Netflix's Last Airbender is a Fundamental Failure

Well, after years of anticipation, Netflix’s live action adaptation of the masterpiece Avatar The Last Airbender has finally arrived. While I ultimately was not a huge fan of this live action adaptation, I am SUCH a massive fan of the source material and franchise in general, I just have SO much I feel I need to say about Netflix’s Last Airbender.
Edited by Joe Murphy @nazchoz798, AwestruckVox and myself
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Music:
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Video Used:
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-2008)
The Last Airbender (2010)
The Legend of Korra (2012-2014)
Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024)
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[@claudiuskeat8336]

Zuko being less of a dick in the live action automatically undermines his redemption arc.

[@navi4505]

Yes and it’s more so teased in book 2 rather than book 1

[@jaydengallardo1448]

Bro what do you mean he was portrayed great tell me a scene where he wasn’t zuko like?

[@twincast2005]

​@@jaydengallardo1448Most visibly not being the one to burn Kyoshi Village.

[@justinstewart9145]

What do you mean less dangerous? He would have straight up killed Sokka.

[@tornadochaser2457]

Even though Zuko was willing to be ruthless when he deemed it necessary, he actually always treated others with a semblance of respect, which stemmed from his true nature - the one we saw immediately and adamantly speak up against the sacrificing the troops plan which got him branded by his father. The one time he was horrible was in the episode, "The Beach", when he trashed the party host's house a bit with Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula, but he was really just aiming to fit in and it's in-line with The Fire Nation's forceful domination attitude. His attitude made the viewer connect with him in an empathetic way, as even if his actions were villainous, we were always rooting for him to change his ways, even just deep down inside us, because we knew his nature felt as if it matched with something better. This also made it more upsetting when he went the wrong way, siding with The Fire Nation. In the Netflix show, he doesn't treat people with that semblance, he indirectly calls one of his troops "an idiot", and this feels in-line with his cold, overly stern, dismissive attitude, coldly calls Aang "a coward", and calls Katara "a little peasant". Zuko aims to be detached from people and treat them as expendable to match Firelord Ozai's attitude, as opposing this is what got him punished and banished. It's emphasised with the crew Zuko has being the one he wasn't willing to sacrifice. It makes us connect with him less in an empathetic way as it makes him less likable, but it's a new angle to his character which is interesting and works. I agree with Johnny that Iroh should've stepped in to adamantly tell Zuko he can't treat people with outright insults, even though he has sympathy for him. Iroh may be highly tolerant, but he's also very wise and considerate, and knows what's best when it comes to behaviour - Both versions of Iroh. And really, any Iroh should be like this.

[@Unelephant]

Bumi being bitter over Aang for the past 100 years makes no sense. Aang only found out he was the Avatar the day of the attack. It was not common knowledge the identity of who the Avatar is. As far as Bumi is concerned, he should have thought that his air bender friend Aang perished along with the air nomads 100 years ago.

[@craigpeoples9883]

Well he knows the last avatar was an Airbender so Aang surviving probably allowed him to two and two together..

[@msjones6936]

@@craigpeoples9883but he only just found out he survived? He still couldn’t possibly have been bitter about it for 100yrs…

[@craigpeoples9883]

@@msjones6936Fair

[@thestank3]

​@msjones6936 yeah he just found out and his first reaction is to be pissed that his friend got to sleep the past 100 years while he had to fight and whatnot.

[@msjones6936]

@@thestank3 but that’s not how it was written in the show. He wasn’t experiencing sudden anger and shock and betrayal. He was shown to us as having been bitter about aang’s betrayal long-term. The OP here says “bumi being bitter over aang for the past 100yrs makes no sense.” That’s what we’re discussing.

[@blackfox4138]

Every female character was done so horribly wrong in this show. Each and every one of them is defined by the male characters. Suki needs to change for the sake of Sokka. Katara only acts if Aang or Sokka approve. Azula is portrayed as just as abused and helpless to Ozai as Zuko is. Yue only exists for the sake of Sokka. And Mei and Tai Lee are deprived of any character.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

Disagree on Azula. While Im not sure the execution is great, I like that Ozai is abusive and awful to both his kids, just in different ways. This was already implied in parts of the original. Agree on the rest. Suki is especially ironic.

[@eileensnow6153]

I hated this brief moment during her duel with Pakku. Aang sees her fighting and moves to step in and help, but Sokka grabs his shoulder and gives him a look like, “This is _her_ fight.” I told my boyfriend I was surprised they made Sokka a Feminist King™️

[@Homodemon]

Sokka's sexism issues erasure was so devastating that the entire female cast is now worse, holy shit...

[@blackfox4138]

@@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502 there’s a difference between being raised in an abusive household and being abused. Azula was twisted by Ozai to be the favored child. She didn’t fear him like Zuko did. Her insecurities came from her mother, whom she believed didn’t actually love her. This issue down the line is that all of Azula’s actions will no longer be that of a confident calculating princess who’s the biggest threat to the Gaang. Instead, she’ll be a pitied child whom we should feel sympathy for.

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

In fairness to Mei, she barely had a character in the original show. Bit of a nothing character tbh

[@ConfusedApe]

Funny how they made the show more sexist by making it less sexist

[@digimonlover1632]

Well that’s an oxymoron. Ironically though the original having this need to prove Sokka’s sexism wrong implies that capable women aren’t the status quo and undercutting the gender equality message.

[@nope19568]

​@@digimonlover1632wow, what a bad take lmao

[@barbaraw1245]

​@@digimonlover1632genuinely...what does this even mean lol

[@lordouidward9992]

​@@digimonlover1632 What are you yappin about? Where? How? Did we watch the same show?

[@calculator91]

​@digimonlover1632 This is a world around the progress of the industrial revolution. Sokka and Katara live in a village where only the men leave to fight while women stay home. In their world "strong independent" warrior women probably weren't the status quo in some cultures especially the water tribe.

[@frequentlyoffline3917]

I can't believe they turned Sokka into a generic harem anime protagonist.

[@filifilms]

according to the actor he's the same Sokka we all know and love lmao

[@LuisSierra42]

@@filifilms he sort of is

[@filifilms]

@@LuisSierra42 yes he is very generic and forgettable, great job 👏

[@eglantinepapeau1582]

those modern writers never traveled the world, never meet people in real life , they stay in their rooms all day to watch anime, we see the consequences

[@MostHighEmperorPalpatine]

Oh please… don’t put Japan into this! Japan is the last place to try and please everyone! If Japan remade avatar it would have the misogyny and everyone would be busty lol.

[@puppetmaster-oo2qe]

The best thing to come out of this show was the Onion article, “M. Night Shymalan: ‘Well well well, not so easy to make a live action avatar that doesn’t suck shit, huh?’”

[@ChiWillett]

omfg incredible

[@yrbelite8450]

They had all the money in the world to make it good but idk where that money went too.

[@neomanrex]

@@yrbelite8450it went into the show. That’s the problem with live action. Even one piece which people inexplicably liked. It’s like. Let’s take this animated world that has incredibly breadth and depth and amazing vistas and artwork. And let’s make it feel smaller. Like it’s on a set. Because it just makes the worlds feel smaller for no reason other than “well it’s live action now.” Which means what exactly? It’s more adult. It’s more impressive? What’s even the point?

[@guldmattbb473]

@@neomanrex One Piece LA definitely should not have worked as well as it did, but I have to give props that they really managed to justify its existence and deliver a truly good show. And I also really liked it because it got my dad to watch it, and he never has been an anime person. So it was really cool seeing people like my dad who never would have checked out One Piece otherwise giving it a chance and discovering they like it

[@robertmicropenis5114]

@@guldmattbb473 One piece's early arcs were really dragged out and even the creator himself was involved so I expected it to do well to be honest. It's really hard to get into a show that dramatically shifts tones 100 episodes in and before that it's just kinda an average shonen

[@rainbowdragonflies1134]

In the words of Bojack Horseman's Todd Chavez... "Well... that went slightly better than the WORST it could've possibly gone. So... yay?"

[@digimonlover1632]

Eh it totally shits on the live action movie easily.

[@animegopher]

​@@digimonlover1632That's not hard to do, the movie is up there for one of the worst pieces of cinema ever created. Not only was it a bad adaptation, it was a bad movie. The show isn't necessarily bad, but because the animation exists, it's so far and away worse that it makes it seem that bad. That's the problem with doing adaptations. There's no need. The original animation told the story perfectly. It did the characters perfectly. And trying to adapt that, and then change what makes all those charcaters themselves, is a crime in storytelling. We don't want a live action re-telling. We want more stories from that world. Preferably in animation because animation can do much more for much less cost than trying to do live action.

