#to be clear I'm not criticizing Zuko here

[zuko-always-lies]

I’m still pissed that the only time the narrative ever lets Zuko comment on Air Nomad culture are:

1. Commenting that Aang “wouldn’t know much of fathers, since he was raised as monks” in Book 1, episode 2.

2. Mocking the focus that Air Nomad culture has on forgiveness in “The Southern Raiders.”

And the narrative never depicts his reaction to the Air Nomad Genocide, even though he visited the four Air Temples before the series started, even though he reads Sozin’s account of the genocide in “The Avatar and the Firelord,” even though he joins the Gaang at the freaking Western Air Temple and spends several episodes living there.

To be clear, this isn’t a character problem, this is a writing problem.  The writers did not consider having Zuko react to the Genocide be something worth including, even though the Air Nomad Genocide was essentially the “original sin” of the Fire Nation.

#Zuko #Aang #Air Nomads #air nomad #air nomad genocide #to be clear I'm not criticizing Zuko here #but this absence is #very weird.

[comradekatara]

What are the ATLA ppl's fav pseudoscience?

okay so this is a really funny question because obviously many of the atla characters do already strongly believe in things that we would classify as pseudoscience, but also because they live in an entirely different cosmology, some of what we label pseudoscience (see: ty lee's whole deal) is in fact plausible within the world they inhabit. and there are also degrees of plausibility. we see phrenology practiced (by professor zei in "the desert") but we as the audience are expected to be critical of the practice (at least... i hope!), or while katara buys into fortunetelling wholeheartedly, sokka's skepticism is also given credence. and then the concept of qi is like. integral to the fabric of the show. so i'm instead going to frame this as "their favorite pseudoscience within my modern au" because otherwise it would simply get far too confusing.

aang would probably be into cryptozoology. i don't really have much to say here, i think he'd just believe in nessie and sasquatch and mothman because why not. makes the world more magical, yknow?

katara obviously buys into astrology and palm reading and stuff of that ilk. but it's not just a fun little game for her, like she does genuinely believe it's 100% real. and she has gotten into some really terrible fights with sokka over this. (almost as bad, in fact, as their blowout fight over whether or not pluto ought to be reclassified as a planet, wherein katara was so deeply offended by sokka's claim that "the classification of pluto is not a social justice issue, except for perhaps in the sense that you sound like a conservative right now" that she dramatically declared that she was disowning him as her brother.)

sokka's role is basically to personify/embody the scientific method so him believing in pseudoscience is antithetical to his mo. that said, i guess you could say he believed in gendered bioessentialism, but even then he changes his mind the second he is presented with data that disconfirms his paradigm, so it's more honest to state that he wouldn't really "believe in" anything since that's not how he approaches the world in the first place.

toph tries acupuncture with aang in "nightmares and daydreams," and also is a walking polygraph, so let's just go with that.

suki's a dyke so she knows the basics of her birth chart just by nature of being in those circles, but she also knows better than to mention that around sokka, because she fears that he would dump her on the spot if she admitted to knowing that she's a "taurus moon."

zuko becomes convinced over the course of his life that iroh knows everything there is to know about everything, all because of that one time iroh said "maybe you shouldn't live with your father?" and zuko was like "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!!' and ever since he has regretted that argument so much that he has fully bought into tcm, but also doesn't really understand it himself, so he kind of just blathers on about "hot versus cold foods" or whatever, but in a way that it's clear that he's just putting words together in a poor man's facsimile of his uncle.

mai likes to fuck with people by claiming that she genuinely believes in humor theory. she'll be like "my, doesn't someone possess an excess of black bile today?" and revel in alienating everyone around her. i mean, she doesn't actually believe in it, but by the parameters of your question, it is nonetheless her favorite pseudoscience.

despite what you might be expecting me to say, ty lee's favorite pseudoscience is actually psychology.

and azula's favorite pseudoscience is eugenics, obviously. she can't get enough of the stuff.

#bigpansy #asks #the gaang and #modern au #sort of #i think this post is gonna alienate everyone actually #so youre kind of sick and twisted for asking it of me in the first place #although maybe thats on me for answering it #lmao

[burst-of-iridescent]

atla live action thoughts: season one review

first things first: anyone who says the Movie That Does Not Exist is better than the live action is straight-up lying. the shymalan film fails on the criteria of even being a decent movie, let alone an adaptation. the netflix series, for all its problems, is at least an enjoyable watch with great effects, music and (mostly) appropriate casting. there's absolutely nothing to compare here - the netflix version clears easily.

now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's delve into the series, starting with the positives.

the good:

visuals and cinematography. they really did a great job of making it feel like a fantasy universe you wanted to be in & i love how vibrant the saturation and colour grading was. it made the world feel so much more dynamic and alive instead of the same flat, boring dullness that so many movies and shows have these days. sometimes i didn't even mind that i was being fed obvious exposition because at least they were giving me something pretty to look at lmao

effects and action. the bending was surprisingly good for the most part, and they did a good job of making the elements feel unique through the stunt choreography and the actors' movements. i'm immensely thankful they didn't try to skimp on budget by merely cutting away from fight scenes or showing us as little as possible. almost all the action sequences were fast-paced and engaging, and i was never bored watching them

acting. the main four were all great, but gordon cormier and dallas liu have to be the standouts for me. gordon brings such an earnest, innocent sweetness to aang that you can't help but like him, and dallas plays all of zuko's facets perfectly: the angst, the explosive anger, the bratty snark, and especially the deep-rooted pain that characterizes so many of zuko's actions in book 1. the range he has, especially when flashing from younger to older zuko, was insane. special shoutout to maria zhang and sebastian amoruso as suki and jet respectively, because they killed it

music. leaves from the vine instrumental had me tearbending and i love how they kept the iconic avatar theme while making it a little darker for this iteration of the story. in general, the soundtrack felt very true to the animation while still being a fresh spin on it

zuko and iroh's relationship and expanding on zuko's crew. i think the fandom universally agrees that lu ten's funeral and zuko's crew being the 41st division were the best changes in the series, so i'm not going to talk about it further other than to say that these scenes show me what the show can be, and that's why i'm not giving up on it

the bad:

characterization. almost all the main characters are missing the little nuances that made them so great in the original, but the greatest casualty is katara. i hate that they took away so much of her rage, and gave many of her traits and struggles to sokka. i don't think this is a problem solely with the writing though, because certain lines do feel like things animated katara would say, but the directing and line delivery don't have the same punch that made her so fierce in the original. this is an easily fixed issue though, so i hope they take the criticism and let my girl be angry and fuck shit up next season

exposition. this was primarily a problem in depicting aang's personality and the relationship between the gaang, because a) why are you TELLING me that aang is mischievous and fun-loving instead of just showing me and b) the gaang do NOT feel like close friends, mostly because they spend so much time apart in every episode that they have little screentime to actually bond and develop intimacy.

lack of focus on the intricacies of bending. for a show whose tagline is "master your element" the characters spend very little time actually... mastering their element. zuko is never shown to struggle with firebending (which is going to have ramifications when it comes to developing his relationship with azula), and neither aang nor katara ever learn waterbending from a master throughout the the entire show. i'm pretty sure aang never willingly waterbends ONCE in the entire eight episodes, discounting the avatar state and koizilla. bending isn't just cool martial arts, it's closely linked to the philosophies and spirituality of each nation, and i wish that had been explored more.

pacing. they really needed to do a better job of conveying that time passed between episodes because an 8-episode season is just going to FEEL shorter than a 20-episode one. the original animation felt as though they'd truly been on a long journey before arriving at the north, but here it feels like the entire show happened in the span of a fortnight or so because each episode seemed to pick up right after the previous. they needed to have more downtime within episodes instead of just rushing from plot beat to plot beat because it made everything feel a lot more rushed. give the characters and story time to breathe.

final rating: 7/10.

overall, i would describe the live action as a better version of the percy jackson movies - not an accurate or perfect adaptation, but a decent story that's very fun to watch. but what really makes me root for this show to get a season 2 is that it has a lot of potential and more importantly, a lot of heart. it's evident that the people who worked on it do genuinely love and respect the original series, and it shows onscreen.

regardless of anything else, this show created opportunities for so many asian and indigenous actors, writers and creators to tell the kinds of stories and play the kinds of roles they don't usually get, and that's something worth supporting. if they take the criticism from this season and improve, i believe they really do have something special on their hands which - although it might not be the original we all know and love - could still be a story to be proud of.

