Netflix missed the point of Avatar

[@drewisgooden]

Your browser is holding you back. Level up with Opera here: opr.as/03-Opera-Browser-DrewGooden

[@gamechannelminecraft6583]

Hello everyone, good viewing🐼..

[@parcrap]

ok

[@dkfinitely]

Ok

[@DamarkReal]

Your holding me back

[@Jcktmn]

Fuck opera gx

[@kwebvin9939]

They really removed the flaws of Sokka but make his dad hate him for no reason, in the animated he didn't hate him and Sokka was a TEENAGE boy with TENAGE FLAWS

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

FR WHY DOES EVERY CHARACTER NEED TO HAVE ZUKO'S DADDY ISSUES NOW 😭

[@DiogoChris]

Bruhhh! It was a pivotal thing in the beginning of Book 3 to contrast Ozai with Hakoda, and show how better at fathering Hakoda is. And that's because he loves his children unconditionally while Ozai only tolerates and accepts Zuko back because he thinks he did something "heroic" (killing the Avatar). In the original, Sokka always had this mindset of wanting to make his dad proud, and wanting his dad to see him as a grown man. And every single time Hakoda is on-screen with Sokka, he reiterates on how much he loves and is proud of his son. "There's no Netflix adaptation in Ba Sing Se" 🙂

[@Crysta11ize]

What, for real? That's so stupid, Sokka and Katara's dad is like the one good father in the show lol

[@rexana_rexana]

@@DiogoChris THISSSSSSS OMLLLL Hakoda is a direct opposite to Ozai (and i would argue so is Iroh, but thats a seperate essay). He's supposed to remind us that, As a man of Power and Influence, he still has responsibility to take care of his kids and he loves them and cares for them with such grace. Sokka and Katara are great comparisons to Zuko and Azula, in a lot of ways i wont go into directly but they are the products of how their parents treated them. Katara and Sokka are always striving to be better, to do better, not (just) because they feel like they have to (i say just because of the whole war thing going on), but because they want to be better people for their family, to help, to provide, to care for, to nurture. Azula and Zuko feel required to prove themselves, literally and figuratively, because otherwise they don't deserve a place amongst family. The constant pressure to perform for the bare minimum. Zuko is only able to get out of that mindset because he has Iroh who shows him that love isn't earned but is unconditional. i say all this to say that we lose such a cascade of characterization from both sides, good and bad, by that one detail change. People say Zuko wasn't done so bad but his characterization depends so much on all the characters around him that even through this he looses so much more than people think he does. All the characters lose, we lose, because netflix decided to make a dumb edgy version of Atla

[@xdog12]

​@@Crysta11ize I don't know what they are talking about. In the Netflix show, his dad literally protected him from the truth that he failed his boating trial. He's a great dad in the Netflix show. It's literally not "for no reason"

[@emmavanvelzen9890]

Aangs childlike nature also made his relationship with katara that much better. As she was already very mature for her age. Aang taught her to have fun and katara taught him to be more serious. It’s a shame they took that away from them

[@toidIllorTAmI]

They decided to fire all the writers and probably used AI.

[@etienne8110]

​@@toidIllorTAmIactually the head "writer" for the netflix adaptation is a sports journalist. (I m not even kidding, check him, albert kim) This is just a sad case of nepotism. Incompetents are put in charge and shyte hits the fan ... Classic.

[@etienne8110]

And it doesn t need a long scene. In the original there is a short scene with aang and katara sledging on penguins. Katara " ahaha, i haven t done this since i was a kid" Aang "but you are a kid?!" Takes 10 sec to establish she had to mature quickly because of war and doesn t see herself as a kid. Boom, job done. Instead the netflix gives us 2 min of grangran redoing the intro exposition... What a waste of time.

[@beigefedora9716]

I've been watching through the original show for the first time, and i just finished s1, i feel like it's episode 1 they're ridinh penguins and Katara yells "I haven't done this since i was a kid!" and Aang replies "You are a kid!" and they just gloss over it, but it works so well to establish who she is as a character. this

[@myrthemeijer8507]

they took SO MUCH from all of the characters in this show. it really feels like they shaved this awesome show down to just 1 dimensional characters and dialogue. i really wanted to like the show but it is just so bad. I've seen people argue that it is a good show if you never watched the original but it just simply isn't. the characters aren't just awful because they are a watered down version of the originals, they are also awful because they had no depth at all.

[@erica1800]

something that bothered me immensely is how live actions are always marketed as a more mature version of the animation…but then treats the audience like children by spoonfeeding all the information like we can’t comprehend it without being beaten over the head with the meaning of everything every two seconds

[@gerrymandering6669]

exactly, like if i could comprehend the complexities of the show when i was 7 years old, doing so again at my big age nOW REALLY SHOULDNT BE AN ISSUE LIKE I PROMISE I CAN HANDLE IT

[@zyaicob]

The cartoon was so much more mature than any remake could ever be. This is why the DCEU is unnecessary and we would be better off if it didn't exist

[@KellithV]

I think the reason for this is that the old money who has way too much say on how shows are made didn’t grow up seeing this sort is story. It’s new and strange and incomprehensible to them and they DO need it spoon fed to them.

[@heyheyhey33351]

Plus, live action isn't more mature than animation. Animation is an artwork, and all of these live action adaptations, from Disney to Netflix, are missing the beauty of that artwork.

[@cryforhelp7270]

This is why I like children's media way more ;-;

[@taradoyle2187]

as a makeup artist i was so pissed about Zuko's scar, its so small and insignificant in comparison to the animated show. He was brutally burned by his father and in the live action he's still got an eyebrow? its like bad eyeshadow.

[@bogeymanbear]

Right? Its more of a mild bruise than a significant burn scar

[@ninirozhy]

bro got a zero degree burn with that lipstick smudge💀

[@AHHHHHHHHHH5109]

Yeah they didn't even make the bruise big enough!! His scar goes across his whole face! Like you seriously couldn't make the eyeshadow a little darker???

[@soulangela7154]

Not only should it have burned his eyebrow, his eyesight literally got more limited by the burn. It wasn't just physical changes for him but his vision got impaired.

[@DotZipfile]

Tty😅k😅99 9:07 o😅x u😊​@@ninirozhy

[@Staticjokes]

From the second Aang said "I like to play airball, eat banana cakes & goof off with my friends" I knew we're going to be in for a bucket load of "tell, don't show".

[@jerrodshack7610]

Legitimately INSANE this line is in the show.

[@mms598]

That line is like the silly quirky version of the line that one edgy guy from riverdale says thats like “In case you haven't noticed, I'm weird. I'm a weirdo. I don't fit in, and I don't... wanna fit in. Have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on?”

[@mushroup]

he’s not like other avatars 🥴

[@zacharyrichardson8435]

You can't just have your characters say how they feel. THAT MAKES ME FEEL ANGRY.

[@RaphaelBas1995]

@@zacharyrichardson8435Ah, a man of culture.

[@mfbee]

its interesting how netflix seems to think of animation as mindless and for kids and then goes out of their way to make a mindless version of it... but for _adults_

[@eden22.7]

did you watch it yourself?

[@billieflash7448]

Especially after Blue Eye Samurai, which is an outstanding animation, def not mindless and not aimed at kids, that has been a major success

[@littlesparrow303]

@@eden22.7the live action didn’t do a good job with making the characters great & did Katara dirty such as making her seem calm than her usual self. They didn’t understand the tones and messages on what makes it amazing

[@Sugarman96]

It's also baffling that this show "for adults" based on an existing IP felt it so necessary to front load all of its exposition, when the original brand new show meant for kids respected its audience enough to drip feed the relevant information.

[@pacmonster066]

The Netflix How to Train Your Dragon series were some of the best content on the platform. Also Netflix has been paying for the rights to popular anime. So clearly they understand good animated content has an audience. I think there must be different execs at the company not communicating with one another because it feels so disjointed.

[@jumpinjoint]

the original zuko was also shown to not be the most naturally gifted firebender. he blunders when he tries to demonstrate his skills and azula one ups him. so the original “agni kai” is ozai brutally attacking and disfiguring his own child who is literally defenseless, outskilled, and refusing to fight

[@fellowcommenter1466]

right? like that scene was to show how ruthless and monster-like ozai was, not only would he steal candy from a baby he'd yeet a stroller into a lake too for fun if it meant showing off his power lmao

[@somebody3558]

It is so important to Zuko's character that he is not naturally a talented firebender because it adds to his frustration with himself not being able to please Ozai. Zuko has to work extremely hard to become a good firebender with Iroh showing him how the other elements can be implemented in his firebending as well. Having him be strong enough to defeat Ozai during the Agni Kai detracts from Ozai's menace and Zuko's journey. Zuko did not want to fight his father because he loved him, and to Ozai, love and compassion are weaknesses. To have Zuko fight back diminishes his love and respect towards towards his father, that he later learns is undeserved. Having Zuko starting off that strong also will change the dynamics between him and Azula as Azula was "born lucky" and Zuko was "lucky to be born." Azula is a prodigy and Zuko is a late bloomer which causes tension that is spurred on by Ozai. Azula uses her natural power and Ozai's favor to torture Zuko who is weaker and more passive. Zuko has to learn that might does not make right and this series is not setting him up for that journey.

[@lixterine]

exactly! which is what establishes ozai to be ruthless and cruel, and zuko to being his opposite

[@cheyenne6913]

​@somebody3558 Not to mention that it completely negates his and Aang's journey to learn about firebending. Zuko's firebending comes from the rage and pain of being a failure in his father's eyes. When he makes the decision to break from his father, he loses his ability to firebend. Having him be powerful enough to defeat Ozai, but not doing so out of love or compassion, completely destroys the whole plot line of him and Aang discovering the Sun Warriors civilization. Although I suppose that plot line was already destroyed when they made Aang less childlike and more serious. Aang doesn't take firebending seriously, hurts Katara, and then refuses to firebend again out of fear. Aang, like Zuko, cannot see how firebending can be anything more than pain and destruction.

[@wildfire9280]

@@cheyenne6913 Jeong Jeong adds to this by that also being his view, which he does a damn good job of imparting onto his temporary pupil. Roku would not approve. If he appeared afterward, that is.

[@crungushakooter]

I can't get over the costuming, why does everything look completely pristine? There's no wear on anything, like everyone's clothing is brand new and has been hanging in a closet waiting for this day to be worn for the first time ever

[@nbv6975]

YES!!! Why are Sokka and Katara’s coats trimmed with fur from a craft store and untouched by the elements? Why did all the metal headpieces look like spray painted cardboard? Why did 80% of the fabric look like it had a beauty box filter on it? From a costuming standpoint I don’t think the show looked all that good.

[@NFM1337]

A burger has to be at least McDonald's quality to be, like, anything. Costumes in old-time stuff have to be at least as good as in Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. A shocking number of shows and movies fail to reach that bar.

[@mscrabson]

Why does water tribe wear robes made of one single layer of cotton?? That’s not what’s going to keep anyone warm! It’s got to be hide, sheepskin or at least quilted fabric. Nobody in the industry understands how low temperatures work, it was the same in Game of Thrones but less noticeable and the costumes looked better

[@mimik6414]

It’s giving cosplay.

[@casadastraphobia]

​@@mimik6414i love this comment because in a sea of artists writing thought provoking critiques, the most compelling one to me is "its giving cosplay 💅🏾"

[@siphillis]

It's becoming genuinely a little concerning how many media properties suggest that strong women can't exhibit an ounce of empathy, insecurity, or inadequacy. Their only flaw is that the other characters don't realize how awesome they are yet.

[@bagelisdead]

The trait that annoys me the most is when she's so mean or snarky to others for no reason other than to desperately try to convince the viewer that she's "badass" or "tough". It's never portrayed as a flaw that she eventually learns and grows from, that's just how she is and she stays that way throughout the whole thing. It's exhausting to listen to.

[@SirArthurTheGreat]

They take a patriarchal understanding of strength and how women being “strong” in any regard means projecting “masculine” qualities onto a woman

[@welephantsoup]

we need to be talking about this WAY more. Strong characters navigate emotions, they don’t abandon or ignore them.

[@glowco.717]

It’s like they think “fixing” sexism is giving women toxic masculinity, instead of showing the flaws in that mindset

[@placeholderdoe]

Its not that we should respect women because they’re just like the stereotypical man(emotionally detached), we should respect women because they are people

[@aniekes3861]

Where is Katara's rage, her compassion, her nurturing, her emotions??? They stripped her of any depth and emotion.

[@pioxia777]

right

[@Paratet]

I really hope they don't do the same to Azula. One of my antagonists in TV history.

[@fpkonly]

@@Paratetthis is a comment of all time

[@brianmidkiff5408]

They got rid of it for another “girl power” protagonist. Nothing wrong with girl power, but main characters should be flawed, individuals, and grow. Here they just…removed all that and said “she strong” and that’s it

[@Trollestiatumblur]

I guess they didn’t wanna be seen as sexist so they just took away anything seen as feminine on womanly because….. women shouldn’t be feminine…? And they replaced her with absolutely nothing. Even Toph enjoyed some feminine things like wearing dresses and doing makeup. She liked her spa day with Katara. And Toph was putting on a front with her whole “idc about what people think about me, I’m blind so idc about appearances.” Katara seeing right through it said “I know you don’t care but you are really pretty” and Toph was really happy with that. It just sucks that writers think a female character having feminine traits is inherently sexist and bad. THAT in itself is sexist

[@koolaidman_]

The Gran Gran exposition dump was actually hilarious because she really looked at that baby twelve year old and said "yeah all your people are dead and you failed them, haha loser". Its up there with seeing momos limp body for funniest moments Honorable mention to, "no, I'm gonna kill the moon" that killed me

[@koolaidman_]

@wendella.4074 did I say I thought it was bad? I said I thought it was hilarious.

