First Impressions - Is It Worth It? | Avatar Live Action, eps 1-4

[@merphynapier42]

Overall, the first four episodes have been a bit of a mixed bag for me. Ep 1 was rough, but after that there have been many scenes I’ve loved, and many I really haven’t. It’s not blowing me away, but I’m having fun seeing what they change and if those changes land. What do you think?

[@eylonaharon6560]

I watched the first 2 so far and love every second!! 🤩🤩

[@notrixamoris3318]

IGN gave it a 7...

[@EjderOfMah]

Hated it, first 2 episodes were ok, but costumes were already not good. But after first 2 episodes it was getting progressively worse for me. Zhao was great though, loved him. Most of other characters were a miss for me UPD: ep3 was also great, ep4 is when it became less fun and more cringe for me.

[@BleydTorvall]

Only gotten through the first 2 episodes so far, but I've been reasonably impressed. I was a bit higher on episode 1 than it sounds like you were, but I have a pretty high tolerance for inconsistent acting and writing, so that may be part of it. I've also been really impressed with their translation of bending to live action, for the most part it's pretty much exactly how I'd imagined it looking. And while I know it can rub a lot of fans the wrong way, the way the first episode started was brutal, but also brutally effective at showing us the true stakes of this story in a way the original really didn't.

[@hematite9914]

​@@notrixamoris3318 That's a massive W for an adaptation, I'm still on episode 3 though.

[@omegalis]

Costumes not looking lived in seems to be a consistent issue with modern production particularly for streaming, and it bugs me a lot too.

[@TheRubberDuck77]

I am one of those that I just come up with head canon to explain it so I can just let it go and enjoy the show/movie, for this I just thought it's because they live in a land pretty much completely covered in snow, no dirt to make it dirty (yes I know other things can make clothes dirty but then that ruins my head canon lol)

[@jaybugo]

It was one of my biggest gripes with the Wheel of Time series. Among other things.... things...

[@plaecholder]

Aside from the lack of weathering though, most of the costumes were actually fantastic in design.

[@keyframeclips]

⁠@@TheRubberDuck77You don’t need a head canon, they can literally just wash their clothes. People are making too big of a deal out of this idea lol. We’re not with them every moment, just like any other show.

[@OscarMartinez-jd8gd]

For the most part I like the costume designs. But I saw someone saw they look a little too cosplay like, and I can see that. Especially with like arm wraps

[@triattackzach]

Merphy: gives a thoughtful and honest review Me: “hehe… different AANG-gle.”

[@almogdov]

My first thought as well lol

[@webrevolution.]

You ratioed me by posting basically the same joke I did. But I did it before. Unfair. Sadge for me.

[@shadowthehedgehog181]

At least she didn't say OONG-gle 😅

[@manuelmialdea5127]

My biggest problem is how they've rounded Katara's and Sokka's edges. Their flaws and them overcoming them was a big part of what made this story great.

[@kylejackson7913]

So you’re saying they don’t have flaws?

[@JovaniaGeorge]

​@@kylejackson7913 they do, they just aren't as obvious and in your face

[@accountnew7030]

​@@JovaniaGeorge which is a good thing.

[@arunshajiabraham]

They do have flaws and character growth in this show as well, just not the same ones and in the same manner as the Animated Series.

[@Irrevenant_]

​@@accountnew7030for you. It's called an opinion, there is no reason to be bothered.

[@AveryNakabaale]

My main issue is the mischaracterisation of Katara - she is motherly or holds a raging anger towards the fire nation in source material. This makes me worried about episodes like the desert, the painted lady, the southern raiders, the awakening, the runaway, & the serpent's pass. If they intend to adapt from those episodes, it's going to fall flat because they didn't understand her character & how her trauma affects her dynamics with every single character she interacts with. Also, her & Toph's dynamic is affected for the overall story.

[@Problemsolver434]

What about how she magically mastered water bending without a master and with one scroll 😅 Or how Aang went the whole series without ever Learning a single bit of water bending. Yet they want us to believe he is taking his avatar role seriously

[@AveryNakabaale]

@@Problemsolver434 her mastering it, I can let go of but Aang not bending any element is what is striking me. He is so behind.

[@gcoca7450]

I don't think they will adapt any of those lol, I was waiting for Jon Jon and we didn't get him at all and that was a big moment for aang and even for later in the series. Like bruh

[@mrstrangeworld5977]

​@@gcoca7450Nah they defo adapt some of those episodes

[@mrstrangeworld5977]

​@@Problemsolver434he was trying to take it seriously but he wasn't ready

[@tehdipstick]

It's kind of weird how the people at Netflix have talked about this being a more mature take on the source material, yet the dialogue often feels very heavy-handed, like they're constantly spoon-feeding their audience. There is some dialogue that's great, or at least really solid, but then there's also dialogue that genuinely feels like it's written by the kind of writers who think children or teenagers are stupid and constantly need to be talked down to. SPOILER for episode 4: When Zuko disguises himself as an Earth Kingdom soldier to sneak into the Omashu prison in search of Iroh, he's suddenly faced with the choice of either going after Aang, or continue on his mission to rescue his uncle. The moment where he has to make this choice is featured in the source material as well, but this time, unlike in the animated series, he also has an Earth Kingdom prison guard asking him out loud whether he's looking for the Avatar or their new Fire Nation prisoner. The fact that they can't just let the visuals speak for themselves, or trust their own ability/storytelling enough that they have to spell out Zuko's inner conflict in that moment is a sign that they either don't have much confidence in how they're choosing to tell their version of the story, or they don't think their audience are intelligent enough to understand what's going on without having the narration spoon-fed to them... Which is weird considering how this is supposed to be the version meant for a more mature audience. It just kind of reeks of "We need to tell you what you're supposed to think and feel in this moment rather than letting you do it on your own".

[@amuro9624]

I really didn't like most dialogues in the show. A lot of times it feels like a school play where the actors are just standing looking at each others and saying their lines in a mechanical way. Idk if that was due to bad acting direction or bad writing but it just felt so stiff it's like it's not humans talking but actors saying their lines. Instead of seeing and understanding what the characters feel they will just say it to another character.

[@etienne8110]

It s because it was written by incompetents. The head writer is a sports journalist put in charge just because of nepotism. No wonder the original writers fled.

[@jedimasterbo1011]

Have you been in the real world? Most adults really are that block headed and need things explained to them like they are a child lol. We live in a time where people are glued to a screen having someone else entertain them so they very rarely have to think for themselves. I see adults that need to be told how a cupon experation date works and youre surprised they felt the need to explain concepts of a story to people? I think they just know their audience 😂

[@nunyabusiness3516]

I hate that they miss the point of the subtlety of the original. Character development can happen without the overly heavy exposition dialog. The biggest example of this is Aang's first introduction in the air temple should have SHOWN him eating banana cakes and playing airball with other CHILD air nomads THEN talking to Gyatso so he doesn't have to then verbally say, "I like, "I know who I am I like to goof off and eat banana cakes" You never see him interact with another child in his ordinary life so you don't get gravity in the reason why he leaves or see the fun silly side of him.

[@aaronmorder1965]

It's ironic that a cartoon made for children is better at subtlety and subtext than a show geared more toward a mature audience.

[@onel0uder114]

He is so serious in the LA. They really did not do his character justice. I feel like it has more to do with the writing than the acting. Aang just wants to have fun in season 1 of the OG, but in this version he is always lecturing and info dumping lol.

[@under20over40]

I didnt want a 1 to 1 recreation because, like you said, its a different medium. But i didnt want them to completely change the characters, I cared less about the story as a whole and more about the individual character arcs. The character arcs seems to be completely different

[@dheu]

Yes, this. I agree. The story beats are less important than the character beats to me and it feels like they have misunderstood a lot of the characters.

[@Nateiliand]

Yeah, and the chemistry between the gaang is just not there, they're not a team, that was my biggest tip off.

[@ritzee13]

Aang didn't waterbend once in the whole season (except during avatar state). It's so weird to ignore his learning, I know Katara teaches him but he still take the time to learn in the first season.

[@julianbroughton]

Kyoshi was a miss for me. She never struck me as an angry person. More so duty bound, headstrong, and direct.

[@VinnieMF]

You know when fans meme about Kyoshi being a bloodbathing monster? It's like they actually embraced the meme and changed her character, it was so odd seeing it.