#atla live action

[forevermore05]

1. I can't speak for other cultures that were represented in this show (I'm so sorry if your representation was ruined too), but since I'm a South Asian and specifically an Indian and Hindu. I think I have some credibility. Ok, so this may depend on the interpretations of Hinduism that you've grown up with if you're a Hindu reading this. Well, growing up, I was always taught that Chakras were so important. I learned that the GODS could not accomplish something unless they access all their Chakras (again, this is the interpretation I grew up with it might not be the same for you). So the fact that watching Aang just be able to live life without accessing all of his charkas properly was a big slap to the face. Let me just say this right now. If you were representing a culture, especially the culture that you base the entire show on you either do it correctly or you don't do it at all. Don't make it half-baked because that's just disrespecting the people who follow that religion. And you're emphasizing how insignificant their religious values are (mind you Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world). What little representation we had was also ruined.

2. I also want to talk about another point since I'm here. I think I've made it very clear that I'm a woman of color. Even though me and Katara Are not the same ethnicity. She was my representation through skin color. And it's so interesting. How even though I knew that she was not my ethnicity, I still grasped onto her as a representation. Now this is not a PSA for studios to say "Hey, let's have a person that is brown, and everyone will be okay with it because they will have a person of the same skin to relate to." No this is me criticizing the lack of diversity in the show. The fact that you can base an entire show on a culture but not be able to handle a main character from that culture. And also I think the reason why I like Zuko and Katara ( I've made this point before) But the amount of respect that they have. As a woman of color, I have not exactly received respect from other men whether that be because of my gender or my skin color. So seeing a woman of color be respected regardless it's just so refreshing to me.

3. Also I want people to be mindful that a lot of people who ship this ship. Are women of color and/or part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. However, I'm going to talk specifically about women of color since I'm straight. A lot of us have come from countries that have been colonized and still face the repercussions of colonization to this day, so what I'm trying to say is. When woc ship this duo they know what they're doing and they're not doing anything wrong. It's disrespectful to insult them for being racist and misogynistic when in reality a lot of these women face misogyny and racism in their own lives. They understand why they ship this ship. They understand it very well because they able to see and understand what is truly going on.

4. If you have a problem with this post and want to potentially hunt me down. I'm only saying this because I've seen other women of color be harassed for liking Zutara. I need you to remember that I'm a teenager. I'm a kid. I don't think you want to beef with a kid. And no, it does not matter that I'm 18. You shouldn't be harassing anyone over a ship. In fact, accusing shippers of being racist but then being racist to that poc/woc shipper is insane. It kind of shows that those people are not on a moral high horse.

5. I'm a kid......don't even think about it.

#avatar the last airbender #hinduism #india #south asian #katara #zuko #zutara #zuko x katara #pls don't rip me apart im a teenager 💀 #atla critical

[in-g-major]

ATLA Unpacked: Kataang is Reactive, not Constructive (Part 1)

In my last rewatch of ATLA, I came to a conclusion about something that's bothered me since I first watched the finale in 2008. After *the kiss* which closes out the entire show, I've been of the opinion that Kataang was an absolute failure, on multiple levels. Over the years I've held that position through multiple rewatches and the perspectives of many other intelligent, passionate fans. However, why it fails is something I've thought more deeply about over the years. There are the implications of a romance with a very lopsided balance of emotional labor, and issues of one party's consent (Katara's) being violated without an apology. Those are serious problems and valid criticisms, but here I'm going to be examining how Kataang fails because of its position within ATLA's story. As a disclaimer, I am not invoking Zutara in this analysis. For most of my time as an ATLA fan I abstained from the shipping wars beyond an occasional comment, and I only became pro-Zutara within the last year after taking on the responsibility of writing about these characters again. Alright, here goes! Reactive vs Constructive? When I say Kataang is a reactive force, I mean that it disturbs the flow and direction of the narrative (the implicit and explicit messages a story is projecting to the audience) by contradicting and clashing with other things we're presented with. A constructive force, on the other hand, is something which shapes the narrative towards an internally sound and satisfying conclusion. To explain what I mean, I'll be going through the show in episode order. No Kataang in sight yet (B1:E1 - B1:E13) A commonly cited argument in favor of Kataang is that it was part of ATLA from the beginning and the show was building towards it all along. This argument doesn't hold up simply because of how many episodes go by before there are any implications of romantic interest between Aang and Katara. The closest thing to romantic subtext is the way Katara appears to Aang after she frees him from the iceberg. (B1:E1)

By itself this doesn't suggest anything particularly romantic, especially since Katara is the first person Aang sees after a very traumatic experience. Later on he tells Appa "I liked her too" (B1:E2), but that's pretty nonspecific. After this we get exactly zero text or subtext until we're over two-thirds of the way into Book 1. Now a romance between two characters doesn't have to be developed from the very beginning of the story to make sense. However, things get messier for Kataang from here, so hold on tight. The Dashing, Dark-Haired Boys in Katara's life (B1:E6 - B1:E10) In my last rewatch I really took notice of how we see Katara's dynamics with no less than THREE dark-haired boys her age or older in the span of five episodes. First, there's Haru (B1:E6), with whom she builds a very sweet friendship that has some romantic possibilities. They bond over the struggles of losing their parents to the Fire Nation, and he's the first person who empathizes with her feelings about the death of her mother.

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her. Haru: It's not enough, is it? Katara: No. (Disclaimer: Harutara was my OG ATLA ship) Next, there's Zuko (B1:E9), at this point her enemy and the one who finds her mother's necklace after she loses it at the end of B1:E6. Their parallels so far have revolved around the longing they project onto Aang and learning to master their elements. Here, in their first one-on-one interaction, a further connection is established through Katara's mother's necklace. Exactly why this is significant for Zuko isn't clear yet, but it pays off wonderfully later on.

Zuko: Tell me where [Aang] is, and I won't hurt you or your brother. Katara: Go jump in the river! Zuko: Try to understand. I need to capture him to restore something I've lost: my honor. Perhaps in exchange, I can restore something you've lost. (That first image is the perfect snapshot of how hilariously awkward this exchange actually is. Zuko's only cool when he's not trying to be) Finally, there's Jet (B1:E10), Katara's first crush. She's wooed by his good looks and guerilla tactics against the Fire Nation, then spends most of the episode smitten with him. Jet empathizes with her mother's death when she brings it up, but he also tricks her into doing something she would never have agreed to with full knowledge of his plans. When she confronts him about it, he tries manipulating her with what she told him about her mother, and she truly turns on him when she thinks he's killed Sokka. It's the first time Katara has had her trust violated, and it's a painful experience.

