Netflix AVATAR REVIEW - Is it Better Than the Original?

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Written and Hosted by Ryan Arey ( / ryanarey )
Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright and Randolf Nombrado
Featuring:
Srinidhi Rao ( / shishurao )
Bevin https: / bevinbatspice
Randolf Nombrado / randolf.nombrado

[@ScreenCrush]

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[@dylanpinto1529]

This show is more of an Omage rather than an adaptation and it’s also for people who grew up watching the animated show.

[@L0stwitn0nam3]

So shuri? made the great point about the Avatars. Yes, they all have their own personalities and conclusions despite being the same person. However, just like Aang they had to learn from the previous Avatars their lessons before becoming a fully realized Avatar. Especially, when they had a resounding moral dilemma to face in their lives. Trust and hope, does ends justify the means, or sacrifice a few to save the majority. They all should have the cleared the beginning lessons of "empathy." This isn't just a child seeking guidance but themselves unaware of the lesson this reincarnation is being challenged with. Kiyoshi yelling isn't a personality associated with cold logic having to survive and do questionable things to rise as the symbol for all people. It's undoing of her and speaks to the misogynistic retelling that robbed Katara, Suki and Yue of their unique arcs. It's why Azula falls flat and we lose her psychotic and manipulative ethnics that uses fear to control those around her instead of love. They removed the pain of Azula being viewed as a monster by her mother and a gift by Ozai into this angry chaotic girl with little cunning being manipulated by her father with her own words and behaviors that the cold calculated psychopath Azula could run circles around. Its as if they gave Azula Zuko's rage instead of leaning into, the "she was born lucky, I was lucky to be born." Yes, character changes are refreshing as long as it adds depth. If you're going to replace a motive or arc, it better be more thoughtful than what already exist. This retelling wasn't it. Sure, it improved on some minor characters like Boomie's resentment or Suki's journey of self actualization beyond being a warrior but dropped the execution making it somehow more sexist and shallow. Forcing Aang to choose either or when Aang could have just blown himself to boomie and drop the one over his head or blown boomie out the way. Or him "falling" after Zuko hits his glider in the same episode he flies up to summon appa and jumped off a building from earlier. Its inconsistencies like that which make the retelling harder to support. You have that opening scene where the earth bender struggles to lift a rock wall up but then have 2 earth benders guard Omashu 4 ten stories gates that open and close them with the ease of sliding a closet door? It went from fantasy realism to cartoon logic with break neck speeds. Same with the outfits. They don't look lived in so they chalk it up to "being like the cartoon" breaking the immersion.

[@ChewyRocksandiscute]

there's no comparison. this thing was straight GARBAGE

[@YankeesFan0620]

Top 13 things that the Netflix Adaptation of Avatar TLA did right: 13) Casting Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai 12) The scene in the spirit world between Katara and her mother 11) Caring about the source material (SCREW YOU M. NIGHT SHYMALAN!!) 10) Establishing Azula as a main character and force in season 1 instead of 2. 9) Ian Ousley's performance as Sokka 8) The scene in the spirit world between Aang and Monk Gyatso (In fact, ALL scenes involving Monk Gyatso) 7) The fight scene between Master Pakku and Katara 6) LIKE THE SHOW striking a balance between the goofy humor and the gut wrenching serious moments 5) The flashbacks in the episode 'MASKS' and the backstory of the 41st Division. 4) Dallas Liu's performance as Prince Zuko 3) Gordon Cormier's performance as Aang (He's just a kid, has to be great at Martial Arts, needs to show a wide range of emotions, maintain Aang's playful energy and charisma from the OG show, AND carry the show as its titular character) 2) THE BENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1) Lu-Ten's funeral scene

[@surfntrucks]

I'm not an OG Avatar fan. But, it was always on my radar. I loved the Netflix show. It was very emotional and I understood everyone's motivations. I will watch the anime now all thanks to this show. Ang was perfect to me. He seemed like a lost kid. One moment he is on mission, the next he wants to save the new thing.

[@shadows1192]

Anyone who has the audacity to say this is worse than the 2010 version loses every ounce of validity. I've heard that too many times online.

[@Watch-0w1]

Chicken feet's

[@yoyomayne]

Haven't seen that one yet but that's crazy

[@kasemsheehan1494]

They did well consider the last live adaptation but they missed out a lot of key plot points that led to Aang, Sokka and Katara’s character development

[@Sawyer0205]

I know right?

[@Treck533]

Acting is terrible in both, exposition is terrible in both. Cast is better in the series, costume design is better in the movie.

[@samanthaarnold3038]

I love the part about the 41st being Zuko's crew that he saved

[@lj2official882]

Respect for Zuko man

[@CHRONOFIEND_]

I did at first… it’s such a cool idea on paper! But… weren’t they supposed to be sacrificed for the Fire Nation’s war plan? If they could be replaced so easily, then what was the big deal? They could’ve made it work better.

[@richardyounger5129]

Overall I liked this too

[@tnbison]

Agreed.

[@Sammy-S]

I really liked the idea, but in execution it kinda felt like Iroh was saying that they should excuse Zuko's bad behaviour and attitude towards the crew because he saved their lives

[@jdthundercat24]

The season should have been 10-12 episodes just to give the opportunity for character growth

[@AlphaDal-if9vv]

Yeah agree

[@alonzabrown5345]

The episodes are really really expensive though

[@tnbison]

Agreed. Going by the length of each episode, this series covers 16 of the original 20 episodes of the 1st Season Book One. That 4 Episode difference would have been a huge improvement for character development. But, time and budget is sometimes a factor in adaptations.

[@Frey-Doh]

zero gross.

[@xxo5294]

You should have given them a few extra million for their budget then

[@Punz18]

Best change in the live action imo was making Zuko's crew thr 41st regiment that he stood up for in the war meeting. That was cool. Honestly applying that fact to the original show makes the original show better.

[@dox8148]

100% agree

[@JesusQaist]

They did Gyatso dirty by having him die without taking anyone out with him despite in the animation him being surrounded by a dozen dead firebenders.

[@fluffymumu7102]

I thought they should have pointed this out. Coz this was the first thing I noticed.

[@jcie3424]

Arent they pacifist?, besides, him taking out a bunch of fire nation soldiers under the sozin comet while they're all buff wluld make them more incompetent. So it was a fine change imo.

[@Polodando]

Him taking them out during the comet was the shows way of demo training how much of a badass the monks were despite them being pacifists

[@Richchi001]

I 100% agree It annoyed me seeing it

[@hwile]

Yea. I mean, it was cool to see all the airbenders fight, and of course the airbenders would lose. But even being pacifists, they would defend themselves and their home, and showing Gyatso just lose to one firebender (even if it was Sozin) was really disappointing.

[@DogBrainDingus]

Lucky for me I’ve yet to watch the animated series, so I went into this show as a blank slate. I’d definitely have to say my favorite part of the show was Uncle Iroh and Zuko’s scenes. I found myself really feeling sympathetic for Zuko for everything he had to go through as such a young man.

[@eliascandelaria4976]

I think they robbed us of one of the best scene of avatar Roku telling Aang, "danger is awaiting him" and he was going to help him. it showed how powerful the avatar is and the fear in the fire nations eyes.

[@tearex666]

they changed it for Kyoshi and it is still fine. but the thing that upsets me is they made Avatar Roku a JOKE.

[@Billy_Supreme]

Facts....

