Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Art Of Missing The Point

[@friendlyspaceninja]

Note: so I just found out about the controversy surrounding Ian Ousley's casting as Sokka and what seems to be conflicting reports over his heritage and him not being native (thanks to you!). Currently reading up on it, I was not aware of that at the time I recorded this video, apologies for the omission!

[@natashambulo3510]

It's air nomads btw. Sorry I'm nitpicking

[@WaltDevil060]

In my opinion, I don't think that this matters that much. Lying is definitely not a good thing, but asking only for actors who have inuit heritage is kind of a dumb move in my book

[@k92ful]

It doesn't matter in the slightest if the writing is garbage. Which it is

[@MobikSaysStuff]

@@WaltDevil060It's a dumb move, period. Who cares. He was a good Sokka. Honestly cast was fine, it needs better writing and directing.

[@tadesubaru1383]

That's the strange race essentialist bullshit in casting I expected from USians tbh.

[@enigmadrath1780]

Funny how animation is still seen by many in the West as a form of kids entertainment, yet so many live-action remakes water down plots and characters and feel compelled to explain everything as if they're talking to a six-year-old.

[@Zulkak1357]

Wow the irony

[@deanthomas2961]

Could not have said it better myself. It almost feels like a joke, but this is a very disturbing trend in modern entertainment now.

[@PR1ME98]

And thats somewhat why japanese anime is so popular in the west.

[@enigmadrath1780]

@@PR1ME98Even our animated shows in the West handle their story lines and topics maturely. It's just that the prevailing sentiment stubbornly remains that animated = kiddie entertainment, and the only way to "legitimize" animated series is to make live-action adaptations, only for them to botch it by dumbing everything down. While I'm not a huge fan of the One Piece live-action adaptation, I'm still VERY impressed with how they handled such a behemoth of a story. They had to condense and even leave out a lot, but it still stands on its own without gutting the original story.

[@SheLovesUnited]

@@enigmadrath1780❤ Mo

[@wolfwatch9731]

it’s another classic case of “they obviously have a lot of love for the original, but i don’t think they know WHY they loved it”

[@missAlice1990]

And here we have the comment which f*cking nails it.

[@peterz395]

Everyone can love a show for a reason, there is no wrong reason. Get lost. Honestly the whole atla fandom goes on my nerves and can fk off.

[@Mercuie]

I'm very curious what the creative differences were that made the original guys leave. Because a lot of the vibe feels like executive interference. Looking at metrics and forcing that on the show. "How can we make a cool trailer that will make our subscriber numbers go up?! I want my 10 million dollar bonus to be 20 million this year!!"

[@piotrkowalski3869]

Or they wanted the show to be a little more mature. Original was aimed at kids, so they couldn't go hard on some things. It was a lot more lighthearted. Cause kids were watching it. Netflix ATLA makes every decision feel heavier, it's a bit grittier. It tries not to be a simple retelling of the cartoon with out straying too far from its source. Thats how an adaptation should be. If you want the same thing what stops you from rewatching the cartoon again. Wouldn't it get boring fast if everything was the same like it was in the cartoon. Honestly if you know where things were going you would drop it fast, but a little change here and there makes it fresh.

[@sanitygone-l9y]

RWBY moment. (They also were very clearly inspired by Avatar the Last Airbender but didn't know why Avatar the Last Airbender worked so well).

[@Figgy5119]

The Bumi thing is weird. He is supposed to be so important to Aang that he names his first child after him.

[@barbara_LL]

omg I hadn't even thought about that part 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@knightingirl]

For real, though. If someone treats me that way, no matter how they may be right, I don't think I'll name my child after them.

[@bakedpotato1717]

They have no intention on making a connection between atla and lok, so they don’t care 😢

[@PowerWinsTop]

Bumi's games were supposed to be.. light-hearted fun. He wanted to test Aang, but what we, the audience, didn't realize, is that the stakes were incredibly low. Netflix's version kind of ruins all of this by having Aang recognize Bumi off the bat? (which makes zero sense bc he's aged 100 years) Aang only realized it was Bumi because he realized that was the only possible person who he could be expected to remember the name of. Also that Bumi liked to play pranks on him. The fact that Bumi made this so hostile & was genuinely angry at Aang for disappearing (makes zero sense anyways because he didn't know Aang was the avatar when they were kids), just ruins the character...

[@knightingirl]

@@PowerWinsTop Very good point about Bumi not knowing Aang was the avatar.

[@tobennaokoli4450]

Every character was so juxtaposed well in the original between their ability and their personality: Azula: a raging firebender who is in control of her fire Aang: a pacifist airbender who HAS to fight because he’s the avatar Katara: a go with the flow waterbender except she’s hotheaded and has to control everything. Sokka: a frontline warrior who has a natural affinity for engineering and strategy Toph: a grounded earthbender who wants to be free and travel the world. But in this show everyone basically acts how you THINK someone with their ability would act.

[@silveryfeather208]

yup! i noticed that too

[@matijademsar2983]

Wtf like this is the best comment this is so good, its true!

[@katyluvs2read]

I hate how the show's writers went on and on about removing Sokka's sexism arc, only to end up taking away Katara's rage to make her submissive and docile, not allowing Azula to be fully a villain, having June think Iroh is sexy instead of annoyed by his advances, and then changing Suki and Yue to be just soooo obsessed with Sokka from the INSTANT they see him because he's just so sexy of a man, I guess. That, combined with cutting Sokka dressing in the Kyoshi warrior uniform, has led to what you could argue is a MORE sexist product than the original.

[@SererityisanEcho]

B-but don't you see, the original show was clearly dated! We should bow to our Netflix overlords for deeming us worthy of FIXING the original cartoon we loved!

[@cxncxrtmxstxr]

Ooooh I hate it when they made Suki and Yue horny for no reason 😭

[@cylontoaster7660]

Removing the Sokka sexism subplot on Kiyoshi makes sense for this show, since they devote time to the sexism subplot at the Northern Water Tribe towards the end of the season. Touching on that specific plot point multiple times during such a short season would have felt odd.

[@darkdestiny9106]

@@cylontoaster7660 I kinda agree here, he has a new unique arc of trying to realise he doesn't have to be the warrior his tribe expects him to be - and that he's a better engineer anyway... but that also kinda takes away from Katara, who was told to keep her waterbending a secret, which led to her mother's death, but she is getting over it and realising her true potential as a bender, and also as Aang's waterbending master.

[@flameron1]

@@cylontoaster7660um no, because those are 2 completely different stories one is integral to a character and one is integral to a culture and its traditions. It also reduces the actual character interaction between him and Katara, why he was so insecure and leads to his own inadequacies he feels as the lone male of his tribe left behind by all the warriors.

[@cocoxcocoa]

The biggest issue with the series so far is that the writers are afraid to give the main characters any flaws. Aang isn't irresponsible or afraid of hurting people, Katara isn't bossy or jealous, Saka isnt sexist or dismissive of things he thinks are stupid, Zuko despite being a bad guy doesnt really do bad things unless its for a good reason. Its like the writers were too afraid that people would dislike the main characters unless they made them 100% good people. And the biggest problem with that is that it dehumanizes them, and gives the characters NOWHERE to grow as people. If this show goes for all 3 seasons, then Aang, Katara, Saka, and Zuko, will be the exact same characters they were in episode 1.

[@reginaphalange9417]

same problem with many recent shows unfortunately, it's both insulting for the audience, and a sign of laziness or incompetence from the writers

[@haveagoodday2847]

they made aang put sokka n Katara's life at risk without telling them or caring about them twice so aang actually seems like a horrible person in this

[@shoyupacket5572]

same problem with rings of power, and new star wars. just terrible soul-less shit writing all around.

[@3twelve206]

This is so well said. You’ve articulated my thoughts exactly. Totally agree with you. I hate this about the show and it’s become a Hollywood trope. I’m not sure why they keep doing this.

[@selsja8586]

and its like not even a kids show?? theres litterally people being burned alive but they are too scared to show some sexist jokes.

[@enji1633]

Katara's fierce personality is literally one of the reasons that they found Aang in the iceberg in the original lmao

[@Jurgir09]

Western writers like to "Mulan"ise female characters

[@username.exenotfound2943]

@@Jurgir09 then call you incel or any of those things when you call them out on it when you show them better examples of good female characters for example mizu in blue eye samurai

[@nguyenhuyminh4945]

Which stems from her getting mad at sokka because he was being sexist, of which the show also "toned down"

[@tripledigit4835]

@@nguyenhuyminh4945god forbid a main character having a negative trait which makes them more unlikeable but also more realistic and once they overcome that negative trait (if they overcome it) more relatable.

[@thealbinotadpole2878]

They could've written that event to go about a dozen different ways just as well, so saying that Katara had to have her hot-headedness for the plot to work out is a weird and invalid argument. That said, without those traits her character feels kind of characterless.

[@meowsielee]

azula’s actress is just way too cute. like she’s absolutely adorable and she looks kind. the show should’ve leaned into it. have her look like this sweet pretty princess who slowly becomes more and more unsettling as you realize her sadistic nature. it could be such an interesting change from the original but instead they made things worse by making her an insecure teen

[@YourFaceisPretty]

The idea of portraying Azula as an insecure teen is terrifying in its own way. *shudders* Why do they do this to us?

[@valhatan3907]

​@@YourFaceisPrettyyeah, it's like seeing winter in July. Azula is not THAT 😂

[@froshtea]

Same. When i first watched Azula's appearence i thought they were tryna make her like how she first met Zuko tricking him into the ship without telling them they were prisoners basically play innocent and soft only to reveal shes sadistic and a good liar. But i really hate they make her be insecure so early on. She was supposed to be the pride of Ozai even in the comics Ozai told Zuko he should be dead if not because of his mother and grandfather because how much Azula could accomplish albeit being the second born and a daughter.

[@Iisho]

My mom really liked the Netflix show and didn't understand why I disliked it so much, Azula was the only thing we both agreed with lol

[@maxstevam430]

People should fear her, not pity her

[@maliaareneee]

For me it was how Katara and Sokka’s fights were about how “childish” Katara was acting, while in the original show the issue was she wasn’t childish enough and was acting too much like his mother…

[@maliaareneee]

And the og creators leaving super early on made me lose a whole lot of excitement for how the show would go.

[@abiade9614]

Yeah this. Katara feeling like the older sibling despite not being one was so so important I think. It doesn’t even have to be a photo copy of the og just an integral part of their relationship and also they’re respective flaws. Now it hasn’t been established 😕

[@VinnieMF]

I can't see this Katara reminding Toph of her mother.

[@r3dr4te963]

@@abiade9614 aye, I always forgot Sokka is the older brother.

[@abiade9614]

@@r3dr4te963 then the show did it’s job 💀

[@crimsoneclipse0618]

This feels like another case of an adaptation being embarrassed of adapting a cartoon and going "we can make it better" and by better they mean "gritty and realistic and mature" all the while completely missing the point of why the original is beloved.

[@chasehedges6775]

Exactly. It’s why I hate the Disney remakes so much

[@blondymonk1535]

and the irony is that the OG show is more mature in the end.

[@sodapopp4367]

Except the live action wasn't gritty, realistic, or mature. That was actually one of my complaints. The cartoon had dark moments, but some things were censored because it was a kids show on cable TV. I wish the live action would have expanded and showed the reality of some of the darker elements of the cartoon. We got a glimpse of it when the air nomads died and in the final episode, but I wanted more. It would have made the show hit way harder imo. Instead it felt hollow and like they cut a lot of corners. I do think it's possible to make a GREAT live action show, but they missed the mark.

[@lawjef]

It is almost like Hollywood does not understand the first thing about adapting a fiction novel, or a video game, or a manga, or ….

[@chasehedges6775]

@@blondymonk1535 💯💯

[@shanleenkinnjaskey2419]

The moment you stripped down most of the characters' complexities, take away Aang running away from his duties/his sense of fun, one-dimensionalize most of the female characters, take away a lot of Sokka's good actual clever moments and just TELL us that he's smart without showing it, strip out most of the friendship moments between the main three while once again only TELLING us that they're family, AND don't even have Aang learning waterbending this season, you're screwing up on a writing perspective

[@clownrat5759]

@@716_ハディくんshould invest in leaving the avatar franchise the F ALONE! Korra was let down, this adaptation was let down, the NEWER new series is probably going to be let down. They will never, and I mean *never* capture the lightning in a bottle that was ATLA *ever* again. Trying to do it repeatedly is only embarrassing themselves ngl

[@ZayTh3God]

@@clownrat5759reminds me of what Star Wars fans think of the other Star wars trilogies

[@theimpersonator7086]

It feels like Sokka and Katara were specifically written so that audience members wouldnt try to call them unlikeable on social media, which is very lame honestly. Characters having flaws, especially if they are teenagers lmao, is not the same thing as the show endorsing those flaws. It just helps gives character depth and layers, much like real people.

[@clownrat5759]

@@ZayTh3God im not a Star wars fan, but a Star Trek guy, so I couldn’t really compare the movies with avatar, sadly. Thankfully, maybe im just SEVERELY huffing that copium, but Star Trek did pretty decently with its movies and spinoffs. The animated show? ehhh. forgettable at best.

[@Defalt_477]

Dislinking korra series while praising aang series kinda reminds me of those mindless star wars fans, who believes nothing will ever top the original trilogy. You can like both.