Katara: Jet, why? Jet: Katara, you would too if you just stopped to think. Think about what the Fire Nation did to your mother. We can't let them do that to anyone else ever again. Katara: This isn't the answer! Jet: I want you to understand me, Katara. I thought your brother would understand, but... Katara: Where's Sokka?... I can't believe I trusted you. You lied to me! You're sick, and I trusted you!

(Just putting those images together had me slightly teary. Poor Katara.) What these character dynamics have in common is that they're all constructive. They contribute to Katara's story without contradicting each other. Her feelings and agency are clearly emphasized, and all three boys exist as their own independent characters while simultaneously being part of her journey. Keep that in mind as we venture into our first real Kataang episode. Related Meta & Additional Reading - Katara's Romantic Agency by starlight-bread-blog

#atla meta #katara #katara defense squad #katara deserved better #anti kataang #g major writes #g major meta

[peanutbutterwrites]

My Good Looking Boy - Part One

warnings for series: angst, struggles with self worth and self esteem, issues with appearance, childhood trauma, and mentions of death and murder.

summary: taking place after the southern raiders, zuko and katara finally learn to understand each other a bit more and long held on to feelings come to the surface. the gaang go and watch the ember island play and chaos ensues with katara's feelings.

part one - part two

authors note: here is the awaited first part! nothing crazy will happen in this part just because i'm trying to build a foundation on the slight heistance of acceptance between zuko and katara and expose the flaws in katara and aang going further into a relationship. i hope there's no major errors as i've read it a million times myself, but it is not beta read. please, let me know what you think and send me your thoughts and requests! i am open to criticism but please be kind to me lol. also let me know if you wanna be on a taglist for this series. thank you guys ~

word count: 1.8 k

Summertime in the fire nation was beautiful to see, the exotic flowers were in bloom and there was plenty to gather and hunt in the forest near camp. But one thing that summer did mean, was heat. Rays from the sun began beating down as early as six and were relentless until seven in the evening. Being a night owl meant Katara could spend a lot of her time in the cool light of the moon, late into the hours of the night. But it also meant a rude awakening when she rose at ten and it was already blisteringly hot. Groaning awake, she threw an arm to cover her eyes and felt the crease of her elbow sticky with sweat already.

“Ew, come on really?” she mumbled sleepily as she peeled the patchwork blanket from her balmy skin. Unsticking some of her hair from the nape of her neck, she rose from the tent to begin a long, hot day. Opening the curtains with a loud flap, the sun blinded her briefly before resting her eyes on the makeshift camp that the group had formed. Luckily, Sokka, Toph and Suki were all still sleeping so Katara didn’t feel too guilty about her habit of sleeping in. Yawning and making sure her wraps were tight, Katara stretched and began the laundry that she would have to do. “I need to gather food for dinner tonight, fix Suki’s blanket, teach Aang his lesson…” she mumbled, thinking out loud while she worked. As soon as she had all the blankets and clothes that needed washing, laundry was a daily occurrence thanks to the heat and dirt, she made her way down to the lake nearby camp. 

The journey there was beautiful and pleasantly uneventful, but the need for cool water spurred her on and hindered her ability to appreciate the scenery. Once she finally arrived at the beautiful lake, she waded knee deep into the water and allowed the full, woven basket to float towards her. The lake lay under the cool shade of a carved out mountain with lush greenery growing all throughout it. It was beautiful to see such life within the fire nation, Katara had always thought it would be barren and depressing. Using a long, flat rock as support for the clean clothes,  she breathed in and out as the gentle glide of her hands wove the water in and out of the fabric. The push and pull of the arm motion became therapeutic, and not too long after she began she was lost in her own thoughts. So lost in fact, she missed the rustling of the nearby leaves and the airy laughter floating its way into the clearing. 

“Yeah! It was incredible right? Oh good morning Katar-” but her attention snapped just in time for a needle-thin icicle to hover right in front of the intruder's nose. “Whoa! It's just us.” Aang said as he brushed a large plant out of his way and walked with a bounce in his step toward her. 

“Oh! I'm sorry, I was in my own world.” Katara dropped the icicle immediately in favor of returning to her former activity. “What are you doing out here? Didn’t you have practice this morning?” 

“Yes, he did.” A rich, gravely voice rang out. It was quieter than Aangs and still held some apprehension. Katara raised her head to meet golden eyes.

“Oh, hello Zuko.” she said in a quiet greeting. Relations with Zuko had been strained to say the least. Katara spent the better half of the summer hating his guts and only recently had the formed common ground with the firebender. And by recently, she meant a little over a week at most. Finally accepting that his kindness and sincerity were, well, sincere; Katara was still finding it difficult to adjust to being comfortable around Zuko. 

“Yeah! I did so great today, it was actually Zuko’s suggestion to come down here!” Aang bounded towards the water, taking off his robes in a fluid movement as he did so. Katara’s eyes flickered from Aang’s juvenile behavior with a fond smile on her face, back to Zuko. Noticing a light flush across his cheeks, 

“Zuko? Are you okay? It’s quite hot today, why don’t you get in the water?” But the color only intensified. 

“Uh yes, it is rather hot isn't it? I should get in.” Katara nodded while lightly giggling at him as he stood stiff as a board. Snorting at his behavior, she went back to focusing on the back and forth of the water she used to wash their laundry. Listening to Aang's babbling she hmm’d and oh’d in all the right spots about his stories of today’s lesson, about how wonderful he was getting at firebending. In her defense, she was fully involved in her work, focussing heavily on her job. That was, until a certain jerkbender decided to join them. Zuko derobed without any flourish, but Katara had a hard time focussing after the fact. Her breath fumbled and her heartbeat worked in a stuttering pattern. Her stomach felt awkward and didn’t it suddenly feel hotter out?  Sinking slowly into the water, Zuko waded his way over to where Katara was working, forcing her to end her gawking. What the hell were you thinking about, Katara? Get a grip! Aang’s laughter could be heard reverberating off the walls of the carved out side of the cliff where the lake formed at the bottom, and Zuko finally settled on a ledge of rock, not too far from Katara. “So,” he began, “what have you been up to?” Katara fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Well, you know me I’m a late riser but somebody needed to get this laundry done.”

“You don’t have to do everything by yourself, I could help you know.” he said sheepishly. “I feel bad with you doing all the work around here.”

“Well at least someone acknowledges it. You know, the occasional “wow thanks Katara!” would suffice.” She ranted, clasping her hands in a prayer position while exaggeratingly batting her eyes in mock praise.

“I’m serious though, I want to help.” 

“Please, you and all your princely training isn’t going to help here.” he blushed a bright red and hung his head at the obvious statement. He had neglected to remember that to help with laundry he needed to know how to do laundry. 

