A Painfully Honest Review of Netflix Avatar
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- čas přidán 8. 05. 2024
- Good news! Netflix's take on Avatar isn't as bad as The Last Airbender movie. Bad news, that's not really saying much...
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Chapters:
0:00 Book 0: Destiny
04:58 Book 1: Edge
22:14 Book 2: Imbalance
39:23 Book 3: Why?
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George Takei didn't reprise his role as Koh, that wasn't his role in the original, he played the Prison Warden on that Earthbender Metal Barge.
Ah shoot, my mistake. I got a little confused because he is really good as Koh.
He was the WARDEN!?
Koh is voiced by Erik Dellums in the original.
@@mothersbasement He is indeed, and casting my mind back to original Koh I can definitely understand the mistake, they have that weird, unique combination of silky-smooth but booming qualities to their voices. where it feels like they can both whisper to an entire stadium full of people and be heard, and gutturally shout and only be heard at the distance they desire.
seriously though, original Koh wins on sheer creepy, cunning vibes,
@@sepulcher8263yes although not the warden from boiling rock
One day, executives will learn that it's actually MORE risky to adapt/remake a successful story than it is to adapt/remake a middling one.
Isnt it funny how they all took the wrong lesson away from GotG? lol
Imagine if we got a live-action remake of Disney’s Treasure Planet or Atlantis. But maybe I’m expecting too much of _The Walt Disney Company_
Case and point, the How To Train Your Dragon series. Different story entirely, all the better for it.
the original treasure planet is so lit @@madeline5493
is it? if that's true, why is Avatar doing so well despite so many fans not liking it? seems like the execs got exactly what they wanted to me
The largest crime here is killing the character development. Aang was running away from his responsibilities as the avatar; Sokka was sexist and naive; katara was hot headed and reckless at times. Characters with struggles who learned and grew was what made the show so impactful to begin with, and that’s been thrown out the window.
tbf, they kept the Aang part
I didn't really get the sexist Sokka controversy. It's sad that it isn't there, but it wasn't important in the slightest. Not even the cartoon showed it that much, he literally just says 1 or 2 things to Katara and that's it, then the Kyoshi episode happens already. Imo they did a fine job showing us the main issue with Sokka's life: He's one of the few men left, he wasn't able to follow his father back then, and he's overwhelmed with this task, actively trying to come off as "tough" and masculine. They showed that clearly with the confrontation with Zuko and his talk with Katara.
The problem with life adaptions is that human actors can quickly look unsympathetic. When Sokka's first line is something sexist he'll look like a d*** for the rest of the show no matter what. In the cartoon it came off as... well, cartoony. It's not really an important part of his character to show these sexist remarks. Imo, whenever people write that, it looks to me like they just want him to say a snarky, evilish remark here and there to be pleased. Totally agree with Katara though, there's no reason to cut that out, maybe because they didn't want to develop it or give it a pay-off at the end of the show.
@@bighatastrea It's important to Sokka's arc about becoming a competent leader. His worldview starts out so narrow that it hinders his ability to properly lead due to the barriers in understanding, and each time he has his worldview widened, like when his sexist attitudes are corrected, he becomes more capable of taking the helm and coordinating/cooperating with others. Taking pieces of that journey away hurts his character arc imo.
@@bighatastrea It wasn't showed much because what Sokka experienced was a worldview shattering moment, before meeting Suki he had the firm belief that women aren't able to be warriors, something he saw wasn't the case at all at Kyoshi Island. That's how sheltered Sokka was.
@@beeaggro2593not rly in LA he just went to clear his head and got in an accident
I'd argue Sokka's initial sexism was ALSO because he was a child playing at pre-mature 'man-hood' because he'd been forced to take that role because his father was taken away from him by war.
War had more fucking impacts than "cool battles" which they forgot to make a dumb opening fight.
I was thinking about this recently, all the woman fighters ie waterbenders have been slaughtered, therefore all the woman left are no fighters. The men that remain have thought him to protect those he loves. When they left to fish, he was the only man left in the village. In a teenage boys mind, he as the man is the only one capeable of fighting, therefore sexism in combat capabilities makes total sence.
@@MauriceV3 All the waterbenders, not women exclusively, were captured and rotted away in Fire Nation prison cells a long time ago, dated back to Fire Lord Azulon, Ozai’s father.
@@wildfire9280 Talk about missing the point. The reason they specified woman waterbenders was to explain why Sokka looked down on woman as fighters because all the fighting women were taken away. Not to say that all waterbenders are woman. You having size issues down south?
@@HakuYuki001 TL;DR 🤓
The point was that they had all been slaughtered and so no understanding of women’s potential to be trained fighters remained. What I said was not only were they actually captured rather than killed (meeting the same fate as male waterbenders) with one exception, this conflict dates back only one Fire Lord ago.
Azulon started his reign *very* late, courtesy of Sozin being too angry to die for so long. With a timeframe like that I’m inclined to think any traditionally bending-based egalitarian (?) culture both would and could keep the memory alive honoring the ancestors or whatever else their spirituality revolves around.
So, Sokka should (probably) think to make the same judgment about not arbitrarily dismissing women he got from the Kyoshi Warriors before even meeting them. The fact there are no fighting women in Sokka’s life doesn’t fully work as an explanation when there aren’t any women period aside from his elderly grandmother and prepubescent girls.
As for your question… I’m not sure I follow your logic. Going by ancient civilizations, me missing the point would indicate the opposite issues. Unfortunately for me, there is no real correlation between intelligence and inches. And I just had to get stuck with the least useful of the two…
I'd argue his sexism was really funny and that's why they didn't allow it. If even one dude chuckled audibly at any slightly sexist joke aimed at a woman the females working on this show and at Twitter would threaten to unalive themselves out of pure misery and probably also implode on the spot with aggresively triggered seething.
The times have changed. You can't make a character have certain traits in the west anymore even if it serves a purpose for character development. I'm honestly surprised the women that worked on this show allowed sakka to have a heterosexual love interest and didn't make aang gay or something.
The producers had originally said that they were, quote, "trying to appeal to Game of Throne's fans" with this new adaptation, so when Sokka and Katara entered the Secret Tunnel instead of Aang and Katara and the hippies started singing about love, I thought Sweet Home Alabama was about to start playing as the intro music for Cersei and Jamie Lannister.
I physically recoiled when I saw Sokka and Katara holding hands in that cave
That’s less appealing to GoT fans, more like appealing to George R.R. Martin himself 💀
@@wildfire9280 Put down the kleenex and soap George!
@@wildfire9280 What did I miss? Why are we assuming he's into incest?
My kids got bored with the live-action show after 2-3 episodes, and now we’re half-way through a re-watch of the original series. Silver linings. ✌️
Yea it sucked...
The campy charm of the original made the whole show.
Literally no one wanted a gritty remake of the last airbender. Everything about it feels forced, like they were forced to make it more serious because it was live action, all dramatic plot beats are rushed because they're forced into a significantly shorter format. The show adds nothing, and will ultimately be a stain on the franchise as it gives shareholders yet another reason not to invest in the IP. Would've much preferred a story like The Mandalorian. There's a great big world to borrow from, could've just viewed the story from a quieter side perspective. It's almost insulting how they thought they could condense the story but still have it on par with the original. Any look at any other live action remake would've told you otherwise.
It really is a terrible time to be a fan of literally anything. Give a company enough time and they will milk every IP into the ground.
@@ryswick1064absolutely agree. They could’ve expanded on the show, I would’ve preferred it still be animation as I really believe shows that require high suspension of disbelief work best in animation, they could’ve even done something new, like an arcane style series set in the Avatar world. Hell, they could’ve done multiple animated series set in the world with the amount of budget this show got
The show is fantastic. So much hate surrounding the show its crazy.
I think movies and TV shows need to stop producing everything because the audience is so judgmental on these films and shows it seems like nothing is good today. As if they can produce, write, and offer a better version. Hahaha
It's truly amazing!
Silver lining? Is that a food you can eat? Book 3 joke during Zuko and Sokkas prison adventure 😂
What made Sokka's flaws compelling was that there was a very clear through line of *why* he thought that way to begin with. He was the only boy anywhere near adulthood left in his tribe and told it was his job to protect the women while the adult men were away fighting. His whole identity and sense of worth is bound up in being the protector and it results in him starting off in a regressive mindset. But then when he meets Suki and realizes she is legitimately a better warrior than him, rather than retreating further into his biases he apologizes to her and begs her to train him because ultimately he realizes he cares more about being able to protect the people who he cares about than he does his own pride. Sokka's growth into a genuine leader who is able to assess people's strengths and weaknesses - including his own - is up there fighting with Zuko's as the most compelling arc of the entire series.
What people need to understand about worldbuilding in fictional universes is that you have to judge based on the rules within that world rather than your own. Sokka's mindset isn't necessarily regressive for the world he is in and the culture he belongs to. In most cases, men still do most of the fighting in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Highly trained fighters like Azula, Toph, Katara, and the Kyoshi warriors are still considered the exception rather than the rule.
@@theimaginist3310 Hell, we learn when they reach the Northern Water Tribe that he's actually _less_ regressive in a some ways than their sister tribe's culture. He still had his sexist views (pre-development), but he certainly never tried to pigeonhole Katara's bending to be used for healing-only.
@@newsystembadTo be fair, at the start of the series Katara didn't even know about healing powers. I think she found out about those when her hands got burned. So Sokka likely didn't either while he still held on to the sexist ideas.
I've honestly always found the northern water tribe being sexist... Really weird, in universe? Because we never see anything saying a female water bender is any less capable then a male water bender, other than a lack of teaching, which like... Makes me wonder how those ideals came to be? In our world it makes *some* level of sense, men, due to how our bodies work, are naturally stronger than a woman of similar fitness, but like, they have fucking magic water controlling powers! Who cares if they cant physically lift a boulder!
