a deep dive into everything wrong with the new avatar show

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it's finally time! we can finally talk about it!! my excessively long, in depth review of all 8 episodes of netflix's avatar the last airbender!
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timestamps:
- intro: 0:00
- atlas coffee: 1:20
- spoiler free/overall thoughts: 2:45
- episode 1: 10:01
- episode 2: 26:25
- episode 3: 35:02
- episode 4: 44:11
- episode 5: 51:27
- episode 6: 56:15
- episode 7: 1:02:52
- episode 8: 1:08:43
- final thoughts: 1:10:16
- outro: 1:11:18
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[@AClockworkReader]

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[@sentimentalcircuscurator]

You know, I really REALLY feel you, when it comes to the "modern adaptations". We all WANT to be impressed, right? "WOWED" even ?Regardless of the show or when it was made but alas, (leans hard into facepalm in heavy silence and a tired side-eye stare).Youre not mean or negative. I CAN be though. We just want people to, MAKE AN EFFORT. And to RESPECT the characters and the STORY. Now I CAN STILL BE MEAN, but, mostly just want people to MAKE AN EFFORT, and, FIND THE HEART of whatever franchise their trying to "make something of". When you see something or someone you love being insulted or disrespected, wont you "speak up and try to defend your friend" ? Of course you would. Its the same with a show you love. I feel the same about the show "Shogun"s character, Lady Mariko Toda. Im not saying THE SHOW isnt entertaining, but, this role was "deeper than the actress trying to portray her", lets just say....Miss Anna Sawai would likely be the earliest to leave a game of "Texas Hold em". I was still entertained. But the original cast ? Top Notch quality ALL THE WAY. People who KNEW what they were doing. ALL THE ACTORS, regardless of which country they came from.

[@The_onset_tutor]

Not to be rude, but Why haven’t you answered my question yet?

[@klutz8019]

You want to hear another stat that might upset you even more? The original Book 1 had 477 minutes of screen time, and the Netflix version has 430 minutes of screen time. That means they dumped so many plot points and character development because of 47 minutes of less screen time... That includes the Great Divide episode that could easily be cut from the Netflix rendition and still lose nothing (one of my least favorite episodes of the original).

[@conradaster3764]

I feel like they adapting The Boy In The Iceberg from the Ember Island Players by mistake

[@sanderengelen9140]

Katara not saying her iconic line “We’re your family now” and replacing it with the uninspiring, overused “You realize how strong you are when you’re alone” made me pause for 30 minutes to go on a walk to reconsider my life choices istg

[@AClockworkReader]

oh that BOILED MY BLOOD

[@jacksonconnell]

WHAT?? I haven't seen it yet and yet -- WHAT THE HELL

[@nope19568]

and like what kills me about that is i agree with that criticism of that line in the og of it feeling too soon they couldve fixed the whole thing by changing like two words 'we'll be your family now!'

[@icecreamguru7584]

my only issue with that is that katara says "it's when you learn to fight" but we never saw how she learned to fight after her mom died. the family thing came in ep8 which to be fair makes more sense cause ep3 in the original is so quick for her to call them family and I love kiawentiio but she said that Katara losing her mom was a blow to her confidence and that really shocked me cause like... no it wasn't

[@wuzzgoinon3674]

HAHAHA I nearly quit watching right there

[@arielvandell8648]

I was pissed when Azula back talked to ozai, like that is NOT Azula. She is calculating and cold and doesn’t just have random outbursts until THE LAST SEASON where she finally loses her marbles. She’s genuinely a psychopath and in the live action she’s just an angsty teenager 😑😑

[@SvenVersluis]

I had the exact same thought, like when she refused to fight and pick an opponent, the original Azula wouldn't have refused, she would've fought all three of them simultaneously. Also she felt way too aggressive when she trains/fights, Azula is precise and deadly and her firebending is very controled, not these wild uncontroled flames.

[@jamesremus07]

Yeaahhh Adult had trash writing, pretty bad acting. Nothing at all like the anime character

[@cha0ticneutralbigs]

Maybe let’s not use mental health terms to describe evil people

[@meatmeatmeatmeatmeatmeatmeatme]

@@cha0ticneutralbigs she literally possesses practically all of the psychopathic traits. She is a psychopath.

[@aanyamallick7747]

Also, she fears Ozai AND admires him😂😂

[@RootMenu]

If Zuko has a journal with all the info about the previous avatars - then he already knows that he's descended from Roku.

[@ensemblestars_]

omg so true 😭 i literally cried about that in the og show

[@antonypastrikos7036]

Holy shit you're right, how would he not know that later on. Guess it will be a plothole later on, if they do continue this abysmal adaptation

[@nicholasstockbridge5702]

Not necessarily, that part was basically erased from Fire Nation History. Which would have been hidden away by Sozen. So by the time Zuko was trying to find things out about the Avatars. He may not have come across that information. It also could have been hidden by. But that same hole is in the cartoon. Ursa his mother never told Zuko about great grandpa Roku

[@Ziaotic]

that was secret Fire Nation knowledge so not necessarily

[@nicholasstockbridge5702]

@antonypastrikos7036 nah man, it was secret firenation info. Sozen would have hidden that information. (Which he did) Also Roku could have been dead before Ursa was born. so Ursa may not even known.

[@erincaldwell5203]

Toph, an Empath, will just sense that Aang is upset he’s having trouble learning earth bending. Great writing, Netflix, thanks!!

[@StarryEyed0590]

Trying to imagine Toph having the power to sense people's emotions is actually hilarious

[@bumbabees]

"toph, an empath" killed me.

[@asmr_reviews]

Aang will have no trouble earth bending because Toph is such a flexible empathetic teacher that considers his feelings 😂

[@DaughterofAslan16]

Toph, an Empath 🤣🤣🤣

[@coin5207]

Actually why introduce Toph at all? He can just learn Earth bending off screen between season 1 and 2. Come to think of it why even keep Katara around, she can literally just give Aang her scroll that gets you from zero to waterbending master in 2 days.

[@IfThisWasANovel]

“I’m not trying to insult anybody, I just want us to have higher standards.” Yesssss that’s what I want too 😫

[@TheCloudRazorable]

Cause what do ppl mean “just stop complaining and try to enjoy it” how about NO. How about we have better critical thinking skills!

[@nope19568]

​@@TheCloudRazorableTHIS! just because you can tune out and ignore all the blatant flaws doesnt mean i can!

[@juliabishop1408]

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@Eboshis_right_arm]

​@@TheCloudRazorableyessssss omfg

[@arin1211]

It insulting to the people who know better…

[@coffeebean_]

"I am a warrior but I'm also a girl" I've always loved that line, I'm so sad it wasn't incorporated

[@etienne8110]

Tbf i d wouldn t have fit in the changed they made. They butchered the whole kyoshi island arc. At least they had the decency to not undeservingly claim the pay off of that line. I hope they do suki better in the following seasons, the character and actress deserve it.

[@bleechrcreechrr]

People wouldn't like that because femininity is still being demonized by pop culture. All female heroes are in pop culture have to be strong badasses who never show the slightest sign of vulnerability. If she had said that line people (non atla fans) would have taken it as weakness, implying being a girl is a handicap

[@grmgt]

They stripped us of SO MANY good lines -and that's because they stripped us of the characters. One i missed right from the bat is Zuko going "you're just a kid!" and Aang "and you are just a teenager!". Like that says so much, like the Suki line and all the others. But no, they took it away and replaced with NOTHING as meaningful ffs.

[@etienne8110]

@@grmgt or even the first scene when aang and katara are gliding on penguins. Katara "i havent done that since i was a kid" Aang "but you are still a kid". Short but shows how war and the loss of her mother affected katara and hiw she had to grow up to step in her mother s shoes for the home... Lots of narration in just two lines...

[@grmgt]

@@etienne8110 YES! This one too. They behave like they need to cut so much for time then WHY cut lines that convey sooo much in a short period of time? Make it make sense!!!

[@alejandrovallencci]

I knew we were in trouble when expository water tribe grandma straight up told Aang the airbenders were dead rather than letting him find out on his own. What the hell was the process behind that

[@sarahthomas8670]

Same

[@johanneswalter1531]

Katara and Sokka going through the cave of two lovers together and the creators saying they wanna make the show more like Game of Thrones is a weird combination...

[@Skypuppy-rk2cn]

Oh god. Haven't thought about that before. Was joking about "cave of incest" but didn't make the connection to GOT. Jesus☠

[@maxkrystal7403]

Sweet home foggy swamp tribe

[@danidelight]

​@@maxkrystal7403😭😭😭

[@dragonmaster1360]

@johanneswalter1531 I was thinking the same thing when I first learned about that. The Cave of Two Lovers was a story relating directly to LOVERS. As in, romantic/s-xual love. Not sibling love. It felt creepy as heck having Sokka and Katara together in the cave, in a position that's supposed to be Aang and Katara. Definitely feels like they're removing the Katara/Aang love plot.

