The Problem(s) With Netflix Avatar 

Which Character was done DIRTIEST by this adaptation?

For a remake that wants to be “more adult and gritty like Game of Thrones”, they sure made Zukos iconic scar less horrific and noticeable than what the “show made for kids” did where he can barely keep his bad eye open

The fact the actual kids show handled angst, loss, and trauma more than this live action bullshit is comical

It’s amazing how this version spoke more than the original yet has less to say

Say what you want about the writing, Zuko getting beaten up by a random civilian lady is something that would 100% happen in the original show.

Bumi and Aang don’t feel like they have that kinda relationship to make them go “I’m totally gonna name my first born after you” ya know.

I find it hilarious that the cretaors wanted to attract a more mature audience despite the animated series being more mature and subtle

It felt rushed, like they just jammed all the emotional scenes from the cartoon together and it never had time to breathe

I commented this on another video, too, but the only dialogue needed in the first scene is "youre too late, the message is already on its way to the earth kingdom" "Good'

THEY FELL FOR THE "TALK DON'T SHOW" PROBLEM TWICE?!? How does this keep happening with live action adaptations to animated shows?!

For me, personally, I feel that making Iroh a more flawed character _doesn't work._ Iroh is NOT supposed to be a flawed character, he's supposed to be a flat character (a flat character is a character that does not change throughout the story, but is rather a catalyst for change in other characters). Iroh already went on his arc off-screen, which is why he's as wise and compassionate in the show. He's supposed to be there to help Zuko on his journey, because Iroh went through the same struggle before and grew to be a wise teacher because of it.

People complain about Filler-ish episodes, say what you want about them, but for Avatar, especially in adapting it, you have to put filler in to give us more time to breath. Like, dear god, the amount of season two content being pushed into season 1 is just... Jesus take a sec to breath, dear god. Surprised they didn't introduce Toph in this one, given that they are more than comfortable in "Little Solider Boy", Azula, Ozai's face reveal, and skipping past the part AANG NEEDS TO LEARN THE ELEMENTS TO GROW AS THE AVATAR

I'm wondering if the writers grew up with parents who constantly needed every scene of a TV show explained to them. And their writing style ended up being built around the idea that "people need a sledgehammer to drive in a nail".

Amén to that. And boy they did Katara SO dirty on this

One thing that bugs me is Zuko's scar! No live action manages to actually show how it should be. His ear is fused to his head and he barely can open his eye, it's a 3rd degree burn that left a huge scar, it's pure luck that his eye still works... Cue Netflix's Ozai pointblank blowtorching his son's eye resulting in a scar that looks like a Port wine stain birthmark. For all the visuals that the show get's right, the most visible and constant reminder of the Firelord and Fire Nation's cruelty is awfully subdued, while also being something that is easily doable with sfx make-up. It seems that they don't wan't to make Zuko "unappealing" at all, what is very ableist in my opinion.

Killing the airbenders on screen felt so tasteless and unnecessary

i just really dislike pieces of media (ESPECIALLY remakes of extremely good IPs) that talk about being more "mature" and actually they just mean more (or more explicit) violence. that shit doesnt add anything when we're not talking about a splatter-gore movie. the messages, the dialogue, the emotions are so much deeper and more "adult"in the original than in this. its kind of crazy actually.

This show is way more mature than the cartoon I swear. The characters are constantly telling me so.

If they ever get to adapt the final battle, $5 says they make Aang kill the fire lord. They really don't understand what Aang's character is about. They put all this emphasis on power and strength - you just know they're going to do it. Because in their minds, it would be "more realistic" and "more mature". 🙄

A common problem of this show along with many others like it is that the creators are so scared of giving the heros flaws of any kind and just dilutes everything to make the five year olds watching this understand who’s the bad guy and who’s the good guy but ruining the experience for everyone else

I like how they attacked the airbenders during the comet not because it enhanced their firebending, but because every airbender in the world went to one place for a party.

being "eh" is so much worse than being mid, i haven't seen a single clip and still feel like i still saw way too much of this.

