Avatar: The Last Airbender Live Action Series

I know, but given the chimerization of some plotlines, changing how Zhao learned about the spirits, and the library (and the destruction of the Fire Nation info) not coming up despite WST's Adaptational Early Appearance make me wonder if we're going to see some restructuring there (though I might have missed something).

Finished! I definitely enjoyed the show, and I'm happy it's been renewed, but there were absolutely bad parts. Gran-Gran taking up the opening narration was almost cruel in the new context. And the spirit episode had way too many unnecessary cameos. Actually, did they ever heal Hua Bei? They got the villagers out of the Fog, but I don't remember solving the bear spirit's problem.

And why in the world did they not have Aang learning waterbending yet? Presumably they will be having Katara train him now that she's officially a master (a little fast, but I thought she advanced a bit too fast in the original, too), but I would have preferred to at least show them training together before a couple times. He should have at least proven to himself "all right, yes, I can waterbend, I shouldn't embarrass myself too much once we find a teacher."

One thing I'm a little iffy on, but which could be good, was the downplaying of Aang/Katara. In the original, it came on too strong. Aang's first words are to ask her on a date, and the idea that these two are destined to be together gets shoved in our face a bit. Here, the only real hint towards it was in the last episode, when Katara was trying to argue down the Ocean Spirit. It came off as a "realizes her true feelings" moment. So hopefully they're trying to grow the relationship more organically, but there have been some other bad choices, so I'm mildly worried.

I was a bit mixed on Kyoshi manifesting. Yes, it was awesome, but it causes two problems: First, according to the novels the Avatar has to contact their past lives in order the first time (so Aang had to talk to Roku before Kyoshi before Kuruk), but that's just a nitpick. Second, it leads to the question of why he doesn't do that all the time? Their explanation actually wasn't bad (can only do it at a shrine, not a whole lot of those left in important places), but it still rubbed me a bit the wrong way.

Azula wasn't terrible. Not great, but not terrible. I think they went too hard on making her sympathetic, and instead made her look actually weaker than Zuko. The scene where she took out the rebels was a good one, but we needed more of that. Would also help establish that no matter how much she helps Ozai and how much he shows his approval in the moment, her favoritism is always in danger.

Mai and Ty Lee, however, were basically just standing around for their entire screentime. I understand they wanted to introduce them early so they can skip their intros next season, but they still could have put them to better use. You don't even need to change their dialogue. Just have Mai lounging on a couch playing with her knives, and Ty Lee is cartweeling around and doing handstands the entire time.

Loved Zuko's crew being the 41st; I haven't heard a single complaint about that plot point. Enjoyed Ozai being more of a Parents as People version of an Abusive Parent, though I understand not everyone will love it. In particular, his smile whenever he his children did something he liked really struck me as him thinking "yes, all the pain I have put them through is worth it, I was right, suck it Ursa."

Overall, I think the actors did a near perfect job, even if the plot wasn't always enough for them. Then again, season 1 was also the worst in the original show, so maybe they'll do better next time.

Nope. Hei Bai became a plot hole. Once the show reveals that Koh is responsible for the disappearances and not Hei Bai, the spirit bear is never seen or spoken of again. I guess he was just some unrelated spirit phenomena that, by pure coincidence, happened to also be happening nearby. (What makes it especially egregious is that they take the time to have Yue in the episode so she can exposit to Sokka about Hei Bai right before he drops off the face of the universe.)

I honestly think they felt uncomfortable with the idea of filming an actual romance plot between the at-the-time 12-year-old Gordon Cormier and 15-year-old Kiawentiio. The ages of the characters stands out more when you have actual children in front of you and not wacky cartoon characters.

So they either scrubbed it or kicked it down the road to when the actors will be older.

Oh, yeah. There's a lot of things I dislike about the show but there's a lot of high points with Zuko and Iroh, and that's one of them. The only complaint I have about it is that Zuko should have requested the 41st as a point of pride, rather than having them forced on him as a punishment. It dulls the impact of them being Zuko's crew when he only has them because Ozai made him take them.

But the overall idea is brilliant, and highlights the character's best qualities.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Mar 6th 2024 at 5:46:35 AM

They actually have an opprotunity to lean into Zutara and if that happens, I'll say, "Ya'll were just wigning this show weren't you?" Unlikely to happen but perfect opprotunity if they were...

Gordon Cormier has clearly hit puberty. His voice in interviews no longer sounds like Aang's. So the Katarang romance is easily resolved with Aang growing up to a more appropriate age to consider romance via Time Skip in the Northern Water Tribe.

The idea of Zutara being canon to the live action makes me shudder in memories of the ship wars.

Same. I really hope they don't go for Zutara.

If I was writing a popular TV show, I would name a character Zutara just to mess with the shippers. (Try googling that now)

Edited by ZheToralf on Mar 7th 2024 at 5:57:46 PM

Honestly I mostly appreciate the Newbie Boom making Sukka a thing because of the impact it had on the old ship wars.

Huh, I wonder if Jee and the rest of the 41st will show up again. They didn't in the OG, but the live action put a very different spin on them.