[@TheCloudRazorable]

@@VinnieMF I’ve been saying this! She felt more like the meme rather than herself. And I’m so glad there are actually ppl who can also see how the majority of this fandom completely misrepresents Kyoshi’s character

[@angrynerdgirl]

Having badgermoles travel by sensing emotions instead of vibrations is going to open up some wild stuff for Toph. I mean, I know she could sense heart beats but I'm curious as to where this is going.

[@theredeft5319]

That was wild! That almost makes it seems like she will be an empath, which is insane because she is like the least emotionally intelligent person in the group. My friends and I were baffled about that.

[@robchuk4136]

I think they still sense vibrations too. The emotions is just an added thing

[@josuecenturiondomaniczky9297]

They’ll probably just change that end expect us to forget that part lol

[@taneelbrightblade6622]

I could be wrong, but i’m assuming this is them feeling vibrations and scent, just picking up subtle differences between safe-love-trust feelings vs fear-danger

[@alicepbg2042]

nowhere. it will be completely ignored.

[@zomb9230]

Gran gran going into a schizophrenia induced info dump when aang just mentions a festival was what made me realize this is NOT the show I loved 🤣

[@paulanderson771]

Gran Gran was painful to watch and listen to. When she started going on about the Avatar and how he vanished and then announces 'this boy...is the last airbender' and I'm like 'did you mean avatar? Because you were literally just talking about the Avatar and now we're back to him being an airbender.."

[@kylejackson7913]

It’s a shame that the other good things didn’t make you think differently🙄

[@irasac1]

​@@kylejackson7913 stop being fine with mediocrity

[@cxncxrtmxstxr]

​@@kylejackson7913 what other good things, other than the action scene, what else

[@guy_bello]

​@@paulanderson771😂😂😂, she gets to it eventually though

[@cynicalthoughts]

Avatar The last Exposition... also i hate how they messed up Hakoda? Not caring about Sokka engineering stuff he wants him to be a warrior... and Sokka is like choosing between the 2 things (so freaking cliche btw) Hakoda was a great father proud of Sokka being a smart guy not only a warrior. I feel like they literally messed up 2 of the best male role figures Hakoda and Bumi, why? One more thing i can't remember 1 instance were Zuko talks about restoring his Honor

[@veganandatheist]

They messed Roku as well.

[@hez859]

Hakoda didn't say anything about not wanting him to be an engineer he just said some people weren't meant to lead, and he did it not knowing his son was there he was being critical which is what some parents do even with the best intentions. You're nitpicking

[@artistfloor9]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@hez859 It’s not nitpicking. Hakoda was never shown to be disappointed in Sokka in the original. Everything he said was supportive, even in the brief flashback in Book 1. In the live action, Sokka was apparently so haunted by his father’s critical words that it becomes his most painful memory he has to relive in the spirit world, on par with Katara seeing her mom get killed. This was basically their version of the swamp episode, so they had to give Sokka a painful memory to hallucinate, but they couldn’t use Yue’s death because they hadn’t been to the North Pole yet, so they made up a new painful memory using Hakoda. I don’t like it. We were also robbed of seeing Sokka succeed at ice dodging, displaying his leadership and cunning. Here he does it offscreen, and we’re told he was bad at it. Wow, how exciting.

[@ourabouras]

The gutting of the humor for the show was such a bad call, it stripped away a lot of the character that made the show so unique and enjoyable into this war driven, drab show. The show feels more like a cheap knock off of the animated series than a legit adaptation made by the same studio.

[@marocat4749]

What?! Hakoda was apearently like sokka, given his weird uncenventional tactics. He would never look down on it :(

[@ashtingreene8725]

Thematically, I'm still not sure the Bumi thing works. It'd work if Aang had ran like he did in the original series but, in the live action, he didn't. He got caught in bad weather...

[@UncleQuille1]

Maybe I missed some dialogue but wasn’t he running away but decided to go back because of the weather? Wasn’t like he was like “yea let’s take responsibility”

[@AJ-jv1wh]

​@@UncleQuille1ur spot on.

[@alexandersolodovnikov4840]

It didn't work here. Also Bumi should've being happy and relieved that his friend managed to escape. For all he knew Aang died during the Air temple ambush.

[@chinuaalibatya7345]

The Bumi stuff doesn’t work at all thematically. Bumi raises points about how he has lived 100 years, how as a result of living 100 years he has had to make tough decisions which have disillusioned him. The narrative’s resolution to this when challenged is for Sokka and Katara to fight Bumi alongside Aang and Aang to say he will fight with his friends. That is not satisfying character writing or proper thematic messaging at all. The Netflix Live Action has this problem in spades throughout

[@dheu]

@@UncleQuille1 No, I don’t think so. He told Appa they’d go get some air to clear his head. He said nothing about deciding to run away from the responsibility.

[@TMcT45]

They did Bumi so dirty, man. I was thinking the show was doing a solid job with some rocky aspects up to that point, but their betrayal to Bumi's character completely lost me. Why is Aang's oldest living friend and a member of the white lotus telling the AVATAR to abandon his friends and go through his journey alone? Why take his presence as a great ally and turn him into an antagonist in his episode? Why make him a roadblock as opposed to a wise, guiding force? Edit: I also want to add that I understand what the writers were trying to do with the feelings of abandonment and being jaded by the war, but I think it was a mistake to have Bumi be the one to raise these issues up to Aang. In the animated show, these topics were mostly handled in Two Storms when the fisherman calls Aang a coward for vanishing, which triggers his guilt over the situation. They didn’t need to make Bumi into a bitter man preaching callousness in order to address the themes they wanted.

[@spunkush]

Cuz the writers are hacks

[@Problemsolver434]

I hated that part

[@r00ni37]

I agree honestly, but i have a few theories on why Bumi is the way he is in the LA: 1.) Bumi felt betrayed of Aang's dissappearance. That's why at one point Bumi tells Aang that he "cant trust anyone" because his friend was gone when he and the world needed him. 2.) Bumi was betrayed during the years Aang was gone, which explains Bumi's trust issues, plus the fire nation spies in the kingdom. 3.) Bumi is old, like really old, and he has been fighting the war for years now. He had to make the tough choices for the kingdom to survive, then suddenly the avatar arrives to "save the day". Which totally explains Bumi's reaction, like where was the avatar when they needed him? Overall I feel like Bumi being traumatized is an interesting change, but could have been handled better 😅

[@chongxiong1164]

Did yaw see jet they also did him dirty

[@spunkush]

@@r00ni37 yah.... I guess so. It just Bumi was a character who felt so enlightened and past that. I mean he smiled while being imprisoned in a metal box. And is super old. A reason I felt he reached that old age is because he didn't allow trauma to hold him back. Now he's more human, which is what they wanted to do with the story....make it more realistic

[@paulanderson771]

I'm giving the series a 6/10 overall. And a note to showrunners. Don't make some big deal out of things like 'oh we're toning down on Sokka's 'sexist' remarks...' only to have Suki appear in a doorway staring at the man while he's bathing...then continuing to stare until he's uncomfortable and covering up. What the heck was that?? Go away Suki, you creep.

[@cxncxrtmxstxr]

Also, they said we are going to downplay Sokka’s sexism, but they are okay with other characters displaying sexism, if you want to showcase the lesson regarding sexism, go all out with Sokka and Master Pakku, not one or the other

[@henrywayne5724]

​@@cxncxrtmxstxrWhat sends me is how subtly sexist the writing became as a result. Katara became a Mary Sue and it was giving r/menwritingwomen

[@veganandatheist]

​@@henrywayne5724 FACTSSS

[@artistfloor9]

I really hated that scene. What the writers did was slimy. They wanted credit for getting rid of the “problematic” sexism but replaced it with conspicuous fanservice. I don’t even care that they wanted to show him shirtless at some point, but they did it the worst way possible. As if Suki acting like a creep is somehow more progressive than Sokka being sexist. And then they did the cliché “fight turns sexy” where they pin each other down and stare into each other’s eyes. So dumb.

[@paulanderson771]

@@henrywayne5724 Girlbossing Katara killed the character. It was so obvious why the OG creators bowed out of this.