[@yomamma.ismydaddy216]

Right that was by far the most badass scene in the og first season, but it is what it is, I’m more annoyed about the quality of writing in this show as a whole which makes me not even really care what they do or don’t cut anymore

[@Duckedoffcinco]

@@tearex666prolly kause everyone thought he was

[@Micahcus]

I feel they just cut many things that would’ve added to the story, added unnecessary details, and undercut the emotion of certain things multiple times. I didn’t love this adaptation. I guess I didn’t hate it either but I’d give it a like 6.8/10

[@HeartFireStorm]

The reason we get the feels whenever "Leaves from the Vine" is played, is due to the face the voice actor of Uncle Iroh, Mako, was dying from cancer. The episode that song appeared "Tales of Ba SIng Sa" was Mako's last episode. That emotion you hear in Mako's voice is real.

[@HadesFist]

That wasn’t Mako’s last episode. They didn’t recast him until season 3.

[@OneJumpMan33]

​@HadesFist in the series order it wasn't his last. But that's the last episode he recorded for the series before he died. Like they already had the rest of the season recorded and tales from ba sing se was a late add on

[@kylescales3242]

I didn't catch that episode until a year or 2 after it aired. I was fortunate enough to get dvd copies of the last 2 seasons from my local blockbuster. My wife made fun of me because I flipped out when " for Mako" popped up on screen

[@Frey-Doh]

In other words the show emotionally manipulated us with it multiple times because it doesn’t know what else to do. “OK for this scene I’m gonna just need you to look really sad again” Oscar worthy performance 🙄

[@daelgamas28]

Aside from Bumi and Aang not learning waterbending, I feel the show was great. To me it makes more sense for Soka and Aang not to be as joyful as the cartoon precisely because of the weight of the war. The live action is way more grounded. As for Gran Gran's intro, it was awesome and exiting for me. Gotta disagree with your review this time. I love the original, but not all of it can be translated to live action. Comparison is the thief of joy.

[@SajarErbraTerof]

And I do believe that season 2 will probably combine some of the moment not show in the first season like the water bending lesson ... they did a good job.

[@wazirali2824]

When did Bumi learn water bending lol.

[@mikaylag4233]

Bumi's look look so bad the cgi was bad but the character and the motive he had in the live action was more believeable becuase it was him being hurt and disappointed with Aang for abandoning them for 100 yrs that is why in the show he gave Aang a hard time before softening at the end. But I agree why netflix Aang has to lessen its more childlike vibe because its catered to adults this time, cartoon Aang was catered to kids mostly but the netflix has to be a bit serious and darker coz its for adult. Its not 10/10 but its 8/10 for me, really good despite some flaws.

[@israelgamas9542]

​@@wazirali2824What I meant was the change in how Aang realized who Bumi was, in the animated series Aang realized who Bumi was at the end, not as soon as they met.

[@israelgamas9542]

​@@SajarErbraTerofI'm exited to see who will play Toph

[@GinsuSher]

We were robbed of the Monk Gyatsu badass moment of him dying while in a lotus position surrounded by dead firebenders. Implying he killed them all.

[@theevilteacher]

Great live action, but from the moment Aang gets out of the iceberg, everything is a bad recount of events. Starting from not riding Appa to Wolf Cove and hearing the "yeep yeep" to make him fly. Now, they just say "Do you wanna go in another way" and they fly Appa just like that? And don't get me started with Aang escaping the ship without fighting Zuko and the guards. And Katara waterbending 100ft in the air.. please😂

[@14omoon]

And then calling her MASTER in the last episode like she deserved the title!! The only training we saw was from the scroll her Gran Gran gave 🙄

[@miarahming2244]

Literally this

[@miarahming2244]

​@@14omoonGran Gran had one job. To be a plot device

[@14omoon]

@miarahming2244 Yeah she basically was!

[@jaketipton3770]

@@14omoon go watch the beginning of season 2 ep1 which is the events that happened at the end of this season and Pakku literally calls her a master in the original so get over it

[@UCanGetWitThisOrUCanGetWitThat]

This needed some ppl who weren't fans to be on here too so they can get the non-comparison perspective.

[@qtdavis8755]

Facts, bc I loved it as a non fan!

[@benjaminjenkins394]

I’m a huge fan of the animated series but I also loved the live action as well. The problem is these folks have a very hard time separating the animated show and the live action and it’s kinda maddening. I disagree with most of the points they brought up tbh.

[@xandra-auxilium9255]

Agree! I love the live adaptation too. It’s more realistic and relatable

[@MischievousMischief]

Excellent point because I'm tired of people complaining and comparing. Just go watch the anime then if you are not open to a new interpretation of this story.

[@nope19568]

​@@qtdavis8755plz watch the cartoon

[@SplitSniper7]

Hearing the word "Ong" being said out loud 30 seconds in triggered a rage in my I've long forgotten about 😂

[@luannajipping5715]

No that made me borderline violent😂😂

[@fruitloopdingis]

Kyoshi was bang on perfect. she was enormous, imposing, powerful, and inflicted terror in the fire benders at first glance

[@Jevon3751]

Facts

[@ClipCommander69]

no that whole episode was pointless because the directors did not make sockka sexist, so he learned no lesson from her and instead was just crushing on her the whole time

[@theevilteacher]

I was expecting the same with Roku facing the fire temple priests, but they omitted all his interaction and guidance with Aang

[@claudegrenier3180]

Suki was AMAZING too! That actress was popping. And I'm happy they didn't need to have Sokka be a sexist for it to work well ^^. And he learned to have more confidence in his warriors skills thanks to Suki, which contrast very well with the Mechanist later on saying he should have more confidence in his talents in engineering. Great build up for two of Sokka's strengths.

[@theevilteacher]

​@@ClipCommander69and now Suki was stalking Sokka like a creep and noone is talking about it

[@KicknNmesTaknAss]

It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best. Some of it was really great. Beautiful scene between Iroh and Zuko at the funeral. Some really good special effects, especially with the fire. Then there was real bad dialogue, really bad special effects, etc. I do hope for a season 2, but my question is why? Why make this? Yeah, it's cool to see all my favorite characters in live action, but I feel it needs more than that. Had they really leaned into the martial arts and choreography then that would've been awesome, but we didn't get that. If they wanted to tell a revised version of the story with something new to say then cool, but we didn't get that. What did we get? Simply a worse adaptation of the great show we already have. Not bad, especially like the movie, just not as good. So what was the point?

[@tcraw21]

Egg-zak-lee!!!

[@patmanqcjr.6761]

They messed up Katara's character so bad, she yells at Jet for only fighting for hate yet that's what she does for the majority of the series up until about halfway through book 3.

[@shad0wf1sh74]

I only made it 40 minutes into the first episode before I gave up and decided to rewatch the anime. The acting and deliveries of the live action felt like reading off a page rather than living in a world.

[@mikaylafurlong5093]

Completely agree! Was so looking forward to having a good show to watch, such a pity.

[@hisham031170]

The live adaptation gains more adult fans from those who never watch, and never intend to watch the anime.

[@JBearwa]

To bad you didn’t have patience as you missed a good show. While different from the anime it had heart by the end.

[@hisham031170]

@@mikaylafurlong5093 definitely not for you. Many people enjoy the show, fortunately.

[@shad0wf1sh74]

@@JBearwa maybe I'll give it another try but time is limited and there are so many shows out there deserving of watching. A good show draws you into its world and invests in its characters. The first episode depended on heavy exposition, wooden dialogue, and a little reliance that people would already like these characters from the other show.

[@SierraGargoyle]

I felt like they really jacked up King Bumi and made him a cranky old man instead of a kookie caring friend.