[@TheeWandaStan]

@@wendella.4074 this was the most brain dead thing i’ve ever read. please tell me it was satire-

[@harnanmylvaganam6311]

And she says it in the most absolutely deadpan unemotional way

[@worstusernameintheworld9871]

​@@wendella.4074 obvious bait

[@TroyLT]

@@wendella.4074 When did the world forget how to take a joke? Lmao at the people calling it 'bait' cuz they're dumb enough to get angry at it

[@Whatlander]

Not sure if this counts as a nitpick, but in Aang's first appearance, he's straight up flying, and it threw me a bit because I remember that being like, the secret highest airbending technique.

[@KingNerdius]

I was screaming when I saw that

[@Grace-lq5cr]

BRUH ME TOO as a HUGGGEEE korra fan it pissed me off

[@pranavghantasala6808]

Real "he's making his own fire!!" energy

[@Crysta11ize]

The fact that they felt the need to simplify the plot/exposition of a CHILDREN'S SHOW. Like they literally assume their audience has a shorter attention-span than a 7 year old

[@davp4435]

Tiktok brainrot has taken us all. Don't question the netflix overlords. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

[@toidIllorTAmI]

It's very insulting that they didn't learn from shamalans movie. Ugh and please don't bring up Gran Gran in the remake...

[@toidIllorTAmI]

​@@davp4435I mean... 'There is no war in Ba Sing Se'...

[@jamesmccomb9525]

To be fair my 7 year old self didn't pick up on any of this. It took me multiple episodes to realise toph was blind back then.

[@warpedwhimsical]

@@jamesmccomb9525probably because you watched it out of order when it was airing? Because the first episode she’s in they literally say she’s blind like 100 times.

[@Gabby-dw5rt]

As someone who worked in TV development and left because it is run by soul sucking ghouls, I can almost assure you the reason the exposition is so repetitive and ineloquent and the characters are lacking flaws and are flat, is because some dumb executives didn’t understand what they were reading when they got the first draft scripts because they didn’t do their homework by watching the original series and won’t let the creatives cook. In notes sessions, they probably asked a bunch of questions (questions that get answered in time) and wanted to sound smart and like they had good notes so they told the writers to answer them sooner. I’d say you’d be shocked at the lack of media literacy in those rooms, but studios and networks keep churning out shows and movies that are like this, so you already know. The writers strike showed us the state of the industry and how little higher ups value the work of creatives.

[@00ooo000o]

bruh we gotta band together to fight off the higher ups!! who's with me

[@Alicechan3]

The fact that the original creators left the Netflix adaptation is TELLING!

[@finndelimatamay1983]

Thank you so much for saying this. There’s some myth, endlessly circulated online, that media, particularly modern media, is always the result of a single “hack writer” who doesn’t understand basic storytelling. And, you know, NOT because of a bunch of executives homogenising the work, and creating ridiculously unrealistic standards that writers have to aim for. Who, at the end of the day, don’t even care about art or media. I really hope everyone sees your comment, and maybe the myth can be debunked a little.

[@gwynn2528]

I left movies too, I landed in indie comics. It has proved to be a great creative outlet for anyone who wants to create a story that isn’t instantly destroyed by executives who are just eager to get back to their beachfront property.

[@willnotshutup]

but is it better than drew's content?@waterraideryfga8195

[@9_dog_race]

zuko refusing to fight his father and instead getting on his knees and begging also shows just how afraid zuko is of his father!! which is the baseline for his entire character and gives us an inside perspective on how evil ozai really is, the fact that he was willing to fight a child who was on his knees, in tears, begging for mercy jfc

[@kertdeck]

You also missed the point of zuko

[@halodeer]

Not even mentioning how well this illustrates how Zuko is a good person deep down. He wants to save as may fire nation lives as possible which is why he speaks up in the meeting in the first place. Then he refuses to fight someone he calls family. His father tried to kill that piece of Zuko by burning him. But the netflix version makes zuko care about "the throne that is rightfully his" instead of wanting to earn his families love and acceptance back. And fights his father in the agni kai... after waiting a little bit lol killing his character faster than you can say "Compassion is a sign of weakness"

[@hurricanejaney]

@@halodeer everything they’ve done to humanize Ozai feels off. Ozai is a sociopath. any attempt to make us relate to him just tastes sour to me. same with Azula. the story doesn’t work if they’re not cold, unfeeling monsters. i appreciate them trying to give us a way to relate to them beyond that, but ATLA did the job in The Beach. that’s the closest we ever got to intimately learning about Zuko’s family, and it worked perfectly. if Ozai and Azula truly care about Zuko more than their thrones, the whole story falls apart. maybe they’ll make this new characterization make sense, but i’m doubtful.

[@halodeer]

@@hurricanejaney Totally agree. ATLA is an allegory for WW2 (Ozai being H*tler) so we don't need to get to know Ozai to know hes evil and the gaang needs to defeat him. His personality/backstory doesn't add anything to the story and characters so it makes sense they don't develop his character at all. Off topic but I liked that they made the evil guy have zero personality in the og show. Its more powerful for kids to grow up believing they can defeat the evil in the world no matter how untouchable and unrelatable they seem (even if the evil is their own parent, if you're looking at it from Zuko's perspective).

[@hurricanejaney]

@@halodeer straight up. if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. there’s no need to change anything; the original series is perfect. just translate it to live-action, episode by episode, and they’d have that Game of Thrones-type audience foaming at the mouth. if they can’t do that, then they ought to leave well enough alone. i don’t want to gatekeep but the idea of anyone watching the live-action series without seeing the original makes me cringe

[@JC_Cali]

"Aang, wtf are you talking about" is a SUCH a mood for this show

[@Coffeedrinker445]

A small thing, but the idea that Zuko could beat his father is more insane when you remember that he is a lack luster fire bender. Everyone in his family were better benders then him, his strength was sword fighting.

[@jamiehendrix2568]

He's a very good fire bender, but yeah, his family members are better and it makes him seem worse than he is in comparison

[@mikemorro140]

​@@jamiehendrix2568 exactly, people underrate the hell out of Zuko when comparing him to the rest of the family, like he defeated Zhao in an Agni Kai in like the third episode and he gets better from there especially later when he learns from the dragons. He's still a great firebender it's just his family is that much better but that's also like being the 6th fastest person in the world

[@mr_frosty_3608]

He developed into a great fire bender and was probably close to average when a young child. He was being compared to prodigies and beaten down by his father for his imperfections. No child will flourish under those conditions.

[@derekgandlofini8058]

People who didn’t watch avatar close enough. Comment on it all the time and I cannot stand it

[@derekgandlofini8058]

Zuko wasn’t as good as azula but his tenacity put him at her level whenever they would fight

[@wickerlibrary]

ozai's looming, fearful presence was also aided by the fact that you didn't even SEE HIS FACE UNTIL LATER SEASONS! he is so fearsome and terrifying that he doesn't even need to be SEEN, just his presence FELT. the fact that they changed it to reveal his face after barely any episodes and you are instead just told he's scary is just wacky

[@darrylwhitefeather207]

Exactly!

[@prudenceneverpays]

real

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

I remember talking about the show to my friends and I was like they waited until two episodes to show Ozai's face. An incredible amount of restraint. lol

[@Chiropractorwhore]

The first scene is sozin not ozai but i agree they should’ve kept him hidden like the animated version does

[@wickerlibrary]

@@Chiropractorwhore LOL my bad that’s what i meant haha thanks for the correction

[@-_-0.0-_-]

weakening katara's character also weakens her connection to her culture. Water bending is about her connection to her people which is part of the reason she's so upset she can't do it right away

[@wildfire9280]

It also makes Pakku’s refusal all the more asinine. An aspect of that which I think is too often overlooked and could have been said more overtly.

[@CreoTan]

And it's so important to her because she is the _last_ southern water tribe bender. (Excluding Hama, who we meet later). For most of her life, Katara believes she is the last person who can keep this part of her culture alive, and she's right.

[@lukaj679]

There's a lot to be said (by someone better connected to their indigenous roots than me) with how indigenous women have been stripped of their importance in their culture in the face of outside threats to traditional ways of life. Reaching out for elder wisdom only to find trauma and unhealed wounds from decades past is such a common experience from what I've seen. To this day, the biggest fans I meet of the show are Native.

[@saint4life09]

@@lukaj679 Native and indigenous to where? Like the Southern Water Tribe are based on indigenous Eskimo/Innuit culture, the Earth Kingdom are mostly based on indigenous Chinese culture etc. It's very vague to refer to "indigenous people" and "natives" without being specific as to what place you're talking about.

[@lukaj679]

@@saint4life09 I was referring to Katara and her culture, but irl my interactions have been from people from my continent, specifically Ojibwe, Díne, and Potawatomi

[@annafrancan]

12:18 has the same energy as: "Zuko, you must look within yourself to save yourself from other self, and only then will your true self reveal itself"...

[@virginiasmiles8865]

that's EXACTLY what i said to my roommates when i was watching this with them... I was like "he sounds like zuko impersonating iroh" 😭

[@MrErik052005]

Katara being called a “Master” after obtaining 1 water bending scroll and having no training with an actual Master is as Disney/Marvel as you can get.

[@ILiekFishes]

anakin is very offended

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

Disney/Marvel magic systems are basically a mixture between "if you're not born with it then fuck you" and pay to win 😂

[@emaster9663]

The fact that pisses me off even more, is that in the first episode there flying away from Zuko, Zuko blasts a fireball at them and Katara just has water and gets rid of it. Where does she get the water?! I don’t see a pouch with her! She couldn’t possibly have bended it from the ocean while being hundreds of ft in the air. The only way she could have gotten that water is if she got it from the freaking air. What!?

[@MrErik052005]

@@emaster9663​​⁠that bothered me too! But that’s what the video is saying. Like, she was just that naturally talented. In the cartoon, it’s a slow build of her becoming great. In the show, she already was.

[@LynzuAnderson]

Thank you! I've been saying that if that's the precedent, then Aang just needs an earthbending scroll, and a firebending scroll, make a 20 minute montage of him practicing and make the finale s2e2. Like clearly you DON'T need a master in NATLA, that's canon in that version now. So keep Toph and Zukos arc sacred and end this ASAP.

[@californiarollwithramensea8220]

Replacing fake sexism with real genuine sexism is like a super high depth social commentary of the last 10 years.

[@Emma-Maze]

Misogyny is having a renaissance it's just dressed up as what's socially acceptable rn. ._.

[@shawerful5209]

​@@Emma-Mazerenaissance? Bro it never left

[@jonathanjuarez5544]

I find it hilarious that they removed the sexism from Sokka's character because they thought it wasn't relevant when if anything, it's more relevant than before due to the rise of Andrew Tate esque influencers and incel culture in general causing more and more men to become increasingly hostile towards women's rights.

[@alex._420]

​@@shawerful5209 no but the masculinist podcasts made it worse 💀

[@HappyLarry.]

​@Emma-Maze what's strange is that sexism in recent shows and movies isn't being direct about it and having moments, it's actually infecting every single element of a character

[@bonanzajellybean741]

small detail i hate: they keep changing “avatar, master of all four elements” to “the avatar, THE ONLY PERSON who can master all four elements” like they were so worried we wouldn’t pick up on the fact that the avatar alone can do that? the use of awkward and clunky dialogue to clarify plot points that should be implied by world building and character reactions is a huge issue with the remake as a whole.

[@prequel_moment]

the spoon-feeding just makes me so mad. nicque marina i believe (did not spell that right please correct me im sorry 😭) did a little rant about how we got to this point and she was so right. the ridiculous amount of exposition, insanity of sokka’s remakes, the destruction of suki, ozai and katara’s characters, and so many other elements (get it) made this such a lackluster remake. the actors are doing their best and I won’t fault them for it; but this remake was so unnecessary.

[@megastormy497]

That might change after he masters all four. They can say that line in the animation because of the line in the intro saying he's got a lot of work until he can save anyone

[@sophiadebar382]

Especially since, if they just used the narration of the original show, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Katara literally says “only the avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them” It’s implied that there is only one avatar by the *the* proceeding avatar in the sentence, which then results in the “master of all four elements” part being connected to the ‘singular avatar’ implication. This results in most, if not all, of the audience realizing, yes, there is only one person who can master all the elements The original narration was perfect

[@h3II0MN123]

@@prequel_moment First 10 minute made me not like the show. The part where the earth soldier had to repeat and explain in simple terms what Sozin just said.

[@kenwood908]

I fucking hate shows that tell and don't just show, spoon feeding information like we're dumb. I hate that shit and always makes me stop watching

[@samundef3500]

The big question is wtf is going to happen with toph? She’s supposed to be a complete foil for katara. She’s supposed to be the one with a natural talent for bending and be far superior at it.