[@etienne8110]

​@@animegopherthere were still a few things that could have been done better/different than the original. So why not? But it failed miserably here.

[@animegopher]

@etienne8110 I don't think so. In my opinion, the original does what it does, and that's that. It's objectively great, and the only things people find wrong with it are subjective opinions. Which is fine. You can't please everyone on everything. But just because you think there's things that could've made the original better doesn't mean that's true. It's true for you, but maybe that makes it worse for someone else. In my opinion, the show should've been more adult in the sense that it never went as far as to show death or even say the words. Never "kill" but "remove from existence." The biggest problem with the show, in my opinion, was that it was on Nickelodeon. But, maybe others disagree with me. Maybe that would make it worse in their opinion. And that's fair. All in all, there's never a point to do a reboot of something that was already great before. Because that exists. 99% of the time, it's not as good. Shogun as a recent example (so far) of a reboot doing the original better. But that's an extremely rare occurrence. Also, the fact that they keep wanting to do live action adaptations is objectively bad. A show like this, with this amount of world building, the choreography, the bending, it NEEDS to be animation.

[@etienne8110]

@@animegopher there are some things that are objectively bad (the great divide...) And some arcs could have benefitted from more time (azula s fall in despair, iroh s past, the fire nation familly feud, the lion turtle) The authors themselves acknowledged they just didn t have the air time to devellop as much as they wanted these parts. So there is room for improvement. But yes, modifying it without considering the whole will only result in a mess like this netflix "adaptation"...

[@sassit8064]

They made Sokka a Mary Suekka...

[@ember9361]

a Gary Stu 😄

[@Winter-Alpha-Omega]

Literal god for making that statement.

[@leephillips4402]

Could I have a puff?

[@dnightwalker]

Whenever Sokka not on screen, all the other characters should be asking, "Where's Sokka?"

[@mergieismoronic]

I knew right from when the original creators left “due to creative differences”, just like last time, that this would be a disaster.

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

I’m honestly curious what the “creative differences” were, because overall the shows very loyal, at least story wise Was it the characterization? Did they also want Katara to be more assertive and Sokka to be more abrasive at the start Or did they want to change it more Rick Riordan style because it can’t be fun as a writer to just make the exact same story you made 20 years ago

[@harmonetheanimationaddict4419]

It’s at least not nearly as terrible as the movie.

[@WobblesandBean]

​@@harmonetheanimationaddict4419 Lowest. Bar. Ever.

[@shockmethodx]

The original creators did a follow up to ATLA where they had full control. That was Korra. And it was kinda wack until they brought on more people.

[@Paul94096]

You guys keep saying this but the original creators were fully involved in the movie action movie so....

[@randomgamerdude98]

Aang doesn’t bend a single drop of water outside of avatar state which grinds my gears

[@sunbleachedangel]

pretty sure he does in the very first episode, no?

[@Puglife2]

​@@sunbleachedangel Nope. Aang just flies away instead.

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Book 1: Water *Aang doesn't bend any water and sternly refuses the opportunity twice because he's perpetually brooding more than Zuko in this trash ''adaptation*

[@randomgamerdude98]

@@sunbleachedangel nope he only waterbended to freeze hself but that was avatar state

[@kevinzhang6623]

You don't say "grinds my gears" in real life, do you?

[@lckaboom6810]

Honestly, there was no reason for this show to exist in the first place. If they really wanted to make a live-action Avatar show they should have made a new story for it.

[@bluebird1914]

I just don't understand why they didn't adapt the comic books. I get that they wanted this adaptation to be more serious, but I feel like it misses the fact that the main cast is very young. The side adventures like Katara and Toph going to get their makeup done, Aang and Katara going penguin sledding, and the party with the fire nation kids aren't just there for characterization, but they also serve the purpose of making you think 'Oh yeah, these are kids.' And that in turn helps paint the picture for how tragic a lot of the show is, since the main cast are traumatized children who've had to grow up quickly due to war. But like children, they still do dumb shit like get sidetracked. Making it super serious would've worked better if they used the comics, since in those everyone is at the least in their late teenage years, so it's much more believable for them to goof off much less.

[@haku8135]

Kyoshi series............... IT WOULD PRINT MONEY! They have a whole ass novel for it too! But hollywood is staffed exclusively by morons.

[@jagnestormskull3178]

Or adapt the comic books/novels, something that's less accessible for casual fans. Which the writers clearly read because all the lore on Kuruk and the Mother of Faces comes from the novels and comics.

[@AsymmetricalCrimes]

I don't understand why studios even do live-action adaptations of cartoons and animated properties. The whole point of those artstyles is to convey emotions and portray scenes that would be impractical in live-action.

[@sunbleachedangel]

yeah but that's, like, hard and stuff, and takes real effort, instead let's regurgitate someone else's work and make it 10 times worse, you know, like good shows do

[@RLane-xz5cj]

Azula never needed more than the fact that she was 14 to be sympathetic. I've always thought that the tragedy of her character IS how awful she is. She's a literal child, and the original show does such an excellent job making us forget that that all of the tragedy of her character hits us all at once in unexpected moments. "My own mother thought I was a monster." hits so hard because you aren't expecting it. YOU, the viewer, forgot Azula was a child who struggled to connect with her mother, didn't have someone like Iroh in her life, and who found praise more easily from a man like Ozai. I don't think Ozai even HAD to pit his children against each other to control Azula; he just needed to praise her when Ursa wouldn't.

[@missAlice1990]

By the way, how a horrible mother you must be to let your child feel that way. I've only seen the first season but I know some of Azula's story and I don't really get it. Azula was a child, probably misbehaving, cruel, egoistic but some children are like that and they learn when they grow up (not always). And every normal mother knows this and loves her kids equally. So, either they wrote Azula like a truly "evil from birth" person, so even her mother couldn't stand her, or Ursa is almost as terrible as Ozai. I know she tells Azula she always loved her but still. Azula got that impression from somewhere. Maybe she wanted to "even" things because she saw Azula is favoured by Ozai so she will favour Zuko but any kind of favouritism is still terrible parenting.

[@LadyOrpheus]

​@@missAlice1990I think it's a bit more closure than just either or. Either Azula was born evil or Ursa js just as bad as Ozai. I think it probably natural to have some concerns about Azula's tendencies, but Azula would have been caught between two different types of feedback: Ozai and Ursa. Getting conflicting messages from both about ruthlessness and cruelty. Corrections from one contradicting what was taught by the other. And I think it's complicated even more by the fact that Ursa disappeared when she was still young. She never got closure. She never learned what her mother truly thought of her. Never got to confront her about anything. She only has her own projections of what she has been telling herself that her mother thought, for years.

[@virgiljericho664]

The removal of Jeong Jeong the deserter was frustrating. This episode plays an important role in Aangs arc and establishes his severe mental block for Firebending

[@RGJenn]

And allows Katara to discover her healing ability. That's what she was able to do without any training, not all the rest of waterbending--she struggled with that and learned a lot from Pakku. They did my girl so dirty.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

​@But you see, Aang burning Katara hands was "problematic" so we need to remove it like all others supposedly "problematic" stuff. It like they follow the worst part of fandom on Tumblr. I know because I saw that kind of posts, mostly from zutara shippers...

[@TsunayoshiSawada469]

Yeah, but they had to take away aangs childishness ...so now he has no mistakes to make or learn from

[@keplerscat28]

You know what it also did? It taught us that Zhao is impulsive and tends to think too highly of himself, which ties in perfectly with the finale, when he is convinced it's a good idea to take the moon spirit. The LA has tons of moments like that, where they simply removed a lot of the characters motivations and basic outlines.

[@etienne8110]

They didn t have the time for him to learn waterbending... So adding fire was even less likely.