He still has the leader arch, just without the sexism. He's learning more and more every place he goes, and still from Suki. The sexism isn't the CORE of his arch and isn't needed honestly.
one of my favorite advices for writing is the bigger the tragedy, the less you show. that's why the air temple scene in the cartoon was so impactful. not just the tonal shift but it left a lot to the audience's imagination of how and why this genocide happened and the more we find out throughout the show, the worse it gets. especially when we are shown multiple times through Aang and his flashbacks that airbenders are pacifists
And i think thats work not just for tragedy, but alot of other thing. The mistery around something can make something more impact full. And thats what alot of Avatar Product after the og Has failed. Korra failed it by explain the origin of Avatar. This show failed by over explain and over shoes character. Theres just no mistery. The only thing people wait for in the next season isnto see toph
While “show don’t tell” is an important rule, NOT showing can, in some cases, be MORE effective.
In horror movies, NOT SEEING the monster or not knowing anything about it can be scarier.
In comedy, an unexplained joke can be funnier than one you understand (“you and I remember Budapest very differently”)
And in tragedy, not seeing the tragedy and affording it the dignity of not being depicted can add to the weight of how WRONG what is happening is.
WHICH LEGEND OF KORRA DID VERY WELL WHEN TENZIN IS GETTING BEATEN AND THE CAMERA PANS AWAY, as if to say “this nice guy getting beaten up is too terrible and awful a thing to depict so we’re not gonna”
Like, if you were gonna shoot the scene from Old Yeller where the kid has to shoot his dog; it’s obviously gonna be much sadder to cut to a shot of the trees and hear a gunshot than it is to SEE the bullet hit the dog in the face.
So fun easter egg: in the original show it's implied that nobody can see airbending. The air blasts and stuff are just visual for the audience. There's a line Xin Fu and the Boulder. Where thr Boulder states he saw no bending from Aang and that Toph must've taken a dive and split the money with him.
This alludes to the fact that even in universe, nobody can see air
I guess airbending would be very loud, though. sudden strong changes in air pressure/direction would make a blast sound I guess
Pretty sure the Boulder just says he didn't see any *earthbending.* That's what he was looking for obviously
@@gustavogoesgomes1863hey good point, that was perceptive
@gustavogoesgomes1863 wow! ot immediatelly drew a horror scene in my mind. Could've used that in the adaptation if they wanted to be "mature" and "for adults"
I believed it was dust and debris that we are able to see. Yes, we can't see air/wind, but we can see its effects on the environment.
Katara in this show got hit the worst with the writing of all the characters. She is so passive and basically nothing like her animated counterpart.
The worst part is that the actor who plays Katara in the live action series has played those kind of roles before, so I don't get why we got such a neutered performance. Devery Jacobs is my head canon for live action Katara tbh, but that isn't to say Kaniehtiio Horn couldn't do the role justice if given better direction.
She got turn into an npc
Yeah they absolutely butchered Kataras character. Completely sucked out all of her emotions and personality from the original show.
She is still suuuuper preachy though. To the point where she does not stop until everyone lets her girlboss all over the Fire Nation's attack on the Nothern Water Tribe, and 'liberate' all the women in said tribe, regardless of whether or not they WANT to fight...
IDK, she felt in character to me.
It’s either her or Azula that got it the worst. Gone is the terrifying villain who just has this unbreakable confidence and delightfully oozes evil every second she’s on screen. Instead she’s an insecure whiny brat. Yes Azula had major insecurities in the original, but she kept those locked up and buried deep and never let them show until she finally started facing some setbacks. At this point Azula felt undefeatable and unshakable when she first arrived. Even during the duel with Zuko and Ozai in the original she’s watching it delighted at Zuko getting burned and here she looks sad and scared.
Ironically, Sokka's portrayal in the original Avatar actually feels really damn progressive once all is said and done, even by today's standards. A guy that grew up with a limited world view but doesn't grow to resent the outside world, instead adapting to become a strong leader is something you rarely see nowadays. And that's an important thing to show, that it takes a lot more strength to admit that you're wrong, than to stand by what you already believe.
We're looking at you, democrats.. time to confess..
yeah and modern day progressives are Incapable of doing that - that's why the writers deemed wise to cut all of this Sokka caracheter arc
Where was the sexism he shows with the Keoshi warriors. When he changes his perspective of women and warriors that showed real maturity and he admits he is wrong. Those are the stories that need to be shared. Why did they just skip it.
@@lucaspinheiro9822 yep, everything is sanitized to the point where everything made by Hollywood today feels the same
@@lucaspinheiro9822 even worse
Back then, when he came to suki and she screwed him over, you knew she was teaching him something.
Now, when she says no at his first request for training, it sounds like she's just a bitch.
And it feels way more sexist that she's all woozy because he's a sexy foregin guy.
My main problem with the series is quite ironically that it somehow actually feels like the theater play that the Gang saw in season 3. They saw themselves be portrayed and over exaggarated but yet, at the same time polished. The characters in that play said all of their emotional baggage and their hopes and dreams in such an abundantly upfront way that it was clear to the viewer, that it was meant to sound ridiculous. The characters in the live action series aren't, as you said, put in situation where they play the characters but rather explain themselves as a whole in form clumsy monologues with tears and emotional music. That doesn't build tension or mystique. Also not letting the viewer know the characters whole backstory in the cartoon series was pretty nice because when the episode with Aangs and Zukos backstory dropped I was hooked.
I really wish they had put in the line of "YOU STILL HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, AND PAIN WILL BE YOUR TEACHER" during the agni kai with Zuko and his father. Showed how brutal Ozai was, even with family.
Small correction: the line is, "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."
One thing I think was really missing from Katara's personality was that, KATARA WAS SARCASTIC TOO!!!! Not as much as sokka obviously but it was there!!
Well, look at momos ears, theyre gigantic!
It’s like they’re related or something lol
Sarcastic and just emotional in general. In the live action remake katara was just there, she looked so bored
@@nightmare2nightmare And then in the other mother movie called the Last Airbender, she didn't even want to be there. lol
That and she was down to lie at the drop of a hat. They completely dropped that she was really good at going with the flow of their cover stories, even with how convoluted they made them. See: The Pipinpopodaupalous family and, later, the Fire family and Mrs. Sapphire Fire.
This is another great example of "probably would've been alright if it wasn't a beloved property."
That's really the gist. People who are going in blind love it lol
There's parts of it that are really good, and lots of parts that aren't.
Personally I think if they improved the emoting it'd be a lot better.
In the first episode granny tells Aang the airbenders are all dead in a monotone voice while Aang stares blankly. They should both have a reaction there, granny should either be compassionate since she's telling Aang everyone he knows is dead or doubtful of the story; meanwhile Aang should be in denial, or at least visibly uncomfortable at the story.
That sort of thing goes on through the whole story,
when Katara discovers the badgermoles don't attack if people show/experience love she announces it with glee, then immediately drops back into monotone to explain it to Sokka.
It just really takes you out of the story where no major character has any expression or emotion for more than about 5 seconds(except Zukko, who I think plays "seething rage while pretending to be calm" fairly well).
"We COULD make an Eastern Martial and Spiritual Adventure series, but if it isn't built on an existing IP, who would watch that? Why would anyone watch something they didn't know already?"
@@JachymorDota it's more that:
"One side will bitch about it being "woke." The other side about it being culturally appropriative. Then the middle will just complain that it comes off very much like avatar"
I.e. see: Raya
This is basically how those convos always go
@@beeaggro2593 Funny because the original cartoon was all three of those things and still good.
No idea about Raya I boycott Disney unless my dad wants company and I have the energy for another stupid Marvel thing.
I disagree on one point: they didn't nail it with Iroh. In the cartoon, we gradually learned that he's not a senile oaf. It was hinted at through mention of his past accomplishments and his nickname as the "Dragon of the West", but he was often playing the fool or BEING the fool (e.g. the poison tea). This made an excellent foil to Zuko's tunnel vision for his perceived destiny. At first we as the audience think Iroh is urging Zuko to stop and smell the roses because he's tired and lazy. I remember thinking as a kid that Iroh was part of Zuko's punishment; he's banished AND saddled with his crazy old uncle. We steadily come to learn that he's just trying his best to make Zuko see he can be so much more than a ruthless warrior prince without *giving* him the answers, like any good teacher. We see his depth a little at a time, and we really see how Iroh has already lived a full life and learned many lessons before the show even started. He doesn't grow much over the course of the series, but our perception of him changes so drastically it *feels* like one of the greatest transformations of any character. To make it even better, we're learning about this new side of Iroh right alongside Zuko. With a few exceptions, we experience Iroh almost exclusively through Zuko's lost and chaotic POV.
Much like Aang and Sokka, live action Iroh starts out as the Iroh of the cartoon's finale. Live action Iroh speaks like a charismatic war hero from the beginning. He has a big Action Hero Voice that demands respect, and he's always saying exactly what he means. His credibility is never in question, either. Instead of seeing Zuko and Iroh as equally dysfunctional opposites at first, we're shown right away that Iroh is the mature one and Zuko is childish if he ever ignores him. Zuko never bemoans Iroh for speaking in riddles, which went such a long way in capturing what's it's like to grow up-- as a kid, our elders' advice is often hard to take at face value until you learn what they were trying to tell you from experience. THAT is the most rewarding part of Zuko & Iroh's relationship: Iroh tried and tried to show Zuko that he doesn't need to be his father's perfect son, but it doesn't really sink in until Zuko's been accepted back into the fold at the beginning of Book 3. Iroh & Zuko's reunion has such a great payoff because Iroh not being mad at Zuko for how he treated him is the final nail in the coffin for Zuko's preconceived notion of family. There isn't much growth to be had in live action Zuko & Iroh's dynamic, because Iroh is already someone that you'd be stupid to not take at face value at all times (which you can, because he's always speaking literally).
You forgot to mention how we cannot tell the difference between normal fire bending and Sozin's comet-enhanced firebending.
The original made a big deal of how overwhelming firebending gets during the comet, but here in the Netflix version, the comet didn't really give much to the firebenders other than allowing them to fly.