“W-well, teach me Sifu Katara.” she snorted at that, but hesitantly agreed. He had stood up from his seat on the rock ledge and had a hopeful look in his eyes. As soon as her eyes deviated from his, she regretted it. One would think all the traveling and limit to food would make one malnourished, but apparently Zuko was healthy as a horse as the water dropping down his toned stomach would beg to differ. Snapping her head down to hide the fierce blush that had bloomed across her face, she slapped a wet blanket into Zuko’s chest while he waded closer. Showing the motion of pressing the fabric into a rock for non-waterbenders, Zuko began learning how to actually help. He never once complained, even when Katara snapped at him for doing it incorrectly. They stood there in comfortable silence, only the sounds of water, rubbing of fabric, and occasional bird calls with Aang’s distant laughter never ceasing. It was one of the few times Katara has actually felt peace in a while. Even alone she often found her mind wandering into undesirable thoughts. Thoughts about her mother, the war, and even the man she killed. She knew he deserved it for all the waterbenders and innocent people of her tribe he must have wounded besides her mother. But for some reason, that didn’t make killing feel any better to her. “You thinking about something?” His hoarse voice suddenly spoke. 

“Um yeah, I guess I am.” 

“You can always talk to me. I mean, if you want that is.” Katara paused, debating on if they were comfortable enough yet with each other. “Actually, you never have to talk to me about anything really. You know I don't want to push your boundaries and-”

“It's okay, Zuko. Thank you.” She gave him a small smile and the tension of his previous rambling physically exited his body as his shoulders relaxed down. 

“Well, good. Because honestly, you’re a really good friend Katara, and I don’t want to mess this up.” She offered him a soft grip on top of his hand and that slightly uncomfortable fluttering returned to her stomach. 

“You haven’t messed it up.” He smiled softly back at her, his eyes twinkling and Katara swore she could see golden light dancing in them. But suddenly, his face fell and his hand slipped out from under hers. He went back to washing the fabric and a frown found its way to Katara’s face. 

“Zuko? What’s-”

“Hey, you guys are washing out our clothes! Cool!” Aaang waded out of the water and the moment was lost. Maybe she was imagining it, but she swore she heard Zuko let out a sigh of relief.

“Well yeah, you guys have been complaining about the sweat and dirt so, here we are.” 

“Wow, really cool of you to help Zuko. You didn’t have to.” Aang said cheerfully, grabbing the finished clothes and hitting them with some gusts of wind to help dry them quickly. Katara’s frown only deepened,

“You know Aang, he didn’t have to but it would be nice if you guys helped me out a little more.” “Why? It's like your job, you know? I have to train, Zuko and Toph have to teach me, Suki has stuff to do for her people and helps you out sometimes, and Sokka is, well, Sokka. That stuff’s your thing.”

“But Aang, I teach you too.” Katara grumbled. 

“I barely need help waterbending anymore, I think it’s fine.” He shrugged while he pulled on a robe. Katara ground her teeth and had to contain herself from snapping. 

“I think she has a point, there’s nothing wrong with us all helping each other out a little more.” Zuko came to the rescue. But Aang simply shrugged, as if this conversation was no big deal at all.

“Sure, I’m heading back to camp. You guys coming?” Katara sighed and tried to keep her tone even. 

“No Aang, I’m not finished with my job.” Aang looked pointedly at Zuko.

“I'll stay with her.” 

#zutara #zuko x katara #atla #atla imagines #zutara imagines #angst #hurt comfort

[balanceoflightanddark]

Avatar the Last Airbender Netflix Episode 1- "Aang"

Well...the time has come.

My biggest question going into this series is asking why it needs to exist. I mean, from a business standpoint it makes sense. ATLA exploded in popularity overnight during the pandemic and Netflix wanted to cash in while the iron was still hot. Moreover, it's one of those "safe bet" projects. The name recognition alone is going to attract some viewers, even if just to compare it to the original. Doesn't matter if you don't like it, you still saw it. And if it boosts their numbers, it'll be a success regardless of critical reception.

No, my question stems from a creative standpoint: what are they going to do in order to make this remake seem like a necessary thing? What was so important that they needed to retell the story over again?

That's my thoughts going into the first episode. My first complaint is the structuring. It would not be a stretch to say that this episode had THREE introductions (arguably five if you count Aang and the water siblings being introduced): one by Kyoshi that gave an overview of the setting, one that set up that the Fire Nation was going to attack the Southern Air Temple during Sozin's Comet, and yet another by Gran Gran where she basically recited the original series opening. It just feels clunky, that we're being told the same information over and over again with exposition dumps.

And yeah, there's quite a few of them. Sure, some exposition is necessary to quickly relay the state of the world. But then we have stuff like Katara explaining that the Earth Kingdom is holding out in Ba Sing Se even though that's not exactly relevant to the current story? Stuff like that seems too much to throw at the viewer in too short a span of time. I'd hate to compare it to the original series where stuff like this was introduced more organically within the context of the story (Ba Sing Se was first mentioned in Iroh's siege of it, right?).

Last thing is that the acting was...hit or miss. Which to be fair I think was more direction and writing than any fault on the actors. Katara was...she was just kind of there for the most part I felt, not having any of the pent up anger of the original. And Gran Gran...yeah, her acting was bad. Really bad. Again, I'm blaming more on the writing since she felt stiff and didn't have any of the loving qualities despite her weariness of the original (didn't get a scene of her saying goodbye to Katara and Sokka for example).

Now, stuff I liked, and there was quite a few that I did like. I liked the actor who played Aang, he was a great choice. Really nailed down the balance between goofball and needing to take things more seriously. Some of the comedy beats were pretty good, like the one Southern Water Tribe member saying "He looks dead" about Aang, Sokka screaming his head off while riding on Appa, or one of the Fire Nation sailors grumbling about Zuko dragging their asses all over the place (first swear in the franchise and Zuko caused it).

There are two things I want to address here. The first change of Aang being more duty-oriented and wanting to clear his head instead of running away. I get the backlash...but I also think it's addressed here. In the original, Aang learned out in the worst way possible with nobody there to ease him into it. Which resulted in him running away. Here, Monk Gyatso broke it to him as gently as he could. It was still a bad situation, but I think a father figure being there to sort of steer him in the right path would've toned down his reaction in the original if that was allowed to happen. Plus it would've given Aang more incentive to take his duties seriously if Gyatso guided and vouched for him. Like he's doing it for his old mentor. I'd be interested to see where this goes.

Last thing: the scene between Aang and Iroh. It's simple, but effective. Aang asks why Iroh why the Fire Nation is waging the war, and the old man just gives off what sounds like Fire Nation propaganda. Aang shuts him down and Iroh...silently nods and agrees with him. It's actually pretty powerful. Aside from him realizing the implications that he just advocated the imperialistic rhetoric to a survivor of said rhetoric, it also sort of humanizes the Fire Nation a bit where an old veteran like Iroh admits that no, sometimes he and his people weren't always in the right. It's just he can't do much about it.

There. I complimented an Iroh scene and admitted he got one of the best scenes in the episode. Happy now?

All in all, it was...a solid start. I think I'm a bit more forgiving in terms of Aang's changed character since...well, I wasn't asking for a one-to-one remake of the original. There were a few things that bothered me, but I'm willing to hold the benefit of the doubt until they start becoming bigger problems down the line.

At the start of my watch, I asked whether or not a remake like this was necessary. What I got from this episode was..."maybe?" It's clear they want to do something different in terms of character, which is fine. It's just how clunky some of the dialogue and structuring choices were that holds it down a little. A shaky start, but there's room for potential.