[@guldmattbb473]

What you said about the change to Aang’s reason for getting frozen reminds me of an issue I’ve heard some people have with writing these days, in that some writers seem almost afraid to allow their characters to make genuinely bad or selfish decisions that have lasting consequences. It’s more likable for Aang getting frozen to just be an accident, but it feels far less interesting or character defining. Like you said, the reason the original works so well is it gives Aang a genuinely heavy burden to bear knowing that he ultimately chose to abandon his responsibilities as the Avatar and that directly led to the loss of his people. It also contrasts beautifully with Zuko’s backstory, which was brilliantly revealed in the same episode as Aang’s in the original show. Aang, our hero, ended up where he is at the start of the show because of a selfish decision. Zuko, at the time our antagonist, ended up where he is at the start of the show because of a selfless decision. That contrast really helped add layers to both characters and was only possible because they were willing to let Aang actually have selfishness in his character. Aang is a great person, but even great people can make bad decisions and writers shouldn’t be afraid to let their heroes do bad things sometimes so long as they’re able to balance it out with positive character traits and intentions Or, in the same show, how they remove Sokka’s journey and need to grow past his sexism and overconfidence. Not allowing Sokka to have meaningful flaws like that just outright strips the character of intrigue or depth. And, ironically, almost turn the kyoshi warriors storyline sexist in a way. Instead of Suki humbling Sokka and forcing him to grow, now it’s all about how cool he is and her fawning over him. Ironic how a change that was meant to be made to tone down sexism in the show just ended up turning a great arc into a generic ‘man saves woman with power of love’ story that is arguably WAY more sexist

[@darylesese]

I 100% believe all these character changes happened because people/studios are afraid to give their characters unlikeable and negative traits! (Also to make their character physically ugly or unattractive i.e Zukos burn scar)

[@chinuaalibatya7345]

Speaking of which they watered down Zuko’s bad actions. In the original Zuko was the one who attacked and burned down Kyoshi Village. In this it was Zhao. The series felt like they wanted to make Zuko even more sympathetic than he already was in the first season which kind of takes away from his redemption arc since he really isn’t doing enough bad things

[@martophrenia]

@@chinuaalibatya7345yeah, people praising Zuko’s character and added scenes, but all of those scenes make his eventual redemption less meaningful

[@chinuaalibatya7345]

@@martophrenia Yeah I saw a great video by Johnny Cello where he talks about the problems of Zuko and Iroh’s dynamic. How they are already making it explicit on Zuko’s end that he is Iroh’s surrogate son when the whole point was that it was one sided on Iroh’s end. Zuko only realized later on in season 3 that Iroh was always true father for him after regaining the respect of his birth father. It is stuff like that where it feels like they really just want you to like Zuko a lot too soon

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

Nothing about the watered down Sokka/Suki story in this show is sexist either. I'm sick of people pretending a woman fawning over a man or him not being her underling is sexist. That's a disturbing thing to even consider that way. But with that said, yes they did rob Sokka of a lot of characterization by taking away his insecurities as a young man, warrior, and leader.

[@Aecef]

My issues with the past avatars is their choice to make them more critical of Aangs actions. I really liked how most of the interactions with them in the og was more of a presentation of what they chose to do in similar situations and the consequences that followed and let Aang combine that with his beliefs to come to a decision. Basically I think they went from advisors to lecturers . Also, at least early on, it made sense to me that Roku was the most prevalent since he was the most recent avatar along with Aang's inexperience with the spirit world.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

That’s a GREAT point

[@joshbuoy8661]

Yea like when Aang is asking the past avatars on how to defeat Ozai, none of them directly state that Aang has to kill him. It’s just what he pieces together from their words. Also, hey don’t tel criticize Aang for wanting to defeat the firelord peacefully, even though they seem to all agree that killing Ozai is the best course of action. It’s not like one of them is like, “You need to let go of your beliefs and learn that it’s ok to kill people who deserve it.” They don’t lecture him in that way, not even Kyoshi.

[@haku8135]

Roku straight up intervenes when Jong Jong refuses to teach Aang. That turns out poorly, but because of Aang's choices only. The past Avatars are sources of wisdom and experience. Aang asks several past Avatars for advice, and they give him their advice. Be decisive, do what must be done. He wants someone to agree with him and get his side so he calls upon Yang Chen, and she's like "The Avatar can't be the perfect Air Nomad, we have to be something else."

[@ohood1788]

@@joshbuoy8661 Kyoshi was so calm and level-headed when giving advice to Aang, here she's aggressively yelling at him for no reason which really bothered me.

[@Bread-nx9fo]

They really missed out on not having Roku more, yeah Kyoshi is cool and all, but Roku is the avatar BEFORE Aang, and teaches him a lot about how to be a Avatar.

[@poenpotzu2865]

Ultimately this is a other example of corporations and culture failing to recognize that animation should and can stand on its own merits. I was willing to give the show a chance but it feels like a more watered down product.

[@hgyuuuuhj098]

Trying to make live action of animated stuff is already a lost gamble. It would B much better if they made live action about completely new characters in the same world and old characters appearing only as very short cameo.

[@wm4230]

​@@hgyuuuuhj098agreed, I'd of preferred if we got a live series based on the 2nd avatar after wan showing the development of the 4 nations

[@genericname2747]

Not just watered down. Earthed down. Fired down. Aired down

[@ChiWillett]

girl fr tho!!!!!

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

That’s the problem with live action. Even one piece which people inexplicably liked. It’s like. Let’s take this animated world that has incredibly breadth and depth and amazing vistas and artwork. And let’s make it feel smaller. Like it’s on a set. Because it just makes the worlds feel smaller for no reason other than “well it’s live action now.” Which means what exactly? It’s more adult. It’s more impressive? What’s even the point?

[@TicTacPilgrim]

"ZUKO HAS SACRIFICED MORE THAN YOU KNOW!!!" Iroh said calmly.

[@Jeremy-ot6pb]

In the first 20 minutes of the show, they changed the motivation for telling Aang he's the avatar from they just discovered it out so it's time to tell him to they want him to preemptively fight the Fire Nation. A nation of pacifist monks taught never to hurt a fly unilaterally deciding to preemptively attack a nation that (as far as we know) had no prior history of major conflict without even considering diplomacy. That's how I knew they didn't really understand the world.

[@kevincoleman2092]

So with you, when they were like "we're sending troops to the fire nation" my head spun around

[@114418514]

huh??? I just started watching it so the scene is still fresh in my mind, but from what I can tell, it's that the fire nation leaked their war plans of attacking the earth nation. So the earth nation is preparing a coalition to fight them, so they requested the avatar. It's not the Air Monks pre-emptively attacking the fire nation with the avatar. The war plans to attack the earth nation is actually a diversion so the fire nation can kill all the air benders who gathered for the (sozin's) comet festival.

[@saberpico4480]

this is not a remake or a cover, this is a remix

[@haku8135]

They care about spectacle, NOT character. This is the same method of writing that..... Well, a LOT of things ruined Wheel of Time's defiling, but this was the crux of them ignoring Brandon Sanderson's advice to make the story better. They didn't care about making the story better, they wanted lots of flashy magic and things blowing up and a giant fire dragon because it LOOKS impressive. That's all they care about now, character isn't even considered.

[@mrspookyfella7669]

I mean I might be misremembering but didn’t the flash backs in the original have them debating telling Aang early that he was the avatar, like he wasn’t meant to find out till he was 16 but they had to rush it because the world needed an avatar? The air nomads never would have gone to war but I think they was debating rushing telling him that he was the avatar so he could help in the unrest that was happening? Again I might just be misremembering

[@TheLankdaddy]

$60 million for the entire animated avatar series or $120 million for one live action season. One was iconic and still beloved to this day, the other not so much. Can we just get more high quality animated avatar series? please?

[@ciennelson1514]

I heard the creators Mike & Bryan had a choice between making Book 4: Air or making the movie. Any content from there on are sad attempts at milking a supposed cash cow and failing. I believe they would've made more money in the long run if they just went with Book 4. And keep Aaron Ehasz on board too- he's the GOAT

[@jordanloux3883]

Well, this makes me worried about how they're gonna handle Toph...

[@denzeldubois4978]

She’s definitely gonna be toned down

[@bluebird1914]

Genuinely not gonna be surprised if they do a 180 and make Toph super mature and level headed

[@haku8135]

Honestly at this point it would improve the show if they made Toph a 6 foot tall muscular black man that screams to see people. This show is so bad the Ember Island Players are getting points.

[@ShesquatchPiney]

Toph is going to SUUUCK. Even if they try "Listen here Sugar Queen" just isn't gonna hit the same with this empty husk of a Katara

[@genericname2747]

I hope they don't try to make her angsty about being blind. That seems like the most obvious move, since this is supposed to be a "darker" version of the story

[@calvinboucher5741]

This show’s character assassination is proof to me that we’ve lost the media literacy war.

[@paolagonzalez-yd2hj]

i had to rewatch scott pilgrim takes off to remind myself that at least there’s one live action to animated series with well written characters that exists and all stories should follow suit

[@56brandonray]

“You little peasant, you’ve found a master haven’t you?” Bruh they didn’t teach her ANY water bending at all. Stupid line to try and get old fans hyped

[@nickdevprod3667]

Guys its not live action of original atla, it's live action of ember island play. Just chill.

