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...

[@eldar7755]

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 😅

[@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.

[@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.

[@AveryKatumba-Nakabaale]

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

[@AveryKatumba-Nakabaale]

@@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

[@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

[@veganjotaro]

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 :(

[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@SummerTokyoNeko]

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

[@guy_bello]

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

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@SummerTokyoNeko]

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]

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

[@veganjotaro]

​@@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.

[@matthemming9105]

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

[@EliasJWhite]

That was beautiful!

[@arunshajiabraham]

🥺🥺

[@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

[@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.

[@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!

[@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

[@caffeinated_bookworm_]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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 😂

[@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

[@SummerTokyoNeko]

​@@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@olivervasquez1576]

Haha I thought Jet was Haru too!

[@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.

[@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.

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".

[@yeetlad926]

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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@ItsArchieYo]

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

[@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.

[@veganjotaro]

I agree.

[@chuggywap]

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

[@veganjotaro]

@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]

@@veganjotaro thanks! Exactly

[@gntyh]

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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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

[@ItsArchieYo]

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

[@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)

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@DL-sx7yh]

Avatar: the last exposition bender

[@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

[@paul2549]

The changes they made to characters they didn’t have to, they destroyed the royal family dynamic that built the characters of Iroh, Azula, Ozai….Zuko was the only person that stood out, I don’t know if it’s a credit to the actor. Ozai being a terrible father built Zuko character and Azula downfall. Lastly, They made Zhou an idiot, the most knowledge fire bender they turned into a complete moron

[@paul2549]

A lot of the changes they made they didn’t give it enough time to materialise, the plot of the fire lord playing games felt stupid. Azula didn’t need to struggle or being told she’s not good enough by her father because she was perfect, she was a prodigy, Zuko on the opposite end was an embarrassment, he disgusted Ozai…why make Azula jealous of an embarrassment? The fake out in the end really infuriated me…oh your father hated you all along and was just playing game to light a fire in your sister…who was that for? Why?

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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

[@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 😂

[@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.

[@alecstevens8467]

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.

[@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

[@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!

[@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.

[@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

[@josiahpeterson1694]

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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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🥳🥳🥳

[@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.

[@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.

[@jtdarelli2362]

This show constantly feels like its trying to justify its own existence - like the show runners knew they'd get push back for certain changes and are actively writing in little scenes and pieces of dialogue to argue away criticism. It feels like a hyper serious fanfiction that skipped/cut all the "boring" parts, and inserted/changes things to make it more "grown up." After finishing the recent Percy Jackson show and now this, it feels like all these show runners are taking old cherished IP's and using them as a vehicle for their own stories and ideas. It's incredibly disappointing and definitely not what I signed up for as a fan.

[@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.

[@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.

[@reading.with.rachel]

Boomi being so angry really bothered me. In the animated version he was calm and wise and was someone Aang could look up to. I didn't realize how much I love animated Boomi till this show changed him so much.

[@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.

[@Ongaliman]

Costumes were the first deal-breaker for me. I'm from a cold place. Those flimsy things water tribe wears (including our heroes) would never suffice in permafrost. There is a reason why most of the deer hurdler tribes still use fur even with all the advancement in textile industry.

[@marcusreq22]

I love Avatar so much, i grew up with it so I binged it all yesterday to not rely on someone else's opinion but the more I watched and now the more I think about it the more I hate it. The complete lack of respect they had for the audience with the unnecessary and cringeworthy amount of exposition, awful dialogue, close to 0 attention to detail, clunky and ugly fight choreography with a couple exceptions and worst of all by far the lack of respect to the source material by sanitizing it, thinking they could do a better job than the original creators at injecting their moral views on the story... tell me how these people who glaze diversity for diversity's sake fumble one of the most organically diverse and most beloved stories ever... make it make sense.