? the comet hasnt happened yet what do you mean am i missing something
@@lilianas5874 I'm talking about when Sozin launched his attack on the Air Nomads, not the final battle with Ozai
I'm definitely not the first person to say so, but Aang's childishness and playfulness wasn't important just for him as an individual character, but as a theme of the series itself. The war killed the air nomads, but it also destroyed the childhood of *all* of the nations (e.g. the fire nation kids being disconnected from their own culture of dancing and music). There are other child characters in the show who have been forced into adulthood, which Aang returns to them.
This is also why it's important Aang doesn't kill Ozai at the end. Yangchen could sacrifice her air noman beliefs to be the avatar, because air nomad culture would persist. Aang is the *last* airbender. If he killed Ozai, Ozai would have philosophically succeed by "proving" that the air nomads pacifism and joy couldn't survive in the world.
What about all the faceless fire nation soldiers Team Aang killed without complaint in the last?
As a very big "He's magic fire Hitler, just kill the fucker" proponent, your "keep airbending culture alive" argument is one I find the most convincing for why Aang shouldn't have killed Ozai. The only one that's genuinely made me go "that's not a bad point actually, maybe they're right"
@@Sofxol there’s also the fact that air bending is inherently highly spiritual and compromising your spirituality compromises your ability to airbend. Had Aang killed Ozai his air bending could have become incredibly weak or potentially vanished altogether
Ozai alive means that he can actively work to undermine Zuko behind the scenes. Realistically, he and his loyal followers would have overthrown (and murdered) Zuko.
It's about Aang himself not team aang, Aang is the only pacifist on the team, Katara would kill if it meant protecting her family, sokka literally uses a sword so that's a no Brainer,Zuko was literally training Aang how to kill ozai, Toph I'm not so sure, she didn't seem to have any big thoughts on it@@rossmunley6489basically Aang is the only one with the no kill and pacifist mentality
The fan theory is that Monk Gyatso sucked all the air out of the room like Zaheer and took all those Firebenders with him, because his clothes don't have any burn marks on them, meaning he died from something besides fire.
No oxygen, no fire. Good point.
They didn't even bother to retrieve the dead afterwards
@@MesaAufenhand The fire millitary doesn't really seem to care at all about that I guess
@@hiro4344 Makes sense.
Yup. He used the air in his lungs and the lungs of his attackers to create a vacuum in the room. Them fire benders stood absolutely no chance.
Okay but why’s the old guy got perfect hair in the middle of a war. The whole thing feels so costume-y
Leaves from the vine, falling so slow
Like fragile tiny shells, drifting in foam
Little Soldier boy, come marching home
Brave Solder boy... come marching home
😢
Netflix did such a good job remaking The Last Airbender by M Night Shyamalan
Ozai himself would be jealous of that burn
YESSIR 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥@@mothersbasement
@@mothersbasementYep🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Ozai: "I torched my son's face, and even that was tame compared to your burn"
😂
Crazy how Jacob is much like Aang in all their interviews, BUT NOT IN THE SHOW. That's how garbage the scriptwriting is.
same thing with the movie's Aang
ikr? I saw him in some interviews and I'm thinking...wth...this kid's natural personality is more like Aang, why didn't they just go with that? I blame the writing/directing for this.
Fr I watched the interviews first and was so excited when I saw all their personalities
this
This is pretty much the case for all the actors. Poor script and direction.
I was so mad they did my man Gyatso like that ;-; I would have LOVED to see the inner turmoil of him deciding - for the FIRST time in his many, many years - that THOSE lives were not worth preserving when he stood to lose THESE lives instead. Like, they said they were taking a more "adult" approach to the live action but didn't delve deeper than basic grief, loss, and some aspects of internal conflict.
In the comic/cartoon, Gyatso really said (not an actual quote) "In all my years, the smallest of insects have been safe in my presence, but yall? Nah, yall can get this WORK" but they did my man D I R T Y, I tell you!!!!
That "Dragon of the West" show idea is soo good
"Show, don't tell" has never felt this palpable to me
Yup. Remember when writers used to show why characters and events matter?
Show don't tell has been a serious problem for Hollywood for a long time now to a point where I expect it every time, but it's still disappointing
This was actually a huge problem in the OG show and you see it in the first episode written by the creators.
Remember the chakra scene?
It should actually be "show AND tell", not one or the other. Almost no one has gotten that memo this decade.
@@beeaggro2593so it sucked there too
I feel bad for the actors because every now and again, you get some scenes that show that these kids can pull off their roles, but the directors and writers keep giving their garbage tier material.
Except Sokka's actor, fuck that guy. I don't care how good of an actor he is, the things he did to get on the show are UNACCEPTABLE. Period.
@@samlewis6487 I'm hesitant to believe that people genuinely care. After 2020, when a popular candidate lied about their native heritage to gain clout and not one called them out on it, I had a hard time believing people care about ethnicity as much as they claim to.
@@kap1618what are you talking about? Do you mean Elizabeth Warren? EVERYONE was calling her out. I think this really just reflects the spaces you’re in and the people you listen to.
@@hazeltade3679 All I remember were a few apologie articles, and that was it. That people on Twitter making excuses for her actions.
@@kap1618 okay yeah so you like... do not know or follow any native people lol
M. Night was a big victim, but I disagree on him being the _biggest._ That, imo, would go to Noah Ringer, who played Aang in the film. Because apparently, the Avatar fandom hadn't learned from the Star Wars fandom that maybe you shouldn't bully the child actor playing a lead character en masse. The way he was being treated ultimately drove him out of acting just as his story was beginning. I hope he's doing better now, wherever he is.
Seriously, this. What kind of person even needs to be told bullying kids is bad?
There were many times in the show where Sokka was arguing with someone, and my brain kept saying "In the original one, this argument was actually about Sokka not respecting women, and it felt more like an actual argument than this".
I think changing Bumi the way they did was absolutely a CRIME and did NOT work. Especially because hes bitter and angry at Aang for 'abandoning his role' when in this version of Avatar.... Aang didn't run away. He legitimately didn't run away which served as the crux of his guilt in the original.
And the heartwarming friendship they shared that transcended time in a way was ruined because of it. Aang wakes up in a world unrecognisable to him, finds out his people all have been killed, but he finds that there's still a piece of his old life left. It's heartwarming, and i cant stand that they felt the need to 'darken' it because it's not more mature this way.
Right OG Bumi didn't care about Avatar Aang, he cared about Aang his best friend. He understood how heavy the burden of being the Avatar felt to Aang so he came up with some out-of-the-box trials to test him and see if he still remembered his best friend and the fun they used to have. So having him be horrible to him was so off-putting. That wasn't Bumi that was the fisherman dressed up as a king.
Also, in this version Bumi somehow already knew Aang was the avatar which could never even make sense to me, since the same evening Aang learnt he was the avatar the temple was attacked….and nobody even survived for the news of Aang being the avatar to spread…ANYWHERE. So for Bumi to be upset that his friend (who he somehow already knew was the avatar) to have run away (even though he didn’t) doesn’t work. I get Bumi’s emotional state in this version but it’s disrespectful to the character and it’s a disservice to the fans
@@avielorwhatever5680 Bumi knew Aang was the avatar in the cartoon as well. Bumi throws a drumstick at Aang and when Aang levitates it, he says, “There’s an air bender in our presence . . . and not just any air bender, the avatar!” I never understood how he knew that. I agree this Netflix version of Bumi is criminal.
@@elizabeth714 I bet he was assuming. I mean he knows the air nomads were wiped out and he knows that the avatar was not among them cause of the fire nations mission searching for him so when aang showed up on his doorstep looking like he stepped out of Bumi’s memories he was probably like “aaaah shit it was my air nomad that was the avatar well at least you are alive Aang.” And then gave him a bunch of silly goofy tasks to do. He must have been real sad and glad at the same time to see his young friend shoulder so much responsibility.
Makes no sense considering that Bumi was the master of neutral Jing and understood the value of just letting things happen and waiting for the opportune moment; he wouldn't be angry that so much time has been lost, he would see that now is the perfect time to strike back, which is what he did in the original show and he sped up Aang's training by giving him a gauntlet of lessons.
I had to drop it 20 minutes in, when Aang is venting to Appa and he starts saying “I like having fun! I’m a goofy wacky kid!” Instead of… just showing us… he’s like that? Yeah I can’t stand this type of writing.
SAME
For sure holy shit was that cringe. Who tf green lights that and goes yep sounds good 😂
WHILE LOOKING INTO THE CAMERA. That scene made me so furious. Who does that ?!?!?!? Just fucking show me, make the characters the characters. Why do they constantly share their emotions in that moment ?!?! „I am very sad right now because I led the world down and fled“
I wish I did that, my dumbass watched it all the way through wanting to be fair to it, absolutely the worst show I've watched for a while.
this part was such a red flag, kept telling myself it will probably get better at some point. it didn't....
Don't get me wrong, I loved that they made Zuko's crew be the soldiers he saved. It touched my heart so much that it made me tear bend. It was lovely.
However, the logical part of my brain sees one other problem with it that you did not address. Zuko's banishment is a source of incredible shame for him. His deepest regret. And it's hard to regret a decision you made quite that much if that decision also resulted in saving the lives of a huge group of people. Makes the whole thing much less shameful. Much more *honorable,* you might say. And what is the single biggest thing Zuko is obsessed with? You guessed it--honor.
In the original, there really was not even a tiny shred of honor tied to his banishment. He was exiled and burned, and for what? The soldiers presumably died anyway. Which all the more fuels Zuko's desperate journey to regain his honor.
It makes less sense in the Netflix show, because his banishment could be seen as incredibly honorable even from Zuko's own perspective just because he knows his sacrifice saved a LOT of people.
As well as that, the ship’s crew wasn’t appreciative of him in the original and had an impression of him exclusively from their time serving him as if they had been forced into taking that role. That couldn’t be done without making them completely ungrateful even with Zuko’s initial carelessness unless they change it so that they never have to be let in on why Zuko is the way that he is to be less aggravated by him.
Which is what I assume they do because I haven’t actually watched it and don’t want to contribute to the viewership.
@@wildfire9280
Yes, the crew are not aware that Zuko saved their lives until near the end of the season when Iroh decides to tell them.
@@wildfire9280it really helped show how much shame he brought to his country if even his soldiers judge him so casually. What the general public thought of zuko without showing the fire nation.