[@twoswords5524]

Just finished episode 2 and i've gotta say, having Kyoshi be the first Avatar he encounters was off. Roku was the best introduction as an Avatar teacher. Being from the fire nation and that mentorship was significant to Aang's willingness to trust fire benders. Also the dialogue between Aang and Kyoshi felt like the conversation he has at the end of the animated series.

[@Ninja_Tude]

Also the fact that Aang is literally, like every Avatar, having to pick up pieces from his predessor and Roku has all that context

[@cassidyarivers]

I love that they addressed Iroh's past so much!! It hurt to see him hurting but it was so nice that it wasn’t just brushed off

[@lucaleone4331]

omg yeah, like how dare they play little soldier boy during his funeral! I wasnt ready for that lol

[@Ninja_Tude]

I agree in principle but it was done too early imo. That should have been a Season 2 beat after the audience is more invested in the characters

[@Paradox-dy3ve]

I don't mind changes. I just dislike the quality of the changes. The dialogue being changed from "amazing" to "absolute fucking dogshit" is not a great change for example 😅 The entire series exposition dumps in the laziest, least entertaining way imaginable. And beyond exposition dumping, the dialogue is SO unnatural. "I am afraid of the responsibility", "we have been friends for years, you know that" level amateurish dialogue. Also, the way they rearrange the plot consistently manages to undermine the characters' motivations and lessen the impact of pivotal moments. Aang choosing to leave the air temple is a great example. In the OG show, Aang doesn't run away when he's told that he's the Avatar, he runs away when he overhears that being the Avatar means that he will be separated from his loved ones and he'll essentially lose the life that he loves. In the Netflix show he's basically like "let's go clear our head huh buddy?" And he conveniently leaves the exact night of the Air Nomad genocide. It robs his central motivation and conflict of all emotion. And it takes away the mystery of Aang's identity. I think it was far more effective to have Aang's first impression be the moment he leaves the iceberg and we see this God-like power, then the moment where Aang wakes up and asks to go play, that contrast perfectly captures the duality of this character. I hate the way they condensed plot points. Everything feels robbed of its proper impact as a result, and for the life of me I don't understand why (with all the rushed plot they already had) they decided to add even MORE plot points from later seasons. They ruin Ozai's reveal for no good reason. Nothing positive comes of it, they just ruin the mystery and menace of the character. They throw in Azula so haphazardly that, again, robs her introduction of its impact. Remember how Azula shows up in the original? Unforgettable right? Remember how they do it in this one? No? Shocker. And they don't even bother introducing May and Tai Lee. They just show up all of a sudden. Oh and the acting is mostly terrible and ruins believability and robs this already flimsy script of whatever limited emotion it had.

[@zomb9230]

They replace all the subtle hints and foreshadowing with characters just info dumping for NO REASON. Remember episode 1 Aang mentions a festival then gran gran goes into a whole schizophrenia induced info dump about the lore of the whole show, and then ciphers the original avatar intro 1 for 1?????? Like what:???????

[@TheGamefreak612]

I mean the fact they used Secret Tunnel in episode 4 and kind of made fun of it really bummed me out because it shows they are not going to follow Katang at all and will just ignore it in future seasons.

[@OAS15]

agree, for the acting tho i will say it's probably hard to deliver on such unnatural/poorly written dialogue

[@calmandfree]

​@@TheGamefreak612I didn't like they spoiled the mystery of the caves of Omashu immediately, that was a key mystery to be discovered, I guess since they didn't want the romance between katara and aang, they decided it was best to spoil it in the beginning. I think it could have worked with Katara and Sokka still discovering the mystery on their own.

[@TheGamefreak612]

@@calmandfree yeah...and also the line about how the badgermoles "see". Feeling really? so Toph sees through people's feelings? I wanted to scream

[@marksaint-johnkerr9141]

I don't like how they handled Kyoshi. She was so shouty and critical. None of his past lives ever talked to him that way

[@boroi100]

Totally not portrayingan avatar that lives for hundreds of years eh.

[@curtiszyr]

Also gave her all Of Roku acts as the direct avatar to aang.

[@robchuk4136]

Because they are all essentially the same spirit

[@shippendales8543]

​@@robchuk4136they are the same spirit in the sense they come from one spark buy they are all individual people with different personalities and lives

[@shippendales8543]

Sozin judged Aang for his reluctance to kill in the og show Clearly the former Avatars watch over the new ones and have diverging opinions and thoughts 😂

[@matthemming9105]

"Everything I need is on this boat." 😢😢😢

[@EliasJWhite]

That was beautiful!

[@arunshajiabraham]

🥺🥺

[@Xiatorm]

I think you're the first opinion that I liked. You said it with a leveled head of the good and the bad instead of screaming at how horribly bad it was. Well said!

[@jow2716]

I really didn't like that Aang didn't run away in ep1. He just basically "went out for some air" (no pun intended) and was fully planning on coming back in 2h. That was so important for me in the animation that all of this happens because HE made a decision and the entire world had to live with the consequences of that choice. Idk, it didn't feel as impactful here somehow: knowing he was always planning on coming back, not shreaking his duties :/ That's one of my biggest complaint, so far the rest is very good and I enjoy most of the changes! IOf the 4 ep I've seen, this show seems fun, entertaining and still rather emotionally impactful so I'm happy with the result :)

[@christopherrodriguez3646]

Yea once I saw the motivation for flying away was so lack luster it lost a lot of meaning. It made sense in the original why he would push so hard to fly through the storm, he was scared and running away meant pushing through this storm. In the live action, he just goes up to ponder his thought, which makes it unrealistic to think he would turn around at the first sight of such a wild storm.

[@omegalis]

That was a major driving theme of the show, you can't run away from your responsibilities without dire consequences for you and the ones you love. Accepting his duty and recognizing the selfishness in running from it was a huge part of Aang's character development.

[@kayceeisonfire]

One of my biggest issues with this adaptation is that they take away EVERY choice and moment of agency from the characters. Aang running away, Katara breaking the ice, Aang setting off the missile in the Fire Nation war ship, and many more were all changed from active choices the characters make that have consequences that move to plot to mere conveniences and contrivances that just happen to the characters. That's one of the biggest writing sins that makes a story feel unengaging and contrived, and it's so baffling to me that they actively changed those things to make the story worse when the original already did that so successfully.

[@TheCloudRazorable]

And the fact that ppl are even harsher on him in this show, calling him a coward, saying he abandoned everyone, and it’s all his fault makes is all the more annoying because he didn’t even run away!!

[@patrickcox8990]

then theres the fact that he fell into the ocean because appa wouldnt fly higher than 3 fuckin feet above the water.

[@orcinusolive447]

The idea that Aang can only contact previous Avatars in their shrines sounds like it could go wrong later on very fast. Roku appears in a lot of very random places to share important wisdom. The idea suggested in the video to explore more Avatars than just Roku and Kyoshi sounds like a "Wide as an ocean, shallow as a puddle." approach. Especially with the characterization of Roku. Also what does that imply about the Lion Turtle scene in the end?

[@avatarmezzy2980]

Another avatar contacts Aang while not at a shrine later.

[@TheCloudRazorable]

They did Roku so dirty 😭😭

[@44r0n-9]

Suddenly ghost-Kuruk appears out of nowhere lmao

[@alexandersolodovnikov4840]

I think they ment it in a way that he can only manifest the previous avatars when he is in a shrine. Not just to contact them.

[@calvinjohnson6242]

@@TheCloudRazorableI think that an issue with the original show was how often they relied on Roku, as opposed to drawing on the other Avatars.

[@samfisher6606]

I thought it was okay. But it makes small writing changes, but these changes fundamentally change the characters. Aang doesn’t really run away. he goes to clear his head. So Aang shouldn’t have the guilt when called a coward like he does in the original. But they still do it anyway. It has this weird Uncanny Valley effect for me. It gets so close to being exactly right but there's enough change that something feels off. And the Volume AR wall doesn't help. But they nailed Iroh and Zuko's dynamic. They're the best part of the show.

[@martinacosta3821]

Just saw the first episode and that part got me too, he didnt have the guilt, and that was fundamental to overcome for him

[@oscarchavezavellan2738]

I think that as a 12 year old i think it makes sense that he still feels guilty even though that was not what he intended. I will agree however that what the animated show presents is far more compelling and complex.