[@bumbabees]

they have no idea, im sure. theyve dug themselves into a hole and i highly doubt theyre smart enough to dig themselves out of it. sad to say, because i loved their dynamic and development in the og, but im confident theyre going to fuck up toph and her relationship with katara. theyve shown over and over they dont fundamentally understand any of this.

[@rylee_freeman]

fr

[@SeadSims]

The part where Zuko almost beats Ozai is also a plot hole when you consider that in the original series, Zuko was never a good fire bender as a child. All of his power came from rage due to his banishment. He literally had to learn the proper way to firebend in Book 3 alongside Aang.

[@hannahw7023]

And they are absolutely going to use that plot-thread in book 3 because they will have totally forgotten that they wrote Zuko to be a strong bender from day one 🙄

[@AYVYN]

The entire point of him wanting the avatar was because he was untalented at violent pursuits

[@DavidJmason5552]

@@AYVYNnot even close

[@AYVYN]

@@DavidJmason5552 How? It’s an ultra-militaristic regime and he wanted to prove he wasn’t a pansy. He constantly got assigned the lowest quality soldiers and supplies.

[@lilchaos9212]

And it was super important for his relationship with Azula and his sense of identity. He had to work for everything, he was "lucky" to be born, while Azula was the prodigy from an early age. Zuko wasn't very powerful at the start, and it helped make Zhao into a more intimidating villain once Katara, another prodigy, was able to beat Zuko despite having way less training. Making Zuko strong from the start takes away his struggles and how much he had to work for everything from earning his father's praise, to not being upstaged by his sister, to his efforts to capture the avatar.

[@frankiealice4879]

Such a small gripe I have - but in the cartoon, because we don't ever SEE the Airbenders fight the Fire Nation, it adds an air of imagined savagery of the war, and of Giyatso also. I remember reading this fantastic theory that Giyatso, outnumbered by Fire Nation, chose to remove all air/oxygen in the room where he died, snuffing out their fire, but also ending his life in the process. If I'm not mistaken, the creators themselves responded to this theory really positively. I don't know, just seeing the fight makes the Airbenders look really weak, when canonically they're extremely strong, but choose a life of monkhood and peace due to their overwhelming power and responsibility. I feel like we lost a lot of the Airbender majesty by showing their slaughter.

[@shae.2214]

They’re even more powerful when you think of the fact that every other bender has a weakness; water can only bend if there’s water nearby, earthbenders (as bumi said) can only bend if they see earth (besides toph) and firebenders can only bed fire in conditions that fire can exist in, whereas air exists everywhere and without it everything would die. So really the only weakness for airbenders is their own skill and willpower

[@B3ans0nT0ast]

THIS. I couldn't put into words why it bothered me but you've done it perfectly. I wish they hadn't shown us

[@caelirosetv]

Not a small gripe!! Valid and correct gripe!! I couldn’t figure out exactly why I didn’t like that we saw the fight at all

[@johannaschoning274]

They also played down the firebenders in that sceen. The fire arme is just a bunch of people throwing fireballs. We dont see how the meteor makes them more powerfull, as you said it just looks like the air nomads are weak. Not only is ther no sign of how the comet is powering them up, that way its like the comet doesnt power them up at all! In the cartoon it was always this "When the comet arrives the firebenders will be invincible" there is real horror in there, which is proven right by the massive flame wall they used to scorch the land, from the airships. Like this i dont feel like it will be bad if the comet comes, we already saw what it can do and it doesnt look like much.

[@TheSkinnyLegend1997]

@@shae.2214 Wow. Never thought of that before... I feel like if I could bend any element it would be Air.

[@Spo8]

When execs hear “strong female character,” their only interpretation is “you mean strong like punching, right?”

[@shdy9498]

"She has no flaws and has really good one-liners!... why is no one clapping? Do you hate women?"

[@justkittensbeingkittens5892]

Love when they just make all of the male, especially white male characters stupid and pathetic so the girl can show em who’s boss…

[@meghanrodriguez2393]

So true! It's baffling! Strength can come in many different forms, not just by being physical!

[@berengustav7714]

Queens and princesses pulled strings and influenced things in setting were women didn't have rights, after all

[@hnichole]

Yes! This kills me because the strongest women I know are people who are actually pretty reserved and quiet. When I think strong women, I think women who have been through hell and back (not just SA, since there's so many instances of unnecessary SA violence against women in media) and chose to not let it break them, who can still be kind, still be intelligent, and still stand up for themselves despite their past pain. Physical strength is great and that's awesome that there are characters for those women to feel represented through. However, I feel like more thoughtful or quiet women tend to be depicted as the meek, frail icons of femininity who need to be rescued, and it would be so refreshing to see more female leads who have mental strength or resilience instead. Strong doesn't equal violent, in my opinion.

[@alyzak.8997]

I actually paused the video when you started praising the animated series, went and watched the whole cartoon over the course of several days, thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult woman lol, watched a little of the live action one- hated it and now I'm back here- COMPLETELY agreeing with everything you're saying. Thanks for prompting the lovely experience of enjoying a wholesome and surprisingly deep children's show haha.

[@FlyingFox86]

I also saw it for the first time as an adult in my thirties. Amazing show, regardless of the target audience.

[@alyzak.8997]

@@FlyingFox86 right? a well written story can be enjoyed by everyone

[@jessicastjames6202]

I watched it for the first time a few years ago (aged ~25) and absolutely adored every second. My husband watched it as a kid and it was one of his favourite shows, but he loved getting to rewatch and pick up on a ton of character and story beats that he just didn't have the context to understand as a kid. It really is something incredibly special when a show "made for kids" can have such wide appeal.

[@0deandra0]

Same! Drew convinced me to watch the original for the first time and I loved it!

[@fairyfairiefaerie]

i’d like to point out that the actors themselves act very much like their characters outside of the show. The actress for Katara, Kiawentiio, especially- who got criticized for her character having a lack of emotions in the show- in her other films/shows she’s done (Anne with an E, Beans, interviews, audition tape) has shown she can absolutely play strong emotions both in and out of character, thus implying all the poor character changes are a result of the subpar writing/direction and the show not properly utilizing their actors, rather than the actor’s abilities themselves.

[@eden22.7]

Yes the changes are certainly intentional. It's clear that katara and sokkas family dynamic is completely different, and that theyre setting it up for katara to blossom into an assertive strong bender

[@pearlhwva]

it’s so sad to me that the actors (especially kiawentiio, at least from what i’ve seen) are receiving hate for their acting in the show. it’s not their fault the writers and directors absolutely missed the mark.

[@martophrenia]

@@eden22.7too bad they forgot to write some emotions for Katara

[@drewisgooden]

they have so much personality and chemistry in interviews together and the writers/directors managed to capture none of that in the show

[@roseyoung44]

​@@drewisgooden it'd almost be impressive, if it wasn't so sad

[@izzymcgrath]

All of this comes from the fact that major studios like Netflix see animation as a lesser art form, they just view animations as mindless children’s entertainment rather than it’s own medium to tell stories. We don’t need live action remakes as the original animation is the actual way the series was meant to be consumed in.

[@gordatados]

I guess you could say the same of books too

[@callnight1441]

same with Disney. no one ever asked for a Live action Lion King or Aladdin; those films work so fine, because they are animated. The live action versions take away from the personality of the films and characters

[@xannaxman2827]

i dont think thats 100% true considering they are putting more love into creating anime and you also have arcane that had alot of adult parts. i think its more the directors of the show and maybe some overreach but just look at the fact that the original creators of last airbender where working with them but left part way through so sounds like the people involved just didint care not so much the studio

[@MrSimpleton]

@@gordatadosat least with a book it takes a literary medium into a visual medium - there is more change which makes book adaptations more justified.

[@cahan557]

I feel like they could easily just make another avatar universe series and keep it animated either going forward again (the next after Korra in a world with 2000-esque tech) or tell the stories of well known avatars like Kyoshi or Yangchen (both could be a more mature series since Kyoshi was known to be ruthlessly practical and yangchen is a story of a powerful monk having to grapple with the dilemma of selfishly choosing her own pacifism or using violence to make the world more peaceful). They wouldn’t have to compare to the original show as closely and they’d obviously still get some backlash (legend of korra got a lot of hate even though it was objectively pretty good). There are also tonnes of plot lines they could explore in the world of avatar since they have only just touched how bending could integrate into technology, the inequality issues of having only some benders etc.

[@yourlocalbeeswarm1942]

the zuko thing upsets me so so much bc it really messes with the dynamic between him and azula, the whole idea of "child prodigy" vs "guy who worked really hard" is kinda scuffed when the guy was able to beat the strongest guy ever without any of the working really hard

[@GymbrGleam]

Just imagine if zuko was able to defeat ozai if only he wasn’t poisoned by “weakness” and ONLY unable by being poisoned by “weakness” on day one at the council, doesn’t that make Azula capable of defeating ozai without even trying? Like I’m seriously wondering why she didn’t just get angry and usurp rule from ozai given the power dynamic between her and zuko

[@gustavopereira4924]

​@@GymbrGleamBc the only power abusers have over Their victims are the psychological power, victims are always stronger physically and They just to realize that... That must have been Netflix's thought process

[@elliel.5915]

How they handled Azula was so annoying too. Like, why is she suddenly so hung up on proving herself to be better than Zuko in the eyes of her father? Azula *knew* she was better than Zuko. She's been hailed as a prodigy since she was a child. Her doubts were never really centered on her abilities, and the cracks only started to show towards the end of season 3. You know, when her friends abandoned her and her father at once sidelined her and handed her intense responsibility that she wasn't ready for? Outwardly, Azula is ruthless, perfectionistic, and exceptionally skilled. Centering her doubts on her ability, of all things, feels like a complete misunderstanding of her arc.

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

I don't like this term usually but they really made the entire main cast into Mary Sues 😂

[@contentutube]

facts

[@gbearcham187]

the jump cut between bootleg Ozai’s line and Zuko’s abrupt scream at 32:43 fucking kills me. like in the original show, zukos scream is heart wrenching and tragic as it cuts to iroh looking away, while this new one is just like “AHHHH” and iroh looks like he just watched a fails compilation

[@LeBearr]

Turning Suki from the badass character she was into a horned up girl that trains sokka because she’s just that horny. And his personality doesn’t grow on her because he’s funny and caring but because he’s just that hot

[@IsraelLlerena]

What’s annoying is that she thanks HIM for ‘showing her the world’. But in the animation, SUKI is the one who shows Sokka the wider world of women actually fighting and protecting their people. It’s so crazy that they reduced Suki to being a thirsty warrior

[@just4fun-gaming474]

@@IsraelLlerena it just seems that they got all the script but never uynderstood anything about what this is about and just scrapped it

[@samuelgehm5149]

The funniest part about that is they were like "we're going to make sokka not sexist, so that we can create sexist interpretations of other characters"

[@CorgiTheRegularCorgi17]

@@samuelgehm5149Yeah, I was about to comment on that

[@miuhana21]

Damn you nailed it so well lmao

[@buddyisbored2355]

Another thing to note about a Zuko change is that in live action he wants to go home so he can take the throne. When animated Zuko just wanted to go home

[@Life_of_Ty]

So much more impactful and really emphasizes the point that these are all just CHILDREN forced to grow up too soon because adults started an unnecessary war. They all just wanted to go home 😢

[@julesoxana]

​@@Life_of_Ty So true

[@animeotaku307]

Wanted to go home AND make his father proud.

[@j_fenrir]

Dont forget restoring his honour!

[@thilagankunanayagam6308]

@@j_fenrir I'm pretty sure live action zuko only says honor once in the entire series!

[@helenachristensen8608]

We never wanted Sokka to be sexist. We wanted Suki to teach him to be better and we were robbed of that

[@YujiUedaFan]

Instead she taught him that ladies are easy and he doesn't even have to try. Oops, looks like they did the lesson in reverse!

[@ember9361]

Yes! Also Sokka gets told and mocked every. Sexist. Quip. He throws. Every. Single. Time. He was obviously always shown as being in the wrong! Now in this show its become a part of the story itself lmao Suki is mothering Sokka because she finds him hot

[@WillBilly.]

Growing up isolated as a kid sokka legitimately taught me that girls are equals and are capable. I always loved that part of the show because of how much impact it had on my own life and the straight up ruined it.

[@DeviousMyst]

and somehow made the scene more sexist, by making Suki into only love interest first and a character second.

[@sophienah4654]

Not to mention he wasn't even that sexist? He had some shitty views on women due to the fact that none of the women in his life challenged that viewpoint. Then all it took was three interactions with Suki for him to go "oh I guess I was wrong". He's a three dimensional character. He's arrogant and stubborn but he will admit it when he's wrong.

[@TallLauren]

The sentence “added characterization to a sequence that is at its core exposition” has rattled around in my brain in the most satisfying way for so long

[@leahjk97]

Your analysis of the change to Suki had me cheering because you’re so right!! it was so infuriating to me that they were like “we did a great job of making sokka less sexist” and then they just make suki a simpering love struck character. good job writers

[@just4fun-gaming474]

thinking that the story was already written by athoer people in 2004 makes it even worse

[@whynotfrancis]

jessie gender did a great video that goes even more into depth on that specific arc, highly recommend

[@blakewhite3131]

Fr like, "we decided to fundamentally hollow out a strong female character and reduce her to a love interest, as a treat to the feminists"

[@RoKer13]

Nah she still shows that she knows more than Sokka when she is teaching him. I don’t like that they took away him learning more of a lesson but it’s really not that bad as people are making it out to be.