[@airforce419]

You can't please anyone when expectations are that high. They did a great job with this show. I loved every second of it

[@IAmPhoenixXxXx]

Wow. I wish I lacked high awareness like you. I’m truly not seeing what everyone is enjoying about this show. It’s all over the place. This live-action is what ATLA would be if you threw it into a tornado. Clashing, crashing, and making no sense. Just all over the place. I’m surprised Toph didn’t pop up at the southern water tribe. Lmfao. How can you be a FAN of the og and not feel underwhelmed while watching this visually stunning dumpster fire. What about it did you enjoy? You truly sat through all 8 episodes and told yourself “wow this was GREAT😀”. Like whaaat lmfao 😅. I’m really missing what everyone is seeing and it’s blowing my mind. So bizarre. I guess I’m just a man who appreciates quality GOOD writing and acting. Again, I wish I lacked high awareness like the rest of you who enjoyed this show 🥴.

[@Nalucha]

@@IAmPhoenixXxXx ⁠ imagine leading such a sad life that you went into a KZbin comments section just to insult someone for liking a TV show. The only specific complaint you had was that it made no sense, but I don’t really understand how it made no sense. It was a very linear story. Team Avatar wanted to get to the northern water tribe to stop a disaster and learn water bending, Zuko and the fire nation want to capture him. That’s the story. What doesn’t make sense? I suppose good writing and acting are subjective, I thought the writing was fine and the acting (aside from Azula, who I didn’t like) ranged from good to excellent. I don’t think it’s perfect or even as good as the original, but I really enjoyed it. Regardless, I suppose asking for someone to respect the opinions of others is a lot. And idk why you keep talking about high awareness, but you could use some self-awareness

[@zaphkiel8978]

​@@IAmPhoenixXxXxif i had your mindset against live action adaptations, i would've died long ago when sam raimi's spiderman came out because most of it isn't 1:1 with the source material too. it may look like all over the place with the changes they had to make for the movie, but it still managed to make it work

[@GODsoN_8471]

I'm not someone who watched the animated series but I'm known for having high awareness and I thought it was a solid show enough to finish over the weekend and I had no plans on watching it at all. The show was made by flawed people so naturally there will be flaws but there are definitely redeeming qualities a second season can build off

[@mayennesebial3463]

They were able to do it for the One Piece live action--- deliver something great for both the fans and new viewers. Why can't we have the same for ATLA? 😭 Huhuhu. Hay. Oh well. 🥲 Let's see how the next season goes........

[@law6070]

I felt that the battle at the air nomad temple did a disservice to the monks. The fight scene did start out well but it felt like the monk did nothing and then they just got mowed down. In the cartoon, there were bodies upon bodies of fire nation soldiers laying before Monk Gyatso's bone showing just how strong he was. As gentle as a breeze, as mighty as a typhoon. Yet the live-action killed all the monk and Gyatso so easily.

[@joshuawilsonneizer2317]

Airbenders are trained to be defensive but not to attack.

[@law6070]

@@joshuawilsonneizer2317 yes they are defensive but my comment would still stand. Just that scene of Monk Gyatso's remains in the cartoon shows that they are capable of killing if need to without showing the battle.

[@candicejackson6070]

I agree with you. But the reason the Air Nomads were taken over so “easily” because it was the night of the comet (later coined as Sozin’s comet) so that’s why the firebenders were so powerful and attacked them in the first place.

[@jacobsampsonis7782]

​@@law6070no, it literally wouldn't because they just defend themselves non violently. They don't kill, it's literally the whole thing about being a monk. You did just point out a plot hole in the cartoon though because they were trying a little too hard to be cool..

[@munjerkucci]

The bodies upon bodies thing does not make sense because the Fire Nation would have picked up their dead.

[@poisonpetitfour]

It's imperfect but I found it enjoyable to watch. All the actors were great. I'll watch the next season if Netflix green lights it

[@jasonflynn4310]

Who is the live action for? That was exactly what I was thinking watching it. I didn't watch the animated until I was an adult. My 7 year old daughter and I watched the series at least 5 times the past two years and love it. While I enjoyed the cold opening to the live action and the back story about the air temple, it was too violent for my daughter. Then the tone shifts to all the exposition. I found that my daughter was able to pickk up themes she missed in the animated series. So again who is this for, adults or kids. Be a violent action show or be a dumbed down Cliffs Notes for kids.

[@v6valkyrie]

The animation is mainly for kids , PG. The live action is PG-14, so your 7 year old would have been too young to watch it anyway. The show is live action and the intent was to give a more grounded version of the animation, and it achieved that. The show is for non-fans that are interested in watching a darker, more intense fantasy show with a unique premise. And fans that can actually separate the live action and the animation and watch it to enjoy the show as it is, for its similarities and differences and not compare it or expect it to be 1-for-1 or better than it’s predecessor.

[@ItsArchieYo]

This show made me so upset I’ve started binging the animated series again, and the Bumi Episode on the animated series is so heart warming. The dialogue “Bumi, you’re a mad genius… it’s good to see you Aang” gets me every time

[@whiskeytango3461]

As someone whose never seen the animated show, I can honestly say I really enjoy this live action adaptation. So much so, that I might go and watch the animated version now. So I guess, I would say this show is for people like me.

[@Cortesevasive]

People who seen the OG knows what will happen so they wont gonna be surprised by default. And they cry about minor changes. While its been a collosal work to actually collect the cast.

[@claudegrenier3180]

It's quite surprising how they were able to maneuver a couple of key points in an inventive way to make it all combine together while still maintaining the essentials of the characters developments. I really liked it. They clearly did their best within the restraints they had to deal with. They have MAD respect for the original work and it shows. And I luv a lot of the added details. The 41st being the regiment under Zuko comes to mind ^^. I recommend watching it.

[@jordanjackson1740]

I totally agree. I really enjoyed this series. Although they stayed true to the source material. It felt like a new experience. I know I’m in the minority but I thought this series was very good.

[@shawnmcvey7789]

That change made so much sense I forgot it wasn't already a thing.

[@v6valkyrie]

@@jordanjackson1740totally agree, I think the criticisms for this show are extremely unfair because of the comparisons.

[@hightolerance8728]

@@v6valkyrieI agree, the show was losing me about the 1st 5 episodes ngl. Bc it was trying too hard to be and show what the cartoon already did perfectly. But the last few episodes kind of went in its own direction, but like the og comment said they still made it very similar to the o.g material unlike the MK movie. So I was actually very satisfied by the end of episode 8

[@thecozman1]

What we need is for someone to up the budget, find better actors, remake every episode, and maybe add more episodes to each book.

[@kuhtrinaow]

i get that they have to condense things to because of time for the live action but there’s a difference between condensing and ruining the story that the show is already built on. like for example when they go to the spirit world and they are meant to save the villagers from hai bei but instead they show hai bei for 10 seconds then make koh the actual enemy whereas he isn’t that big of a threat in the cartoon. they also brought back the owl in that same episode but in the cartoon we don’t see him until book 2 in the library and he was a big part of the story because that’s where sokka learned about the eclipse to help them defeat the fire nation and was a really big plot point for them

[@plasticfrank]

There's a reason the original creators left the Netflix show to start their own studio.

[@claudegrenier3180]

Really? What is it then buttercup.... also, source please. 🤔

[@epaiii8328]

Need some tissues?

[@ngm6541]

@@claudegrenier3180 nickelodeon gave the avatar team an Avatar Studios for them to create the next series or films

[@FandomEmpress]

@@claudegrenier3180google it. Took me 5secs to find several articles about why they left.

[@nwong24]

So I only saw the original series once about 5 years ago and only remember bits and pieces of it; of course I remember the overall story. I liked the show, but I wasn’t obsessed, and I have no attachments. That said, I thought the live series was actually pretty good. I felt like the pacing was good, the story was fine, the adjustments to the characters were also good; I remember finding the animated Sokka and Aang’s character very annoying. Yes, their character development was either less or rushed, but what do you expect from an adaptation? We don’t need a shot for shot remake. There were a lot of added scenes that were amazing so you need to lose something somewhere. We all know that they’re not going to make more episodes or make them longer, so they had to rush a lot of the plot development and combine stories. I think you have to stop comparing it to the original and have it stand on its own. If you want the original, then watch the original. This is an adaptation. I’m currently rewatching the 1st season of the original series, and I think I already prefer the live action’s beginning to the animated. With all that said, it’s still way better than the “movie.”

