Many of us can remember fondly to the days when we first saw Avatar: The Last Airbender; the moment we first met Aang, when we first realized we had a crush on Katara, and when we first felt some semblance of sympathy for a villain. It was a timeless adventure full of comedy, heart, and no small amount of superpowered action, everything a kid could want. It was standard by which we would judge many shows to come, or perhaps a turning point past which every show that had come before would pale in comparison.

Still, Avatar: The Last Airbender was not without it's fair share of easter eggs, hidden implications, and questionable subtext. The show was aimed at a relatively younger audience, but that didn't stop the creators from slipping in a dirty joke or subliminal message here and there. Some you might have seen on screen, and some require a thoughtful analysis of certain plot lines and backgrounds to really understand. Now that we're all grown up, we thought we'd go back and take a look at the various secret tidbits that were snuck into the show, and that we might not have noticed our first time watching it.

25 Zuko And Mai Get Close

In the episode "Nightmares and Daydreams" Zuko is back in the Fire Nation with his girlfriend, Mai. It's night-time and Zuko seems distracted (at this point he's morally conflicted about having his honor back). Mai asks if he wants a "fruit tart" while the servants are around and he sends them away. At this point, Zuko is wearing his hair in a top knot. The show then cuts away to Team Avatar for a while, but later returns the next morning. Zuko is still at Mai's house but his hair is messy and he's lounging in Mai's bedroom. Looking back, it's probably easy to tell what went down behind the scenes.

24 That Time Sokka Took A Little Much

Probably one of the funniest episodes of the series was "The Desert" from Book 2. The gang had just escaped from the legendary Wan Shi Tong's Library and were now stranded in the middle of a scorching and seemingly endless desert. Running low on water and feeling the effects of dehydration, they were desperate for water. Eventually, they came across some cacti with juice inside, and Sokka immediately filled himself up on the stuff. the others were wary about trying it, and for good reason. For the remainder of the episode, Sokka is in an "enlightened" state, as if he's gone crazy. While it's never explicitly said, the implied gag is that he had too much of the cactus juice. There's even a point where they see a mushroom cloud in the distance (the result of an explosion).

23 A 'Pretty Good Bathroom Break'

In "The Fortuneteller" the members of Team Avatar come across a town with a famous fortune-teller. At this point, we are well aware that Aang has a crush on Katara, and he wants to know if she feels the same way. At one point, Aang eavesdrops on Katara when she's with the fortune-teller, who tells her that she will marry a powerful bender. Now, no bender is more powerful than the Avatar, so Aang is beaming with excitement when he returns back to Sokka, who comments that "someone had a pretty good bathroom break." Aang begins to explain himself when Sokka says "I don't even want to know." It's easy to understand what he was referencing now, but back then it might've gone over our heads.

22 Needed A Good Drilling

This one is so weird, it's unbelievable that ti even made it into the show. The innuendo may or may not have been intentional in "The Drill" where a long drill mounted on a train-like machine is penetrating through the wall into the impenetrable city of Ba Sing Se. When Team avatar destroys it, it explodes into a goopey mess coating everything in the sloppy mush. Mai is grossed out while Ty Lee is intrigued by it.

I'm not going to say explicitly what this is supposed to represent, but here's another hint. When the pressure is building up just before it explodes, Toph yells out a line that gives it all away: "Here it comes!" Again, hard to tell if this one was intentional or not.

21 The Benders In The Opening

The very first time we saw that iconic opening with each type of bending and their respective practitioner, it wasn't clear who each person was except Aang. However, as the show progressed, we learned about each one: the waterbender is Master Pakku from the Northern Water Tribe and the firebender is a younger version of Azula. The earthbender is actually Sud, a more obscure teacher that taught Avatar Roku. Interestingly enough, he is based on an early design for Toph (she was supposed to be a buff man, like in "Ember Island Players" before being changed to a girl).

In the opening, the Avatar shown is Roku, and he disappears when the line "but when the world needed him most, he vanished" is delivered. Ironically, though, it's Aang that disappears.

20 Sokka's Ready For Action

Remember that iconic scene in "The Southern Raiders" when Zuko is walking around the camp and bumps into Suki (Sokka's love interest at the time) who seems very flustered. Zuko continues and inadvertently enters Sokka's tent, where he's laying on the floor, pantsless, with a flower in his mouth and surrounded by candles. He begins to say "Well hello..." before seeing Zuko.

Later, when Zuko, leaves, he sticks his head out of his tent and quietly calls for Suki. We don't see any more of that night, but the next day Sokka is in a good mood, fiddling around with a flower necklace. The reference is pretty clear.

19 Yue Left Sokka For Another Woman

Speaking of Sokka's love interests, here's another fun analysis. So as we all know, Yin and Yang describes the balance between opposite forces in the universe, including gender. This comes into play in the Book 1 finale of the show, where we see an oasis containing a pond of two fish encircling each other, one black and one white. The black one is Yin, the female ocean spirit, and Yang, a the male Moon spirit.