Well said. That it was " made by fans, just clearly the anime headed fans who believe the story really kicks off after book one " is probably the best take ive heard. I would also add that the epic anime side is what grates the hardest against the limitations of actual child actors, especially when they are trying to match the energy of bombastic film score.
I kinda disagree with that. I feel like im one of those anime headed one. And yeah i think its be much better after book one. But i think any anime headed fans understand the important of comedy bc theres almost no anime without comedy, no matter how epic or dramatic that anime is. And i think if they really anime headed fans, theyre understand how important character arc is bc thats what anime all about, growth and continuity (Ex for slice of life or Doraemon kind of thing).
What i think is they are not fans. I even doubt they are watching it more that once. They just do research about the series and what fans like about it. And and double it. I mean its clearly zuko and Iroh is fans favorit. And zuko is the character arc people talking most about. So we see then lots more. People talk about how ITS deep and talking about genoside and they make it opening act.
What theyre pick on the show is what people talk about when they talk about how deep Avatar is
Getting to see Gyatso vacuum a room he is currently in, killing himself and everyone else in the room while wholesale negating firebending, would have been the coolest shit.
Seriously, that would've been the *only* thing that could've possibly made actually showing the genocide worthwhile.
It could have also been a really tragic moment, showing him taking going against the air nomad beliefs to save the air nomads, only to pan out of the building after and show how the guys he took out were only a small drop in the assault on the airbenders.
Classic tribute to avatar Yangchen
Such missed opportunity.
that would prob also kill the children in the room tho
To me, this reinforces how underappreciated Aang's character development is. We have 10+ years of video essays extolling the amazing storytelling that is Zuko's arc (and rightly so), but very little appreciation for Aang's (admittedly more subtle) arc. And it seems like that carried over to this live action show.
I always liked Aang development more than anything in the show.
And I don't like stories about redemption like with Zuko. It's so boring... I will never understand the hype around it... It's just ... Boring... It doesn't have a real internal conflict. Because everyone knows what is the right choice for Zuko and we just wait when he will understand it for himself.
For "good" characters development is always way more interesting because it creates a real internal struggle. If you're a good person already, there's way more responsibility on your shoulders and usually everyone around you DON'T understand that, because everyone waits tye right thing from you. But what if you don't know what is the right thing to do? What if the right thing goes against your personality and beliefs? And what if you will make a wrong choice?
People will forgive villains for whatever they've done once they say "sorry", but protagonists don't have the same treatment from audience. So the weights of responsibility on shoulders of MCs and villains won't ever be equal.
@@olyabutorina6869 How does Zuko's storyline not have internal conflict but Aang's does by your logic? Bc everything you said about Aang's development can be said about Zuko just from his perspective. That's why they're perfect parallels for each other.
To me the most powerful moment in the og avatar was when the past air bender avatar tells him he can't prioritize his spiritual needs over the balance of the world
@@olyabutorina6869 “everyone knows what is the right choice for Zuko, we’re just waiting for him to understand it for himself”
You mean just like how we understand the right path for Aang, even when he messes up? Or Katara? Or any other protagonist in the story? Struggling to understand your point here.
Also, I fail to see how you can’t see Zuko’s internal conflict. I’m trying to be respectful but… that’s just an awful take.
Zuko is _constantly_ trying to do the right thing but he is his own worst enemy. He seeks to earn his father’s approval even AFTER his father permanently scarred his face. He is headstrong and diligent but for all the wrong reasons…it becomes quite clear that Zuko has a very low sense of self and only sees his worth through pleasing his narcissistic, abusive father. A point he gradually grapples with, until finally gaining the strength to confront Ozai during the eclipse. Did you miss the whole point of his book 3 arc? He had everything he _thought_ he wanted, but it was not at all his destiny, nor what he _needed_
To say he is “boring” or even to imply his character is remotely shallow is just an incorrect statement.
@@Francisco-bu9ew "I shouldve never asked Kioshi..."
Its important to me that you know Takei didnt play Koh in the animated show, he played the Warden in the earthbening prison.
Not me crying just because Leaves From The Vine starts playing in your video.
Somebody has said this before, but it feels like writers recently have just forgotten about build up then pay off, and show don’t tell
I don't think it's a matter of writing ability so much as executive demands. Test audiences tend not to like being confused or not knowing what's going on, so leaving something as a mystery to be answered at a later point or building up suspense by hinting at some plot point to pay it off later doesn't test as well as just explaining everything from the get-go. Of course the stories that DO pay attention to buildup and payoff tend to leave a better long-term impact, but we all know the suits don't care about the long term.
I think it might be an extension of our modern world shortening attention spans. Execs want writers to “skim past the boring bits” that include things like world building and character definition, things that MUST be a slow burn to feel real enough for a solid payoff later.
Great explanations
I agree with the sentiment that executives think people don’t have the attention span for good story telling anymore. The test audiences seem to be filled with the most stereotypical Southern California kids and young adults who can’t go 5 mins without some kind of stimulation. We are on track to movies and shows just being things happening without any longer arcs or themes.
The og show is a master of delivering a great ending
you need the joy of aang's childlike wonder to make the horrors of war and survival hit harder. War saps the innocence out of children, making our CHILD protagonists grow up too fast and take on jobs they shouldn't have to do, but have to, because no sane adults are left.
Aang did this in less than a year in the animation.
I think you summed it up perfectly in the end. A live action spin-off would've been so much better. If I wanted to rewatch ATLA, I would just rewatch ATLA since it is the best version.
ATLA is just one of those lightning in a bottle series. Once it has been caught, it cannot be caught again. No matter how hard they try to adapt it, it ends in failure.
I feel like Netflix One Piece was so surprisingly okay that everyone somehow forgot that every other Netflix adaptation ever sucked balls, and then got all surprised when this one was the same
i got you one better, every adaptation softened people up to be ok with them in general. the one piece adaptation was still very tokusatsu level cringe, and the bar was incredibly low for success given all the previous failures. Also people forget how bad early once piece is. it is straight garbo if you are comparing it to the rest of the big three. of course the adaptation was gonna be better than the anime
@@banquetoftheleviathan1404and I still prefer anime. Everything Jeoff was saying about how live-action cannot afford cartoon content applies to One Piece tenfold. I cannot expect anything worthwhile from people who aren't able to afford Luffy's flip-flops.
Well said!
Why is everone acting like it was so badly received? It wasn't. It has a 75% audience score on rotten tomatoes. Most viewers liked it.
@@banquetoftheleviathan1404early OP is great set up
I still dont understand why Katara is just a plank of wood as a character in the netflix one while the original feels like she's an immensely powerful goddess from Indian folktales.
For real, I'll be honest original Katara did get annoying at times, but cardboard Katara is so subservient it's actually impressive. I think part of the issue is the removal of any of Sokka's character flaws, because now there's very little confrontation within the group for her to react to.
@@jamesmolloy5350 not only you, even the characters in the original get pissed off by her bossy nature. 😃
@ssoory6343 right? But now it's just "Here's Katara, she's there, uh, yeah that's it"
@@jamesmolloy5350 totally feel that, i remember watching the show as a kid and relating so much to katara even when she was annoying because that made her seem so much more REAL
People (specifically 30+yr old men) have been cheering this change. That’s why. They learned nothing from the original show.
I felt like I just went through a therapy session where I realized that I did not need a live action version of my beloved ATLA. Halfway through this video, I asked myself what my reason was for wanting a live action version after agreeing with most of what you said, and I came up with nothing. I got through this adaptation only because I wanted to know if it would get better, I spent every episode yelling at my screen. The only properly done aspects were the portrayal of Zuko and Uncle Iroh. I love the original show and there is no way they can create its features without an extremely large budget and technological advancements, so Netflix can keep their live action. I am good.
Subscribed you've got the trifecta: actually fair analysis, humor, & a slowpoke shirt
It's kind of fascinating to see how across all 3 versions of Avatar, Zuko & Iroh's relationship consistently remains the best emotional aspect of each story
I love that anyone cast to play Zuko and Iroh immediately put their whole pussy into it.
It's always been great.
I think bc its the most Cliche story.
Man I haven’t watched your videos in a year or two but I fucken love your flow of words, it’s hilarious and thoughtful. “The sheer terror of becoming kung fu Jesus at the age of 12” got me good
The Boulder didn't watch the show, because The Boulder didn't want to change my perception of my recollection of the original.
So, The Boulder got no dog in this race. The Boulder is conflicted.
If they do season 2 and the boulder not played by the rock (which he was based off of) im not gonna be sad, just disappointed and sigh.
@@crylec6534 Not gonna lie, that sounds hilarious. I don't think they have The rock money though.
If they make the Boulder edgy and not funny, im gonna commit war crimes
@@crylec6534 in Avatar fashion, they should get a look-alike who's very obviously meant to be like the Rock but just enough off that it's hilarious
Lol more like the pebble
Ty Lee's expression was not "I wanna make mistakes with him" Ty Lee's expression was "I wanna make him worse."
😂
Suki: "I can fix him"
Yue: "I can fix him"
Ty Lee: "I can break him"
@@mario98730 Sokka: Good try, but no-
@@Sly-Moose Ty Lee: “pressure points say what?”
first time ive come across your channel - really well researched and presented and you make it really funny. keep up the good work man, had me chuckling throughout
One thing in the live action that i was thinking about, was how there wasn't really anything that made the scene intense. Except for the beginning. (Too gruesome) The music in the cartoon version was so good, that made a scene feel more intense, sad, and funny. There wasnt really any of that kind of music. I felt like there were more random base sounds, but no real music.
My big issue is them removing certain character flaws for being "problematic", to put it lightly. Characters can be flawed and they can grow, and removing that does a lot of damage. How could they not see that?
Not to sound one of those people who bitch endlessly about, ugh, "wokeness", but a gentle reminder that this is the same timeline where (a vocal minority of) some people bitched about live-action Apocalypse choking out Mystique in the trailer for the terrible _X-Men: Age of Apocalypse_ trailer. This despite Apocalypse being, you know, the literally murderous bad guy of the movie.