[@Sully5443]

The right expectations and mindsets were absolutely *crucial* to enjoying this take on the series. If you expected it to be *anywhere* within the stratosphere of the original series: you set yourself up for failure. If you paid **ANY** heed to trailers, teasers, show runner interviews, “expectation” videos from fans on KZbin (mainly the doomsayer type of video): you were setting yourself up for failure. I did none of those things (not always an easy task, of course) and I found the show to be an enjoyable experience. I view the show from the lens of “What is the OG animated series was the story told to Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin by Aang and the rest of Team Avatar BUT *this* story we get in the Live Action is the conglomerate of stories from Jinora, Ikki, Meelo, political leaders, scholars, historians, sages and so on… and this is the recounting of events over 300 years- in universe- from when it happened?” When viewed from that lens: the show turns out to be a pretty excellent experience. Obviously that’s a huge ask for any audience, but not an unreasonable one. If *I* was one of the show runners (ignoring the fact that a live action was never necessary in the first place) with a passable knowledge of how the internet works and how… particular… people can be: **that’s** that I would have emphasized to people! I also look at this show through a lens like the Last of Us HBO show. Just like with ATLA, I didn’t want any new Last of Us stuff (I actually DON’T want an adult animated Gaang story. Give them a rest. It’s over. Move on. I love the original and I’m happy to leave it where it is)… but the Last of Us HBO show was pretty alright and they had to make some compromises. I think a lot of folks really underestimate how poorly animation transitions to live action and how SO many story beats, line delivery, and character arcs only work *because* of the animation. No animation means that stuff will either fall flat or feel disingenuous. I would challenge anyone, if given all the resources in the world- a total Ivory Tower situation, to make a 1:1 recreation of the animation in Live Action… it’ll fall apart. I would agree that the weakest part of the show is the script. The acting is fine, I actually like Gordon’s performance as Aang and I like having less humor and childlike stuff for this take. The humor works because of the animation and without the animation: the humor would feel forced and awkward. The problem is you have some pretty capable performers with really awkward scripts and they’re giving their everything with the scripts they have Anyway, I mostly agree with everything you have to say. I will say, I was bummed at first with no Northern Air Temple, but I’m fine with it being cut. There’s other ways to show the desecration of Aang’s culture in other ways. Frankly, it makes no sense how the Mechanist and Co ever even *got* to the Northern Air Temple. It’s pretty clear the only way you get there is with comet enhanced Firebending, superior traveling equipment, and/ or Air Nomad guidance. Any other way and you’re probably gonna die in the freezing cold. Bumi isn’t as wise as he should be and that might undermine his whole White Lotus thing, but frankly? Bumi in the White Lotus felt pretty forced in the animated show. It felt very “retroactive.” It was rad, but forced. Same with Jeong Jeong: here’s this guy who is in the same organization as Iroh and apparently has a complete distaste of his own abilities. And somehow *he’s* in the White Lotus?! Again, he’s super wise and rad and all: but it feels like a retroactive forced decision. Same thing with Pakku! How is a group about “Philosophy and Beauty and Truth” allowing a sexist asshole like Pakku into their group? (Assuming he gained membership pre- S1E18). Anywho, this is all to say that Live Action Bumi is quite believable, can still be a potential new White Lotus inductee, and was an interesting direction… if at least handled with little nuance (and resolved in an even less nuances way) Without spoiling the rest of the Season, I’d give the whole thing an 8/10 with 6-7/10 for some episodes and 9/10 for others. A perfectly solid show and an enjoyable experience if you had your expectations appropriately set

[@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?

[@togorconquest2372]

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

[@magnus_lundgren]

I think the live adaptation was pretty much par of the course, for an adaptation, and I found it watchable but completely subpar to the original. It is interesting that they wanted to make a "more adult version" and dumbed it down, making the original version the more adult one. When it comes to the actual story telling, if they felt they had to show the genocide, I think it would had worked a lot better to cut that apart and sprinkled it in when team Avatar got to the temple. Unless it improves over the seasons, this one is not something I will watch again. But I find the original to hold up to watch more than once (and I don't have any childhood nostalgia tied to it, as I was well into my 30's the first time I watched AtlA).

[@Lightning_Lance]

Connecting with a previous avatar is not the avatar state though, surely? If that's what they were saying I had no idea.

[@RiaLynne]

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.

[@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."

[@animeproblem1070]

I refuse to watch a show that doesn't understand what its audience actually is because if they can't even get that right then they're clearly incompetent as shown directly by the dialouge

[@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?) 😅😅🤔🙃👀 🤷‍♀️

[@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.