[@otakusamsay1953]

Nah man that's wishful thinking.

[@TheZombiesAreComing]

Even Ember Island was truer to the animation that the live action, but Ember island did describe how live actions are almost always mockeries of the source material.

[@VerkatosEnsei]

But the effects were decent

[@azul9655]

At least ember island Katara has emotions lol

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

Also them removing Sokka crossdressing is another thing that really hurt him learning to respect the Kyoshi warriors And it’s so aggravating because in 10000% positive they removed it because they didn’t want to be seen as “woke” having a main character crossdress

[@colinftp3288]

Holy crap I just realized they didn’t have sokka in the kyoshi uniform

[@SamLemont]

The Kyoshi warriors armor wasn't really 'cross-dressing' though. That's how ancient Chinese soldiers dressed.

[@areeba7045]

@@SamLemont true but it probably would've angered some sensitive people who get mad over guys wearing women's clothing

[@gracekim25]

@@SamLemontyeah but people who don’t understand his arc will see it as unnecessary 😅

[@Phillylove100]

Yeah I call BS on that. They didn’t have Sokka’s arc with the Kyoshi warriors because they didn’t want to appear sexist and offend the SJW crowd but they also didn’t have him cross dress because that would offend the anti-SJW crowd? Yeah, no. Between the two, I have never ever seen a show tiptoe around issues and sacrifice story for the anti-SJW crowd but they do it CONSTANTLY NON-STOP for the SJW crowd.

[@MonasteryOfSilence]

The problem is, it has no soul, the characters are changed way too much and its too rushed.

[@nope19568]

i genuinely dont understand how this show has a following, every time i see someone say they thought this was better than the og i die inside a little bit more

[@MonasteryOfSilence]

@@nope19568 I dont either, i thought the first episode was fine and it got my hopes up but by the end i was questioning my sanity. It seems live action cannot be done right. It just cant compare with the OG series, i dont understand how the creators think its a good idea to kill the project before it even begins with the ridiculous pacing and the changes, no wonder one of the creators left halfway, he just couldnt stand what they were doing.

[@Haras1370]

Real Iroh would never excuse Zuko's action and guilt trip people into liking or respecting Zuko.

[@gem5114]

Right? This was really a big disappointment, I don’t remember Iroh shouting at anyone in the first season apart from Zhao… I hated the way he approached the crew with this- In the original he attempts to befriend them which is way more in line with his character as he understands that Zuko’s treatment is unfair and unacceptable- I loved the 41st division change but with how they treated Iroh’s character it still falls flat.

[@Haras1370]

@@gem5114 yeah, agree

[@Eniril1]

to be fair revealing to them zuko's responsible for their survival is hardly guilt-tripping, especially when they hated him. it's simply giving them information they didn't have.

[@Haras1370]

​​@@Eniril1 with almost everything else in this live action version, it is the delivery of the message that falls flat, not the action itself.

[@Eniril1]

@@Haras1370 Which is not the point we're discussing. You said Iroh was guilt tripping the soldiers. He wasn't. Tonal dissonance is the problem of any live action adaptation of animated media, really. Even Netlfix's One Piece, while enjoyable, has several cringeworthy moments. That's just because what passes as normal behaviour in the universe of an animated media is almost uncanny valley material IRL.

[@cheetosleopard9861]

The second I saw the portrayal of Aang leaving that night it lost me

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

That genuinely angered me. But what made me done was that the iceberg just “happened” to be above the water instead of having Katara pull it up with her angry water bending.

[@nunouno001]

They changed it from “I ran away from my responsibilities and everyone else paid the price” to “I needed to clear my head and accidentally ran into a storm because I was an idiot.”

[@cesarpatrick3704]

I was so confused because he talks about going to a place to clear his head, the place is the storm? The sky? Appa’s back WTF, and another thing that bothered me was he referring to the Southern Temple as his home, when his people are LITERALLY nomads, I was not nitpicking but this is just basic character development 😅

[@catbio9084]

@@nunouno001and then people are much more aggressive and mad at him for disappearing in this

[@merchantfan]

It's too bad they wouldn't let the actor be a little bit more lively. Since he's actually close to the proper age it would have made Aang's hyperactivity look a lot more understandable. Some 12 year olds just are that way, they're goofy little dorks

[@berylredburrow__8810]

One thing that really made me mad was the water bending scroll. Having katara just get the scroll for free robs her of the agency and character development she got from making the decision to steal it, something she did selfishly, putting the group in danger, under the excuse of it being for aang.

[@ciennelson1514]

110% agree with you! I was yelling at my screen when I saw that. I'm not going to get a "I'll save you from the pirates" 😭

[@bigant9625]

This show is strictly for people who think they’re “too cool for cartoons”

[@Paul94096]

Qr maybe some people can enjoy both the og and the adaptation.

[@Gonzora]

​@@Paul94096Indeed, people without critical thinking who refuse to admit that they like both good and bad things because they have no standards also exist.

[@gdawgs101]

​@@Paul94096 I actually don't understand how somebody can enjoy the original AND the adaptation.

[@zantos4853]

@@gdawgs101Why do you have to hate the cartoon if you liked the show? When it is even better.

[@gracekim25]

So the game of thrones crowd?

[@brendolbreadwar2671]

I feel bad because my dad absolutely LOVESSSSS the show. He fr said "it feels like they're reading the script from the old show." And that's AFTER watching the show on repeat 10+ times bc my little sister loves it.

[@danbark4603]

Damn ;-;

[@ShesquatchPiney]

Some people just wanna be told how much Aang loves banana cakes and have major anti animation cope. Edit: affectionate, good for your dad for giving the OG so much time

[@goldenretriever1528]

your dad sounds like a sweet person

[@brendolbreadwar2671]

@retriever1528 very much so, im just glad he can find so much enjoyment from it. Might as well be a perfect remake in his perspective.

[@sherapower908]

I really Love that for your dad. I wish I could’ve enjoyed it as much as him haha. That’s so cute

[@ravindupadmanath2802]

I'll never understand why they removed Sokka's sexism from the original series? Like, did they just not want their show to be called "WOKE" or "FEMINIST PROPAGANDA" from the annoying terminally online crowd?? Well then, CONGRATULATIONS to both of you. You didn't watch the show properly.

[@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502]

And it's especially ironic because now Suki is essentially just a prop for Sokkas story, with no real character of her own.

[@nunouno001]

They probably took the sexism at absolute face value and removed it to “fix” him without realizing that his sexism was an intentional character flaw that he was supposed to outgrow on his journey of maturity. It’s the same backwards logic why Aang doesn’t want to go on fun side adventures and only focuses on his mission. They didn’t realize Aang wanting to go on adventures shows that he’s still a child and is escaping the trauma of his new life by wanting to have fun. It’s another flaw removed, and it makes even less sense because Roku doesn’t tell Aang about the comet, so as far as he knows he can take his sweet time with mastering the elements.

[@cutecats532]

​@@ahumanbeingfromtheearth1502 Wrote this after reading both you and op. (Haven't finished the show so can't watch the video, but watched through episode 4. Watching with other people so coordinating is hard.) Probably because it wasted time and jokes on Sokka just learning to not be a jerk and then the kyoshi warriors needing to emasculate him to teach him a lesson. (They trimmed Aang and Katara's conflict over the scroll too and made it better because Aang helps teach Katara the basics of bending instead of showing off and her getting frustrated.) It's a dated perspective and you don't need to teach it again, it's better to show how we want someone to act instead so people have a role model. Lead by example. You don't have to argue against sexism in the story for it to be feminist. If culturally the southern waterbenders were warriors, even the female waterbenders as seen in the bloodbending episode and how the raids progressed, and the fact their gran gran left the north pole to get away from their cultural limitations, it makes less sense for Sokka to not see women as warriors in the original show even if his father and the men who left were male warriors. They had little girls in his group of child guards in the new show, and Katara calls herself a warrior, I think it's pretty clear they changed the southern water tribe culture for this show to make it more consistent but really Sokka being sexist didn't make much sense to begin with. Maybe as a relic from wherever the north gets their sexism but their dad's friend didn't exclude Katara from ice dodging and their dad didn't exclude her from fighting. (That I remember, I haven't watched season 3 in a while.) Sokka being not sexist also changes Sokka and Suki's goodbye in the end from "sorry i didn't respect you as a warrior" to something more meaningful because he started from a place of respect as he should have. That's the show don't tell, he respects her and she likes him, and it's obvious, and then he doesn't get suprised when she kisses him goodbye. Sexist Sokka gets cheek kiss, respectful awkward Sokka gets better kiss. As a woman who is only interested in men who respect me I found that relatable. Of course she likes him more for respecting her more. The sexism is already aging poorly there's no need to do it again. Suki isn't just a thing for Sokka, if anything Sokka helps her character growth by opening her eyes to see there's more out there. She talks to her mother about wanting to leave and we the audience who watched the original show know later she leaves to help refugees because she was inspired by team avatar. She shouldn't be defined by having to defend herself from Sokka's sexism either, being a girl who can kick his ass isn't what defines her. She wants more from life because they're isolated and she wants to help people. Aaand she can still kick his butt. No wait you know what!? Suki being interested in Sokka is her owning her own sexuality and that's an empowering thing too. A woman being sexual isn't always just about the guy. (I know they're under age but they're also clearly into eachother and the teenage tension is there so I'm just saying.) Also, while I love the old show and love Sokka in it and consider that show a master piece... a woman shouldn't have to fight sexism or fix a man's perspective to find someone who will respect her. Suki deserves a man who sees her for who she is and frankly Sokka deserves to not be seen as the sexist guy, especially since he grows out of it in the original show. He's the sarcasm guy. That's his thing. Also his things: meat, boomerang, ponytail, bag... and space sword!