A lot of people are just outright dumb. It's simple as that. It's not even a "snowflake" thing or whatever the buzzword is.
they were too worried about appeasing hypothetical viewers who might be offended for a moment rather thanlet the story cook.
@@MusicoftheDamned I think it was actually the poster/billboard where they complained. The trailer probably got complaints in extension but there was a poster image of just him holding her by the neck that circulated, and the argument was that it was glorifying the moment especially for those who were not familiar with the characters or franchise. As if anyone doesn't recognize the name "X-Men" and can't tell that the dude is clearly a villain. lol
And I agree with you. I hate calling something "woke" cuz it sounds like a trendy buzzword, which then makes a person sound like they're just following a crowd of people with preset beliefs aligned with the rest of that party.
But, simultaneously, the other party (presumably) just has this IMPULSE, like a disorder, to nudge certain things that just aren't necessary. Like Katara calling herself her own master. I'm like "Damn ok so really anyone can just do it... on their own... Waterbending wasn't even that hard. You don't need a master. No one needs a master. Aang didn't eve learn waterbending and this was an adaptation of Book Water. Bro needs to Summer School now and, let me guess, Katara's gonna be his master? Because he can't just do it on his own like she did. It must be a girl thing. Like how Korra learned 3 whole elements before she was even supposed to know she was the Avatar" lol
@@MusicoftheDamned The crowd who bitch about "wokeness" do have legitimate points occasionally, the whole 'stopped clock' thing, they just then lump in those legitimate points in with any political agenda, both perceived and actual, they disagree with. There is a vocal minority, mainly on twitter and in more left leaning media, that want us to get rid of anything that could possibly offend anyone regardless of context.
Compelling flaws and personal arcs are the fundamentals of character writing. Twitter mob be damned.
There's a reason why the original creators of the cartoon left this project to begin with and you've witnessed it.
bc netflix wouldnt let them do it there way
You do know those two supported the Shyamalan version as well right? Their stuff wouldn't be praised and as good as it is without the many other writers in the animated version, it's delusional
You know they were kicked off from that one too.....@@alexandersmith4731
I enjoyed it. Watched the entire season over twice
@@bossredd-77 2edgy4me
I kept thinking of the robot devil's line that you used around 25:20 and am SO GLAD someone used it in a video lol
Yhea I tried to watch it. But couldnt make it past episode 1 with the "we need to send our warriors to the earth kingdom"
My biggest red flag was actually during the Bumi/Aang fight. Bumi uses attacks that are beat for beat the same as in the cartoon, same physical moves and everything. That, to me, screams that the show is more concerned with capturing the moment, not the meaning. The point of the fight in the original was to show off earthbending and force Aang to think outside the box. The specific choreography wasn't what mattered. Even with the change to Bumi's motivation in the fight, the specific attacks he uses don't matter, but he uses the same moves anyway.
My feelings exactly. As an Avatar adaptation, is it feels so disingenuous at times. A lot of the references to the original feel like forced fan service rather than fun little easter eggs and that immediately killed the vibe for me
They tried to mash stories together that didn't really go together. 12 episodes would be great.
in the beginning with showing the genocide of the air nomads it's like Sauron killing the combined forces of Middle Earth, its mostly there for backstory exposition, set up, and just to show off the power of the villain all things considered, because then Gyatso is played like the kind mentor figure that dies.
Instead of that hope that a mentor and friend Ang fondly remembers in fact survived, or is merely in hiding with the rest of his friends and people.
Where the once warm and comforting winds are now replaced with the cold and unforgiving answer for a forever unanswered greeting.
I can understand if they wanted to rewrite Sokka's misogyny, even then it was always painted as he was in the wrong to begin with, but okay, alright, but Ang's childlike nature and whimsy?
Due to all of this Katara doesn't get much for her character to bounce off of outside of a sibling rivalry with Sokka in the overall group dynamic all things considered. Which is a problem when you want to try and rewrite a connected group like this.
Amazing how this "more adult" adaptation manages to feel infinitely more juvenile than the original "you know, for kids" show, due to its patronizing exposition; often pretentious, joyless, self-serious dialogue; and gratuitous, unserious violence.
reminds of avatar korra
@Peayou... I mean… how?
You’re of course free to not like Korra, it has its fair share of flaws, but it isn’t any of those things
@@Peayou...aang fans strike again just randomly attacking korra for no real reason when the comment wasn’t directed towards her at all.
Plus show is that even Korra like explain?
@@dominictoth9266 I just think that the writing in the legend of Korra destroyed a lot of the atla story lines. Especially the old cast
@@Peayou...be more specific
The single part that made me just realize, oh, this is the show I'm in for was noticing that Aang's staff prop he held in scenes was just a piece of wood. As in no one actually took the time to make a physical prop that had unfolding wings and the directors were clearly just saying "we'll just cg it in post". It's the little details like that that just add up over the course of the show that just nag at you and make it feel less real.
What’s interesting about this is that the rest of the sets are pretty phenomenal so it really is questionable? Like, sure, the costumes are a bit… meh but the sets looked great. They even made Flopsy statues. So the fact that they didn’t even try to make it LOOK like wings popped out is an odd choice. Like it didn’t actually have to be a working prop (not even sure how you could make a stick that thin pop out wide enough wings?) but they could at least have put slits of some sort.
If me (a preschool teacher with background in theatre and film) can design and create this visually and understand how to make it, they most certainly can. They’re just lazy.
I've seen cosplayers that put in the effort to make a working prop. Don't see why we shouldn't expect a multimillion dollar project to do the same.
That and also how the carts in omashu were traveling upwards. Sure it sounds like a nitpic but its a detail that shows they do not ubderstand the world or avatar. Minor detail okay, but thats what atla was great at. Its attention to detail and storytelling that this show does not have. Ppl say the la is more realistic because what...they are more sad? Its such a immense cop out. Ppl can really lie to them selves so well.
Also animating the opening of the benders with cgi...why? FUCKING WHY??! YALL HAVE REAL MARTIAL ARTISTS THERE WHY TF WASTE THE MONEY TO MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE AN EARLY 2000S VIDEO GAME. Theres so many things like that where you just ask WHYYYYY?!?!?
I like that the fourth "element" couldve just been ya know. BOOKS, but he didnt go for the low hanging fruit. Great Job Geoff that was hilarious.
I really wish they just did time skips and jumps instead of trying to combine 5 episode plot lines from the cartoon into one episode of the live action. It just ruins it. The Jet episode needed to be one on its own they need to extend the season episode amounts.
You bring up a good point regarding spin-offs vs remakes. Remaking it forces the public to compare it to the beloved original. Doing a spin-off that could be focused on Zuko and Hiro or another topic, could have allowed them to focus on story areas that were more in line with the restrictions they were working with, and the tone they had in mind.
You know, listening to the you explain the possible (and very likely) reasons why some story lines were merged together or cut entirely, that reason mainly being to cut costs, save more money for the important bits, just makes me think that maybe live action is not really a great fit for this story. I mean, admittedly I already thought that way before even the godawful movie was released, but still, this just gives me more reason to believe that.
That was my take when I heard the Sozin's comet part. yeah it's reasonable to be concerned about your actors aging out of a story with a tight time frame, but maybe that's a sign that this story shouldn't be live action instead of a sign to take out the driving force behind the whole series.
Of course it isn't. The amount of budget and time and talent that would be required... there's no way Netflix of all companies would pull it off.
@@jase276there's no way anyone could pull it off. LBR Netflix Avatar is still 50% animation by weight, and even then it just can't pull off what pure 2d can
And to be fair to Netflix, the original creators would change a lot too if they remade the anime today. Because even though the point of Avatar is that its mostly a fun world spanning adventure, there are a lot of plot lines and concepts that could have been combined/ altered/ cut entirely to make the main story stronger. We saw that work very well with Netflix's One Piece, but that show is the outlier. And we have the bones of a good live action ATLA adaptation here so it's not IMpossible.
But to Geoff's point, when you're just motivated by capitalizing on an IP, AND you have creators that are a bit misguided on what is necessary to keep and cut, you get a meh adaptation
Live Action can work for this but it HAS to be a big budget. You can be penny pinching with this kind of world
Iroh wasn't Iroh. He was so damn serious the whole time. Only similarity was wanting tea.
The best part about the original Saka was how often he is constantly proven wrong at the beginning till he actually learns
I am struck with sudden terror that the moment Hayao Miyazaki dies there will be a massive rush of people trying to get the rights for live-action adaptations of his movies. And furthermore that this is the only plausible way that we'll ever see adaptation of the Nausicaa manga, because nobody in their right mind is ever going to fund the 60-episode TV anime adaptation that thing _actually deserves._
... and now I've made myself sad. ;-;
On the upside, maybe some crazy TV producer fan of Nausicaa will see the live action, cringe themselves to death so hard and be fueled with nerdrage to actually make the anime adaption happen instead.
Congratulations, 😞😞😞 You've made me sad too
ive never seen a ghibli movie and now im really sad
@@patrivkk I would highly recommend that you do
That is definitely gonna happen.
Do you know what pissed me off the most about this Aang does not water bend the entire season except for the finale when he turns into the fish just blows my mind how you don't spend 5 minutes to animate him splashing water around😂
Aang didn't learn water bending at all in this version, so why would they show that? My assumption is that they need to have time jumps in-universe in order to keep up with the actor's ages, so Aang will probably have a year long, off screen training montage in season 2.
@@chaosmkmk you are probably right. I just wish they would have had him bend water at least once 😂
Yeah I’m on episode 4 and I’m like ummmmm why isn’t he bending yet?
@@chaosmkmk That's a dumb excuse, it's not a dichotomy. They could have included SOME water bending. There's a huge difference between 0 and 100
@@alexjames7144it wouldn't make sense for him to use water bending before learning it. he'll learn it in season 2
This was a pretty balanced review of this show. I'll give it a try at some point, once my Netflix queue clear a bit.
My only nitpick with it (and it's far from the only time I've seen this) is singling out Avatar: The Last Airbender for its continuity, lore, and story arcs compared to other western cartoons when shows like Spider-Man: TAS, Exo-Squad, and especially Gargoyles were already doing many of these things.