[@v6valkyrie]

AGREED. And I am a huge fan of the original. People that are ‘fans’ need to stop expecting 1-1 remakes for these adaptations. That expectation is ridiculous. I watched it for what it is, and I love it for what it is. I love them both for different reasons. Of course there will be differences because of time constraints, budgets, the amount of episodes to work with, etc. you have all these people that don’t consider that and are upset simply because it isn’t exactly the same. These same people that LOVED One Piece ( that made a LOT of changes too ) are criticizing this for doing the same thing? These ‘critiques’ have gotten out of hand as far as I’m concerned. They’re literally nitpicks in disguise by fans that wanted the show to cater to them alone. They’re BOTH awesome, why can’t that be a thing?

[@aaronshields8135]

It sounds like everyone is sad the show missed something from the TV cartoon, and are even exaggerating the extent in which themes are explored in the original cartoon tv show. It seems like anyone who didn't watch the old cartoon would like find this show instantly entertaining. I've seen both and I liked this Netflix adaptation. I think they still highlighted Zuko's arc well which is probably the most important arc of the show.

[@Owen-ub3fv]

Where do they find these people?

[@thealjohnsonshow2188]

+Owen-ub3fv On their staff

[@davidmercer292]

The slight hints of Leaves from the Vine in episode 4 during the funeral broke me - again

[@flyguygbg]

The guy saying that combining multiple storylines is ok doesnt understand how important those stories are individually

[@root13pie]

If your the writers and you only get 8 episodes, what should you do then?

[@flyguygbg]

@@root13pietry to get the network to give you 10 at least

[@em5522]

​@@root13pienot introduced heavy plot elements from later seasons to tangle up the story if it's the only season we get.

[@gr8tbigtreehugger]

Great to see everyone on this video!!! It would be interesting to hear a take from someone who has not seen the animated series. A no baggage take.

[@alberico1976]

I never watched the animated show, bit started watching it after watching the live version. I'm only on Book 1, but I'm so mad at myself for not watching it earlier because the animated show is masterpiece. I did like the live version, but felt the pacing was rushed and there's a lot of scenes with clunky acting, but overall I was thinking it was a B- or B for the show. After watching the animated version, I'm dropping the grade for the live version a C just for all the plot points that were skipped and how bad Aang was portrayed as compared to the animated version. I enjoyed it but it's a one and done, but I can see watching the animated version multiple times... and that's that I haven't finished Book 1 yet.

[@dshock85]

The first two episodes were hard to watch because of the exposition....but it grew on me as it went on

[@photomatt11]

I thought it was kind of weird that they felt the need to expand on Azula and show that she’s a bit unhinged already

[@user-uw1hx9vv3w]

Ngl those were some of my favourite scenes, DDK as Ozai especially, such a good casting imo

[@JarrodConrad]

Azula was always unhinged though. It’s stated in the original series, even her mother feared her. I think with going from having so many episodes in the series down to eight per season that it’s important to introduce her earlier, it will make her descent into madness that much more brutal and she won’t get condensed into two or three episodes

[@mr2oxking]

I personally didn’t like that they made her so insecure it completely diminished her cause what made her so scary was her earned confidence and this made her unhinged because her father is playing mind games with her instead of being the thing that makes him the most proud

[@xuvial1391]

@@JarrodConrad When Azula was introduced she was shown as perfectly in control, powerful, determined, etc. Her unhinged side wasn't revealed until much later in the series. It was important to delay that aspect because it made her descent into madness that much more impactful.

[@BiznessBoog]

@@mr2oxkingI feel she didn’t feel respected or didn’t think her skills were recognized. Summed up that is insecurity but that is where her drive came from.

[@BevoGuy]

I think the reason that the characters of Iroh and Zuko were fleshed out more and had better story arch’s than the main big three was probably because the show creators knew they had to lean on the better actors at least for season one. At y’all have to admit those two actors killed it.

[@piboy7454]

That’s fair.

[@tylerwhiteontv]

I think there are two unjustifiable gaffs in season one. 1. HOW - In the book of water - Does Aang never even attempt to learn waterbending. 2. Yue waterbends sokka's feet when the moon is dead and theres supposed to be no waterbending

[@Frey-Doh]

😂 Yeah I also found it stupid that Sokka couldn’t break or slide his feet out of his shoes. It just comes off as extremely lazy writing

[@aylio3745]

Yue water bending is explained by her still having the moon spirit inside of her.

[@tylerwhiteontv]

@aylio3745 even if it could be it wasnt, just left to watchers to assume, and still a lazy explanation

[@atlasfeynman1039]

@@tylerwhiteontv Dude... that's why she gave back her life to restore the moon spirit and why her eyes started glowing like the moon after the moon was slain

[@paul2549]

Netflix painted themselves into a corner with their unnecessary plot change and what’s much worse is they have a habit of pretending it never happened in the next season. Rather than explore Zuko strive for affection they decided to spend it on Azula, I don’t know if they were trying to give excuses for something she hasn’t done yet…it’s almost as if they feel people would hate her so they’re trying to make her sympathetic, Azula was perfect the way she was, everytime she appeared in the animation you couldn’t help but admire her prowess…Netflix couldn’t do that, failed even at storyline they came up with, Katara was left flat not buildup and they had random people walk up to her and call her a master. Almost as if Netflix had checklist of the things they wanted to say. Don’t get me started on 20 episodes crammed in 1, they invented new unnecessary things, without those things in that space they had more than enough to build the characters

[@JBearwa]

they didn’t do 20 episodes crammed into 1. it was 20 x 23 min episodes into 8 x 50+ min. episodes. Well, there’s things different in the live action it was good different from the cartoon but good

[@paul2549]

@@JBearwa the plot about the fire lord playing games made no sense, rather than that they should have shown aang inner turmoil with wrestling the realities of the new world he’s been thrown into, just like the animation did. Or Kataras growth…her initial arrogance, struggle with water bending, her carelessness in the pirate episode that endangered her friends lives, her motherly instincts that shaped her character and trio dynamic. Or Sokka naiveness of what he expected a warrior to be, his cunning, his ability to make plans and think on his feet, his protectiveness and grounded principles that shaped his trio dynamic. Or lastly Zuko inner turmoil, his strive for his fathers approval, his initial arrogance and recklessness, him willing to do anything to gain approval from his father including sacrificing his relationship with Iroh. The list goes on but the point im trying to make is they had enough time to expand on the main character dynamic, enough time to build the character rather than made up plots they should have picked these instead….don’t tell us Katara became a master without showing her struggles, only to use dialogues from the animation that meant something…that had depth to it

[@nickp3258]

We got scorpion kinged with the ocean spirit.

[@AudibleFist]

I just finished the season last night. I feel like the main problem is the amount of episodes Netflix ordered but not necessarily the the writing being the issue, I felt the same with the Percy Jackson series, 8 episodes is not enough for the first book. But there is also hope for improvement with fans talking about it so I hope they act on making positive corrections in the next season.

[@MrBigmac113]

I watched this show when I was 10 in 2007 and rewatched when the animated version came back on Netflix and we watched all three seasons again. I was extremely excited when the live action was announced. I’m pretty sure it’s really hard to condense 23 episodes into 8. I think they did a really good job considering how little episodes they could do. I did miss the goofy jokes and scenes but I think it makes more sense to have more serious undertone in a live action. And finally, I think if people really want this to get better they should definitely watch it even if they don’t fully like it because ratings will get better funding.

