I know the reception to Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has been mixed, to say the very least, but I thought it was pretty decent.
So much so, that if they were to make a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Korra, I wouldn’t complain. However, before we jump ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, as Netflix recently renewed the series for two more seasons. I’m definitely excited about this, but with one caveat: Please deviate more from the source material this time around!
Because while my colleague, Alexandra Ramos, went into all of the major changes that the live-action adaptation made from the original show, I really don’t think those changes were nearly enough. So, here are some things that I hope can make Season 2 feel fresher than Season 1.
Oh, and spoilers for Season 1 of the Netflix series, as well as Season 2 of the cartoon.
Pull From Book 2 Of The Cartoon, But Not Too Heavily This Time
Book 1 of the animated series is 20 episodes long, while Season 1 of the live-action adaptation is only eight. That said, the live-action version does an admirable enough job of crunching in the entire storyline.
A big problem I had with this live-action adaptation, however, is that I knew exactly where it was heading. That’s not to say that I wanted them to deviate completely. However, I would definitely like it if there were more events not seen in the original series that would really throw fans who have already watched every episode for a loop.
Like, one thing I’m dreading is the search for Appa in Season 2. I’m sorry, but that was the worst part of the entire cartoon series for me, and I’m not looking forward to two or three episodes devoted to finding him.
I also hope that they approach the first appearance of Toph differently. It’s not that I didn’t like it the first time around. But, that’s just it. I remember the first time around. It was in Episode 6, “The Blind Bandit,” where our heroes first meet Toph at an Earthbending tournament.
Honestly, I really don’t want this show to telegraph events again like it did with Season 1. Instead, I’d like to be surprised like I was with my favorite episode, “Spirited Away,” which cobbled together multiple episodes from the original series, sure, but was different enough that it all felt entirely new.
That’s what I want! Pull from Book 2 of the cartoon, but pull liberally. Mash episodes together so that it vaguely looks familiar, but also entirely different. However, I think they can go even further with making Season 2 feel different from Season 1.
Pull Ideas From The Comics
Seriously, there is such a wealth of content from the comics that I honestly don’t know why they didn’t just pull from them more often in Season 1. There is a slight reference to Koh’s mom, The Mother of Faces, in the first season of the live-action adaptation, but that’s about it.
Why not pull from some of the one-offs, like Katara and the Pirate’s Silver, or stories from The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales? Because even though I’ve been a good little fan who’s read everything connected to the universe, there are several fans out there who have never even cracked open an Avatar comic, and for them, all of this content would be entirely new.
Yes, most of the comics, like The Search, North and South, and Imbalance take place after the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender, but the one-off comics, as well as The Lost Adventures and Team Avatar Tales, would make Season 2 of this live-action series feel a lot fresher than Season 1 did.
And While You're At It, Pull Ideas From The Novels As Well
Since I’m a huge fan of the world, I definitely made sure to read the four novels that chronicled the lives of Avatar Kyoshi, and Avatar Yangchen. Let me tell you, pulling from those novels would be absolutely perfect for the live-action series, as these books can get super violent, and the live-action series tends to be a bit more graphic than the cartoon ever was.
Not only that, but a lot of fans have never seen dust stepping, or have any knowledge that the wrong Avatar has actually been picked in the past.
There are also other bending techniques that would be cool to see in live-action, and the people who are only familiar with the cartoons might not be knowledgeable that an airbender can literally suck all of the oxygen out of a room, and make people pass out (we saw Zaheer kill the Earth Queen like this in The Legend of Korra, but there’s a much cooler – and scarier – scene in the Yangchen novels).
So, yeah. Pull from the novels for this second season. A lot of fans of only the cartoon will have their minds completely blown.
Also, Try To Slip In More The Legend Of Korra References
We saw a reference to The Legend of Korra in the first season of the Netflix series, like when Sokka and Katara got stuck in the Fog of Lost Souls. But, I honestly think that this second season should pull even more from it.
I’m not saying introduce characters like Bolin or Mako, who wouldn’t even be alive yet, but maybe add in a character like Amon (I’m not saying actually put him in this series, but a character like him) who can take away people’s bending abilities, which I think would be so cool.
Or maybe make metalbending something that features prominently here. I know Toph is the originator of the technique, and I’m not saying that that moment should be taken away from her, but it would be cool if others could also metalbend just by observing her doing it.
Yes, I’m well aware that I’m now quarterbacking the script, but stay with me here, please. We actually see whole cities constructed using metalbending in The Legend of Korra, and I think one of the ways that we could see major differences from this live-action series and the cartoon is if they really focus on the subsets of bending this season.
We get to see some of that in the animated series, such as sandbending and bloodbending. But, we see a lot more of these subsets in Korra. I’d love it if this new season took a lot more liberally from that show, because, hey. You never know if we’re ever going to get a live-action The Legend of Korra series or not. So, these next two seasons might be the only real opportunity we get for the powers that be to pluck from that rich material.
In Summation, Make This Second Season Feel More Different Than Similar To The Cartoon
So, yeah. The most important thing, I think, is for this season to feel as different from the cartoon as possible. I know not everybody is going to agree with me, but I’d honestly be happy if this second season was like The Last Jedi was for Star Wars’ fans. I’m talking super polarizing, and divisive.
You might think that’s a bad thing, but just hear me out. Currently, what most people are saying about the first season is that it’s “just okay. But not as good as the cartoon.” Of course it’s not going to be as good as the cartoon. It's legendary, and no live-action adaptation is going to recapture that magic.
So, why even try? This first season mostly succeeded for me, but for a lot of others, it failed miserably. A good friend of mine said that they condensed the season down too much, and it was missing the original show’s magic, and that’s definitely going to happen when you subtract twelve or so episodes. Since they can’t recapture the magic of the source material, then why not take more risks?
As much as people tend to hate The Last Jedi, people are still talking about it (a lot of it is whining, to be fair), and I want that same discourse for the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Otherwise, years down the line, people are likely just going to forget that this series even existed, and I don’t want that. Why would I? I love Avatar!
But, what do you think? For more news on all things Avatar-related, be sure to swing by here often!
