Netflix's Avatar: The Flattening

No lie, Tom's reaction to me making this video was "I feel like the Avatar fandom is as online as the Resident Evil fandom, this video will do well" and I've never felt more seen. I hate watched this more than Game of Thrones Season 8, but not by much.
0:00 Introduction
1:32 Adaptation
9:06 Random Gripes
12:52 Flat Dialogue
22:56 Flat Storytelling
29:50 Flat Characters
1:02:58 A Different Story
#avatar #avatarthelastairbender #atla #thelastairbender
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[@Breezely22]

"They don't even trust me to feed the baby bison." THEN SHOW THATTTTT

[@Trollestiatumblur]

But they trust him enough to be the youngest air bending master in history?? Yeah right ☠️

[@OtakuRae25]

I honestly read that as “They don’t even trust me to feed the baby poison.” I was super confused. But you are totally right, I watched that scene and couldn’t help but laugh at how cringey it was.

[@sushmag4297]

The first 2 episodes were exposition hell. SHOW US instead of just having the characters dump a whole paragraph explaining themselves and their character. Such lazy writing. I'm going back to the animated version.

[@lordpessimism]

I don't think this show is evidence that anyone in it is a bad actor. When one actor in a show is bad, it's that actor. When everybody is consistently bad, that's the director.

[@nope19568]

and the script, like in riverdale there were just some lines that i couldnt even imagine the best actor ever being able to say well lmao

[@johane9168]

definitely, and the script is so bad no one really could pull this off

[@ohsteeev]

When all the directors are bad, the problem is the producers

[@bloomins8088]

I think everyone did really awesome, but the script for sure held it back.

[@Carmn07]

I think they focused too much on trying to make the live action _look_ real, instead of _feeling_ genuine

[@meowmachine9147]

Agreed. It looks like Avatar and that's it

[@Carmn07]

@@meowmachine9147 at least one of these days I hope we’ll get a faithful adaptation 😭

[@nope19568]

​@@Carmn07third times a charm? perhaps? hopefully...😂

[@bumbabees]

exactly. it all _looks_ like avatar, but it doesnt _feel_ like avatar, so theres absolutely nothing to endear you to it. i dont recognize any of these characters (not even the side characters which is...pretty pathetic) because they feel like imitations rather than just the characters themselves, and that, to me, feels like a very clear indication youve failed as a remake/adaptation.

[@xxyzxxyz690]

​@@Carmn07I hope not, they should just stop trying at this point since we never needed an adaptation in the first place

[@chrispatrick4331]

This flattening is happening absolutely everywhere in all kinds of media and entertainment.

[@sexy1018]

Or maybe people should stop acting like everything sucks now.

[@khankeshkhan1636]

​@@sexy1018if everything didnt suck no one would have to act that way

[@meowmachine9147]

​@@sexy1018 But so much of it does. We aren't pickier than we used to be. Stuff is just getting worse. It's not an opinion, it's a fact. Bad writing is bad writing.

[@justinstewart9145]

​@@meowmachine9147 The Avatar series has released the same year that Shogun, X-Men 97, Baby Reindeer, and the new Fallout series have come out, shows that have gotten near universal praise. Yes bad writing is bad writing, but good writing is good writing. And for every failing, there are clearly people who still care about writing good stories.

[@superemoboi2050]

@@justinstewart9145 It's not that there isn't any good writing, it's that there's so much _less_ good writing. To the point that it can't be ignored. Especially, since studios keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

[@CW19941]

It's crazy that we can't have characters with an arch anymore😂😂

[@Eva-wo1um]

You want that back arch or them to practise archery?

[@justforfun7112]

They want back ta Avatar movie 2010 😂

[@sk1tsurf3r28]

Ark?

[@makstracy]

@@sk1tsurf3r28arc

[@kalin666]

Arc . . .

[@virginiafernandez6846]

Okay, for god's sake. 'Show don't tell' doesn't mean 'no dialgoue everrr', it means 'I'm sad' he said =bad 'I'm FINE' he yelled =better Aka= Don't have your actors tell their feelings, have them ACT them out. So yeah, less talk-y talk more act-y act.

[@MannyNamiro]

That makes me feel angry!

[@charlizechurcher443]

I showed my gen alpha sister the original show and she loved it. We then tried to watch the live action together and her little 12 year old self was raging so hard it had me rolling lmao. This adaptation doesn't transcend generations the way the original does.

[@claravaz7817]

The original is so good. Me and my boyfriend, both 19, just finished it for the first time together. It is truly constructed to be timeless. I wish these studio execs would actually realize the art behind what they're making, rather than their own wallets.

[@ChiefMakes]

@@claravaz7817out of the thousands of good reviews on the tv show I only found one that watched to the end and didn’t like it (most of the other ones only watched the first few episodes and the others we saying watch more episodes then decide)

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

Damn. Why’d you have to go and make me feel old by reminding me that Gen Alpha are almost teenagers now.

[@charlizechurcher443]

@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 she was born in 2012 its disgusting 😭

[@sioya12]

Gen Z here 👋🏾 it feels like they TRIED to make it what they THINK gen z wants to see in media and failed just like all the other big companies do. I also grew up loving this show and its wholly disheartening to see the life sucked out of it in this way 😢

[@UDSFilms]

Ok thank you, you said it way better than I did. Would you to have the channel? I think that's how this works

[@cayh3039]

*Zuko here 🤓

[@ZeallustImmortal]

Yeah, its very much a "how do you do fellow kids" (even tho many of us are adults) type situation with media pointed towards us.