#avatar: the last airbender #netflix avatar #atla netflix #aang #avatar aang #iroh #general iroh #atla #live action atla #avatar live action #live action avatar #monk gyatso #atla gyatso

[nono-bunny]

You think the ATLA fandom would have done a better job writing the show?

Thanks for the ask!

Honestly? Absolutely not. Treating the ATLA fandom as one entity here is a bit of a misnomer here imo. When talking to @phoebester, I mentioned that I kinda feel like I'm more a part of the Zutara fandom rather than the general ATLA fandom- !nd that's for good reason! Zutara fans are inherently more critical because we like something that deviates from canon, and I find that the ATLA fandom are large much more closely matches the disposition of casual watchers, who maybe watch the show once and never think on it further- which is also a valid way to interact with media, it's just not my way, especially with media I find lacking in some way. ATLA is great overall, but it has some glaring flaws -some of which are more controversial than others- and I feel that only fans would really bother to ruminate on those in the way I find a lot of Zutarians do. I'm certain some Kataangers or fans of other ships also have issues with canon, but I feel that no one moreso than Zutara has such beef with it.

So if the question is simply about the fandom at large? No, that's unfeasible, a whole fandom can't write a cohesive story when it already has such huge disagreements about where canon ended up... But I gather that's not what you really meant, anyway. I have read fanfics that feel like they genuinely fixed a lot of the bad writing decisions of the show, but there are also many that made it very clear to me that not everyone necessarily understands/are capable of recognizing the core issues behind them, which makes it difficult to fix them. I've read fics retelling the whole story of the show that change one core thing, but fail to recognize that it would then mean that events don't happen in exactly the same way (Zuko joins early and Aang not being the Avatar are frequent offenders here). So like? At the end of the day, it once again comes to individual writers and their ability to write this story in a competent and engaging way- ATLA had good writers on board, which is why it succeeded despite Bryke being shit ones. I definitely believe that there are writers in the fandom that could've done a better job than Bryke, but like... At its core, the issue with them is about control and entitlement- they don't care about being the ones to put forth solid writing, and it shows. Quite frankly, under Bryke's supervision, no one could've made a better show than what we got, and as tragic as it is... Without them there would be no show, so this is all kind of a moot point in the end, unfortunately.

Also, to me "a better show" would've meant Aang getting completely rehauled, removed, or changed to a villain, and that's a bit of an extreme position because I know that plenty of people do enjoy at the very least season 1 and 2 Aang, but like... Yeah that's just not something I can vibe with anymore unfortunately, even if I tolerable him lol. I also believe in Azula redemption and that Aang should've killed Ozai, both of which are yet again controversial issues, so like.. What to me would be the perfect, most sensible version of show would really not jive with others, which is why a lot of different fics exist!

Adding this in immediately after posting: Also endgame Zutara but that's like. Literally my whole bread and butter so I forgot to add that because of how obvious it seemed to me

#avatar the last airbender #atla #anti kataang #anti aang #anti bryke #atla critical #zutara

[rageofthemuffin]

I've been having a lot of thoughts about Azula the past few weeks but I'll just say this for now. When I first watched the show as a kid, I don't remember feeling bad for her, and least not in so many words. I do now when I rewatch, but I'm much older than her now, and I can conceptualize how young fourteen really is. When I was kid, I don't remember feeling the level of compassion toward her that I do now, but I do remember a different feeling that I think was maybe more important for me at that age.

Throughout the show, Azula is shown to be cruel, merciless, and abusive. She's powerful, and her bending looks awesome, and she's evil. I remember being so excited for her to eventually get defeated by the good guys. I had no idea how it would happen, and sometimes it didn't even seem possible. I thought that it would happen in some fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping fight scene, and it was going to be awesome, and it was going to feel so good to see her get what she deserved.

And then when the time finally comes, the show makes it immediately clear that that's not what's happening here. The music is very minimal but sets a very somber tone right off the bat. The bending isn't the quick and agile stuff we see from Zuko and Azula in episodes like the Boiling Rock, it's slow and it's big, and it's such a perfect contrast that the tragedy of this fight is impossible to ignore. This isn't just good versus evil, it's brother versus sister, and the sloppiness from Azula makes it simultaneously more intense and more unsettling than any of the battles we've seen so far.

Katara steps in when Zuko goes down, and the pace picks up a bit. The tragedy takes a back seat for a minute, and it's really satisfying when Katara finally manages to get ahead of Azula and take her down. But then the ice melts, and this fourteen year old girl is left chained to a grate, screaming and crying and spitting fire, and it doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel like what I thought it was going to feel like.

And even if I didn't consciously realize that I felt bad for Azula when I was a kid, I at least realized that this was not a thing to be celebrated. It would have been easy to make her final stand exactly what I expected it to be, but I think this type of subversion is infinitely more valuable, especially in a kids' show, because I had to sit with uncomfortable feelings and the nuance of the situation. It made me think more critically about what I was seeing.

Yes, Azula had to be defeated before she hurt anyone else. Yes, she made a lot of bad choices and did a lot of terrible things. You don't have to feel bad for her, but this is not a happy ending.

#that was a lot of words #and i have a lot more #specifically about the nature of the abuse and manipulation that she experienced in the original show versus the live action #but that's for another day #azula #atla

[heinzpilsner]

Tadadada! Here's the epilogue to my 'Overanalyzing beach Maiko' series.

Firstly, let's list some main conclusion theses:

1) Mai became interested in Zuko's problems after he directly mentioned his scar and his relationship with Ozai for the first time, so her final change of attitude does make some sense.

2) The basis for Zuko's irrational jealousy was Mai's annoyed facial expression after he criticized Ruon-Jian.

3) The context of Zuko's jealousy rampage actually leaves a loophole for not-possessive interpretation (yay).

4) Despite how badly Zuko screwed up, Mai somehow managed to screw up even more (yep, still sounds contr-intuitive).

5) Mai actually expresses herself all the time and her "childhood trauma" is a big bullshit.

6) Apart from his inner crisis, Zuko has to fix many problematic attitudes and personality settings before he'll become a decent romantic partner for anyone.

7) So does Mai.

Something like this.

And now, a bit of old good boring and inaccurate psychology lecture mistake correction.

I think that I misinterpreted Zuko's side of "bring me food" scene, actually. You see, I saw it as conscious submission in order to avoid conflict with Mai, but...

It actually looks more like Zuko genuinely didn't realize that Mai's demand was not okay. He wasn't exactly eager to please her*, but he also didn't see her attitude towards him as problematic.

(*Not catching Mai's "I'm hungry" initial hint is kind of an indicator of Zuko's cool-off towards her. I mean, acts of service is his typical way of showing affection, which makes his sudden cluelesness pretty notable.)

Basically, Mai and Zuko in this scene demonstrate opposite facets of locus of control problem. Simply put, they both believe that Zuko is responsible for something he really isn't - in this case, satisfying Mai's hunger.

Later, though, it's Zuko who believes Mai owes him something - namely, to give him affection and meet his emotional needs. In his head, he gives responsibility for his emotional well-being to Mai and scolds her when she "ignores her duty" by not being "passionate" enough.

(But while Mai doesn't owe Zuko anything formally, she made a mistake of severely underestimating Zuko's contribution into relationship and his real value for her. This resulted in her coldness and lack of gratitude in response to his affection, which is quite a big relationship screw-up.)

Okaaay, and with that part out of the way, it's time for my final personal reflections.