[@blackjackal8770]

One thing that bothered me so much on the live action was that every location that they went to seemed to be really close to the next. It didn't feel like they were in a looooong journey that took days or weeks to get to one place to another. stripping the live action of those moments in between checkpoints where the gaang just hung out, bonded, bantered while flying on appa's back or sleeping at camps contributed to the series feeling rushed af, like they were just teleporting from one location to the next just like that.

[@227blackmagic]

Every adaptation is like a game of telephone at this point

[@faiyaz9768]

Yuh and I’m sick of them all cause their just so bad ( Percy Jackson, this,) their all watered down why can’t these big companies just make new movies with new plots

[@ashlisarang5381]

That’s the best way to explain these remakes I have ever heard

[@SW23252]

MAKE SOMETHING NEW! That way you have no one to answer to.

[@Unbridled-Whimsy]

We need new content, these live action remakes have allll been garbage!

[@lospecchiojp]

That’s actually what an adaptation is. The show was fine.

[@Fire_Summoner]

Netflix: We want this to be our Game of Thrones. *Has Sokka and Katara enter the tunnel of love together*

[@Hermi0Taurus]

I joked with my older sibling whether that scene was MEANT to be read that way because that change was the weirdest, among the others. No longer the Cave of the Two Lovers, I GUESS.

[@MajorOctofuss]

@@Hermi0Taurusit is its just the Alabama edition

[@piotrkowalski3869]

Nickolodeon allowed it so what's your point?

[@apotatowithglasses820]

at least they didnt go actual alabama

[@vaishnav_mallya]

Sweet Home South Pole

[@gaf407]

Katara in the original: “ I will never ever turn my back on people who need me” Katara in the Netflix Live Action: “you can’t help everyone.”

[@jonathanjohnson6727]

And to add she was all about learning her waterbending heritage/lineage. So in turn one would believe she cares for her people. Yet, in this she literally just goes 'they'll be fine' when Sokka states the Southern Water Tribe or 'Wolf Cove' needs their leadership before immediately taking off.

[@piotrkowalski3869]

One doesn't exclude another.

[@gaf407]

@@piotrkowalski3869 true, but in the context of the episode, it is out of character. If anything, staying to help the village should have been her idea, not Aang’s… Sokka is the one who should have said “we can’t help everyone”.

[@pt5728]

Katara in the original: a brown skinned girl, just like rest of her people. Katara in the movie: A light skinned girl that looks nothing like the original. Katara in the Netflix series: A light skinned girl that looks nothing like the original but is ok because she isn’t white.

[@dex4463]

This video makes way too many assumptions. Avatars is not even close to being considered one of the best TV series of all time. It's not even in the top 100. Give me a break...

[@christiner6673]

They basically made all the heroes of the show Mary Sue characters. Katara doesnt get jealous of Aang's waterbending (he doesnt even) or acts out expressively. Sokka isnt humbled nor has his mind expanded with his world view of what it means to be a warrior, Aang doesnt have his denial and pretense phase to overcome. I don't understand how they thought a "new generation " would become attached to and invested in these characters.

[@oneoranota]

This show is too violent for kids anyway. The very first scene shows humans being burned alive. Not that any kid would watch this when the better anime version already exist.

[@johanaforever965]

@@oneoranotaHum have you seen the scene in the Lion King when we see Mufasa freaking dying ? Or the death of Bambi’s mom ? That was dark af but that is still for kids

[@unknownperson8527]

​@@oneoranota u crazy lmao. Avatar as a series is very open to violence, war, and death except gore. That's it

[@elfireii328]

she doesnt look mean enough to be azula

[@plutopepsi578]

@@johanaforever965dude they literally burn several ppl alive on screen in this show and also it’s really different when it’s animated

[@pkpyro2000]

It appears that the show runners idea of “Mature” isn’t nuance, character and stakes it’s “Oh we see people die onscreen now”

[@timmyman9677]

I'll take the kid friendly action and implied deaths (if you think about a few scenes) of the OG show, thank you.

[@I_can_speak]

That’s the Dismal state of modern writing unfortunately. All the good stuff ended back in 2010. Now we get one or two lucky drops in 3 years and the rest is activism or lack of skill or both. Sigh 😔 …it sucks to be a movie lover with actual standards these days. Watching everyone else lap up the crappy writing makes it worse.

[@wizardass420]

​@@I_can_speakI absolutely agree. It almost feels like high standards in entertainment industry are pretty much hated nowadays which is sad.

[@kidkangaroo5213]

​@@I_can_speakyou sound like the most insufferable person one could ever have the misfortune of meeting "actual standards" jfc, get a grip

[@BroWhat1000]

Yep

[@Jarakin]

“I can’t think of a single reason why I would recommend this to someone over the original” may be the most damning thing you can say about a remake.

[@LittleHobbit13]

Related, I find the older I get, the less rabidly outraged I get about bad adaptations because I've realized and accepted "I'll still always have the brilliant original. I don't have to watch this trash remake. I can just watch the original." _(And that is also why I still buy things I truly love on disc, so no streaming site can tell me what version I'm allowed to have.)_

[@etienne8110]

Tbf i could say the same for the lord of the ring movies vs the book. The only thing going for yhe movies is that "you can watch them even if you re illiterate"... Which is not the best of points... Adaptations are rarely better than the original medium. But here, i agree that the show is so far worse than the original, that it id just better to watch the original.

[@kaiseayaandruis1597]

@@etienne8110the lotr movies at least the the gorgeous visuals and the incredible soundtrack, which makes them worth seeing even when you read the books

[@SirQuantization]

I wouldn't recommend LOTR over the original books yet they are still worthwhile. How is this, quote, "The most damning thing" lmaoooo this comment section is filled with clowns who type first think later.

[@Azhureus]

You are so wrong, I love the animated TV Show and I really enjoyed this TV Show too. Yall just bunch of kids crying over anything nowaydays.

[@CJMGalaxy]

What drives me crazy about Zuko fighting back in the Agni-Kai is that being able to even think of landing a hit on Ozai at thirteen would make him an Azula or better level prodigy. Part of his character is how incredibly hard he's had to work to get the skills he has, how he doesn't measure up in Ozai's, Azula's, or his own eyes. I don't even know what they're going to do with the scene where he's screaming at the sky to strike him with lightning so he can learn to redirect it, because the universe has never held back before.

[@almondmilk1939]

Not to mention in the original Zuko refused to fight his own father, not only because he was afraid, but also because he loved him and didn't want to fight him

[@ApequH]

@@almondmilk1939 And was to shocked to act as well, he felt hurt

[@jayxiong204]

No asian kid would ever dare fight back or raise their hands to their parents. He wouldve gotten whooped 10x harder for that.

[@wile123456]

It's also canon that his bending was behind development wise, and it's not a random thing that iroh teaches about the basic set in the first episode.

[@alialkuwari8385]

I actually liked that change, im actually glad they made a good change cause usually remakes just tell the same story which is boring and makes a remake completely useless. I think it made him seem like he still has his mothers sympathy even when placed in such a situation. It makes him more human and i think slightly more realistic.

[@sarah258595]

not only did Aang run away (rather than just go to clear his head), the night he ran away WASN'T the night he found out he was the avatar. the pressure put on him for it makes him miserable ofc, but he actually runs away the night he finds out he's going to be separated from Gyatso (the only person sympathetic to him still being a child, and also basically his father figure) in order to focus _even more_ on learning how to be the avatar. i'm glad it sounds like they added more Gyatso bonding to make up for it, i guess? but the original was meant to be relatable to kids who feel overwhelmed by a huge change in their life that the adults around them made, like moving far away or parental divorce. and it also REALLY solidifies that Aang was just a kid who didn't know what else to _do_ , as opposed to maturely going to "clear his head". have you ever in your LIFE met a 12 year old who could emotionally regulate well enough to do that?

[@bumbabees]

i dont know why they felt the need to change his character so much, as if they were afraid he would be unlikeable. aangs sympathetic factor comes from him being a very young child whos had this INSANE amount of responsibility suddenly thrust upon him when he wasnt ready. really, thats the case for all the main cast. the oldest is 16 and the youngest are 12. anybody with half a mind would understand anything stupid they do is because theyre children on the frontlines of a damn war.

[@sololeveling7390]

This katara would never take the waterbending scroll from the pirates

[@billybob7135]

But would she take it from the high-risk traders?

[@cP-fn6jj]

its sad cus the actor (kiawentiio) is so much more like katara 😭

[@alfiona7951]

That one scene where she nearly KILLED a soldier in cold blood. I'm pretty sure they'll remove that entire storyline cuz Katara was terrifying in that episode. Even Zuko was scared.

[@Ameersuhail]

She didn't. They changed it to make it her grandma's secret water-bending scroll -_-

[@Kabbyart]

Yes! The dialogue and writing messed with EVERY character

[@tashaglam4824]

We are living in an age where writers don’t trust audiences to understand nuanced content and media literacy is at an all time low. I had a MASSIVE problem with how they portrayed Zuko and Ozai’s Agni Kai in the live action. By making Zuko fight back the scene lost all of its emotional potency and killed off why that scene was so integral to Zuko’s story. Zuko tearfully pleading for mercy and his refusal to fight was why Ozai burnt him. Ozai DESPISES weakness. It’s one of the reasons why he always hated Zuko. Unlike his cruel and selfish father, Zuko and Iroh showed compassion. Something which was devoid in the fire nation royal family. Zuko refusing to fight reinforces to Ozai that Zuko will never live up to be the heir he wants. It’s why he grooms Azula to act as cold and cruel as he. So having Zuko fight back his father and also having Ozai seem all too reluctant to burn Zuko just tells me that these are different characters.

[@thylionheart]

The irony is that to me, the scene where Ozai goes to Zuko’s bedside showed that *Ozai* had “weakness,” too-even the fact that he went to his bedside showed far more compassion than OG Ozai ever would have shown. OG Ozai burned his pleading, prostrate 13 year old son’s face and then banished him for showing dishonor. LA Ozai actually exchanged blows when Zuko fought back and then had the audacity to actually look _sad_ when burning Zuko’s face?? He didn’t look sadistic, he didn’t look angry, he looked emotional and upset. They literally softened Ozai in the LA and had him preach about weakness. Make it make sense.

[@sheyri9]

LA Ozai is not the type of person who would tell Zuko he's lucky to be born.

[@EllieCarina]

It’s not the writers though in most cases. It’s studio execs/producers who don’t trust the audience and force the writers to write everything out.

[@ajidle6483]

@@thylionheart I feel like this could be good if they showed the process of Ozais psychosis through a backstory. For example they could show him on the battlefield and him witnessing a friend fall in the battlefield after showing mercy and compassion. I feel like ozai being evil just to be evil makes sense in the animation but this being live action I feel like you have to have a really good reason to fight a merciless war for a 100 years. Then again in the live action their playing the manipulation of his kids card hard so he might just be an evil guy and his actions during and after Zuko live action fight might be outliers.

[@niyaakbar1098]

Having Zuko fight Ozai back didn’t necessarily take away how impactful that scene should be. Not better than the original but it’s not bad. If I’m not mistaken, he still pleaded with Ozai not to fight because he respected his father too much but Ozai didn’t give him an option really. It still reinforces Fire nation culture/ozai’s oarenting, respect comes from power and show no mercy/weakness. Either way, Ozai is still testing Zuko. Zuko doesn’t fight back? Weak and now you’re burned! Zuko fights back but isn’t ruthless? Weak and now you’re burned. Ozai is always testing his kids

[@abi22222]

removing kataras entire personality to water her down (pun not intended lol) to this docile submissive little sister was the thing that annoyed me the most about the live action. when you water down katara - remove her compassion, her ability to connect with others, her nurturing role, her ANGER and RAGE and DRIVE - you water down the very fundamentals of the story. you drastically and severely alter the core dynamics of the gaang, because katara was so important to the development of every single one of them. she was the rock and glue that held team avatar together. the thing with katara is that she WAS angry at the fire nation, for her mother, being the only waterbender left etc. it was her anger that freed aang. her anger was her strength and removing this core piece of her personality was such bad writing on Netflix’s part.

[@abiade9614]

This. She played a part in so many other characters’ development it’s crazy how she was barely present for her own development. 😭

[@miriam8376]

One of the things that made Katara so iconic is her anger-girls are very rarely allowed to be really angry in media (or real life, honestly). They don’t get to yell the way Katara does in the cartoon. And they never get to yell about sexism like Katara does in the very first episode, which I noticed was stripped out of the live action entirely. God forbid we risk alienating the sexists in the audience by having a girl acknowledge it exists 🙄

[@anonisnoone6125]

U can't have a female characters nowadays that's motherly and nurturing.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@abiade9614 And now they retroactively ruined Toph as well

[@abiade9614]

@@LuisSierra42 that’s what I was thinking. Thank you for pointing it out. How the heck is she supposed to learn people looking out for her doesn’t mean they’re trying to force her to be something she’s not?? 😔

[@dughole]

zuko refusing to fight ozai is a v telling moment for his character, it tells us he is someone who intrinsically values the lives of others - that the fire nation's violence isn't innate. & ommitting it is definitely a disservice to his characterization. but it also cuts out important context abt fire nation society itself. i feel like its SO telling that ozai's rage isn't really abt zuko challenging his military strategy - is distinctly abt zuko's refusal to fight. it really fleshes out the fire nation's preoccupation with honor, that this is a society where it's MORE inhonorable, MORE socially taboo, to surrender - than to literally set your son's face on FIRE. we learn so much about their culture & the way it punishes even those living at the top of it. so sad not to see that, especially when dallas liu IS great a bringing zuko to life generally.