[@steffiepala6723]

After seeing how they handled Katara, Azula and Suki, I don’t even want to imagine what they’re going to do to Toph’s character 😵‍💫

[@brunocabruaca1378]

u just killed me now, good point 🫠

[@CJAmara]

Oh gosh, I hadn’t allowed myself to think this far in advance. Now I’m scared

[@happilyevernever4289]

She'd prolly see by screaming like a sonar.

[@SnorriSnibble]

Let's just hope they cancel the show before that happens...

[@brunocabruaca1378]

@@SnorriSnibble i mean, its already announced to be streamed untill season 3 and making numbers so yeah there we go

[@cathy4697]

I heavily dislike the majority sentiment of "oh its fine, its just mid you're overreacting, they tried". Why would I want to replace a masterpiece with mid. Why even attempt it if you're willing to settle for just okay. Then come up with your own story instead!!!

[@victoriagomez9009]

Fr

[@jhmi7877]

That is honestly what's gotten me so irritated with this whole thing. I remember someone say, "this adaptation needs to prove it has a reason to even exist." The fact that it's worse than the original and it stripped it of its mean... what's the point of its existence other than to give people a worse impression about ATLA as a whole? Why would anyone who actually loves the original want that?

[@BruceWayne-wh4of]

Ok, but why do you view the existence of this adaptation as "replacing" the original? They both exist on their seperate terms, and even if a new viewer doesn't get anything out of this Netflix show, he can still enjoy the animated series. There's really nothing wrong with making this adaptation, even if it didn't meet the standard.

[@pauleean4364]

@@BruceWayne-wh4of The thing is this story has already been made, it doesn't need to be re-made. There is a broader trend of making live action adaptations of animated shows that really only serves to devalue animation as an art form. The only reason any of these get made is because some one decided that some animated show is good enough to get a "proper" version. If it was announced that netflix was making an animated version of breaking bad people would rightly complain about how pointless it is to even attempt to create something like that. But that will never happen, because live action is seen as "true" art while animation is seen as some lesser art form by the people that green light these shows/movies.

[@BruceWayne-wh4of]

@@pauleean4364 You are missing my point entirely. I was merely talking about the choice of words from OP: "replacing" the original. It's simply not the case. Nothing is replacing anything, it's just another adaptation. Hopefully one that brings in new fans btw.

[@gin1924]

People seem not to realize what makes an "adult" show is not how much gore or nudes you can fit, but the depth of the message, how layered the story is, how much thought there is in each shot. THAT is what makes a product "adult". Every time I see a "moments that hit different as an adult" and it's only about drugs, sexual content, etc, I can't not cringe..

[@XiaoFury]

True. Gore, nudes, and profanity isn't adult. It's just bad behavior.

[@zauls.]

I heard someone say something along the lines of "The original cartoon is for mature children, the Netflix adaptation is for childish adults"

[@Grey_3438]

Right? It ironically just comes across as super *immature* and tacky when supposedly "adult" shows are pumped full of gore, sex, swearing, etc. The "adult" themes feel entirely superificial.

[@Nilpferdschaf]

They always confuse "mature" with "inappropriate for children". They might as well have made a porn parody.

[@julius-ceasar]

like, that’s literally why sometimes kids’ shows can be better actually, because the writers are not trying to make it edgy and unpredictable for shock value, because they’re scared of making their show boring, but they’re focusing on the characters and messages (if it’s well-written ofc).

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

Kyoshi in animated series was always so chill and calm no matter what: weather it be confronting the rigged jury, facing off an entire army or advising Aang, she never lost her cool, she never raised her voice. She was always calm, direct and unfazed like a mountain, which fits and earth bender avatar. Kyoshi in Netflix adaptation yelling at Aang looks like frustrated mom yelling at her child for making a public scene at 7/11

[@davismorgan7955]

This better be a separate cannon because Aang literally NAMES HIS SON AFTER BUMI. There is no way he’d ever name his kid after the creepy bitter Bumi we got here.

[@animegirl6359]

😂😂lol

[@berengustav7714]

"Severus Potter,I named you after a man who bullied children and kept the company of n*zis,instead of Hagrid or Remus Lupin who looked after me with no ulterior motives."

[@Shinigami344]

​@@berengustav7714 Ms Transphobe really liked that incel

[@andiman44]

@@berengustav7714The shade 😂 I always loathed that Harry named his son after that bullying weirdo

[@sleepy.timaeus.arts.]

honestly, if you just treat it as an alternate universe, it might be easier to watch the show. any adaptations (or sometimes any media) that isnt quite perfect go in the “this is just an alternate reality” box in my mind. this way helps me feel better about the weird or poor changes i may see

[@wildhorses1339]

finally someone willing to openly hate this show dont apologize this is cathartic

[@rodrigocorrea7857]

Literallyy

[@Knowhere6969]

Exactly. I have been watching so many reviews of “fans” of the original excusing so much of this heap of garbage. I went in fully WANTING to like it and I tried to like it but be real. It’s terrible.

[@ghostderazgriz]

Hate is pointless. You can judge, you can criticize, but hate is just a waste of energy, and serves no purpose other than to rile up more hate from people like you that want it for no other reason than to have it. It's a bad show, move on.

[@elitesixstudios8203]

@ghostderazgriz As a fan I think it's good. I'm a Spider-Man fan as well I wasn't complaining when Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man shot webs out of his wrist instead of using web shooters. If u wanted the cartoon u should go watch the cartoon

[@sarahthomas8670]

Fr feels good to

[@anagha337]

i hate how they made hakoda a bad father in the live action he was so proud of his kids no matter what and he loved sokka and katara so much and he says it to katara in season 3 he would never talk abt sokka like that 💀

[@StarryEyed0590]

And making him so old when his dad left (in the original, he was too young to have had his coming of age, and was clearly a child being given a "job" to console him from being left behind) strips away the tragedy of Sokka's character - this kid who wants desperately to be a man and a warrior, but is left on his own to figure out what that means, in a culture with traditions of sexism - and also his strength, of how he does learn, throughout his journey, what it means to be a man and a warrior.

[@anagha337]

@@StarryEyed0590 they watered down every character to something so bland like where is katara's anger and bossiness and motherlike way of talking to sokka?why is sokka mean and controlling?why is aang so quiet and responisble? ts is insane

[@simmerscrossing]

Yes!! Hakoda is a legend! Also Sokka inherited his creativity and ingenuity from his dad! Taking that away and replacing it took so much away from their story. And that scene in season 3 of Hakoda talking to Katara exists in juxtaposition to the conversation Ozai was having with Zuko at the same time. It was supposed to show the differences in their family relationships and culture! Thank you for bringing this up! This was a big miss in the show for me.

[@cinderbelle22]

Ikr!? My sister, who hasn't seen the original, started hating on Hakoda for being abusive, and I had to stop her abruptly and set things straight. It horrified me to realize that new viewers think this might be canon. Hakoda is a good father, only absent because he's off fighting for a better world, and Sokka wanted to live up to that standard.

[@MannyNamiro]

"I love you more than anything. You and your brother are my entire world. I thought about you every day I was gone. And every night, when I went to sleep, I would lie awake missing you so much it would *ache* ."

[@ymc5473]

when you said that people nowadays are used to accepting mediocrity. that's so true and so right. THIS is the kind of attitude why we don't have new great shows in this era like avatar the last airbender and other iconic shows and films of the early 2000's

[@justinstewart9145]

What are you talking about? Years from now, I am sure people will look back on the newer Puss in Boots, or Arcane, or the Spiderverse movies and remember how they pushed forward the medium of good storytelling. Seriously - people act like we don't get good stuff today still and that everything sucks.

[@Alic4444]

@@justinstewart9145 It's a good point that the good things are usually not the ones we expect ahead of time.

[@animec-dramaskpop6362]

Umm we do have great shows from this era. Blue Eye Samurai and Arcane are some of the best shows out now.

[@ashthepotato3172]

@@animec-dramaskpop6362Yeah and you've listed 2 shows out of probably hundreds that have been mass produced and pumped out. You've proved your own point buddy 😂

[@animec-dramaskpop6362]

@@ashthepotato3172 I gave you two examples bc I'm not about to list all the shows that are poppin right now. There's too many. I'm lazy.

[@blerp2107]

Mai, Ty-Lee, and Azula in the live action: 🧍🧍🧍

[@PlanWithIvey]

Literally! Like why were they there 😂 Mai and Ty Lee specifically did nothing at all, they didn’t need to be there

[@alexandersmith4731]

Did anyone noticed Mai was looking at the camera at some points? 😂

[@JB-sc1tg]

​@alexandersmith4731 Even more odd is they never actually said Mai or Ty Lee's name in the show. We know who they are because we've seen the animated show, but someone who is new to the series is probably saying "who tf are they?"