54:35 Why do people like this? He is the banshied prince who had his face burnt by his own father, when would he have the time to act like a teenager? I feel like the point of Zuko in the show, especially at the start was that he got robbed of his childhood, that he was forced to grow in a war torn world environment, discarded by his father as a disgrace and torn from his mother who he haven't seen since the day she was banished, which happened before he was banished himself. He isn't edgy for the sake of being edgy, he is edgy because he was royally screwed in his childhood and was forced to face the cruel reality of the world.

Seeing Aang monologue to Appa made me realize what this show would be. Edit: ALSO AANG NEVER HELPED HEI BAI! WHAT THE HECK!

God it's exactly the same problem as live action Mulan. In trying to be girlbossy they took a message that's genuinely good for kids and society as a whole (for one, empathy, understanding and community being the only true way to bring peace. For the other everyone has their own strengths regardless of how they were born, to be cunning and care for others is true strength) and traded it for "the special one is super special and cool look at our fights aren't they cool? The others? Pfft who cares? Check out how cool out Special Chosen One is though!"

The bigger problem with the badger moles sensing emotions instead of vibrations is they are the ones who taught Toph how to earthbend. So how is that gonna work when she shows up. Instead of seeing through vibrations, she's going to see via sensing emotions?? That makes no sense.

With how hard that kyoshi scene went, i really wish they just did a more gritty/heartfelt live action of her novels instead lmao.

To this day I will never understand the need to remake this series into live action. WE HAVE THE ANIMATED SERIES. We don’t need a shot for shot remake, we already have it!

I thought it was pretty clear Azula was abused in the show. That's what makes her fate so sad. She wasn't physically abused but she was groomed emotionally and mentally.

i'm starting to suspect the fire lord has a plan

My sister and I grow up loving the original cartoon so when the live action finally released... Let's just say we absolutely enjoy criticising the hell out of each and every episode without mercy so... All things considered, we technically have a great time.

One thing about the way guilt was handled in the original was that you still felt guilt when it was necessary. They made it work because they contrasted that guilt with Aang’s fun and glee and then Aang’s emotional outbursts felt more relatable and authentic. In this one he feels like hes already a 40 year old man whose had the life beaten out of him.

For a show that's supposed to be more mature than the original, they are terrified of making a character whos a "good guy" do anything bad. like god forbid Zuko actually does anything bad to actually have something to repent in the future. Same with haibai they didnt want to make him do anything actually bad so they just made kon do it cause hes actually evil. Avatar has brilliant character depth and this show writes characters like a 5 year old

The thing with the tunnel is worse when you remember that 1. the trail of glowing crystals marking the way was clearly set up by the earthbending lovers, hence being arranged in a way that actually helped lead the way and 2. Sokka originally found a way out without even seeing the riddle because he noticed that the badgermoles liked music and could be calmed with it. It really bugs me how much they seem to be emphasizing power with the character arcs. Not just characters being strong as a marker of progress and worth instead of focusing on growth in philosophy and ideals but also with the shounen protagonist style comments/demonstration that they're already strong from the start. The avatar states gets watered down to a showy display of godlike power instead of emphasizing its spiritual aspects and the problems with treating it that way. It's all about how badass a character can be in a fight instead of actual strength of character. Showing the airbender genocide really rubs me the wrong way. Whatever their intention was, taking a story that was able to convey Aang's loss with the aftermath 100 years after the fact and deciding a fight scene flashback is somehow better not only shows they don't understand what worked with the original but also how tasteless that kind of change ends up looking with the current and recent events taking up public attention. I think a lot of people really overlook just how much you can do with the limitations of a lower rating and how stories can flourish in those limitations. You don't need to show people dying to deal with how characters are affected by it. It's really tiring that we're still dealing with grimdark writing around the idea that things being terrible and depressing is somehow more mature and that animation is more childish than live action. It's not just boring but also really unhelpful in terms of actually conveying a beneficial message to the audience. It's also a huge letdown when it's an adaptation of a story whose themes were centered around hope and compassion in a world that tries to stifle it. What we need are more hopeful stories and a celebration of the ones we have.

Aanyone else find it just weird that Netflix Zuko isn't missing an eyebrow on the burned side of his face?

If they wanted to make a live action avatar I've been saying they shouldn't make an adoption of Last Airbender if they wanted to change shit so much. they should have just told a story of a prior avatar past life. Now we just have a subpar copy of the og show.