God, I remember watching Speed Racer in theatres with my cousin. Also, Battle Angel Aelita was great
A really well thought out take, overall! I'm so glad to watch a measured response.
I do disagree about the depiction of Iroh being spot on. I felt so little genuine warmth from Iroh through the writing; it was just so serious and sad. What made Iroh so endearing was his warmth, levity, and old-man-happily-bumbling-along energy, and the weight you felt whenever he DID get serious and intense.
The actor was definitely doing the most he could with the writing he was given, but like with Aang's depiction, I really felt the loss of the playfulness and brightness in this series.
Yeah! It’s like:
Cartoon iroh: “zuko, if you are to run towards the avatar, you must make sure to not run AWAY from yourself”
Show Iroh: “ZUKO, YOU MUST BE CAREFUL IN YOUR CHASE OF THE AVATAR!”
Like he’s so direct instead of philosophical lol
It ruins the reveal and initial hit that this goofy, feng shui loving, aloof, old man actually has a really sad past where the death of his son broke him and Zuko is, in a way, his redemption.
10000000000%. Iroh was not at all like himself in this show. The actor was fine, but he was serious almost 24/7. Definitely a writing/directing problem. You're 100% right about him missing his goofiness, his warmth, and his "old-man-happily-bumbling-along energy." This in turn actually makes him feel less serious and strong when scenes call for it. It makes the moments that he's supposed to be serious far less impactful. You don't feel like he's the famed "Dragon of the West" at all tbh.
Agreed. Also, I think Iroh being a happy go lucky uncle was something he actively did to keep him and Zuko's spirits up and trying to guide him and comfort him where he could. Yes, he talks an hilarious amounts about tea and food and massages, but isn't that all about resting, taking a moment, trying to give Zuko literally any other focus aside from HONOR (I had to haha). It shows that the compassion and kindness of Iroh was strong enough to survive the death of his son and living in banishment while seeing Zuko lose himself further and further.
His speech pacing was jarring at first if you come in with the original's expectation. But once I got past that I realized this may not be the Iroh we loved, but he could be the Iroh we grow to love.
"Gaming, Anime, Cartoons, Some Fourth Thing"
Geoff putting in the same amount of effort as the Netflix Avatar
Surprised he didn’t say books😭
@@sketchycat6223Because no book has ever gotten a film adaptation that did it well enough for the fans.
Yes I'm including you, LotR. Good does not mean good enough.
@cr1197 harry potter?
did you even watch the video?
music wouldve fit
😂😂that ad for that cup had my rolling laughing .
1000% agree with Iroh and Zuko being the show's saving grace except for one little thing: Zuko actually fighting Ozai during their agni kai. Instead of refusing to fight completely, he's just reluctant at first before eventually agreeing to fight, he even gets the upper hand on Ozai before holding back. That's what causes Ozai to permanently scar his only son and banish him to complete an impossible task.
This has two pretty big impacts. First, Zuko's complete refusal to fight his father because they're family tells us who he really is on the inside and just how different he is from Ozai and Azula. But why have consistent writing when you can have a cool fight scene?
The second is the fact that Zuko actually gets the upper hand on Ozai. Ozai, who for most of the original show is this faceless monster, the only thing Aang knows about him is that he's the strongest fire bender there is and he's supposed to somehow stop him. We don't even see his face until the third season because he was that out of reach of our heroes. Meanwhile in the Netflix show, Ozai's snot nosed thirteen year-old kid almost kicked his ass. How is any viewer supposed to find Ozai intimidating when he can murder defenseless rebels and pick on his daughter but apparently not beat a thirteen year old in a one on one fight?
so, here's a way to make airbending effects actually look like air:
1. pressure differentials in the air refract light differently. you can see this in shockwaves from explosions and transsonic cones created by aircraft.
2. heat shimmers aren't really from heat itself but rather from the thermal expansion caused on the air which lowers its density
3. Rayleigh scatteting. which is also why aerogels look blue. it's not actually because they used blue resin but because the particles scatter light in a way similar to how the atmosphere does.
4. pressure differentials can also cause spontaneous evaporation and condensation.
in summation: blue tinged lensing, diffraction, and shimmering with just a faint wisping of mist would pull it off way better than copious amounts of dust.
All that put together sounds like a more complex version of airbending in the original show. Awesome 😁
you're telling me the M Night "blue air" streaks are actually accurate and even cool (I love Rayleigh scattering)?? damn, that gives me pause
@@Shrooblordonly if the air is really thick? it's a property of air, idk how much you'd need to compress it to make it visibly blue like liquid oxygen
the show's principal flaw in my eyes is lack of patience. It wants to get to those fan-favorite moments and character arcs as quickly as possible, accidentally tipping their hand too soon. They are too quick to reveal azula and zuko's sympathetic sides, not allowing them time to become detestable, meaning that zuko's arc for instance isn't gonna feel like much of a contrast to his prior behavior anymore. they also just can't help themselves but to show off ozai in what feels like every third scene, spoiling much of the intrigue surrounding him.
You're so right! Excellent point!
Absolutely. On one hand, in live action every second tends to have a much higher price than animation, not to mention the logistics involved if something needs re-shot, so it's natural that there would be fewer episodes and less total runtime. On the other, that means that an adaptation has to be pragmatic, it doesn't have to show every little detail, but it does need to maintain the important arcs. And that's where I feel it falls short, it hits a lot of setpieces from the show but the space between them is mostly just rushing to the next setpiece.
Sure, we don't have *time* for a half-hour episode where no plot progress was made but we spend time with the characters and getting to know them, but just cutting those out entirely turns the adaptation into a caricature of the original. It's got all those big scenes we remember, because it's going down them like a checklist.
@@Shadewaltz they've planted the seeds but they're not willing to let them grow before harvesting them
Absolutely. For example, the episode Zuko alone in season 2 is easily my favorite of the series. That said, it only actually works because of what we've seen of Zuko thus far. We understand why he acts the way he does, and it also effects him as the series progresses.
@@rpsyco zuko isn't compelling simply cuz he's a good guy. He's compelling cuz he used to not be one. The live action show pretty much immediately tells us he is going to turn good eventually
why would you need a live action remake in the first place? what does it add?
I could see a video game, I could see a live action new original content.
but why remake?
I will admit, it had some good parts to it, like say, the scene with Iroh and Zuko at Lu Ten's funeral
"He's still a lot of the other important Sokka stuff. You know, the meat and sarcasm."
My first thought: WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS BOOMERANG?!?
It's in there.
yea people commenting and shitting on it and didnt even watch it. average internet users.
Boomie lives!
@@Dairkunyup, it sure is.
@@jolteon8213 My thought was based on his quote. Back in the original when he was trapped in the hole and his boomerang betrayed him he was pleading with a lionbear cub and promised to give up sarcasm and meat, because that's basically all he's got. He's the Meat and Sarcasm guy.
Later when he lost his boomerang entirely he was nothing more than the ponytail guy.
Zuko's notebook was a really stupid thing to add, as it was the reason why they went to Kiyoshi Island. They only needed to add it because they removed Aang's playfulness. And because they removed Aang's playfulness, he didn't have any reason to go to Kiyoshi Island, as the only reason they went there, was to ride the Giant Koi. They wrote themselves into a corner and had to add something that's completely out of character for Zuko.
At the same time, the only reason Aang, Katara, and Sokka left in the original show was to find Aang a waterbending teacher at the North Pole, and (hopefully) get him to teach Katara as well. Sokka is mostly there to protect Katara. Again; they removed something from the original show which wasn't necessary, so they had to write in something (Kiyoshi's clairvoyance) that's worse.
As for Bumi; him becoming bitter is completely out of character, as it was his endless optimism which helped him show Aang that sometimes waiting for the right moment to strike is the right way to go about things. He used this exact same 'strategy' to wait for the solar eclipse and take back Omashu by himself. Bumi also taught Aang to realize that things aren't always as they seem, which is a lesson that taught Aang to save Zuko when his mask got knocked off, and at the North Pole. He saw that Zuko wasn't necessarily evil, just that they had different perspectives.
The new show looks the part, but it doesn't understand the original.
there were a lot of sub characters that got swept under the rug. They were just there to move the plot along. Made me sad. The Bumi twist was the most disappointing. I'm not sure, but their adventure of traveling made the world small, did Aang really just leave sokka and katara's body on a stump for a few days to go see avatar roku? Does Aang fly at mach 3 speed or something.
It is 100% in character for Zuko to keep notes of his search for the Avatar. Zuko is hot headed but he is not dumb, will he remember everything in his head for 2 years? Would Zuko trust someone else to keep track of the avatar?
@@rosco3 Zuko is smart enough to remember those things himself
@@DutchKirby it has nothing to do with smartness. 2 years is not something you remember everything in detail
@@rosco3 it’s still only something they had to include because they removed something from the original
My fanfic for irohs leaves of the vine scene would be a modified version not the true original as thats makos song as stated by greg baldwin as to why hell never preform it. Have iroh forget something like a flint and because zukoh doesnt want to risk him using firebending around anyone he rushes to find iroh to get it back to him. Finding iroh just after singing the song and wiping his tears away before his nephew can see them he hugs him zukoh.asking if anything is wrong with iroh saying never been better and invites him for tea on the hill
13:42 what if they just added a blue tint to the air to make it like the show? Like a neon blue energy in the air.