[@jagnestormskull3178]

Thoughts in no particular order: -I miss the little moments of Team Avatar training, goofing off, and just generally developing. -Didn't like the lore change about only being able to contact the Avatars in their shrines; Aang should in theory be able to call on them at anytime. -Giving Aang foreknowledge of the Siege of the North to motivate him to go north was a bit weird; since Aang is supposed to learn Waterbending after Airbending, the North Pole is already a logical destination. It seems like they did it as an excuse to get Kyoshi herself into season one, even though it makes more sense that his immediate previous life, Roku, is the first one he makes contact with. -Aang taking Zuko's journal on the past Avatars definitely worked for me. -The choice they made to make the 41st into Zuko's crew definitely worked for me. -A lot of how Zuko was _written_ for the show worked for me. - Zuko's _actor_ was the wrong kind of moody. It felt like he had two modes, flat and whiney, when Zuko's modes should be calm, lightly angry (most of the time), and *seething.* -Iroh was pretty good, but I miss the accent. -Weaving the plots of _Winter Solstice_ and _The Blue Spirit_ together worked once I got over the weird lore changes that had to be made to make that happen. (Honestly, I thought the writers were going to weave _Jet_ and _The Blue Spirit_ together, for reasons I'll talk about in a minute). -Was looking forward to the Zuko-Zhao Agni Kai, but it didn't come. -The Waterbending effects were great and Katara vs Paku was great, but Katara not getting any lessons from Paku was a bit dumb. -Aang not doing Waterbending was dumb. -The Firebending effects were... well, a bit more DBZ than Avatar. Constantly charging their fire and stuff. -The Airbending effects were good. -Making sure that Aang wasn't around when Jet was with Katara was a good choice, because Aang was acting totally out-of-character in the animated Jet episode. Like, in the first and second episodes of the animated series, maybe even the third or fourth (the original _Kyoshi Warriors_ episode), Aang's whole motivation is love for Katara, and then in _Jet_ (which I think is the fourth or fifth episode?), Aang just stands around while Jet flirts on his crush, having no reaction to the whole thing. -Bumi was just... not well written in general. -Too much Ozai and Azula for season one! One of the best creative decisions that the original creators made was making Ozai feel like a looming force of nature rather than a character until he comes back into Zuko's life. I understand that few actors can live up to the charisma of the legendary Mark Hamill, but still. -Taking out _The Fortuneteller_ and _The Great Divide_ was a good choice. Still not sure how I feel about them taking out the episode with Haru. -The change in lore about the Ocean and Moon Spirits felt unnecessary and overly complex. -Kyoshi herself could have used more empathy. All of the past lives could have, but Kyoshi in particular to me stood out.

[@IcedHamGamingYT]

As a graphic designer, I really appreciated how the arrow tattoo on Aangs head is textured and the way that affects the Avatar glow.

[@phitaujwalk]

I never watched the animated series, but I loved this Netflix series so much it makes me want to go watch the animated series. I saw the first Avatar movie, but don’t remember much about it.

[@Kanoog]

Exactly - I said that after One Piece too

[@sunnyshin6298]

pls go watch the og animated series..it is a masterpiece for american cartoon it is comparable to harry potter. yes watching the movies is enjoyable, but something about reading the books is so magical

[@mattmillie007]

I personally loved this live-action adaptation of The Last Airbender. Iroh was done PERFECTLY imo! I’m just mad I didn’t see any penguin sledding!

[@MetalUnitesPeopleOfficial]

They took on one of the best animated shows that have ever been and made it into a live-action series... Which is no easy feat! I had high hopes for this one... They did not disappoint! I'm actually amazed about the quality and I am not going to be angry/sad about stuff they missed or about stuff they did differently. This was a true homage to the original, undying series we all know and love. All I have to say is that I look forward to the upcoming seasons. And let me end on the most important part... ... ... MY CABBAGES!!!!!

[@michaellynes3540]

Despite the changes in the live-action, Netflix put their heart and soul into making it. I would give it, according to my standards, a 6 or 7 out of 10.

[@Chickenfarmer.]

I loved it. I hope there is a season 2

[@OVOXO1234561]

what the girl said about netflix not being confident about a season 2 was my exact same thoughts. netflix is known for cutting shows early so it wouldnt shock me at all. i 100% agreed with the panel’s opinions. good review. i liked the show for the visuals but it did leave much to be desired. i also thought the show was really ‘dark’ and that it was weird that aang didnt do any water bending while katara excelled so easily. lol overall i enjoyed the show, but there’s definitely room for improvement.

[@stabbie2490]

Let's all be honest here if they kept the adaptation closer to the cartoon and just added stuff instead of changing stuff too it would be hell of a lot better and if they extended it instead of changing stuff they could have got more seasons out of it and pleased the old fans at the same time

[@TheHDTheater]

I just finished Episode 8; it was the first series I got to watch on my new 77" OLED TV! Last time I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender on a TV screen (excluding re-watching the original on my phone) was on a 30-some inch hand-me-down CRT in 2008. How the time has past. What a real treat this series was, in a strange sort of "rite of passage" I think they did an excellent job adding to the world of Avatar. Let's be honest, us the viewers just wanted a one-to-one copy of the original animated show....verbatim. If it wasn't that, it was going to inferior to the original.... obviously Netflix wouldn't have invested millions of dollars to get that result. Great example was The Mechanist, 41st Infantry backstory, and the extended scene of Aang and Zuko in "Masks". I think a lot of the struggles competing with the original is that the original series stitched together so many themes, many of which were coming of age concepts, strapped together with the idea of war. And the original creators had to work within the bounds of what Nickelodeon was willing to support. They did an excellent job of that, and I don't think we give the creators enough credit for those specific constraints. Netflix obviously had a much broader canvas to work with; this can be a both a blessing and a curse. At the same time though, the production costs were much tougher to work within with live action, extras, and non-voice actor costs. They chose a direction, they chose to represent the characters by most fully-Asian diverse cast (which I think is absolutely excellent) [not top tier up and coming voice actors], and they had the freedom to choose what to keep and what to add. I definitely agree that the emotion in the acting a worse than the original, but they chose their cast and the built the screenplay around them. We also knew it wasn't going to be perfect. There is a lot of screen time (albeit with a lot more "cinematic" scenes) to feel, but lest we forget that a lot of the time in the original series was by "kid-friendly type episodes". There were a lot a filler episodes in the original (many were very well done), but also many filler parts of story lines. Finally, we all knew they it would be impossible to fully capture the magic that we saw in the original. It has both nostalgia and the fact that it was executed in outstanding animation production working in its favor! I cannot cover everything I wanna say by a longshot, but I think this is a great revitalization of A:TLA. I hope we all can enjoy this series, for what it is, and what is to come, together!

[@happy.go.1ucky]

One of my biggest problems is that, they didn't talk about how Ang is still a kid. Everyone thought he was an old man, that he hid and did help. No one was supposed to see a group of kids taking on and defeating. the army's of the Fire Nation.

[@gintokisan5171]

Yeah, it is as if asking a kid to enlist to war, because he has responsibilities or Over powered. Could also allegorically mean that kids now a days should be forced to political views, forced to be trans, be "responsible" and be used as tools to give political meassages and etc. And not be a kid to play. Could be unintentional. Could also see it as ; If you're rich and powerful you should be forced (brainwashed) to help poor people and not be selfish with what you wanna do with your money and etc. Kinda form of guilt tripping nowadays. Bumi's interaction with Aang doesn't really sit right.