[@candiedskull9841]

I watched it with my family. They had watched parts of the original with me growing up. I think we are all a little disappointed with the first, although some moments were nice. As I was always the bigger fan of it... I was kinda disappointed about the sheer amount of repetitive on the nose exposition and that Aang was just stepping away instead of running away. To me, it's not too much of a big deal them stepping back/changing some of Katara's and Sokka's flaws, but Aang's journey of accepting responsibility is made sharper by him actually running away and later always trying to have fun. And not everyone needs having their life lessons hamfistedly stated every couple of minutes. SInce you enjoyed it, I'm hoping the next episodes are better for my family and I.

[@jacobwoods2044]

When Zuko captured Aang and he escaped , Zuko said he ran away because he's a coward. And Iroh said "I doubt that ".

[@ProPinkist]

Zuko and Iroh are seriously carrying this adaptation for me fr, and not just because of the greatness of their characters already; they're simply the best actors imo. They're still cursed with the occasional stilted over-exposition sometimes, particularly Iroh, but their acting in general outside of that is just a cut above Aang, Katara, and Sokka... they FEEL the most like their characters to me. Iroh feels very different but at the same time he doesn't, Idk how to explain it.... the heart of his character is still there. And Zuko literally feels pulled right out of the cartoon; he even SOUNDS just like Dante Basco somehow. 😭 Both of their scenes, together and individually, have been the best in the show - the funeral scene, Iroh sacrificing himself to save Zuko at the end of episode 3 and Zuko clearly feeling the weight of that just by his facial expressions alone (it WASN'T shoved in your face for once), Zuko worrying about Iroh at the end of episode 4 and giving up his chance to go after Aang for his sake, and THE FLASHBACK WHERE IROH SAYS "everything I need is right here" AND THEN HE DEFLECTS TO THE TEA BUT ZUKO'S LITTLE SUBTLE SMILE 😭😭😭 ugh I love them dearly. The rest is just meh or sometimes good for me, I'm still enjoying myself most of the time, but Zuko and Iroh are my favorite part of this series by far.

[@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.

[@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).

[@brycecarter9574]

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

[@streampunksheep]

I hate it when it comes to Pacing, Characterization, Motivation, and plot

[@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.

[@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.

[@geoffdunn4912]

Coming in as someone who hasn't seen the original, I liked it. I do tend to relax my critique of young actors and though the actor who played Aang did a decent job. I also liked the more subtle sexism of Sokka and how his path seems more geared towards him finding out who he really is, himself. The one actor/character that really impressed me, though, is Dallas Liu / Zuko.

[@projectrain2254]

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

[@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.

[@VeeSJay]

Merphy, have you checked out Percy Jackson's new show? I feel like it has some of the same problems. I wonder why Hollywood always keep making the same mistakes.

[@VinnieMF]

Agreed. Very different or watered down characterization (heh), clumsy changes to themes, info dumping or bad exposition, some baffling plot changes, more "mature" (boring) tone, among others. The only thing I'll give this one is that production - clothing, sets, cinematography, etc - and the CGI was, mostly, better here but, overall, pretty similar issues.

[@dheu]

Probably because the same showrunners and producers and finance people get involved and have these odd ideas about what viewers want and what will make them money, and they decide to follow those ideas instead of realizing that these shows and books are hits for a reason and figuring out how to tap into that. “People love shirtless guys” = bam, shirtless Sokka for no reason. “If we have a sexist main character, we’ll lose money” = suddenly part of Sokka’s character arc is gone. “GOT taught us that people love battle scenes” = brutal opening portrayal of the fall of the Air Nomads. It really feels like instead of following the characters as shown in the original series and fitting those characters into a condensed version of the plot, they did the condensed plot and then inserted standard archetypes from other series in place of the actual characters. The complexity is missing from these versions.

[@crazybiogeek]

Pushing up the emotional development between Iroh and Zuko into Season 1 is a good choice. I don't remember getting a ton of attachment to the relationship between the two of them until Season 2 with the animated show.

[@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 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."

[@tabsi2436]

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