However, General Zhao kills the Moon Spirit (the male) in order to take away the waterbenders' powers during his attack. This means that when Yue ascends to take his place, she is actually entering an eternal dance with the female Ocean spirit. So now, Yin and Yang are both female. Turns out the show was being subtly progressive long before Korra was revealed to be bi.

18 Aang Has A Thing For Zuko

If you're unfamiliar with the term "Foe Yay", it commonly refers to the phenomenon where  the relationship between enemies or rivals is harmless enough to be considered cute or even romantic. The main instance of this in ATLA is between Aang and Zuko (though many of us did ship Katara and Zuko #Zutara4ever). When you have Foe Yay between two male or two female characters, it's known as Ho yay.

They start out at archenemies, but by Book 3, Zuko becomes Aang's firebending teacher and helps him take down the Fire Nation. There are tons of little examples that support the romantic aspect of this relationship, but the funniest has to be in "The Firebending Masters" where the two dance together in a rainbow firestorm. You can check out the full list of examples here.

17 What Is It With Boats?

The storytelling techniques in the show are masterfully employed, as each arc resolves seamless into the next. One thing you may not have noticed is the similarities between the first scenes in every Book; each one starts on a boat and shows Aang waking up.

In Book 1, we see Sokka and Katara in a small rowboat traversing through icebergs until they stumble upon Aang in the iceberg. In Book 2, Aang awakes on Master Pakku's ship after his time in the Avatar State in the Book 1 finale. And lastly, in Book 3, Aang awakes on a Fire Nation ship repurposed by Team Avatar and friends to help them sail undetected by the enemy.

This pattern serves to establish the adventuring and dynamic nature of each season, and highlights Aang's initial 100-year absence. It's a small detail, but appreciated nonetheless.

16 Who Would Win: The Boulder Or The Rock?

Despite taking place in an alternate universe, ATLA still managed to sneak in a few pop culture references into some of the episodes. In "The Blind Bandit" the gang first meets Toph, seeing her fight in the famous Earth Rumble tournament. Two of the other contestants are The Hippo and The Boulder. Interestingly enough, the former was based on the iconic wrestler Andre the Giant and the latter was inspired by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a famous wrestler, actor, and model. They match their respective characters in both mannerisms and style of speech, including the hilarious gag where The Boulder only speaks about himself the third person.

The characters were received so positively that they came back in a later episode when Team Avatar invaded the Fire Nation.

15 The Earth King Has Invited You To Lake Laogai

When Aang, Katara, and Sokka finally arrive in Ba Sing Se, they are met with a somewhat strange atmosphere. The people seem relaxed, happy, and most of all, oblivious to the war going on outside their walls. Even mentioning the war seems to confuse people; as they famously say: "there is no war in Ba Sing Se."

Later, we find out that this is because of a secret brainwashing operation that keeps the civilians in check, making them think all is well. Team Avatar discovers the underground base of operations beneath Lake Laogai for the secret forces who hold power in the city. However, this is actually based on a very real Chinese prison system; Laogai was the name of their prison camps. Though hypnosis wasn't part of the deal, harsh treatment and labor did lead to brainwashing and eventually, death.

14 Sokka And Toph Low-Key Got Together

Though it may not seem obvious, Sokka was probably more of a ladies' man than any other character in the show. His first girlfriend was a Water Tribe princess who ended up turning into the moon. In the comics, a new love interest was introduced by the name of Kaya, though she appeared in the timeline of Book 2. Then he found love with a skilled warrior named Suki, whom he stayed with throughout the rest of the show. But Sokka never actually explicitly ends up with her (marriage).

This is where his mutual feelings for Toph come in. In one episode, Sokka leaves to train with a swordmaster. When he returns, Toph says something like, "They missed you. I didn't care" and then blushes. She also seems to be annoyed when he shows any affection towards Suki. And let's not forget the amazing team they made in the Book 3 finale.

In Legend of Korra, it's confirmed that Toph had her daughter, Linfeng, with an earthbender called Kanto. However, she also had a second daughter, Suyin, with another unknown man. If the creators were trying to tell us anything, it's that this man was most definitely Sokka.

13 Roku Is Always Watching

Though Aang had many teachers along his road to becoming a true Avatar, many would say that none was more instrumental than Avatar Roku, his previous incarnation. He convinced Jeong Jeong to teach Aang firebending, taught Aang how to save the Moon Spirit, and showed him how to use the Avatar State.

But here's something you might've missed in "The Southern Air Temple." The gang is flying off with Aapa at the end of the episode, and Aang turns back to see the temple. Right by the temple, you can see two clouds, one shaped as Roku and the other shaped like Fang, Roku's pet dragon. From this, one can assume that this symbolizes how Roku will always be watching over Aang from the afterlife.