[@carrotsprout5188]

it also makes him less likeable, like he wanted to show mercy to someone who he already had the upper hand to is so dumb bc it completely nukes his growth and the fact that he was a child of INTENSE abuse that gets kind of watered down bc yeah he still gets burnt but it somehow manages to take away the harshness of ozai. he's not punishing zukos weakness (surrendering, begging for mercy, basically knowing his place as of season 1) he's punishing him for a strength that shouldn't be there until season 3...

[@Lialey22]

The exposition dump after Aang finds out Zuko is the blue spirit was one of the most frustrating scenes in the adaption.. as you said, in the original this conversation was carried by subtext and realness. Aang asking Zuko if they could have been friends in a peaceful world is so hard to watch. They saved each others life in this night but for Zuko it's to early in his journey to do another thing than throw a fire attack at Aang in rage. After both of them get 'home' to their friends or crew/family they both just go to sleep in sadness. You feel that something important is going on and maybe something can change. This is the real magic of the scene... Not 5 minutes of: I tell you why I'm here

[@tiablue9106]

I agree, the more I think abt that scene, the less I like it. it's too bad bc I rlly did like it at first just bc based on what iroh had said I think it made sense for aang to try and get thru to zuko, and I liked how he tried to do it by talking abt the notebook. but I agree they made zuko a bit too open w/ aang. I appreciate he still tried to attack aang while injured but idk it needed a rewrite

[@timmyman9677]

Seeing that one clip of them talking together killed any remaining desire I had to watch it

[@davismorgan99]

I HATED how they portrayed Azula. I think the actress was fine but immediately showing her insecurities was a terrible move. You really only see her break twice in the original show: once on the beach for like five seconds and again in the final episode. What makes her breakdown at the end so tragic is that she’s been so evil the entire series that you have no empathy for her. Then you are reminded that she’s just a kid who has lost her mind. Showing her as an insecure teenager from the start is kinda bizarre.

[@sourcandy6469]

Ikr? I loved how strong and scary Azula seemed even though she was so young and when she imagined her mother in the last couple episodes my heart broke for her. Her character was so well written she was kind of the opposite of Katara, both missing their mothers but one turning out compassionate and empathetic and the other cold and sadistic. I would’ve loved to see how they made the exact same show with real actors and then the comics to tell us more about her character but Hollywood disappointed us yet again.

[@sevyluv333]

To me, the way they portrayed Azula screamed “this is something we are pulling in from the post cartoon world”. It pops up in other places, such as the inclusion of the mother of faces (koh episode) and Kuruk talking about evil spirits (northern water tribe episode).

[@etienne8110]

Idk. There are more times. Like her first bending training in book2. Like when she tells her father she doesn t want to be treated like zuko. Or when she mentions not being able to trust the people closest to her in book2. Clearly, you only catch those on a second watch when you know what to look for.

[@annewithnoe]

yeah also, shes portrayed as calm and collected even when shes losing her temper so as a kid you DO think shes cool regardless of whether you like her or not, so when she breaks she BREAKS

[@chriscrowe11]

Her biggest strength for 90% of the series is that we see her entirely from Zuko's POV. Shes the perfect daughter, the more calculating strategist, the more ruthless fighter, the more talented bender, and the more deserving heir. That visage only begins to crack AFTER Zuko begins to become more disillusioned from his family's empire (like you said: the beach episode). From that point on he sees her as an obstacle, not a rival. And in the finale, once the visage is fully shattered, we see her for what she truly is: a neglected and damaged teenage girl who had the potential to be a Person if their family wasn't so utterly fucked up. Shes a phenomenal character and great narrative foil to Zuko

[@gaearin1662]

Azula is a product of Nature+Nurture. If she hadn't been born into the Royal family, she'd have just been a walking red flag but not as demented! She was a sociopath born to Ozai and her mother's fear of her made her even more crazy. hence never understanding why Ty Lee was happy in the Circus . Azula was Ozai's weapon because she doesn't hesitate . Changing azula makes no sense. Azula doesnt cry. Azula only started to cry when her mind was breaking .

[@mangosorbet]

thank you, it took me out of the essay so much, belittling some peoples concerns of casting the Azula actress to 'cause you want her to be "SeXy" was such a blow to the orginal intent of her character

[@qwirkt]

They made her another Zuko, she is kinda supposed to be the new villain after Zuko, contrasting with Zuko because she has no feelings. But they made BOTH pushovers in the series

[@qwirkt]

@@mangosorbet Some pervs were probably angry about that specifically tho. Yet to be fair, making the character less conventionally attractive DOES hurt her character because she's supposed to be the kid who's perfect at everything, in contrast to Zuko who is literally disfigured. If you're writing a high school drama you don't make the threatening villain bully girl chubby, that will make it obvious she has insecurities given how the world works.

[@seg162]

@@mangosorbet His dismissal of the idea that the actor for June should have been cast for Azula because the actor's 40 while the character is 14 was also weak-- of all the issues that people had with the Last Airbender movie, _none_ were the fact that the teenagers were being played by adults. His excoriation of the "pervs" was a bit less weak, but still lacking. If it's truly as he represents it, then the problem is that they aren't engaging with reality so they can recognize that they're now talking about _real child actors_ in their real appearances-- not that they're "weird". That kind of remark to that kind of issue isn't something that's thought out, it's something that's rehearsed.

[@cameronmason4452]

@@seg162 Yes, people were mad that the Avatar movie characters were adults. Sorry to burst your bubble

[@kuroki4151]

that scene when Sokka says that 'I always forget how powerful that kid is', while looking at Aang standing before the fucking VOLCANO he defeated. Is one of my favorite scenes in the show. I still cant believe its just a throwaway line here, like its still so amazing to watch until today, and im pretty sure it made katara waterbend without her hands too.

[@kaveeshaginodh8792]

That scene made me tear up and feel proud for my boy. I love that scene and I hate this adaptation for removing that.

[@Sploberrie]

My theory, is that every adaptation, Shyamalan, Netflix, and even Ember Island, all adapt Katara as presented in the opening narration. That's their only frame of reference for Katara's character. She gives a monotonous speech about how doomed everything is and how we need to remain hopeful because the avatar will save the world. That speech isn't enough to encapsulate all of Katara's character. But it's the first thing you hear in the show and Katara reads it, so people think that it's all Katara is.

[@chheinrich8486]

😂😂 interesting theory but fits SOO well

[@mikemorro140]

that speech is Katara, it's just that's one facet of her, they take out everything else

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

@@mikemorro140yep, it’s literally the fire nation propaganda version of katara

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

This fits

[@F.A.S.D]

Ohh myyy goddd it make perfect sense lmao🤣🤣 these writers probably only watch the pilot episode of ATLA then said "yep I get the character now, let's get right to writennnngggg"

[@LittleHobbit13]

I was incredibly suspicious abut Bryan and Michael leaving for "creative differences" given how accurate the casting and costume/set designs looked. Like, I see a lot of things going right, so what's going _so wrong_ that they felt the need to leave? As we started to see more and more articles about how they were making what they claimed were "small minor changes" to elements that were actually HUGELY important foundations to various world lore and character development arcs, it became increasingly clear they were _still_ missing the point about what made the original series so truly exceptional.

[@cameronmason4452]

missing the point about what makes "Stories" incredible. Apparently just fight scenes and explosions with the generic "warrior who needs to become the best" main characters

[@BratzRockAngels]

Before the show even came out, when it was shared that Bryan and Michael left the show because Netflix kept messing with things, it was clear the show was not going to be good. It's interesting cause I still think the best shows on the entirety of Netflix are the animated ones. (Arcane, Bojack Horseman, Castlevania).

[@ErosDiabolico]

Honestly, kudos to them for leaving. More writers should do this when the executive producers want to fuck things up. Too bad that's not always a viable option for the writers.

[@madduxnagel6935]

Yeah it should've been obvious from the get-go that this show was going to turn out like this just based on them leaving. But people wanted to have hope...

[@mr.iiconic]

​@@madduxnagel6935well ultimately they are not avatar. They're amazing and important but they get too much credit in my opinion. Many if not most of the more iconic episodes weren't even written by them. Where's the love for Andrew Huebner, who gave us the masterpiece that is the tale of Iroh? Katie Mattila, who wrote the Beach? Elizabeth Welch, who is responsible for an amazing piece of art like Zuko Alone? So for me, I just don't put Bryan and Mike on a pedestal so much that I think Avatar lives and dies on it. Avatar isn't just them, it's hundreds of animators, writers, people's with ideas. So I thought it's possible this could have been great. The worship of them as though they're responsible for everything great about Avatar strikes me as sad. It wasn't, but I don't regret keeping hope when Mike and Bryan left. Avatar was never great because of them. It was a team effort.

[@Guairedarksbane]

So, Aang is traveling around with someone who literally has an instructional manual on how to waterbend, but he never once tries to learn. I guess he doesn't take his role of avatar that seriously.

[@coolgirlraquel]

it’s okay, he Doesn’t Know What He’s Doing

[@tiablue9106]

I like how some ppl were trying to defend this by saying Aang doesn’t know abt the comet to give him a ticking clock, but even the show has characters berate Aang saying he shoulda been waterbending before he got to the North Pole lol

[@MalaikuZ]

Sooooo dumbbbb

[@gunnersg2700]

Didn't watch the video but wasn't the point that Katara didn't consider herself a master yet, and the scroll was only basic forms that wouldn't make any sense to an airbender, and they wanted actual instruction from the North?

[@tiablue9106]

@@gunnersg2700aang coulda started w/ the basics tho, no point in him waiting until he gets to the north pole to even attempt. if the basic forms won't make sense to an airbender then idk how master instruction would be any clearer (ig I'm assuming the bending mechanics are the same as in the original but still)

[@bangmain5355]

The ONLY thing I will add to this, that I believe is missing, is that the new show is missing the wisdom... It seems to be missing the lessons that were taught as we progressed through the story.

[@trinaq]

I hated that they portrayed Katara as this submissive girl, especially in regards to Sokka, when in the original show, she was outspoken, and didn't let anyone stop her from getting what she wanted. Have the show runners ever actually watched the animated series? 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@chasehedges6775]

Have the show runners actually watched the original series? Answer: No!

[@javierlopez9789]

They also turned her into the average boring girl boss character by having her teach herself everything and "be her own master" as if that makes any sense. She also sent a bunch of healers to the front line to be massacred by the fire nation.

[@Momocham23]

which is really funny because they actually said katara’s mother role in the show was sexist and made these changes

[@OGslick]

She was a waterbender but had that FIRE in her. It was so disappointing to see it snuffed out as soon as the first episode.

[@b.l7491]

The show runners may not have, but at least the actors seem to

[@bushybeardedbear]

_"There is less banter and interaction between the core cast...but that's arbitrary..."_ No, I think that's also fundamental. We are supposed to be watching their journey together as friends, learning and growing. If they don't interact enough, why are they even together? Why change something so fundamental?

[@LilacKoi]

oooooh if they take out Toph and Katara fighting in the later seasons fans are gonna riot

[@bluespiral4678]

The chemistry between Aang, Sokka, and Katara is so lacking, and it really feels forced at times. It's very hard to watch this show without seeing them become actual friends and companions on their journey. Idk if it's even worth finishing all 8 episodes. Why watch this subpar product when I can just watch the original in all its glory and levity?

[@StocktonMotherFer]

Because you don’t have over 60 episodes to tell the story that’s why 😂

[@bushybeardedbear]

@@StocktonMotherFer So, it shouldn't be made. If you're arguing the format of Netflix itself stifles creative, compelling storytelling, why even try to make anything of worth?

[@StocktonMotherFer]

@@bushybeardedbear it was entertaining and there are millions of people who enjoyed it . Because you’re hating on it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have that experience . You’re gatekeeping .

[@mhawang8204]

My theory about expository dialogue in modern shows: They’re made for passive/casual watching. They’re betting on people just put this in the background and not giving the show their full attention. The bad, unnatural dialogue allows viewers to check in at any moment to follow along. If you’re actually sitting down to watch every minute, it’s repetitive and boring.

[@StarryEyed0590]

It's a vicious cycle, because these clunky, repetitive shows then make viewers not want to give them their full attention.

[@shawerful5209]

Its like when i was watching the two towers when i was doing chores, and i thought that the movie was boring, but after sitting for true and watch it, it made me realise how beautiful everything is

[@YukaAkemi]

i was trying to watch it with my full attention and then eventually it became background noise while doing other things :/

[@anfiasco]

whats crazy too is how much money they put into a show without actually wanting to create something worth watching

[@nightmareTomek]

Nah, I think they're just failures as writers. We had enough woke writers getting all mad that people didn't show up in theaters. Why would the Netflix ones be any different.

[@ing.l5573]

My main problem was actually about the costumes, they don’t look used at all, they always look perfect, no dirt or wrinkles. I feel like they missed that…

[@mr.iiconic]

Good point.

[@etienne8110]

Honestly, i can overlook that. The writing issues are way more problematic. At least the costumes look well for all nations, so you can tell there was some thought given to it. The writing can t boast that much...

[@ing.l5573]

@@etienne8110 I just can’t watch it without it looking staged, but I get your point

[@tultrapfighter]

One thing that really bothers me about how they wrote Aang is that his role with alot of the other characters is flipped. In the original show, he was taught lessons from the people he interacted with. In the adaptation, it feels like he needs to save everyone he meets and teach all the moral lessons himself. It takes away from his development as a character imo.

[@selenarodgers5667]

Facts, plus I dislike how the trio barely has any chemistry. It feels like the chemistry is forced between the three.