The whole show has this weird Uncanny Valley effect for me. It gets so close to being exactly right but there's enough change that something feels off. It's good in its moments but as a whole I feel falls flat. And the Volume AR wall doesn't help. It makes small writing changes, but these changes fundamentally change the characters. Aang doesn’t really run away. He goes to clear his head. So Aang shouldn’t have the guilt when called a coward like he does in the original. But they still do it anyway. They call him a coward and blame him for running away when that’s not what happened. And I think removing Sokka's sexism could've worked if they had instead just made it about straight ego. If he had claimed to be the best worry in his village, he would have been taken down a massive peg in realizing that he was the biggest of fishes in the smallest ponds. And that was his humbling, through general ego and machismo without it being sexist. They made it so Ozai doesn't utterly hate Zuko, shifting Zuko's entire dynamic with Azula and shifting Azula’s arc from being the perfect child protege vs. Zuko's constant hard work to where that dynamic no longer exists. The notion that Azula was born lucky and Zuko was lucky to be born is integral to their dynamic. And then Ozai gives Zuko his due credit, something he never would’ve done in the original because he hated him too much. Even though it served to pit Azula against Zuko, they wouldn’t have had to do it if they had kept that original dynamic. This show, like a lot of fans do, also gets Kyoshi completely wrong. Here, she comes off as vengeful and angry. That's not Kyoshi. If you read the books, it's very clear that Kyoshi has a strong sense of justice and will use scare tactics but she is also incredibly compassionate and is willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. She doesn't needlessly take revenge. She takes action when warranted. But they nailed Iroh and Zuko's dynamic, if a little shallower. They're the best part of the show. And I like that we see Zuko actually do research on the Avatar and learn all he can about what he is searching for instead of going in blind That's something we never say in the original about his hunt for the Avatar. The only thing we know is he checked all the Air Temples and sacred sights first and that it took 3 years.
The anime/cartoon is more mature than the like action which is ironic when they said they wanted to make it more like game of throne
"It gets so close to being exactly right" it really wasnt that close. Aesthetically it was on point but the whole script was WAY off.
Regarding Kyoshi... most people haven't read the novels so we can't really tell how much her character was changed. All we know is "I killed Chin the conqueror"
@@crystalclear7512 They're right. Yes she's stoic and the books give much more depth to her personality and how she became the person who we remember as, but I feel like they also managed to make her come across as someone who does what needs to be done in her eyes.
Like with Chin, she gave him the chance to back off but instead greed took over. She didn't want to take the violent route, but because Chin didn't relent, she had to choose violence. Even if it didn't get shown as her directly killing him, she never was vengeful or extremely angry in the original show.
What worries me is that people who haven't read the books nor even watched the original will remember Kyoshi as a tall ass woman who is just yelling at Aang for being too much of a pussy. Which is not what she is nor stands for. That's what made me feel pretty bummed out by the Netflix adaptation. They just completely missed the mark on that one.
Sokka's character arc is still someone forced out of a small town and gradually seeing the advantages of leaving.
I think saying that his sexism was removed is an exaggeration. First off woman are flat out throwing themselves at him as if he were some sort of god. Second he has an aptitude for science that seems to come out of nowhere and be beyond any woman in the series. Third his relationship with his sister is actively sexist as opposed to just written sexist like the first two and there is an arc to fixing it.
I know it's been said time and again, but it feels like there would be a little bit less cheapness feeling from a lot of the general design if they...y'know...let things get dirty?
A common reoccuring problem with live action adaptations in specific is this...overly polished, theater-level costuming decision where the attire is perfectly kept clean, and it leads to feeling like nothing in this universe is really *lived* in at all, that the characters are just kinda wearing a costume. This can extend to pure animated CG things as well by the way.
It's why an animated movie like Rango is so often beloved: not just because it's funny or beautiful, but because it's...ugly, but in an intentional way. Characters are soaked with dirt and grime, their facial hair is unkempt and messy, their clothes are ripped and torn all over the place, etc. It doesn't feel artificial.
Its not the best example, but I always think back to the behind the scenes stuff for the later harry potter movies where they show racks of the same costume in different states of wear and tear. Costume designers are just as good at taking clothing apart as they are putting it together, let them do their thing! Real clothes (especially in a pre-industrial world) have flaws, fraying, and stains. It pulls me out of so many scenes just looking at the spotless costumes.
As a cosplayer, this explains SO MUCH about why I find these adaptations uncanny! I have a ton of experience with what cosplayers look like vs what actors look like in worn/weathered costumes, and so I've been subconsciously seeing all these actors in perfectly pristine costumes as cosplayers and not characters. Thanks for the insight!
Yess one of my biggest WHYYYYs also... and like, seriously, WHY THE HELL would they make these choices?! I don't get it. It all looks fake. No real world-building of any kind, instead just as you say a theater style of staging... and I've seen theater productions that had me believe their world way more than this crap.
Couldn't say it better myself, they all look like Walmart Halloween costumes, they're stiff, bulky and pristine, so much so they look fake and takes you out. Also the wigs, oh god thr wings why are they so bad Jesus
I only got through the first episode AND after he started flying around i was thinking 'why am i watching another air bender animation, the first one was unbeatable.'
All flash, no substance. Iroh is a wise goofball, this one feels like he's pretending to be wise. Azula is cold, precise, but deeply insecure, this one felt like a child throwing tantrums. Pakku was not sexist, he was resentfull, this one was just muh patriarchy. Ironically, katara was strong, indepent and had a personality, this one was stock girl #73. And bumi, oh boy, I always made a parallel between him telling aang to think outside the box and everyone pressuring him on killing ozai, to him finding a way to not betray his moral code.
The decision to make Zuko's soldiers more personal to him is definitely my favorite addition to the story
They make a lot of smaller choices where you can tell the people working on it love the original show. It just makes some of the worse decisions more confusing. They will elevate some material and then water down others
@@moonsword1994 The thing is, that specific form of arrogance doesn't make sense for a tyrant in a show that's mostly going for, for lack of a better word, "realism." Someone in Ozai's position with Ozai's faults should be more-than-usually suspicious of potential coups or rebellions, not less. It's a good change in terms of Zuko and his men, but the way Ozai's decision is implemented in the story weakens his characterization in turn, in the sense that it's what a cartoon evil king would do, not what a real one would do, and the whole selling point of this adaptation is that it isn't cartoonish. I think they could've wrote that detail into it in a way that would uphold the nature of both characters instead of only one.
In real feudal societies, just becoming too successful as a general could provoke your ruler into taking steps to curtail your career, and in some such societies there were even strict rules about not bringing too many of the country's own soldiers into the vicinity of their capital, because coups were too much of a concern.
Would explain why the fire lord was okay with wasting military resources on a banished prince during war time. One thing to give him a ship and crew, but actual soldiers? That doesn't seem like something you give out to someone that's going on an impossible task, especially at war time. Unless of course they were delinquent soldiers or something.
@@Dvids2020military rescources? It‘s one small ship witg maybe a douzen or so men. He has literally hundreds of thousands of men at his disposal and the war is going extremely well
@@moonsword1994 For starters, Zuko wasn't banished for defending those men. Agni Kai was the way to settle this matter. What he was banished for was showing compassion to his father by not burning him (which was much weaker reason than the OG show but let's leave that). Ozai just decided on a whim, for no reason that he is going to give the division to Zuko. Just because. It didn't make any sense from Ozai's perspective. It was only done for making people emotional. Your explanations is an impressive example of bending over backwards to justify that change but totally unconvincing.
Also, it basically said that if Zuko saved those soldiers' lives he has the right to treat them like garbage. At the beginning the crewmen are rightly frustrated with how Zuko disrespects them. But they learn that he defended them and saved their lives (although it was Ozai's utterly stupid decision to spare them against any better judgement) so now they worship him and are totally fine with being treated like shit? No. Even if you save someone's life, you don't have the right to push that person around just because that person knows that "deep down you really care". It's still abuse. But the show basically says that this is perfectly fine.
What really sucks is I can see some Netflix suits pointing at the mixed-to-negative response to this series and saying "See? We told you nobody wants this cartoon stuff!" and using that as a reason to turn down other animation projects. It seems like studios always learn the wrong lessons from these kinds of things.
Well good then!! They'll keep their filthy maws off our beloved stories!!
@@ladybookworms yeah, but they’ll also never give new ones a chance to grow and gain an audience for themselves because of this self fulfilling prophecy.
actually, that's a blessing in disguise
@@autisticallyartistic5882 true but Netflix cant have everything and be the only streaming giant to open that door of opportunity/coverage, that one of the reason they are so arrogant and believed '' they know best ''. also the basket cases officials heading this projects will keep corrupting these source materials if they don't get replaced with better professionals and Netflix is not eager to make that revival.
They'll take the message that the problem must have been the few bits of levity they let through and that they just needed to go edgier and grittier. Remove cabbage guy and any attempt at a joke from Sokka. Dial up the angst. Make Aang into an anti-hero who just straight murders people. Give Appa an eyepatch.
I rewatched the original A:TLA series last year (having it all on Netflix was convenient) and it still holds up very well.
I’ve said it to my friends on premiere, and I still stand by it: the live action show’s biggest problem is the fact the original cartoon exists. The comparison is crushing. There’s a bunch of genuinely good (or at least decent) ideas, some good attempts at doing something different - but here’s the thing, the cartoon did not NEED any of those changes. The things the live action tried to improve (and failed most of the time) did not need to be improved. If this was a new IP, or at least a new story in the Avatar universe, our reviews would’ve been much better. Heck, we may have collectively lost our shit over it. But what we got is a mediocre adaptation that was kind of cool sometimes.
While watching the show I immediately thought of a no cost solution to the Elephant Koi that originally brought Team Avatar to Kyoshi island.
Aang wants to stop by Kyoshi island to ride the elephant koi as normal.
They come by and Aang remarks on how he can't see the koi swimming in Kyoshi bay. They land and start talking to the locals. The tribe informs Team Avatar that the Elephant Koi were hunted down by the Fire nation to feed their armies, and those that were left migrated away from the polluted waters.
Maintains Aangs playful spirit; doesn't require extra sets or shots; doesn't require expensive CG fish or the Unagi; gives the audience more reason to dislike the fire nation; gives an opportunity to talk about balance in the world.
comments like this one shows how bad are Netflix writers and guionists lol its like they didnt even tried
Now that I think about it, it's kind of perfect that anime Sokka ends up using a sword. Just like a sword starts as a lump of raw ore, Sokka starts as a backwards imbecile before his many experiences hone him into a razor sharp tactician and all around great guy.
You do that the original show of Avatar The Last Airbender isn't actually an anime, right?
I mean, it was made by Nickelodeon, which is an American company.