[@adrianvanleeuwen]

I think adding some playfulness to the trio in the story would help (more humor would help, they do that in other action movies like Indianna Jones or The Mummy movies). The writers need a bit more character building of the trio to be more similar to the original animated series. The relationship between the main trio characters should be more dynamic and nuanced to be pleasing as entertainment. More show and less tell would help in effects and story. They should bring back OG writers for season 2 to help out and consult. Hoping Netflix is watching these reviews for feedback.

[@Watch-0w1]

U know , this isn't so far from legend of Korra writing. Korra was well received because of their character. The one that left avatar to do dragon prince was better character writer.

[@lordsxman]

I liked the Netflix adaptation. But Glasses Lady was right about everything she said. It was too expository and not enough lightness to balance the heaviness of the very adult themes. I really think they would've been better off doing a whole reimagining of the entire saga. Yet and still, I give it 7/10

[@InkWellSpoken]

The special fx overall were surprisingly dope! i.e. the "coiju" at the end was explained and animated better in the live action. All the creatures were brought to life well.

[@qwertiepie]

As an adult who always wanted to watch Avatar, but couldnt manage to get through the series, Ill give it a thumbs up. Fx was top notch and story was good. Chracters were interesting enough to hold my attention. What i didnt like - everyone knowing he was the avatar, Aang's Flash like behaviour of 'failing everyone' , Aang not practicing.

[@danmulholland1634]

Yeah the original show is a bit long like 60 some episodes where it takes quite some dedicated time to put aside for and really go into sorta like I did with watching the Zyurangers which is the Japanese sentai version of Mighty morphin power rangers. It was the one to vring to America and I never thought id like it more

[@baden4462]

It was fine. I apparently didn’t mine nearly as much as many other of fans did. I’ve rewatch and analyzed the animated show + Korra more than a dozen times at least. Again it was fine, could be better but I had fun watching it

[@niojataj]

Netflix has made this 41-year-old very happy my childhood has come to life in live action😊

[@MrDemian0666]

They def need to bring the og writers back and possibly promote them to show runners.

[@v6valkyrie]

Those guys were involved with that M. Knight abomination. If people didn’t think they weren’t I don’t know what to tell you. They can stay away honestly.

[@MrDemian0666]

@@v6valkyrie I didn’t know that. I retract my comment.

[@TheTuneShifter]

I think a big issue that a lot of “critics” of these types of shows always complain about how they are spoon-feeding information: no subtext, no mystery. The problem is that casual viewers, especially in today’s world, either can’t or don’t want to look for subtext. They need to be told things. The “critics” feel insulted, but for people like my dad, the exposition and explanations are perfect for helping keep pace. Are there better ways of doing it? Of course, but my answer to the question, “Who is this show for?” is that it is for new fans who know nothing, but with enough stuff to appeal to the original fans. My roommate is a massive fan who has watched both shows multiple times and has read every book and comic, and he loves this show. I have heard very few complaints about it from him, and he loves it. I just wish fans of all franchises would stop feeling so entitled. Being a big fan of an IP does not entitle you to ANYTHING. Just eat the meat, spit out the bones. Take what you like, leave what you don’t.

[@v6valkyrie]

THISSSSSSS. Omg the entitlement is REAL. I’m so tired of fans doing this as if they’re owed an adaptation specifically for them, nah it was meant to honor fans and bring in new fans, that’s the point of any adaptation. And this one did a fantastic job. I’m an Uber fan of the show, my hubby is a super fan of the original but even he hasn’t been hating on this show like all of these people are, it’s ridiculous and unfair to criticize this show because it didn’t live up to YOUR unrealistic expectations ( wanting a 1-1 remake ). Just watch the damn animation again at that point smh.

[@zackreynolds7590]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@v6valkyrienobody is entitled just because they don’t like the show. And why make an adaptation if you don’t want expectations? At that point just make a new story in the same universe. I’m truly glad that you liked it and others did as well. And even though it wasn’t my favorite, it has me rewatching the original. But it’s okay for people to not enjoy it

[@v6valkyrie]

@@zackreynolds7590 oh I’m not saying people are entitled simply because they don’t like it. I’m calling out people who are equating differences from the animation plot breaking or bad writing and relaying it as facts and not opinion. It’s only being critiqued in this manner because so many people were expecting the exact same plot, just live action. That’s what you call a REMAKE not an adaptation. Adaptations (even successful ones) since the beginning of time has never been the exact same as the original, stuff was ALWAYS taken out or altered. I’m not sure why people were wanting that this time. One Piece was very different and I loved it and I’m a bigger fan of OP than ATLA. It’s why I say, the only version of the show that will be just like the original with all the heart and soul, will be the original. Expecting the same from this live action is an IMPOSSIBLE ask that was never going to happen. That’s why I enjoyed it, because it’s obvious they cared about the source material if you watch it for what it is, they just had to make decisions that not everyone was going to like with the time constraints and budget restrictions and it came out DAMN good for it. We ALL have witnessed what an adaptation without care or consideration is and THAT is what this should be compared to, not the original which is iconic for a reason. I didn’t want a copy, I wanted it to be honored, and that’s what happened for me.

[@gabrielmurray929]

Want not doing any waterbending was the thing that annoyed me the most about this.

[@ScreenCrush]

Hopefully we'll see him waterbend more of in season 2.

[@icyneko9175]

"Who is the show for?" As someone who only caught a few episodes of the cartoons and saw the M Night Shamacatastrophe, I have to say I really enjoyed the netflix series. I think they had to bring some exposition in due to the ratio of cartoon episodes to netflix episodes, but they also did a fair amount of showing rather than telling. As far the more serious tone of the series - it's the era of how most screenplays are written post 2020. Similar to how FX's Shogun is much less of the sea shanty dance crap that the original Chamberlain Shogun was and cut out the fat that the original Shogun mini-series had for a streamlined, more serious tone, things kind of evolve with the times. Finally, in the age where you have major studios like Paramount outright ruining shows like Halo, or the Witcher series...Avatar's cast/crew is working incredibly hard to keep true to the spirit of the cartoon.

[@savannashank5340]

I understand why they cut the Bato episode, but that was also a big episode in terms of the characters development. Aang made a childish mistake (cause he’s a child) and Sokka and Katara also made a childish mistake (also children) by letting that one mishap cloud their judgement of Aang. To me that’s what I missed the most was the childish aspect of the characters. They’re literally kids trying to save the world. But it felt like they had no direction the whole season. The whole point was that they were trying to get to the water tribe so Aang could learn water bending, but he gets there and doesn’t even bother trying to learn!! It had its ups and downs but I do think they can recover from it and actually make this a good show. And given how the characters have been thus far, I’m worried about the introduction of Toph. We shall see…

[@Bmega81]

As a fan of the original with zero expectations for this due to the collosal failure of the m night version i thought it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. Had some obvious pacing issues leaving background, set up, and character development behind. Trying to cram 20 episodes into 8 episodes is a pretty difficult task. With that in mind i think they did a pretty good job.

[@dandresmith9821]

This just shows that people don't know how to let go and just enjoy things for what they are. They say they see the show is more grounded, but admonish it for being so. The cartoon is unrealistic with the childish actions, they are literally in the middle of a 100 year war, why would they be playful?