Everything about this reboot screams edgy middle schooler fan faction. Unlike the 2010 movie, it’s from a place of love, but the writing still feels like an amateur kid wrote it

I think your point about this show's obsession with power is spot-on. The 'heroes' are basically embracing the Fire Nation philosophy of might makes right throughout the story with the only difference being a black and white view of who is good and who is bad. For a 'mature' show, they sure do have a juvenile point of view about the human experience which runs counter to everything that the original stands for.

The Ember Island Players Presents.....Netflix's Avatar The Last Airbender

I swear at one point there gonna look at the camera and break the forth wall and explain what's happening to the audience

The irony of the changes to Aang's arc is that his story could have worked if it was left alone. If he ran away in fear, everyone's harsh attitude about the avatar being gone and the burden of the job would feel warranted and Aang's guilt would make sense: he didn't prevent this so people got hurt, only he as the Avatar can stop it, others WILL get hurt as he plays catch up. As it is, it just feels like jaded people dumping on Aang to guilt trip and gaslight him into the job, which makes his guilt feel frustrating. Bumi's lesson would hit so much harder since Aang's guilt would feel real, but it just feels unfair to Aang.

I’m still baffled they managed to include season 2 stuff like the owl and the cave of two lovers but excluded aang’s waterbending training with katara and pakku

Literally could not focus on anything bc I was losing it at “I have a scheme. I have a ruse. I have a hoodwink. I have a stratagem.”

Someone needs to tell Albert Kim that just because he showed a race of people being massacred and other people burned alive, it doesn’t mean his show is “the mature Avatar.” Becasue somehow the real show is more mature, thought provoking, more intelligently written and says a lot more about the lessons of life and humanity than a show that thinks having violence makes it more mature. Because for me, as the live action has nothing more to say than showing violence, it comes across as more juvenile than the supposed “kids show.” I rewatched the series and let me tell you that just because the kids have wacky adventures or have jokes, it doesn't mean that the darker moments don't hit like a fucking train.

It bothers me that NO ONE (even Katara) in adaptation ever said to Aang “It’s a good thing you’re alive today”. Bro always has to feel guilty for not dying along with other monks 👀 Kyoshi went as far as to yell at him for not being at the temple and then possessed him to make him do what she wanted him to, instead offering guidance.

Alta live action dialogue is like me trying to hit the word count on my essay

I keep saying this is written by ppl who DON'T WANT TO BE WRITING S1-2, they just want to write s3. So they made s1 into s3 without wanting to do Any of the settup that makes the show what it is ://

I definitely agree with almost every take in this video! The only thing I personally can't get behind is the potential sympathy they're adding to Ozai as a character, and how much they softened Zuko and Azula. Something I really loved about the og is that we see a wide array of characters with different senses of morality, that sit all over the place on the spectrum from good and evil. It's not all black and white, since we have characters like Jet who has an understandable reason behind his hatred but still acts in immoral ways, Zuko who has a whole arc we all already know, Iroh who's mostly good but has a very messed up past of actions, Katara with her struggles between revenge and forgivness and Azula who is obviously a victim of her situation but is still wrong in what she does. To name a few. There isn't a narrow line between good and evil, there's plenty of moral grayness which is WHY it's important to also have genuinely horrendous people. Yes, there is a spectrum in morality which is why some people will fall on every end, like Aang and Ozai. So, adding some weird reasoning behind what he does is.. unnecessary in my opinion.

One thing I noticed cropping up several times was that they’d have a scene unique to the Netflix version that was clearly meant to be a replacement for a specific moment/scene from the cartoon, only to then ALSO do the exact scene/moment from the cartoon with the exact same dialogue as the cartoon?? Like, in episode 6, after Aang and Zuko escape the fortress, they have a conversation in an abandoned hut that ends with Aang saying something that sets Zuko off and he attacks, only for Aang to knock him out. And then, not 5 minutes later, they do that same thing beat for beat AGAIN, only this time it’s Aang’s dialogue from the cartoon about missing Kuzon. It almost felt like either the writers or the higher-ups weren’t confident enough in their altered versions of these scenes, and threw in their replicas of the cartoon scenes just to be extra sure the audience Got It(tm).