[@Breezely22]

It felt like the characters just went places and did things. No emotional weight to anything. (Except for that flashback with Iroh and Zuko during the funeral. I cried.)

[@DemiIsNotHere]

Yeah Funeral is good, but why now? Why not when its revelant later on tales of ba sing se? I feel like they are rushing Zuko plot moments that should come in later episodes.

[@madametrafficjam8347]

Important: Did you cry because the show had earned it, or did you cry because you'd seen the original show and Leaves on the wine made you remember the grief you felt with Iroh in Tales of Ba Sing Se?

[@Breezely22]

@@madametrafficjam8347 :(((((( you right

[@g4me-time524]

I had the feeling the story of Zuko and Iroh was depicted best, even better than in the anime. Finally we got a lot more insight in why he acts as he does and how Iroh is helping him to grow. But anything about the team avatar felt completely bland and unnecessary.

[@naproupi]

There are good parts, like the spirit world episodes genuinely had some emotional moments and good ideas, but most of it doesn't

[@dire213]

speaking about ozai being less harsh to zuko, he just gave zuko the 41st regiment. zuko disrespected him but still gave him what he wanted. if the live action wanted to be more brutal, ozai would make zuko watch the death of the 41st.

[@charlizechurcher443]

get this guy in the writers room

[@Patchouliprince]

The writing in this show feels like something I wrote in a fanfic when I was 13 😭

[@charlizechurcher443]

I think excluding the filler episodes was a mistake. Avatar is unique because even when the episode is filler it still adds to the greater story. The Great Divide, though not everyone's favourite episode, is still important because it shows that the avatar's job of keeping balance does not mean that they have to be moral. Lying isn't moral yet that is how Aang diffuses the conflict between the two tribes. Imprisoned also shows us how oppression breaks people down and the effects of war do not have simple solutions.

[@Sandkasten36]

Yes but you can take this lesson and use it in another conflict. The destination doesn't need to be the great divide. They could have incorporated this message in another episode. That would have taken much less time.

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

I don’t get why people hate the Great Divide so much, or say that the “filler” episodes are irrelevant to the plot. The journey through the earth kingdom, and towards the North Pole, *is* the plot of the first season. All these little adventures they go on add up to tell the story of their journey to the North. Not every stop had ultimate significance, but that doesn’t mean it had no significance. They all added characterization and strengthened the bond between the main trio.

[@ilikeyoutube7224]

The narration from Masks is giving Dhar Man

[@renatad712]

Girl-bossing Katara into "she doesn't need a master" is doing feminism a disservice. Her conflict with master Paku is over ACCESS TO EDUCATION which is a real world thing women had to fight for. Her demanding to be trained is the whole point! If she's her own master then the lesson is... girls don't need equal access to resources, they should figure it out by themselves?

[@Fire91ful]

Bro. Let me just say. I know a ton about the show. I was in high school when it was airing. Let me say when you said Hakodas last words to Sokka as a boy " being a man is where you are needed the most" as his potentially last words to his son and last wisdom he might instill in him. Wow i never thought of that. That hit me in the guts. Will never watch that scene the same. I had made the connection that Hakoda was trying to comfort him but that he's going to war and might never see his boy again. Just wow.

[@Fixti0n]

I would much rather have a Live action Legend of Korra. Unlike Netflix Avatar, an adaptation of Korra would have a reason to exist. The original still holds up, and is a fully realised show, combined with the whimsy makes it hard to adapt better then the original, some may say its impossible. Korra is a subject of its time, it got undercut by Nickelodeon and was suppose to be only a single season, but then got extended without a plan, then the last parts of some seasons were internet exclusive. And the darker more gritty setting of Republic City makes for better live action, and the already limited sets of back streets of republic city, air bender island, town square and the counsel room helps the budget a lot. They even get their free girl boss MC, even if Korra is much more then just a girl boss, they still get one.

[@kylepangilinan9075]

Put like that, it's just so tragic that the original was the one hit by the Live Action Ray. Korra has so much potential for improvement and positive changes, and yet they blasted the OG to pieces like this.

[@arnowisp6244]

Exactly why they didn't pick Korra. Lots of People hate it or are indifferent. There won't be as much excitement for a Korra show.

[@Fixti0n]

@@arnowisp6244 I hate your argument, but only because its true.

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

The best part of Korra was Varrick and Zhu Li, and I just know Netflix would butcher their relationship and take out all of Varrick’s eccentric humor.

[@loonu1991]

I dunno why everybody including most of the fandom gets Kyoshi wrong. She's like the most calm and pacifist avatar from the OG. She literally changed the map of the world instead of just ending Chin the Conqueror on the spot (He fell to his death out of his own stubbornness to move a step back) to end a war aaaand took the blame for his death without any hesitation. If anything, she doesn't feel any emotion and definitely not an angry b*tch like this show suggests. But her avatar state scene on Kyoshi island was hella cool though not gonna lie. xD

[@nope19568]

especially when yang chen exists lmao, what the fandom thinks kyoshi is she actually was😂😂

[@Vespyr_]

But we have to show women being powerful fighters in lead roles in today's media for that ESG money. It's the same thing being done on Rings of Power, Marvel, etc. It's a fake attempt to elevate women in media. You can't have women being 'passive' anymore. They can't want to be mothers or wives anymore. Hell, you can't even have them fall in love anymore like Disney's Wish cutting out Starboy. There is an agenda in Hollywood right now, and it's completely skewed.

