Only One Avatar: The Last Airbender Episode Comes Close To Beating Breaking Bad's Very Best

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the greatest animated shows of all time, but when it comes to measuring a series’ impact, AMC’s Breaking Bad is often seen as the gold standard. So how does AtLA’s best episode stack up against Breaking Bad’s finest? Surprisingly, it’s the Game of Thrones fandom that just gave AtLA the edge.

If you’ve been keeping up with TV drama lately, you’re likely familiar with the IMDb “review-bombing war” that erupted between fans of Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones’ new series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The conflict began after Episode 5 of AKOTSK earned widespread acclaim and briefly achieved a perfect 10/10 rating, threatening Breaking Bad’s long-standing record with “Ozymandias.”

In response, some Breaking Bad fans review-bombed the episode with 1-star ratings to protect its top spot. AKOTSK fans returned the favor, and the fallout has since allowed other fandoms whose shows came close to meeting Breaking Bad’s record to push their own episodes past its highest-rated installment, including Avatar: The Last Airbender. However, even without this assist from the Game of Thrones fandom, AtLA nearly accomplished this feat on its own.

If Breaking Bad Is the Standard, AtLA Proves It's One of the Greatest TV Shows of All Time

Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang Claims a 9.9/10 Rating on IMDb

“Ozymandias” once held a perfect 10/10 IMDb score. However, that changed when the Game of Thrones fandom attacked (yes, that was an AtLA joke). Since the review-bombing, Ozymandias’ stellar 10/10 rating has dropped to 9.5 out of 10, with the highest-rated Breaking Bad episodes now the finales of Season 4 and Season 5, each scoring 9.8.

In contrast, AtLA’s highest-rated episode on IMDb is the series finale, “Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang,” which earned a 9.9 rating. Thanks to the review-bombing of Breaking Bad, this AtLA episode now clears Breaking Bad’s previously best-rated episode, as well as the two episodes that now stand as the top-rated installments of the series.

However, even without the assistance of the Game of Thrones fandom, AtLA almost matched the very best that Breaking Bad had to offer on its own merit. That alone speaks to what a phenomenal show AtLA is, given that it nearly matched the IMDb rating of the show and episode many consider the gold standard of television.

Some may point out that this comparison is a bit offbeat, since AtLA is an animated children’s show while Breaking Bad is a mature live-action series. However, anyone who has watched Avatar: The Last Airbender knows it is far more than a children’s show, and it more than deserves its place alongside Breaking Bad in the hall of TV fame thanks to its profound storytelling and unforgettable characters.