In general, I have no doubts I made lots of other mistakes during my analysis. I tried my best, but to dissect relationship conflicts correctly, you need to have good feeling of personal boundaries and empathy of your own. And... Well. It's not exactly my forte.

I compensate for some things with theoretical knowledge, but my mind is a mess, so... Yep.

I feel like I have to go and read more psychological theory after this.

Also, I kinda tried to do an entertainment out of this, and roasting format doesn't exactly mix good with being objective. So, yep. It seems I got some kind of useless Frankenstein monster in the end, lol.

And finally... Perhaps I had to make it clear much earlier, but...

I have nothing against Maiko shippers or Mai fans. Ta-da!

I'm sure they have a lot against me now though, pffft.

I realize what I wasn't exactly restrained in my roasting, so it's natural for you to dislike me. But my goal wasn't to tell you what your preferences are inadequate or something. I mean, I myself ship much more toxic problematic shit (and have a weak spot for all sorts of flawed characters). It isn't supposed to be about being rational. You like it, I don't, it's ok.

Dunno, maybe someone needed to hear this.

That's all, I guess. If you were reading this series - thanks for your attention. Despite everything, it was a rather interesting experience for me, and I hope you found something useful for yourself too.

I wonder what I should analyse next >:D

I ignore all notifications, but maybe I'll make an exception soon. Ta-da! What a cliffhanger.

#atla #zuko #mai atla #anti maiko

[tuiyla]

NATLA Ep. 4 "Into the Dark" initial thoughts

Okay wow, I think this is my fav so far in terms of changes they've made. The best ep so far is probs Warriors but this was quite bold in the changes it's made and you know what, the first episode made me fear they'd be too timid to actually lean into their changes but no. Just like Danny Pudi put his whole Pudissy into his role, this episode committed to its direction and I can respect that even in places where I don't agree with the changes. The only exception is Bumi's tests, a lot of the dialogue and other aspects lifted straight from ATLA didn't work because it felt more forced in this context than anything. And overall I think Bumi is my least favourite part of the episode and its adaptation.

I was glad to see Jet in this episode, too, even if it was brief. I'm still lacking stronger emotions and a stronger presence from Katara but I'm glad for this goodbye with Jet and how it sets up exactly what it needs to. We did lose Jet being a foil to Sokka and there was a major missed opportunity in having Jet actually interact with Sai but ah well, can't have everything.

Instead of Sokka foiling it out with Jet there's the surprise inclusion of basically Book 2 Chapter 2 which I did not expect but am pleasantly surprised by. This ep went hard on the music taken straight from ATLA between the nomads' songs and Leaves From the Vine playing over the Iroh flashback. And! And!! Oma and Shu are lesbians!!! This is not a drill, Oma and Shu are lesbians in love. If there was one thing I hoped for in terms of the live action show it was casual queer representation and I got it in the most unexpected but pleasant place. Love it.

And!! On top of the surprising but not unwelcome inclusion of The Cave of Two Lovers, the story is recentered entirely on Sokka and Katara. I'll share more thoughts on this later but suffice to say I always love me some Water Sibs appreciation and this was much needed in this version. I still take issue with essentially erasing Katara's mothering of Sokka but it's clear the impact Hakoda leaving had on them is the same and, most probably in lieu of Bato of the Water Tribe, we get this storyline with them. The fact that love being the answer was reframed as the love between these two siblings is honestly a galaxy brain change and decision and I respect the hell out of it. There's still much lacking in terms of really fleshing out our cast but I will never, ever say no to more Water Sibs content. If we were gonna spend so much time in Omashu and put so many familiar faces in there, makes sense to also do the Omashu backstory AND utilize it to shine some light on the sibling dynamic that otherwise doesn't have much room to breathe in the live action. This is the kind of bold new direction that they have to take and own to make this show work.

I also enjoyed the Zuko and Iroh stuff and that's some interesting inclusion of more Book 2 things as well. The way even their plot from the Winter Solstice part one ep was integrated here is quite clever and I enjoyed both the past and present Iroh scenes. We'll see how they handle the actual Zuko backstory and I do think this version of Iroh needs a bit more, how should I put it, softness, but there's much to like here. Especially giving Zuko the option to pursue Aang instead and having him choose to rescue Iroh. Similar to a choice he made in the above mentioned Spirit World ep but honestly, lowkey more poignant here.

That's it for me for today but I'll watch the second half of the season tomorrow. I have to say, so far it has at least provided some interesting new takes worth taking a deeper critical look at, and I don't agree with those who dismiss the show entirely. It has merit even if, halfway through the first season, it's yet to convince me it can justify its own existence.

#this sounds very positive and to note i do have major issues with the bumi stuff lol #but i really do respect the bold changes made in these two eps #feels way more cleve than just. having Kyoshi scold aang #natla #natla initial thoughts #oma and shu are lesbians 😭😭😭 #netflix avatar #the worst thing this show could have been is bland and it's not that

[mdhwrites]

So, any theories on what Sasha's parents are like? Like I doubt they were perfect considering Sasha's behavior (remember when she outright stated in True Colors that she was okay never going back home and having zero problem with smashing the box, plus the fact she never shows signs of missing them even after her redemption in season 3). And considering how other redemptions are with their flawed relationship with family like Pacifica on Gravity Falls, Amity and Hunter on Owl House, Andrea on Ghost & Molly McGee, Zuko on Avatar the Last Airbender, Eddy on Ed Edd n Eddy, Catra on She Ra 2018, Lena on DuckTales 2017, Ludo on Star vs the Forces of Evil, and Helga on Hey Arnold, it's hard to believe Sasha had the best relationship with her parents. Granted Sunset Shimmer from the MLP FiM spin off Equestria Girls is a redemption character who also never had her family brought up or ever had an onscreen reason for why she was an evil and mean bully in the first movie (aside from probably just being an arrogant power hungry spoiled brat) so maybe Sasha's kinda like her in a sense too.

So this is a question I actually LOVE. There's a LOT you can glean off of a parent by their kid in general, let alone with any references to them. However... Them being redeemed doesn't always say anything about their relationship. Hell, for Amity since you listed her and I can comment, the speed of her redemption versus how much of a mustache twirling villain Odalia is ACTIVELY CONTRADICT EACH OTHER. It's REALLY bad.

Sasha's redemption says literally fuck all about her parents. Mostly because they don't mean anything to Sasha. Very little means anything to Sasha besides herself and her two best friends. Arguably not even Marcy.

The rest of her context to being willing to see the box destroyed and not return is critical here because she does actually explain herself. "Why rule a school when I can rule a world?" Her priority is self aggrandizing. It's not about freedom and it's not about safety. In fact, Sasha has cared very little for other's freedoms or her own safety. What matters is that Sasha is winning. Even Battle of the Bands made it clear that she is used to doing whatever it takes to be on top and getting her way.

Which to me doesn't mean abusive parents like you want to imply just through saying a lot of other shows did the trope of blaming abusive parents for bad behavior... It just means parents who thought the best way to make their daughter happy was to never tell her no. They let her live a life that had no consequences and where she didn't have to worry because if she skipped school or needed fifty bucks for gal pal time, they'd give it to her. This fits a lot more with Sasha's arc too because her arc has nothing to do with rebelling against her parents. She CHOSE to be a bad person. To not care about others. It's only by realizing that what she does hurt people with her actions and deciding they matter that she becomes a better person.