[@loonu1991]

@@Vespyr_ spot on man. I mean hell I like powerful women. Like have you seen Katara and Toph? 😅 The irony is Hollywood nowadays have no idea how to write strong women. They think that being strong is being stoic and toxic. It’s even more ironic coming from a whiny organization that preaches about getting rid of toxicity. They supposedly hate toxic masculinity so much and yet end up making women toxic and masculine. 🤣 The self awareness levels are below 0.

[@ZeallustImmortal]

You might wanna read the novels

[@loonu1991]

@@ZeallustImmortal novels aren’t canon 😒

[@RealBigCliff]

There is an interview with the showrunner in which he notes they shot multiple versions of various scenes and then later decided which ones to use. Meaning, there wasn't necessarily a coherent vision of the show as a whole--a clear sense of the story they were trying to tell from start to finish--there was instead a pastiche approach. I think this explains many odd choices in the show, in particular the way in which everyone chastises Aang endlessly for bailing when he did no such thing.

[@bumbabees]

well that explains it. in my experience as a writer, just "winging it" doesnt tend to go down well.

[@CH4R10T_TV]

Not to defend the show, but this isn't all that unusual. It's pretty normal for directors to shoot multiple versions of some scenes to see what looks better later on, or to adapt scenes in different takes. Calling that a pastiche is kind of funny given how common the practice is (and has been for a long time) and also how much of filmmaking works like that anyway. Having b-roll and cutting together shots in different ways is so normal it's more exceptional to see directors who don't do it. I highly doubt the final cuts of the episodes aren't about as true to their scripts as the average episode of television or the average movie.

[@RealBigCliff]

@@CH4R10T_TV that's helpful to know. It just seemed odd to me that the showrunner went out of his way to explain how integral this approach was to their process. But maybe he was simply elucidating something folks like me just aren't aware of. Thanks for the info.

[@ZeallustImmortal]

That's pretty normal man

[@tambourinesmusicmachine]

Hard Disagree on "The Fortuneteller" that is a key episode that is the first time Katara acknowledges she has feelings for Aang. We also see Aang getting to battle a Volcano, which we see Roku doing in his flashbacks. I dislike when people refer to "Non Plot-Heavy" episodes as filler. Filler is a specific thing. It's when a studio adapting a work that is still in progress catches up. They must "fill" time to allow the creator to make more chapters to adapt. The "Filler" is for the broadcast schedule so they don't have to just show a re-run. I've mostly agreed up to this point, but i feel this line of thought misses the mark

[@natashasullivan4559]

I honestly didnt even notice leave from the vine playing in the funeral scene. I was just so... Bored, and angry at how the show had gone so far.. And I was ANGRY at what they did to both Hakota and Bumi

[@cinderbelle22]

Me too! I stopped for several weeks after watching the 4th episode because I was so offended by what they did to Bumi. And Hakoda...I watched that episode with my sister who's never seen the original, and she was hating on him, and I had to stop her and defend the real Hakoda who is actually a really great father. It's such a tragedy what they did to these great characters.

[@micaann7974]

Same

[@ms-abominable]

To me, the most insulting thing about both adaptations is the lofty, pretentious idea that they're darker and more mature, while having writing that's MORE childish than the fucking children's cartoon.

[@jupiterjsc]

For as many times as I've watched the cartoon, I was genuinely bored throughout the live action and couldn't finish it. I was trying really hard to push through because I didn't want to dislike it, but there were just too many things that made it uninteresting.

[@cinderbelle22]

Yeah, it took me a few weeks to get through it because it felt like work. I wanted to like it and kept looking for points of redemption, but overall it was a slog.

[@subject_changed4690]

The fact that they are stil wearing snow gear in a humid environment shows how lazy the writers really are.

[@kitsune9873]

Come on, they probably spend thousands of dollars on this cosplays, sorry I meant "authentic" clothing, so of course they had to use it!

[@subject_changed4690]

Just say outfits or costumes. No one's gonna be offended. Also they clearly have the budget, they just have to be smart in where.they spend it. They did have the outfit for warmer climates. Yet why they didn't choose to put them on sooner? No idea but laziness is usually the culprit.

[@nobrainzane]

im gen z. i watched avatar as a young teenager, and it really meant a lot to me at the time. despite the fact that the show is trying to appeal to me and my generation, it fell completely flat. im really sad about the changes they did make, because really, it did have potential. but as more announcements around it came closer to its release, the less optimistic i became about it.

[@ollie2111]

26:35 AGREED. I feel like only two people have brought up this same point that (imo at least) him not fighting Ozai works WAY more for what layers the scene was trying to tell. To me, Zuko refusing to fight Ozai adds such heavy dimensions to the horror of his own father forcing him to do an Agni Kai. Like, it speaks way louder to it being a young boy against his father for him to refuse to fight and for his father to abuse him *worse* for that. I just don't think him giving into the fight, let alone *winning* it (against his king & adult dad, yeah no) before giving up the succeeding blow hit anywhere even close to as hard nor as to the point as the original version of young Zuko groveling and not wanting to fight his own father.

[@arthursboypusshe3613]

It feels like the writers never engaged with the show as adults (which i understand is impossible because they were probably forced to rewatch it in order to write for this season). But S1 really feels like someone trying to remember all the "cool" stuff from the show like big moments, fights, and set pieces instead of the important lessons and subtle character writing that more mature ATLA fans really love.

[@user-ex9ti7ds3m]

Movie Arya didn’t even have pointed ears 😂

[@snafumaniac5860]

49:26 yep it's a heat thing. Fire turns blue when it gets extremely hot even more so than just regular orange fire. It basically shows how in tune Azula is with her inner fire as well as Agni with how she can make her fire so hot it turns blue.