[@kellyvalence5323]

Yes, I agree. I don’t think in Live Action, see these kids being more playful would make you like the characters. Because you are seeing the devastation of the war in live action, diverting time away from their main objective would be unlikeable

[@chappellroanplsgotomanilaibeg]

Lmao, the animated version has more nuanced and mature and darker writing than the LA, they dumb it down to kids show, the flatten out their character developments, felt like a caricature of characters, instead of being flawed and having a soul

[@kellyvalence5323]

@@chappellroanplsgotomanilaibeg I haven’t seen the animated show, so I’m speaking from that perspective. I wouldn’t like the character if he was trying to play around all the time. I’m sure the characters are better fleshed out in the animation, because they had a lot more time to tell the story

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

I should just let you know that kids are kids in any circumstance. They don't play because it's expected. They want to play. It's their nature. I had Jewish relatives all over Europe during WW2. Some were in Poland and Hungary. They were worried about a lot. My grandfather is also Japanese. He went back to Japan rather than stay and be interned but he/I had family who stayed. Let me just tell you; the kids in the camp, and in war torn Europe at the time, had plenty of stressors and they knew people around them and/or their relatives were dying. I have seen photos of kids playing in both of those environments and heard stories about how they used to get admonished by their parents for trying to find places to hide, they were told not to use sticks as pretend guns, make too much noise, or get in anybody's way while they were playing, all kinds of things. When my father was a kid some of the instructors at Hebrew school had tattoos on their arms. Some of them were kids during the war. They also told stories about playing with toys and trying to find ways to have fun as children. It's just how kids are. We grow out of that to a degree but as kids we want to play and not take things seriously

[@froontown]

I feel like people say something like, "I don't want to compare this to the original, so..." but then compare everything about the characterization, the world building, the narrative, etc., to the original. I absolutely LOVE avatar, (plus Korra WOO). I want to imagine watching this show like I have no idea what Avatar: The Last Airbender was. I think that's what this show is for. Plus, the folks who loved this show are adults now.

[@dacb1997]

I feel like this show was made for all of those social media posts that deep analyze the subtext of the show. Of course they explore Zuko and Iron more, cause a lot of the posts online are specifically about how deep those characters are. Of course they show an early Kyoshi scene, cause she is always depicted in social media as such a badass. The war, refugees,genocide etc themes are expanded upon a lot cause that's a lot of what you would see on these viral posts. They turned a lot of subtle implicit information and made it explicit. Which I think honestly, they did great. However, a lot of what is great about Avatar are finer details that don't get talked about as much but are very important to make both the characters and the world feel wide and complex. Like they exist beyond the story they're currently living. If I had to summarize my thoughts, I would say the live action show has a story it wants to tell and it's doing it well. But the original show created a world which the characters inhabited.

[@FalconFXICCY]

Ryan, you guys need to ask people who have never seen the animation series before, never seen the M Night movie before. They are the ones that are going to tell you that the people who are criticizing this live adaptation for not being faithful enough to be 1-to-1 from the animation series are batshit crazy.... Albert Kim said what he did because he knew he's not going to please every purist. What he needs to do is make sure that an entire generation that didn't grow up watching the animation series would still fall in love with this story. And on that front, it delivers!

[@zackreynolds7590]

I know it’s anecdotal but I have a friend who’s never seen the og that said he stopped at episode 3 because of bad dialogue and bad effects. Just because they have a bias from having seen the show, doesn’t means their criticism isn’t valid

[@mr.loverpants3770]

You guys kind of made me upset with this take. This show was not that bad and your comment section agrees. I don't think it deserved this much criticism when all your doing is comparing it yes dialogue , character development could've been better but to say it was trash or whatever you guys are just hating and it shows. I've been a long time avatar fan and I will continue to watch this show because it does have room for improvement. 9/10 for me !

[@mrbarahona78]

My favorite subtle part was how they captured Ang’s essence when he was riding the air ball at Kyoshi island in front of the other kids. Especially when crashed into the statue.

[@BryantMartinez94]

they did my boy roku dirty , when did he ever display any kind of comedy ? he was a serious avatar that was wise , disciplined and serious

[@bryceneuberger3460]

When Gran Gran spoke, the illusion broke for me

[@mettamodel]

we're delving into a series that, frankly, challenges our patience from the get-go. Within the first 10 minutes, it becomes painfully clear that we're not just navigating a story, but also wrestling with performances that can only be described as laughably bad. This isn't just a minor hiccup in an otherwise smooth cinematic experience; it's a glaring issue that halts any suspension of disbelief right in its tracks. Such a stark lack of convincing acting isn't merely disappointing; it's a fundamental flaw that disrupts the entire narrative flow. When performances fail to capture the essence of their characters or the gravity of the storyline, the connection between audience and screen is severed. It's akin to being constantly reminded that you're merely an observer of a performance gone awry, rather than being immersed in a compelling narrative world. This problem points to a larger issue within the film: a disconnect between the vision and the execution. Great acting can sometimes salvage a weak script, just as a strong narrative can elevate average performances. However, when the acting is so profoundly unconvincing from the onset, it casts a shadow over the entire production, making it difficult, if not impossible, to engage with the story on any meaningful level. The early departure of any viewer, prompted by subpar performances, is a stark indicator of the film's failure to meet the basic expectations for storytelling and character development. It's a reminder that, at its core, cinema is an art form that relies on the believable portrayal of characters to engage, provoke, and move its audience. Without this foundational element, all other aspects of filmmaking risk falling flat, leaving viewers disengaged and, as in this case, compelled to walk away well before the story has a chance to unfold."

[@root13pie]

Are you talking about the movie or the live action series? It's not clear.

[@thf6027]

Show runner will chalk up all criticism to people wanting a 1 to 1 adaptation when in reality people have legitimate grievances with the dialogue. Oh we couldn’t afford that…you couldn’t afford to make the kids sound like…kids?

[@Jackf1116]

This adaptation was able to really get me in my feels. It’s rare a show can do that at all, so even that was enough to really like it. And on top of that, the visuals were great. Watching the siege of the north live action and cartoon back to back, the visuals of the live action actually made the cartoon action feel unexpectedly flat, despite always remembering Aang going Avatar state as such a wow moment. I maybe wish there was a little bit more goofball-ness, but I actually kind of feel some of the anime goofiness might be hard to translate to live actors and motion… you have to bet they have some footage they didn’t use of some Sokka dad jokes that maybe just felt out of place in screen tests. Regardless I really hope they make the next two seasons!!!

[@bluedevils481991]

Ryan really summed up how i felt about the series beautifully. I think it’s fine and actually enjoyed how they combined some stories together to get as much in as possible. The casting was great. The bending was epic and i loved how they showed how cruel the firebenders are. The miss was definitely on the character development. Things that could be seen as “filler“ in the original show really were used to showcase the important character traits of each person. It allowed them to show each persons character instead of tell us. The only person i felt had their character truly explored was zuko. I think of how katara was trying to tell saaka that ants power was his ability to bond with ppl and kept thinking “it wasn’t earned in this show”. While not important to the plot, we needed to see Aang go to kiyoshi island to ride the giant fish, we needed Aang to ride the omashu carts for fun, we needed him to be a kid in ways that weren’t just him being ignorant and innocent to the world. I still very much look forward to a season 2 and I do not hate this show as much as the rest of the panel. But there is room for improvement

[@earlskinner615]

I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It was good. Yes it was compressed but it got the major beats and characterization correct. If I never saw the cartoon I would have it enjoyed even more probably. And also this was their first time seeing if this was even possible. Hope there’s a season two.

[@Lorronzo]

Huge fan of the series since I was a kid. I have all the DVDs for both Aang and Korra series and the hardback comics. I can say without a doubt, that this live action adaptation was fantastic. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would give it a solid 8/10. It was creative. Well cast. And, above all else, looked stunning. I also feel like it had a few missteps. It felt like a nervous person on Shark Tank trying to pitch their idea for this great story but rushing through segments and tripping over themselves due to low confidence. They want to keep bringing up all the other great ideas and selling points at the cost of meandering too far away from the current question.

[@andreacustica9316]

This Netflix adaptation was way better than the Movie but definitely not better than the Cartoon. they missed so much character development that I am really disappointment.