[@kaladongstormguy]

My friend and I talked about the exact same thing. In the original he full on "I'm leaving a note and running away"'ed but in the adaptation it felt more like he just went on a walk to clear his head. They made a lot of changes that weren't big enough to feel like they wanted to go for something completely new and different but not close enough to the original for those changes to not have consequences. I totally get what you mean by that uncanny valley feeling.

[@samfisher6606]

@@kaladongstormguy Yes, he's clearing his head. Like you do on a walk.

[@IsraelLlerena]

This is something I’ve noticed too! That’s why Kyoshi and Bumi don’t work for me. They’re mad at him for running away and not taking the duty of the avatar seriously.. but this doesn’t work because aang DIDNT run away and this adaptation shows him more focused on saving the world. It’s inconsistent.

[@steadyeddienewk]

I think a way to fix the ending of Bumi and Aang's fight would be Aang doing the power for friendship speech to Bumi in a plea for help. Get rid of Katara and Sokka last minute rescue. Have Aang break down, admitting that he can't do this alone, but with his friends help, there just much be a light at the end of the tunnel. Let Bumi see that his friend is still his friend and that there's someone to believe in again. Overall, I'm more neutral on the series as a whole, maybe 5 or even 4 out of 10, but i don't hate it.

[@spunkush]

I think the longer you think about this show the worse it gets. They took the fun and family out of the story and made it serious and fast-paced. Writing is very poor, imo. But the fight scenes are good and i did enjoy some parts.

[@zomb9230]

The biggest strength ATLA had for me was the comedy and the fun they had. They go to kyoshi island and ride giant fish, they go to omashu and ride carts around the city. The Live action replaced all the fun and jokes with Trauma dumps, info dumps, and heroic speeches

[@armancole2781]

I disagree the more I thought about it the more I liked it. Like for me when I first watched episode 1 I kept comparing it to the original and that took some joy out of it but the second time I watched it I loved it more. Having the show have time to marinate for me is what made me give it a second chance and I ended up enjoying it a lot and it reminded me that I enjoy adaptions (based of things I have already seen/read) a lot more when it’s a different take from the original. I don’t mind the family elements taken out and to me it’s still fun because bending/fight scenes are fun to me and seeing a different take is also fun. This also could be because I wasn’t the biggest fan of ATLA B1 because it felt too much like a show aimed at little kids and I was an adult when I watched it. I may have a different opinion in regard to Live action book 2 & 3 if they were changed as much as this as I thought those seasons were perfect in the animation (that’s when I fell in love with the show and saw why it’s so beloved).

[@spunkush]

@@armancole2781 I'm glad you liked it. I'm only part way through the series. I intend to finish it. And j did enjoy episode 1. But it just makes me wanna watch the OG. This is an imitation with very impressive fight scenes and set pieces. I just feel the writing carried the OG and the writing is the weakest part of the live-action show.

[@r00ni37]

I can agree in some cases, the show was a 7/10 for me. There are some changes and additions that i liked, but there are some that the OG did better, at least narratively. Pacing is also weird for me, i feel like in some places it feels that we are moving on too fast. There is one big issue for me though, which oll reveal once everyone is mostly caught up 😅

[@thesunisup_]

Spot on what’s going on in my head. I binge watched it last night and at the time it felt like it’s an ok show, not great but ok, but the more I think about it, the worse it gets.

[@majdasvabova7025]

Something i find a little weird too is that they say the mechanist created the mailing system. But just before they got to omashu aang said that they have a cool mailing system. Which doesn’t make sense. Ps: i think momo and appa were so cute especially momo. Edit: why is there a place only airbenders can open in omashu?

[@Problemsolver434]

I personally have a major massive massive complaint about the ending of this series. But I guess I'll wait till next week's video

[@mrstrangeworld5977]

what issue?

[@Problemsolver434]

@@mrstrangeworld5977 Aang goes through the whole seasinwithout learning any water bending at all Katara mastered water bending without any master at, with one scroll, in basically a few days. She never trained with Paku or anyone

[@cxncxrtmxstxr]

​@@Problemsolver434she didn't even try healing too but I don't remember she did it in Book 1 so...

[@Problemsolver434]

@SummerTokyoNeko She healed Aang after his fight with zhao in book 1.

[@mastaovdafist3551]

Yea, they did Katara pretty bad in this. Idk if it's the writing or the actress, but they missed alot of what makes her a great character! For instance, her fight with Pakku is just...bad. In the live action, it comes off like she's just trying to prove herself she can fight, but in the cartoon, she's pissed that she traveled all the way across the world just to get denied because she's a female. She doesn't want Pakkus respect in the fight. She just wants to kick his ass!! Her anger is a huge part of her character, if she didn't get mad at Sokka, Aang would still be trapped in the iceberg.

[@ignaciogarcia2517]

Playing leaves from the vine in two"emotional" scenes takes away how special it is in tales of ba sing se

[@patrickcox8990]

im glad i never even noticed it. it actually wouldve ticked me off.

[@Kisuke258]

Not really

[@VinnieMF]

Playing it is trying to transpose the emotional investment viewers have for the original scene without putting any actual leg work into it.

[@hez859]

​​@@VinnieMFwell who is to say they would do tales of ba sing se in the live action to begin with? They wouldn't necessarily need to do an episode with mini episodes within it For me the acting of zuko and Iroh is what hit me, they did a great job in that scene. People are being wayyyyyyy to critical about this and it's sad, lol I've been loving getting more intimate glimpses of Zukos life at the palace

[@theredeft5319]

I think it was fine. They used it at Lu Ten’s funeral, then when Iroh joins Zuko. It emphasizes that Iroh sees Zuko as a son as well. I do agree that it shouldn’t be overused though.

[@bryanwigmore7224]

Interesting that you were so affected by the genocide prologue. I thought it was a poor decision to show it up front as the viewer had been given no chance to engage with any of the characters involved (since Aang was absent) meaning it was just empty violence. But maybe my reaction was uncommon. (I tend to tear up at poignant/bittersweet things rather than sad or tragic.)

[@robchuk4136]

The Aftermath is much more powerful to me. And leaving the horrors up to my imagination.

[@Nateiliand]

I agree with you.

[@annelise5050]

There is so much joy in the delivery of your reviews and I love seeing your perspective and how much you love the worlds and stories that you talk about! Its such a breath of fresh air. The commentary community seems more than ever to have so much cynicism, possibly rightly given all the live action adaptations and whatnot but its so nice to see the beauty of these stories through your eyes

[@ItsArchieYo]

Man, you really enjoyed this way more than I did, like way more

[@usegamey]

They completely ruined Bumis character. How did Sokka and Katara get Appa to fly without saying Yip yip. Why was Katara able to waterbend 400metres in the sky on Appa to stop a fireblast but not able to waterbend a tiny bubble. Why can Aang fly. Why is Katara laughing in the serious scenes. How did Katara learn to Icebend after barely being a waterbender. I'm not even going to finish it past Episode 4. What a joke of a show.

[@mr.prince8701]

I can't tell if ur serious or joking

[@closeben]

Katara’s bending being OP kinda bothers me, but it only happens in two moments where she is very emotionally motivated, and that’s something that does happen in the original, she seems stronger when she is emotional. So it makes some sense. Not sure why such small details ruin the show for you though. The heart of the story I feel has been captured really well and I am enjoying the surprising ways the plotting has changed in places.

[@sophiehugli2752]

In the cartoon tbh katara's waterbending also progresses REALLY quickly

[@TroySavary]

​@@sophiehugli2752Yes. In the cartoon, in the war of the north, at one stage, she simply jumps off Appa and one shots Zuko, yet people are whining that Netflix turned her into a "girlboss".

[@MarcieIsForager]

Aang wasnt flying tho he was airbending, there are air spouts , air cushions etc he can do to fly-ish its not like he pulled a Laghima.

[@shioli3927]

The tunnel thing felt so weird. I was questioning my sanity thinking they are gonna make katara kiss sokka. But yea it probably means they are gonna make it to where katara and aang aren´t gonna be a thing. In the animation katara was also the first thing aang saw, here it isn´t. I´m pretty sure there where some awkward looks here and there in season 1, but I did not catch that in the life action. They did not go penguin sliding. And they made sure they are never gonna go into this tunnel together.