[@gracekim25]

@@cutecats532that was a lot😅 also you realise the only reason he was sexist was because he was the only warrior in his tribe right after all the grown ups left 😶 so I disagree with this long winded way of saying ‘let’s update this because it’s offensive’ junk ok?😅

[@vania7302]

As someone who sometimes watches "anti-woke" channels, I can confidently say they were all against Sokka's sexism being removed because it was good writing and showed Sokka as a flawed character product of his environment and circumstances. Lot of anti-woke channels will indeed complain about everything or wine extra to play a role (hence I've stopped watching many and reduced my viewing of others) but others will make actually good points from a writing standpoint

[@MadCityVL]

You nailed my issue with it. They don’t understand the ripple effect the original did so well.

[@KKarkatVantas]

YES! Exactly, finally people who get it. And obviously it is a failure, the original creators jumped ship because of Netflix decisions, dont get how everyone forgot that

[@Paul94096]

The original creators were all on board for the first movie adaptation so....

[@gracekim25]

@@Paul94096you sure about that?😅

[@hgyuuuuhj098]

​@@Paul94096didn't they also left halfway?

[@TheStraightestWhitest]

@@Paul94096 And left partway through, same as what happened here, same as what happened to Netflix's The Witcher. Look what happened to all three...

[@YouDaMANRAJ]

​@@Paul94096 one quick google search will clear this for you friend. They left pretty early on

[@lawrencev.8850]

I’m so happy that someone agrees how Iroh was written and especially how he was talking to the people on the ship was so gross with the weird way he was justifying how Zuko was acting and saying they “owed it” to Zuko, and the way he was trying to make them feel bad cause Zuko also “lost a lot more”, I felt so bothered by it.

[@SingingDragons11]

Ever get the feeling from all these remakes; that the new creators have read so much fanfiction about the original that they forget what’s canon and what’s fan canon?

[@censorthispuertorican]

Hollywood has developed this weird habit of hiring writers and directors Who know absolutely nothing about the source material, and in the worst cases, people who actually hate it.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

They probably read too many Tumblr posts about how supposedly "problematic" some characters are. Probably from some zutara bloggers...

[@sunbleachedangel]

@@censorthispuertorican the Witcher btw

[@gaminginvirinch3339]

They excuse Zuko's bad traits and make him sympathetic but in the show he should leave those bad habits seems those fanfics can't get what the story is ​@@ExtremeMadnessX

[@matthewterlaga3022]

Something you missed when talking about Giatzos last stand, all the fire bender corpses around him. Yes it’s horrible that he was being swarmed and overwhelmed, but we also see that a peaceful monk was able to kill what look like dozens of firebenders on his own, even if it was all at once as a dying act, it’s still pretty badass. The show robbed us of seeing that.

[@heehoopeanut420]

nah.

[@JRexRegis]

@@heehoopeanut420 great argument

[@dire213]

nah, we don't need to see that. the mystery and implication of it is enough

[@alexklepp6479]

I love how even when you’re critical of something, it’s very constructive. You might have one of the best reviews of Velma in terms of being very levelheaded about it. Same is true here.

[@syntheax2788]

The worst scene of all, was when June captured Aang at Roku island... June and her Shirshu literally just teleported from the earth Kingdom into Rokus temple... defeated all the fire sages (no problem) and captured Aang (no problem)... It was so trashy I had to turn off the TV. Did anyone else notice that?

[@cesarpatrick3704]

Oh my god, I did, I was like screaming at my TV ‘NOW THE SHIRSHU KNOWS HOW TO FLY OMG’

[@cesarpatrick3704]

Another moment super trashy in my opinion was the empathy Badgermole, the escape of the labyrinth was a blind beast who senses love, what a bullshit was this?

[@luishp3]

Yes, I noticed. 🥲

[@tiablue9106]

I assumed maybe nyla can swim or she took a boat, but they rlly could've at least touched on how june got to the temple. I already thought it was weird how easily aang was able to get there compared to the cartoon where he had to fight a whole army to get in :o

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

I was like Damn June thought the Shirshu how to fly? DA FUQ?

[@misner1989]

I'm not even angry I'm just disappointed

[@Quoisboy]

I’m angry 😤

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

Yeah, it's not so terrible that I'm upset, it's just mediocre.

[@jewunit347]

look at how they massacred my show

[@ryanduarte8742]

Zuko humbly begging his uncle for forgiveness is one of the greatest depictions of personal change in TV

[@doctordl7757]

Live action isn't even live action anymore its a hybrid between wardrobe designs and green screen shots.

[@nope19568]

seriously! if they'd just cut some of the unnecessary fight scenes and filmed on location more it would've felt sooo much better

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

When Aang and Zuko (as the blue spirit) are escaping the prison and they both turn into CGI it just looked so goofy.

[@BayAreaRushHour]

Not saying it’s any better, but it’s not a green screen. They used the tech utilized for the mandalorian. The environments have that unreal engine look.

[@chazjohannsen]

When Johnny2Cellos, one of the nicest KZbinrs ever, criticizes your show, you know you messed up.

[@Kingcrimson_1456]

Not really

[@Paul94096]

I generally don't take ATLA pursuits opinions seriously. As a massive Korra fan, I've come to understand devout ATLA fans get incredibly irrational when it comes to anything to do with Aang that isn't the OG.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

What happens when I tell you I’m a massive Korra fan

[@grmgt]

@@Paul94096 Bro, that's such a weird comparison, far from the case at hand. It's totally different to be one of those purists that thinks no other Avatar story should've been made (which i disagree, since i like Korra very much in spite its flaws) to wanting the literal remake of the original to be at the very freaking least thematically faithful (which is why I, Johnny2Cellos and so many have hated this live-action).

[@mnemonicsix6331]

@@Johnny2CellosKorra for me is pretty great! but I do skip season 2 everytime

[@cedricdallaire3324]

It just looks like a green screen cosplay party

[@doctordl7757]

😂😂😂

[@Homodemon]

Seen similar productions at comic con B roll compilations

[@zantos4853]

I actually thought that it looked pretty good.

[@AB-zl4nh]

​@@zantos4853😂

[@Mephora]

​@@zantos4853it does at times. But more often than not the characters look as if they are not really in the scene

[@paradox4780]

This show is the definition of mid it's just adapting a masterpiece of a television series so it naturally falls flat

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

Yes. Would be better off trying new stories.

[@fucknames]

@@stillcantbesilencedevennowI wish we got to see more of the avatars past lives

[@goblin3810]

The original was mid at best lol.

[@paradox4780]

You're on crack cocaine ​@@goblin3810

[@aspacelex]

Even ignoring the whole shitting all over the best show of all time aspect of it, how is it mid, what aspect of it is not terrible? Cinematography? Writing? Acting? Effects? Direction? World building?

[@WobblesandBean]

15:50 Oh, yiiiiiikes. Such a huge costume budget, and THAT'S the wig they went with?

[@321JoghurtDeins]

I know right. The whole character looks like she just came from a costume party.

[@ry.0]

Every wig makes me think they haven't take it seriously. Just a big slap in tha fase on the fanbase

[@HamEggsButteredToast]

And they didn't even make her eyebrows match, which makes I even more obvious that it's fake hair. 😭

[@CRAZYMUGMAN]

the "high costume budget" looks like a average cosplayer the m night movie with all it's faults, had great costumes

[@bumbabees]

@@CRAZYMUGMAN id argue cosplayers could do better, honestly.