Given that the 41st Division was a deliberate change on their part and many fans did want to know what happened to General Jee after Book One in the original show, I suspect that the show runners want them to play a bigger part. Perhaps, they would be the ones arrested by Azula for treason (for giving Zuko and Iroh cover as they go on the run) and will show up in the Boiling Rock as prisoners. They would also be very vital in starting a Fire Nation rebellion and lay the foundation for Zuko's ascension as the new Fire Lord.

Alright, so episode three:

• Interesting convergence of like four episodes, though it is an unofficial two parter so it isn't as complicated as it may seem.
• The thing about Jet and his crew was that they always had a vibe of a bunch of kids playing war without fully comprehending the consequences, almost like a cosplay group. The show is not really any more realistic as it is darker, so once Jet's crew came into the picture it only made them feel like a cosplay group rather than real child soldiers. Maybe that works with their theme, maybe it doesn't.
• Something I was concerned about was the show shoving in elements of the cartoon as a gag rather than make it into its own thing. Mai and Ty Lee show up but just as random friends to Azula, with only the barest reference to who they really are. "My Cabbages!" is made into an interrupted catch phrase multiple times before actually using it straight.
• One advantage to having fewer episodes is that Katara's growth as a waterbender feels a lot more controlled and sequential, the first season of the original show went back and forth on if Katara is competent or incompetent until they reached the Northern Tribe.
• I laughed a little at the justification for Zuko fighting Aang without firebending, an application of Coconut Superpowers that more or less worked.
• It was Aang and Zuko's fight where it became clear the show couldn't quite capture the fluidity of the action from the cartoon. It's a passable effort, though I realized that was Aang and Zuko's first prolonged fight and Aang struggled quite a bit compared to the original show, where he pretty well trounced Zuko every time they crossed paths in the first season.

I have a question. I found this entry on YMMV.Percy Jackson And The Olympians 2023:

• Fandom Rivalry: Is developing one with the Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024) fandom due to both being live-action adaptations coming out around the same time.

Have the two fanbases been competing? I haven't seen the two interact let alone fight with each other.

Edited by Bullman on Mar 8th 2024 at 1:50:54 PM

I saw a review of ATLA from Friendly Space Ninja that take a lot of shots at Percy Jackson, but that's my only point of reference for Fandom Rivalry.

I am curious what plot lines they might merge in season 2.

Fwiw, I think Book 2 will actually be easier to adapt just because it's the least episodic. I hope Zuko just flat out has the Heel–Face Turn in Ba Sing Se this time, seems to me it'd actually make way more sense in this context. That and I don't know how this Azula can pull off that kind of manipulation to Zuko, to Long Feng, perhaps.

Then Book 3 can just get into the "field trips" sooner, maybe even give one to Toph and Zuko this time.

In other notes, how will Ba Sing Se be handled? Because it seems like a lot of those themes were literally put into Omashu. I almost kinda wish instead of name dropping Ba Sing Se, they just put it all into Omashu after what they did.

Still, I'm optimistic, as I did enjoy this series [mostly], and I do remember how Korra had terrible pacing issues in Book 1 before sorting itself out in Books 2 and 3 just because it tried to be self-contained before being given the greenlight to be more flowing.

Hard disagree. Zuko turning good in Ba Sing Se at the end of season 2 would ruin his arc. The point of him returning to the Fire Nation as a hero and getting his honor back was to realize that it wasn't what he actually wanted and, more importantly, to realize that his father and the war as a whole is wrong and become better person by himself and not because his uncle and the gaang pushed him into it. Also if Zuko joined Team Avatar earlier, they would have never learned about Ozai's plans for Sozin's comet.

One of the things about season one is they brought forward or emphasized a number of things that were more focused in season two: Omashu/Earth Kingdom politics, spirit world, Zuko/Azula relationship and establishing limits to the Avatar State. My guess is that they will probably drop the brief time Zuko and Iroh split up, the whole lost Appa arc (Appa as transportation was already downplayed, and "Appa's Lost Days" would be expensive), drop the Drill episode (also expensive), condense Azula's introduction since she's already been introduced, find Toph by the second episode and Ba Sing Se will be the last two episodes instead of half the season (longer episodes mean it's easier to have a Time Skip to convey the efforts at Slice of Life).

I agree with Lady Blackwood. If Zuko had turned at that point, it would be because he's desperate and he was told to. He had to decide for himself, have a more clearheaded look at the Fire Nation, and see how him acting as the perfect prince won't solve anything.

That's a big issue imo. The introductions of Ty Lee and Mai were important at establishing something that became major in s3- they were heavily motivated to follow Azula out of fear, and she had power over their lives. Otherwise their actions in s3 and how that destabilizes Azula makes less sense.

I think there is too much of a concern over exact replication of the story. The show hasn't been perfect but I haven't found much that is broken about the structure so far. Thing is that while the runtime is about the same the longer episodes but fewer episodes mean that they don't have the narrative space to include more isolated character stories like "Zuko Alone" or "The Desert." Every episode has to progress the story and fit those character moments on the side.