[@alexandersmith4731]

@@JB-sc1tg exactly like a fanfic 😂

[@meekolot]

i was laughing everytime I see them, and they are just stand there

[@HirilCelebrian]

I'm convinced Gran Gran was someone's actual nan on set because that woman can not act.

[@dw1419]

Everything 😐 changed 😶 when 🥱 the fire nation attacked 😴

[@sarahthomas8670]

It was so cringe

[@ZedElite]

And the cheap make-up and fake teeth did not help at all.

[@joieknox6447]

That was not a woman scared from living in a war torn world her entire life caused by the fire nation. She sounded like a history teacher giving a lecture about a war 500 years ago

[@Togruta]

Removing Katara's anger is the thing I hated the most. It's sooooo sexist on multiple levels. I'm a 99% sure they removed it because they thought it was sexist to depict her as angry.

[@monstermoo4191]

Not to mention this whole "she couldn't waterbend at all until Aang explained energy to her and then Jet talked her through her grief." 🙄🙄🙄

[@andrewvidmar3488]

see everyone that hates this show nitpicks at the stupidiest things people dont like it because katara doesnt get angry or sokka is not sexiest he showed alittle about being a sexiest when he said he was going to show suki how to throw his boomerang and then she showed him up with her fan and he was shocked that she could do that and then when she beat him in hqand to hand he was shocked that a girl could beat him

[@potatoesstarch2376]

@@andrewvidmar3488 Brother I hope English isn't your first language. Otherwise, go do your English homework and get back to us.

[@andrewvidmar3488]

@@potatoesstarch2376 how is this for english why dont you go to hell you cares how i spell shit i dont care my point still remains the same people that didnt like either compare it to the original which is a stupid thing to do and they say the same stupid shit about katara and sokka not being identical to the cartoon but if they acted and said every single line as the cartoon people would complain about that because that isnt how people act in real life and it would have came off cringy as shit

[@braxsensindelar1910]

When I saw Katara conjuring a water pillar to block Zuko's attack even though she struggled to make a flipping bubble I- 👋🤡

[@lexa2310]

I miss angry katara. Anger always gets put on the back burner with women, despite being a very important part of mourning. Katara being angry at the injustice that was done to her family and not really being able to forgive but still moving on felt *real*. As opposed to timid and super forgiving katara. I get being forgiving is ~virtuous~ and all that, but I miss her being a complex character. And Aang is so way too mature. There is no struggle of the kid who loves goofing off suddenly being burdened with the fate of the world and struggeling. He is just sad and yet very calm.

[@nurainiarsad7395]

the thing is, katara *is* forgiving. she is water tribe and a healer after all. she was the first to give zuko a chance. but that doesn’t mean she isn’t also fierce and bossy and short tempered and uptight.

[@ikeking6797]

@@nurainiarsad7395ehh. I would say that instance was an example of her hopefulness. She connected with him for and actually talked and thought he could change. Then he betrayed the trust she gave him, similarly with Jet. And similarly, it took a lot of effort and actions for her to move past those initial betrayals. She didn’t forgive Zuko for a good bit, and didn’t really forgive the general who killed her mom

[@niloticnya]

Katara is my fave character bc I grew up in a sexist culture, had to grow up quickly, but am still feminine & nurturing. I identified w/ Katara’s rage. But they made this Katara an emotionless husk devoid of any self. The actor for Aang is adorable & I thought he could capture the character the best, but they wrote him so terribly UGH

[@PurpleNoir]

Aang’s playful immaturity coupled with idealistic hopeful personality is on the of the best things about ATLA. In no way am I trying to bash the live action actor for aang, it’s just more like the writers of this show clearly do NOT understand his character

[@iwillcontactattorneygenera1078]

​@@ikeking6797 You've severely misunderstood the character and the POINT of Katara. She is NOT forgiving. And the original realizes that that is not a bad thing. That there is no virtue in either forgiveness or unforgiveness - they are simply optional roads to take. Katara does not forgive the person who murdered her mother, and it framed in direct contrast to Aang. Where Aang's insistence on forgiveness is a flaw, too. It makes him more removed and unempathetic to the pain of others. Whereas Katara and Zuko find catharsis in connecting in their confusion and rage, and learning the difference between moving on and forgiveness. The episode ending is a direct call for Aang to think: "I do not have to forgive the unforgivable. What right do you have to forgive the Firelord?

[@mcmusic96]

gran gran blurting out the intro in that deadpan expression with that ugly wig was honestly the funniest moment for me, like it just perfectly encapsulates who awful this adaptation is

[@xanogrande1224]

the way i was looking at the screen during that scene like "there's no fucking way"

[@ms-abominable]

@@xanogrande1224 lmao yeah i was also stunned at how atrocious it was, jaw literally dropped... y'all couldn't try at least one more take???

[@bunsbuns9072]

Some of the wigs in this were truly atrocious. Forget gran gran, did you see what they plopped on Princess Yue's head?

[@etienne8110]

​@@bunsbuns9072exactly my thought. Yue was done a real low blow by the costuming/make up team... Even simple hair dye would have been better.

[@androidsenpai1462]

@@bunsbuns9072 I think this show officially wasted Amber Midthunder.

[@Idkkk20]

I saw someone online say that all the actors in the Netflix ATLA adaptation acted like they were trying not to get their faces stolen by Koh. I’ve been dying of laughter ever since. 😂😂

[@rafaelboscolo6845]

Me on every scene katara is in: Look at her, they massacred my girl

[@brittanyhoward1741]

The ember island players parody had more emotion than this entire show ever did

[@jasmin2186]

They might've butchered Love amongst the Dragons every year, but they still gave us the best ATLA adaptation somehow 😅

[@babayaga9805]

Couldn't agree more. the ember island at least did the story right

[@Old_meg]

This live action is going to make me tear bend

[@issywilly1988]

😅😅😅😅😅

[@aanyamallick7747]

@@jasmin2186I understood that reference ! 😂😂😂😂

[@diy_cat9817]

47:37 Bumi MIGHT have been hurt and upset for the first 10 years after Aang disappeared, but there is no planet where I believe he didnt come to terms with it by the time he meets Aang again. The character assassination of Bumi is CRIMINAL.

[@ms-abominable]

RIGHT! 100 years have passed, he's been in a war, like he's had way more important things to worry about! also, HOW DID HE KNOW AANG WAS THE AVATAR BEFORE HE SAW HIM AGAIN????

[@CaulkMongler]

Not to mention like. He was trapped in a frickin iceberg for all that time. It’s not like he was actively and willingly hiding for the whole time consciously.

[@brandonmason7190]

Also why would Bumi be upset? He wouldnt know that AANG was the avatar. I believe he would have been sad he lost his friend because the world only knows the air nomads were wiped and the avatar disappeared. This is the rzn in the animated show when bumi sees aang, and he looks lyk he stepped out his last memory of him he realizes immediately that not jst did his friend survive but that his friend the last airbender must b the avatar. From there he test aang so aang can learn to keep his mind open to the possibilities. This message is bumi's character not a bitter old man upset at his friend who knew for some reason was the avatar

[@CaulkMongler]

@@brandonmason7190 that’s what really gets me. Like where did he get the idea that he must’ve run away? Did it never occur to him that he could’ve been hurt or worse in all that time? What a good “friend”.

[@ChrisGrahamkedzuel]

It was. I was so frustrated how the assassinated Bumi.

[@sunbleachedangel]

"oh they had to make the show worse because filming live action is hard and expensive" THEN DON'T MAKE IT LIVE ACTION

[@sarahthomas8670]

THANK YOU

[@Platinum400]

I really hate what this series did with Kyoshi. It’s like they went out of their way for fan service but got her character completely wrong. She’s a character I love because she’s about loud actions not words. It’s almost like they wrote her based on all the memes fans make about her and not the actual character! She’s not inherently violent but she’ll do what needs to be done. Also, I don’t believe she would ever yell at Aang like that. She didn’t even do that near the series finale when the fate of the world was approaching quickly. Why would she do it now in book one?

[@davidj.medinag.6524]

She is also yelling him for running away from his responsabilities. Wich is funny because this version of Aang didn't actually do that, wich makes her actions come across as even worse lol.

[@Platinum400]

@@davidj.medinag.6524 Ugh you’re so right! They don’t even adhere to their own storyline changes! How ridiculous is that???

[@PurpleQuestions]

The way they’ve built these characters, I can’t imagine them doing any of the major things they do in the later seasons. Like I can’t imagine this Katara going on a revenge trip with Zuko and almost killing a man

[@trishupaper]

Yes! Exactly! They changed plotlines and modified character progressions for everyone without considering how this would affect events in the later seasons, or how it translates into characters’ later decisions. I genuinely cannot believe live action Zuko to be emotionally complex enough to later betray Iroh, then later redeem himself in a way that has the same impact as animated Zuko. It’s so disappointing.