And to me, that's MUCH more compelling than trying to scapegoat what someone does onto their parent. It's not like everyone is evil just because their parents are shit. It devalues their choices as a character and is honestly a trope I'd like to see LESS. Or, bare minimum, not have standing up to their parent be like flipping a switch and making them automatically a good person because those scars last and their parents couldn't have made them do EVERY bad thing they did. Just look at Amity who decided "I'm going to make my ex-friend's life hell for YEARS despite only having to tell her we're not friends anymore to make my parents happy." That's not her parent's fault, that's her decision to be a monster.

At some point, the blame is on you for what you do. Narratively, for me, that's also more compelling and satisfying because it means you are the only one to blame for your gains too. People always have the choice to do good. It's their decision if it's too much work or relies on caring about others too much.

That to me is what makes Sasha so compelling and why anyone who wanted to see her parents I think are just asking for a categorically weaker story.

======+++++======

I didn't mean for the two blogs to be on a theme today but I decided on this anyways since I had both typed up. For anyone curious why I thought the previous one was dumb but this one was fun, it's simple: One asked if it belonged in the narrative. This one is just nice old character analysis.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

#amphibia #sasha waybright #Sasha Waybright Parents

[juniperhillpatient]

Lake Laogai

It's not even remotely a secret that I'm incapable of being unbiased or objective about this episode. I love Jet, & I think killing him off was a huge mistake & a waste. I wrote a post explaining in more detail why I specifically think that Jet's death was a writing mistake HERE.

This re-watch has been interesting because it's really nice to re-watch a fave show & re-evaluate my opinions after spending a lot of time engaging with the fandom. I don't know, maybe it's just my annoyance with the fandom's pushing for a Katara/Aang/Zuko love triangle but this re-watch has made me take a firm stance that Jet should've lived, & become part of the Gaang, & dated Katara. "But Rose, don't you prefer Katara with girls?" I mean yeah, I like to write that more, but I'm talking about what I think should've happened in the actual show, which is entirely separate.

[ID: two pictures from different angles of Katara & Jet in the streets of Ba Sing Se]

Katara & Jet have the whole contentious complicated past & I'm always gonna be a sucker for the dynamic where the girl is violently angry & the guy is just like "I'm so sorry I've changed please accept me" like, I'm just being honest that's a good dynamic. Jet's already pretty strong redemption arc could've been concreted & we could've had a new, needed perspective in the Gaang from someone who was a victim of colonization in a similar way to Katara & Sokka but with a very different experience & reaction.

I will try not to spend this whole post being salty though, that's why I made a separate post. The brainwashing under Lake Laogai is very creepy, & it is one of the aspects of the show that stuck with me the most upon first viewing & for good reason. All the Joo Dees speaking in unison is genuinely terrifying. Long Feng is also a well-written villain. He's sly, manipulative, & just creeps me out.

The other thing that I wanted to ponder on with this episode is Zuko saving Appa, & Zuko & Iroh's discussion. I want to make it clear that I think Zuko's redemption arc is incredibly well-written overall. I only criticize Avatar because I love it so much & have thought about it so much. There are a lot of popular Avatar hot takes on Tumblr about how Zuko's redemption arc is poorly written, nonexistent, or whatever, & I simply strongly disagree. I have to get that out of the way & be clear about it or I'll worry I'm being misinterpreted. I also like Iroh, although I feel like I don't always understand what's going on with him & this episode is an example. That's another thing I wanted to clarify because I don't want to come across as anti-Iroh. I don't know, maybe I worry too much about how I come across lol but anyway -

Iroh: And then what!? You never think these things through! [Points at him.] This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!

Zuko: I would have figured something out!

Iroh: No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death! Zuko I know my own destiny, Uncle! Iroh Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you? Zuko Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

This scene specifically & the entire framing of Zuko's unhappiness about the teashop is very interesting. I have said before that I dislike Zuko as Firelord in the end, but that's not necessarily a firm stance...I guess I just dislike the inconsistency with how it was built up. Others who are willing to be much harsher than I am have often pointed out that Zuko went from following his father's orders & vision to following Iroh's vision of his destiny, & I think there's some truth to that. But what bothers me more than that, is that we don't actually get firm foreshadowing on what Iroh's vision for Zuko's destiny even is.

This is the first time we see Iroh really yell at Zuko & go off on him but it's unclear what he wants from Zuko. I mean, okay, he wants Zuko to be happy serving tea. I guess that's fine, but it doesn't quite work knowing that later, Iroh completely does a 180 on this stance & it's sorta like...What happened? Ya know? It's just inconsistent. And characters can be inconsistent, people change their minds, but we're not really given much information about Iroh's internal struggle concerning what he wants from his nephew so it just comes across as confusing to me.

Zuko's character arc is all about discovering what it is that he wants & acting on it. I've said before that my issue with Zuko's ending on the show is that Zuko always wanted to be Firelord & then he....becomes Firelord. That's not really a change? This scene between Zuko & Iroh feels like it was building to something larger with Zuko's arc, but it really....isn't.

That said, I do love Appa's return! Aang & Appa's reunion & Appa getting to be a badass is just amazing.

[ID: two pictures of Aang & Appa hugging, one from up close & one from a bit of a distance.]

I definitely enjoyed Appa's reunion with the Gaang the most out of all the parts of this episode.

Well, I enjoyed Jet's parts up until his death too. I also wanted to point out that Sokka teases Katara about her thing with Jet, but doesn't seem that angry at Jet himself & is quite willing to give him another chance. And it's Aang who breaks Jet out of his brainwashing by reminding him that they are friends. So, Katara is not the only one in the Gaang with any connection with Jet. Again, they should've addressed --- ah, whatever, I'm done.

That's all I have for this episode.

#oh jet gets...idk...2000 iconic behavior points for BREAKING OUT OF BRAIN WASHING & also using his dying breath to reassure Katara #lake laogai #atla re watch #atla book 2

[likeabxrdinflight]

anyways I did finish episode four but I am stopping here for the night

omashu, part two. this one combines the very ending of "jet", "the king of omashu", zuko and iroh's half of "winter solstice pt 1", and is also pulling stuff from season two here and there. we get a bit of iroh backstory.

...I don't want to talk about sokka and katara's part of this episode because honestly even though these posts are clearly marked spoilers I still don't want to spoil what they're doing because doing so might risk revealing what has genuinely been the most delightful surprise of this entire experience. I do not want it spoiled for anyone.

I will comment on katara though, because she's getting a little better. I'm seeing more and more flashes of the katara I know and love. we're not quite there but I'm a little less disappointed with her than I was in the earlier episodes. there's still things I'm not thrilled with- but I think I need to see all eight episodes before I make final judgment.

okay. so first. bumi. weird changes with bumi. he's definitely still bumi in the sense that he's weird and quirky and plays strange mind games with the intent of testing aang. it's just...not the same test as the original. and I'm not sure I like the change here. I'm not sure I dislike it? it's not an uninteresting change. I'm just not sure I like it, either, because it kind of misses the spirit of bumi's original character. utkarsh gave a great performance though.

the stand out for this episode was iroh though. oh my god, iroh. I said I wanted them to do more with him, to fix the inconsistencies that were there in the animated version and oh my god they have delivered that in spades. we have an earth kingdom soldier calling him out to his face for ba sing se. iroh gets to look one of his direct victims in the eyes and it's phenomenal, paul is killing it. the show walks a very thin line between empathizing with iroh and holding him accountable and I think it manages to thread that needle within the limits of what we know can actually happen in this story.

we also see flashbacks to when lu ten dies, we get more insight into why iroh's so attached to zuko and favors him so much. like we always knew iroh saw zuko as a surrogate son but it's very clear here, and it's clear where and when that really started. they also show a flashback to the moment iroh joins zuko in exile and it's...it's such an iroh kind of moment.

back in the present of course we get zuko saving iroh, and it's very similar to the animated version, but there is something much more tender-hearted in this rendition of these two together. not that the animated version didn't have that, but the live action show knows where these two end up. it knows zuko will eventually betray iroh. by highlighting their bond so much now it's gonna make damn sure that moment hurts. and it's gonna make damn sure not one person isn't crying when they finally reconcile.

