'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Season 2 pays homage to an icon: Bosco the bear

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender blends a Fire Nation's worth of episodes into 10, which means some characters from the animated series don't make the cut. Sure, certain cabbage merchants are given the respect they deserve. However, in Season 2, one Earth Kingdom icon is missing: Bosco. Earth King Kuei's pet bear, mammalian royalty of Ba Sing Se, is not present in the Netflix series, despite being the second most important being in the Earth Kingdom during the animated show. Bosco is so highly ranked he's essentially the king's best friend, and had an entire birthday party thrown for him in the palace, in Season 2, episode 14, "City of Walls and Secrets." "Quiet, you don't know what I had to do to get seats this near the bear," says one party attendee, as VIP Bosco absolutely rips into the banquet in front of him. In fact, Bosco's so influential in Earth Kingdom court politics, in Season 2, episode 18, "The Earth King," Team Avatar is allowed to plead their case to the monarch simply because his bear liked Aang's waterbending tricks at the party. They're in cuffs in the throne room and Bosco licks Aang's face, so the Earth King hears them out and changes his mind. That's power.