[@ynraider]

That's "iconic" AF! You say "Azula", and we all heard: "Firemistress Azula of the Cold Blue Flame; The Salamander Child of Firelord Ozai; Chessmaster of Draconic Elders; Raging Tyrant to her Scorched Friends; Breaker of the Avatar's Spirit, Her-Brother Prince Zuzu's Spirit, and her Banished Mother's Spirit; The Lonely Monster Prodigy...ALL HAIL!" I saw the new trailer, and I ignored this show. #smug

[@Theroha]

Even more, it's a reflection of her perfectionism. Blue fire burns completely; it is perfect with no wasted energy.

[@lasercraft32]

18:19 I don't know if its just the voice direction, but this legitimately feels like it was written by AI. It has that same "no normal human would talk like this" feeling.

[@im9550]

I’m genz and I grew up with avatar too. They’re not appealing to us. We’re in our 20s btw. It’s gen alpha they’re appealing to

[@nope19568]

i wish theyd give gen alpha decent content to grow up with

[@papiscamara5745]

I watched more review about the show than the show itself

[@IsraelLlerena]

I’ll be so honest. I was disappointed more in the live action than the movie. I had more faith in the live action which made me disappointed more. The series has more plot holes and weird dialogue, and character assasinations. The movie suffered from bad casting, bad name pronounciation and bad combat. Since I care about the story way more, this series was so incredibly disappointing

[@asmr_reviews]

Lmao 😂thank you!! I kept asking myself why they made Kyoshi such a bǐțçħ

[@TheKingOfRooks]

Everybody reads their lines like they're sitting around the table with the writers and directors doing a cold read of the script

[@andrewselbyphotography]

They thought cartoon Ang would do all the heavy lifting of characterization

[@lasercraft32]

I don't like the message of "its a skill issue, try harder." That feels toxic to me. Sometimes you CAN'T do something. Sometimes there are limitations you are physically or mentally unable to cross.

[@andrewmeyer4124]

It also undermines personal growth as an individual and bettering yourself by rendering any self-reflection as unnecessary. It's everyone else who has to in order to make it easier for you

[@mcrsrm]

22:26 So THIS is why Boomey is the way he is in the Netflix show. They combined his character with the old fisherman's character. Now it all makes sense.

[@PK_a]

It's a good day when UDS Films drops an hour-long video! I haven't seen the new Avatar show, and frankly I have no intention of watching it - especially after you told me Aang didn't RUN AWAY FROM HIS RESPONSIBILITIES, among issues I don't need to tell you about (you just talked about it all for over an hour, after all) - so I have little to add to what you've said here. However, I will say the second this video started and I got a shot of Suki, Sokka and Aang in these obnoxiously bright and colorful outfits against a dull, dark background with background characters wearing equally washed out colors, I went "ohhh no..." Sure, they look faithful to their animated counterparts, but the way they shine and stand out while the background all bleeds together in smeared darkness is a visual representation of the illusion of staying faithful to the source material. The fact they felt the need to adapt Avatar into live-action all this time later just continues to make me sad that animation isn't taken seriously as a medium. It has so many benefits over live-action when it comes to the fantastical. While pieces like The Spiderverse Saga, Invincible, Arcane and many others definitely give me hope that animation is on it's way to be taken more seriously... I just really wish that train was moving a little faster down the tracks, ya know?

[@UDSFilms]

Thanks! I had a whole section on 'flat cinematography' talking about basically what you said. Weird green screens, shallow depth of field, dissonance with the crazier looks vs realistic backgrounds yadda yadda. Took it out cause it basically came down to reiterating that live action has less energy/vibrancy than animation, and their priority was visual accuracy at all costs, so they changed nothing to account for it

[@justinstewart9145]

@PK_a, I have seen this take multiple times, but I don't get it. In what way does the live action Avatar show that animation isn't taken seriously as a medium? The problem isn't even that it was being made in the first place. The problem is that the OG writers left. One Piece proves that live action can work.

[@PK_a]

@@justinstewart9145 I had an entire essay written out to explain, but my browser crashed and I'm not re-writing all that shit. So, you get the short-hand version: Animation is (in American mind's, largely) associated with children -- yes, even the good shows are still just "kid's shows" (Avatar included) -- and therefore not given the proper consideration and attention it deserves to broaden it's horizon. A lot of early televised animation were just glorified toy commercials and even as time went on, selling merch was (and still is) a huge thing for a show to live and die on. Now, there's nothing wrong with this necessarily, but it has created a stigma around animation as a whole -- and as a result, we've never really gotten animation for a more adult audience that didn't wasn't a comedy first and foremost. We don't get Romance, Sci-Fi, Western, Fantasy, etc. films/shows in animation the way we get them in live-action adaptations -- which, you know, is incredibly weird because animation as a medium has a lot of benefits over live-action, especially with how fantastical you can be. Up until the late 2010's, """adult animation""" in American culture was largely "be The Simpsons" or "be South Park", and we lost a ton of good shows to that stigma (The Oblongs, Mission Hill, Baby Blues just to name a few either because they were too much or too little like the aforementioned shows). It's largely due to groups like [adult swim] and Netflix (the irony) taking chances on more experimental and not "fuck is le funny word :^)" comedy animation that this viewpoint has begun to change and we're only just now starting to see the fruits of that labor as animation companies are finally being allowed to dip their toes into non-comedy genres meant for an older audience. There's also a discussion to be had about how the anime industry (especially within the last 10 years) has influenced these decisions too, but I am not nearly well-versed enough to go there (especially after I lost my manifesto once already) so I won't even try to get into it. (I apologize if this feels super ramble-y, I lost my first, more coherent draft and I'm overdue for sleep at the time of writing.)

