It's finally come out – the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has dropped, and I stayed up all night to watch it.
I blame Netflix for dropping the entirety of a series on a Thursday when I had to work, so trying to get things done was practically impossible. But once five o'clock rolled around, it was me, Netflix, and a lot of tears as I sat down and binged the first season of the new Avatar: The Last Airbender.
For those who know and those who don't, I've been a massive fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender for years and have long since waited for this series to drop, even after the original creators left. I was still so excited.
Now, after eight episodes, I have a lot to say – and while I am exhausted, there's so much to talk about, because it was worth every second.
The Bending Looked Out Of This World
One of the things that I loved about the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender is its bending. The idea of being able to wield the elements because of this special connection to nature and the spirit world fascinated me. Of course, the bending itself always looked fantastic. It reminded me of some of the best fantasy shows out there. It might even be hard to truly understand how bending works, but at a certain point, you get it.
Then, we witnessed bending in the M. Night Shyamalan film that we shall not name, and it didn't look very pleasant. So, I was nervous about how it would look in the next few series.
It's safe to say that the bending in the new show looked terrific – and probably about as realistic as they could make it. My only complaint would be about the airbending, because we didn't see the air bend that often, but it was used expertly – and the other elements were out of this world.
The Sets And Worldbuilding Were Spectacular, Too
I won't get into this that much because I already knew from the first Avatar: The Last Airbender trailer that these sets would look fabulous, but seeing it on my TV screen was something else.
Of course, seeing the one-for-one recreation of familiar destinations from the show, like the Southern Air Temple or Omashu, was amazing, but also witnessing the buildout of other sets that we had never or hardly seen before, like the development of Wolf Cove or even Capitol City. I loved it.
Most Of The Casting Was Exceptionally Well-Done
While there were a few cast decisions from the Avatar: The Last Airbender cast that I don't necessarily agree with after watching the first season, mostly everyone did a great job.
Gordon Cormier was as fantastic as Aang. Ian Ousely was hilarious and a bright spot as Sokka. Even former Community cast member Dan Pudi as the Mechanist was brilliant casting. I loved almost everyone.
But I Need To Highlight Zuko And Iroh
Okay, I'm biased here because I love Zuko and think he has one of the greatest character arcs of all time in animation and TV in general. Even so, I loved Dallas Liu and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Zuko and Uncle Iroh.
In the first season, I am already loving their vibe and connection. Liu perfectly portrays the Season 1 temperamental banished prince, while Lee brings that steady stream of advice, love, and care for Zuko, making them the perfect pairing. I can't freaking wait to see more of them.
Bringing In Ozai And Azula Early Was Great
One of the most significant changes with the live-action series was bringing in Ozai and Azula earlier in the series and making them more prominent characters in Season 1. Honestly, it was a great decision.
While it does take away the mysterious nature of the Fire Nation royal family from the animated show, it gives us a chance to learn more about the Fire Lord and how evil he is – and gives us more of an insight into Azula's character rather than her just being one of the most badass female characters in the show (albeit unhinged). We see how she tries to impress her father and see her start to form her plans. I liked it a whole lot.
Most Of The Changes Flowed Decently
So, I went into this with an open mind. I knew it wouldn't be a one-for-one reenactment of everything we saw in the original. That is as close to perfect television as possible, and it would be hard to imitate it in live-action.
And yes, there are story changes in this show that certainly throw you for a loop. Yes, the pacing can feel a little off. But some of the story changes make it better in a way.
I won't get into which parts of the story were changed – some were for the good, and others weren't – but I'll openly say that none of them made me want to stop watching the show like the movie did. It works in a lot of ways.
And The Story Moments From The Animated Show Were Elevated In Live-Action
But, while there are changes made to the story from the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, a good amount of the same story beats happen that you would expect – Aang going to the Southern Air Temple, the gang heading to the North, meeting the Kyoshi Warriors – all of those happen.
Sure, some things are left out – as was expected – but the moments that were kept in were elevated so that it's hard to talk about it without spoiling the entirety of the series. The last few episodes have some of the best changes ever, and I fully support them, while the points we follow from the main series are elevated so well that they flow easily.
Overall, I Really Hope This Gets Season 2
I think this show will be a slam-dunk for Netflix, considering how much interaction it's been getting on social media, but I have to say I hope it ends up getting a Season 2 order.
So many Netflix shows are canceled too soon, and I can't see this one becoming one of them, but stranger things have happened. All I will say is that it deserves another season – as there's no way it's done yet.
Look, I know what you might be thinking if you're a fan of the original show – you've probably seen a few people online rant about it, saying that it's atrocious for the supposed changes the show has made based on a few interviews. If anything, you might even see that the critic's score on Rotten Tomatoes is decently low, at only 60%, which might drive you away.
But I'll be the first to say that this show is very easy to enjoy when you don't have a critic blasting nonsense in your ear or telling you not to watch it because of quotes taken out of context. I grew up with the original and loved it, and while I don't think this surpasses it – or could ever surpass it – it's still a fun time.
This show wasn't made for critics. It was made for fans of the original series. You can tell that there was a lot of time and effort poured into it, and sure, there are moments that might make you scratch your head, but overall, this show slaps – and I would recommend it a thousand percent, time and time again. I'd give the series an 8 out of 10 if I had to rate it – an excellent show for a weekend binge of eight episodes.