[@8Makes1]

That's what I thought too! It's such a weird choice for siblings to go through the tunnel of love. It definitely takes out the seeds for Aang's crush. But then again, this Aang has given no sign of crushing on Katara (not that we've had time for that). It almost makes me wonder if Zutara is going to be a thing. Zuko did the weird slowmo grab for Katara's scarf in episode 3 and that felt like planting seeds more than him actually trying to grab ahold of her.

[@shioli3927]

@@8Makes1 I have now also rewatched season 1 (and for that matter all the rest too...). The aang katara thing is much more spelled out in season 1 already than I remember. There is even a fortune teller episode about it. Sokka making jokes about it right from the get go. I did think that they went more into this in season 3, but it is clearly spelled out from the start. Maybe not 100% clear if you don´t know how it´s gonna end. But we all knew that already going into the netflix series and there was nothing.

[@8Makes1]

@@shioli3927 My whole comment was on the Netflix show, not the original cartoon 😅. The original was dropping hints as soon as the first episode in Book One. The Netflix adaptation has completely removed everything to do with Aang's crush on Katara, which is why the Tunnel scenes with Sokka felt a bit weird.

[@shioli3927]

@8Makes1 I didn´t misunderstand you I just elaborated on my own comment. Should have probably clicked reply on my own thing then... but oh well didn´t do that I guess.

[@8Makes1]

@@shioli3927 Ah, got it. No worries!

[@tmakk92]

I too thought Jet was Haru based on where they were at! I did my best to stay away from any news after the 1st full trailer so I didnt see Jet's actor face enough to realize who he was before being told who he was ha

[@dheu]

I was certain he was Haru too, haha…

[@Welle-xw6kp]

Same

[@olivervasquez1576]

Haha I thought Jet was Haru too!

[@roger_towny_jr]

To Gordon's defense on his acting, he IS still a kid. Dan, Rupert, and Emma weren't exactly giving phenominal performances in the first Harry Potter film.

[@closeben]

I think more importantly than him just being young, is that it doesn’t feel like he’s being given clear direction on set. Good performances don’t just come from good actors, but also good directors. He shows in the important emotional scenes that he is a very capable actor, however with the less important scenes I feel like the director doesn’t care enough of have the time to focus on his performance. I think it's likely that his scenes often get rushed because child actors only have a limited amount of time they can be working. Especially considering how much time he must spend in make up, they can’t have heaps of time to shoot his scenes each day.

[@spunkush]

@closeben spot on. Some scenes I was impressed by his acting. But tons of other scenes were bad and j wondered why they didn't reshoot it

[@ramblingsofgabby]

I don't blame him because he's young carrying a lot of exposition and poor rushed dialogue

[@TheCloudRazorable]

Yeah I honestly feel like he’s a pretty good actor, he can show a range of emotions and it’s the writing and directing that’s holding him back. For me it’s Katara’s actor that’s lacking and I can’t just blame it on writing

[@robchuk4136]

Counterpoint: The kids on Stranger Things were phenomenal in the first season. (And FWIW, Emma Watson was so good in HP, they just started giving Ron's book stuff to her)

[@Mr.IndoorPants]

***Ep 2 spoilers*** To me sokka and suki felt very off. Suki barely talks. She doesn’t say one word in the entire target practice interaction. It doesn’t seem like they connected at all. it was only physical attraction. To me it seemed like the writers said “let’s take out sokka’s sexism and just have these two objectify each other rather than building any relationship” And you have it backward. Things should be slowed down in live action. Not sped up. Cartoons as a medium are supposed to be taken less seriously so love at first sight and short character arcs are more acceptable. In live action things need more time to breathe. The kiss came out of nowhere and was super unnecessary and uncomfortable. A kiss on the cheek would have been much more appropriate, and would have supported the point that it was more than just physical attraction

[@TheCloudRazorable]

Yep, taking out his sexism ironically cheapened his relationship with suki. She had no reason to be cold towards him if he wasn’t being a jerk to her

[@arenkai]

She wasn't cold to Sokka though. Her not speaking was because she wanted to connect to him as a warrior because he seemed to take pride in that, and she does too. It's also been noted multiple times in the episode that Suki is sheltered, she doesn't interact with men that much so she also feels awkward in that scene because she is awkward. While I don't think their relationship was handled great, I think you are missing quite a bit of the points the show was trying to make about Suki. The cartoon handled it far better, that's a given.

[@closeben]

Kiss on the cheek would have been way better, as a way of saying “hey, I like you, but this is goodbye.” I hate how Hollywood makes you think people like to lip smash on the day they first meet. Most relationships have to develop before that happens. You’re right they made it far too physical and made it seem like Suki had literally never seen a guy before. Also makes me worried that them kissing will make Sokka and Yue not really work - we will see how that turns out.

[@Mr.IndoorPants]

@@closeben exactly! You put it far more eloquently than I was able to. This felt like when you visit your friend at college for a night and end up kissing someone at the party, rather than two people who are starting to fall for each other, being torn apart due to circumstance

[@robchuk4136]

I liked Suki a lot, but in the cartoon she says something along the lines of "I'm a warrior, but I'm a girl too," and that line alone is a better representation of the whole of her character (and gender politics in general) than anything the show came up with.

[@skullknight4579]

i only watched the episode 1, my own notes are as followed the change of monk gyasto letting anng be taken away for training is an odd change, in the original he was strongly against him and anng separated, and the tragedy was that anng ran away before they could talk.....this was an odd change, can someone explain why they did this the fire nation attacks my issue is with how the fire benders were portrayed during the comet, they didn't seem all that different without the comet, we should have seen giant fire balls and guys flying spraying massive flames, completely overwhelming destruction, unrestrained fire power.....the first episode didn't show that

[@Siul_987]

I agree, they changed that so much that here aang was just hanging out with appa and got stuck in the middle of a storm and had all the intentions to go back (just a hang out to accept he was the avatar), is such a weird change and it kind of diminishes his frustrations with how everything ended 100 years ago.

[@closeben]

yea it is really weird that Sozin even had dialogue about “the power of the comet” but it really didn’t look like that at all. Looked like the only buff they got was being able to fly. They should have had Sozin straight up burn an entire building with one huge sweep of fire.

[@Marpaws]

5.5 / 10 maximum. the pristine costumes, the bad acting of a lot of actors,the uneven writen or just bad writing can't balance the heavy hitters doing a great job.

[@veganandatheist]

I agree.

[@chuggywap]

why are yall so mean, just enjoy the show, those people worked really hard on it come on

[@veganandatheist]

@chuggywap "Why are y'all so mean! My 4-year-old little brother worked so hard on the drawing of the titanic that looks like a brick with three sticks on top. Come on!!!"

[@Marpaws]

@@veganandatheist thanks! Exactly

[@gntyh]

@@chuggywap if you worked hard on something and it sucks it still sucks, thats the world

[@ThompsonBrosStudios]

It's so funny to see how different episodes have worked or not worked for different people. I personally had the hardest time with ep. 3 so far.

[@meridesiree7940]

And that was one of my favorite episodes haha

[@charak953]

I also did not like episode 3. I was so bored despite so much going on.

[@hellothere2464]

i think the acting does get better as the show goes on and i tend to look past it for the most part when it comes to younger actors. my biggest issue as a katara fan is her characterization in this show, which feels like one of the most lackluster aspects of this adaptation. she feels like a totally different character than her animated counterpart, and also doesn’t even feel like a main character at all. like, she’s literally the narrator of the animated show and the first character you get to know, so it’s just incredibly disappointing to see a character known for her strong personality/presence be so passive and cast aside.

[@robchuk4136]

Agreed, but to be fair, Katara's not the only one, They've all been slightly tweaked. Iroh is a little more quiet, Aang is a little less goofy, Sokka is a little more serious, and Zuko doesn't mention his "honor" at all and is nowhere near as hot-tempered and obsessed.

[@hellothere2464]

@@robchuk4136you’re definitely right, i just feel like out of all of them, katara feels the most out of character compared to her animated counterpart. they didn’t just dial back her personality, but completely changed it.