[@helmet7792]

I can't understand how people likes this Zhao versión.

[@growingupwithdisney]

I always found the original one annoying/unlikable. I kinda laughed at this new Zhao, so I was okay with him

[@joshiesushi]

It was a different version of Zhao, but it was a good way to have a live action counter part. He was well acted and it was so much fun seeing him be a slimy weasel.

[@killz5567]

same. his dialogue and mannerisms felt so out of place like sleazy Disney villain lmao

[@notmyrealname8071]

Because the character/actor was the only one who seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.

[@jonathanjohnson6727]

​@@joshiesushi he had that quality to him in the original. However, the 'image' he presented and held was nuanced in that it's emblematic of the might the Fire Nation, on face value presented given how we see the background Fire Navy forces across their territory in the Earth Kingdom. So, it brought more than simply a one note type that's supposed to be the overarching threat in the introductory phase. To contrast what we steadily get via the main characters who are of the 'same side'.

[@RbxHH]

One thing I didn't like about the new live action is how Ozai and Azula were introduced in the first season. I haven't found many people talking about it, but the people I have seen either said it was a good or bad decision. As I said before, I don't like the change because the original gave a sense of shock when it was found out that Zuko had a sister.

[@MrsSetsuna101]

I both agree and disagree. I feel like the flashbacks of Ozai and Zuko helped characterized the fire lord as someone more than just The Big Bad(tm). I liked the scene where he visited Zuko in recovery, and how his banishment was, at least superficially, framed as more than just punishment. What I didn't like was the present-day parts with Azula. She absolutely comes off as someone who is trying to get her father's attention, to prove that she's better than her brother, whereas cartoon Azula was confident in her superiority up until ty Lee and Mai's betrayal in season 3.

[@DS-co2px]

I totally agree with this. It takes from all the revelations of those characters we had later in animated series. Ozai (for me) felt like a constant looming threat, an ominous presence that hangs above their necks (and ours) because he was anonymous: a menacing omen lurking behind the shadows. He felt big, serious and important. Showing him bickering with azula for me ruined all that. And besides that, the fact that by showing him and azula they completely changed their dynamics as characters and by that their dynamic with zuko as well; they had to make up some characterisation for ozai (because well, he had so much more screen time) so they portrayed him as a father who is seemingly making his kids compete for his attention while actually he was, what, pushing azula to be more ruthless? To actually drive her insane (before her time) by making her constantly compete with zuko (who isnt even there and was away from home 3 years already..?). I dont even know what they wanted to achieve. What a mess

[@emeraldpichu1]

The fact Aang is brushed under the rug and a lot of effort is put in Zuko’s story tells me the writers were Zuko fans who abused their power like the Harry Potter writers did for hermione

[@ynraider]

They are "disrespectful" to the canon and lore and characters. Fanatics often are. "They lack an understanding of balance, timing, and harmony, my young pupil." - General Iroh, probably

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

The writers are probably amongst those people who assert that “Zuko was the REAL main character all along!” And look, Zuko is cool, but come on. Aang has to be one of most disrespected main characters of all time. People are still salty he and Katara ended up together, they still criticize him for not killing Ozai, for being “too good”, for being boring, etc. etc. etc. I’m proud to say he’s been my favorite from the beginning.

[@criticalplat1num80]

Your mentioning of the idealization of the main characters is something I brought up in my own video about the Netflix series, although I think you did a better job explaining why it's so bad here. This isn't a case of the "strong people bad" rhetoric that a lot of bad faith film KZbinrs make, but it's a case of smoothing the main characters of their rough edges. The show tries so hard to put you on the characters' side by trying to make them "likeable", but they forgot that liking a character doesn't just involve the main characters being perfect angels that can basically do no wrong.

[@exxsimp]

this is the first video ive watched from this channel and dude i LOVE how this guy talks

[@jannevancapelle2776]

okay actual question to anyone reading this: did anyone really find the first scene actually exciting and engaging? the very first thing we see? bc i personally think starting with a context-less action scene where someone is burned alive at the end feels more like a "ooh here look some cool action! dont stop watching pleaaase we have some decent cgi and violence!!". which is not a very interesting reason for an opening scene imo. so if you found it good/interesting, please tell me!! i want to like it more but right now i really dislike the opening ):

[@alysianmessina1763]

You should make more media analysis like this you’re really good at it 👍 keep up the good work -from someone passionate about fiction

[@DanielLeaf]

Glad to see someone still making videos about this show. Beene tiring on my video for like 3 weeks now. Guess I can finally get around to finishing it since it’s not “too late”

[@KiraAotsuki]

I like several parts of this show, but MAN does its dialogue drag it through the mud. And a lot of the changes im not a fan of, but i get why they did them. Except Bumi, and one other. Bumi you captured perfectly, the other is Gran Gran. And its a very small reason. The scroll. Why do we have her in posession of a water bending scroll if we also aren't gonna touch on her relationship with Pakku? She played a part in winning him over x.x in her own way. This scroll could have been another connecting point from the start of Kataras journey 🤬

[@UDSFilms]

Oh man I didn't even think about that! Pakku finding out that Gran Gran is responsible for Katara learning waterbending could've been such a cool moment

[@Lialey22]

Your analysis is one of the best I've seen out there! Most point out the clear misinterpretations of the situations or story beads that were butchered (Suki as a creepy girl who needed Sokka to teach her something about the world, Katara being a master without a master, Aang saying he is a goofy kid without him being one, the spirit world and how it's stripped of it's uniqueness, the world feeling smaller because of the few episodes spend at places and meeting the people of the nations, etc) But you gave a new perspective why the values of the adaptations felt so flat in comparison on top. Thanks!