[@cheeto.burrito]

imagine taking away the diegetic sexism and replacing it with non-diegetic sexism

[@tyler-df3wy]

I can never get over the way they did Zuko’s scar. It’s such a big part of his character design and it’s a perfect symbol of Ozai’s brutality. Zuko was his son - a young child - and he completely disfigured a quarter of his face for deigning to speak out against him. It’s something impossible to miss and it’s a constant reminder of how much Ozai’s abuse has shaped him But in NATLA it looks like a birthmark or a bruise. You could squint and probably not even notice it. They put so much effort into the CGI and making everything look as close to the cartoon as physically possible, but probably one of the most famous pieces of character designs in any show ever is completely overlooked It’d literally be like forgetting Aang’s arrows it’s actually ridiculous

[@calamitysangfroid2407]

Can't make characters with facial scars too gross looking in live adaptations. He can join the many, many other novel and cartoon characters with facial scars that suffered this. The idea of what is 'acceptably' ugly in movies/TV shows is very narrow. He could be a supermodel and they still wouldn't let him have a proper full size scar.

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

​​@@calamitysangfroid2407 tbh I don't know why they're so afraid of giving him an "ugly" scar when the poor guy is gonna have to wear that hideous bald ponytail anyway 😂

[@aykakatibli7249]

He disfigured him primarily because Zuko REFUSED to fight, which Ozai interpreted as his son’s weakness. The whole point of how Ozai respected power over anything else is dispensed in the live action remake, unfortunately.

[@thedeliveryboy1123]

i always noticed that in the original, homie lost his eyebrows because of his scar and that eye is in a permanent squint because of the scar tissue, but in the live action his eyebrows are still intact and yeah it really feels like he just has a weird birthmark. I'm not saying they should've yoinked the actor's eyebrows, but...

[@bananasinfrench]

And it serves a story reason! Zuko's scar is literally a brand of shame. For a firebender to have a burn scar it kinda denotes that you've messed up in some major way, right? It's a very very visible mark of Zuko being a screw-up in the eys of his father and his people. It lets us understand just what kind of monster Ozai is, and where a lot of Zuko's anger stems from (his taught shame.) It's infomration we can *learn* by observing, instead of having it told to us! But here the scar is barely readable. It hasn't effected his eye at all and the skin isn't warped whatsoever. It doesn't just take away from what the scar originally communicated, it's also just bad character design tbh

[@sydrc24]

They took away the misogyny that was met with consequences and up lifted the characters and replaced it with misogyny that made them more shallow

[@jammiewhammie]

it’s so disappointing to see a character that subverts gendered expectations and provide consequences to misogyny be turned into a sexualised object for a character to ogle at and have her personality (and the message that told) stripped from her

[@derekgandlofini8058]

@ville__facts

[@CyRxJustin]

"We worried that if Sokka was dismissive of women and then got corrected, people might see that as objectifying women. We wanted to correct that, so we turned women into oversexed reproductive machines that can't function if their ovaries are activated. "We want people to know that women are physically capable and the only thing that's stopping them is their silly women feelings."

[@Rockinashy]

the way suki ended up basically thanking sokka was wild

[@LuisSierra42]

@@jammiewhammie they had to change it since this show is for "adults"

[@ZeallustImmortal]

Remember how Zuko was banished for not fighting back? Weird that they just decided that didnt matter

[@lenajohnson6179]

Not to mention, everyone was so worried about Sokka losing his sexism for four episodes, they just ignored the entire character arc of Aang of running from responsibility which he struggled with for like, an entire season, which literally makes him just... bland, boring hero man with no flaws.

[@eden22.7]

you mean everyone else just wanted to hear him be sexist. i hate this overused and untrue misogynistic statement so much. "his ENTIRE character arc" if you and everyone else really thinks him being sexist was his whole character you were not watching the show at all

[@ryudhal]

They also, in an effort to remove the sexism le bad from the show, ended up entirely removing Pakku's entire story and connection to Katara. Robbing Katara of MORE arcs that would've saved her already more boring portrayal. That was supposed to be the peak of her arc of proving herself to everyone else.

[@patrickripleyiii134]

Lol I kinda agree, both their arcs were rushed and suck now, and no not every one just wanted to see sexism. That wasn't his entire character arc for the whole show, but it was definitely a huge part of it. Honestly the show deconstructs sexism very well and probably helped create a lot of future feminism, so they really just wasted that chance in the end

[@ryudhal]

​@@eden22.7Idk Drew's points on this hits the nail on the head. If you don't understand why it's important to either be there or be replaced with something else, then you're exactly the type of people the writers are catering to. It doesn't HAVE to be sexism. He got past it right after his stuff with Suki so it's easily replaced. But what they replaced it with is worthless. They just change seemingly small things not realising how much those small things mean and doesn't replace it with anything else. Aang not running away. Sokka's conflict with Suki. Pakku's arc and connection to Katara (which imo is EVEN WORSE cus now Pakku legitimately has no arc whatsoever.) THEY didn't watch the show. THEY didn't understand the writing. And this strawman argument is just completely pointless when you understand that they could've EASILY removed the sexism and replaced it with something else. But they didn't. Because they didn't realise it served a plot purpose. Because they didn't watch it. Stop excusing bad writing.

[@fettel1988]

@@eden22.7 Hyperbolism doesn't suit you either as an argument against perceived hyperbolism. Sokka's sexism fuels his initial character and subsequent development through the end of the Water book.

[@MikeyD]

The idea of Aang being a theatre kid ready to break into song after every line sums up the exact feeling I got from him. I couldn't get past episode 1 sadly😢

[@user-hanging-at-the-hanged-man]

Oh it gets worse!

[@ayszhang]

I couldn't finish ep 2 😅

[@Swollen_Goat]

I also couldn't finish episode 1. Straight up terrible opener to one of the best shows ever.

[@JGmoney88]

All of his lines are extremely canned and makes it sound like he's ready to break out his soap box

[@jun_kage]

I couldn’t get past the first 8minutes. You are much more tolerant than I 😂

[@sydguitar99]

The IRL trying to remove sexism, ended up being even more sexist. Katara needed Aangs and Jets help to become a comfident waterbender, Suki needed Sokka to broaden her views, Princess Yue was literally in the kitchen making ice cream 😂

[@Man-of-Steel674]

The original didn't have sexism it beated the racism out of sokka. Which is like negetive sexism by my book.

[@Anonymous_P]

​@Man-of-Steel674 um it didn't precisely beat the racism out of him😅 but yeah I agree

[@snowfoxxie]

Hahaha so true! 😂 really sad. The show stinks but the actors and actresses are nice to watch!

[@skie6282]

Soooo bad

[@sydguitar99]

@@Man-of-Steel674 what do you meqn

[@xaenr480]

Ever since Drew’s most recent video where he says that Netflix is literally designing shows to be watched while you are on your phone, going back to watch this and also his Star Wars video, I have realized just how much Drew points out that these shows are simple and hold your hand, and my mind is blown how common that practice is now

[@seangilmore355]

Critics: "at least it's better than the movie" Drew: "yeah, I sure hope it does"

[@sillygoose420]

it ony a movie

[@phonoix]

Jokes aside, that's the behavior I hated especially coming from the fans of the OG show. Just because the movie was shitty it doesn't mean we have to settle for a less shitty tv adaptation. And the same thing happened with the Percy Jackson tv adaptation. They both sucked and fans shouldn't settle of it just because "they're better than the movie"

[@EliasJWhite]

It's like saying that the spoiled orange juice is better than the raw sewage. Yeah, it definitely is, but neither tastes good nor leaves you feeling good. One's just more devastating than the other!

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

​@phonoix plus, to paraphrase a review of the show i watched "if they'd somehow managed to make a show even half as bad as the movie, that could only be taken as proof that Satan is real and he has killed god"

[@ihategoogle5502]

Classic Drew.

[@66Roses]

Something the showrunners also clearly missed is Gyatso's skeleton is sitting completely unburned in a room with thirty dead firebenders. I _love_ the fan theory that says he created a _vacuum_ and took them all out with him. That would have been quite a thing to see.

[@ThatsTypical]

The fact that they Netflix didn't even consider taking the chance to turn that into a action scene surprises me. They could have shown a scene of him getting cornered before zooming in, him saying, "I won't be going down alone," or something like that, then cut to the present.

[@hurricanejaney]

it’s hardly even a theory. there’s no other explanation. like bloodbending, the act of bending the air out of someone’s lungs (breathbending, i guess?) is one of those techniques that is entirely taboo, especially to a pacifist nation like the air nomads, but still very much possible. only meant to be used in a time of dire need.

[@jellyjilli1004]

@@ThatsTypical It's kinda sad bc it shows that whoever wrote this part wasn't even interested enough to entertain what that scene could mean. Not imaginative at all.

[@worthythaneofross3925]

But the skeleton wouldn’t be burned… the flesh would. Right?

[@camelat7228]

@@ThatsTypical corny ahh marvel line

[@elfappo9330]

This show feels like it was written by people who just like reading cool little tidbits on a fan wiki. The characters aren't individuals who go through events and struggle and grow. They're a bulleted list of traits.

[@Ugly_Single_Near_You-jw2er]

Idk how you drop the ball when you have the story already laid out for you on a silver platter. How do you fumble something when they have the perfect script already? lol

[@elfappo9330]

@@Ugly_Single_Near_You-jw2er i could understand wanting to change it up a little bit instead of doing a shot-for-shot remake but the changes they made are so fucking confusing.

[@ohwell1547]

​@@elfappo9330It's so weird. Like it's more gratuitous and violent but also...tame? Like the characters losing there anger, spunk, and even saddness. Even the main villains honestly lose a lot of their cruel nature. It's like the main characters are repressing their emotions for some bizarre reason.

[@elfappo9330]

@@ohwell1547 If a character in media demonstrates a problematic trait, that would be an endorsement of that behavior!

[@Afreshio]

@@ohwell1547 Americans, driven by their puritan origins, don't shy away from violence. Media has become incresingly violent but oh lord save yourself if you show genitals or nudity in general. In this case they could show dark gritty violent stuff to appeal to GOT TV show morons fans but forgot to properly write a script without the help of AI. Because the script feels like a chatGPT regurgitated crap.

[@liv2549]

I’ve come back to this video after finishing the original show and oh my god thank you for finally pushing me to rewatch the show as an adult It’s genuinely one of the most incredible pieces of media I’ve ever seen

[@MilaOh]

No waterbending in Book 1: Water is actually crazy

[@sweetcupcakes19]

It’s just Book 1: at this point.

[@sinixynta]

How is that an issue? It would be one if they titled the first season "Water". But no, it's just "season 1" ._.

[@strawr7198]

@@sinixyntawhat book do you think season 1 of the live action covers…? let’s use our critical thinking please

[@NingaShark]

@@sinixyntais it hard living without a brain?

[@sinixynta]

@@NingaShark Idk, you tell me.

[@infectedcannibal4009]

The people behind the remake NEED to see this, because these are so well thought out arguments and remarks. They could really learn and not just say "Well people don't like our show 'cause they're too attached to the original"

[@feel4chestnuts]

Right but they prob dont even care if ppl like it or not bc its making so much money..

[@waddle623]

As long as it's popular on Netflix and people keep watching it. They don't care.

[@gabrielsaavedra7916]

it just sucks because I've started to really like the cast. Gordon Cormier is literally irl Aang, and from watching the behind the scenes, the production and art direction team are very dedicated, I believe they ARE avatar the last airbender fans and want to make the best show adaptation. The problem is exactly as pointed out by Drew which is the writers and Netflix Corporate intervening with changing the soul of the show. They CAN make creative deviations, but the writing SHOULDN'T be falling flat, and they should NOT be changing core aspects of the characters. This show can still be saved with having season's 2 and 3 greenlit at the same time and I hope Netflix takes in all the criticism because this cast and production team are putting their passion and respect for the original in this project, but the writers haven't.

[@sinixynta]

Are they really well thought out arguments? It's literally as you said, people don't like the adaptation because y'all are too attached to the original, when the original isn't even at all perfect. The criticisms with the adaptation can literally be used against the original as well if you would actually care to dissect the original. But, hey, ignorance is bliss.