Like, the whole thing with Mai and Ty Lee turning against Azula is that the set up is extremely subtextual throughout the series and not something that requires specific arc driven episodes to fit the pieces together. If anything, I expect the Netflix show would make it MORE obvious rather than be a surprise development. Similarly, I imagine the second season would skip most of the stories involving Azula chasing the group and be more focused on her actions at Ba Sing Se (which the show already foreshadowed in her first appearance).

The key plot points of Season 2 are as followed:

• Toph Beifong being Aang's new Earthbending Teacher.
• Team Avatar learning about the Day of Black Sun.
• Ba Sing Se Government Conspiracy.
• Zuko betrays his Uncle and joins Azula.
• Azula nearly kills Aang, putting the Avatar out of commission for weeks, and Ba Sing Se falls.

And let's be real, they want a big action set piece for the trailers. That's why they deliberately spent most of their budget on Koizilla because that was the one thing they wanted to show no matter what (unlike The Last Airbender). Season 2's big set piece is the Drill. And why not since it's a big Fire Nation technological marvel and Team Avatar had to get creative on destroying that thing before it breached Ba Sing Se.

Well, I have at last finished watching the first season!

Overall, I very much enjoyed it! I'm enthused for the next season! (Presuming that there is one, of course.) ^_^

So, first, my thoughts before reading the thread. Please note that I haven't watched the original series, so I'm approaching this primarily as a work in its own right, not as an adaptation.

• I really wanted—and still want!—to see more Azula. I really want to see what this twisted ball of frustration, anger, and father issues does, now that some madman^note It's Ozai. Ozai is the madman. :P has unleashed her on an unready world...
• Speaking of whom, I felt that her Lightning Bending(?) kinda came out of nowhere.
  • Now, we did have prior example of what I presume are derived forms of Bending, as shown with Water Healing. But there I felt that the derived form was better introduced: we were shown that the base element was still involved, and told how it related to the base Bending art. With Lightning Bending, it just... came out of nowhere.
  • It did look very, very cool however. ^_^
• Conversely, I spent most of my time watching Zuko wondering how long it would take for him to join Team Avatar.
  • Sure, he's an antagonist. But we're also shown on multiple occasions that he has a caring heart.
  • Well, maybe now that someone has disabused him of the hope of his father's approval and a place on the throne of the empire...
• Koh is one of the best things in the show. A really cool design, an interesting motivation, and really nicely realised. Give me more face-stealing centipede horror, please! :D
• The three core protagonists are really well-acted and well-written, and their characters really interesting to follow.
  • Aang is particularly impressively portrayed: he comes across as wise and intelligent beyond his years—but also as a child who's thrown into a role far beyond his comfort zone, and who's thus very uncertain of himself.
  • Katara is perhaps my favourite, with a strong arc of discovering her own power, and through it her own strength and self-worth. I also really, really liked that they ended her seasonal arc with her becoming acknowledged as a "master"—and that twice reinforced, the second time by an authority figure.
  • Sokka is a ton of fun, while remaining a capable warrior and ally. The poor boy really isn't lucky in love, though, is he? XD;
• The plot was solid, and consistently interesting.
• That finale was especially strong, with a real sense of terrible things at stake—and a real feeling that important things might actually be threatened. The final sacrifice was well set-up, suitably heart-tugging, and overall a satisfying way to solve the problem that the episode's plot had set up.
  • Although I am sad to lose Fox-princess Whose Name I Don't Know How to Spell. I liked her. And Sokka liked her. :(
  • On which note, I did really like that we had an Asian Fox Spirit who wasn't at all antagonistic, and who was generally just a sweetheart. ^_^
• And finally, the Bending looked really cool (especially Katara's ;P), was easy enough to follow, and a nice new "flavour" of magic for me. ^_^

So yeah, bring on season two, say I! ^_^

Regarding the thread, I hope that I may be forgiven if I've skipped to the most recent two pages: I was several pages behind on returning, and I further found myself bumping into some (thankfully fairly minor) spoilers. (In part I think because it's hard to tell "series-as-a-whole" spoilers from "season one" spoilers.)

And this is how we know that they cast the perfect Ozai! XD;

Also: I'm really glad to read that they've renewed the show for two more seasons! :D

Glad you liked it! I'll try to be more careful about spoiling the cartoon then!

And this is precisely why averting the Heel–Face Turn rather than just making Season 3 go straight into "Field Trips" (maybe even combine "Sokka's Master") would just be jarring.

Yes, I'm sure Kim & Co. will figure how to make this kinda of thing work regardless and I'm fine to change my mind. But as of now, there's just far too much for this Zuko and so little time...except for off-screen skips.

Edited by terlwyth on Mar 10th 2024 at 4:54:33 AM

Hoping Zuko alone is just a standalone episode and they don't combine it with anything. It's like easily one of the shows best episodes.

It would also kind of ruin Zuko alone if they combine it with some other plot. The whole point of Zuko being the only main character to appear is to highlight his isolation and make you feel it to. So, it would be odd to keep cutting away to what Aang and company are doing.