[@lesfillesbidumonde]

Like I can’t even imagine this Katara bloodbending

[@dire213]

with how "badass and cool" they presented the air nomad genocide, i doubt they will handle the horror and ethics of the bloodbending episode with katara

[@ZEDInspector]

I can't imagine this katara doing literally anything because she has no character or motivations

[@lesfillesbidumonde]

@@ZEDInspector like they way they wrote the characters in the show It just doesn’t seem like they would have much development at all. all we know as watchers is that this is way the characters are and they won’t change.

[@rowenblue]

I really think the “bad” acting was a result of lazy directing. If it were just one or two performances I might blame the actor, but the fact that it was flat and stilted pretty much across the board, even among the experienced actors, indicates the directors just weren’t interested in spending time developing nuanced characters with them and encouraging the actors to try anything interesting. It really feels like they did one take of every scene, gave no notes, and moved on. (Not to even mention the bad dialog the actors were working with)

[@CaulkMongler]

Katara is fine in other things she’s worked on, and she literally acts like Katara in real life. It’s all the writing and directing.

[@rowenblue]

@@CaulkMongler I know, I loved Kiawentiio in Anne with an E 😊 I hate that people are harassing her, and not even bothering to look her up to see she’s been amazing other things, with better directors and writers and editing. She did just as well as every other actor in the show with what she was given. The misogyny and racism is really blatant in people’s vitriol toward her specifically.

[@Padfoot81]

​@CaulkMongler I agree. This was something I was concerned about from the get go and I said as much back at the time we started getting images and actor announcements. My exact words were along the lines of the casting, sets, costumes and locations can all be spot on but if the writing and directing is such that the actors have nothing k work with then this will be no better than the last attempt. I was called a "hater" for even suggesting that this series other fans had already deemed "perfect" on casting and stills alone could possible be "bad" because of inconsequential things like writing or directing And here we are all these months later and it turns out I was right to be concerned. The actors had absolutely nothing to work with and the directing was what I would call nonexistent. This series really needed a writer who understood the complexity and depth of these characters and of the show as a whole. They needed to understand that each plot thread was interconnected and therefore affected others down the line. It also needed a director that would allow for the actors to find their own "voices" for these characters. Maybe allow them to put a part of themselves into their roles and for the love of all that is avatar let them have a little fun. That they failed to do any of that was beyond heartbreaking for me. I wanted this to be a good adaptation and while its not as bad as the movie, it's still just as mediocre as the movie in my opinion.

[@MapleDragonz]

I wholeheartedly agree. I've seen the older actors do other projects that were really great, it's really the lack of direction and good writing that brought this production down. Since they already confirmed Season 2 and 3, I'm praying for a miracle that they somehow retroactively fix the writing problems also going forward, even though the basis for a lot of the original core premise is already missing from this first season...

[@elitesixstudios8203]

Most of these actors are performing their first roles and myself said it was slow at first but picked up as it went on. I expect them to be even better in season 2

[@loonu1991]

I watched this “adaptation” like Gordon Ramsay watching a terrible service at Hell’s Kitchen.

[@corruptedsrechtesbein1812]

I'm sorry, but that's the only way to do it. If we keep on being happy with mediocrity we will never get anything great.

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

Ramsay: “All of you come here, look at this shit!” *Netflix Avatar plays* “It’s fucking RAW!”

[@loonu1991]

@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 xD I can hear the voice crack. Look look LOOK LOOK LOOK LOOOOOK 😅😅

[@julius-ceasar]

SHUT IT DOOOOWN!!!

[@loonu1991]

@@julius-ceasar me to the writers, director, Netflix: “YOU, YOU, YOU, GET OUT!” 😅

[@Agent86th]

You actually nailed the coffin when you said "this is a school play". It literally is. Just fanmade school play 😂

[@maggiealelew]

Fanmade is a stretch

[@Agent86th]

@@maggiealelew tru

[@BeautyforAshes__]

Yue, Mai, and Ty Lee especially looked like bad cosplay

[@romee5989]

I really hate that they cut out the part in the north where Zuko kidnaps Aang, because it showed how Zuko didn't plan ahead of 'capturing the avatar' and how team avatar saved him even back then from dying of the cold. Iroh even confronts Zuko with this in season 2!

[@CaulkMongler]

For real, it really goes back into the idea that Zuko is chasing the ghost of an ideal, and what’s Iroh going to yell at him about?

[@Ninja_Tude]

Right? Like they are literally writing things in such a way so as to deprive us of some of the best payoffs later on! Zuko trying not to freeze, leading to Irohs speech under Laogai. Sokka telling Toph he can only picture Kataras face on their Mom? Can't have that now they flipped the dynamic. Which also means the bossy Katara Toph feud would make no sense. They downplayed how explosive Zuko is. The actor was great but the direction was bad for that. I love Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, but they took all Irohs charm away and painted all the grief and regret subtext on the surface... I will disagree when she says Kyoshis actress wasn't good. Ms Chapman is good, and does good work with what she's given but the writing and direction doesn't hold up.

[@Snow-xd4rv]

We also hear a bit of Zukos insecurities too during the kidnapping scene, which explains part of motivation, which I think is basically what u said 😅. I just retyped it lol

[@etienne8110]

​@@Ninja_Tudeexactly. The cast is great The photography and sfx are good. What hurts is the writing and direction. And it will get worse as time goes on because they skipped a lot of the build up leading to later pay offs. What a waste of a great cast.

[@aghadlarhen9397]

@@Ninja_TudeBossy Katara Feud being gone just me made scared that they might try to do a love triangle thingy between katara, aang and toph in order to have the two be at odds.

[@afterdinnercreations936]

"Running away from your responsibilities!" He didn't run away. He basically went to get a pint of milk.

[@RaphaelBas1995]

He’ll return, I swear. He’s just coming back from the store.

[@cobycoba]

Why would they do that to Suki? She loved her home and proudly lived there and trained to protect them. She accepted her responsibility with no pause and that made her so respectable and admirable. Why rob characters like this?

[@annaupdike9997]

"People have just been conditioned to accept mediocrity, and that is why people are trying to defend it." THANK YOU 👏

[@dw1419]

“don’t ask questions. Just consume product, then get excited for next product.”

[@sarahthomas8670]

Fr

[@luneluna307]

Frrrrrrrr uggghhhh they keep going on about subjectivity but some things are just objectively baaad

[@tracim3080]

I found the original air temple episode showing us the empty playgrounds and overgrown structures and flashing back to Aangs memories so full of life and laughter, a lot more haunting imagery of war then the live action version.

[@lo_quat]

And this is why show don’t tell us SOOOO important and was SOOOOO not used in this adaptation

[@mikael.wilhelm]

@@lo_quat True, but I literally just argued with a guy who thinks this show is a great example of "show don't tell", because they _showed_ how the air temple was attacked. Some people like that guy just don't get what it is that needs to be shown. Well, that guy, and the writers for Netflix.

[@momomomo__]

this. i also think that showing the airbenders fighting like that did them a disservice. the air nomads are pacifists. they don't fight. air bending is a mostly defensive form of bending, and it's why aang has so much trouble mastering earthbending. he's used to evading and coming at things from different angles. the reason why the firebenders invading the air nomads felt so painful in the original is because they built the air nomads to be peaceful and harmless throughout the episodes, so we can imagine the absolute cruelty of the fire nation's slaughter. starting the series with the air nomads getting mass murdered and doing that before even establishing the air nomads as a nation and what they stand for completely took the emotional weight off of a literal genocide.

[@tracim3080]

@@momomomo__ they are clearly not getting the passive and non violent message the original show was trying to tell.

[@aanyamallick7747]

They think “maturity” means gritty, dark and violence 😂😂😂 Not a heart felt story with compelling characters challenging the way we think about certain themes and topics they challenge or address in a compelling way.

[@leodah.5726]

Mai was not even her gloomy self WE SAW NO ACROBATICS FROM TY-LEE this show was a disaster

[@androidsenpai1462]

Mei and Tai Lee don’t even appear till Book Two. Hell, Azula doesn’t have a speaking role until then either. Why is this show so utterly obsessed with the Fire Nation?

[@RahulSingh-zo7sm]

Just like they said. They wanna make this like Game of thrones, where much of the scenes in earlier seasons were in king's landing. They just wanna blatantly copy a great series without even understanding the one they are adapting. ​@@androidsenpai1462

[@monstermoo4191]

Aang bent zero water for the season and Katara had to be taught water bending by him and Jet 😭

[@jonathanschubert9052]

That was a huge red flag for me. Ty Lee just starts doing random acrobatics when she's bored. It's literally how she is introduced, and to have her literally just standing around...

[@leodah.5726]

@@jonathanschubert9052 literallyyy omg

[@TheSanjay1234567890]

what really messed me up was how they did my guy Roku. Whats with all of the jokes.... he was stoic and magneticly mysterious for a reason. Now hes just a high old man, who is somehow less mature than the 11year old aang

[@violetlavi2207]

50:11 THANK YOU everyone's been praising this version of Iroh, and specifically this scene with him and the earthbender, and I thought I was the only one who clocked how remorseless and insensitive Iroh was!! It pissed me off fr!! Why is everyone praising this??

