Seven Havens Chapters 4 to 6 Reviews: A Gratifying Slow Burn That Won't Leave Ellora

Light spoilers for Chapters 4 to 6 of Avatar: Seven Havens.

The second batch of Avatar: Seven Havens is now streaming on Paramount+, and the first reviews of "The Faceless," "The One Left Behind" and "Night of the Afflicted" are warm. Only a few outlets have covered these chapters so far, so treat them as early reads rather than a verdict.

But Why Tho: 9.5 out of 10

Swara Salih says these chapters keep the show a superb successor to Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Salih praises the chemistry between Saheli Khan and Aishu Devan as Pavi and Nisha, and says the twins' gradually recovered memories help sell their sisterhood without rushing it.

The review praises the casting of Indigenous American and Asian actors to voice Uki's family, and says "Night of the Afflicted" offers a rare look at a young amputee's life in children's animation. Salih also reads the mounting pressure on Ellora's rulers as sharp commentary on propaganda that backfires, and calls Jeremy Zuckerman's score superb. As for the mystery of the red diamond, Salih calls it "a slow burn for sure, but a gratifying one."

IGN: 8 out of 10, with a worry about Ellora

IGN's Alex Zalben gives the batch an 8, down from the 9 he gave Chapters 1 to 3. He still finds the show lovely to look at, adorably funny and good at fleshing out its big cast, with a kindness and empathy he calls rare even for animated shows.

His concern is structural. The twins keep talking about finding their parents, yet nobody suggests searching outside Ellora, where the parents were last seen. Zalben says it feels like the show is "fighting against itself to keep our characters in town." By Episode 6 of Avatar: The Last Airbender, he notes, Team Avatar had already left the Southern Water Tribe. He doesn't think Seven Havens has to copy that, and with New York Comic Con's news that the show will run at least four seasons, he says it has room to stay in Ellora for Book One.

Screen Rant's early look

Screen Rant's El Kuiper, who saw six chapters for a review published on premiere day, gave the show an 8 out of 10. Kuiper wrote that after a somewhat slow start, the twins' search for their past and Ellora's unraveling leadership fuse together, and by the end of Chapter 6 they are clearly headed for a collision. Kuiper found Captain Karthik still a little one-dimensional; Salih, by contrast, calls him a fascinating mentor.

Where the scores stand

These aggregates cover the season so far, not just the new batch:

• Rotten Tomatoes: 100% from 21 reviews, with a 7.9 average and a critics consensus praising the show's inspired storytelling, vibrant style and remarkable characters.
• Popcornmeter: 81% from more than 250 ratings, up from 80% in our premiere reviews roundup.
• Metacritic: a Metascore of 80 from 11 critics. The user score has slipped to 5.2 from 73 ratings, down from 5.5 from 63 in that roundup.

Catch up with our recaps of Chapter 4, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6, or visit the Seven Havens hub.