[@benzotw33n]

frfrfr

[@billbill6094]

One thing that gets me is how they completely ignored the philosophies of several East Asian cultures like taoism and zen buddhism for essentially "friendship is magic". These philosophies not only lead to deep explorations on the martial arts of the nations and therefore better fighting later on, they're integral to the fabric of the characters themselves. Let's take Zuko for a second: as a firebender, and particularly for a firebender of his family, he's incredibly weak. Because of this even before his banishment he always felt in competition with his sister for his father Firelord Ozai's love, and losing badly. His father is only obsessed with power and Azula has it all and him seemingly little. "My father says she was born lucky, he says I was lucky to be born." Because of this we see him constantly training, scolding his uncle for not teaching him advanced bending, keeping his body in top shape. It's because of this he learns other ways to fight too, becoming a master of stealth and a swordsman great enough to take down most benders without using fire. But one fight with his sister after 3 years in the field and he couldn't touch her, Iroh had to save his life. So in an episode in Book 2 where Zuko and Aang recieve parallel training, Zuko attempts to learn to shoot lightning to match his sister, but fails. His uncle explains it's because Zuko feels deep shame. As he retorts "I'm not ashamed, I'm as prideful as ever" Iroh replies "pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source." Zuko's constant yearning for honor and his father's love causes him shame as none of his actions get it. In an attempt to console him, Iroh offers to teach him a move only he knew, as he invented it studying water-bending. We learn that every element has a natural opposite which is hard even for an Avatar born into one culture to master from the other, and this move comes from the water tribe, Zuko's natural opposite. We learn the same way the combination of elements strengthens the Avatar, so to can it strengthen Zuko. Of the Water Tribe as both a descriptor of their style and culture he says "Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything." Zuko is able to learn the basic motion of the move, but when it came right down to trying to use it, he ended up having a breakdown as he felt the world was still out to belittle him when it would hit him hard until the moment he asks for lightning. He says he can take it and give it back, but we see that's untrue. It's clear Iroh is not just trying to teach him the tai chi move, he's trying to instill within him that love and community to get him through his own shame, to use the adaptability of the inuit-inspired water tribe to temper his inability to let go of past shames. Zuko ultimately fails to master his opposite. Skip to Book 3, after an angsty season of being angry at himself for betraying the only person who cared for him when he was presented with the possibility of his father's love, he moves to set things right. He confronts the most powerful firebender in the world while they were all powerless to stand on business. He finally realizes the father he always wanted he's had this whole time, that in his search for honor he had been robbing himself of it. He will free his Uncle and help the Avatar to defeat him, while seeking his own destiny. As the Firelord tricks him into staying long enough to regain their powers, he hits Zuko with the fastest lightning bending we've ever seen. And he takes it. And he gives it back. He sends the most powerful lightning blast back to the master bender he had no chance against even a few days ago, the one who burned him. And it's not just a martial victory, by using the water tribe move it symbolizes he's finally mastered his natural opposite, he has the fatherly love that holds him together from Iroh, he's adapted from his prideful, shameful ways and is ready to choose the side of good once and for all. All things you don't get if Zuko goes Mark Ham and beats Firelord Ozai when he was 13 in a Book 1 flashback.

[@Queen_Cnidarian]

Also, when Zuko goes to teach Aang firebending, Zuko finds he can’t bend anymore. Firebending is linked (if I recall correctly) to passion. For years, Zuko has been fuled by attempting to capture the Avatar, but having moved on from that quest, there is nothing left to “light his fire.” Each bending style feels very thought out and not like just generic magic. Just another reason the og show was better.

[@fantasymagic97]

That was a really beautiful analysis. Thanks.

[@cryforhelp7270]

That was beautiful 😢

[@billbill6094]

@@Queen_Cnidarian Yes! That's another point the original touches on that I feel the live action never will, that Zuko's bending was _never_ inherently weak, it was just that he was taught the wrong, watered down style that was fueled by anger that wasn't in Zuko's inherent nature, and his bending completely disappeared when he had finally let go of it. There's so much to get into on the true meaning of fire, controlling how firebending is taught as a way to control the thoughts and temperament of the people, the silent connection between firebending and dance and by extent the Fire Nation's strict smothering of freedom of expression. I'm sure that will never be even hinted at, instead it'll just be a revelatory moment of "I was always the strongest" in the final fight and a random powerup, or something along those lines.

[@billbill6094]

@@fantasymagic97 Thank you! I shortened it so I may have made it a bit harder to follow the flow, and even then I didn't expect many people to read it but I felt it needed to be said anyway. ATLA is really such a perfect beautiful story and it always had so much personal meaning to me.

[@kirikakirikakirika]

Can we all just agree that animated movies and TV shows _don't need_ to be adapted into live action performances? Every time I see something animated turned into live action, I just know it's for two reasons: 1. Money. 2. Because people think animation is for children.

[@BlisaBLisa]

genuienly it is so insane to me how afraid of cartoons adults are, my dad is like this and it drives me insane he will watch only the disney live action remakes and refuse to watch the original because its animated. hes fine with watching live action movies that are clearly childrens or family movies but not a more interesting better movie that happens to be animated. very strange. (i should clarify im an adult lol)

[@Stew91]

If that's the case, can you please explain how something like One Piece live action exists, when 1., it was clearly made with care and 2. had nothing to do with "animation is for children"?

[@kirikakirikakirika]

@@Stew91 My guy ... the live action One Piece is absolutely terrible. And it had everything to do with "animation is for kids".

[@lemonbread27]

Exactly! The live action adaptations never feel nearly as fulfilling as the originals. If anything, every live action I’ve ever watched has just made me wish I was watching the original instead

[@xseno]

​@@kirikakirikakirika calling it terrible is a stretch 😭 but aight sure

[@RobadobaChannel]

"He yearns to goof" is the perfect description for Netflix's Aang

[@RogueAstro85]

KZbinr Little Joel said it best. "We never see Aang have fun. We only see him watch kids play and smile so that the audience knows that he likes fun"

[@Ratciclefan]

It's seriously impressive that they got almost every character right visually but only barely got one character right in actual characterization

[@fairykelsie]

very very disappointing

[@sonfoku73]

I would say 2 iroh and zuko were both perfect

[@garretheatherman3074]

​@@sonfoku73I disagree with Iroh. Serious Iroh is definitely perfect. But they completely cut his more jovial, humorous, and we barely get any of the Iroh wisdom

[@Angelica4Equity]

I wish sokka and katara were darker tbh

[@LuisSierra42]

@@garretheatherman3074 they made him too serious because Iroh liked to flirt with women and we can't allow that in the "modern age"

[@iannachazel]

I also really hated how Aang was told who Bumi was immediately, which originally was the whole point of that episode. Bumi just messes with Aang and it puts him in a stressful situation because he thinks its just whoever the current King is and not his best friend from 100 years ago.

[@tiablue9106]

I like how once aang realizes it's bumi he knows he and his friends were never in danger. he knew their friendship would hold over 100 yrs and bumi was just pranking him, it rlly contrasts w/ how frustrated he was thru the ep when he didn't know who it was

[@zippityzoop1478]

EXACTLY! I stopped watching after the Bumi stuff

[@cs6727]

Revealing and then fighting = I don’t even recognize my friend anymore. He’s so different. But fighting and then revealing = I didn’t recognize him at first but that’s my best friend and he hasn’t changed a bit.

[@jocap3837]

They made Bumi dumb as a baby instead of a wise 112 year old man. Who was a reminder nothing is too late

[@blunderbuss1395]

do you guys remember when aang recognizes bumi in the original show, after saying his name, and getting confirmation, he literally wells up in tears? that's literally the moment aang realizes not all was lost after he saw the aftermath of the air nomad genocides. in this one bumi hates him for leaving cause they mixed his personality with the old man from the storm

[@playswith_squirrels]

6:55 THAT'S EXACTLY IT I wasn't able to place why some lines itch just the wrong way but that makes so much sense, it really does sound like he's about to burst into song

[@Idk_Yara98]

As a woman, Sokka being misogynistic was actually such a great addition. Watching it as a girl in elementary school, I recognized the same behavior from the boys in school. It was always so satisfying to see how Sokka was gonna be proven wrong and immediately recognizes his mistake and apologize. Edit: I also loved Zuko’s turning point, because it also showed change and acceptance. This huge plottwist also didn’t seem weird, instead it just felt natural and we easily started rooting for him. They build it up so well that when he finally got accepted into the group, I felt relief. Also, the way Katara was understandably sceptical of him at first and they eventually got along so well.. (to the point of me hoping they’d actually end up together, bc of the 😳 moments between them 👁👄👁) I love all the passionate replies btw. It shows how much the show and their characters have had such a positive and big influence on kids back then. I hope it’ll still be available on streaming platforms for many many years from now. Such a gem of a show

[@ernie39]

exactly!! it's such effective teaching. it works as both a message that sexism is disrespectful (and pretty silly/unreasonable) behavior, and to show that it's a pattern of thinking/decisions that can be changed by the person doing it. You would think that a story that is (in theory) a heavier and more mature adult-aimed retelling would have room for *more* nuance now -- why would they scrap character development entirely instead of digging deeper into its complexities?!

[@mastermarkus5307]

I imagine that it was also really good for boys who probably saw that they or their friends acted like Sokka, but learned that they shouldn't because it's harmful and stupid. Like, they think "I want to be cool like Sokka!" and part of what makes him cooler is that he gets past a personal flaw and becomes more open-minded.

[@bunnyellabell]

i totally relate. my parents inflicted us with the classic sexist gender roles "you girls stay in the house and clean while your brothers play outside" kinda garbage, and seeing katara being annoyed and standing up for herself and sokka eventually changing was AMAZING. i remember it so vividly. i related to katara so much as a kid. this dynamic was such an important aspect of their characters and it's such an important lesson for viewers!!!

[@lucascolantoni8012]

Well it’s sort of a redundant point made again with Master Paku. And Sokka has way more characterization from being sexist for the first four episodes

[@Unhappytimeaper]

I've mentioned it in another comment but yeah. It bugs me that if you watch the show Sokka only says sexists things in two episodes. Once in the first episode which leads to Katara finding Aang and in the 4th with the Kyoshi warriors. To me it feels like the creative team knew Sokka made sexist comments and thought he was like that the entire series when the reality is it gets shut down very quickly yet is still a major aspect of his arc. In my best explanation-- Sokka's actions are just as much of a direct result the war in the way Katara's motherliness is. In his perception he was left behind because he wasn't man enough-- he was still a kid when their father left but by far the oldest left seeing as all the other men were like 8 and younger. He wanted to be something because he believed he had too by example, and yes it manifested in a shitty way. But Sokka very quickly is turned around to seeing what actually makes a warrior and leader, beyond gender and perception of masculinity and it makes him better in so many ways-- Sokka didn't need to be given Katara's arc of 'growing up too fast to take care of the family' because Sokka was forced to grow up just as fast it's just Katara shaped herself into being motherly while Sokka digressed into being self conscious. It just feels so much like seeing the word 'sexist' and Michael Goi got scared instead of wanting to actually create a conversation about it.

[@BlondieGurl1129]

“You must defeat the fire lord… before the comet arrives.” I remember hearing it endless times during the ‘Previously on Avatar’ recaps… BECAUSE ITS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE NARRATIVE AND THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE ENTIRE STORY. How do you leave that out I just can’t understand

[@LeileyWow]

To some extent I understand, the writers didn't know if they'd get more seasons to get to do the whole story, but I really hated how much they emphasized "We HaVe To GeT tO tHe NoRtH pOlE" because then there was this unnecessary sense of urgency that we didn't have in the first season of the original, there was no time for the important character development & world-building side adventures of the first season and it bothers me so much

[@emilykettle3576]

It would be difficult to set a deadline like that for a live action though. These seasons will take a long time to make, and the actors portraying Aang, Katara, and likely Toph, are young enough now that it’ll be obvious that years are passing instead of months. However, it’s still on the writers to convey urgency some other way.

[@BlondieGurl1129]

@@LeileyWow Yeah it felt much weirder progressing through the season with all of the stops and side-quests when like, they know the North Pole is in danger and they’re rushing to get up there

[@BlondieGurl1129]

@@emilykettle3576 surely they won’t make the story take place over the course of multiple years in-canon though, that would be… a choice.

[@Brittanysplittany]

They do end the series * spoiler * with the reveal to the fire lord that they know the comet is coming. So maybe the writers will do it next season, and then Aang will kick it into gear learning bending?

[@armleg]

What I always loved about Katara, as a biracial kid myself who grew up estranged from the Jamaican side of my family, was how Katara embodied the struggle of being a minority separated from your culture. She always drew pride from being a waterbender, a symbol of her community's resilience, but it was simultaneously a point of insecurity for her, as she didn't have the affinity for it that she wished she did, having no one to teach her. That all really resonates -- being a visible minority, but not truly having enough connection to your culture to feel "deserving" of membership. And none of it is resolved by having *some guy* tell you "Haha don't second-guess yourself you're so sexy."

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

That last line lmao 😂 you described the Netflix version so well.

[@shanel4294]

❤🇯🇲

[@wenzelp]

What a great Statement

[@aanyamallick7747]

Baby girl not to take away from you but Jamaican is a NATIONALITY not a race. You’re multi cultured. As am I being Afro Syrian Jamaican. Also I hated EVERYTHING to do with this Sokka and Suki.

[@shanel4294]

@@aanyamallick7747 I think you misunderstood them here, they’re biracial and clearly the black side of their family is Jamaican. My ethnicity is Jamaican and Nigerian but my nationality is British and my race is black. Jamaica can be both a nationality and an ethnicity but not a race, which luckily nobody said it was.

[@88tree88]

Every video I watch with Drew Gooden in it, he gives me a new quote to love. Im only 5 minutes in and he just gave me the absolute BANGER "If you don’t murder someone *right now*, I'm taking my ass to freevee"

[@scrollandsurf]

actually if I remember correctly, when Aang wakes from the iceberg, Katara's grandma does tell him that they never seen an airbender in a hundred years and that they thought they went extinct; Aang brushes this off and holds the idea that not all airbenders could have gone extinct, some must have escaped and be around! (not telling us but showing us his optimistic and innocent personality, and remind us he is a kid) up until the gyatso reveal.