[@sauraaruas5021]

Hmm not sure that was really my issue, i believe that in the original show Aang also had his fair share of teaching and inspiring others. Maybe not even with words, but by his joyful hopeful and friendly character that showed people there was this kind of purity in the world, almost like an embodiment of peace? Does anyone else feel like that character aspect was really lacking btw? Like this Aang felt way less likeable cause he was busier being upset about being the avatar than the trade of just wanting to be happy and help others.

[@selenarodgers5667]

@@sauraaruas5021 Yes, I agree with you on that as well. They made Aang in the live action feel more serious & less fun because they wanted the live action show to feel more like Game of Thrones & Lord of Rings. Which I don’t understand since the animated show balance it well, with child like naivety and serious moments as well. I think the main problem with the live action Avatar is that they’re lacking that child like features (lacking the child spirit of it). This Aang doesn’t really have that because they want it to be so serious, which is going to ruin his character. Aang isn’t just serious all the time, he’s a child who has fun exploring the world while helping others along the way. I dislike how they did his character & Katara’s as well ☝️😤

[@Ameersuhail]

@@selenarodgers5667 I know, and I thought that as well until I saw their Press Tour promoting the show...and it proves that the production and writing are to blame for that, because irl, all of them have great chemistry and actually a lot in common with their characters. The director is trying too hard to turn it into a Game of Thrones knock-off and it's biting them in the ass, because this is the wrong property to do that.

[@selenarodgers5667]

@@Ameersuhail Exactly

[@Iquren]

the biggest issue i had with this show was the fact that aang never learns waterbending, thats the main point of the show, for aang to master all elements, and yet he spends no time learning any waterbending, or any other elements.

[@SennaHawx]

Hell...That's what the three seasons are named after

[@lucariomew365]

Exactly. Like what are we even doing then?

[@ironmaster6496]

Didn't the whole trip started exactly because of that reason? Like.... isn't that THE FREAKING PLOT???

[@rouged3392]

Cant believe they skipped s1 water bending lessons by katara. It even showed more of her characterization by aang learning quicker. I don't remember which episode but it's in season 1

[@lucariomew365]

@@rouged3392 He starts learning from season 1 episode 9 in the original series. And he was a naturally gifted genius. By the time they got to the North Pole Katara and Aang were already decent water benders before training with Master Paku, but not quite at the master level. Aang also didn't have a problem passing on what he was learning from Paku to Katara, behind Paku's back, unlike the live action where he left her high and dry.

[@aalllllllexx]

The change to the zuko ozai agni kai not only makes it less impactful since he's no longer on his knees begging while disfigured, but it makes ozai seem like a non threat with zuko almost getting a winning blow in. same with how much they show him in the season, he's just a guy. He's not a looming powerful presence

[@nathangale7702]

Even if Zuko lands that hit, he’s not going to beat Ozai. I think Ozai gave him the opening just to see if Zuko could be as ruthless as him and was disappointed.

[@antoine6760]

Zuko wasn't already disfigured (in the original) while begging, but he was about to be, the scene ends as he's getting burned

[@tultrapfighter]

@@antoine6760 i believe they meant the disfiguring was happening as he was on his knees, not that he was disfigured already.

[@Ninja_Tude]

Agreed, he loves and respects his father and doesn't want to fight him no matter what pleading the entire time. And ozai ruthlessly Burns him anyway. But for me what's even more haunting about that scene is when we cut to Azula and iroh and their reactions while ozai and Zuko are shadows and you just have Dante's scream fading out... The fact that you see iroh, the only one in the family to see war looking away in pain, Azula smiling,and the shadows of Zuko and Ozai closing with that scream just hits so deep in a matter of moments

[@Ramsey276one]

BRILLIANT

[@simonexx1130]

Respectfully, I fully disagree on the fright scenes. What made the original so impactful is the fact that each style of bending had a specific style of martial arts assigned to it which best represented it . The movement were so distinct that you could tell the type of bender even without the clothing colour. Such a brilliant idea too. In this adaptation, however, the fight scenes are just that, fight scenes. Sure the effects look cool, and the action sequences were mostly nicely directed, but the same kind of action can be seen in blockbuster movies. It’s like they missed the entire point of having fight scenes for character development and important story beat, and instead made it to be like “Oh look, cool fight, you like cool looking fights, right?”.

[@ohood1788]

I disagree that Kyoshi yelling at Aang is a nitpick, it's such blatant mischaracterization of a beloved character. They changed her from a calm, level-headed and dignified presence into an asshole screaming at a child for something he didn't even do. It's like they based her on the "kyoshi is bloodthirsty" fandom memes rather than the actual character from the show. Past lives are supposed to guide their current incarnations not scold and guilt trip them. They literally had her yell "YOU NEED TO BE A MERCILESS WARRIOR" at Aang which was so puzzling. In what world is Kyoshi merciless? They made it seem like being a warrior is what's most important to her which is ridiculous. Kyoshi is someone who wouldn't hesitate to enact violence when necessary but she does not take pleasure in it, she is also gentle and compassionate and wouldn't treat one of her successors the way she does Aang in this show. I couldn't even enjoy how cool her action scene was because I was still recovering from how baffled I was at the way she's depicted. They made her come off as unnecessarily aggressive and unreasonable. For all that talk about "toning down" the sexism, it sure seems like they took the sexism out of Sokka's arc and put it in the writers room instead because the way these women are written is atrocious. This is apparent with Suki as well, she is literally ogling Sokka and is instantly interested in him for no apparent reason. Instead of Sokka learning to see women as equals from her, they had Suki reassure him that actually he's a super great warrior. Also the way they framed Suki beating Sokka in a fight (and him getting upset and storming off) was as if she did something wrong which was really weird. Sokka also grabs one of her fans out of her hand and saves her mid fight, which is crazy that the leader of the Kyoshi warriors needed rescuing from a far less experienced fighter. They also had her thank Sokka for "showing her the world" by....existing near her? Suki I am so sorry for what they did to you. Why are women just randomly throwing themselves at Sokka? A similar thing happened with Yue and she actually calls him the "boy of her dreams." The video already mentioned how they butchered Katara and Azula so I won't get into that but I will also say that Mai and Ty Lee could have been replaced with two pieces of cardboard and nothing would change. They added nothing to the show and there was no reason to introduce them this early. There definitely are some things I do like about this show, but it's very telling that none of those things have to do with any of the female characters. The writing for them was egregious.

[@TheAnimeMangaClub2121]

With Mai and Ty Lee, it was actually pretty funny because I don’t even think they said their names 😂

[@davismorgan99]

Yeah I liked this video but he kinda acted like only his criticism was warranted and if you disagreed with him then you’re an idiot. Every time we see Kyoshi in the original she is calm and collected. She never raises her voice and it completely stoic so seeing her yell and lose her tempter is a weird addition.

[@piotrkowalski3869]

You took it out of context. She clearly stated there is proper time for both diplomacy and being a warrior and when it comes to be a warrior one has to be without mercy.

[@ohood1788]

​@@piotrkowalski3869 She literally says "you asked me what it means to be the Avatar. It means being a warrior. A mighty, merciless warrior." I know she listed a bunch of roles the Avatar plays earlier but that becomes obsolete when she states this as the meaning of being the Avatar. Her hostility throughout this entire interaction doesn't help either. Frankly, this sounds like something inexperienced, book 1 Korra would say before her character development not Kyoshi who's been the Avatar for 200+ years. Regardless, being a "warrior who is without mercy" is not what Kyoshi is about. If they wanted a merciless Avatar then Yangchen is right there. Kyoshi's major advice to Aang is "only justice will bring peace" not "only ruthlessness will bring peace." And that's Kyoshi's thing. Justice. The scene in the show doesn't convey that. The live action Kyoshi is just not the same as the original Kyoshi, not in mindset and especially not in personality and demeanor.

[@hype5471]

I absolutely agree, everytime kiyoshi has shown up, she is always calm, collected. She always goes straight to the point and does not shy away from the fact that she has been ruthless when she had to be. Every appearance, she just exudes authority, her screaming just waters her down. Like, considering her backstory and her EXTENSIVE life, her having a outburst like that directed at a child seems just stupid. Also kinda funny how they removed the plot about sokka's sexist views which had to be humbled out of him but then added the part about Suki falling for him instantly, without any reason which feels kinda sexist, or cliche at the very least.

[@miriam8376]

I think my biggest overarching concern is just that they didn't trust their audience. They didn't trust their audience to pick up subtext in the world and writing; they didn't trust their audience to have the patience to wait for answers (thus eroding much of the tension); they didn't trust their audience to be willing to engage with characters even when they were unlikable; they didn't trust their audience to put together basic plot elements from showing instead of telling; they didn't trust the adult part of their audience to enjoy the charm of children's media. They spoke down to the viewer the whole time for fear of not making the show accessible to the widest possible audience (in an attempt to gain the biggest hit possible), and the result was a show that was so broadly targeted that it didn't hit bulls-eye for anyone.

[@abiade9614]

You ate with that last line… 😔

[@ripsett6638]

Exactly my feeling. This the second Netflix adaptation in a row (first being All the Light we Cannot See) that has been washed in exposition and bubble wrapped.

[@isbammoi3358]

Very well said

[@KariIzumi1]

You're absolutely correct on this but given how much time I spend on Twitter and seeing media literacy going down the toilet & people shitting on characters that don't fit into neat black and white boxes of morality, that's partly on us as a society too.

[@SererityisanEcho]

I feel like that applies to most modern movies. They think the audience is dumb, and don't trust us enough to understand their work.

[@malathikrishna9253]

The way they handled Katara was honestly heartbreaking. They omitted the connection with Paku and gran gran which was bad but we never saw her struggle with water bending. We never see Aang water bending so we never see her be jealous of him being a natural at it. She struggles a bit at the beginning but then she is instantly a natural. She is called a master EVEN THOUGH SHE WAS NEVER A PUPIL. It pissed me off so much.

[@NHarts3]

Yeah they did katara dirty 😢 Master Samwise did a great video on how they butchered her character and all of her scenes

[@haveagoodday2847]

omg same and when the writers made her fight the master of the water tribe and apparently it was a tie when they never even showed her progression and it had been so little time n he was a MASTER like years of training.But she was also just asking him to teach her which didn't make sense if she was as good as him and she never even learnt anything before the battle so how was she supposedly that good

[@malathikrishna9253]

@@NHarts3 I saw this! Felt so vindicated.

[@JayceCH.]

Feels like they wrote every character in a way where it tries to make the female stand up to the patriarchy.

[@7Namjoon]

My problem with Azula is that she doesn't look menacing or threatening at all. Animated Azula had that scary look in her eye and a sharp jawline. Live action Azula is...adorable? It's not the actress's fault but it just makes it harder to take Azula seriously.

[@carrotsprout5188]

they definitely could've used that to their advantage tho. how much scarier is it when the cute adorable child is fucking ruthless in everything they do? like imagine a cute child kicking EVERYONE'S ass, like including fucking ADULTS!

[@BratzRockAngels]

​@@carrotsprout5188 Right, they really could've done something with that but they just butchered her writing.

[@cookiestrong8757]

What’s a nitpick that isn’t really a nitpick because it’s actually quite significant is Azula’s hair. I don’t see anyone talking about this but I hated that they show her with her hair down. Azula’s hair, just like Zuko’s hair is heavily connected to their character and where they are as a character in the story. Azula’s hair represents her perfectionism. From the very first scene they properly introduce her, they showcase this. And slowly as her mental state declines, so is her hair. They completely ignore this by having her hair down from the very first season.

[@elizabethashley42]

This. I get so angry when live action remakes disregard the artistic decisions made in the animated version that tell us something about the character without words. The Disney remakes are notorious for this and I hate that it's so common.

[@ApequH]

YYYEEESSS!!

[@blackche1580]

And she isnt fat

[@cookiestrong8757]

@@blackche1580 I wouldn’t say the actress who plays Azula in the live action is fat. But she definitely isn’t as slim as Azula is. Her face is a little square / rounder which makes her look a little cuter than she is menacing. Same with Mai. I personally would have liked if they casted someone who looks a little more like Azula and Mai. But if they already decided on the actresses, I would have at least liked them to be written well.

[@QuestionsIAskMyself]

@@cookiestrong8757they are literally children though. Why is everyone constantly bringing up their chubby cheeks? They look like kids, because they are

[@rogersmith9535]

I wish they made Katara a good character, if only there was a blueprint to follow.

[@KariIzumi1]

if only.... :(

[@abiade9614]

😭💀

[@melhiott7977]

good one haha

[@stbd2773]

Katara pisses me off the most, I'm convinced that every writer trying to adapt her has only seen the Ember Island Players episode of ATLA and just went "Oh yeah that's Katara!"

[@niloticnya]

Even the play was written better

[@theatricalityanddeception]

At least she actually had some personality and emotions in the play lol.

[@juliamcalister8655]

Even the version of her they wrote to be 1 dimensional has more personality than the live action lol

[@bheronz]

What they did to Katara is so funny to me. They really tried avoiding the sexism from the animated series by making the live-action series even more sexist.

[@rastafahrer]

in my opinion (woman there never was sexism in the original series. Women and men are different, these differences can be seen in a kind, mean, loud, quiet qay. Siblings tease each other, brothers tell sisters that they are better at xyz, sisters tell brothers they are better at xyz.

[@BratzRockAngels]

​@@rastafahrer Huh?

[@rastafahrer]

@@BratzRockAngels was meant to be: in my opinion as a woman

[@BratzRockAngels]

@rastafahrer Oh okay, but there was sexism in the original show, aka Sokka's sexism. The sexism in the show wasn't a bad thing because it was framed as wrong and Sokka developed from it.

