heroic genre".