[@CaulkMongler]

It just all goes back to a comparatively ineffective narrative device - in the OG show the emphasis is on Aang and his optimism. We’re led to believe (just as Aang believes) that maaaaybe some air nomads survived because of how secluded they were. The live action took all the wind out of the potential drama in that reveal, like it sucked the life out of a lot of the series.

[@selvaa1592]

i mean fair, but why make this change at all? The gyatso reveal is still miles less impactful in the live action than the animation. It feels like they made changes for the sake of making changes, instead of understanding why the source material so was so good in the first place

[@scrollandsurf]

@@selvaa1592 yeah, these changes make no sense at all. To the first episode to the climax of the third, it's building the narratively tension that would lead up to the reveal and the emotions. In the original, GranGran it's just making a comment that Aang brushes off since it's kinda casual, but in the live action it's this dramatic speech that affects Aang so when the gyatso scene plays, it's not impactful for us (even more so when we already had two scenes about the airbender genocide).

[@scrollandsurf]

@@CaulkMongler Man, can I just gush about avatar for a moment? In the first two episodes we do believe that some air nomads must have survived, because right up until that moment, we don’t really know what exactly happened to them, even when in the opening Katara doesn’t mention what became of them. But when we arrive at the temple, we become less and less hopeful, and with all the wandering thru desolate halls and all the talk and flashbacks of Gyatso, as a first time viewing you get the sense that this is all building up to something and not exactly something good. og Avatar was so good at storytelling, worldbuilding and character writing that they could do the three all at once. And the writers of the live action do shine sometimes (ex. how they write Iroh), but they were given the task of rewriting a series that, in my opinion, didn’t need it. I would have preferred if they did something in the avatar universe (the much wanted Iroh backstory series!) but oh well, this is what we got.

[@deadpoolrockz6410]

Unlike the fall of the Jedi where even though Order 66 had a 99% success rate and still leaves about 200 survivors (this applies to both Canon and Legends), the Fire Nations extermination of the Air Nomads was 100% successful, which is extremely dark.

[@q.l.1363]

“Suffering will be your teacher” was such an insanely gorgeous line

[@ethanduke3005]

And way more impactful than a cheesy “compassion is weakness,” like come on. That’s some serious 12 year old edge lord shit.

[@egg1223]

​@@ethanduke3005 Damn was that a quote from the live action? That's so silly.

[@Nlky]

@@egg1223did you finish the video you're commenting on?

[@Clara-yd5qo]

@@Nlkysome people like to look at the comments before finishing the video! It’s ok :)

[@DumpsterJedi]

@@ethanduke3005 If this "Compassion is weakness" pays off when we see Ursa, i think it might just be worth it. only just tho

[@morgantrias3103]

I love that he says "oh it looks good, obviously not as good as 2d animation but pretty great for wat they're working with" given how little respect animation gets it's good to hear someone express the correct opinion so casually.

[@DivineDegen]

Yeah, W take

[@starrsmith3810]

Animation is so disrespected as a medium it’s painful

[@TheYoutubeUser69]

Anime buddy XD​@@starrsmith3810

[@I_am_a_cat_]

Who... exactly is "disrespecting" animation??? Specific animations, sure, but animation as a whole??? Makes no sense

[@hopesandmeemz]

​​@@I_am_a_cat_ have you ever watched the oscars. it is ALWAYS shat on

[@doofenshmirtzevilincafterhours]

aangs “I know who i am” speech sounds like the episode of girl meets world where riley confronts her bully.

[@zesty6781]

😭😭😭

[@calebs4755]

you mean to tell me that the same company that forced out the original creators of avatar and literally said that squidgame's anti capitalist message was a "small part of the show" also doesn't understand the point of avatar either???? Wow. Crazy. Unbelievable.

[@AlbatrossCommando]

The same original creators that brought you skyscraper sized platinum mecha firing spirit lasers in 1920s New York City as the finale of their sequel series?

[@TheUltraYusuf]

​@@AlbatrossCommandoyeah and it rocks

[@AlbatrossCommando]

​@@TheUltraYusufNetflix ATLA > Korra (except maybe season 3)

[@TheUltraYusuf]

@@AlbatrossCommando lol alrighty

[@A.S._Trunks]

@@AlbatrossCommandoThat's a fuckin hot take if I've ever seen one.

[@sumeyyebakgun]

Saw this quote somewhere about the original show and I think it's great: "The hero's journey begins with an act of selfishness and the villian's journey begins with an act of selflessness"

[@jobyebye2237]

DANG what a good quote

[@kiratwo4u]

that's such a good quote

[@Pussydeath69]

And a quote for the Netflix adaptation is: "Hero good, villain bad".

[@Door227]

Bro wtf that’s so good and such a good representation of how good this show is, the cartoon I mean

[@MarriedVirus]

When you set a course for the light, but, metaphorically as well as literally

[@palico004]

What really upsets me about this show, is that when I watched through all of the original animated series 2 summers ago my Dad used to walk in and take jabs at me for watching "a kids show" and I'd say its like the LOTR of kids shows but he wouldn't take interest. So I was encouraged and surprised last month to come home and see him watching the Netflix show, the bio and visuals piqued his interest. I didn't mention that it was an adaptation and just let him watch it. I came back later and he had turned it off, when I asked why he said the writing was cheap and it didn't seem worth watching. One of the best stories in TV and they couldn't even keep the audience they spent so much to attract. I hope he watches the original someday but its not likely.

[@aliti9315]

Honestly. Just tell him its a bad adaptation :) maybe hell watch atla with you :)

[@lordgrimixb]

I just finished watching the original series a few months ago and my dad would say the same thing. He ended up watching a few episodes with me and he enjoyed it.

[@Vespyr_]

Sucks when your dad doesn't respect you enough to give something a chance because he knows you love it. You'd think that would suffice.

[@JimmyHooves]

@@Vespyr_you’re making a lot of generalizations about his father

[@ThePrincessCH]

@@Vespyr_ You don't know if it has anything to do with respect. My sisters and I grew up on all kinds of animation, and they just lost interest in the entertainment industry altogether.

[@kiralonely]

I remember Aang making me feel seen, back before I knew I had ADHD. His whole characterization is being carefree and childish, and not always in a bad way. He's a kid, who wants to play and hang out and experience life, and who is fucking terrified of the responsibility of the literal world being put on his shoulders. He does the same thing I do when I get stressed. He immediately goes and finds something to keep him busy, to focus on something else to feel okay for a time and forget those fears. I need to rewatch the show because it's been a really long time and I don't even know if I finished the whole show ever, but I remember loving him as a character because of those qualities, and feeling that sense of relation. He wasn't just a hollow concept to project the audience or even to project the state of worldly affairs between tribes. He was a person, and a person who was scared and guilty, and who still had to learn more about the world around him and grow up a bit. I really dislike them hollowing his personality out and seeming to cut back on the childish natures of the whole gang. They were fucking MENACES to the places they visited, not always in totally bad ways, but they were a little trio of kids with a combination of a good amount of ability to cause trouble, and that was a big characterization of the three of them and how they got along. I feel like trying to mature ATLA is such a bad idea because it's already very mature. It's a great balance of mature and childish and fun, and learning to grow more mature while not giving up who you are inside.

[@bumbabees]

id recommend it. i never watched atla as a kid but i watched it all this year and i absolutely loved aang. he isnt my favorite, i related a bit more to toph, but hes a lovely character whos goofiness and love for life is so endearing and i feel like a lot of people dont really talk about it much. im happy to see he had such an impact on you ^_^

[@Cal6009]

Saying "at least it's better than the movie" is like saying getting kicked in the face is better than getting kicked in the balls.

[@battyrae1398]

okay legit question. IS it better to be kicked in the face than in the balls? i get that crotch shots are incredibly painful, but head trauma can legit fuck up your LIFE so not the point, but u got me wondering

[@eel5618]

​@@battyrae1398I mean one normal kick probably wont cause permeant damage to the head but getting kicked in the balls could permeantly hurt you and hurts more

[@Randomaccount9470]

Balls worse Let's put it this way Flicking ur finger to my face is annoying Do the same to my balls I shall wish for death for several lifetimes 😢​@@battyrae1398

[@blonded12323]

getting kicked by balls in your face

[@IR-Fan]

oooh... kinky@@blonded12323

[@tyfinney7651]

30:00 This whole thing with Zuko also almost winning the battle doesn’t work because Zuko was just a child, and he struggled to master firebending. I’m specifically thinking of where he speaks about how hard he had to work, where Azula was instantly talented. Also: “azula was born lucky. I was lucky to be born”

[@theaverageone4415]

It also shows his character early on that he refused to fight back. He wasn't cruel and ruthless like Azula, but compassionate for the squadron Ozai was going to sacrifice! Zuko was nothing like his father, and he hated him for it. He was a child who was finally allowed to attend the war room and immediately threw out norms & etiquette to confront what he knew was wrong. He had incidentally disgraced Ozai publicly and so he made a cruel example out of his own son. Setting Ozai up as a cruel domineering and above all *terrifying* leader who would stop at nothing to subjugate and take over the world if it meant burning through his own family to do so. Which also inevitably ties Zuko to the gang, because they were on the same path to taking down Ozai.

[@LuisSierra42]

I think Ozai was just testing him, he made an opening on purpose to see what he would do

[@ariannebrodeur]

@@LuisSierra42but the point is that Zuko would never have taken that opening at that time of his young life, in the original he immediately bowed and apologized and begged his father to reconsider because he refused to fight his own FATHER. THATS when Ozai burned him. In the Netflix version them fighting just makes no sense for Zukos character nor the entire point of the scene. But Netflix wanted a cool fight scene and thats exactly how the netlix took a story driven scene and turned into a meaningless spectacle

[@LuisSierra42]

@@ariannebrodeur For what is worth, Zuko did look a bit older in the live action. I could excuse the difference if netflix zuko has a more developed sense of what his father expects from him

[@lilchaos9212]

@@theaverageone4415 It also showed how, even after everything with his mother and grandfather, Zuko still loved his father enough that he refused to fight him. He trusted that his father wouldn't actually hurt him, and Ozai spat on that trust and scarred his son for life out of pride.

[@newchangeunlisted_viewer5594]

I hate the whole "it's made for kids, why are you getting so worked up over it" It's the cheapest "defense" of modern shows and really shouldn't be taken seriously. Kids aren't dumb. They're smart. They can understand good story and even darker, more mature ideas to a certain extent. A show being "for kids" shouldn't mean and excuse for bad writing.

[@hannahw7023]

The 👏 original 👏 was 👏 also 👏 for 👏 kids 👏 "It's a kid's show" is such a stupid argument because the source material is literal proof that a kids show can have good, mature writing, and can be a show for all ages. Most people who grew up on avatar actually appreciate it MORE as adults because they can now appreciate how well-made it is. Not to mention, the new show was marketed to fans of the original, it wants to be the more mature iteration of the show, and STARTS WITH A GENOCIDE SCENE!!! The new show is very, very, very clearly not trying to be "just for kids"

[@TheAdrift]

Honestly, I've always thought that a show being "for kids" means that you should take even MORE care of how it's written. Adults, we're pretty set up as people--I'm not gonna pretend that my life wasn't completely suplexed into the ground and put back in a different order between the ages of 28 and 31, but I still felt like the same person after... kids are still so PLASTIC, though! So MOLDABLE!! Writers have the chance to tell these people a story that will help change them into who they need to become--who the WORLD needs them to become--and the original ATLA was one of those stories for a lot of people. WAYYYY too many people underrate that task. We get worked up over stories made for kids that are told badly because it's crucial that they get the right messages at the right times!

[@Madelyn-i6s]

The good portion of the reason kid’s shows exist is to teach kids. Whether that’s about emotion, response, reading, etc. Writing off genuinely good shows because they’re “for kids” is stupid because we can still learn from them too or enjoy them in a different way

[@Pugkin5405]

If people didn't hate shows they weren't in the demographic for (and a part of a demographic the writers never intended to write for), it wouldn't be used as an argument that often

[@kmhkennedy]

I watched this show as an adult, made my adult mom watch it. Loved it. So great Bets ever

[@Feckogecko]

The scene of Zuko refusing to fight his dad is so powerful because it shows how heartless his dad is, it basically dehumanizes him. Zuko refusing to fight shows that despite everything, he’s still human.

[@kaitlinwarren2746]

The fact that the original show runners WERE working on Netflix with it but then left due to creative differences which we clearly see here in this adaptation is extremely sad and upsetting.

[@nyanuwu4209]

Not sad or upsetting at all. Paramount gave them a studio and funding to do as they please. A theatrical animated release is due next year and more Avatar shows to come (hopefully a firebender; the potential is wild).