[@spiderverse616]

Roku felt more like Iroh than Iroh. WHAT!!

[@gem5114]

I agree! There’s definitely a light-heartedness and sense of calmness missing from Uncle Iroh’s character 😔

[@Mikesean45]

It was so baffling that they kept the backstories from the novels but left out how they establish that the Avatar always has friends they travel with and cannot do their job alone. All three of Aang's past lives telling him that he must do his job alone felt so wrong.

[@kevincoleman2092]

The moment the show totally failed for me is when in the first episode Aang and Iroh chat and Aang is like "but what do you believe?" And Iroh basically says "ohhhhh well I believe many things, perhaps some things good, perhaps some bad, some might even call me morally gray, you'll just have to wait and find oooooouuuut 😉😉😉😉"

[@bluebird1914]

Yeah Iroh is weird. Thing that gets me about him is he doesn't feel as, I guess, soft? As he does in the animated series. Aside from the random background Fire nation characters like that poor dude on the airship whose birthday it was. Iroh is unique because before you really learn more about The Fire Nation, he's such a contrast to the 'big bad villain' image that most of the characters have of The Fire Nation. Dude is straight goofy, he may be an uncle in the show but he gives off such 'fun grandpa' vibes you know? But the Iroh in this adaptation, at least from what I saw in the first episode, he seems weirdly stoic. The vibes are off with him.

[@peteryang5056]

Iroh cosplaying as a trailer for his own character arc is equal parts hilarious and sad.

[@joel0joel0]

@@bluebird1914 yeah right he seems way to serious. In the show Iroh was 90% of the time a funny goofball, trying to keep zuko away from his path of daddy pleasing with his shenanigans. When he starts getinng serious, you know, people f'ed up.

[@saig7570]

You really hit the nail on the head with this! The tell don’t show thing really hurt both the general characterization and ruined any chance of the different directions they wanted to go with feeling worthwhile. It just feels weightless now, which is a shame considering how rich the characters feel in the cartoon. And what you said about how they handled Zuko was what i felt too - on one hand it’s great to see, and I got pretty emotional with the flashbacks too, but it threatens to make what comes later feel less impactful. But The 41st division thing and how he’s affected by what Zhao tells him at the end with how Ozai pits him and Azula against each other were changes I quite liked. I didn’t even consider how the changes to Sokka and Katara really hurt their characterization, but I totally agree now that you pointed it out.

[@seanmcloughlin5983]

Bumi is the epitome of the problem I have with the show The actor is great, and when he’s allowed to be Bumi, being a weirdo, making terrible jokes, he works But they had to make it more dark and serious so he spends the whole episode being that guy from the Storm who was mad at Aang for “abandoning them” basically everyone from Bumi to Kyoshi Island, to Kyoshi herself get on Aang for abandoning them and this version didn’t even run away! His tests didn’t even teach Aang to think like a mad genius, they were just there because they were in the original show but without the meaning behind them. I don’t hate it, I thought it was fine, but everyone being so much more of a jerk to Aang, even Kyoshi who was always more detached bothered me because it took something lighthearted and made it sour

[@joshbuoy8661]

I find it so incredibly weird how this adaptation INCREASES the emphasis on CFITICIZING Aang for being a goofball. avoiding responsibilties. Yet this adaptation DECREASES the amount we see Aang actually BEING a goofball? Like what? Oh and more characters being upset with Aang for abandoning everyone, even though in this version, he had NO intent on running away. He was just leaving for a little break for some time to think. They even make sure to add the detail of Aang intending to go back to the temple before getting frozen. The show brings up the whole “running away” aspect multiple times like it’s some giant character flaw. But in this version, that flaw doesn’t even exist. It’s like they want to remove character flaws because they think it’ll make them more likeable, but the show acts like they still have those flaws because they know a god show usually has character development. These two things do not make sense together. They’re trying to have their cake and eat it too.

[@joshbuoy8661]

And that’s not just a problem with this one show. Disney’s 2022 Pinnochio is the most egregious example I’ve seen so far. Hey rewrite Pinnochio so that he doesn’t really do anything wrong. So basically… he should’ve already been a real boy the SECOND he was brought to life. He already knew the difference between right and wrong. Jiminy Cricket serves no purpose as an external conscience because Pinnochio already has a conscience built in. Oh and the one time he actually does a bad thing that he also does in the original, in the 2022 version he gets REWARDED for doing it. What a strangely specific recurring writing flaw in live action adaptations of animations.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

I think it’s hilarious the writers have me believe that Bumi, the guy who tricked everyone into thinking he can’t earthbend, would be mad at Aang for leaving or shame him for it. Bumi is more laid back than an ironing board. He’s fucking crazy but he never uses that as a reason to be mean to Aang. And when he said you can’t rely on friends, I was done. Bumi would never said that.

[@joel0joel0]

it really doesn't understand Bumi as an earth bending master. The character who is all about waiting for the right moment, who gets himself imprisoned to the fire nation and his town occupied, just so that he can strike at the right moment in true earth bending fashion, becomes the guy criticizing aang for fleeing, this is just crazy.

[@FullmoonPhantom-dn2sr]

I actually liked the Bumi change even though, I agree, I was disappointed there wasn’t as much meaning to the tests the way Netflix adaptation went about it. Still, I liked Bumi losing hope and feeling anger and disappointment towards Aang. I enjoyed the other Avatars having their opinions on how Aang should act. The change of Aang just going for a ride to clear his head annoyed me, but I don’t think it changes that much. I think Aang would’ve made the same decision to go back if events played out differently to give him the time to get there. Even still, I don’t think people would really care whether he ran or not because the point is people have heavy expectations for Avatar Jesus and not living up to them will definitely anger the people the Avatar is meant to protect. I also just liked this version was similar enough to the Avatar I enjoyed while also adding in more to the series to make it feel new to even the fans who already know the story. 1 to 1 adaptations get a bit boring after a while imo as a former book-to-movie fan.

[@Bread-nx9fo]

I'm tired of people thinking live action can stand better then animation by itself. Animation is wonderful, and I'm more hyped for the new animated avatar movie then I was for a live action retelling of a story I already saw.

[@brianshrode72]

I completely agree with you. One other change that seems small but also feels like they just don't get it is how they characterized Roku. Like, Roku felt more like Bumi than Bumi! Roku making jokes feels really bizarre and he did not seem like a man who blames himself for the 100-year-war. For how seriously they take the war in the adaptation, Roku being glib and just saying, "you have to be a diplomat," seems very conflicting.

[@ahsenkhan5386]

Bumi was raced swapped

[@gem5114]

THIS!!! Also Aang making contact with Kyoshi so early in bothered me a little too- It’s so important that Aang’s strongest connection is with Roku- He was the last person to be the avatar before Aang after all and originally Roku is the one who contacts him first! The storyline with Roku and the fire lord is also incredibly important to Aang and Zuko’s relationship, they really chose to dilute and completely change the most important and integral characters 😓 it feels like they really just wanted to shove as many past avatars as they could into this one season- Avatar Kuruk shouldn’t even be appearing until after Aang is struck by lightning…

[@arfhat89]

@@ahsenkhan5386How? Bumi was always brown. Earth Kingdom is the most diverse of the nations due to how large they are.

[@azul9655]

But OG Roku does blame himself, he explicitly says so.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

The minute I heard they were cutting…oh I’m sorry “toning down” Sokka’s sexism, that told me everything I needed to know. That these people do not understand why the storytelling and character development and growth was so integral to the success of the original show. If you can’t even get something as basic as Sokka’s ignorance toward women and his realization of his being wrong and learning and growing from it, what the fuck can you get right? And as it turns out from this adaptation, the answer is not much.

[@curtiszyr]

People always say season 1 of the animation was “boring” but this live action version just exposes how perfect season 1 was and how it sets up later seasons PERFECTLY. Unless you think character development and story progression is boring

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

People whine about “filler”but honestly why even bother with the show of you never get to know the actual CHARACTERS you’re traveling with while watching

[@MrThebeast115]

When the original creators stepped out of the project, we should have known this was going to be a flop. At this point I'd rather see them re-release the show with updated animations than see another live action remake.

[@TsunayoshiSawada469]

EXACTLY!!! Dude just reanimate it!! Make it beautiful with today's technology!!

[@keplerscat28]

Can you imagine how beautiful ATLA would look with updated animation?? The studio did Castlevania and the animated Witcher movie, among others, and those were visually stunning. I dream of an updated version with little change.

[@egnitacos]

7:30 Thank god Im not the only one thinking the clothing doesnt look nearly weathered enough.