[@rastafahrer]

@@BratzRockAngels do you have an example for Sokkas developed "sexism"?

[@pam7304]

One thing that bothered me was how they tried to make some characters overpowered, like Katara self teaching and being great from the jump, when it was a point made in the og that even if she had a lot of talent and potential she still needed help and to work towards being great, she was even jealous of Aang learning faster than her. And also Zuko and that fight scene with his father where he actually fights and they make it seem like he could've won at that young age when it's a integral part of the character that he was not the prodigy that he wanted to be and that his sister always was, also, he was desperate for his father's approval and was terrified of him so he would've never even try to lift a finger against him

[@thetaomega7816]

Also, I dont fear the Firelord anymore. He seems weak and not like the undefeatable god of fire. Aang easily defeats Zuko, so why would he ever struggle with the Firelord?

[@tameriz1280]

Exactly! Original Katara already was a prodigy of all prodigies, she became a master in month of training! All she needed was a solid base on upon which she could build her water bending skill, as soon as she got that her progress literally skyrocketed. Her problem was that she was the last and only water bender in the whole south pole, she literally had no one to help her with basics, but that's it. Honestly, she is probably the most talented bender in the whole original cartoon judging by the short af amount of time it got for her to become such a master. They didn't need to make her even stronger. Instead of focusing on her complexity as a person they just turned her into bland girl boss #999. And the fight between Zuko and Ozai was just atrocious.

[@WolfiDemon]

This. And also the fact her Grandmother had the Waterbending scroll ALL ALONG so writers could save screen time (and waste it over another kind of useless addition) about the pirates. Which was the WORST choice ever. Because of this, we don't see Katara being jealous over Aang (because it's wrong to be jealous), we don't see Aang having his first steps at waterbending (instead they splash e/o because hey, school is boring have fun instead!), we don't see Katara's burning desire to learn more that she even goes to the extreme of stealing the scroll (a protagonist stealing?? How horrendous!!) to learn by herself. And, maybe I'm wrong, but we didn't get to see Jeong Jeong either, and subsequently Aang's trauma over firebending and his own immaturity about burning the stakes (hah) and hurting Katara in the process. Because of course, to show immaturity is "wrong", just don't show it. I'm tired to see these shows writers thinking that not showing a flaw erases it from existence. If there's a flaw, it must be on a bad character, because it's BAD. Heck, imagine having a kid's cartoon showing more subtilty and cleverness in the writing than a large budget live action series....

[@handlesarestupid154]

A small writing blunder in the live action that I haven't seen anyone mention is all the references to regular animals. In the Avatar universe all the animals are fusions, such as the penguin otters, or Korra's polar bear-dog. Off the top of my head, Sokka says Momo probably tastes like chicken, and Bumi mentions that one of the foods being served is kangaroo. In the animated series the gang is flabbergasted when seeing a regular bear for the first time, which also happens to be so rare that it's the personal pet of a king.

[@davismorgan99]

It’s a weird situation because in the original Aang mentions Kangaroo island

[@Sebomai-b8i]

Also, all of the Spirits are represented by IRL animals (or they were until Korra turned them into Ghibli knockoffs)

[@draccqueen1770]

The original show was full of these inconsistencies, too.

[@jessical4866]

Regular animals do exist in the world of ATLA, they’re just not common. Chickens, ducks, and yaks are all regular animals that are listed in the wiki.

[@mr.iiconic]

I'm glad people called this comment out on its bullshit. The original made this mistake plenty of times too, that's why no on is talking about it.

[@littleghostelli5843]

I truly don’t understand how this many people can fail to do the thing that the cartoon did so well, which is to never condescend the audience - especially children. I’ve never felt so infantilized as I did watching this adaptation.

[@LoweMartin-ew7ee]

Honestly just waiting on book two for them to look at the backlash and fans...it has potential let's agree 😭

[@zerohz]

@@LoweMartin-ew7eebut whats the point of making a live action remake?

[@TonyMontanaDS]

Gen Z is your answer. Entitlement, narcissism and complete lack of talent.

[@joeyh9859]

@@zerohz Because of the success of adaptions like the transformers and scooby doo. Not to mentions the wests inclination to paint any animation as something for children only.

[@zerohz]

@@joeyh9859 atleast they were original stories that just happened to be in live action and not a remake

[@MsCaptainMidget]

The fact that Aang didn't even attempt to bend water, changes to Bumi and only being 8 episodes were serious disappointments and would never recommend this adaptation to anyone.

[@aceofblades6574]

I actually truly despise the fact that they changed Zuko and Ozai’s Agni Kai, and I think it actually reveals far more about the mindset behind this adaptation than people may have realised. I remember in the lead up to the release date, one of the showrunners said in an interview that we’ll get to see things that weren’t shown in the cartoon, and along with the genocide of the air nomads, he also mentioned Zuko and Ozai’s Agni Kai. Now this really confused me when I first heard this because, well, we DO see the Agni Kai, it just cuts away when Ozai burns Zuko’s face. This interview, paired with the fact that in this adaptation Zuko actually fights Ozai, very much reads to me that either the NATLA showrunners somehow, through some bizarre leap of logic, thought that there was a fight that is just never shown or mentioned, or that they saw the fact that Zuko does not fight Ozai as some sort of failing of the cartoon. The fact that the showrunners also said that they wanted to appeal to Game of Thrones fans very much says to me that they may have thought that the cartoon didn’t have Zuko fight back because the OG showrunners couldn’t/didn’t want to show too much violence (which is insane if true, considering the amount of violence and dark themes that the cartoon does show and explore). In actuality, it is the fact that Zuko does not fight his father that makes the original Agni Kai far more horrifying, and far more violent.

[@CreativRtist]

I would also like to jump in to say that I fervently believe that the only reason Ozai didn’t kill Zuko outright during that Agni Kai is because Zuko refused to fight, and killing an opponent that had already surrendered would have been a bad look, especially because it was his son. His reputation would also explain that bs line about learning respect, not only to tear Zuko down by making it his fault, but also giving an excuse for the violence to point at if anyone ever questioned him about it. The guy was a sociopath, but still pretty intelligent.

[@wenchysadie]

In the great words of the robot devil: “You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel. That makes me feel angry!”

[@pheonixblue01]

The time he swapped hands with Fry was great.

[@guskinmaypho174]

Zuko being able to defeat Ozai doesn't make Ozai scarier, it makes him less scary, more cruel. If he can be beaten by a 13yo who sucks at firebending as much as Zuko did, what are we even supposed to be afraid of? There is now zero chance to build him up to this scary powerful bender that has to be defeated, preferably when he can't firebend as we didn't see any other option. Ozai in Netflix show is just this regular cruel dictator who is in power because he has his supporters, not because he's so powerful that nobody dares to question him. I wonder how they gonna fix this to make the final battle believable. But I guess I already know the answer to that. Characters change as the writers need them for the sake of the plot.

[@Klokinator]

"Somehow, Ozai became invincible."

[@vespernight4236]

Agreed, it does major damage to the foundation of the stories conflict. The entire reason Aang needed to learn how to bend all the element quickly is bc of how overwhelming powerful Ozai *already* was *before* Sozins comet gave him a boost. He was propped up as a borderline God king of the nation, so strong that NOBODY dares to question him bc as shown in his agni kai against Zuko, even being his own flesh and blood won't spare you from being humiliated and brutalized in front of a massive crowd, for barely stepping out of line. He is the embodiment of the 'might makes right' mentality. In the cartoon you understand why there aren't constant rebellions everywhere included in the fire nation (i know there are some but theyre often underground im talking full on 100s of thousands of peasants everywhere rising up), or why so many are loyal to him, bc he is the embodiment of their proganda and current warlike culture; might makes right. Again that's BEFORE Sozins comet factors into the equation. Not only is the vicious tyrant ruler of the fire nation going to get a massive power spike, his indoctrinated and well trained army is ALSO getting that boost. That's the whole REASON Aang is essential in the plot! He is literally the ONLY person on the planet that can match Ozais power on such a short timeline. So when you tell me this man could've lost to his 13 year old son??? Nah that fucks me right up! With the way he rules the fire nation every other super strong bender should've been smelling blood in the water and getting ready to jump. There is no way a man who exerts THAT much control over an empire through sheer hard power would lose to his barely teenaged son. It makes it feel like anybody could beat him then not just our Mc Aang

[@derg6222]

yeah, mindboggling why one would change it in that way. doesn't make any sense.

[@missAlice1990]

Thank you for that comment!

[@luneluna307]

Exactly. And I could never imagine Ozai going to check on Zuko after the fight. His place is in the throne room people go to him not the other way round

[@Evelina_412]

In regards to the casting, I was one of the people who initially complained about the actors not looking right and it's not because they're not "hot enough", but because Zuko and Azula's actors just straight up don't look like villains. They both have these round, sweet baby faces that make them instantly friend-shaped. There's kids out there with angular features, who could look menacing in those costumes and these two just aren't among them. It's like if you cast the guy who plays Iroh as Ozai. He doesn't look like Ozai, he looks like Iroh.

[@dontemcl]

Great points! I agree with you.

[@chrono4998]

they worked for me because Azula reminded me of the north korean dictators kid.

[@shevankaseneviratne1724]

@@chrono4998 who is probs over fed living on luxury. Azula isnt just a princess shes the number 2 strongest fire bender. 3rd if iroh actually bothered

[@Piccadally]

yeah I get what you mean! I personally thought that the actor who played Jet, even though he was of course a perfect fit for him, could have also done a great job as Zuko.

[@valhatan3907]

Exactly 💯

[@lenapawlek7295]

I really feel like they mashed together all the recognizable moments but didnt understand why those moments were important and well known in the first place

[@terrawrites1900]

If I remember right from interviews, I'm pretty sure this is exactly what they did. In the warning that they took away Katara's submission and Sokka's misogyny, they said because of pacing they had to cut a lot of stuff and so they picked what scenes were their favorite and made sure they were in there, so it literally is a mash of all the best moments with no impact because it's just moment after moment.

[@ahsoka_tano_98]

Yeah it's such a mess, I've just finished watching episode five, where they threw in a lot of unconnected spirit stuff, Wan Shi Tong without a library, Koh having nothing to do with emotions and working with the fog of lost souls, which is not his thing and not even an ATLA thing, Gyatso living in the spirit world after death like Iroh, which is, again, a Legend of Korra thing, what were they thinking, it doesn't work!!

[@ChinaDragonGirl]

I seriously hate what they did with Azula. Live action Azula is not... Azula. No cold razor sharp sarcasm, no brilliant manipulation and calculation. Azula never wore her emotions on her sleeve, she was always in control. Zuko's flashbacks have shown that it has always been that way. "Almost isn't good enough" but they couldn't even remotely capture what made Azula so fascinating and interesting. Seeing live action Azula scream and rage feels so wrong, just so out of character. So disappointing. EDIT: why do people feel the need to bodyshame a teenager yuck. It's okay to not like the casting, and I see the point that athletic superhuman teenage agents should be muscular and well built but bodyshaming a young actress is not helping anyone.

[@marseille1196]

Exactly. It so frustrating how they completely misunderstood her character and proceeded to botch her entirely. That as well as the actor looking nowhere near as menacing as Azula did.

[@margarethmichelina5146]

Also, noticed how Azula and her friends are uh.... well fed on this Live Action? It looks like bad cosplay when I see them on first time.

[@tashaglam4824]

Azula flat out disobeying Ozai is insane because despite always being in control of every situation and having people submit to her will, the ONLY authority Azula will ever recognize is Ozai. She would NEVER defy or speak out against him.

[@ChinaDragonGirl]

@@tashaglam4824yes, that was an essential character trait that defined her throughout the whole serie and is one of the reason for her mental breakdown. I don't know how they can fix this with this already out of character Azula. It's just so disappointing...

[@Orangecatenergy]

@@margarethmichelina5146they just have chubby cheeks. The actresses are not fat or “well fed” I’m tired of people shaming these teen girls for having chubby cheeks. Literally google their names, images of them will show you they’re quite skinny…

[@gaphic]

A huge component of what made Azula and Zuko so great in the original was that Ozai’s abuse made them bad people. They were easy to hate, and sympathizing with them required understanding that who they were *was not their fault,* that they were CHILDREN who were molded into monsters. NATLA turns them into perfect victims. They no longer require any empathy or compassion from the audience, and that’s truly vile.

[@abiade9614]

No this is such a good point I love this. The og show definitely WILLED you to empathise with them but it wasn’t forced at all. It’s was so sincere with both their respective arcs and allowing it to unfold naturally. In this series, sm of it felt in your face. Like they were obviously trying to do what you just mentioned - show Ozai shaped them this way. But it was so explicit and not subtle it takes the fun out of discovering these characters again (for example Ozai manipulating Azula by pitting her against Zuko in one of their first scenes together). The fact that he smirked to himself as she walked away made me laugh I’m sorry. 💀

[@tsuki3752]

this makes a lot of sense. the whole point of the show is CHOOSING to trust, forgive, and overlook differences for the prospects of hope and peace. not only do we see the characters grow and choose to forgive zuko and the fire nation, as well as feel bad for characters like azula, but we also see zuko’s struggles with earning back forgiveness. redemption is an interesting ideal, and zuko recognizes that what he did was HIS fault and no one else’s, even if he was being coerced by his father, he still must take responsibility for it and he must right the wrongs he made. it makes it even better for when he could’ve chose a life of quiet in ba sing se, but instead he chooses his old ways again, which makes him a “bad” person. it just takes away a lot of the choices the characters will make down the road, and the emotional complexity of each character.

