Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of Nickelodeon’s most famous and popular shows, is meeting its end in the U.S. Saturday at 8 pm. And millions of fans are gearing up and getting ready.

The phenomenal show about a 12-year-old boy with fantastical powers and the fate of the world in his hands premiered in the U.S. in February 2006, continuing for three seasons until now, with a 2-hour movie ending its story. Avatar was created by Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, or Bryke as they are commonly referred to. Avatar, or ATLA as it is known by its fans, is centered around an altogether different universe, where certain people are gifted with the ability to manipulate, or “bend” the material their people are from; the Air Nomads, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes and Fire Nation. Through it all lies the avatar, the highly revered person in the world who has the ability to control all four elements and whose job is to maintain peace through the world. Aang, the main character of the show, is the current avatar, who has to bring back peace to the world during a 100-year-old war waged by the Fire Nation. A comet, which will come by the end of summer, will give the Fire Nation, and its leader, Fire Lord Ozai, the power to defeat the rest of the nations and declare victory. Thus, Aang is given a deadline and a duty, through which throughout the show is the main focus. Along his journey, he meets Katara and Sokka, and later Toph, who travel with him across the world as he tries to master the elements he can control and defeat Ozai before the world’s fate is doomed.

Avatar has had its international fame as well. It also shows on Nick in 106 other countries, and has been honored with numerous awards. Avatar has always been praised for its intricate character developments and sense of humor. Indeed, it in itself is something very different from the usual Nick line-up, yet it has dragged in numerous high ratings and an extremely large fanbase.

With that fanbase comes on of the most recognized aspects of Avatar; shipping. Nearly all avatar fans- or “avatards,” as they commonly refer to themselves as- have their own ship, or couple, that they follow. And with that loyalty comes the shipping wars, a series of long debates and comments both online and in person between rivaling ships. Though often referred to with regret and laughter, the shipping wars has definitely brought a new dynamic to the show; nearly all fans agree that love is just as important as the fighting in the show, even though all the main characters are juveniles.

One of the other long-dreaded parts of Avatar are its hiatuses. The show has been routinely postponed from original viewing dates, and long pauses in between seasons have left fans with both hopelessness and anxiety. The first hiatus, many fans questioned whether the show was cancelled, and gave up hope. The second hiatus, however, sparked the online revolution, where many fans turned to the internet to answer their avatar needs. Many fans recall that’s where they started shipping, while others began posting up art, fan-fictions, videos, and even podcasts highlighting Avatar in all of its glory. Indeed, the fans played a big part in creating a huge array of media that has Avatar as its main centerpiece.

But shipping and art is not the only reason why Saturday will gain Avatar’s largest viewing audience yet. No, Avatar will end well on Saturday because of the end of its gripping tale. Avatar will end with all of its loyal fans watching for the end of the epic journey that it has taken, the end of the fight sequences, the developments, the destinies and loves of all the characters it has created. Avatar will meet its bittersweet end, and all of its fans will be waiting and. Avatar’s end will be sorrowful; it will be filled with anxiety, drama, and cheers, and without a doubt leave all of its fans in awe. But most important of all, Avatar has shown how great a show can really be.