Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season One Review
November 2004: I, a ten-year-old, saw The Spongebob Squarepants Movie with my family. That’s when I saw a trailer for this new, anime-inspired series coming to Nickelodeon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Three months later, I was watching the series premiere on TV with my sister, and I knew it was special. It was unlike any Western cartoon I had ever seen. And, while I didn’t realize it then, it would be one of the most important shows of my life.
Calling myself an Avatar: The Last Airbender fan would be an understatement. I’ve seen most of the episodes, read the comics, and spent the money on autographs from most of the main cast. My most prized possession, which I have since had to replace, was a dog tag necklace featuring the main character. It’s also why, like most, I loathe Shamylan’s crime against cinema that tried adapting it. So, I was skeptical when I heard that Netflix would be making a live-action adaptation. This is more so when the series creators bailed on it in 2020. Then we got the live-action One Piece last year, which turned out alright. Maybe the remake wouldn’t be so bad. So, was Netflix’s Avatar capable of living up to its legendary source? Was it any good?
Meh. I’ve seen worse.
A Different Version of Avatar
Much like One Piece, the Netflix adaptation isn’t a shot-for-shot retelling of Avatar. The first episode clarifies that by devoting its first twenty minutes to a prologue. Said prologue retells the night that Aang became frozen in an iceberg and shows the opening salvages of the Hundred Year War. That includes the genocide of the Airbenders, something the show never did due to how dark it was.
It’s a reasonable effort, but right away, we start to see some of the drawbacks of live-action. The bending here feels underwhelming after seeing what firebenders can do with their comet-powered hacks. The spirit is there, and the horror of the events rivals Order 66 in Star Wars. But after almost twenty years of imagining it, the whole thing doesn’t measure up.
That opening sequence indicated just what this remake would be like: it tries so hard to measure up to how excellent the original is. And while it does succeed in some places, it fails in others.
Acting All over the Place
For example, the acting was all over the place regarding quality. Some did great, like Gordon Cormier as Aang and Dallas Liu as Zuko. Others didn’t do so well like the ones playing Katara and Azula could have done better. They were trying, and I’m willing to bet it’s because of bad writing, but they didn’t quite capture the essence of their characters. Katara had the compassion but little of the fiery nature that Mae Whitman gave her. And Azula? She was ruthless and manipulative, but without Grey DeLisle, she lacked the psycho girl edge that made everyone fear her. And plenty of the supporting cast suffered similar problems. I cringed hearing Katara and Sokka’s Gran-Gran recite the opening lines to the original series! She was no Mae Whitman!
Even the characters that I did end up liking had their issues. The show was trying too hard to act more adult, and it downplayed some character traits. For example, despite saying he’s a fun-loving kid, Aang here spends much more time feeling bad about what happened to his people. It takes away a lot of what made him lovable in the original!
No Excuse to Make Shorter Episodes
Furthermore, there are issues with the pacing and how they condensed many things from the original series for the live-action version. That meant some stories got abridged or outright didn’t happen. That could work with One Piece because they had dozens of episodes to cover in a fraction of the time. But here? The first season of OG Avatar and this series clock in around the same run time. They could do the same amount of stuff as the original series if they didn’t insist on sticking to the hour-long format.
So, either Netflix or the people who made the series wanted to stick to the Game of Thrones, hour-long format. Or they didn’t want to risk the extra money. Either way, no excuse. But, at least, they kept the Cabbage Merchant.
They Did Improve Some Things
In all fairness, this is not the worst we could’ve gotten. The fans have already seen the worst in the form of Shmyalan’s hot garbage. At least the show makes an effort to capture the spirit of the original series, and there are plenty of callbacks and references to the original—enough to have a drinking game. The show improves on a few things from the show, as impossible as it sounds.
Exhibit A: Iroh reveals to Zuko’s crew why they got stuck with him on his hunt for the Avatar. They’re part of the division that would’ve been sacrificed in a suicide mission had Zuko not spoken up on their behalf. That’s a nice touch that endears him even more to fans and his crew. And honestly, I’m hoping they come back in season two because that was an issue I had with the OG.
Exhibit B: at the funeral for his son, which the OG never showed, Iroh spends the whole time hearing people insult him as a coward or saying Lu Ten died a hero. Zuko is the only one who shows him sympathy and compassion, telling him about the time Lu Ten encouraged him with his studies. They added a soft rendition of “Leaves From the Vine,” and I couldn’t help thinking of Iroh’s late voice actor, Mako. Chef’s kiss!
Exhibit C: when Aang goes to the Spirit World for the first time, he meets his mentor and father figure, Monk Gyatso. Gyatso chose not to move on or reincarnate until he could see Aang again. In doing so, Aang apologizes for running away and not being there, something OG Aang never got to do. And Gyatso? He tells Aang what he deserves to know: that the War wasn’t his fault and that he would’ve died with everyone else had he stayed. It’s an incredibly cathartic moment for both Aang and long-time fans.
At Least it wasn’t Bad as the Movie
So, as a whole, the Netflix series meets different heights than the animated series. Though that may be impossible, to begin with. A: TLA is one of the greatest shows ever, as close to perfect as possible. Anything trying to adapt it would face a lot of scrutiny, especially since the fans had already gotten hurt once before.
Don’t get me wrong: the original series is the best. However, what Netflix managed to do was still pretty impressive. It makes me love Avatar even more because we remember how good it is. Also, the show’s still way better than that horrible film. I consider that a win.
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