[@ems2417]

"its not my fault ppl just dont know how to deliver" IM DEDDDD

[@sarahthomas8670]

😭😭🎀🎀

[@dragonsword8129]

Holy crap. I found this comment at the exact moment she said it in the video.

[@isaa1782]

Besides Katara they have done Azula so bad in the script. I can just talk for myself but her character actually meant a lot to me, despite obviously not routing for her. When I was a kid, Azula felt like this power fantasy: talented, powerful, intelligent, beautiful, untouchable. And her downfall was devastating and painful to watch but also very healing. Because seeing that even the perfect golden child wasn't actually perfect and what pain lay behind all this, reminded me that I didn't have to be as well...and that this goal may not even be something I should want to achieve. PS: I hate all the body shaming many of the actresses like Azula's face online. It's embarrassing that those people call themselves ATLA fans

[@JAAAY62]

Yes, they did not do Azula justice in this version. Azula is such an amazing character and they tore her down to a whiny little girl without building up any aspects of her character.

[@foreverlazy552]

@@JAAAY62 There's a similar thing with Zuko where some fans of the original show insist that Netflix!Zuko isn't annoying and that Zuko was just as whiny and dramatic in the original show... and like, yes he was, but Netflix!Zuko has none of the actual nuance or depth to the character that the original did, he's just fucking annoying.

[@JAAAY62]

@@foreverlazy552 Yes, Zuko is whiny and has these flaws. But he also has depth to him that we see throughout the show. All of this was speed through and you end up not feeling anything or being annoyed

[@areeba7045]

that last note is so true they're really out here calling Azula's actress "appa" on tiktok now

[@authorhalierivers]

I was more upset that she wasn’t more unhinged. That was such an iconic part of her character was that her father pushed her into being this evil, malicious girl and the LA was just kinds “meh”

[@LSK_95]

One of my issues with the casting of Zhao to me is his lack of being physically intimidating. He doesn't look menacing, nor does he feel like it. Live action Zhao just looks and feels like a weasley 2 faced co-worker who snitches on you at work. Like anytime you saw the the og Zhao, all eyes would be on him to see what he'd do next. Live action Zhao felt like a literal after thought on screen.

[@maxkrystal7403]

Yeah it’s hard to beat Jason isaacs at playing a slimy, unlikable, arrogant tactician

[@jakeryan2805]

And now its renewed for 2 more seasons. It baffles my mind how they are going to manage it with this writing team.

[@westernbrumby]

Writing team: ChatGPT and a random number generator, and on good days a monkey with a typewriter

[@tikki2340]

From what I’ve heard, this is kind of a problem in a lot of screenwriting. I always thought it was shorter contracts and smaller writer’s rooms, so they have fewer people to bounce ideas off of and don’t get to actually change the script as it’s shot- like if a line doesn’t work or a prop can’t be brought in. So they basically have to hand in a first draft.

[@slsthewriter1299]

Azula vs Zuko to me always felt like a comparison of how abuse usually goes. Either, it follows a cycle because the victims end up perpetuating it by becoming abusers themselves (Azula), or the cycle is ended because the victims know and learn how to grow from it (Zuko). And…getting rid of that is kinda…not great. So. Whoopsie daisies, I guess.

[@mittag983]

The difference between Zuko and Azula is also the mentors they had Zuko had a good mentor Azula a bad one

[@jhmi7877]

Azula is such a great character. As someone who grew up around a lot of abuse and violence, I know how it feels like to have learned toxic behaviors. For Azula, who's incredibly young, who was groomed by her father to be his personal weapon and simultaneously felt abandoned/unloved by her mother who made her feel more of a monster (because of her mother's fear towards her)... she learned all the wrong things about how to feel safe and loved, so even though those are things she wants for herself, she didn't know how to actually get them in a healthy way. So she relied on fear and control. Exactly what her father fostered in her. And then this LA happens and we're instead given someone who's just jealous. So much nuance was replaced with mediocre storylines.

[@aykakatibli7249]

@@jhmi7877Nuh, Azula was born with certain inclinations that Ozai obv encouraged. Her mom wasn’t wrong to reproach her when she taunted Zuko or was mean to others.

[@A42AI]

"It's not good. People have just been conditioned to accept mediocrity" THANK YOU. I swear I feel like I've been taking crazy pills hearing people talk about this. Even many people who don't like the show and criticize it make me question my sanity because it's just barely agreed upon that the writing is the main problem, but then people will say the acting is fine, or the costumes look great... It's crazy what people can put up with without cringing. Also agree with what you said about people not understanding Azula. I was shocked to see how many fans like this direction, which made me conclude as well that people never got her. These people don't like subtext and want everything to be upfront and emphasized to be enjoyed. It's not compelling anymore.

[@CaulkMongler]

As an aside, the costumes do NOT look great for a production of this funding.

[@stellablake6200]

@@CaulkMongler ​​⁠ I'm really curious, what about the costumes was bad? I noticed that they look much too pristine which doesn't make sense or look realistic but otherwise I thought they looked pretty good. I love analyzing and criticizing media so I always want to know if I'm just missing something

[@joushua4428]

@@stellablake6200Personally that was the whole reason I didn’t like them. They looked so clean that I was constantly reminded that they’re just costumes which kept breaking my immersion.

[@stellablake6200]

@@joushua4428 yeah that's totally fair

[@julietablanco5182]

You´re so right. I think everyone tries to be optimistic about the show and to keep an open mind, given the failed adaptation we got before, and since this wasn´t as bad as the movie we´re all like okay well it could´ve been worse, but it´s just such a bad adaptation. However though, if you think of it as like a different take on the show, you can kinda get through it, but it´s such a shame that with all the resources and budget they had this is the best they could come up with honestly

[@snuzzlebumble]

I love how team Avatar doesn't even know about the comet yet 🤣 Season 2 is gunna start with Aang saying "whew, learning water bending was difficult! Now to find an earth bending master. Did I mention that I never wanted to be the avatar? I'm just a normal wittle boy who likes playing airball with my friends and eating cloudcakes."

[@sinsofthedaddy3656]

Tbh it feels like a problem that's been going on a lot lately in films/shows is plaguing this adaptation, which is: they're making it story-based, not character-based. They hit all the 'essential' plot points to get to the end, they can still technically reach the final fight with Ozai. But will there be any characterization along the way? No. They seem to think the reason Avatar is beloved is the very basic plot (magic kid has to fight big bad tyrant), but completely neglect the fact that the characters are what make the story mean something. It's actually a tragic lack of reading comprehension. It's like an AI was fed the plot and spit out a script so it's completely lifeless. People really need to learn to value writers.

[@ddrake815]

Don't forget about momo sounding like an actual monkey in one episode and the fact that Aang had to reiterate the fact that he was a failure and let everyone down in almost every episode. Like we got it the first time lol.

[@AClockworkReader]

oh momo was so scary!! why did he look like that?? and yes omg the dialogue was SOOOO repetitive

[@elitesixstudios8203]

@@AClockworkReader like he didn't do that in the cartoon lol

[@skylarvanhoose7615]

I was honestly hoping Momo stayed dead when they crushed him. I was like "ope, looks like they got tired of animating momo" then moved on with my life.

[@addisonoberg3588]

Azula and Katara in particular hurt my soul. THIS is why we still need feminism and still need to talk about it. These characters aren’t even people at this point 😬

[@hemmojito]

Azula is a Disney princess with her girls around being like: "You're the best", she's like "I know right?" Super generic. Is there something like Disney washing? Katara... my god Katara is a sip of water in a river. A sigh in the wind. A match in a forest fire. Forgettable, fading, invisible.

[@julietablanco5182]

The way they made all the girls in the show feels soooooo male gaze coded. Like, they didn´t even TRY to understand them and even less write them properly, they don´t have ANY strong opinions nor show their anger, nor ANYTHING, they just feel shallow.

[@zauls.]

It is such a common trend where people dumb down and twist the message of feminism so much that they end up being more sexist without realising. Sokka's sexism arc being cut is a prime example in media.

[@seed2375]

​@@julietablanco5182 The regress in each of their characters isn't due to the male gaze, especially not ina 2024 netflix show lmao. They heavily toned down their characters (kataras passion and azulas evil) cause they thought portraying women in that way was sexist and misogynistic. Which ironically enough ruined their best female characters.

[@Soccercrazyigboman]

Well they were trying to be feminist. By taking away character flaws and turning them into bland near perfect physical strong and talented women

[@luluzin5022]

So the characters who are lively and unapologetically themselves have become emotionless husks (Katara, Sokka, Aang, Ty Lee) or bitter (Iroh, Bumi). And the characters who usually show little emotion have become softer and more expressive (Zuko, Zhao, June, Azula). I know it's normal for an adaptation to portray a different interpretation of the characters, but how did they manage to flip EVERYONE'S personalities to the complete opposite?

