Another year, another Netflix live-action adaptation of a beloved animated show. This time around, I have a personal attachment. I never really watched One Piece, Death Note, or Cowboy Bebop as a kid, but I watched the shit out of Avatar: The Last Airbender. That show, to this very day, has some of the best storytelling and character arcs television has ever seen and I’m willing to die on that hill. That show is sacred to me and I’ve been starving for more ATLA content ever since the spin-off show (Legend of Korra) ended in 2014. I have been waiting for anything ATLA related for almost a decade and I know that I am not alone.
Well, Netflix saw the demand and decided to try and fill that void with it’s own take on this story. They announced the show and also revealed that the original showrunners, Michael DiMartino and Brian Konietzko, were going to lead the way. I was so excited for this….until Michael posted this on Instagram after 2 years of development:
It was truly disappointing to see that Netflix had no interest in faithfully adapting the story in M&B’s vision. But, hey, maybe the show could still be good, right? Fast forward to late February 2024, and the show finally releases and…holy moly, it’s not good.
Characters
Almost every character in the Netflix version is missing a vital piece of their character from the cartoon. Aang’s goofiness, Sokka’s sexism, Katara’s envy of Aang’s abilities, and Zuko’s mysteriousness are all missing. I think this may have to do with the decision to cut out smaller plot lines from the show where their sole purpose was to flesh out these characters.
There are several characters that are just plain wrong. King Bumi comes across as a bitter maniac willing to die just to prove a point when in the cartoon, it is clear that his inner child was still very much present even though he was over 100 years old. Jet is basically a terrorist when he tries to assassinate King Bumi for almost no reason other than he thinks he’s a bad leader. Azula (who doesn’t appear until season 2 in the cartoon) is seen as insecure and desperate for the Fire Lord’s approval. While these characteristics end up being true in the cartoon, they don’t reveal themselves until very later on in Season 3. When we are first introduced to Azula in the cartoon, she is a cold, clever, and powerful antagonist that makes Zuko seem like a lost puppy.
Plot
I think the biggest crime that this show commits is HOW it tells the story. To preface, some nice people on the r/TheLastAirbender subreddit managed to compare the runtimes for each adaptation (excluding credits). The cartoon landed at around 454 minutes and the Netflix version was 382 minutes. That’s only a 70 minute difference so the fact that the Omashu, Jet, Northern Air Temple, and the Cave of Two Lovers (which is supposed to be in S2) story arcs were mashed all together in two episodes is jarring and the show suffers greatly due to underdevelopment of each arc. Not to mention the arcs that were straight up cut from the show like The Winter Solstice, the Waterbending Scroll, the Great Divide, the Fortuneteller, Bato, and Jeong Jeong. All of these minor arcs are just as essential to the characters as the large overarching ones. It’s in these stories that you learn who these characters really are, what drives them, and you see Team Avatar start to form and grow that close bond. Since these are missing in the Netflix version, Team Avatar still feel like strangers to one another at the end. They don’t have the experiences that they are supposed to have. For there to only be a 70 minute difference and to have almost half of the content from the cartoon excluded just flat out sucks.
Visuals
A very important part of the show’s potential success was always going to be how the world and bending looked on screen. On top of the incredible story and characters, the cartoon was excellent about immersing the audience in this world with breathtaking settings and action-packed fight sequences. It is famously known that each type of bending is based upon a unique martial arts form. I am happy to say that as far as the Netflix’s adaptation goes… mission accomplished. Is it perfect? No, but it’s believable which the important part. I found that the bending accurately reflected the movement of the respective bender and that a lot of the sets were gorgeous and looked almost exactly how they did in the cartoon. You can tell that a lot of time and effort (and money) went into ensuring that if all else failed, at least it looked like Avatar. My only complaint would be have to be the waterbending, especially in Katara’s scenes. The attacks seemed sluggish and non-threatening most of the time. It didn’t really break the immersion for me but I feel like that is something that can be rectified in future seasons with the right feedback.
Other Notes
- The dialogue is VERY expository. If there’s a scene where there’s a tiny chance that whatever is happening doesn’t make perfect sense or it isn’t crystal clear don’t worry, one the characters will 100% just explain what’s going.
- The acting by most of the child actors is brutal. You can tell that they are being fed lines that they perhaps don’t believe in or even understand.
- Aang does not bend any other elements in the Netflix’s S1. In the cartoon, he and Katara learn waterbending together and he also firebends very briefly.
- Sokka and Katara together in the Cave of Two Lovers was weird and had no bearing on the story. That arc in the cartoon happens in S2 so why they felt the need to dump it here, I have no idea.
- I liked Suki in the Netflix show and I’m excited to see her character in future seasons.
- Netflix cut out Master Pakku realizing that Katara’s necklace was the same one he gave Gran Gran a long time ago. That’s where he originally softens on the ‘girls don’t fight’ mentality. Instead, Katara just nags him until he reluctantly agrees.
- I liked the way Koh looks in the Netflix adaptation but they unnecessarily changed his lore. Koh is a spirit that will steal your face if you show any emotion, thus Aang has to approach him carefully and with no expression. This was nonexistent in live-action.
- The spirit called Wan Shi Tong also makes an appearance in the spirit world. In the cartoon, he doesn’t appear until well into S2 in an iconic episode.
- Aang gets to reunite with his old master Monk Gyatso who somehow stayed behind in the spirit world following his death. I thought this was a good addition made by the Netflix version as the scene was very heartfelt and provided Aang with some well needed guidance.
- I liked the final battle at the Northern Water Tribe. The Ocean Spirit monster looked good!
- Why did they have to show Sokka and Katara’s mom dying like 5 times?
Conclusion
Overall, I was disappointed in this first season. I didn’t expect it to be a shot for shot remake but I really wanted it to capture the same aura of the cartoon. I wanted this version to act as a long overdue victory lap that celebrated everyone involved in the original and not leave anything out. Instead, we ended up with characters missing vital arcs that shape who they are going forward, events that are out of place in the timeline, and an Avatar that can still only airbend going into Season 2 (if it’s greenlit).
I’m not totally writing this show off but I really hope the showrunners take these criticisms that not only I, but many other fans, are conveying and try to implement some sort of course correction. There’s still plenty of story to tell and the potential to do it right is in their hands.
6.2/10
-TC
Tired Consumer 
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