[@nomex9829]

That's not true for Azula. She was a monster from the start. She said it herself in S03 "The Beach"; what she did to Zuko was as bad as what Ozai did.

[@Asas_mic.]

Please rewatch 49:00 you need it if you think azula should be sympathized. She was evil and good at it .she was a perfectionist and you thinking she should be sympathized because it's her father's fault shows that 1. You act like you understand her character but you don't AT ALL 2. You never watched the original series and your viewpoint is from Twitter

[@abiade9614]

@@tsuki3752 I rlly enjoyed reading this. ❤️

[@christianwilke305]

I really only think people are saying this show is mid is because it's better than the movie. If the movie didn't exist I think people would be much more harsh towards this show.

[@aprilshades]

No one saw what they did to SUKI ?? She spends all her chapter chasing Sokka and being embarrassed of him, doing weird stuff around him... It doesn't make any sense. Animated Suki is so much better bc she's the very definition of feminism. She shows Sokka how women can fight like men, being warrior and all that, also teaching him their ways instead of being a shy girl in love at first sight. That pissed me off the most ... (Just to clarify the actress is perfect for Suki, most of them are perfect, I believe she could nailed it with a better character writing). I hope writers improves her personality next season cause I feel they're waiting the actress full potential as Suki.

[@jaydas8976]

They seriously butchered her in this live action show, I hated that one scene of Suki just standing there when Sokka is half-naked, there was seriously no point in adding that scene. It was just so weird.

[@Orangecatenergy]

@@jaydas8976seriously, they reduced her to a naive girl that needed the first best man to come around and rescue her from her town and show her the world. And also is reduced to a tool to build up sokka. Remind me again why they took out sokkas sexism but managed to reduce the female leads to tools and tried to make them relatable by making them cook? Replaced sexism with misogyny ffs

[@BratzRockAngels]

They took out Sokka's sexism because they wanted to be sexist to the female characters themselves.

[@Diadem187]

Right?! In order to not make Sokka a sexist, they made Suki a sexist. Now, the only reason Suki falls for Sokka is Suki essentially going 'Ooh, a foreign boy!' That's just creepy and weird

[@sannesini]

they made suki seem boy crazy i hate it sm 😭

[@retrochi3053]

The moment I saw them fly Appa without saying “Yip Yip” made me know the show was gonna be some bs

[@tiablue9106]

what's also annoying is they say "yip yip" in a later ep w/o having introduced that's the phrase for getting appa to fly (or speed up). I get it's a small thing but they should've either left it out entirely or at least partially kept in that whole thing from the beginning for new viewers

[@JohnSmith-bw6pv]

You and the guy who made this video will never get laid :|

[@NuniPikachu]

literally this

[@Brandon-bc1fz]

When they get to the Cave of two lovers and Aang doesn't get lost with Katara is when i completely lost all interest in the show. She gets lost with her brother instead? Why?

[@nightmareTomek]

The moment I saw the casting I knew it's gonna be crap. A friend sent me the trailer and after seeing it I immediately responded with "avatar the last genderer"... Well, it wasn't gender but race, but point is the same. They raceswapped just about everyone compared to normal Hollywood films, this made it very clear they were just following another polical agenda instead of focusing on making the story good. Not trying to be racist here, just this 180 looked very suspicious, that's all. It's also not only like noone is American, noone except Sokka is thin either. Anyway, I don't think any of the cast did a particularly good job. To me it seems they lack energy, but that could simply have been the writing.

[@abbygailvalcourt6577]

Someone else mentioned this in the comments, I just wanted to reiterate; the frequent slow motion during the fight scenes really turned me off from them. It was like they were so obsessed with capturing "cool" moments that they messed up the rhythm and timing that fight scenes are to have. I found it difficult to immerse myself in those scenes because they constantly took my attention away from the scenes.

[@ju-uj]

also, avatar was never about the fights, so its just weird that all the fight scenes were so over the top

[@LuisSierra42]

@@ju-uj They wanted to dumb it down for normies

[@ju-uj]

@@LuisSierra42 true

[@om58499]

Sound like a synder film

[@tsuki3752]

yes. avatar never did slow motions in the original, only when to show something is a close call or for comedic effect. and if they did, it was barely noticeable.

[@ademonsangel]

My biggest issue with this show was how much time the 3 of them spent apart. I kept asking my husband like why do they keep saying they're like family they've spent like 5 minutes together and the keep getting separated for no reason. It was sooo frustrating

[@MariosPOS]

i'm going to disagree on the change where Kyoshi takes over Aang's body. Someone else pointed this out in another review video, but the whole Kyoshi Island episode in the original series serves as an important part of Aang's character development, as he initially goes there to ride the Unagi, i.e to goof off, but inadvertently puts everyone on the island in danger, and in the end has to ride the Unagi once again, this time to put out the flames in the village, thus taking accountability and trying to mitigate his mistake. Whereas here, not only do we not have either of those arc points, Kyoshi is also just like "look at how a real avatar does it" and then cleans the way for Aang, so in the end he just learns nothing.

[@username.exenotfound2943]

tbf thats the fan service he refered to which blinds people just as the fanservice/nostalgia bait blinds disney star wars fans

[@houndofculann1793]

Sounds like they could have even done both, with Aang first failing and Kyoshi picking up the slack but only until the situation is back at a point where Aang can manage, but still has to fix things. Then again I'm not sure if Kyoshi is big on teaching that kind of lessons, feels more like a Roku thing

[@gabriellethompson501]

I didn't understand the part where the mom was like, "Thank you for teaching us to believe in ourselves," like that had been an issue to begin with

[@LittleHobbit13]

It's almost like the original was writing about an actual 12 yo kid who was having to confront the fate of the whole world resting on his shoulders, and that he was going to have to grow up whether he wanted to or not, whether it was fair or not. Emotional drama and consequences, in *my* kids cartoon???

[@tsuki3752]

@@houndofculann1793 can see him maybe over relying on her. after all, him and kyoshi do not share the same moral viewpoints, maybe she’s about to kill them and aang stops her, making her angry, or aang has to live with the fact he killed someone. or aang in general has to feel horrible that kyoshi had to step in, since he already feels inadequate as an avatar. maybe it makes him not want to rely on anyone after that, or makes him apprehensive to roku’s guidance later on. there’s a lot of routes one could go to actually make the fanservice serve even just a little bit of sense. but sure let’s just show off our amazing bending cgi for the 18th time.

[@marianamauricio]

the one thing i couldnt stop noticing was how often they used slow mo during the fight scenes. 😭

[@jttw2374]

M night shyamalan flashbacks

[@sowercookie]

For me it was the shaky cam! Like what is this the office???

[@thecod2345]

They’d definitely be so much better if they stopped cutting every second and a half. It’s great choreography marred by awful editing.

[@ukchanak]

Cutting that often usually means the choreography had holes in it @@thecod2345

[@nightlock7702]

I couldn't stop noticing how many curs they have during the fight scenes

[@tishe5269]

what i hate most about this show is that they turned an anti-genocide, anti-war show, into a "i need to get strong asf so i can win the war" show

[@esther7976]

!!

[@KyleWoodlock]

I was NOT a fan of this adaptation, but... That's what the original was too, at first! It was always "Aang needs to master all 4 elements in time to defeat Ozai before the comet comes back" and most of the complexity in that premise came in the later seasons.

[@tishe5269]

@@KyleWoodlock the OG is quite literally anti-genocide. the new one starts with a scene that makes genocide look cool

[@zeplin2253]

@@tishe5269i think you’re reading into the attack on the air temple wrong its not meant to make it look cool its more of the executives wanting a action scene where the fire benders can actually win and show how “brutal” the war was over that 100 years ago

[@tishe5269]

@@zeplin2253 literally read what the writers and cast say about those scenes in interviews lol

[@sophienah4654]

My main issue is that the original has this theme of "injustice". These children have gone through so much pain and strife and now they have to save the world? It isn't fair. And they hammer in how unfair it is with every awful thing that happens. Changing aang to this kid who's dedicated to stopping the war changes that subtext. Having Katara and Sokkas mother fight back for even a moment, before being struck down, changes the subtext of her believing she would be taken prisoner and instead being outright murdered by an evil man. Taking away a truly angering moment where we see how merciless the fire nation is. Having Zukko fight back against his father, you guess it, changes the subtext. Just having him land a hit on Ozai diminishes the emotional impact of a 13 year old on the floor begging his dad for forgiveness before he's struck down. They somehow managed to erase all the emotional maturity that the Nickelodeon cartoon spelled out for them 0:15

[@l.1586]

Zuko fighting back against Ozai is such a huge blow to his character and the changes he goes through WHAT THE FUCK 😭 LIKE DID WE NOT WATCH THE SHOW? HIM GOING FROM WORSHIPPING HIS FATHER TO FIGHTING HIM????? HELLO???? Fuck his arc in that regard, I guess.

[@TheDaniela3112]

In the original show he respected and loved his father so much he literally kneeled before him and refused to fight out of respect and fear to hurt him. He put himself in harm's way rather than lift a hand to attack his own father. That's how pure and good Zuko was at the time. Him fighting back takes away from the demonstration of his innocent and caring nature

[@anjalik1136]

That was the worst change imo

[@etienne8110]

And wouldn t say worshipping. Rather fearing him. He is terrified by his father. He knows his father almost killed him and is unclear if his father killed his mother... But wtv, he shouldn t fight back, that just doesn t fit their relationship, nor his growth arc.

[@plutopepsi578]

It makes me so mad bc him refusing to fight his father shows us who he is at his core. It gives us something to compare post-banishment zuko to and shows that as he goes through his character arc this is ALWAYS who he’s been.

[@bushybeardedbear]

_"The show needing to tell you rather than show... Is a nitpick..."_ No, I'd say that's a fundamental failure of visual storytelling. Like, a kids show, trusts its audience to process emotions more subtly, than this multimillion dollar spectacle...? That's a failure. That's a massive failure.

[@tristenweber-nd1sv]

Show, don't tell is a fundamental rule of storytelling. I can't remember who said this but gave an example like this: How threatening would the Galactic Empire be if we were only TOLD they destroyed Alderaan and not shown? Where is the intimidation factor in our antagonists? Where is the threat posed by the Death Star?

[@Unhappytimeaper]

It's literally the first flaw you often have to work and overcome when getting a writing degree or are in any writing class. It's not a nitpick its people ignoring literally one of the most fundamental traits of any writing class that if you don't learn will kill the momentum of any project

[@chikzdigmohawkz]

I've seen people be like, 'you guys, you keep criticizing this show, but you should be happy it isn't anywhere *near* as bad as the movie was'. And my response is - just because we *could* be getting food poisoning, doesn't mean we can't criticize the dish for being under seasoned.

[@acsound]

Better than...something the internet claims was written/directed by M. Night Shyamalan and released in 2010(**) ISN'T a high bar to clear -- b/c that bar is on the *ground*, ** There is no 2010 THE LAST AIRBENDER movie in Ba Sing Se...

[@ZenArkayne]

It seems like the conversation about the show consists of "it's okay" and then some people need that conversation to keep going after that. Like this review video was an hour long -- not because there was an hour of things to say, but because content creation needed to happen.

[@alter9933]

@@ZenArkayne And who the f*ck made you an expert on content creation?

[@scarletkittyeyes]

yo this is legit an amazing analogy. my eyes didn't bleed but my heart sure broke with how dirty they did Katara

[@stagelinedpro]

It not being as bad as the movie is very low bar to clear.

[@possessedpicklejar4762]

I will never understand the choices they made with Azula. Ozai’s like “why can’t you be more like Zuko? Even though I burned his face and banished him with a task that was considered impossible at the time, he’s the one I’m actually proud of.” And she’s like “I’m so jealous.” What even is this? What are you even doing guys?

[@ghostravenstorm385]

What Netflix did to Bumi should be a Master Class in how to assassinate a character.

[@SaraHandlez888]

This is my biggest issue with the show. Aang literally named his child after him. Out of everyone to change, it shouldn’t have been him

[@AngryCapivara]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@cameronmason4452]

I think that change was ok tbh

[@ZakonWith]

xD!@@cameronmason4452

[@lightningjadejavier]

Imo it was a good change, like they're obviously going in a more realistic approach, and why one piece succeeded in the live action where as this version kinda didn't (tbh imo this adaptation of atla was good) succeeded is that one piece the first season HAD an actual good start for the live action, that's why it was actually good because the first 40 episodes of the 1000 episodes were somewhat chill and easy to adapt to a higher budget and even cooler looks, same with death note, buuut they somehow failed that, where as for atla not only is it made mostly for kids, they leaked too much stupid knowledge that ruined the experience, like if you think about it, early one piece and early atla we're simple, yet the adaptation never said "it was gonna be darker" or some bs like that and instead let the screen show you, which is why i think that tweet "this adaptations gonna be more like got" was completely unnecessary and imo ruined the show even more, now what does all of this has to do with bumi? Well imo just like big changes, one piece live action also had one which was garp yet it worked well, because they weren't tweeting more and more sht tweets, which is why i think bumi is just fine specially the fact that he's character is what it really would be if they took a "got" or realistic approach to this show.

[@memebrain2177]

It's like this reboot already gave zuko his honor without even losing or earning it in the first place

[@zybch]

Even a male character can be a Mary Sue.

[@piotrkowalski3869]

Did you watch the full season. They go back to him having his ass handed to him by Ozai for undermining his authority later in the show in a flashback.