I know a lot of azula stans don't like iroh. I was never one of them. the bond between iroh and zuko is special, and while I agree it's obvious he showed blatant favoritism and did not do right by his niece, I won't defend him on that, I still can't deny- the zuko-iroh dynamic has always been touching. and I'd argue it's better here. paul is just acting the hell out of his role and dallas is able to bring a softness to zuko's interactions with iroh that betray how close they really are, even when he's angry with him. these two together were critical to get right and they nailed it.

the show is worth watching just to see these two performances. I'm so serious.

#natla spoilers

[bendyguitarpick]

I've been watching the avatar series and honestly, I think this warrants a bullet points review bc I have a lot of opinions, and some are unexpected. I haven't been following a y discourse online about the show bc I wanted to form my own opinions before I finished it! This is episodes 1 through 5.

Right off the bat in episode 1, the first thing that strikes me as a huuuge issue is that Aang does not argue with monk gyatso before running away. It's a problem that keeps coming up in this show, and its that all the conflict is deflated from the characters and given to the plot. Instead of a young character making a mistake and learning from the end result, our protagonists just respond in a way that's removes any of their decision making from the driving force of the story. Aang didn't run from his responsibility out of fear, he just needed to clear his head!- our sweet baby boy remains the moral compass!

That being said, I do think the rearranging of the plot in thr first episode is absolutely the right move for the show. The pace is immediately set and it works.

The visuals (costume and set design) feel very very shiny and new, like how all netflix shows end up looking, overly saturated and costumey.

The casting for aang and zuko is one of my favorite things EVER. They are probably the most competent actors so far tbh. That little boy is giving it his all 🥲

Sokka and suki!!! Another instance where all the conflict and resolution feels unearned because there was nothing to resolve! Fine, you can choose to remove the sexism arc, at its center, this sokka and suki introduction is about sokka developing a level of humility that he will need in order to learn from the people we see him meet on this journey. Sokka comes in in the live action show a clueless small town warrior who gets shown the ropes on the big stage, but for what? We see suki chew him out but because there's no real conflict, he's just some shmuck getting chewed out for no real reason other than not knowing enough. It's completely hollow.

Ok this leads me to the fight scenes. They're bad! The only one that I liked was Bumi and aang, we had sustained wide shots, a creative use of bending, and the actors movements feeling well rehearsed. The opposite was the case for nearly every other fight smh.

Katara my beloved 😭 she is shockingly underwritten and I'm trying to figure out why. She gets so little active screentime that isn't just parroting the plot back to aang and sokka. All her passion and life is dead flat. I was praying they'd give her her painted lady momentand it never came, she never had a moment. It's such a huge fuck up to leave one of your three LEADS out to dry like that.

That being said, I had my little fangirl squee when jet and the freedom fighters were revealed. The casting just had me absolutely giddy 😭

And that's just katara compared to everyone else! Because at the end of the day this is the most poorly written dialogue I've seen in a show in so freaking long. It is written so stilted and klunky, and the actors are given so little direction, the end result is so dry and lifeless. It is honestly the single worst part of the show.

Our characters are no longer active decision makers in each town they visit! The plot is just happening to them! It's an extention of that conflict criticism, our heroes don't have anything to learn, they're just along for the ride! No opinions or conflict here!!

But... the one thing that absolutely is working for me... is the story. All the plot changes have been the right move every time. Combining episodes has worked so well in this short season format that it's kept me following along every time! Putting like four episodes into one omashu episode??? And having them connect in a way that makes sense??? Ik completely impressed

So far, it seems like awkward dialogue and overly shiny visuals has bogged down a show that really really could've worked in the live action format! The plot has still succeeded in keeping me engaged for the hour run time of each episode, along with the really great aang and zuko moments.

#avatar #avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar the series #bullet points #review time

[panicstar]

Finished Avatar the Last Airbender the live action and it wasn't terrible, it wasn't great:

I came into this show not expecting it live up to the original, after watching the Percy Jackson series, I greatly lowered my expectations for ATLA live action.

I understand the time constraints, 8 episodes just isn't enough to show everything, still I think they made some questionable decisions.

The stuff I was "meh" about:

-Cave of two lovers. I don't understand why show this now, when this took place during book 2

-Too much Ozai, Azula and fire nation. Why integrate Azula into the whole Admiral Zhao mission? There was no need for that

-Not enough the main trio bonding. The first 4 episodes felt extremely rushed. I just couldn't buy into Aang, Katara and Sokka being so close by ep 8. We just didn't get to see them have special moments with each other.

-No water bending training. How did Katara get so good at water bending? so good she was able to challenge Pakku? I guess she train behind the scenes...? Remember how Aang was such a natural at water bending, it made Katara jealous? little things like that was missing. Cutting out the fire nation scenes to include these moments would have been the right thing to do

-Avatar Roku man. Just I don't know, not the Roku I remember from the original

-Aang being afraid of fire bending. That was so important in the original. They didn't even touch up on that

-The reason why Aang left. Here he just went out to clear his head. The impact of what happened was greater in the original bc Aang was scared and ran away. Something so easy to not change. I don't get it.....????

The stuff I was "whoa" about:

-The cast obviously. Everyone was on point. Sokka even sounded like Sokka lol I'm not ngl, actor for Zuko impressed me the most. I see some complain he wasn't angry enough.....but like he kept being so mean to his soldiers and that was totally in character

-I liked how they mixed several stories together. Aang saving his friends, angry forest spirit, no face (forgot his name) spirit, aang getting captured and rescued by the blue spirit, aang and zuko talking, was all combined and it worked. Like that was actually well done

-Avatar Kyoshi is the baddest, need I say more?

-The cgi. Top tier. Thank god. The bending looked so good. Appa and momo looked amazing

-The sets, the costumes and makeup were awesome. The crew killed it.

-The brutality of fire......I was shook at that one dude getting burned alive and just showing the attack on the air nomads was a great opening

-Showing Sokka's trauma. Made me feel for him more than I ever did and that's saying a lot

-Zuko’s crew being the same soldiers he saved from being sacrificed was an unexpected change and I loved it

-Episodes 6, 7 and 8 were good! I think these episodes saved the show for me

Overall, I think it was pretty good for what it was. Could have obviously been loads better, but whatever lol Ima need for people to keep watching and rate it high on Netflix cause I want to see Toph! I want to see Ba Sing Se. Hopefully, the showrunners take all the criticisms and make a better season 2. I give it a 7/10. On a tier list its in B+ tier (maybe a A-).

#avatar the last airbender #atla #netflix #flameo hotman