[@luishp3]

FINALLY someone points out the ridiculously weak firebending during the comet's passing in this adaptation.

[@Nico_Mar]

With everything that they changed, and how they said they wanted to make this adaptation “edgier” 🙄 I doubt Aang and Katara are gonna be a thing. This Aang is really just not allowed the chance to show empathy. And even if they did go down that road…. You can’t convince me they would name their first son after *that* Bumi 😒

[@ejoshcoron]

This was cathartic to watch. Well done!

[@kampfkeks6619]

I don't get why we have so many stories without internal struggle from our heroes. It sounds like every Marvel movie and I hope we learn what makes us connect with characters in the first place. You don't have to be a sexist person to like Sokka but maybe you see some of the shame he carries in you

[@dr.berryfx8580]

An hour long video on Netflix Avatar ??sign me up.I subscribed 10mins in🍿😁

[@InternetRabbitHole]

11:30 they'll probably say something like The Sozin Comet is going to fly by even closer than last time, thus boosting fire benders even more or some other bullsh*t

[@claravaz7817]

LOWKEY BET THIS IS GONNA HAPPEN 😂

[@cinderbelle22]

9:45 Here to indulge in random gripes. 😅

[@darthradon]

As someone who is about as Gen Z as it can get, the whole “teen power” type thing is definitely not an appeal 😅

[@Braderiick]

Was thinking the same thing

[@DrunkRatt]

As a fan of Eragon and Avatar, i love this rant/essay. I lean more towards the Twitch side of content creation, more in the moment comedy, but i respect the hell out of the time and effort a video like this takes. Keep it up, im sure you'll go far and help more people organize and form their own opinions on media. Have you ever thought of a podcast style show with ypu and some guests discussing film, stories, etc and then using clips from that to inform future scripts or videos? Bet you could be an entertaining listen. Anyway, all the best, will share to some friends.

[@momosmily14]

Great video! I listened to it while vacuuming the whole house! It made the task so much sweeter

[@babayaga9805]

Every character in the live action is flawless. Sokka has no sexism, aang didn't run away, katara is already a master, yue broke her marriage on her own, zuko has no honour thing anymore he just wants to be firelord now, azula is not evil anymore, ozai cares about his children now, there is no zuko's mothers scene, no ozai and firelord azulon scene in which ozai suggests to plot against iroh. There are no katara and aang scenes forget about katara they don't have enough aapa scenes with aang. People are going crazy over the second season announcement but honestly if this is what they want then they need reality check

[@Mayflower96]

Excellent video and analysis! I really liked how you minimized comparisons to the original as much as you could and critiqued it as it is standalone. Of course there were comparisons, but you were really able to convey why the show is bad on its own, rather than mainly complain that they changed things from the original at all. My favorite kind of critique of NATLA. Just found your channel through this, excited to watch more 😊

[@rainbowmoon1461]

But this Isn’t a stand alone show. It’s a remake. If you copy your friends homework, but change it just enough to not be a complete copy, it’s still a copy. The teacher would have every right to compare and criticize your work in relation to theirs. There’s nothing wrong comparing a live action remake, to the original animation it’s coming from. Netflix should’ve made something original if they don’t want the obvious comparisons to happen. We need to stop thinking that comparing something to the thing it’s directly copied from. If avatar needed to be done in live action so bad, then there should be no reason it can’t compete with the original one.

[@Mayflower96]

@@rainbowmoon1461 I'm perfectly fine with comparing it to the original. I watch and enjoy those essays as well, and compare it ALL THE TIME. I just enjoy when it's minimized because the show is actually bad as it stands without comparison. It's just shit in general and I like seeing that pointed out well.

[@elyssemae]

i said the same thing at the end to a friend! That the characters in the cartoon felt more realistic than the ones in the live action. Its kinda insane actually.

[@niccosalonga9009]

Why is everything so flat? Because the people handling it don't really care enough about the original show and how it felt to do better. They had enough "creative differences" with the makers of the cartoon that those guys left this show, so... There.

[@olived9560]

oo great analysis!

[@HansWurst1569]

I think true objectvism is possible to reach. Just not possible to do it by yourself ;) Great video, loved the analisis. I alo love longer form content like this. Glad to have watched it.

[@arcadecaptainYT]

It’s 2pm: time for your avatar flattening honey

[@teleportingpotatoe]

mbruhhh lmaooo

[@UDSFilms]

We’re printing and framing this comment

[@DemiIsNotHere]

I understand both cutting and condensing and making some longer as they need save money. Ok, Suki is a main character, we need to introduce her... But we cut Sokka development, and Suki character building was based on that. So why are we spending a full hour on Kyoshi island?

[@BoserPSN]

We really are lucky, aren’t we?

[@minarose8723]

this vid had me hooked, loved the intro abt adaptation sm you put many of my thoughts into words. halfway through the vid i stopped multi tasking to give this my full attention. striving for your channel to grow more because your content needs to be seen by many !!