[@andrewgarfield9898]

I’m sorry but it being better than that movie that shall not be named isn’t really a milestone.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Exactly. People are using this as a prop of defense against this show. Need I remind you that the bar was set at the bottom of the ocean in that regard? It is not the praise you think it is.

[@dire213]

it's like praising an adult for the mere action of walking

[@OldLordAxis]

My favourite line from Korra: Change can be good or bad, depending on your point of view. I think some of the message of Aang story can be summed up by this sentence. Not everything is the same as he remembers, but that's okay. You can still find hope and fulfillment in the now. Monk Gyatso even tells Aang to focus on what is, not what will be. In other words, live to the fullest in the present. From what I have seen the adaptation fails to capture the same philosophy and spirituality of the world of Avatar. Not to mention the characterization.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

Line from no other than Aang's son.

[@DantexSmith]

I think what confused me the most is they changed the dialogue between Roku and Aang. Wasn't the entire point of the plot for Aang to know about the comet and the solstice? Im confused as to when that massive plot point is going to come in now.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

They're pushing it back bc they know they aren't gonna be able to finish all of the show while they're all still young. They're basically removing the ticking clock so that they can build in time jumps and explain the kids getting older.

[@lasercraft32]

The fact that they opened the show with a _genocide_ (something that was extremely bleak and emotional in the show) and turned it into an "exciting action set piece..." 💀

[@kirbystar7474]

The fact Aang technically never water bends is worrying.

[@integrantedavidanoturna]

The thing about Netflix shows -- they don't look at a story they're passionate about and think "I'm gonna tell it in a different way because I have a vision of it that could be very inspiring". Instead, they look at numbers. "Oh, there's a trend on Twitter about avatar? There's an increase in the numbers of watch time for the og show? Let's make a reboot and profit". They don't understand what's fundamentally good about any of the art they own, and even when they do hire people who understand, the stockholders will pressure them to insert crap that their spreadsheets tell them is good, like sokka saying "discombobulate" because they saw this meme on KZbin and it had a lot of likes. They'll always bring an analytical vision that is something based on numbers, internet trends and profit. They are utterly incompetent and incapable of writing good stories because they have been completely overrun by greed. And this is why the og showriters left the live action.

[@321JoghurtDeins]

When I saw Yue with that dollar store wig I absolutely lost my shit. This can't be real.

[@exileforever2508]

You know, I didn’t cared much about removing Sokka sexism because it was so small and I keep forgetting he was for most of the time, but you did raise a great point on how it connects to his humble journey and plays a big part of it Does most fans really saw Katara as this “nagging girl” because yes, she has a temper, but right next to Aang, she was the most compassion of the group and she had some of the best single arc episodes. Especially when she meet her mom’s killer

[@DemiIsNotHere]

Removing Jeong Jeong and all scenes of Katara teaching aang water bending make me notice that writter didnt get the story 'main quest' of aang becoming... you know, the master of all elements?!

[@Xairos84]

It was the Book of Water too lol

[@adamkinch9284]

I was especially disappointment with the final episode with Zuko and Zhao. After fighting together, when Zhao is captured by the Ocean spirit Zuko puts his hand out and asks Zhao to take it to help rescuing him. A really important character development moment, showing Zuko is capable of both change and forgiveness. Zhao refuses to take it and folds his arms. None of this happened in the live action sequence, and we are not yet lead to see the kindness Zuko is capable of yet.

[@nope19568]

THIS

[@georgeealien]

The point I realized there was no hope for this show was the scene where Aang meets Gyatso in the Spirit World. Having Gyatso just chilling in the Spirit World and Aang talk with him again is such a terrible idea. It takes away a lot of the weight of Aang running away in the first place. Gyatso should be dead and gone for good, Aang should not be able to talk with a single Air Nomad he knew during his life IMO.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

And it also just wasn’t even a satisfying reunion since it was only 5 episodes after we last saw them together haha

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

It really undercuts the idea of killing them off in the first place, does it really matter that he’s dead if Aang is still able to see and talk to him through the spirit world. He could literally have just survived the genocide of this was what they were planning on doing.

[@codylyon7488]

You kinda answered your own question there at the end. "If the show is going to tell the same story but sacrifice the quality of action, characters, themes and storylines, if it can't be as good or better than the original, what's the point of it existing?" "I'm a massive fan of the franchise, and I'll absolutely be watching the rest of the show" They make these because people watch them, and as shitty as it is to have a cherished piece of media regurgitated out in some live action hollow shell of what it once was, the truth of the matter is it makes money, and that's the ultimate deciding factor when it comes to making these live action remakes. It's easier to remake something that's already beloved than to make something new that has to earn its place amongst the greats

[@gaminginvirinch3339]

Even they fail at remaking that

[@dopeentertainment8924]

If Zuko is so informed about past avatars, how will they have the huge revelation that his great grandfather and Roku were best friends? And that he's related to Roku?

[@GreatSorrow]

That's the neat part, they won't

[@dopeentertainment8924]

@@GreatSorrow lmao!! That was the perfect answer

[@timmyman9677]

It's worse than that. This Zuko is far to self-aware, by the first episode he's all ready questioning what he's doing. Like he knows he's not a bad person but he can't change yet because we haven't gotten there in the story yet. Now are people in real life that aware and unable to change, sure, but this is a show.

[@karmic5783]

with an i.p this big.. they really couldn't give them 10-12 episodes? imagine how much that would have helped.

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

They had about the same runtime anyway. The show runners screwed up, and that can't be blamed on not having enough time in each episode.

[@Intotheabyss1988]

They actually had more run time. 20epx20mins=400 mins - 5eps. Not adapted = 300 mins. Live action is 8 eps at 50 min each = 400 mins. The live action had 100 more mins of run time.

[@qualityconcepts5762]

Due to the amount of fans watching it and the heavy amount of people that will hate watch it, it's going to get another season. I'm just waiting patiently for the new avatar cartoon. And am hoping they do not have trouble getting it picked up when the time comes.

[@Johnny2Cellos]

They’re already working on the next animated series :)

[@qualityconcepts5762]

@@Johnny2Cellos I know, I just dont want to wait forever for it. 😭

[@BigSexyWizard]

It seems like they tried to make an avatar the greatest hits season. Like it doesn’t seem like they planned for a season 2 at all.

[@kirbystar7474]

22:53 The fact they make Ozai look sad here makes me worried for a possible redemption. They made the face stealer sympathetic so who knows.

[@timmyman9677]

Christ I'm so sick of Sympathetic villain's. Look, even in the OG universe I'm sure Ozai had a tragic past, an abusive father and all sorts of Mental issues just like everyone around him. Is he conflicted deep down? I don't care. I don't need to be shown those things from every...single...bad guy.

[@dire213]

ozai, the joker, and jack horner. these characters are popular villains for a reason.

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

​@@timmyman9677 That's something of a moral dilemma I have the main character in my own story face. A culture of violence and hate isn't strictly the fault of each person who is there, but that doesn't mean you just let them get away with it, you need to stop them regardless of a sad backstory.

[@timmyman9677]

@@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown That was something I loved about the OG show. From season one there's good and bad apples on both sides of the conflict, citizen and solider alike.

[@Haras1370]

At this rate, I fully expected to see a hug between the face stealer and the mother of faces with flashback of their happy mother/son time ...

[@Donovarkhallum]

The water bending looked so bad.

[@namor2x2x]

the airbender genocide scenes in the LA was just the creators way of saying “look guys we’re making a kids show an adult show how cool are we , hopefully the GOT fans see this and take us seriously” but then proceeded to literally dumb down every arc and character from the og series (zuko and iroh are exceptions) but yeah u get the point, i felt that even og season 1 was still way more darker and more high stake and serious (knowing the fact how light hearted and funny season 1 is anyways) then the actual LA and thats kind of absurd for me

[@GuyNamedCrystal]

I only saw the first 3 episodes and don't want to watch anymore. The show and interviews from the showrunner give me the idea that they only understand AtLA on a surface level, making decision not because they think it would better the show at all, but because they thought it would look cool and nothing more. It's like watching a big budget version of a child smashing action figures together.

[@TheMesosuchus]

Counterpoint: Nah. It's fun and inconsequential. You are describing a Bayformers movie, not this adaptation.

[@GuyNamedCrystal]

​@TheMesosuchus I mean, by that logic, I could also describe the Bayformers movies as "fun and inconsequential". With the live action AtLA show, it was talked about how it would be such a more mature take on the original, but the remake feels a lot more simple and generic like a kids' show than the original. There are a lot of little changes, like how they handled character arcs and structure of the Fire Nation and other kingdoms that feel like Netflix wanted to make something as safe and inoffensive as possible.

