Aang was the happy-go-lucky Avatar during The Hundred Year War who was frozen in an iceberg for decades. When he emerged, thanks to the water bender Katara, he emerged to find the world in disarray and his duties as an Avatar in high demand. So, he was placed on a short timeline to learn all four of the elements before Sozin's Comet returned and allowed Fire Lord Ozai to take over the world.

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However, Aang was a naïve child, and there were many moments in which he found himself in over his head. Still, he had no choice, as he was the only one who could save the world. He achieved many great things, but there are times when he just made things worse.

10 When He Set Off The Ship Flare

fire nation navy ship

After a stint of penguin sledding that Aang convinced Katara to participate in, the two ended up at the remnants of a Fire Nation shipwreck from the beginning of the war. Aang insists they explore it, and despite Katara's pleas against going, they head in, anyway.

While inside, Aang accidentally sets off a trap that sends a flare shooting into the sky. This reveals the Southern Water Tribe, and the Avatar's position. Aang's curiosity and inability to take the Southern Water Tribe's precarious situation seriously led to Zuko finding the village.

9 When He Tried To Learn Firebending The First Time

Katara Avatar the Last Airbender

Aang tended to not listen to others when they gave him important warnings. One of the scenes that illustrates this best is when Aang does not heed Jeong Jeong's warnings about the dangers of firebending. Instead of taking it seriously, he literally plays with fire, and Katara gets burned.

According to the cycle, Aang was supposed to learn firebending last. He thought he was helping by learning firebending early when he met someone who could teach him (since most firebenders were out to get him, but Jeong Jeong was not). However, it was a huge mistake, as Aang had yet to learn the discipline needed.

8 When He Tried To Keep Katara & Sokka With Him By Hiding The Map

Aang is afraid Katara and Sokka will leave with Bato

When Katara and Sokka ran into a family friend, Bato, from the Southern Water Tribe, they were extremely excited. It meant that their father was still out there and that there was a chance to find him. However, Aang was not so excited. He was unable to include himself in the conversations, and he feared abandonment.

So, Aang hid a map that was supposed to reveal the location of Bato's comrades, and potentially Katara and Sokka's father. This was an extremely bad move on Aang's part, and his fears proved a self-fulfilling prophecy as he drove the siblings away.

7 When He Intervened On Avatar Day

Avatar Day

Aang really could have left the town that hated the Avatars alone. However, he had to try and clear the Avatar name, despite the village not wanting or caring to do so. So, he got thrown into prison and devised an elaborate plan to find a way to get justice for the Avatar.

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While it was not a bad idea to try and reform the justice system in this town (it was woefully corrupt), it was a bad idea to dig more into Avatar Kyoshi's role in this town hating Avatars. It turns out, she did kill their hero, even if he was bad.

6 When He Let Kiyoshi Take Over

Kyoshi on Avatar day

Aang made a series of mistakes while trying to stop the Avatar Day celebration. As if getting himself thrown in prison with the threat of a painful death or torture was not bad enough, he had to have his friends track down the reason they hated the Avatars.

The reason was that Kyoshi killed Chin the Conqueror, a heroic figure for the village. Letting Kyoshi possess him via the Avatar State just confirmed this fact. Luckily, they are saved by the Rough Rhinos, who attack Chin Village and give the town a reason to let Aang go so he could drive them away.

5 When He Got Too Obsessed With Fame On Kiyoshi Island

Avatar Aang With Kyoshi Girls

At the beginning of the series, Aang, Katara, and Sokka went to Kyoshi Island so that Aang could ride giant koi fish. He was quickly swept up by the villagers who were excited that the Avatar has not only returned but also visited their island.

Aang let the fame and attention go to his head, and this led him to shirk his duties until the village was attacked, putting everyone in danger. Though he originally had good intentions and wanted to have fun, this naïveté put a lot of people in harm's way and destroyed an entire village.

4 When He Asked The Other Avatars If He Should Kill Ozai

Aang meditates on the lion turtle in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Going to see the Lion Turtle did not seem a completely foolish idea at first. He was drawn there by some spiritual force, and he had little time on his hands. He went there to meditate on the fact that he would have to kill the Fire Lord, Ozai, but he did not want to. So, he consulted his past lives.

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This was a mistake, as each of his past lives (even the last Airbender Avatar) told him that he only had one choice ahead of him. Ozai would never stop, so he had to end Ozai. Luckily, the Lion Turtle itself gave Aang a way out.

3 When He Made The Team Ride The Mail Delivery Shoot

team avatar in omashu

The first part of the series saw Aang force Katara and Sokka into all sorts of dangerous positions because he was immature and just wanted to have fun. One such moment was when he had them ride the mail shoot at Omashu, which turned out to be a terrible idea because of the many war weapons that were also on it.

This folly eventually got them arrested and taken to the King of Omashu. Fortunately, that king just so happened to be one of Aang's old friends, King Bumi.

2 When He Helped Jet With The Reservoir

Jet in fight pose

Believing Jet, a random stranger, over Sokka was a huge mistake that both Katara and Aang made, and it led to an entire village being washed away (thankfully, Sokka had evacuated its citizens in the nick of time).

Once they learned of their mistake, they were distraught, but the damage had been done. If Aang had just listened to Sokka, a trusted friend, instead of trying to help someone who had not proven himself to the group, they could have saved a lot of people a lot of grief.

1 When He Changed To Try & Get Katara To Like Him

Aang and the fortuneteller

Aang and his friends visit a fortune-teller named Aunt Wu, and they find that the entire village trusts her word with no doubts or questions. So, Katara tries to get a love reading out of her, and Aang overhears. Aang later asks Sokka for advice on how to woo Katara, but all it does is convince Meng, the fortuneteller's assistant, that she and Aang will be together.

If Aang had just been himself, he could have saved Meng, Katara, and himself a lot of trouble, but in putting too much stock into the fortune that Aunt Wu gave Katara, both Katara and Aang were embarrassed.

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