[@elin111]

The writers of this show evidently went to the Snyder school of story telling that says "replace any and all traces of characterization in favor of bland exposition dumping at every chance"

[@chrisjacobsen7265]

Im not even a minute in and my answer is animation is an underrated medium

[@mintman325]

I had just seen the episode the spirit world, then I got the new my Grandmother had died. I wasn’t raised religious, my parents let me choose. I’m a Buddhist now and I still often think of her. Her smile could light up a room, she was great fun. I dreamed about her last night and she gave me a big hug. Avatar informed my world view and has impacted my life in a big way. I would be a different person without it.

[@ynraider]

Evangelion(1995 TV Edit), awaits... Shinseki Yori also awaits...

[@slenderman2741]

I only came here to state the obvious. The thing missing from the Netflix adaptation of ATLA was respect. there was no respect to the creators who made the original show so amazing, and that’s why it fell flat.

[@Vonluchestein]

i think a darker avatar with a world who has lost hope and its either evil or jaded could have worked if they writed it like that, so you get a tv show that wants a lot of stuff from the anime just beacose it is there and the other tone, so instead of choosing and going full steam ahead for either tone they chose both that ended in being none.

[@acedwards819]

"The earthbender..." That is General Fong sir and we stan good heelwork around here

[@NerdyGamerReacts]

Absolutely correct, your opinion is on point, I really disliked what they did with the characters in the series, and sadly they get to completely neuter and butcher Toph, and the rest of the series, I'm gonna watch purely for curiosity, how much worse will it get?

[@sympadm3742]

The main problem of most of this show can be summed up with "women power"

[@trashaimgamer7822]

Because the Avatar has to bring justice.

[@seangowans8975]

Am I the only one that noticed that the mechanist walks around like he's fucking Dobby or something 😅💀

[@cinderblockstudios]

Great analysis but one thing @46:38 Azula/Zuko's mother isn't dead Also the "live action problem" isn't cartoon vs live action, but just bad film making.

[@DragonElixion]

When you played Aang's monologue at the @21:00 mark, I was already watching at 1.5 speed, and even at 1.5 x 1.5 it still kinda went on even with your empty air cuts...

[@Maiasgameroom]

Agree on every point ❤

[@kahristah]

This was a great video. Reaffirms my decision to turn the Netflix version off half way through episode 2. It’s garbage

[@ChiefMakes]

The tv show felt like most of the actors were pretty good but the writing just sucked

[@hilosky]

39:46 they could spin this in a good way though. In a future instance, like when appa gets stolen, Aang will try to do the same thing and bring himself back with Gyattso's memory. But it doesn't work and that's when Katara comes in to talk him down. This could be the spark that ignites Aang's romantic feelings for Katara as he realises how truly important she is to him

[@SyntheticSpy]

It’s hard to make that work when the first time he truly lost control, seeing his entire people and everyone he loved massacred, was something he casually resolved himself in seconds

[@jannevancapelle2776]

i really really hate the weird 'style' of dialogue they use for this show. maybe its just bad writing. to me, it sounds NOTHING like how real people talk, but its also not stylized or interesting to make it make sense that they dont talk like real people. as a one piece super-fan, im obligated to bring up the op live action netflix adaptation and in that one, it actually feels natural when the characters speak. even though one piece is pretty batshit crazy. whyyyyy avatar live action writers, whyyyyyy....

[@luvaanima]

To the Eragon movie, I also loved the Eragon books and also noticed immediately her wrong Haircolor. But the worst was Eragons first sword Zar'oc, it schould have a Red blade with red ruby but its a Red blade with a blue gem >,

[@connorandaleahbriarly-gm7ld]

55:50 was the perfect joke 😂😂😂😂

[@angelic9889]

It boils down to the fact that genz aren't as social as previous generations. Yes, they have access to way more people, but their interactions are usually superficial and fake. For example, genz destroyed club culture. While gen x and millenials were raving here comes genz, the best dressed wallflowers who never really partake in dancing wild, screaming loud, or having in depth convos with strangers in a bathroom because they're too self conscious or "too cool" to do anything slightly embarrassing. And they're all so afraid someone recording them and it ending up on the internet. So, they all wear this false persona. That same false persona translates into their writing. That's why all of their characters are without flaw and lack depth. That's why their actors and actresses don't portray half as much emotion as previous generations. They don't know how. Their characters are just as boring, generic, and unnatural as they are. But they all have the best outfits and look great so in their mind that makes up for it?

[@tobishino8373]

The ultimate plot twist. The white lotus and the avatars are the bad guys.

[@HECKproductions]

trying to remake avatar is like saying you are just gonna up and build a car that will beat all f1 cars or LMP or whatever sure it is probably not absolutely 100% impossible but still a fools errand or like if someone who has never even sat in a racecar would compete in f1 or le mans just not gonna work out mate

[@UDSFilms]

One thing that I didn't elaborate on is that it isn't strictly necessary for main characters to have arcs. I mentioned Lou from Nightcrawler cause that's one of the most extreme examples, but there's all sorts of stories like The Hunger Games and Back To The Future that don't have main character arcs, rather, inspiring all the change in the side characters/the world at large - just like in Netflix Avatar. And there's a way you could see that working - a world gone to shit where the hope of youth is all that can save everyone. But I think that you abandon so much about the fundamental structure of The Last Airbender by doing that (and why I don't think it would be a bad idea to do this kind of thing on a different story set in the Avatar world). The overall plot is that Aang needs to go around the world and master the four elements. If he was just going around to end the war, you could maybe make this whole 'he's the one in the right making everyone else better' story work. But the mastering the elements framework practically demands that the story be focused on Aang's growth as a character. What's the point in spending time on him learning when he's already perfect? What makes each bending style and its associated culture unique if Aang (a born and bred airbender) doesn't need to change to accommodate it? This feels more likely than my Gen-Z theory for explaining authorial intent, and would explain why time isn't devoted to Aang learning waterbending, and why they kept the Northern Water Tribe sexism plot. At some point you've gotta just finish the video. Sorry this didn't occur to me until later 🤷‍♂️

[@amyloucurtis]

“Iron is distracted by hot food, hot tea, and hot women” 😂 love your dialogue I agree with this analysis. Thank you for putting words to my disappointment :)

[@herosshade1437]

Did anyone notice in the showthat they did not once say Mai or Ty Lees name. not even once. am I wrong?