[@kaitlinwarren2746]

@@nyanuwu4209 the theatrical, is it based on Kyoshi? I thought I heard something about it being about her maybe I’m wrong

[@Afreshio]

@@nyanuwu4209 After Korra (and yeah i know Nickelodeon interfered a lot with the pre production and afterwards; they didn't trust enough the IP or the showrunners i guess) i'm not so sure about the creators having the sauce anymore. LOK was milquetoast. It lacked something. And it ruined the lore by mid second season. It also introduced mecha spirit kaiju laser fights and mecha robots laser shooting menaces. totally stupid. It not ruined the Avatar past lives connection, thus destroying the relevancy and connection to ATLA, it also ruined the spirit world by making it tame and "westernized". What the fuck is the new avatar is gonna do if it occurs post Korra? How's that avatar state work? There's only fucking Korra to drive for wisdom and jeez... i know i woulnd't want that. of all the avatars, korra? The one that managed to destroy 10,000 years of tradition? And talking about that. LOK big theme was a bout that and I have a personal issue with that: it became a show about dismantling the masterpiece that was the predecesor: Aang, Katara and Toph were a shitty parents, the Spirit World became a fantasy medieval LARP with vibrant colors with a new portal for tourism, Bending became so lame, and even special master aspects of bending like lighting and metalbending became ubiquitous, the bastardization of airbender nomad culture, the quasimedieval-preindustrial setting of the OG show (i don't want high tech in my Avatar show, no thanks!), the ruining of the new Avatar team by not having a clear storyline for Korra only for her to end with a girl because "we are progressive, right?" stunt. There's so many stupid shit in LOK that I just prefer to ignore it exists. I'm not holding my breath for the next Avatar show even if its made by dimartino and konietzko. They didn't get why ATLA was a masterpiece and that's the reason they failed wtih LOK from the get go.

[@Wahba.]

​@@Afreshioare we even sure ATLA was their work at this point? Because the 2nd season especially the avatar wan bs screams this wasn't our stuff so we are changing it

[@nyanuwu4209]

@@Afreshio "It ruined the lore" How? I'm not reading a fuckin' essay when you started off with some sweeping nonsense.

[@tamagho]

My biggest gripe was that Aang was never really childish and fun in the live action. His lines are written so monotone, nothing like how original portrayed Aang. Aang being carefree about everything in the original made it 100x more impactful whenever we returned to the true seriousness of what was going on.

[@masodemic4509]

A line from Aang that fills me with so much emotions is "Take a look Appa, you and me, we're all that's left of this place" it never fails to teary my eyes. So much is conveyed from such a simple statement. His grief but also his optimism. And the bond between him and Appa that would give more weight to the arcs when they're separated. Netflix's dialogue as exposition is a disease. It rids every character of their soul.

[@missAlice1990]

They didn't make "the 41st division = Zuko's crew" in the original because it doesn't make any sense. It made no fucking sense for Ozai to give Zuko exactly those soldiers he tried to defend in the War Room. It was unrealistic, illogical and soooo damn forced, just for the sake of the plot twist.

[@k1tsune_777]

THANK. YOU. SO. MUCH. for pointing this out! I don't know why erveryone loved this! For me, it didn't make sense at all. Like, they don't understand what made this situation so meaningful. He got burned and banished while the 41st still died. But not in the Netflix version though...

[@MeredithHagan]

The worst part of the Netflix adaptation is that it treats a presumably predominantly adult viewership as too stupid to understand “show don’t tell” when the original viewers were all kids and they understood the near-flawless writing just fine. This “writing by corporate committee” shit is never going to go away and it makes me so sad.

[@nerdoftheatre]

You said exactly what I wanted to say.

[@moonasha]

the only thing I have any hope for is henry cavil's warhammer 40k show since he's producing it. He probably felt so bad about the netflix witcher show, he had to make it up. Netflix ruins everything

[@Nopeasaurus]

@@moonasha netflix ruins everything, that's why I don't watch netflix originals. But the stuff they don't produce, only stream on their platform like Arcane is good.

[@ShadowWolfe]

An entire room of writers, producers, and directors read the script, saw all the redundant info/repeated lines, and thought, "Yeah this is great!"

[@MarcusFigueras]

It's the equivalent of being given an assignment that is practically just "copy the Wikipedia article" and not only do they not do that, but the four sentences they did copy are just pasted like 14 times in different ways with synonyms

[@CM-ss5pe]

Nah, I agree with Drew. This has studio exec meddling written all over it. "The audience won't get what the Avatar is. Let them repeat he's the master of all elements so they don't get lost and keep watching the show. We need to sell more subscriptions afterall."

[@xtzyshuadog]

*The showrunners were sleeping behind the wheel* when cameras were rolling, but in the EDITING room, they realized repeated dialogue would test better with markets in the 75+ age range or people on their phones, just like how a day-one romance with Suki is going to just CINCH that 14-45 year old male demographic target.

[@k80_]

Maybe it was written while all the writers were on strike 🤷‍♀️

[@stargold222]

They used ai to write and edit it I swear to god

[@thebadpoet]

Zuko fighting back against his abusive father just completely guts his character. Freezing and refusing to fight isn’t just a way to show that he doesn’t want to hurt his father, it so clearly shows that he is doing his best to survive an abusive situation.

[@Biittiriisi]

The moment when Zuko finally breaks free of his father's influence in season 3 is so momentous. I mean, they are both just there and Zuko doesn't even raise his voice. No pyrotechnics, no fighting, just a promise. It's so powerful.

[@Prometeu21]

​@@BiittiriisiAnd Zuko actual pratical reaction to Ozai's attack in the throne room in season 3 is made much better by the fact that Zuko had never reacted before, it shows us that he is truly free from Ozai, to the point were he is not afraid to fight back. Now that he reacted in their Agni Kai this scene will have much less impact

[@vtp6903]

@@Prometeu21 Haven't watched the netflix adaptation but there's also the detail that it was the first time Zuko redirected lightning, a much stronger, faster lightning created by his own father. His retaliation against his father proved Zuko's strength mentally, but his reaction time proved his physical strength. Not to mention it's a move entirely created by Iroh, showing how much he loved and respected his uncle.

[@nomansland1494]

The Netflix version is made for your parents who constantly ask you questions while you’re watching that the show is going to answer later but your parents are too impatient to wait so they just want you to explain it now.

[@quinnethquinnigan]

it is 100% the writers fault for how the characters are. if you watch interviews you see that the cast are so like the original characters and have such awesome and vibrant personalities that they weren't able to have shown in their acting due to the writing and directing. i feel so bad for them actually. they were so excited and received so much hate for something they didn't have a decision in.

[@timmyman9677]

That's even true for the M. Night version. The kid playing Aang behind the scenes acts like Aang. But nope, cant have actors act like their character.

[@rolivioli]

@Cass-ul7zf it is the writing. it genuinely is. the writing is fucking terrible

[@Dude-hs7zm]

@Cass-ul7zf sure, that could be true, but I have a good feeling it’s not. And even if it was true it doesn’t change the larger problem surrounding this production like the story and the script. Even if you had the best actor in the world read these lines they’d still sound corny af. Also, just because they’re not acting very well in what we see, doesn’t mean they can’t act. A HUGE part of acting is direction. For all we know the director WANTED them to act the way they are as they thought kids delivering lines poorly would make the kids more realistic. (I mean do you really think he could’ve delivered; “I know who I am, I’m a fun loving goof” any better when he’s yet to have a scene where he can actually practice being the fun loving character the exposition claims? Even if he did a good job with the tonal inflections and stuff it’d still sound really bad and feel super off.)

[@Dude-hs7zm]

@Cass-ul7zf There are definitely more talented child actors 100%, but honestly I can’t see any situation where this show happened the way it did because the director wasn’t just rushing things and just said ok to the first takes. Director: “so we’re gonna have the grandma tell aang his entire village, all his culture, and everything he knew about the world is obliterated? … I think he’d handle that fine, no need to cry or anything. Just sit through the entirety of the five minute speech shattering your world before running out. How long should you act upset after katara talks to you? Pfft you SHOULDN’T be upset silly kid, she just cheered you up.” If he was a bad actor he’d be doing the super obvious fake cry because the director told him he needs to be sadder here, not just sitting blankly before running out. I also wouldn’t be giving him as much credit as I am if it wasn’t for the fact that EVERYONE is doing a horrible job. Literally nobody in the show sounds authentic.If you watched the first live avatar you’d know how bad they were at acting, but honestly that is still more watchable to me. That’s because, they’re doing a bad job at delivering their lines, but they at least know the right direction to head in. In the og live action they may have overplayed the emotions, but at least they had emotions.

[@twixlover89]

Honestly I agree. I think the original characters like katara and aang had such light and warm personalities in the animated series. Their personalities were dimmed down. like for instance katara’s bravery and perseverance was barely shown in the live action, I wish the writers would’ve done more justice to the characters true personalities

[@RadioactiveBluePlatypus]

When Gran Gran said the name of the 4 elements I literally cringed so much my soul left my body and reached the avatar state.

[@heatherleslie6643]

That monologue had me TEAR BENDING

[@pvic6959]

@@heatherleslie6643 but not in a good way

[@sewerside01142]

@@heatherleslie6643 This show is so full of bullshit that it's making me tear bend!

[@bellatrixlest]

I had nightmares for a week after I saw that scene.

[@lorenadias6730]

Lol

[@bepbop1]

one of my biggest issues with the live action that i haven't seen too many people talk about is zuko's scar. in the cartoon it's big and this dull color that visibly pulls the skin back. his eyebrow and lashes are gone and while it doesn't seem to have affected his eyesight much his left eye is visibly smaller. while in the live action it kinda just looks like someone tried a bold smokey eye and it backfired.

[@halodeer]

I thought the same thing!!! It just looks like he forgot to do eye makeup on the other eye lol

[@Waddledee13]

Honestly, I too am surprised at that. For me, I understand it's a bit of nit pick from a visual perspective but I still think it should've been more ghastly looking. He is scarred badly and takes over most of his face but the live action version just looks like some old bruise that will eventually go away. Strange thing considering they could easily make it look like a more harsh scar.

[@rahimalam29]

His ear is burned up too and he can’t even grow hair on that area, it’s supposed to be prominent. In the live action it just looks like a bruise or a black eye and some scenes you can’t even see it properly.

[@Essayienien]

Not only is it big and bold and disfiguring, but it /hurts./ While not stated in the show itself, the writers confirmed that the scar is a constant source of pain. If Katara had healed the scar, they didn't intend for it to go away, just for it to stop hurting. It's a lasting reminder of the hurt and pain he suffered, and it should /show./ Not look like overdone makeup.

[@sarahespin5798]

RIGHT?? Like it’s a burn! His eye is disfigured and doesn’t open up all the way. The skin should actually be gnarled and textured.

[@narihanaASMR]

the way they add sexual tension to a KIDS show is fucking crazy. they really only think violence and sex sell a show.

[@dalgusmaximus4557]

Isn't sokkas character supposed to be 16 too?

[@bumbabees]

@@dalgusmaximus4557 15 or 16, yeah. i mean kids at that age do fuck around, no denying that, (hell, the original show has a bit of a wink wink nudge nudge to it in season 3) and this is meant to be for a more mature audience, regardless of how poorly they pulled that off, but its weird to me this is something they chose to do right after they _just_ met and did so in such a...creepy way. theres a right way to handle something like that and that 100% was not it.

[@k1tsune_777]

@dalgusmaximus4557 15 or 16. And Suki 14 i think. Make it even weirder.

[@angelvu]

30:42 Zuko not fighting back in the original also directly shows where Azula’s philosophy comes from, how Zuko refusing to hurt his father caused him humiliation and scars. This solidified Azula’s belief that fear is powerful and love is weakness, especially with her mother. That is how she can call Zuko weak so many times in the original show

[@wildfire9280]

All it shows is Azula’s facial reaction.

[@sully42O]

⁠​⁠@@wildfire9280so? the op’s comment is still perfectly plausible, we don’t need to have a scene where azula says “ah yes, i remember that day when my belief that fear is powerful and love is weaknesses was solidified when i saw my dad humiliate and scar my brother and this is why i call him weak so often” to know for sure that that’s what was going through her head in that moment. the fact that we only see her facial reaction leaves room for so many interpretations, such as the op’s

[@wildfire9280]

@@sully42O Yes, but I don’t understand how you gleam this from that reaction. What I see is just Azula’s character showing as a contrast to both Iroh, Admiral Zhao, and the other nameless Fire Nation elite military personnel.

[@navivaldez6240]

@@sully42Oyou prolly just quoted Avatar live action season 2

[@inuyashatrash8425]

obligatory reply: Azula doesn’t think love is weak, she thinks “*trust* is for *fools*. fear is the only *reliable* way.” and those aren’t the same sentiments.

[@williamreely3455]

Avatar is not unadaptable. The problem is that the original series was made with love. The adaptations were made for the money by people who don't understand the source material whatsoever.

[@bevvvy1374]

It's not unadaptable but there's just no point in it. The show accomplished what it wanted to and then some.

[@ashleycraig8223]

Why dont they adapt korra. That show was pretty rough and you could fix a lot of things with an adaptation. Why try to change a near perfect show.

[@AxelKNG]

@@ashleycraig8223 I imagine it's cuz Korra doesn't have the fanbase that ATLA does. So while it would still draw impressive numbers, it wouldn't be as impressive as Avatar. Also, let's be honest, while giving Korra another shot to be done better is a good idea, I imagine a live action Korra would also wind up worse than the original. They just don't care enough about story, only visuals.

[@ashleycraig8223]

@@AxelKNG fair enough. I guess I give them too much credit

[@SurrealGoats]

This is the fundamental problem with remakes. The passion gets squeezes out of it.

