Sozin's Comet

"Sozin's Comet" is the four-part series finale of the American animated Nickelodeon television series 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. Although the finale is split into four episodes, it aired as a two-hour four-part film on July 19, 2008. The Saturday airing of "Sozin's Comet" acted as a climax to a week of ten new episodes that concluded Avatars third season. Before the week of July 14–19, no episodes had been shown in the US since November 30, 2007, though some episodes had been released on DVD prior to their airdate. This is also considered a 92-minute television movie. The finale focuses on series protagonist Aang's non-violent personality and his reluctance to kill Fire Lord Ozai. The finale also follows the exploits of many of Aang's friends and allies, including Sokka, Toph and Suki's struggle to destroy a Fire Nation airship armada, Zuko and Katara's battle against Azula, and Iroh and the Order of the White Lotus' attempt to liberate the city of Ba Sing Se. "Sozin's Comet" was acclaimed by critics and fans alike, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest series finales of all time. The initial showing averaged 5.6 million viewers, a 195% increase compared to the previous year in its time period. The premieres of episodes beginning with "The Western Air Temple" throughout the week received over 19 million viewers, of which 5.6 million were from Sozin's Comet. At the 2008 Annie Awards, the director of the third part of "Sozin's Comet" won an award for "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production". Although "Sozin's Comet" is the series finale, Avatar: The Last Airbender has continued as an ongoing graphic novel series published by Dark Horse Comics since January 2012, which takes place after the events of the finale and before the sequel series The Legend of Korra.