Anime is animation originating from Japan.
Just want to correct you on that.
@@PS4Patthat's great, buddy.
One small problem. *_W H O A S K E D_*
@@X-SPONGED, the only problem here is the one you're wanting to make out of it.
If lord_kyjax4450 has a problem with me informing them, they can let me know.
@@PS4Pat hey dude even japan sees it as an anime so again nobody cares about how you wanna view shit by popular opinion even by japans standards its an anime
@@kdastronaut171, first, there could be Some who Might care about the difference, so I wouldn't say "No one cares".
Second, even if Japan sees it as an anime, it still doesn't make it an anime.
(refer to my original reply for the point)
Thirdly, for the record, I actually learned that from Doug Walker's Nostalgia Critic.
Now I'll tell you, just like I told X-SPONGED. If lord_kyjax4450 has a problem with me informing them about it, They can let me know.
I remember prior to the show coming out there were articles about how they 'toned down sokka's sexism' and while many were raging, I was hoping 'ok they said toned down, not eliminated'. Boy was I wrong.
bro I'm subscribing just off the intro...needed that laugh💯
Question: why do we NEED a live action adaption of everything? Why do the majority of people feel a live action would improve upon its animated roots when pretty much every time its nowhere near as good. Can we have more animated adaptions of live action stuff? Would at least make those films and shows look more interesting at least.
True
Because animation in the west has the stigma of being “for kids only”, thus people will try to make them live action because “we made this kid story socially acceptable for adults to consume” despite being a worse than the original
@@typemasters2871 I really dislike how that stigma still persists in North America. People have been proving that perception wrong since the 70s with stuff like Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings movie, and it has continued to be proven wrong with shows like Arcane. What will it take for that stigma against animation to finally end?
@@matthewmuir8884 my best guess is that it originates from “infantilisation”.
As in animation is usually used for shows aimed at a pre-school audience because animation fits better for conveying story book style settings (Bluey with CGI wouldn’t work as well as Animated Bluey does), plus the exaggerated expressions help pre-school viewers understand/learn expressions.
From there when a child grows up there is a period where they don’t want to be viewed as a child, so most people achieve this by trying to distance themselves from ANYTHING they did when they were younger (no more juice, cartoons, or fun video games, only alcohol, live action remakes, and AAA shooters because only grownups enjoy those). Some people do eventually mature and realise that they can enjoy almost anything they want (as long as it isn’t illegal) but there are those who keep holding onto the mindset of “you must abandon anything and everything you did when you were a kid because you’re a grownup and you will be ostracised by society if you don’t”.
Honestly never knew about the stigma myself, I mean I do, but never would of thought it was such a big deal to be a huge reason for live adaptations. For me personally, I just like seeing things done in real life. It’s like playing pretend as a kid and letting your imagination merge with reality. For example, Star Wars started out as “live action.” It made fantasy a reality, and I think a lot of people enjoy that.
20:40 - "And then a tidal wave snuck up on him" had me laughing so hard
Suddenly hearing the song Iroh sings at 37:56 legit made me start crying
"This adaptation failed to cinematically show" something important, so we need painful exposition, defines this show's core problems pretty well.
In the original, we are introduced to Sokka and Katara's conflict over her waterbending with: "Why is it that every time _you_ play with magic water, _I_ get wet!?" In this show, we instead get Sokka explaining at length why waterbending is a bad idea, and his reasons hold way less water than his emotional annoyance did.
The positive comments I keep hearing about this series mostly boil down to "that was a really convincing visual representation of a thing I loved about the original." It's the kind of comment you'd give someone who did really good cosplay or made a great halloween costume, but the series itself has no soul, and most importantly, there is nothing that a live-action adaptation can add to the original animated series. I wish Netflix would throw its money at new and original stories instead of trying to cash in on lazy nostalgia.
This.......like i say, the only things the live-action series has over the movie are the cosplay and better fight choreography. The movie even had a more immersive environment
Literally. And this is the case with 100% of the live action remakes. Live action lion king, mulan, and now this. Its not that these are bad, per se. But they don't add anything. They don't do anything. At best they're a 0. Sure, that's better than a negative score. But a 0 is an awful score. It's equivalent to watching paint dry for a few hours. Just... nothing of value.
@@lucass8119 The Lion King remake isn’t even live action by any stretch of the definition.
@@lucass8119 Well said.
@@lucass8119 Live action One Piece, Alita: Battle Angel and Speed Racer were all good and did add things. The vast majority of live-action adaptations don't add anything and are cynically born from the idea in North America that animation is solely the realm of kids' media, but it is possible for a live-action adaptation to add things and be good.
Parts I liked:
•The bitter Earth Kingdom soldier confronting a captured Iroh about the General's past trangressions and all the carnage he and the rest of the Fire Nation caused during the seige of Ba Sing Se. Honestly, that's some fair beef.
•June actually hitting on Iroh and playfully calling him cute instead of him just one-sidely creeping on her. A truly blessed change.
•Aang and Monk Gyatso's expanded father son relationship. Very wholesome.
•little Katara being present to witness her mother being killed in the raid. It sets up her survivor's guilt and explains her intense trauma knowing that her mother died protecting her as the only waterbender left in the southern tribe
•Avatar Kiyoshi possessng Aang's body while he is at her shrine and absolutely wrecking shop to chase the firebenders off her island
•Zuko and Aangs extended conversation in the blue spirit episode when Aang thanks Zuko for teaching him about the avatar indirectly through his stolen journal. It foreshadows Zuko being a mentor figure to Aang later on.
•Zuko presenting Iroh with the same medal Lu Ten had given to him earlier at the wake to commiserate their shared grief and comfort his uncle after the loss of his son
Parts I didn't like as much:
Mai and Ty Lee just already being there at the Fire Lord's palace to cheer on Azula during her training. Like why? There is nothing for them to do really except to be vaguely encouraging. The scenes in the original series where Azula recruits them for her mission are some of the best, especially Ty Lee, so I kinda don't know what they are gonna do now.
•Katara getting the waterbending scroll from her Gran Gran instead of stealing it from pirates. It's just so much less interesting and we don't get any of the character development or the consequences that come from that decision as a result
•Katara's mother's necklace not being mentioned even once. Not when they are in disguise sneaking their way into Omashu and especially not when it matters at the culmination of her fight with Master Pakku.
•Zhao being the one to attack Kiyoshi Island instead of Zuko, also their Agni Kai being omitted, and generally Zhao being way more subtle about his straight up bullying and humiliation of a sixteen year old. I feel like his character is toned down a lot.
•How many times Aang tells says he doesn't know what he's doing/how to be the avatar. We get it.
•I know that they are shuffling events around, but where is Jeong Jeong?
•Hakoda and Bato talking about how disappointed they are in Sokka over how badly he supposedly did on his ice dodging trial after congratulating him in the tent for passing, ceremony and all, just a few minutes ago. I know it's supposed to be a painful memory for Sokka, but that seems pretty cruel.
•Zuko and Katara fighting at the North pole not over Aang's vuneralble body while he's meditating into the spirit world, but just to show off Katara's supposed mastery of waterbending I guess. Way to completely miss the point guys.
•Zhao being 'killed' not by the vengeful ocean spirit, but by being knocked off the ice bridge he was standing on by a fireball
I agree with you on a lot of points, however,
*im not that invested on believing Azula didn't just have these girls as friends rather than recruiting them, I just am find with either.
*Maybe we don't need too many references If the necklace didn't need the place in the battle to remind him of his lost love & Aang doesn't need to retrieve it at any point to get a cheek kiss (if they aren't doing the "love scenarios, because of the age difference? Shes 17 i think & will be well over age by the end?) I read comment rumors there might be a toph love story? Might not be true. I guess Im ok with that. I mean these are human beings, they are going to age during this process. It happens, I get it. While I would have been happier had they cast a say 13 year old Katara, they didn't, so I'm looking at it like an alternate universe Avatar & enjoying the ride.
*If they are going to approach his other bending abilities in the next season, seeing he's told Katara he wasn't ready to learn water, it would be weird if he was fine with fire? So I;m guessing next season is the Jeong Jeong appearance.
*I liked seeing Iroh save Zuko, after Zuko spared him. I would have rather watched Zuko take him out, but, I was happy he had that reassurance again from Iroh, that his back was had.
*That being said, Im super said they turned down the volume on Katara. She almost seems muted or dulled, unsaturated. Being a powerful female does not mean you aren't a caretaker personality. That same caretaker personality will fight to the death to protect you.
I’m fine with Azula having friends in general. Flashbacks in the animated series portray Mai, Ty Lee and Azula being close during their childhoods and Azula only tracking them both down years later, but not really just to catch up like buddies do, but more so she can coerce them into helping her with her mission to hunt down her fugitive brother and uncle. I’m not surprised we didn’t see Jeong Jeong in season one. The deserter himself even tells Aang that he isn’t ready to learn firebending yet in that episode, but Aang is just desperate to find teachers and master the elements after Roku warns him the approach of Sozin’s comet during the solstice episode, which is irrelevant here because that also doesn’t happen in this version, so I can understand why the didn’t include him in this season. I just hope they don’t skip him entirely. The necklace being used in a way so that Aang can return it to Katara for some affection is meh, so that particular scene being omitted is fine, but I did miss that she never indicates how special and important it is to her because it is her only treasured keepsake to remember her mother by. In the animated show, Pakku seeing the engagement necklace he carved for the former love of his life, Kanna again after so many years is what finally brings him around and forces him to re-examine his worldview. He lost the love of his life because he was too entrenched in his tribes internalized misogyny regarding women learning water bending techniques intended for combat. In the Netflix version, he just kind stops being sexist after he sees that a woman can fight and basically declares Katara a master without even offering to train her further. I’m not saying it has to play out exactly. Like it did in the original, just that what they did change, to me, feels weaker and more shallow. However this is just my silly personal opinion. Anyone who may disagree is certainly free to do so.
I'm going to hard disagree with the Zuko Aang scene after the prison break.
It was a concise and powerfully somber scene that was needlessly stretched out and lost almost all of the impact from the original in my eyes.