After weeks of three-episode blocks, Avatar: Seven Havens wrapped up its first season with a four-parter. Each episode gave viewers more answers and a lot to think about as the wait for season two begins, which’ll feel even longer, given how strong this season ended.
Throughout the season, the twins have been pursued by a red, diamond-shaped entity living within Anomaly crystals scattered throughout Ellora. Since Havens was already teasing an interrogation of its predecessor, The Legend of Korra, fans thought the Anomaly would end up reviving Vaatu, a dark spirit that Korra faced during her adventures. As it turns out, that’s not the case: the phenomenon, which kept pursuing the girls, was born out of Nisha’s various fears that she won’t acknowledge.
“[Nisha’s] fear of abandonment is something really core to her,” Seven Havens showrunner Sehaj Sethi told GamesRadar. Nisha takes after Korra in a lot of ways, including their early eagerness to be the Avatar. Hand in hand with that is the fear of not being accepted, and Sethi said zeroing in on Nisha’s issues “is a very significant character moment of ‘Here, with this element of fantasy, we’re highlighting a core fault line of our character: Don’t leave me, don’t outcast me.'”
As for her issues, we learn that Pavi and Nisha’s parents intentionally planned to leave Nisha behind, only for her to follow them in the desert. Upset and lashing out with her powers, the 6-year-old accidentally killed them and took Pavi’s leg. Now that the twins know the truth, that’s not the end of things, as Sethi said Nisha and Pavi will “deal with that” next season, and presumably answer any lingering questions.
On the subject of Pavi, the more reluctant Avatar came into her own in the finale. By unlocking the root chakra (in the episode of the same name), she save Ellora from the anomaly by redirecting that anomaly energy into the sky. Much like how Nisha was gung ho about proving herself, Pavi was reluctant to accept what she was, easily fading into the background during training or doing anything she could to refuse being an Avatar while searching for her past.
Despite how it might’ve seemed this season of Avatar: Seven Havens was always going to be Pavi’s story, said co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino. “Nisha obviously has a big story, but this is really Pavi’s journey, going from the girl who’s hiding out in the streets of Ellora, to ‘I’m the Avatar,’ and embracing her identity and not being afraid anymore.”
Speaking about the scene where Pavi unlocks the root chakra, her actor, Saheli Khan, said she “[couldn’t] even describe how I felt” reading that moment in the script. She always knew Pavi had it in her—she explicitly recalled the talk of chakras in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and how Pavi echoes Aang in that sense—and pointed to her character’s reluctance throughout the season. But getting to that point was, in her words, “unbelievable, and such a beautiful moment in the story.”
Season one ends with the sisters fractured, as Nisha is left behind in Ellora to help protect it and Pavi goes with Jae to the Floating Isles. We’ll see what that new haven’s like when Avatar: Seven Havens comes back for season two, but until then? Hope the sisters get a chance to work things out.
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