[@ATLA99]

47:26 it makes even less sense for Bumi to be mad at Aang when you consider that Bumi is the one who teaches Aang about neutral jing. There was that scene where someone was telling Aang that when Omashu was attacked and they asked Bumi what he was going to do he said "i'm going to do....nothing!" with a snort. He taught Aang to wait and listen for the right moment before striking. So if anyone would be understanding about Aang taking a hundred years to participate in the war, it would be the king of neutral jing, himself

[@yoonkookie5572]

I'm seated with a perfectly brewed tea and the urge to yell "EXACTLY" at my screen every time you make a point

[@cathrynchastain2307]

Literally 😂

[@mavisneeboi7799]

Me too… i was screaming “finally someone gets it” 😂😂😂

[@user-we8dn5ub9z]

The ironic part is that Katara’s actress irl has the exact sassy attitude that was needed…so that tells me everything I need to know about the writing and directing 😑 Aside from that, I’m also really disappointed in the fandom after this. The normalised fat shaming of the Azula crew was disgusting and the actresses are still dealing with the harassment. I don’t understand how people couldn’t fathom that their weight is not the issue - ITS THE WRITING AND THE ACTING AND THE MAKEUP/COSTUMING. It’s literally the fact that they changed Azula’s entire characterisation even tho it was already perfect in the OG. The whole idea is that she is her father’s prodigy and everything he wants the fire nation to be. like she’s literally named after her grandfather. But despite that, she feels betrayed and abandoned by her mother with a deep fear that everyone will one day abandon her. THAT’S what makes her human, not a need to impress her father - she’s already a prodigy and that’s why she’s a great double to Zuko because they’re opposites. but in the LA they now have the exact same character….Anyway, back to the fans - how can you have grown up watching Avatar and still not have any critical thinking skills? I’ve also been seeing so much arguing and misinformation about the OG series, Korra and the comics after this show like ppl are literally doing no research 😑😑😑😑😑

[@AClockworkReader]

yes to ALL of this!!!

[@stefdim5132]

Not only Katara, but have you seen Aang's actor irl?! I literally watched him playing with a leafblower in an interview, like he is so goofy! It's like they auditioned them, they got the parts because they were perfect for their characters, and were then told, "okay, so just forget about your personalities, this is what we want you to do." smh man

[@user-we8dn5ub9z]

@@stefdim5132 Yes him too!! Although I haven't seen as much of him so I didn't want to make a comment that was uninformed. But EXACTLY like why are they better at playing their characters outside of the show...How can you get it that wrong

[@jinxd8936]

I first thought its the actors but I kinda forgive them because maaaybe this is their first time acting because its giving the awkwardness in first hp movie BUT I get so angry when I watch the actors in ivs because they are already perfect!!! The writing freaking ruins the already perfect actors

[@animegirl6359]

The only thing that bothered me with azulas actress was her face. She looks too innocent and cute 😅 there’s not much scary, psycho energy in her eyes. Tbh with the whole fire nation cast I didn’t really felt any threatening vibes. This show felt really more childish then the cartoon….what an irony

[@Soapy-chan]

I don't even think that showing us how the nord air nomads got killed was inessential, I think it was worse. When you see it in the original, you feel the impact of loss that aang feels. everything there is empty, no traces of the inhumanity that happened here but everyone just being gone. You could imagine by yourself what it might have looked like, making it so much more intimidating and impactful than seeing a rather lame fight with servicable CGI. No food for thought in the adaptation.

[@xanderxi]

the way they shattered katara’s character needs to be honestly studied

[@sarahthomas8670]

Fr

[@marianamauricio]

they stripped atla of all of its personality and depth, which is insane when the original had SO MUCH of it

[@corruptedsrechtesbein1812]

They literally had a near perfect story and decided to strip those great character of the things that made them fun and interesting

[@kemflan14]

Wanted to add that aside from the other atrocious changes they added to the northern water tribe arc, I hated Aang's response to Katara telling him she isn't allowed to fight. In the original, he was ready to just not learn waterbending to show that he stands with her and does not condone Pakku's sexism. But here, the writers changed it so that Aang is so conficted by Kuruk's advice about being alone that he tells Katara she shouldn't fight.

[@isaa1782]

It wasn't good but him siding with society for her safety's sake was at least... Some flaw they gave one of the main characters?

[@thatb1h855]

@@isaa1782 it wasn't intentional tho. they didn't add that to later dissect it like the og show did with sokka, it was just there as a byproduct of the live adaptation show runners' own misogyny

[@isaa1782]

@@thatb1h855 that's true 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@tracim3080]

@@isaa1782 they were pushing the idea that sexism was Ok Just like they push the idea that it doesn’t actually exist and the women didn’t try hard enough because it all gets solved when katara proved She’s better than all the guys. 😝

[@bumbabees]

not to mention it was also a nice parallel to the beginning where katara was legit willing to just banish herself too if her village was going to banish aang. if someone ever treated the other in a way they didnt approve of, they treated it as an insult to themselves. that was an aspect of their relationship i really liked and was super annoyed to see absolutely nothing of it in the remake. it makes katara sticking up for aang at all make no sense in my mind because what reason does she have to even like him? what reason does he have to like HER??

[@magyesproductions]

“People are just conditioned to accept mediocrity and that’s why people are trying to defend it” you ate with that

[@BeautyforAshes__]

Iroh's face when zuko got burned was like "oof, yikes...couldn't be me tho" 😂

[@pasta_lover]

Also this show is so weird cuz it tries to be more serious and somber by showing the death and destruction taking place but at the same time the costumes of the characters look so clean. Like what refugee is wearing dry cleaned rags.

[@lesliemonster92]

Completely agree, and glad someone else caught onto this. It drives me absolutely nuts. My sister did costume design in the film industry, and they used the term 'distressing' when it came to clothes looking properly worn and lived in. Not a single smudge, tear, pulled thread, wrinkle, anything of the like. It's one (of many things) that subtly pulls us out of the viewing experience. Each actor looked like they walked right from a party city to the set.

[@alexandersmith4731]

They basically put the Fisherman from The Storm episode into Bumi's character and call it a day cause they're both old men who's in a country that has the green color no? 😂

[@stellablake6200]

Omg that's such a good point! I wonder if they did that on purpose to try and awkwardly force that part of the original show in because I can't imagine any other reason to assissinate Bumi's chatacter like that

[@cinderbelle22]

And then they put Bumi's wacky character into Roku. Only it didn't sit well on Roku. It just made him seem undignified.

[@alexandersmith4731]

@@cinderbelle22 Yeah, like these choices are weird, I know folks praised Zuko characterization too in this but tbh I think it's one of the worst changes ever, Zuko is undignified, whiny even downright weak, like sure, a dude who went up against his father got beat by an old lady cause comedy? They made Azula has blatant typical daddy issues girlies The writers and directors consumed way too much memes of the show for sure, it's when illiteracy is rewarded in Hollywood

[@RyanMcAllister1987]

“It felt like a school play” Cause it was the Ember Island version of the story.

[@tpmedia3784]

Hahaha

[@Soapy-chan]

Also to the sexism thing: In the original I always disagreed with Sokka, but I understood where he was coming from. He had good reasons to believe what he believed. But at the same time, he was wrong and I knew that as a child and the show made an effort to show organically why he was wrong and taught him and he changed and we experienced the change naturally over the show. The adapters removed that and replaced it with something worse. I already dislike that modern writers think certain things that are bad should just not be said and dealt with in stories and then they inject stuff that is objectively worse.

[@gracelament]

For Azula's characterisation, I think the creators missed the point of the Azula/Zuko dynamic. Azula is the golden child, Zuko is the scapegoat. We can assume Azula would have immense pressure put upon her as a child but also immense praise. She was pited against her brother from childhood not because Zuko was shown to be her equal but because he was the child who was always at fault and could never win. Zuko's tragedy is realising he'll never win his father's approval (and then growing to be a better person because of that). Azula's is being stuck under the image of her father /because/ he picked her. So this "nuance" of Azula also being dismissed by Ozai muddies the waters a lot, because the point is Azula can't see her father the same way as Zuko because she was showered with adimiration. Her identity isn't built on fear like Zuko's but ego. How can you convince her that she's destroying herself when the exact same behaviour actually worked for her for so long? Being a bully has been Azula's method of dealing with conflict since childhood. But for this writing team showing Azula being a bully vs. showing her being bullied may be considered a fix. Were as what they're missing is, watching siblings be pitied against each other from such a young age /is/ watching abuse.

[@kamsismith]

I feel like this needs to be said: Not every animated project needs the live-action treatment! When is Hollywood going to learn this lesson? We saw it with the movie and that failed and they failed again with the series and the fact the show got renewed for two more seasons is extraordinary. I'm not blaming the actors since they're working with the material they were given, but it's like we can't be original anymore. P.S. Before I saw the video, I just came across a community post from someone I'm subscribed to asking what animated project deserves the live-action treatment to which I replied none.