[@xXbaker115Xx]

I can see what they were going for with bumi because they cut out the whole fisherman making aang feel guiltily but did it have to be bumi?? In the cartoon he was there as a friend Disguised as a foe to teach aang a lesson "open your mind to the possibilities" But in this it was aang reminding bumi to trust in others. Didnt sit right

[@MartinKrol]

This is possibly the most level headed review ive listened to so far on the series. Zukos/irohs story gets so good later on. Loved it. But my favorite part so far is when kyoshi took over angs avatar state. That was sooo badass. I can rewatch that all day long:)

[@TroySavary]

I think the live action handled this better than the animated. Avatar state seemed like a McGuffin used to make Ang win when it was plot convenient in the animated. Makes one wonder why he didn't use it all the time. In the Netflix series, he wasn't experienced enough to control it. It made sense that at Kyoshi's shrine, she was able to tap into Ang and take action herself.

[@MagillanicaLouM]

@@TroySavary Him being unable to fully control himself while in it and activate it in the first place outside of extreme emotional duress was a major plot point for most of the show, it wasn't just a win button they decided to simply not use lol. Multiple episodes were spent addressing it

[@TroySavary]

@@MagillanicaLouM Then many other times he was under "extreme emotional duress", it didn't happen. Face it, the Avatat state is handled better in the live action, but insecure boys cannot handle that it was Kyoshi that came out.

[@MatthewOliphant]

I made it 20 minutes through the first episode and had to stop. What Aang was told prior to leaving in this was different than the original and that change, though seemingly minor, changed everything moving forward.

[@ajearthdude8467]

you wouldve hated a later scene thats related to that.

[@patrickcox8990]

you mean how they made his one and only friend (gyatso) ultimately betray him and treat him just like the other monks did?

[@AJ-jv1wh]

​@@patrickcox8990how tf did gyatso betray aang ? 😂😂 What ? Old bro acted the same as the cartoon version .

[@AJ-jv1wh]

Yeah you probably aren't gonna like this seeing as you seem to def wsnt a scene for scene remake of the cartoon. The show is good as an adaptation and I'm on ep 5 but They've rearranged events ( it works for the context of the story they're telling here but you won't like it since it's not exactly the same as the cartoon )

[@VinnieMF]

​@@AJ-jv1wh I would call this a good adaptation by any means. You can argue for it being a good show by itself and that would have a lot more to it but as an adaptation? Pretty poor.

[@X21XXI]

Kyoshi unleashing absolute havock on the fire nation soldiers made me collapse to the floor in amazement, Yvonne Chapman is Kyoshi, I kinda want a full live action Kyoshi series lol

[@TruexNORSEMAN]

I know it was just a slip up haha but it will bother me until I point it out. You said Sozin was a prior avatar when you meant Roku haha. Great video! I've only just finished episode 2 and I'm sadly not in love with it but I now want to rewatch the cartoon for the 100th time so I'll take it

[@ItsArchieYo]

My biggest complaint is Azula is NOT AZULA. They are portraying a completely different person and calling her azula

[@hobbitall]

If you haven’t seen Kim’s Convenience, you should give it a watch. Iroh’s actor runs a convenience store, and it’s a beautiful and funny story of a family just struggling to be a family. The emotions are really really good.

[@readingfuriously]

Iroh is Appa to me and I can’t unsee it 😂

[@Jay-kx4jf]

You're right about them having different goals, due to the medium and different perspective. But Imo they are failing at achieving their own goals. It's the worst case scenario of it being mediocre

[@kianyt5804]

The pacing issues are inexcusable for me because this show has a longer runtime than s1 of the anime. Its not like one piece where there were logistical needs to compress and distort the story. Somehow, this feels simultaneously too fast and too slow.

[@nicolasinvernizzi6140]

because most of the time they repeat se same dialog....in the first 4 episodes katara said to aang that he is the avatar like 10 times.... and then aang did say it to himself a couple of times too. when most of the dialong is the same the plot feels slugish.

[@peterepeatepete2845]

I’m only two episodes in and I hope it gets better. So far there is just very little joy in it. And the two things people were worried about: removing Sokkas sexism and Aang instantly accepting his role Absolutely happened.

[@neoshenlong]

Also watched up to episode 4. My main issue is I feel like they are speed running the core themes of the show. Like, they spend a lot of time saying the ideas behind it like somebody saying "Yeah, no, the Avatar story was good because...". The OG series hit very hard with things like Iroh's backstory and Aang's issues with responsibility because we saw the characters develop and we understood them through their actions in the story. Here, it's episode four and it feels we got all of that screamed and explained to us several times.

[@samzheng5803]

The more you love the original show, the less you’ll enjoy the live action show. I’m a casual fan, and while I enjoyed the animated show I don’t have a deep connection with it like others might. I really liked the live action show. It was a lot of fun. It doesn’t match up with the animated show, but the different approach is interesting and I liked it.

[@kevinb1721]

I don't know I love the animated show (it's my fav show) but I'm also loving the live action. I'm not attached myself to things being the same and loving the characters and world, along with the joy of seeing things unfold in a fresh way, and having some surprises along the way. I love that I have both

[@mr.prince8701]

Love the show.

[@closeben]

I think it really depends on you as a person. AtLA is my second favourite show ever and I am really enjoying this adaption (just seen up to ep4). It’s giving me all the feels as an OG fan and entertaining me with surpirses in the plotting and action sequenes. I think a lot of people get far too caught up in the nitty gritty details about lore and consistancy etc and just ignoring how good this is as interpretting the emotional heart of the original story and characers.

[@VidDuality]

I LOVE the relationship between Zuko and Iroh in this live action. For them *alone* this show is worth it. Other elements were hit or miss, but overall I had a great time. Agree about the exposition dumps being clunky... thankfully that trails off after the first couple eps, lol.

[@frankweskamp4981]

Zhao's performance is amazing

[@spunkush]

Yah i like Iroh and Zuko. I dislike Katara so far. Sokka is good. Aang is ok. Zhao's actor is very good. Bumi was butchered. Only through 4 episodes so far tho.

[@VidDuality]

@spunkush I love the actress playing Katara, but I do hope they let her tap into her *angry* side more in season 2. Oh Bumi...I know the point they wanted to make, but I wasn't a fan of the change to his motivations. Thankfully it's a smallish moment in the grand scheme of things, but that confrontation was my biggest gripe of the show (the casting was on point if they'd just let him behave more like OG Bumi).

[@VidDuality]

@@frankweskamp4981 OMG, yeah Zhao I think was actually a slight upgrade from the original. He was fantastic and added depth I wasn't expecting.

[@spunkush]

@@VidDuality I didn't like how they removed her motherly dynamic with Sokka.

[@aeletzio]

Can we give a shoutout to this Earthbending soldier/captain?! The acting on that man really got me. That conversation between Iroh and the soldier was so well done. When it went back to team avatar is made me say: Wait stop, i dont care about team avatar...i want to follow the story of this random Earthbender soldier!

[@johnspartan12]

All I know is that I intended to watch the first episode last night and ended up watching 4, bye bye sleep. It has a few problems and many many weird choices, but godammit I want more. Also I know I would have absolutely loved this as a kid if it were my first introduction to the world of avatar.

[@arunshajiabraham]

Yayy, i loved it as well🥳🥳🥳

[@EdderPeraltaRomero]

Love your honesty, your one of the only reviewers that isn't just saying ''i like it, i liked it'' every other sentence. i feel like the acting and dialog falls flat as well. I loved Sukis casting she was perfect but what i didn't like about the 2nd episode is that Suki's character felt trapped on an island and wanted to see the world but her mother wouldn't allow it, but she also takes pride in being a protector but still wants to explore the world. it was unnecessary. Also having Kiyoshi talk to Aang and she just keeps telling him about war and the responsibilities blah blah blah, its kind of repetitive through the show. Its like the show is trying to remind us constantly that war is bad and it has an effect. We get it we know what happened in episode one.

[@omegalis]

You may want to take the hint from your feed. If you are only seeing reviews saying I liked it over and over, you may be in a bubble. A bubble likely full of very dishonest people\shills.

[@accountnew7030]

why was it unnecessary?