[@brandiyount5365]

I watched maybe 3 episodes and the sum of all my issues with the show were still second to my feeling of "this is stage play, monologue-heavy dialogue with movie tier effects, made my people that only care about the show for the money it can make them". The heaviness of the dialogue made it near impossible for me to care about the other poor choices as much as I should have, because i couldn't get over how DAMN YAPPY EVERYBODY WAS 24/7 lol. The egregious determination of the show runners to do the exact OPPOSITE of "show, dont tell" was...too much lol

[@maniachael]

Great video! I hope you get more views and subscribers. I just have one disagreement, aside from the fact that I liked Ken Leung's portrayal of Zhao. I’m not sure I agree with the “trying to appeal to Gen-Z” theory when it comes to the changes that were made, and if that was the idea, it wasn’t well-thought out. I’m Gen-Z, for example, and I was in the target audience for the original show, having turned 11 the summer the finale aired, after finishing elementary school. I think most fans of the show are within this generation, and the fans per generation probably only gets smaller as you go up in age, as with any cartoon. Gen-Z (and late millennials) is the generation you’re gonna piss off the most by diverting unnecessarily from the main plot elements, world-building, and character development of the original show because we grew up with it, passed it along to those who barely missed it, and have gone back to it multiple times. Not only is it a great show, but the place it has in our hearts is amplified by our nostalgia for it. They clearly paid a lot of attention to costuming and set design in most circumstances, which shows some level of effort to not aggravate the fans of the original, and again, I’d argue that most of those fans are 27 and younger. The reason I’d give to most of the changes made and why they come off the way they do is the same reason a lot of adaptations fall flat, especially adaptations from animation into live-action: On top of budget and time restraints, it just isn’t easy to sit down at the table and figure out how best to translate these cartoon characters into a world with more “realistic” parameters, nor is it easy to lay out the best way to streamline the story progression in a way that doesn’t take too much of the impact away that the original had. You also have executive decisions being made by editors and producers based on what parts of the story they think are and aren’t important, whether or not that’s how the writing staff feels. I think Sokka’s sexism probably falls under that umbrella, and maybe they thought they couldn’t raise him out of it in time for it to feel organic or for the Northern Water Tribe’s sexism issues to not feel redundant. I mean, they get from the South to the North in just eight episodes. If you have two separate “women can fight, too” storylines back to back, it might come off as battling to be the main message of the show. In the original, Sokka had enough time to learn these lessons gradually through his experiences, that time feeling longer since we had to wait a week between each episode instead of being able to binge the entire show. And even when we binge it now that it's all available, there are still more episodes and un-smushed together places and events between when they find Aang in the ice and when they arrive in the North Pole. Sokka's lack of agreement with Pakku's refusal to not train Katara wasn't even a highlight of the show at that point because of how organic his evolution was. It was a a subtle allusion to his character growth that you could very well miss the first or second time around. In an 8 episode format, it would've probably felt rushed and too on-the-nose. This is coming from someone who originally disliked the idea of taking away Sokka's sexism, and I still do dislike it, or at least dislike that it had to be done. I can see the argument that they didn't trust the audience to roll with it and give him time to learn(see: the abundance of exposition the adaptation is defined by), which would lead to a lack of sympathy for one of the main characters, but that argument doesn't really work when most people watching this show are people who already know he changes for the better. That's not to say that they didn't keep newcomers to the franchise in mind. At the end of the day, they probably had to choose between which sexism storyline to keep, and they went with the more contained one that plays a more direct role in the events of the story at that time, as opposed to the gradual, overarching one that would need more time to ruminate than the series could give it. Looking at it that way, I think they made the right choice. Again, I really enjoyed your video, and I hope I didn't come across as combative. I was waiting until my wife and I finished watching every episode to watch a full-series analysis, and I'm glad I came upon yours and saved it in my Watch Later playlist. Keep up the good work! P.S.: I was ready to find out where mfs lived when I thought they killed off Momo.

[@user-lg6ij6to4r]

Bruh why does everyone hate the waterbending scroll? It’s the first time we see that the white lotus is something important and plus we see Sokka being persuasive and Katara learns she shouldn’t be selfish

[@MrJakeValle]

Zhao actor is the best guy in the show dude, even the clip you picked was good.11:10

[@sav9373]

I would honestly argue that ATLA has no filler. All of the episodes that people call filler impact the plot, characters, world building, etc in some, however small, way. Avatar Day, Nightmares and Daydreams, The Fortuneteller, etc. Yes, even The Great Divide. It’s quite detrimental to the live action that they cut so much fat, because it makes the characters feel empty and the story incredibly rushed.

[@ZeallustImmortal]

Two positives ill give to the show, is that the casting was great, and also Hei Bai and Koh look fantastic

[@hemmojito]

Sigh here we go again with the Kyoshi stereotyping. She's a killer blah blah... Seriously I hate the fandom for that.