Im still not tired of these Airbender essays, this Netflix show gave me an RU-vid Essay junkie plenty to feast

The show made me like striker when he yelled at the guys singing a theme song for him. The show kept talking despite having even more time than the original since they didn’t adapt all the episodes.

The “children’s” show: maturely handles dark and adult themes with nuance and subtlety The remake for “adults”: dumbs down and over-explains everything with horrendous exposition, feels the need to hold the audience’s hands, avoids levity out of fear of appearing immature yet shies away from complex emotions

I’m glad we can agree my boy Hei Bai got ROBBED

Biggest problem with the show is that it exists

giving depth to ozai. it's so absurdly hilarious it's like having Hitler choke up watching the trains get loaded.

The show feels exactly like the play episode but without the humor or parody.

So glad that you talked about the usage of "power" in the new show and how it completely butchers the ideas and themes from the OG. It really feels like they are edging Aang to accept the idiology of the fire nation. This version of Aang and team avatar do almost nothing to instill hope and a thought that a new, better world is possible.

Netflix needs to stop remaking childhood anime classics into live action. It'll never work.

I agree with everything you said except your take that azula is acceptable. For me, her change was the biggest misstep of the show. She went from a serial killer level calculated monster to a little whiney baby.

You know what's weird: this Bumi would have been great for the original Aang. I mean the episode being about Bumi overcomong his anger while Aang slowly learns that the only person alive is his old friend and that friend might hate him (amplifying his feelings of guilt). Imagine how emotional that scene between the two of them would have been had Aang finally found out who Bumi is and Bumi finally get over his anger.

I literally stopped watching when i noticed aang didn't run away from home, he left to think for a minute. This was so important for aangs character building in the anime. He felt he betrayed the world because he ran away. And now literally the entire story's changed. Now it was an accident. He didn't make it back in time. He doesn't feel as responsible for what happened. Iroh also has a totally different feel to him and I don't like it. I'll rewatch it soon, I was just overwhelmed with disappointment, at first. I need to start watching with a cleared mind. I wanted the same feels, but I got watered down netflix avatar feels....

This adaptation was so afraid of letting the characters make mistakes that they either dont or have a point when they do (like with jet and the mechanist) they make the characters flatter than a burnt pancake

54:29 Dante Basco actually does voice a character literally called spinkick lmao. Obviously I know he's not in this version but I still think its funny.

Funny fact about writers forgetting what the characters should and should not know, they also forget about what the audience does not know. In the first episode, there is absolutely nothing indicating that Iroh is Zuko's uncle. When speaking to him, Zuko does not call him uncle once. Iroh never calls him nephew, but calls him prince Zuko. When they capture Aang, Iroh introduces himself as the son of Firelord Azulan, but we dont fucking know who Azulan is. He could be the current Firelord for all we know. So it is more likely that Iroh is Zuko's distant cousin than his uncle, since they are so formal to each other. And I am sure that they just forgot to divulge that information.

This adaptation seems more like an adaptation of the Movie than the Cartoon. Like I swear I remember that the Movie did the same exact thing as the Netflix adaptation several times. Gran Gran narrating the opening. Ozai showing his face more than necessary. Exposition for everything. The actors showing little to no emotion. Repeatedly saying the same thing to REALLY hammer in the point. I feel like this adaptation has more in common with the movie than the og

A friend of mine, also a fan of the OG, told me point blank: "I liked it. I don't want to discuss what didn't work, because I know it won't hold up to closer scrutiny." It was hard, but I respected it.

Un-ironically there’s no balance in the show 😂

This movie is all "see, we did the thing. And we said Those lines"

In the original series it took about multiple episodes for Sokka, someone who's been taught to be wary of outsiders, to fully trust Aang. In the Netflix adaptation all it took was Aang saying Sokka's brave for him to go from hand him over to the fire nation to being best friends

Netflix writers need to watch this video, bookmark it, and then constantly reference it and rewatch it like its their holy bible every time they even think about writing crap.