[@AClockworkReader]

agreeeeed

[@kamsismith]

While I was watching the show with my brother, I thought that the actress who plays Katara would have been a perfect choice to play Pocahontas if they ever make a Pocahontas movie that's not romanticized.

[@julianachapin4871]

I will say - One Piece was the perfect animated show for live action adaptation. If only because the show is SO LONG that the abridged live action version is a actually great way to consume the story 😂

[@foreverlazy552]

I feel like there are still a lot of people, specifically those in Hollywood who greenlight projects like this, who see animation as something solely made for children and therefore it does not have value. It's similar to how some people don't consider RomComs as good movies just because the main demographic is girls and women.

[@hannahbridgetprice4237]

It's literally just for money imo, and mild disrespect for animation as an art form

[@witchcraft2264]

Re: lu ten's funeral: people say that scene was really well done and i have to admit that it did make me cry, but the fact that it made me cry makes me angry. This show didn't earn that it just showed us real iroh and real zuko for a moment and hijacked our emotions by playing a song that can make us cry even without a sad scene playing.

[@killz5567]

right!! it was blatant fan service. only fans of the OG would know the significance of that song so they used it to make their bland scene seem much more emotional. it felt so disrespectful to me..

[@witchcraft2264]

@@killz5567 my first thought when watching it was "damn this stolen valor for giving me emotions" (or at least that's the thought I put in my notes)

[@bumbabees]

i didnt know whether to feel sad or angry when i heard the instrumental of "leaves from the vine" for that exact reason. they do this shit all the time in remakes i can never take it as anything but an insult, because it feels so obvious that theyre just doing it so anyone whos seen the original, be it old or new fans, will recognize it and thatll somehow be enough. i dont think the scene itself was that bad, but using leaves from the vine irked me a bit.

[@grmgt]

1:09:34 It's even better than you remember. Zhao was being grabbed BY the Ocean spirit to be punished by his crime of killing the Moon Spirit, he doesn't just fall!!! And yeah Zuko tries to grab his hand but Zhao hesitates and retracts his hand then the spirit drowns him. So much richer, shows Zukos characters, Zhao hubris and the punishment for messing with the spirits. I couldn't believe how they changed that to Iroh killing Zhao like wth. Makes no sense for his character. Honestly who wrote this crap???

[@A2daM2daZ]

saying people have been conditioned to accept mediocrity gave me such a surge of validation I felt the depression leave my body. like, not to be overly critical of the actors, or even the fans, but lets be at least A LITTLE critical, of the show. please. just a little

[@Knowhere6969]

I genuinely felt like maybe I was being too cynical and I was wrong. But this adaptation was so…. Dumb. And people are just like “good enough!” It’s tragic.

[@TJWallace1998]

I feel this so strongly accross all area’s of life. I also felt validated by this statement. So much now, especially since COVID, is so “meh.” Life just seems a little duller and nothing is as quality. People do not take pride in what they do anymore, and it shows.

[@MewDenise]

Or can people be at least A LITTLE less mopey and go enjoy the cartoon if they love it so much. I love the cartoon and I like the netflix show. Deal with it

[@A2daM2daZ]

@@MewDenise it's not mopey. It's called a critique.

[@cryforhelp7270]

I really think we're just getting used to eating slop at this point, or bland meals. These shows and movies can be so much better, but there's no reason for them to be because people will just like it anyway.. I'm not gonna yell at them if they like something, but I do feel like I'm going insane LOL

[@catarinamatias05]

IVE BEEN SAYING!!! WHY does Hollywood consider animation an inferior form? It’s like they see it a stepping stone for live action!!! ITS A MEDIUM, NOT A GENRE!! Adaptations are fine but usually these live action projects are clearly made by people who have the “animation is inferior and for kids” mindset. LET ANIMATION BE ANIMATION. Godddddd Also I’ve been waiting for this oneeee 😍😍😍

[@AlexeiX1]

I don’t think that is the case necessarily, producers are just conditioned to see existing established franchises as easy money grabs, since even when stuff sucks, at least there’s an audience that is curious enough to watch it and make it break even. New projects cost waaaay too much to even break even for them to gamble the money. Unfortunately that is the state of the industry, you worthier make super small budget movies, or super mega budget movies on established stuff. There’s no more mid tier movies anymore.

[@mori1bund]

Thinking animation is inferior to live action is like the idea that a painting is inferior to a photo. ^^

[@CaulkMongler]

I wouldn’t blame Hollywood, I’d blame general audiences on that mindset.

[@catarinamatias05]

@@AlexeiX1I do agree that producers see these popular projects as cash grabs. But I would say that the big budget problem is something the industry itself created. Companies will waste half a billion dollars and expect it to break even, but since so many of these expensive projects are churned out nowadays, of course they’re not going to be as successful. So while I do agree that these are the “safe” money makers, they are only so because the industry keeps sabotaging itself in their greed.

[@catarinamatias05]

@@CaulkMonglerI would say it’s both, yeah

[@ericmabry1752]

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they got rid of Toph's blindness. Like the way they seem to misunderstand practically every part of the show on a fundamental level, they'll probably get rid of Toph's blindness cause they view that and the dynamic it brings as misogynistic.

[@grmgt]

Your point about them starting with a Fire Nation narrative in detriment of the Gaang and thus showing us their true focus is spot on (and you put it so eloquently). They really choose to zone in on the oppressors instead of the oppressed, another move that betrayed so many core themes of the OG!

[@jaimeerindy4573]

I AGREE! People are willing to accept crumbs, but I am not.

[@laneyyyyyyyyy]

i haven’t seen the season yet but the way i laughed so hard when u said aang doesn’t even waterbend once😭 like girl there’s no way ur serious 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@veganjotaro]

It's true... 😭

[@bold_n_brash]

no but it’s true 🥲

[@MillionaireMarlon]

I refused to believe this. My jaw dropped when she didn't water bend

[@veganjotaro]

@@MillionaireMarlon he*

[@backroomsguideno.87]

I saw that tweet from the parody account saying that they were going to make toph not blind, AND I BELIVED IT because thats the standard they are giving 🤦‍♀️ was genuinely not suprised (before i realised the account was a parody)

[@backroomsguideno.87]

I wanna live in the delulu these ppl who liked the show live in, cause HOW ?!

[@sarahthomas8670]

I like when zuko offer to save zhao. Shows his character and when zhao refuses also shows his character. Iroh killing him is so out of character for him lol

[@itsjusteddie7384]

I shut the first episode off when Aang was narrating how dangerous the obviously dangerous storm was. He all but said “Wow Appa! This storm is dangerous! I regret leaving home! Look at those big waves, this storm sure is bad!” All dialogue in that scene was completely unnecessary. Every single line in every single scene is written to be as literal, basic, and direct as possible. If a character is sad we won’t see them cry with emotional music they’re stare directly into the camera and say “I’m sad now.” And then they cut the scene. 100% telling and 0% showing.

[@trishupaper]

I’ve seen so many people saying “Don’t compare it to the animated show” to defend the live action one, and I think that’s just ridiculous??? If we have to separate the live action show from the animated show for it to be considered good, then idk maybe it was never good in the first place 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Avatarfan10000]

Not only that but because this is an adaptation of something else, referring back to the original is the easiest way to show the problems. I understand people who like the Netflix adaptation, but there are more Rabid fans for the new one. I've seen comments on videos giving what some think are the worst changes, and the defense is "you don't want any changes," Like people can't have opinions on whether a change was justified or not. You can separate an adaptation from its source and still find it good but you shouldn't force others to do that. If you have to do that to find it good, then the creators failed and showed they should have just made their own thing rather than piggybacking off an existing IP.

[@catie7466]

yes! and even if you don't compare and just look at it objectively as its own show, it's still not good. it's still badly written, badly paced, and feels boring, shallow, and soulless.

[@linneakou]

This defense makes no sense to me. If it's an adaptation, it is intrinsically tied to its source, which means it HAS to be compared to its source! Especially if it tries to have its cake and eat it too, i.e. break canon to do things differently but also keep the storyline matching the source material? Like??? No, you can't do things differently and expect to end with the same result as the original show. That is literally not how cause and effect works. Comparing the adaptation to the source material keeps it honest and ends up giving it context for plot points and character developments that end up getting glossed over or tripping into a plot hole and disappearing forever. Idk, I just hate this argument!

[@bamb3928]

Even if you don’t compare it to the original, the live action writing is this horrible. So....not sure how that makes a difference. 😂

[@meowtain9566]

I don't know how to explain to those people that even when not comparing it, this show is just unwatchable with how sexist and badly written it is

[@DGIMI7]

The whole show made my forehead red like sokka's in the cave of two lovers episode

[@cassandragarcia125]

"I just want us to have higher standards" Thank you! This is exactly what I've been saying. Why are we so ok with the amount of mid shows that we have been getting? This had the potential but was ruined by lazy directing and writing.