12 Azula Has Feelings Too

Even in the flashback episodes when we see Azula and Zuko as children, Azula still seems to have that psychotic personality. She hurts animals for fun, insults her friends, and seems almost gleeful when Uncle Iroh's son dies. As an adult her sociopathic tendencies only seem to get worse, but sometimes she lets a hint of humanity slip through that veil.

In "The Beach" episode, Azula and her friend Ty Lee are talking, and Ty Lee tells Azula talks about why she ran away from home. Azula genuinely shows sympathy, hiding it only when Ty Lee gelances at her. Azula also apologizes for calling her a "tease" and her words seem sincere enough.

In fact, her breakdown in the final season only happens after her best friends betray her. She comments, "You'll all leave, just like Mai and Ty Lee did" which shows she has feelings of loneliness and abandonment. It was this very human emotion that caused her to lose her edge in the final battle against Zuko and Katara, and eventually suffer defeat.

11 Some Real Caged Heat Vibes

Speaking of Azula's various subtexts, where is one scene where she remarks that Suki was her "favorite prisoner." Keep in mind that when Azula captured the warriors of Kyoshi, she and her friends took their clothing as disguises.

Then, after Ty Lee and Mai betray Azula, they're also sent to prison with the Kyoshi Warriors. But at the end of the show, Ty Lee remarks that they all really bonded in prison. As she says this, she hugs the group with a big grin. The other girls, however, seem more nervous and blush. It's easy to see what was supposed to be implied here, but in our childhood innocence we probably didn't understand it the first time.

10 Same Move, Different Enemy

One of the show's major lessons is that power and advanced techniques do not necessarily equate to superiority. An obvious example is firebending itself; if you have a weak foundation it's easy to lose control of the power and cause more destruction than intended, given the unpredictable nature of the element.

An interesting example that most people might've missed is Zuko's fighting style. Early in Book 1, Iroh is drilling Zuko on basic firebending form, at which the young prince is clearly frustrated and wants to try more advanced moves. However, he wins the Agni Kai against Zhao by breaking his stance with a leg sweep, a very basic firebending move.

Fast forward to the Agni Kai in Book 3 between Zuko and Azula. An insane amount of fire is thrown back and forth, thanks to the power of Sozin's Comet, but Zuko only actually beats Azula (fair and square before she cheats) with that same exact leg sweep.

9 Parallels To World War II

Let's be real, kids don't really care about politics. Most us were probably too young to have learned about much of World History in school anyway. But, if you think back to the geopolitics of the Four Nations, there are some interesting parallels to real life. They lived in harmony until the Fire Nation attacked. The reason for this, as we learned in the flashback episode about Avatar Roku, is nationalism and a superiority complex. This is not unlike the way the Nazi Empire first began.

Both nations employed propaganda in the homeland to keep up support. Both nations were one of the most advanced in terms of military and science. Neither nation was above genocide of other races (Air Nomads). And both leaders, Ozai and Hitler, retreated into underground bunkers in times of danger or invasion. While the conflicts (the war against the Fire Nation and WWII) were resolved in the different ways, both occurred in shockingly similar ways.

8 A Lesson In Government

OK one more history lesson. If you analyze closely, each nation existed under a different set of governing rules. The Fire Nation had a Firelord in what can best be described as a monarchy. The Water Tribe had a tribal system led by chiefs of different groups. The Air Nomads lived in a theocracy, led by a council of monks or elders. And finally, the Earth Kingdom was a confederate monarchy. They had a central king but also different autonomous states with their own leaders (think High King vs. Jarls in Skyrim).

It's hard to say which system is the best, in the events of ATLA, none of the nations seem to be doing particularly well. Then again, that could just be because of the war.

7 Uncle Iroh Knows Best

Zuko's change of heart is one of the most iconic works of character development in Western Animation. However, we never see Uncle Iroh's change, despite the fact that he's also on the side of the good guys. This suggests that he was against the Fire Nation from the beginning (possibly because of the tragedy with his son), even when he was hunting the Avatar with Zuko.

If you think about it, he never actively attacks the Avatar throughout the early seasons. Every time they get close to catching, Iroh makes up some excuse to slow them down, like a detour or delay. He knows he needs to keep up a pretence to stay with Zuko and protect him. He always has hope that his nephew will eventually get on the right path.

6 A Street Fighter Cross-Over

A lot of hidden secrets in the show can be analyzed from the plot or inferred through certain dialogue. However, some are just presented to us plainly on-screen. A basic one is how in Book 3, when Sokka gives Toph a piece of meteorite used to forge his sword, she molds it into a bracelet. For a brief moment as she does so, it turns into the Nickelodeon splash logo.

And then there's a particular scene when Zuko and Iroh are looking for a bounty hunter named Jun in a bar. When they walk in, she's arm-wrestling a man who seems very familiar and other patrons cheering on the contest. Take a closer look, and you'll see that the man is Ryu from Street Fighter! There's another scene in the Book 3 finale where Team Avatar minus Aang enter another bar also looking for Jun. Here, she's straight up fighting people, one of which is again Ryu.