[@hejti3894]

gary stu @@zybch

[@turnerburner922]

@@zybchGary Stu

[@lollipoptrees9148]

The fact that Katara got the scroll from her grandmother misses the point that the water tribe was plundered, which happens under colonialism

[@seg162]

Neither of the water tribes were colonized-- the Southern Water Tribe was repeatedly _raided._ The scroll was originally obtained by those pirates through theft.

[@lollipoptrees9148]

@seg162 colonialism takes many forms. Settler colonialism is when you have settlers usurp the land by bringing in settlers and institutions to occupy the land as well as enforcing ideologies regarding social relations and how land should be used. Extractive colonialism is when a land is repeatedly plundered (and raided), often through enslavement or forced incorporation of people into the wage system. Not to mention, colonialism requires the g-word, which doesn't just mean the elimination of all people but the elimination of culture, beliefs, etc. In the case of the southern water tribe, the g-word is prevalent in the fire nation's elimination of water benders. Edit to add that yeah, the pirates obtained the scrolls through theft. Can't remember exactly who they stole the scrolls from. But the reason they have so much value is because they represent knowledge that was lost b/c the fire nation exterminated/stole water benders.

[@seg162]

@@lollipoptrees9148 By your own definition of "extractive colonialism", the Southern Water Tribe wasn't subjected to it. They weren't enslaved, and the Fire Nation didn't force its inhabitants into any kind of labor system-- they just captured waterbenders in order to preemptively stymie resistance against the Fire Nation's expansionism (they never even used them in war). The Fire Nation _did_ have colonies-- Republic City's predecessor in the comics was a Fire Nation colony on what would have been Earth Kingdom land. The Southern Water Tribe just wasn't subjected to _colonization--_ only raiding.

[@lollipoptrees9148]

@@seg162 they weren't a colony because the resources in the southern water tribe weren't deemed as useful to the fire nation (and it was too cold). But the encounters between the two are still colonial in nature. Again, g-side is a big part of colonialism, which doesn't just extend to people but to knowledge, culture, etc. It's like saying that residential schools weren't a part of a colonial project just because children were removed from their families. Or that machu picchu isn't embedded within colonial politics because the Spanish never figured out how to get there. Colonialism, in whatever form, is a structure, not a series of isolated events.

[@seg162]

@@lollipoptrees9148 The very fact that there was no value for the Fire Nation in colonizing the Southern Water Tribe, is demonstration enough that they suffered nothing that could be construed as colonization. Plunders don't necessarily have to be attached to a colonization effort. Genocide doesn't have to be attached to a colonization effort.

[@jayrockhammer]

I love that Ang's whole purpose of season 1 was to go to the north and learn how to waterbend. Not once in the whole series did he water bend.

[@tyler-df3wy]

Ngl in like half the shots I've seen of Zuko, his scar looks more like a bruise than a scar. If I didn't know the original show, I would absolutely believe he'd just been punched in the eye

[@TsubasaAnimations]

Considering the fact that he gets fucking fried for quite a bit in the show

[@twokidsintrenchcoat]

EXACTLY! It isn't just a strike, Ozai FRIES HIS FACE OFF! There is no way he could "still see" or that tiny scar is whats left of the burn, he MELTS HIS FACE OFF! Im talking 3rd degree burns! WHY THE FUCK DID THEY DO IT THAT WAYYY?????

[@chickenporkadob0]

it's amazing how his face got burned but still has his eyebrows in tact. I'm like bruh.

[@Letsjustnot9597]

That’s what I was thinking, too. Did the makeup artists watch the scene? Bro should have half of his face burned off. In an era where Guardians of the Galaxy and cosplay exist, there is no reason for you to botch making a 3rd degree burn scar on somebody’s face with makeup. It looked like face paint in a few episodes, so I low-key forgot it was supposed to be a scar and thought it was just for decoration.💀

[@AS-ri1mb]

Let’s be honest, most people in this world are a bit fireproof

[@Holly-zu6kp]

Can we talk about the costumes real quick? It seems like they wanted this show to be a bit darker, and grittier than the original but the costumes they used felt just like that. Costumes. They seemed too clean and new compared to the rest of the world. Dolls and katara lived in an icy wet climate but their outfits seemed rigid and freshly pressed. If they made the colors slightly darker and “dirtied” the white fur and clothing a little bit I felt like it would have fit much better with the sets design.

[@jackbyrley6441]

Kinda disagree. Maybe water tribe could have looked different, but Tibetan Buddhist monks actually do wear bright oranges and yellows, which inspired Aang's look, and I don't see anything especially flashy/out of place with the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom. Plenty of cultures had access to bright pigments in the past but cloth and paint fade over time. One of the things I actually disliked about the 2010s one was that the world was visually so drab, which was typical of a lot of "serious" movies from that era, and I'm glad we've left that trend behind.

[@raffy234]

That kept bugging me too!! It felt like they were cosplaying the characters instead of being out there "adventuring"

[@niyaakbar1098]

@@jackbyrley6441there’s nothing wrong with the colors in aang’s outfit but it looks cheap and costumey most of the time. There’s nothing wrong with bright colors but their clothes should look dirty in the live action with all the traveling and combat they do

[@wraith313]

They wanted darker and grittier and still left all the characters as children who make bad jokes constantly during supposedly high stakes situations

[@Lulotalk]

Disagree

[@superleipoman]

31:00 Zuko fighting back in the Agni Kai is absolutely a huge deal. In the original series, he is shamed for refusing to fight. At the end of the series, Zuko and the viewers realise that he was in fact the only one being honorable. Point in fact, this is a theme. Zuko has 3 Agni Kai during the series and in hindsight he is the only one acting honorable three times. The new series seems full of stuff like this, where they are just completely misunderstanding why choices were made in the first place. This is how you write a good story: everything is important. You don't just do whatever. Also, LOL AT HAVING HIM ALMOST WIN THE FIGHT. This series is a terrible joke.

[@TheDaniela3112]

In the original show he respected and loved his father so much he literally kneeled before him and refused to fight out of respect and fear to hurt him. He put himself in harm's way rather than lift a hand to attack his own father. That's how pure and good Zuko was at the time. Him fighting back takes away from the demonstration of his innocent and caring nature

[@maxlevin406]

You’re actually telling me you “DIDN’T CARE THAT MUCH” about them literally destroying any semblance of motivation Zuko has to be pissed at his dad later on?! Also you thought the scene with Kyoshi was SICK?!?! Aang just basically handed the controller to his big sister to beat the bad guys for him. Aang only gets possessed once by Roku and it’s because he visited him at just the right time AND Roku doesn’t even actually take out any bad guys he just destroys the island so Aang and his friends have a window to escape. Bad takes man I’m sorry

[@pande1461]

Yeah, the scene with Kyoshi was really goofy. A grown woman yells at a child that he isn't protecting his friends (ma'am, he DOESN'T KNOW that the island is under attack, and YOU are keeping him there in the spirit world!), and then tosses around some soldiers for the Cool Factor. Absolutely meaningless.

[@shevankaseneviratne1724]

Finally someone says it

[@conip9718]

I think the problem with the actress who played Azula was not necessarily about her "not being hot enough", but that she had a very intense baby face. Azula is terrifying even if she is just standing there. Doing nothing. Sorry no hate to the actress, but you wont look at her and think "wow im scared"

[@luxindreams]

That's exactly it. The actress is not even remotely menacing, I don't think she could ever even come close to being as scary as Azula.

[@Busterbean907]

I had the exact same thought when they showed Ty Lee and Mai. All three of them just look way too soft to be playing characters that regularly display near-superhuman levels of acrobatics and athleticism.

[@lightningjadejavier]

Oh definitely, like i made this comment once basically I said that azula was the alvida of this adaptation where in one piece adaptation alvida looked way more beautiful than the anime, same with this one, the actress for azula did a pretty good job of you don't think about her face, like the way she talks and acts is very menacing, but it's just that her face ISN'T as menacing as azula in the animated series.

[@VinnieMF]

​@@Busterbean907 I thought Tai Lee was fine. Azula and Mai don't look accurate, they need girls with more pointed, and longer for Mai, faces.

[@christiner6673]

Exactly. They couldn't get an actress with more arched eyebrows instead of round eyebrows, for example. I could actually see the Azula actress playing Katara more with her gentle, soft facial features. It has nothing to do hotness . The actress that plays Suki, is great for Suki, but I also think her appearance is versatile enough that she could of pulled off a great Azula as well as her features are more defined.

[@mparsons6845]

so tell me why Ozai is a supportive father to Zuko, but Hakoda is disappointed in Sokka???!!! In what world

[@Carols989]

they straight up made my man hakkoda an asshole

[@ourladyofperpetualskepticism]

I’ll say it again-we don’t need live action versions of animated artworks that are already peak. If you’re going to make an adaptation, you better have an angle, a reason, a way to bring something *new* to the existing work.

[@StocktonMotherFer]

So you don’t watch and you watch the original while masturbating for the 40th time .

[@darthnoir6370]

Yeaaaa if only there was an avatar IP that was already flawed due to threats of cancellation. They could have given the creators a chance to refine the mistakes they've made with said IP but one could only dream

[@brettthebest3978]

The one piece live action was pretty good tho

[@suzumutsu]

Fr. I actually think we should have more animated remakes of live action stuff, that'd be super cool.

[@kay.gochii]

I agree with you besides the point that they better bring something new to it, arguably all remakes do by default rather that be a good thing or a bad thing. This remake brought a LOT of new changes for better or for worse

[@m4vr1ck]

You forgot the lack of Aang penguin sledding

[@baeah3021]

the ironic thing about the trend of exposition dumping in hollywood is how once upon a time it was actually very necessary in tv writing 😭 avatar's now-iconic intro is literally just an exposition dump of a main character reciting the major lore of the show, because otherwise it would be too hard to follow for new viewers catching an episode and some of the kids who might forget elements of the plot. if you listen out for it in the cartoon, there is usually at least one line in every episode that recites the goal of the show: "we need to get aang to [the north pole/ba sing se/the fire nation] so he can learn [water/earth/fire] bending and defeat the fire lord before sozins comet arrives in summer!" they also often reintroduce aang as the avatar or the last airbender, though that has the obvious in universe justification of most people thinking all the airbenders died and the avatar went with them. but it being so necessary meant that writers used to be a lot more skilled at not overdoing it. the overall structure of tv with the episodic nature of most shows also helped, since it felt more like briefly easing the viewer back into the world of the story than really trying to _convey_ anything to the viewer, to the point you almost tune it out entirely. and it was NEVER used in any good show to tell you the thoughts or feelings of the characters. in modern shows, it's just as you said: writers and importantly !!EXECS!! worrying that the audience is stupid will miss things and therefore need to be spoken directly to about every little detail of the characters lives. what they feel, think, their relationships to one another, what their goals are, no aspect of storytelling is left unscathed. you'd think in a world where the broadcast platform is built so if people miss plot details they can LITERALLY just tap their fingers to go back to the thing they missed, or else have millions of search results with detailed summaries of the plot in the palms of their hands in seconds, writers and execs would have more faith in the audience being able to forge their own understanding of a show...

[@jeriekae1722]

Such a good point! Also with binge watching, characters just doing an exposition dump and constantly repeating themselves is tiresome especially if you just heard the same thing over 30 mins ago!

[@sexy1018]

What are you talking about? Look at Arcane, Puss in Boots 2, Minus One, The Spiderverse movies, Blue Eyed Samurai, etc. Good nuanced writing in the industry still very much exists.

[@bluespiral4678]

I was watching this show and Gran Gran's exposition and plot dump while first meeting aim just felt soooo wrong and not to mention so blaze😒. Prompting me to check these comments to see if I should even finish watching. I'm not even looking forward to watching this show anymore 😕😒

[@elixir478]

@@sexy1018 outliers do not make the average

[@Seeingeyepig]

The secret formula of Avatar is not just the story events or the characters, its the show's endless charm mixed with it's perfect blending of tone. The adaptations haven't figured this out yet

[@abiade9614]

Do you think they will next season? Given the reaction.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@abiade9614 I reckon many of the changes were dictated by Netflix so in reality the show runners don't have a lot of control as Netflix will keep commanding the changes that will better benefit the algorithm

[@Asas_mic.]

@@LuisSierra42 atla season two: toph is introduced wearing crocs💀 Katara rocks her new iPhone💀 Instead of aang to grow messy hair he gets a mullet💀, sokka drinks prime before exercise everyday💀. Zuko gets plastic surgery after learning water couldve made him handsome again in ba sing se. The best part.... all this took place another 100 years after season one because master pakku froze them.

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

​@@Asas_mic.Lol

[@TheJadedJames]

I feel like the characters & world building are the big reasons the original was successful. Both adaptation botch those hard. The movie was just incompetent, but the Netflix show is a mix of hubris & incompetence

[@sketchycat6223]

Animation is just the ideal medium for this story. Plain and simple, that’s it. There is no way a live action avatar will ever feasible work, and that’s a good thing. People need to start respecting animation as a story telling medium. Yes it is technically a show for children, but that hasn’t stopped it from being an iconic piece of storytelling media about the horrors of war and historical revision. Some things are just meant to be animated, and the last airbender is one of them.

[@nope19568]

i try to use gravity falls as an example because you couldn't even try to do that live action unless your willing to make it rated r horror show because of the amount of straight body horror they got away with in the cartoon lol, sometimes its just the way

[@mhawang8204]

I want to shout this on top of a soapbox. I’m tired of seeing people justifying this Netflix remake because people would only watch it if it’s live action. Well then don’t watch it. They missed out on an incredible show, along with all other animated media that thrived because of the medium. Their loss. The motivation behind this remake bothers me to no end.