[@manulopez4697]

The romance scene was so unnecessary as well, sokka without shirt seriously Netflix?, is not Riverdale 😑. The romance was so awkward and silly. Sukki cleaning her make-up in one swipe 😂😂

[@EdderPeraltaRomero]

yeah i look away for a literal second and her face is spotless not even a smudge 😄@@manulopez4697

[@EdderPeraltaRomero]

Suki doesn't have Stockholm syndrome. She a worrier and she and the rest of the worriers leave to do their part to help in the war. Her feeling trapped on the island and saying passive aggressively stuff to her mom is just extra and doesn't make sense for the character or you tell me @@accountnew7030

[@Jynz0]

Personally, I think a better resolution to the Bumi boulder scene could have been as Aang's strength gives out, he uses the last he has & both hands to (air bend) push the boulder over Bumi out the way, choosing to save him as the other falls toward Aang. Then Kitara or Sokka shove Aang out the way to save him also That way Aang makes a choice, the selfless one, but his friends have his back

[@greedy1596]

They watered down the themes and character motivations. Took things that were for their time “progressive” and actually well executed and turned it into a mid non political mush. I am genuinely surprised that someone who enjoys and delves deep into themes and such is not bothered by them? It would be like if they made one piece and removed the biting criticism of imperialism and systemic oppression

[@ladybookworms]

I agreed. This is probably the first (and hopefully only) video of Merphy’s that I’ve given a thumbs down on.

[@UncleQuille1]

@@ladybookwormsthumbs down on a review? It’s literally just her opinion.

[@animeproblem1070]

@@UncleQuille1 an opinion can still be bad and also wrong

[@UncleQuille1]

@@animeproblem1070 by definition thats untrue. Thats like you saying "Oranges are tasty" and me going "WRONG ORANGES ARE NASTY" All I did was call you wrong and give a different opinion. It's one thing to share a different opinion but to leave a dislike on a channel whose purpose is to give her view on something is weird. The hole point of these types of channels is for discourse.

[@animeproblem1070]

@@UncleQuille1 do you know how man people base their opinions on lies I'm not even going to extrapolate on that if you're even slightly intelligent you should understand the implications of that simple fact

[@MotownCountry]

i get the info dumps. that's more for the NEW NEW NEW fans. not for us that has seen the cartoon like a bajillion times. i really enjoyed the series and Aang was my fav, aside from Momo. i really like this... leaps and bounds way better than that other attempt.

[@martophrenia]

changing the story is fine, but changing the characters so much was a bad choice. the show feels like a wiki summary without any depth to it

[@keyframeclips]

When you were talking about the kyoshi makeup, which I agree looks great, right as you were saying you noticed the change in spectrum, I got a spectrum one add, incredible.

[@brycecarter9574]

Thanks for your spoiler free thoughts! I'll be back to this video when I'm done watching.

[@amymckerracher5109]

Thank you!!!! Finally someone does an honest review that is actually positive and able to appreciate the good things. I'm not saying this show is perfect but it's very good and though people are allowed to dislike it, most videos (all that I've been able to find) of old fans of the show are so negative and it's bumming me out! I love all of your points and I'm really excited for your 2nd video on this. I have loved the original since I was 8 (now 24) and have watched it a million times and this show obviously was never going to be as good but as you said, I had a good time watching it. I can always go back to the OG whenever I want.

[@mxmothmanart]

i think there were characterization issues, but ultimately I just wasn't having fun with it. there was a couple good parts but nothing that really grabbed me.

[@DumpsterJedi]

19:35 I see people keep making this mistake and I don't get it... At the end of the episode, Sokka asks if "we'll be seeing more of her" and Aang responds, "Kyoshi said I can only call upon one of the past avatars when I'm in one of their shrines." He was asking about Aang's embodiment power he just witnessed for the first time, and Aang answers that ability to embody the living Avatar is restricted to their shrine. This is also not an incredibly deep change from the original considering we saw Roku embody Aang from the fire sage temple and we saw Kyoshi embody Aang at a temple connected to her life in the Avatar Day trial. This is backed up in the finale, which I know you aren't reviewing here and I'm not gonna spoil, but the exchange that explains this restriction isn't about connecting to the Avatars, but about that specific ability.

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

41:13 - I'm not sure that I personally understand why Aang had to hold both boulders up and couldn't have just, like, I dunno ...maybe blown Bumi or himself far enough out of the way to be missed by the impact and just let one or the other boulder fall? 🤔

[@josiahpeterson17]

I told myself I would try the first episode long ago before any promotional material. I gave it a try and the first 30 minutes was enough for me. I'm personally just not a fan of narrative changes to my favorite show of all time.

[@cohenmarioman]

I like the new perspective on a story we are all used to. It’s not the same but I don’t think it is trying to be.

[@quinn0517]

I'm sad about Aang not really running away. One of the interesting complications for Aang in the original is that people like Kyoshi are, essentially, right. Aang *did* run away from his duty. When faced with that conversation, he can't easily say "you're wrong". He has to confront - "I *did* abandon my people, but: 1) I couldn't have saved them by being there and 2) The culture I love was wrong to put me in that position."

[@Dryltd]

The Intro (that's tradition of the franchise) Gran Gran saying it (that's the story internal to the world) I don't remember the third or fourth time. What am I missing?

[@closeben]

not the entire thing, but sokka does repeat “when the world needed him most, he vanished."

[@togorconquest2372]

I loved it when sokka said, "its sokking time" and preceded to sokk all pver the place.

[@BleydTorvall]

I think the resolution to the boulder problem was the perfect one, it just wasn't executed as well as it needed to be to land properly. I think that's been the case with most of the flaws in the series thus far. But when they have executed their ideas well enough, they've been powerful.

[@zachphoenix4522]

it's crazy that you think aang actor is doing the least when katara has like no emotions to her acting whatsoever lol at least aang is giving something.| I also dont like the shrine change, it should just make it easier to connect to them, but not be the ONLY way. Roku needs to be center stage because the series exists because of his story. It makes zero sense to give Kyoshi any time in this first season, they could've saved all that for season 2.

[@Dryltd]

"The Power of Friendship" is an anime mainstay because it speaks to an inherent truth of humanity. Alone we might have to make impossible choices but with friends to help the impossible becomes more plausible. It is Cheesy. But Cheese is delicious and good. If he killed Bumi or Bumi changed his mind. Those are also very common because there was only 3 options a writer can pick. Person A in forced dichotomy picks one or does nothing. Third option Person B picks one enabling Person A to pick one. Of course, that is cheesy. Give me the Gouda.

[@NewEnglander1865]

yeah very torn overall on this series im at a 6-7/10 for myself for the whole show. Its really the writing that sours it for me.

[@Zelda00Gamer]

Oh I abhorred the secret tunnel changes. The “love your siblings kids!” After school special message was PAINFUL. We have had no indication that they don’t love each other. None. Like yes they fight. Siblings fight? This is a “mature avatar” for “older audiences” so… we all know siblings fight and can still love each other?? I don’t get the point. I hated it. They spent 5 min inside, sokka solved the riddle immediately but then it didn’t matter?? And they’re lost for half a second and then the badgermole debacle. It was badddddd

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

19:06 - I actually think the reason why the down time is the weakest is specifically because the downtime is so rushed. Because they basically just compress and/or skim over everything as fast and/or much as they can just to get to those bigger story beats, instead of giving the entire journey equal time and attention as those bigger moments. And that's why those bigger moments, to me, just don't feel quite as earned or meaningful as they should-because they're great moments, in isolation, but less great as pieces of a greater whole that doesn't all as equally complement each other. (If that makes sense?) 😅😅🤔🙃👀 🤷‍♀️

[@aicamp4]

Im so, so conflicted about how I feel about this. Generally the production is good, CGI is amazing and some of the original scenes are incredible and add some depth missing from chacters/adding a new twist. Seeing details of Azula's relationship with Ozai was nice and led into understanding the character of Azula. My main issue are some of the creative choices with blending arcs (first seen in ep 3 and 4). The whole understanding of the Mechanist's son gliding in the air is because he went to the northern air temple and learned from what was left after the gennocide, placing him in Omashu (still gliding) for me doesn't make sense -- they don't even attempt to justify the inspiration for the inventions. Having Jet there is, not my favourite thing, but him blowing up buildings and getting no blow back from the earth kingdom soilders rang hollow. Even trying to blow up innocents, thats when smeller bee and the duke stepped in and was like "are we sure?" but in this version they just okay with hurting innocents. In isolation, it's fine I guess, but you write yourself into a corner for upcoming arcs (book 2 and even book 3). I feel like a lot of the changes they made will have massive ripple effects no only for the story but for character choices down the line -- which makes me worried for future seasons. Edit: The 'change' to the avatar state is that he can only be taken over by them in their shrines/spaces. This is actually the same effect (I think) in the cartoon, until book 3 just before he goes to talk to the last 4 avatars on the turtle's back.