Your stew analogy is so on point

Writers really said 'It's about drive, it's about power'

I'm never gonna get over the fact that in trying to be less sexist they somehow ended being MORE sexist. How does that math work out? For me, the biggest insults were Avatar Roku, Bumi and Avatar Kyoshi. The fandom has a serious problem with differentiating FANON and CANON. And NATLA went with FANON Kyoshi and it's an utter insult to her actual characterization. In her books she does start out as this meek, timid bullied teen. She grows into the ruthless Avatar we know, but ruthless doesn't equate to killer. She's just one to give ONE chance, and if you screw that up, THEN she makes you an example of what NOT to do. She's known as the failure of diplomacy, she's the one you call in when there ARE no more diplomatic solutions. She has a harsh personality that has EVOLVED over time because of how her era was. She wasn't murder happy, she only killed two people. One of which was her former best friend and she tried talking him down first, was even willing to just put him in prison. She only killed as a last resort. In the animation, when she and Aang converse, she's short with him. When he tries to pull a run around on her with Chin, when she says "Personally I don't really see the difference." again that isn't her saying "I killed him" just as with her confession, she doesn't see the point in not owning up to it. He did die because of her actions. That's what's fact. SHE outright did not kill him, but she WAS responsible for that death. Negligent homicide. She doesn't even tell him to kill Ozai outright that's Avatar Yangchen an Air Nomad. HER exact words of wisdom was "Aang, I offer you this wisdom. Only justice will bring peace." For some reason, the entire fandom, along with Aang took that as "murder Ozai" when justice comes in many shapes and forms. How many times have we wished that a pew pew person had not deleted themselves? That doesn't feel like justice; it feels like justice was ripped away. Yangchen told him to outright sacrifice his spiritual needs, because that's what _she_ had to do as Avatar. She was an Avatar first, not an Air Nomad first. Aang is the other way around. And Kyoshi seemed to understand t his with her wisdom. As did Kuruk telling him to actively shape HIS OWN destiny. Roku tells him "you must be decisive" again the past lives aren't all telling him to go be a killer. And yet the fandom seems to think this is the case. And Aang did follow all of their advice; he was decisive in not killing Ozai, he brought justice by taking away his bending and keeping Ozai alive thus allowing even down the line for Ursa to confront her abser, he shaped the world with being an Energybender, and shaped his own destiny in talking to the lion turtle, and he was willing to sacrifice not just his spiritual needs, but his own soul to take away Ozai's bending. Anyways...sorry for the tangent. Back to my original point. For some reason, the fandom has gotten it in their head that Kyoshi is this boss ass b!tch who would love screaming at a child for something that wasn't even his fault. Which is another huge problem with that scene; Aang ran away but was coming back. If this was the animation, Kyoshi would have every right to be pissed. But she's his past life. She would've seen him try and go back. Why she decided to screech at him like a god damn barn owl I have no idea. That isn't empowering to women, that isn't treating women like they're strong it's making them look to be hysterical. Then to have her just take care of everything when in the animation Aang had no problem taking on Zuko and just bodying him every time they fought completely takes away from Aang's agency and ability. You always wonder here how he got those mastery arrows, because THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE. They represent he is an Airbending Master. In the animation, he shows time and again he EARNED those arrows. Then comes Avatar Roku. I've commented enough about this Avatar, but essentially, they turned someone who was regal, magnetic, someone whose voice and the way he carried himself commanded the attention of everyone in the room, someone who was for all intents and purposes a father figure to Aang (this is especially highlighted in his appearances in the comics where he offers Aang a warm hug with a kind smile even after they had fallen out), someone who was kind, and inviting, had a sense of humor akin to Albus Dumbledore's...and turned him into like this...Iroh Lite character. It's insulting and demeaning; Roku was known as The Wise because of his travels. He was an Avatar would despite having come from a wealthy high status background, listened and heard to those who weren't as fortunate as himself. I defend animated Roku and will die on that hill because the hate he gets is so tired. Live Action Roku I would laugh at for dying to a volcano. And then there's Bumi. How do you get someone so completely incorrect? Again these harsh lessons about having to make the impossible choices make no narrative sense because one Aang is all about keeping to his roots as a character, he like Roku fears change until he has to stare it in the face. Two, he WAS GOING. TF. BACK. That's all he has to screech at Kyoshi and Bumi and their entire argument falls apart. It doesn't matter about perspective, because we the audience already know Aang was going back. So the matter of his perspective gets tossed out the god damn window and instead he just comes off as cold, vicious and cruel. When in the animation, his weirdness and out of the box tasks had a point; "when you face the Fire Lord, I hope you think like a mad genius." and Aang did. This Aang I have trouble believing to be a master Airbender. Much less being one who could take on the Fire Lord. In trying to be different, Netflix ATLA forgot what made the original so unique.