[@theshire9173]

Yes! I’m tired of people excusing the bad cgi bending because “it’s harder to do in live action”. That’s true, so clearly animation is a better medium for this world. Making it live action was a step down

[@nope19568]

@@theshire9173 seriously like would it have killed them to film on site!

[@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf]

@@theshire9173 I'm all for dunking on the live action's flaws, but no it is not harder lmao. The movements of the animated show are literally based off of real life martial arts and their forms and principles. There was an entire ATLA special/promo clip that SHOWED them being performed and how the bending movements echoed them. The choreographers and performers just need to understand why they're doing what they're doing.

[@plutopepsi578]

Zuko fighting ozai in the Agni Kai bothers me for a lot of reasons. A large part is bc it totally messes w zukos arc but also this is one of ozais cruelest moments in the original. We don’t actually see him do much himself, we see bad things happen on his orders but it’s very rarely him doing it. But then this man sees his 13 year old kneeling and begging for his forgiveness and refusing to fight him and decides to BURN HIS FACE. I think the thing that makes him such a formidable villain is all his interactions with azula and zuko.

[@synergy4658]

How they shouldve casted Azula: Have the auditions act out these 4 lines she says in the show, and she has to hit all 4 on the MARK to get the role. Line 1. "My own mother though I was a monster.. she was right of course, but it still hurt." Line 2. "You sure? I'm a pretty good liar. I am a 400-foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings." Line 3. "Maybe you should worry less about the tides who've already made up their mind about killing you, and worry more about me, who's still mulling it over." Line 4. "You mean it's not obvious?! I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child!"

[@abiade9614]

Last ones my favourite ❤️

[@tdaddy26]

Also "You mean you haven't guessed? You don't see the...family resemblance? Here's a hint: "I must find the Avatar to restore my honour..." It's okay, you can laugh. It's FUNNY."

[@I_can_speak]

God I fkng LOVE her. I was always so terrified of her and wondered how they didn’t literally d!3 when she chased them.

[@I_can_speak]

@@tdaddy26thissssss. Mental!!!

[@aclaymushroomwithaberet7084]

like seriously, Azula here does not give off 'I'm better than you and the fact I'm even around you would make my day worse if I cared' it's 'I gotta beat you so my dad will be proud of me', maybe I'm missing something but she just does not pull off Azula

[@acoldhand]

This show did not need a live action remake. In fact, I personally don't think anything ever needs a live action remake.

[@ZeromusVX]

I'm yet to see a live action adaptation of any animation that manages to even get to the same level of the source material

[@orrissonpereira1070]

One Piece probably needs it. I want the story without having to sit through 1000 episodes of poorly animated episodes with shonen pacing. And cutting the things that are too high fantasy to fit into live-action is probably a good thing.

[@SererityisanEcho]

@@orrissonpereira1070 One Piece doesn't 'need' it. It's good for appealing to people who may be put off by the animation style of the anime, and it condenses the story with better pacing. The anime is good on its own, but a live action show is a bonus, not a necessity. I think with animated remake of One Piece was made with better pacing and animation, it would probably be the best.

[@somerandominternetweirdo9962]

especially with the concept of the avatar... why the heck didnt they just make an entirely new story in the world, the reincarnation is the perfect setup to endlessly make new shows and try new things without having to leech off of or insult the original.

[@jerraddennis2225]

it’s not about need, but greed.

[@lukasier26]

Azula in this show looks like a girl that works as a volunteer in an animal shelter and then after job, she meets up with her friends and is the nicest of them all. It's not about being pretty or ugly or whatever. When I look at Azula, I see the actress that plays Azula and tries to convince me that she is a bad person, but it just doesn't work

[@Shadeadder]

The thing is, I think they could have made it work, if the actress had been given better direction. There are ways a person simply walks and talks and emotes where you can just *tell* they are someone used to having power over others; it might have even made a real neat twist, to have this baby-faced actress that someone (characters or audience) might initially underestimate until you hear them speak and act with cold, self-assured ruthlessness. But instead they decided to portray Azula as insecure.

[@blancavh]

My dad and I talked about this, we just want to pinch her cheeks because she looks too adorable haha

[@lukasier26]

@@blancavh Exactly she looks like granny's favourite grandkid

[@mr.iiconic]

There was no actress on the planet earth that could have taken this writing for azula and convinced you she was azula. This isn't a casting issue and saying it is is giving the writing an excuse

[@lukasier26]

@@mr.iiconic Yeah, but still her acting feels off to me. At least her character isn't broken as much as Katara. Katara was my favourite character in the og show and everything around her is just terrible in this show. Both in terms of acting and writing but it is hard to overcome lines in this show

[@mariemsonko50]

When I saw Azula in the remake I almost wanted to ruffle her hair and hug her. Same with Mei. In the original show Azula is pure NIGHTMARE FUEL !!! And Mei makes shiver. Tai Li was fine justice though

[@user-lb9xw4xf2q]

Re: repetitive exposition. Kind of funny considering it wasn't an issue for the original cartoon, which was scheduled to air episodes weekly, thus a week later it trusted the audience to remember. Whereas a show designed for streaming, which people watch in huge blocks of hours, repeats details over and over. (Granted, I think the cartoon had recaps sometimes, but they were succinct and organic)

[@NHarts3]

The show relied on the, "Previously, on Avatar.." said by roku to give a quick recap of previous events. But yeah, you don't need that if you don't need to wait for an episode every week.

[@brianm959]

It also deeply annoyed me when it had flashbacks to things that happened in the same episode. Good grief, we can remember what happened 15 minutes ago.

[@skylaralley2465]

The change that completely ruined it with me was Zuko fighting back against his father. Complete lack of understanding on what the moment meant, the beginnings of one of the greatest character arcs of all time, and overall just…makes no sense. Why did they do this? What was the point??

[@quandrachaffers8960]

I think it’s in the vein of combining 2 and 3 episodes to hurry the story along; they wanted to introduce Agni Kai but they didn’t want to highlight that tradition of the Fire Nation through Zuko and Zhao as in the cartoon. (Some of the moves are exact recreations of their Agni Kai actually.) They wanted to give drama to Zuko and Ozai’s relationship and didn’t want to just let the emotional weight hang on Zuko refusing to fight and getting burned. So, in deciding that they would just have an Agni Kai anyway and Zuko would hold his own ended up creating some unbelievable moments for the live action where we as the audience are asked to believe Zuko would be in his physical prowess at 13 and comparable to the skill of Ozai when he doesn’t hold back. It again doesn’t trust it’s audience to understand subtlety. So Iroh has to protest against Ozai at least three times. Also, Zuko has to at first say he won’t fight Ozai but then do it anyway without the emotional beat of being a scared child begging for his father’s forgiveness. They also harp on weakness a lot.

[@a.r.mproductions5616]

The original creators leaving the production a couple years ago was all I needed to know to figure out that Netflix didn’t give a crap about the source material.

[@abiade9614]

Idk if that’s fair to say. They obviously care about being accurate to the source material. I’d argue it’s just about whether they understood it enough to adapt it perfectly.

[@marocat4749]

Its probably not cating about that its character driven and the character driven exploration should be first priority. Not being one on one

[@KhanMann66]

Remember the original creators also made Korra and that show was garbage. ATLA was lighting in a bottle and could never be recreated.

[@origatherisen862]

@@KhanMann66 yea whenever I see ppl mention the original creators in regards to this reboot, I think of bringing up that frankly, they both decided to F up the show's worldbuilding with Korra. Which means that in the end, it kinda means basically nothing that they walked away. Given that they thought Legend of Korra was a good idea. Avatar ultimately wasn't the masterpiece it was because of the og creators. It was thanks to the head writer, the writing team, and other occasional writers that team brought in. That's where the fantastic writing came from. The creators were mostly involved in terms of coming up with ideas (I think) but they personally wrote only maybe one episode of ATLA (and I think it's The Great Divide, which seems to be unanimously considered the one actually bad episode ATLA has) Korra was an example of the og creators trying to do all the writing themselves. And it was a narrative disaster as well as (in later seasons) actively damaging to Avatar's lore. Which is why I personally consider it non-canon. It's also why I have doubts that if they'd stayed on the Netflix version, things would have been any better.

[@flameron1]

@@KhanMann66it really wasn’t that bad. Yes, it was definitely lackluster in comparison in many ways. Like the action, characters and story in general. But Korra is still a better show then majority of shows made today out there. For one at least Korra the character herself…was nothing but flaw lol.

[@Diadem187]

Seeing how much these writers want to make characters talk about their feelings all the time, the only ATLA character they should be allowed to write is The Boulder.

[@TheDaniela3112]

lmfaooo this is genius

[@sabrinafletcher7884]

holy fuck they all do talk like the boulder 😭

[@davidpachecogarcia]

In the original show, you see Ozai for the first time when Zuko sees him for the 1st time after being banished. This intentional move helps to jar the perception of the audience because so far Ozai has been talked about in a negative light and his negative actions are shown through the world. The amount of devastation cause by this single person and when you actually see him he’s welcoming zuko back.🤨 It’s not until the day of black sun when you’re snapped back to the original perception of him when you see Ozai’s chilling display of manipulation and lightening bending. Remember that at this point lightning bending is lethal and the only person shown to redirect lightening was iroh and it wasn’t necessarily aimed at him to kill him. Even the avatar couldn’t survive a lightning strike and took the magical water from the North Pole to bring him back. So ozai was full on ready to kill Zuko.

[@tameriz1280]

One of the most annoying defensive position people assume when it comes to Netflix Azula is that "she is 14, she is a child" bullshit. We *KNOW.* THAT'S THE POINT! Her unchild-like behavior that is mix of both trauma and her natural inclination is what makes her such and impressive, intimidating and complex character! The whole point is that this 14 years old girl is somehow manages to be by far the most impressive villain in the og show, when we think about iconic villain, we don't think Zuko, we don't think Zhao, we don't even think Ozai - we imagine Azula's face and that cool ass character OST. She is always in control *until* she is not, and that's why her downfall is so goddamn tragic! This scared wet eyed little girl has no business to be Azula! They stripped her of so much of her complexity and made her pathetic instead of sympathetic just because they are so goddamn scared of taking thing slow and humanize her using decent pacing like the original show did.

[@2slowpoke929]

I hate how if you don’t like who they casted for Azula you’re just “fatphobic” or a PDFile thirsting for a teenager. Like bro what? I hate when people just boil down arguments to the absolute worst possible thing when they don’t actually have a counter argument. “You hated the show? Well you should feel bad cause someone that worked on it got death threats!!!” I could agree/disagree with some of his points but I just downright stopped the video when he went on a tangent about people disliking Azula’s casting. It’s disingenuous to the actual criticisms and the laziest cop out these influencers can make.

[@parksantiago3511]

​@@2slowpoke929She doesn't look like Azula in the animation and I understand people that would like an actor that fits what's in their memories, I was happy that Aang looks like the cartoon too. However, there's a way to say that without being a fucking creep and I'm sorry, but most of what I see online is exactly what he said in the video. The way you said it, it made me believe you just hoped to see someone more accurate to the cartoon and again, that's fine, but that doesn't erase the problem that the majority didn't like the casting because the 14 to 16 year olds are not hot enough. And I'm not talking about simply saying " I didn't like that they look too different", it's posting both suggestive and explicit sexual content with the characters while comparing them to the casting members. There's a name for that behavior towards children and you mentioned it.

[@Neko141212]

@@2slowpoke929 There's literally people on social media hating on Azula, Mei and Tai-Lee's actresses for being 'ugly' (I've seen plenty of people bitching about Sokka's actor, too, and thinking Jet's actor should have played Zuko because Jet's actor is 'hotter'). Like, if that's not your argument against those actresses, great! But there is A LOT of people online who are literally just trashing these teen actors for not looking like the 'hot anime girls', so those people absolutely are out there and I think it's very valid to call them out for wanting to sexualize literal teenagers. Also, FSN agrees that Azula's character was absolutely butchered and that the showrunners failed to adapt her character. Like, he agrees with you.

[@FirstnameLastname-zq8oy]

@@2slowpoke929 when did friendly space ninja say that you are fatphobic or a PDF file if you dont like azula's casting? He himself said that he didn't like azula in the life action show, and while he mainly focused on how bad azula's writing was, he did mention that there was a scene between azula, ty lee and mai which was pretty poorly acted, so you can infer that he probably isnt much of a fan of azula's casting choice either. The point he made earlier in the video was specifically about the people complaining that the actors for the teen characters arent pretty / attractive enough, which is a very dumb complaint. If you dont like azula's casting choice because you believe she's a bad actress or that she doesnt embody the role of azula very well, then I doubt friendlyspaceninja would take an issue with that. He only takes an issue with the people complaining that azula isnt pretty enough, if this actress for azula looked the same but was able to pull off being threatening / intimidating effectively like the original azula, then I dont see why anyone should take issue with her casting. Also im not sure why you mentioned fatphobia because (a) weight isnt mentioned at all in this video and (b) the actress who plays azula isnt even fat so idk how people could possibly accuse anyone who dislikes the casting choice of being fatphobic.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

@@parksantiago3511 When Azula's actress was cast she actually looked very much like the character. But years passed in the production and people change.

[@nix1944]

Why can t anyone just stay faithful to the source material. You have the perfect formula USE IT, stop changing 80% of it