Netflix's Avatar Episode 7 Reveals Avatar Kuruk and it's GREAT!!

[@drchtct]

Iroh didn’t think Ozai did it, he knows Zhao did it, he just doesn’t want Zhao to know that, so he can stay close to him. Leaving the necklace out was a conscious decision I think as that arc made no sense in the OG. Pakku still disrespects women in the OG and only makes an exception for Katara because she’s part of the family, deeming Kataras fight worthless. Here, she convinces him to change his stance, not some necklace from Gran Gran

[@uncleirohsteashop]

Honestly you nailed it on the head on all points and I didn’t even think about that first one with regards to Iroh playing Zhao

[@jonodate]

I personally loved the expansion of Kuruk's time as the avatar, that he had a secret battle with the spirit realm as opposed to a surfer bro. Also I loved that they did justice for Han and didn't make him such a loser jock type. Definitely one of the best choices making him a character and not a stereotype of a tooney joke

[@ConorWood115]

I loved having more time with the previous avatars. Kuruk is such an interesting character.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

They certainly made his backstory super interesting here

[@justafan5179]

I think another reason Aang doesn't water bend is because of how romantic those scenes between him and Katara are... it would have looked super creepy in live action, with the actor playing Aang being so young. It'll look a lot better with a time jump, now that he's older. Additionally, let's not forget he learned and surpassed Katara's abilities in all of 10 minutes of coaching from her, only to spend the rest of Season 1 doing 0 intensive training, and even once they meet Paku, there are no notable gains on his part... he literally turns himself into a snowman, while Katara refines her technique with the students and Paku. So on that note, I'm glad they got rid of Aang's arrogance... but equally disappointed we don't get at least a snippet of training with Paku at the end. That said, I always felt the necklace was a strange plot device... and I loved the moments Katara and Paku did have, in this adaptation. If in the original, Paku had taught Katara a special move or technique, that would be different, but really all he did was provide a sparing partner and maybe (I'm assuming) some guidance in general technique... so I'm okay with it being left out... they made up for it.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

Hey fair enough points all around man thank you for bringing them up!

[@justafan5179]

​@uncleirohsteashop you're welcome! You made an outstanding review!

[@roarmbee7045]

I think the reason why Aang didn't waterbend in this season was probably for the time jump, since the cast is getting older, they need to use a time jump, and they might explain that waterbending is hard to learn so it might take Aang a long time to mastered waterbending

[@uncleirohsteashop]

That could be why for sure although to that point I would hope we see a season 2 open up with him learning it so they could transition swiftly with him learning earth bending with Toph

[@MrE_]

@@uncleirohsteashop that's the strange part for me. The fact that we don't see aang water bend even once, it kind of puts the question out there if he can easily learn the other elements or if he's going to struggle with all. His struggle with fire was the fear of hurting others. The struggle with earthbending was that it's the opposite of air, so he'd have to think completely differently. Waterbending seems like the easiest for him to transition to, but the fact that they don't show it being easier for him concerns me

[@disneysydneyresortvirtual9264]

I loved how Avatar Kuruk was portrayed in this. They did him justice. It's definitely a weaker episode for me,but still very good.

[@StillOnTrack]

I loved Amber Midthunder's performance as Yue. I thought the spirit connection they added made she and Sokka's connection make more sense too. The wig wasn't great unfortunately, which I thought was a semi-frequent problem throughout the series with hair and facial hair unfortunately, but she was so good its just a nitpick. I didn't mind the exclusion of the necklace subplot because I liked Pakku learning to respect Katara on her own merits rather than who her Gran Gran is. That always felt a little off to me in the cartoon TBH. I loved the new respect Zuko's crew developed coming back into play here too. And can excuse away him not noticing the blasting jelly on it being dark I guess. Lol Good episode overall. 🙂

[@partakeroflife7509]

My guess with them making Yue the fox spirit would be they’re setting her up to play a slightly bigger role in the upcoming seasons aside from just showing up a time or two as the moon. We might see her show up again as the fox spirit to give them some important information, similar to the foxes from the original who sought out knowledge to bring to the library. That could even be why we see Wan Shi Tong so early on and why she took the form of a fox specifically, foreshadowing a connection between them later on… but that’s just my guess anyway, I’m a little iffy on the change but I wouldn’t say I dislike it, makes her and Sokka’s relationship seem just a little less out of no where since they’ve met in a way before and seemed to have a sort of connection at the time.

[@sk1ttlez0]

that was my thinkin as well! cuz at first i was like why is yue a fox? but then remembered the fox from the library and since wan shi tong showed up i took it as foreshadowing for the library

[@uncleirohsteashop]

Are those foxes the same though? I thought the fox in the library was more his own thing and not connected to anything. Those foxes in the library are knowledge seekers if I remember their designation right.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

@@sk1ttlez0 I think they might be different foxes

[@partakeroflife7509]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@uncleirohsteashop Yeah they’re definitely different foxes in the original, only one tail and more gray or brown if memory serves, and they couldn’t talk either. Those are the only foxes we see in the original though, and with Wan Shi Tong showing up just before we see Yue as a fox spirit, I figured there might be a link between the two for later on. Since the foxes are some of the most normal looking creatures in the cartoon maybe they want to give them a more fantastical spirity design and add three tails, or maybe we’ll just see the Yue fox helping out with the owl in some way? I dunno, just some guesses on what they may be going for in the future

[@bea2323]

6:32 Yeah its weird that they didnt bring up the necklace but at the same time, its good they didn't bring it up because it was weird how in the show, Pakku just stopped being sexist because of Katara being related to his past lover

[@uncleirohsteashop]

I guess that's a fair way to look at it I didn't think of that

[@notthechosen1]

But that wasn't really it at all. The necklace reminded Pakku of his feelings for Gran Gran, and the reason she left the tribe for the South made him reconsider his outlook, which in my head canon is why he wins Gran Gran back. It made perfect sense to me, and given the significance of the necklace in the original, I had hoped for an adaption of that story line.