[@TheMesosuchus]

@@GuyNamedCrystal A lot of people do describe his first Transformers in that way but it would be disingenuous to attribute such positive terminology to any of the other movies he directed. In fact, one could even say the writing of TF1 was on par with some of the best episodes of the original 80's cartoon. The Netflix show doesn't detract from the original and it's overall entertaining. Could have I lived without watching it, sure? But I look forward to future seasons after watching. It's a solid show. While flawed in many many ways, it is carried by excellent casting and good (for the budget and overreliance on volumes) overall design. Also, I dunno, starting out with a genocide isn't the most inoffensive thing they could do. I think a lot of what you are describing is mostly an unwillingness to deviate too far from the source material while also sticking the 8 ep seasons. Can't have both.

[@haku8135]

I hear episode like, 4 or 5 has something REALLY bad in it. Dunno what it is, cause I'm not watching this garbage.

[@gracekim25]

@@TheMesosuchushuh?😅

[@brettknoss486]

What pushed me away was the mechanist. He was an Earth Kingdom traitor, and his motivations didn't make any sense. They made a mess by combining story lines.

[@tiablue9106]

I thought his motivation was basically the same as the original where the fire nation threatened to kill him and his kid if he didn’t invent stuff for them? idk maybe I forgot

[@brettknoss486]

@@tiablue9106 but, he could have provided his designs to the defences of Omashu. A city that already survived assault.

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

Yeah, it's a bit silly. When he is in the air temple I can believe he felt genuinely threatened, but inside of Omashu? A city that is known for having lasted a hundred years and counting against the fire nation?

[@williamapple7705]

Azula shouldn’t have been included, it took wayyyy too much time away from the Gaang. It’s clear to me that the producers/writers want to make some pretty big changes to her in future seasons when she works so well as just a flat out villain.

[@catlawyerwilldefendfortrea6038]

in a way this is kind of like how I feel about the Snyder DC movies and other adaptations. They care about superficial appearances but miss the nuances of characters they're adapting. I feel like these people are ashamed of the idea that they can like something that was made for kids and they justify still enjoying it by morphing the ideas to fit their world views.

[@kermitgotthesickkicks4265]

Agreed 100%

[@K4113B4113]

Yes dude! Finally someone comments on Iroh basically defending genocide to the last one remaining (Aang). Everybody seems to love this Iroh but I can't get over that. Such an evil thing to do.

[@DaddyAsh3r]

I agree with almost everything you said except one thing: I despised what they did with the blue spirit aftermath. Aang’s brief musings on if they could have been friends and zuko attacking him was one of my absolute favorite scenes in the whole series. They didn’t need to change that they didn’t need to add unnecessary discussion and relatability. I feel this goes back to the problem with the softening of Zuko. Zuko in the og was kind of an asshole 90% of the time in season 1 but he had those small character moments that showed us he wasn’t always a monster. This scene was the first hint that maybe there could be reconciliation between him and Aang but they do that here with the subtlety of a mallet. Zuko didn’t need to say anything. In the original all we saw was his face turn into one of regret after attacking aang and that’s literally all we needed. It showed us that he has doubts rather than beating us over the head with it. I hated that scene so much in the live action that I just couldn’t finish the season after that. Terrible decision

[@ImTakingYouToFlavorTown]

Yes, that change was awful, and it killed so much of the somber tone that a scene like that should have.

[@deankirkby8047]

And whoever played June must’ve been a mega fan, I’d put money on that bet

[@Johnny2Cellos]

She ATE

[@gotenks5633]

11:51 Your tweet says it all. I dont even think of sokka as sexist anymore because realistically, he was a sheltered, teenage boy from some backwater village who knew nothing of the outside world, let alone women, and then rather quickly as he's exposed to the outside world and all these strong women, hey, his opinions and worldview mature and change.

[@JGmoney88]

Boomie has no neutral jing in the live adaptation also. The whole point of Boomie's wild dissociation from reality is that he is waiting for the right moment to strike, and his patience is so strong he did not care Aang was gone for the last 100 years. They definitely missed a big point of Boomie's insanity being an advantage of his rather than a mere part of his aging.

[@mintman325]

I watched 20 minutes and decided it was not for me. I’m not blaming the literal child actors, but the script they were handed was just not to my taste. The changes were ok until I realized they fundamentally changed some characters o often not for the better. I don’t wish ill on it. God knows it’s better than *that* but I feel it is fundamentally for people who won’t touch animation.

[@skxtching4u]

Thank you my man for saying what I’ve been trying to articulate to everyone who asks me “why I don’t want to watch the show” What’s the point of these god damn live action remakes if don’t improve on anything from the source material

[@luishp3]

Money. The point is making more money. 😂

[@Zemyr90]

If they want to waste money on a live action remake, just fund the next reincarnation of the avatar. Its like companies these days are allergic to making money.

[@damdamfino]

Just when I thought I couldn’t love Johnny 2 Cellos more, he reveals he’s a “watched the series multiple times, read all the graphic novels, and this niche spin off is my favorite” A:TLA fan.

[@clayton_games]

In that Kyoshi fight, she attacks guys who are already down on the ground and ignores the guy (was it Zhao?) Who just stood there and watched. Kyoshi's attack was zero help.

[@31Rexitron57]

Ember Island Players Adaptation > Netflix Adaptation

[@ManzanaDeMuerte]

they did Iroh so dirty! Like if you fuck over his character this much then its just another nail on the coffin when it comes to how obviously they refused to understand the source material. Also I'm getting fucking tired of adaptations consisting of actors in expensive cosplay just saying exposition (see Percy Jackson series)

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

I feel theyd be better off attempting "one shot" stories in universe and see if any ofnthe protags gain ground. Retreading is.... Sigh. I dunno. Aang is GREAT! But there have been hundreds of avatars, right? Lets make a few cool ones up maybe?

[@Johnny2Cellos]

It's why I'm excited about the future of the animated world and Avatar Studios

[@joshuahecht6866]

A thousand avatars actually. 10,000 Years 1 Thousand Avatars 2 Worldchanging People who changed more in a few years than most have ever done in their lifetimes.

[@Zihon]

azula was the villain that you love to hate, you dont mess with something that was perfect, that's why when zuko sees her before the last agni kai he knows that she became a mess, she was to tall but too rigid so she breaks

[@mx9226]

At least it’s not M. Night Shyamalan. Then again that’s a low bar to pass.

[@stillcantbesilencedevennow]

"Signs" was passable, but mostly due to the acting chops on that set. (barring M and his lackluster performance, as usual 😂)

[@sporeham1674]

​@@stillcantbesilencedevennowSigns was a pretty good Tension film. I, dont really know any other way to describe it, it didn't scare or thrill anyone i know, but it was SUPER tense.

[@ryanbaldy8828]

I feel bad saying this cause hes just a kid. But man it was hard to watch Gordon Cormier try and play Aang and i physically cringed at basically every line. The dialog didnt help either. I know it was a tough role for a kid to play. I did very much enjoy almost all of the other castings.

[@mrs.chrispark4907]

Agreed, I feel like he’ll get better in the future though, we’ll see

[@LuisHSK]

they turned my boy sokka into a Mary Sue 😭😭😭

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

I think that isn't what Mary Sue supposed to mean.

[@LuisHSK]

@@ExtremeMadnessX character that are always right with no defects that always excell in every challenge with perfection that are always praised. Man pls, they took everything good from sokka and made him a perfect two shoes who can do no wrong.

[@ExtremeMadnessX]

@@LuisHSK So they didn't just remove his sexism at the beginning...

[@LuisHSK]

@@ExtremeMadnessX yeah pretty much, now he's a sanatized version of himself, the only problem he has is insecurity about his skills, like, why did they do that? He's basically captain Marvel but male at this point

[@xam.yo.3943]

i was waiting for this video, specially because the fandom is calling everyone who doesn't like the live action a "hater and not a true fan" aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Johnny 2 Cellos, famously a huge hater, always makes super negative videos

[@TheWinstonSlip]

@@Johnny2Cellosthis may be the first time I’ve seen you be negative. They just have earned it

[@xam.yo.3943]

@@Johnny2Cellos great video, hope some day you'll show us your Avatar collection 🤗

[@mulqueen2023]

In their weak attempt to be more progressive and diverse, they made every female character a neutered and watered down husk of their former selves, with cases like Suki just being a horrible trope that's I've always hated, her animated version would've smacked this poor remake across the head for being so stupid.