[@lillylashkay1002]

YES finally someone admitting that the adaptation is just not good 😭 Ive seen so many reviews from other youtubers and i honestly think theyre all being way too nice, because as you said, with adaptations people have just set their standards waaaay too low. Thank you for this 🙏

[@maddiefromthevineyard]

Oh, I really agree with you here. A lot of reviewers have been too nice. I think a lot of people wanted it to be something it's not and are having a difficult time coming to terms with just how bad it is. As someone who watches a lot of television/films, it is horrendous even if separate from the atla cartoon. I've seen better writing for lifetime movies and hallmark than what we got. I truly do wonder if they used AI for the script.

[@jenna4976]

I think it's way more insidious than "lazy." It felt sabotaged by a project management team that didn't care if what they made was good, as long as something got churned out. "Lazy" doesn't quite hit the mark.

[@angieng6091]

hollywood stop ruining our childhood faves with bad live-action adaptations challenge: impossible

[@MissingScrew27]

Omg thank you , i got so tired of the reddit bandwagon saying we shouldnt hate because its " not that bad " This show is loved because of how good it is , because of the standards it set. The fact this is the second attempt to adapt it and it still fails is absurd. As someone said : at least the movie was only 2 hours long.

[@strawberryqueen0382]

My favorite theory about this show is that they started the show using Earthbending because of how infamous the “single rock” scene was from the movie.

[@nikkabakhtiar8624]

when the world needed her most, Hannah appeared 🙏

[@alexandraleydon3420]

It is so refreshing to see someone give a completely HONEST review of this show! I feel like every review I've seen so far isn't willing to be as critical or harsh on the show as they want to be because they're afraid of backlash. Absolutely nothing about this show was enjoyable and I won't pretend, for even a second, that it was. And I refuse to subscribe to the "well at least it's better than the Shyamalan film" mindset, because if that's our bar (which is already on the floor) then we need higher standards.

[@robinanwaldt]

Fun Fact: For the German dub, they got basically as many of the original voice actors back as possible, so the acting, in terms of voice inflections at least, is SO much better! Of course, it still doesn’t help when the voice is really selling an emotion while the face you’re seeing still might as well be a plank of wood.. Still, Zhao is way more intimidating in German just based on his voice.

[@kitsune9873]

Der einzige Grund, warum ich überhaupt angefangen habe, es zu gucken. Es hat halt wirklich einiges aufgebessert und 'ne Menge Nostalgie freigesetzt.

[@zoeschmitt1624]

Them removing most of the humor is especially bad because one of the first things to die in a war is fun (and guess who the fire nation killed first… the peaceful, easygoing, FUN-LOVING airbenders…) and Aang not only brings hope, but fun and joy to everyone he meets! The first thing he does after waking up is invite the first person he sees to go penguin sledding! Hell, he deprograms an entire class of brainwashed fire nation kids by throwing a dance party! Like, I know they wanted to aim the live action at adults and therefore want to be Serious™️ all the time, but it’s the core of their main character, goddamnit! You can’t just have him say “I like playing with my friends and eat banana cake” and call it a day! Edit: I also wouldn’t have watched past episode one if it weren’t for my mom asking me to watch more every day. I’m sorry mom, but you do suffer from bad taste and media illiteracy :/ Also this show low key sounds better in German now that I hear some of these clips in English lmao (probably partly due to the fact that they got some of the original VAs again)

[@dw1419]

I switched to the Spanish dub for a lot of this show because those voice actors blew the live action actors out of the water.

[@zoeschmitt1624]

@@dw1419 multilingual life hack: dodging shitty voice work

[@hooshoof714]

As soon as they said it was garnered for the GOT fans I knew this was a failure. You can’t take a kid’s show with a perfect balance of humor and seriousness and try to mash it into an overly gritty, adult fantasy show of politics. Like where’s the connection?

[@simmerscrossing]

I noticed this immediately. Part of my thinking on it was because comedy is such a big part of cartoons and they wanted to make it “mature” they felt the need to eliminate it. My friend and I watched this together and kept bringing up scenes throughout the show like “do you think they’re gonna include this?” “No it’s too whimsical and joyous, they can’t do that”😂 The whole Omashu episode I just kept going “Flopsy?🥲” but no… much too joyous.

[@crumblybutgood3545]

That they were able to ruin the very foundation of their protagonist's character arc before the actual story even begins was a pretty clear sign of what was to come.

[@Snow-xd4rv]

Because they weren't supposed to be there. They had no roles in the season 1 of Avatar and Ty Lee should've been at the circus

[@katalinavillarrealcreates]

I'm so happy that you are urging people to have standards and not settle for mediocrity. Thank you for thinking critically and analyzing what you consume!

[@Pookiesk]

Toph is not going to be blind she is just going to be very empathetic

[@cassielynnd93]

My happiness peaked at the cabbage guy….

[@Zelda00Gamer]

Mine was that they sang the secret tunnel song. The tunnel plot aka butchering killed it though

[@stephenobisanya]

Meh. Even the cabbages looked like plastic. Like it’s all so bad.

[@123ItsMeMary]

And people keep justifying the writing and mashing of different storylines and plots by saying they had to make it fit into 8 episodes...guys, the runtime for the first season of the live action is LONGER than the first season of the cartoon. This is legitimately just bad writing and wanting to make it "more mature," which ironically, it's written like it's meant for kids more than the OG 😂 graphic violence and bland doesn’t make it more adult.

[@elitesixstudios8203]

Live action budget is different than animated budgets. Nothing wrong with combining the storylines. Way better than 2010

[@evagrace9095]

@@elitesixstudios8203I’m pretty sure any movie is better than the live-action 2010 movie so that's not a good justification

[@nope19568]

​@@evagrace9095literally the bar is like 10yards under hell with that one so its really not fair lmao

[@adrian225]

@@elitesixstudios8203 being better than one of the worst movies ever released is not exactly an achievement. Being better than a pile of crap means nothing.

[@ishathakor]

also like in the show there are 2 parts to aang getting out of the ice. katara accidentally waterbends him to the surface bc of her anger + power and THEN she realizes someone's trapped inside and runs to break the ice to help him. it's such an excellent introduction to the character it practically tells you everything you need to know about her in only a couple of minutes and taking away her immediate instinct to help someone is such a huge misstep.

[@tinasnow_]

One of the biggest things that confused me was how they’re gonna do book 2 earth when Aang hasn’t even begun to learn water

[@user-jp7no9ro9t]

the things u explained about sokkas sexism and how suki and kataras character got watered down because of it is exactly what i felt

[@monstermoo4191]

They made Katara learn waterbending from Aang explaining energy to her and Jet talking her through meditation. Then they wrote Azula to be the most patronizing depiction of a teen girl who's trying her best to impress her dad. It's gonna be a mess all around.

[@Olivia-cl6ww]

the difference between the atla live action and the one piece live action is insane. like I can't believe both were produced by Netflix, but I think the biggest difference between the two is you can tell how much the ppl involved with the one piece live action adores and respects the source material. they aren't trying to make it something that its not, but the atla live action feels like they're trying to make it more "mature" in a way that is low-key disrespectful to the animation. One piece LA takes pride in the original animation whereas the atla LA tries to "improve" it

[@AlexeiX1]

One piece had Oda working along with the production from beginning to finish, he even asked for reshoots of stuff he didn’t think was up to his standards. Atlas creators left midway because they couldn’t control the creative direction. That’s all you really need to know.

[@Olivia-cl6ww]

@@AlexeiX1 oh yeah that too, but also from what i’ve seen recently abt the specific og creators who were originally involved w the LA, they’re kind of.. idk how to describe it but maybe it’s for the best that they left 😭 but it definitely would’ve helped if other better writers from the og animation were involed

[@RichHomieGon]

@@Olivia-cl6wwwhat did you see about the OG creators?

[@doubleasworkshop1692]

It also helps that the One Piece live action bypassed the anime and decided to adapt from the manga. They brought back a lot of the edge from the initial chapters. Also just having the pacing the manga has really showcased how amazing an actually well paced One Piece adaptation could be. I was so happy when Luffy stabbing himself got adapted in the live action. That's one of the first things we see in the manga. The anime doesnt address that until like YEARS

[@annajung1234]

Aaand, besides the points already mentioned, there is also just the fact that the writers, directors, and other wonderful people responsible for the One Piece live action were competent and talented. Very much not the case for at least the writers and director of Netflix's Avatar.

[@lizardking3185]

After reading the Kyoshi novels I firmly believe that they would have been more suited for a live action adaptation. They have a more serious tone, they’re more violent and adult themed and most people haven’t read the books and wouldn’t have been as closely compared to the original material. I think redoing something so perfect was just a waste and a setup for failure