[@tabsi2436]

I loved the display of irohs and zukos relationship. It was beautiful, and i cried a little bit.

[@DL-sx7yh]

Avatar: the last exposition bender

[@2muchjpop]

19:50 no they said he can only channel/transform into them at the shrine. So he can't become kyoshi in the North

[@2muchjpop]

So he can still communicate with them

[@BIGFRANKOL75]

20:30 In the cartoon Aang body does transform into 2 different past Avatars.

[@kiris1323]

It was so hard to put aside my intense fandom and appreciate how they are telling the story again. I ended up loving it at the end. Truly looking forward to season 2

[@rainbowsprinklez]

19:49 Crazy that they named a comet that was used to destroy a race of people after the avatar! ;)

[@marig9236]

On a scale from 1-10 I give the whole show a 7.8-8.2. IF they get a S2 what the need to do is make sokka a bit more funnier, fix Uncle Iroh a bit and stop telling us things. We are suppose to learn along as they learn. But thats about it. It can't be frame for frame the same.

[@Island_Ninja]

Not sure I like how the Bending was implemented. Bending tends to come out as they do actual moves. Fire Benders don't just walk around balancing fireballs in their hand. Plus I wasn't expecting the Firebenders to do Mortal Kombat fatalities, lol

[@robchuk4136]

Walking around with fireballs in their hands is actually the Fire Nation's main flex because they tend to do it all the time, haha. The bending has been ok so far, but you're right, they do need to be an extention of their bodies more. When the soldier was harassing Iroh in 1x04, he just lifted some earth without any movement. Bending is a magic system, but not actual magic. It requires techniques

[@Problemsolver434]

Can someone explain how Bumi knows Aang was the Avatar if Aang vanished the very day he was told?

[@calmandfree]

Well in the animated series Bumi and Aang were good friends, and also the fact Bumi is royalty so the news could have spread among the other two nations in hopes of finding Aang. Or when Bumi saw Aang again, there was already news about the airbending avatar, so he might have just connected the dots. Although he's very eccentric, Bumi is very wise and perceptive.

[@Problemsolver434]

@@calmandfree All that is impossible. The only people who knew who the avatar was were the heads of the monks. And they all died that very day

[@VinnieMF]

In the cartoon you have all the temples announcing the Avatar is back, couple that with no Water Tribe avatar having been born and he could piece it together. If the word of a monk avatar had spread out enough then it would be even easier.

[@UncleQuille1]

@@Problemsolver434I mean process of elimination your 100 year old friend looks 13 and the next avatar is supposed to be an Airbender (Or last because they thought he died).

[@ArtByDesign80]

0:22 Why would anyone who would only accept a one to one remake even watch it…you would be guaranteed for failure.

[@DissCeeg]

I loved it, especially the Earth Kingdom arc. I just didn’t like that the water didn’t get anyone wet. People was dry every time it was in use.

[@leelarkins1321]

Also, this actor that plays Aang is better than the original movie version to me the first one over acted try to hard in the first one and Bumi he was supposed to be in much better shape when he took office roads booming was lightweight a beast lol like how was his old man in this good of shape.

[@ghanilawal6798]

As something that stands on its own, 7.5/10 for me. For episode 1-6, the story decisions that i didnt like is more so a matter of preference (at least that is what i'm telling myself 😅). But for episodes 7 and 8 there are clear facepalm-level storytelling flaws. As an adaptation, 6.5/10. With each passing episode it becomes clearer and clearer why the original creators left the series. To give credit where credit is due, the Zuko-Iroh dynamic was done perfectly.

[@GoofyGE3K]

Bumi needed to be tricking Aang the entire time. To be tricking him into learning the lesson, and not just being grumpy.

[@Damfotografia]

that leaves from the vines bgm was a dirty move, but dammit! that hits so hard 🥲

[@crimsonraen]

Thanks for the video, Merphy! I.. am a bit torn on the first 4 episodes. I LOVE the aesthetics of it.. The stages are BEAUTIFUL, the costuming and makeup is SO perfect.. But yeah, it's really difficult for me not to compare the story. Squeezing 3 or 4 storylines all into one was just.. so messy. It probably flows fine if people don't know, but ughhh.. Separately, they were able to flesh things out a little better for each story, and make them all a bit more impactful. Ah well, I'm still enjoying them bringing it to live action, at least because of how it all looks. Also Iroh!

[@Claudia-jv3be]

7.5/10 for me. I’ve watched the whole series now, so that is my final ranking. I do hope they come out with a season two, and with it show more than tell.

[@IsraelLlerena]

I went into this show expecting changes and was very open to changes, but so far the writing and lore holes made it look like they didn’t do any research, or aren’t being consistent. Aangs not supposed to be able to speak to past lives without speaking to them in order. So, he must talk to Roku first before kyoshi. People being mad at aang and constantly telling him he’s ignoring his duty no longer makes sense since he’s been actively trying to save the world …and he didn’t just run away this time. Even kyoshi is telling him to stop running away from his duty, but the reason he’s even at kyoshi island is so he can learn more about being the avatar and use his powers! Writing doesn’t make sense. BUT I understand that this is bringing new fans to the show, and that makes me so happy. I hope they watch the cartoon after and fall more in love with it.

[@gcoca7450]

Yeah, you're absolutely correct. Like to me everything else is great, except for the writing lol. And I didn't like the changes they made for no reason. And like you said, how everyone is telling aang about not running away, but his intentions in the live action weren't to even run away. He just left to clear his mind a bit. Yeah they almost had it but the writers brought the show down quite a lot.

[@KingOfMadCows]

Except the characters in the show don't know why he disappeared. We're the audience, we get to see the private moments of characters and learn things none of the characters know about. Even the other Avatars wouldn't know Aang's thoughts and motivations since they're still their own individuals and can't psychically read each other's minds.

[@jadencross1835]

You noticed that too right? I found it interesting that they changed Aang's reason for running and I liked it. He was just clearing his head, not trying to avoid responsibility. I assumed it would reflect on the rest of the story but sadly it didn't. Even if everyone else was unaware of his reasons for running, his past selves should definitely have known and Kyoshi shouldn't have been accusing him of running because she should know he wasn't even if everyone else didn't.

[@captainperiwinkle]

Um... It's been a while since I watched the original ATLA, and I'm going to say this: The writing is actually pretty good, it's not the source material, it's adapted it, which means the lore is a bit different. I want to make this clear: lore inaccuracy DOES NOT mean bad writing. Bad writing would be something like the Percy Jackson TV show which tried to be book accurate while carrying a lot less charm. I think ATLA skips a lot of character moments, but is not actually that bad if you don't remember the source material as much. Just putting it out there, cause it feels like you were looking for the same storylines shortened, rather than the lore being changed. I think Bumi was a pretty big change as well, but it's kind of trying to complete the same themes as the original show in a more in the face manner. Adapting the essence in a way. It does lack nuance, but what can you do with the limited episodes (which is on Netflix)

[@jadencross1835]

@@captainperiwinkle There's example's of bad writing though. Off the top of my head - In the Netflix show, Aang runs away to clear his head, not to avoid responsibility. This is never addressed again, and everyone, including his past selves (Kyoshi) accuse him of running away. He never defends it. Kyoshi should definitely know he wasn't running. Another example is rushed plot. Everything was being rushed in episode 3. They didn't even give us the time to trust the mechanist first before he was exposed, therefore lessening the impact of his betrayal. Katara basically becomes a Master water (or at least close to) bender without being taught a single thing by anyone and it's safe to assume that all the events of S1 happen withing a year. She technically didn'y even learn to heal either and she was being called a natural. That's faulty writing. All she had was a scroll. And the exposition is exhausting, Gran Gran is so repetitive. Keep in mind I do not believe these ruin the show but are simply examples of bad writing.

[@SchlockstarJoe]

The show feels like someone who read the lyrics, but couldn’t hear the music, explaining the Beatles.