Remember when people were dooming when the original creators left? Yep, that fear was valid

I didn’t enjoy the funeral scene. The inclusion of that and Leaves from the Vine takes away the emotional weight from the Tales of Ba Sing Se. It was that juxtaposition of the joyful stories from Iroh to the sudden tragic revelation of Irohs son that really made that episode as great as it was

I just finished it and I was like "PAKU TAUGHT HER NOTHING???"

This is way I dont tend to watch 'live action remakes, with a more adult theme'

I am calling it now: Toph learns sensing emotions from the moles and thats how she can tell if someone is lying. Obviously beimg empathic is peak earthbending

I also hate that they put so much focus on power. In the original, only the Avatar was more powerful as a bender, and normal people having differing skill levels was reflective of how hard they worked and only a tiny bit of affinity. Katara just being "superpowered" steals so much interesting development

It is pathetic and hilarious that in an attempt to "make this show less sexist or iffy..." and make it mature, Albert Kim and his team made this revival somehow more sexist and offensive to women and less mature than the original show. If all you have to demonstrate with your revival is your willingness to show violence, it doesn't make you a mature writer. It makes your show seem juvenile.

32:48 “beating a dead horse that’s deader than Gyatso” that was a low blow💀💀💀

I get why the writters dipped out

a lot of the over explaining also feels funny coz like in the beginning, sozin and the spy seems so buddy buddy the earth bender is acting like hes been personally betrayed, but logically, WHY would sozin be wasting his time talking to this random guy 😭

This video felt cathartic. There are so many good points made that it feels like pus has been drained from the infected wound that is my love for the franchise. It helps me accept the live-action for its flaws. Now I can go on to sooth my soul by rewatching the cartoon and reading some fanfiction.

Modern hollywood can't have characters make mistakes or have flaws because we are in the X era where if you've said something when you were 16 that was bad you have eternally sinned. You never deserve to work or be happy again. So the only growth they can write is for the characters to realize they were great the whole time.

This should be used as a study of less is more. I'm also seeing why the original creators left the show some time ago

The Sozins Comet direction from Roku in the original series also wasn’t anywhere near as bad because it sets the clock, shows the ultimate goal to watch out for, and thwarting the comet becomes a massive focus of Book 2. It’s not a one time immediate solution situation like everything in Newvatar, it was a single thing that helps set up the rest of the show and everything that happens in it to the finale

The live action zuko doesn’t have a burn scar it’s just red food coloring on his face lol

“Connection. Building bridges. That’s how he’s gonna be the avatar” gives mad “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate; saving what we love” vibes. And I CANT

the Zuko in the live action one is carrying theshow

It's interesting to me that I've heard people like it, but the moment they announced Season 2, the first article listed was titled, and I quote... Don't F*** Up Toph. And yeah... I'm in that camp.

It’s long, but this video captures the problems that the live action series has so well. Glad you made the video, even if it ended up as long as it did.

Crazy how they took away aang’s fun side, considering the very first thing he suggested in the series was penguin sledding. Why Netflix???!!😭😭

The point about the exposition feeling like video game quests from NPCs rings so true. 😭

Dialogue from the Netflix Secret Tunnel episode: "Wait... this wall wasn't here before" "That's impossible! Unless... the tunnels are changing!" No shit the tunnels changed. That was the observation they made when they noted the newly appeared wall. What they should've said is "that's impossible! Unless... badger-moles!"

i feel like they played it way too safe and the fact they tried to pack season 1 into 8 episodes. they mashed a lot of episodes together which hinders the time we actually spend with the characters

It drives me mad when their breath isn’t visible when it’s cold …

One addition that I actually did like was Zuko’s crew being the regiment he saved with his interference.:)

about iroh, the funeral scene felt off to me because ive always thought it was suggested in the og that iroh didnt come home immediately after lu ten dies. I thought he disappeared for a while to go on a spiritual journey. thats why is was so easy for ozai to take over

I’ll give it this: The Costume design is pretty faithful to the original show