[@bea2323]

@@notthechosen1 Oo maybe thats what happened! I might have misunderstod

[@נאורבוחבוט-ב6י]

I actually like the change of ua, it is much more logical in my opinion because in the end the reason she lives is because of the spirits so you can say that she is a spirit herself so it seems logical to me that she can bend water and in addition enter the world of spirits whenever she wants it seemed to me very It is correct to present her character this way, but regarding her chemistry with Sokka, I liked Sookie better

[@denisedarland3345]

Meegwun Fairbrother's appearance as Kuruk was a real surprise for me. I loved it. He is so handsome and was PERFECT to play Kuruk!

[@adefoe6552]

Avatar interaction would be Kyoshi spot on, Kuruk which was a nice addition, and Roku being an upsetting mess.

[@shandya]

I wish they didn’t force themselves to replicate Katara vs Pakku battle scenes from the animations. Because it brings unnecessary comparison between live action physics & cinematography with the animations, which of course animations will always feel superior. Same thing happened with Aang vs Bumi

[@uncleirohsteashop]

I don’t know if I necessarily agree with that because no matter how they did it there was going to be comparison to the cartoon regardless

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Kuruk is the only member of the Water Tribes with the right eye color.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

Is that a big deal?

[@sergiogarzon5932]

Kuruk es un papucho

[@dartdragon4785]

Yeah not really a fan of Katara not getting trained by Pakku like in the animated show. They made it seem like she had nothing to learn from him. It was so unnatural and nothing like the student and master dynamic of Kung Fu. It feels similar to the Rey story arch in the Star Wars prequels. Calling herself a master after training from a water bending scroll is like me becoming a master from practicing stuff I've seen on youtube.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

Someone convinced me that the stuff around Pakku in the cartoon doesn’t make any sense at all given that Pakku basically only grants her the ability to train with him because they’re related on the necklace. I feel like there was a lesson learned here from a master to a student even if there wasn’t any direct training. Also let’s not act like it’s not possible for someone to be good in something by learning on their own. Not everything does require a teacher. I relate this to something like filmmaking. Some of the best directors currently working now and who have worked in the past were self taught and didn’t go to school for it with teachers. It is possible.

[@dartdragon4785]

@@uncleirohsteashop Pakku clearly has much he can teach as he pretty much wipes the floor with Katara in both live action and the animated show. The animated series repeatedly reminded viewers of the importance of finding a master. I thought Netflix would continue this idea since at the beginning we could see Suki giving Sokka corrections and Gyatso reminding Aang the importance of spending time with his teachers. Even if Pakku was a jerk it would've been an important character moment for him to grow past it and for Katara to learn bending from a master.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

@@dartdragon4785 I mean hey to each their own on how the interpret it that's just how I saw it. I think a teacher and master can give advice to someone without needing to fully participate in the action of training them. For all we know maybe she learned some stuff from him off screen. Not saying that's a good thing or bad thing to be clear.

[@nhinged]

Self taught still most likely means studied (masters) but they got season 2 to make up for it

[@timmurphy232]

I don't hate it, but I think waterbending looks the worst of the 4 element, pacing seems off a bit.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

I still can’t decide on which bending needs more work but I hear you

[@wickdaline8668]

Do you think Amber Midthunder could have played Korra in live action instead?

[@mscottster444]

What live action? They ain’t making Korra

[@wickdaline8668]

@@mscottster444 But they could should this adaptation succeed up to Book 3.

[@germainesf]

@@wickdaline8668 With all the overly critical comments being made, I’m not certain Netflix is going to do more. Which stinks because any criticisms that we have as fandom could be addressed in future seasons 😖 So very frustrating.

[@ThompsonBrosStudios]

@@germainesf i doubt that. this show is #1 on netflix charts in over 80 countries. it did it's job, it will undoubtedly get another season. critical reviews don't matter if people are watching it anyways.

[@uncleirohsteashop]

If we were to make a hypothetical casting for a live action Legend of Korra she would've been an interesting casting for sure! She'd be one of my picks.

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

Is it just me, or does Kuruk look like Pitch Meeting guy?

[@uncleirohsteashop]

I didn't know who that was before reading this and now that I looked it up I don't see it weirdly lol

[@robertking4645]

The northern water tribe is criminally underused. And that's something that both the original and live-action are complicit in. It is the latter where the issue becomes really problematic. The fact that "the North" is the shortest episode of the season is egregious considering how many things this episode should cover. The addition of Kuruk is good but Aang and Katara not learning water bending is not, Sokka and Yue falling in love after only two conversations, the impact of the inevitable distraction of the North is less tragic considering how we spent so little time there. It's important to point out that the original show had that problem too. They could've just cut the great divide and add an additional episode to fully expore the northern water tribe but they didn't. And the live action just didn't manage its' time well enough

[@uncleirohsteashop]

I can somewhat hear you on this. Listen I said as much they should've added in some runtime this episode with Pakku's necklace. The waterbending training starting here for Aang would've been nice too if he hadn't been learning it beforehand in other areas of their journey. Also you meant Yue not Suki with regards to here.