[@hannahw7023]

One thing that I haven't seen anyone talk about is how they skipped Jeong Jeong teaching Aang to firebend in Book 1. Aang accidentally burns Katara and it causes him to develop a fear of firebending. A fear that is then resolved when he goes with Zuko to learn the meaning of firebending from the original firebenders. It gives a lot of extra weight to that scene. Aang even has a line about how he used to think firebending was all about destruction, but he now understands it is life. That episode is also when Katara learns that she has a proficiency for healing water-bending (which she also never learns in the live action show?!?! She uses that skill A LOT in the original so its kinda jarring that we haven't seen her learn it yet.) You don't NEED the Jeong Jeong episode but it sucks that we didn't get it. Not to mention Jeong Jeong returns as a member of the White Lotus

[@shuesbaanh]

I would disagree on not needing the Jeong Jeong episode. Like you said it's the episode where Katara realizes she can heal herself and others---and I just think this is a pretty important sub skill for Katara as a bender, considering what happens at the end of book 2 and how she has to use her healing abilities to save Aangs life + has to continue to heal him in book 3. Ig she could learn off screen for the LA book 2, but I thought it was crucial development for her as a bender and should have been incorporated in the LA version.

[@hannahw7023]

Oh, don't get me wrong, it's an important episode for multiple reasons. I moreso just meant that if you HAD to skip content, the Jeong Jeong episode could be skipped and the story would still make sense. But honestly, the larger issue is that pretty much every episode of Avatar is important in some way. With the exception of "Great Divide" (which is famously a pointless episode), every episode contributes SOMETHING to the larger narrative, whether it be new chatacters, worldbuilding/lore, plot points, etc. So even though you COULD skip Jeong Jeong and still have a cohesive story, the story suffers for it because the show wasn't designed with the intention of you skipping anything. Avatar isn't some "monster of the week" cartoon or an anime with filler-arcs. It was designed to tell one perfectly crafted story. You can't cut content and turn the show into a live-action "highlight reel" and expect it to work as well as the original did.

[@Jetster007]

then you add to the fact that zero relationship was built with Paku in the northern water tribe since Katara is just a self taught master so itll be less impactful when paku returns as a member of white lotus and even more random when he becomes their grandfather.

[@heyarnold04]

“You will learn respect and suffering will be your teacher” wow someone cooked there. It’s things like this that make the original so much more rich and fulfilling to watch. I don’t see any room to compare the two, because of the gap in quality. Its too bad they didn’t just keep the original writers.

[@Satellite2]

Something kind of small that Netflix also did was reveal what Ozai looked like way too early on. In the animated version, his face wasn't even shown until way later, like the third season I'm sure. He was a looming unknown figure that created way more of a payoff once we finally saw him, but I guess Netflix doesn't know how to build suspense, and probably wanted to create more hype with the casting

[@jasminefaye2160]

I think it's because with the live action, we know who gets cast, so putting together what ozai would look like is much easier. But I can see your point for those who haven't watched the original and weren't keeping tabs on production like some of us 😅

[@sugarbaby1974]

Hate to say it, but I'm 99% positive it's because the showrunners weren't sure if they'd be given a second season, so they were like, "LOOK LOOK WE HAVE AN AWESOME OZAI LOOK HE'S PLAYED BY DANIEL DAE KIM LOOK ISN'T THAT FANTASTIC LOOK PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LOOOOK!!" Panic causes foolish decisions and Netflix has made it quite obvious that they'll pull the plug if the first season doesn't give them the numbers they want. Makes me sad - if that had always been the way, we'd never have gotten 3/4 of our most iconic shows past their pilot episode... 😢

[@jasminefaye2160]

@sugarbaby1974 I don't disagree with that. Personally, it was hard for me to conceptualize this not getting renewed because thanks to the lockdown in the US during the beginning of the pandemic, Avatar was given another life. So, with that re-energizing (which I suspect is the whole reason they're doing this live action adaptation in the first place), that ALOT of eyes were going to be on this.

[@DancingKitkat13]

He was by s3 I just finished rewatching the show with my mom firm s1 to s2 you hear of him see his effects on zuko and how the fire nations has hurt the other nations ozia showing up now takes away all the expense of aang amin antagonist he must kill. I saw they are trying to show how ozai “puppeteers” his son and daughter against each other. Like Dan Kim is a perfect ozai but nope him being shown too early in s1 takes out the suspense and aang didn’t learn any water in s1 like what

[@Kagomai15]

They revealed Ozin immediately and I mistook him for Ozai for a minute and was outraged, then I thought, oh well as long as they do the thing with Ozai, and then there was genocide, and then we got to see Ozai's face immediately. I was like, wow. I gave you a chance and you betrayed me so many times, NATLA.

[@Mothworx]

As soon as I learned Zuko fought back against Ozai in the Agni Kai I KNEW they didn’t understand avatar or any of its characters, and that was all I needed to hear

[@somebody3558]

It is baffling that they could misunderstand a character so profoundly. It derails Zuko's entire development.

[@esverker7018]

Exactly it establishes that he cannot fight against his father or stand up to him, and he craves Ozai's love. It's one of the main hurdles he has to overcome. Why tf would they take that out.

[@wildfire9280]

@@esverker7018 It’s also the reason why he’s banished in the first place. Banishment was the punishment for refusing to fight, the fight ritual and burning was the punishment for speaking out.

[@nothankyou7979]

You didn‘t even get to the part where azula is now written as insecure and „lashing out“ instead of a calculated, cold-blooded and highly competent psychopath …

[@lemon8d]

YES THANK YOU I hate them so much, the whole point of Azula is that she's bad, bad from birth, she knows and she enjoys it, at the end we see her fall apart but with a reason, now they are making her insecure from the begging?? Whats the point then

[@ivanm8682]

@@lemon8dand what they did to her lightning is ridiculous, took 100000 years to charge, with weird moves that look nothing like in the show and she shot it to a wall and didn’t even do anything to it, the real Azula used her lightning to break an earth wall made by Toph in like 2 seconds.

[@androidsenpai1462]

Not to mention Azula is now a major component of Book One…for some asinine reason. WHY can’t we just leave nice things alone?

[@every_planet_we_reach_is_dead]

They introduced her so early that she literally spent 80% of her screentime standing around doing nothing. Definitely the right way to introduce a highly competent and terrifying fighter 🙄 plus, insecurity is _not_ the only symptom of a dysfunctional/abusive household, so it's not even like they made her more realistic?? The changes to her personality are patronising af.

[@clare769]

Bro that shit pissed me clean off. Was so hard to acc take her seriously.

[@lucbergeron8663]

Taking the imperfections out of the characters ruins the show. The whole point of the show is unbalanced people finding balance with the help of others. It’s the change and slow growth from season 1 to 3. Without that, you have static characters that have no room for evolution. You just turn it into a cute show with nice special effects

[@joelyt1682]

I like how the creators said it was suppose to be a more mature version of the ATLA but then they proceed to take away the mature story telling of the animated show lol

[@johannaschoning274]

you know, mature = corpses on screen, or something

[@Jetster007]

@@johannaschoning274 good thing game of thrones never had sexism or any other immoral content in it, would have been disastrous.

[@thatHARVguy]

@@johannaschoning274 Ah yes, the dark & gritty™ approach. Can we expect a Snyder Cut?

[@MsKeksPudding]

Another detail about ozai that I'm noticing is that in the original he had more mystery and seemed more daunting because we never actually see his face until late in the show (not sure where exactly)... Again another delayed payoff lost

[@Bleepbloop24]

This!!! I might be misremembering but i think the first time we actually see his face is when zuko confronts him during the eclipse. it is LATE season 2 when we actually see him and adds such a terrifying aspect to his character!!

[@Marcus-gw4bb]

​@@Bleepbloop24it was very late into season 2 before they revealed Ozai. Through Azula's character. After introducing her, the cartoon took the time to reveal more characters through her such as Mai and Ty Lee and eventually Ozai as Azula was never banished. Meaning she was able to interact with people in the fire nation, in turn, leading up to the reveal of Ozai. Throughout the entire season 1 he was quite literally just a shadow. But an overwhelming looming shadow over Team avatar

[@gerrymandering6669]

@@Bleepbloop24YES and the thing about the late reveal makes it so that the audience had time to imagine ozai as LOOKING the part of a villain and building fear around a faceless figure. unfortunately the only example i can attach to this would be how in the harry potter series, hermione says “fear of a name only increased fear of the thing itself,” like how our imaginations get to run wild with conclusions before the big reveal is made and low and behold; he’s just some guy that looks a bit like zuko.

[@melr.m.8984]

​@gerrymandering6669 exactly. having him be a looming thread of unshowable evil for the audience to fear to reveal the real evil is just...a man. a man who doesn't look scary or evil or have "villian" written across his forehead. it's some guy who holds the power to do the horrific things he has done. much more impact full.

[@aoi394]

YES!! For most of the show he’s just this looming shadowy imposing figure, which makes him so much more scary for both zuko (who knows how scary his father is) and aang (who is fearing the unknown based off only what he’s heard). Which makes the payoff where we finally see him and learn more about his character that much more impactful. I was so disappointed when I heard the netflix one ruined that immediately bc it’s such an important part of building up to aang fighting ozai.

[@fillyreports]

The fact that this is the second time they've rebooted ATLA and done so in such a lackluster way speaks to the lack of respect hollywood has for the source material

[@kezia8027]

Any attempt to copy perfection will be nothing but an imitation at best, or more likely, a worse facsimile.

[@jimmiejam508]

my theory is that anyone who might actually be good at writing/directing an adaptation of avatar has too much respect for the material to actually do it. i recently saw a quote from denis villenueve and hans zimmer, director and composer of dune respectively, about their own fear about adapting the original book (of which both are massive fans). they were afraid of tackling their childhood dreams, concerned nostalgia would get in the way, and didn’t want to undermine the legacy. i haven’t seen this kind of concern/respect with any of the avatar adaptations we’ve seen.

[@Stew91]

@fillyreports, Except the remake fails to be good, because the OG writers left. It's like people keep forgetting *why* this Netflix series fell short, outside of, "Of course it would suck no matter what you do", even though it could have been good.

[@wendella.4074]

@@kezia8027 The original series was not perfection or near perfect. Too many flaws and questionable actions. It’s not one of the best television series ever. Maybe one of the best animated series, but that’s it. I can name hundreds of better shows. Several hundreds.

[@m4rcyonstation93]

@@wendella.4074 do it

[@Dinnyeify]

Incredibly telling that they tried to do a more "mature" and "adult" version, and they did that by slapping more fight scenes and violence on it while actually removing a lot of the emotional depth.

[@vinogr00nko93]

wait so the "appealing to game of thrones audience" was actually pretty accurate damn

[@the_echoYT]

The fact that they imply Zuko could've defeated his father is nutty, because a major part of his character is that he's *not that good.* Azula is the prodigy, not Zuko, and this is plainly shown in a flashback where he tries to show off in front of Ozai and beefs it. He's a consistent disappointment to his father well before he's banished. He has to work hard to prove his worth and that's his entire initial motivation.

[@robbieboydudeguy]

And one of the facets of Zuko’s character is that, compared to everyone outside of his family, he IS a great fire bender, but his whole life has been spent in an abusive household where he was shamed for any single slip up compared to his savant sister. That psychological (and physical) abuse got in his head and made him a worse firebender because of it, and it’s only with Iroh’s gentle tutelage and Zuko’s own healing that he becomes the great bender he’s meant to be. His story’s all about how Ozai is a monster in every way imaginable and that anger and passion is not the only way to win something-there has to be a gentle balance between strict and gentle actions to get to the right place. They’re always talking about balance and harmony as a theme, and Zuko’s life is spent in disharmonious circumstances to emphasize why it’s so important, why character flaws are the way they are and what separates having them from just being a truly bad person. It’s so fucked how they mess up his character arc like this when he has one of the most satisfying redemptions ever 😭

[@Insanity-vv9nn]

My biggest problem with dialogue is how the original show never bothered to talk about the world, it just let the audience figure it out. We are told “air benders were not seen in years” it’s enough for us to understand they are dead which makes the temple scene more powerful

[@bored_boar]

Even as kids, we were able to figure the story out without the show spoon feeding the info to us.. Why tf did the writers assume that their target audience, adults, couldn't do the same?

[@thatHARVguy]

@@bored_boar Never treat your audience as stupid. The He-Man and G.I. Joe cartoon writers knew this, yet modern writers don't. 🤦‍♂

[@Door227]

Another testament to the originals shows greatness was ba sing se. All we were told for most of the series was that it was this impenetrable giant city and pretty much nothing else, probably because it would be so iconic in the world that no one would ever need to explain it

[@baileydrake2772]

I also missed how, when Aang finds all the dead Airbenders, Sokka is immediately empathetic and reassuring (Which was a side of him we hadn’t seen yet and ultimately let me know he was a good person at heart), and Katara didn’t get to tell Aang that she and Sokka were his new family. There was so much sincerity in that scene!! It always makes me cry, and it really set the stage for what was going to be deep friendships. That was probably the thing I missed most in the remake, the friendships between the characters 🥺

[@RogueAstro85]

Also Sokka's reaction of "Oh man..." is such a 16-17 year old boy reaction to something he was not ready to handle but still knew he had to be strong for.

[@Madelyn-i6s]

Also, the scene starts the foundation for what grows into Katara and Aang’s romantic relationship. It sets up that even early on, Katara cared for Aang in a deeper way than she probably would have if she hadn’t had romantic feelings towards