[@itbcomingaroundthemountain]

It’s was great overall, but I agree they removed some important character building points. Also, it definitely felt rushed. I think they should either have added a few more episodes or made each animated season into 2 full seasons on Netflix. That would give them more longevity and fill out those character building moments that were so key in the animation. But overall I liked it.

[@DomWilson-ny2vr]

The show itself has its own insight and a serious tone than the animated version we can expect it to be the same but it’s already going to have seasons 2&3 so y’all good

[@tmac731]

My issue with the inventor being at Omahu instead of the air temple because it was an emotional character arc for Aang and the hot air balloon would return in the finale. Why is the owl in the spirit world and not his library? Who steals appa and how do they find out about the eclipse now? They combined the swamp with the spirit world and koh? Koh isn’t even stealing faces

[@simplywill]

you asked who was it for, i'd say it was for me. I'm a person who really enjoyed the animated series but watched it once 20 years ago. I don't remember details of how scenes played out. I remember how the show made me feel. this adaptation made me excited. I consumed it in 1 day and finished feeling mostly very pleased.

[@CaVeMaN3777]

The first season is literally about water, he didn’t do any water bending…. Aside from everything else wrong he didn’t do any water bending 🤣

[@taco0_0man]

Bro how they forget his glider tf that's like a part of him

[@lionheart153]

OG fans have to hogh of expectations. Animation provides the ability to tell a different story in a mote compelling and versatile way. Animation can be aimed at all audiences but will naturally be drawn to children. Live action needs to be more mature or grown up tp help capture new casual fans. They paid homage to the animation, tried go do s few funnt things but i also appreciate the more adult themes. Overall people are expecting to much, its also got to tell a seasons of a story without having 20 episodes to do so. You also cant have multiple plot lines without connecting to the story and they did s good job of it. The lore will need to change. They also did a good job making the past avatar not perfect.

[@mannyfulsom]

I stand behind this statement: Nothing will ever be better than the original, and nothing will ever be worse than the unspeakable movie.

[@josefig842]

This was the best review of the show I’ve seen. Mainly because a lot of reviewers have tried being “kind” or “understanding” instead of providing a real critical analysis of the material. I think y’all broke it down great - the main issues are the writing and a lack of understanding of the characters. Hope they fix it in season 2 but I doubt it

[@kickflipking06]

For what it was, it was great. It could have been horrible I mean we’ve seen how horrible it can be. It’s not fantastic and work needs to be done to improve for season 2 but it’s not that god awful shamalan movie. Zuko and irohs actors deserved that screen time because he stole the show just like zuko and iroh stole the animated show. A lot of the stuff they cut was just filler so I don’t mind. My main gripe is the bumi storyline really not showing how aang and bumi were best friends, it felt like they were acquaintances at best not friends who are being reunited after 100 years apart. The anime showed that to great effect, how bumi tested aang to see if it truly was the aang he knew and how he kept it silly and fun and how it was a big reveal of who he was to aang not just aang showing up and not recognizing his best friend, that whole plot point fell very short and felt super disconnected. I loved bumi and was disappointed that they got parts of him just so wrong, he wasn’t an angry old man lecturing a lost friend, he was a silly dope trying to prank his best friend.

[@CowboyPrestige101]

I went into this expecting the worst due to how many people seemed to be dragging it. People making full on dissertations on why it is bad. Then I watched the first episode, then the second one, then the third one...and I kept wondering what was so bad. I loved it. It was dope. I honestly believe these days people just want to hate things and hop on hate trains and run them into the ground.

[@karamarieco]

Agreed. They really should have defined their target audience and clearly defined what they truly wanted to accomplish. There’s an article that stated *the show runners intended it to be like “Game of Thrones” which is clearly something you can’t translate from the Last Airbender Series. I think if they wanted to create their own Game of Thrones in the backdrop of the Avatar world- they should’ve created a spin off series based during Sozin’s time that explored how he became fire lord and how Ozai became fire lord- there’s so much rich backstory between Zuko’s mom and his dad and how Iroh did not become the next in line. *That storyline could easily be adapted to a more adult audience.

[@wafflekiller5364]

Honestly it's okay but the producers left out some KEY moments in the story. Like gran gran's speech to sokka and katara, the pirates, and especially sokka's humiliation from the kyoshi warriors. Feels like it's rushed and feels like producers are doing the same thing like paramount with the halo series

[@Running4Daze]

It was a good effort so I want to giv them credit for taking on this big project and not making a mockery of the show like the 2010 movie. That said, if this goes to season 2, they better get back the original guys that walked away from the project, because u can see where their hands for steering and guidance were missing/needed. Last, they need to seriously consult with the one piece production and get some tips on framing pacing dialogue and storytelling, and consistent production quality. Again good first effort, but they need help in making it better.

[@tekkersmo3816]

Still plenty of plot points to cover over S2 and S3 if they so choose. I personally want to see how this adaptation ends. S2 - Learn waterbending, Toph, Ba Sing Se, drill, Laogai, the Library, Appa getting lost, Appa being found, Zuko choosing to return to the Fire Nation S3 - Aang learning Earth bending, Combustion man, Agni Kai, Zuko joining the crew, Aang learning firebending, lion turtles, dragons, Ember Island Players, and then they can explore the Katara and Aang love arc.

[@YankeesFan0620]

Top 13 things that the Netflix Adaptation of Avatar TLA did right: 13) Casting Daniel Dae Kim as Fire Lord Ozai 12) The scene in the spirit world between Katara and her mother 11) Caring about the source material (SCREW YOU M. NIGHT SHYMALAN!!) 10) Establishing Azula as a main character and force in season 1 instead of 2. 9) Ian Ousley's performance as Sokka 8) The scene in the spirit world between Aang and Monk Gyatso (In fact, ALL scenes involving Monk Gyatso) 7) The fight scene between Master Pakku and Katara 6) LIKE THE SHOW striking a balance between the goofy humor and the gut wrenching serious moments 5) The flashbacks in the episode 'MASKS' and the backstory of the 41st Division. 4) Dallas Liu's performance as Prince Zuko 3) Gordon Cormier's performance as Aang (He's just a kid, has to be great at Martial Arts, needs to show a wide range of emotions, maintain Aang's playful energy and charisma from the OG show, AND carry the show as its titular character) 2) THE BENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1) Lu-Ten's funeral scene

[@CheatingLeftyDiscGolf]

As a fan of the original, I feel the show missed the mark when it came to the character building and dynamics. They just meet this kid who was trapped in ice for a 100 years and after 10min in show, they are all besties. Also… when did Aang teach them to masterfully ride Appa? If they took the same care with the golden 3 as they did with Zuko and Iroh, the show would have been incredible. Action and CGI wise, top notch for sure. But it did feel they tried to crunch in too many characters at one time. The Omashu arc almost needed to be a 3rd episode in length just because they didn’t give much time for all the characters to breath for themselves. Some of the changes were good. Like having Sokka and Katara in the cave. Showing how they felt about their upbringing was great for their growth…. But that was the only scene in the whole show that really showed their growth. With a few tweaks, the show could really be something. But my fear is that the writers/showrunner think they established all the character growth in season 1 and do not touch on it again, when in reality, beside 2 characters, it was very lack luster.

[@orzo19993]

What I think they’re missing is they made this for ADULTS who watched this show as kids to kind of relive their childhood while still being a PG rating to share with our kids. But hey that’s just a theory 😂

[@ninety_ldn]

Sensible review, overall i think they will knock season 2 out the park. For a first season, with an extremely high bar to meet, they did a really solid job and will learn a bunch from this season. I genuinely think they need 1 consistent director though