Avatar Nation

Avatar Nation: Season 1 — Wrap Up

• Pauline & Wes • Season 1 • Episode 10

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In this episode of AVATAR NATION, Pauline and Wes analyze the entire first season of Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'. They discuss their favorite and least favorite moments, share their anticipations for season two, and read and respond to comments they received from the fandom.


00:00 Intro

00:21 Opening

05:32 Cabbage Ratings

09:00 Season Analysis

55:06 Comments from the Fandom

01:21:41 Closing Thoughts

01:23:43 Outro


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Pauline:

Welcome to Avatar Nation, a podcast, all about the Netflix live adaptation of Avatar: the Last Airbender. Whether you're a longtime fan like us, or you're new to the Avatarverse, join us as we dive into each episode and analyze the retelling of TV's greatest adventure. Hello guys, I'm your host, Pauline,

Wes:

and I'm Wes, and I gotta say, I kind of missed doing this. That week off, I missed doing the podcast, so it's nice to be back.

Pauline:

As usual, life happens, but yeah, it feels like it's been a while since we've done this. Yeah,

Wes:

it has.

Pauline:

And we're really getting into a busy time of year so, um, we will continue doing our best to get these episodes out. But yeah, we'll see what happens moving forward.

Wes:

Alright, so what are we doing today?

Pauline:

Okay, so today is our season one wrap up. Before we get into all of that, I didn't know, Wes, did you see the update on the new animated Avatar movie that's coming out?

Wes:

No, but I've heard from you that they were doing one.

Pauline:

Of course, many Avatar fans, they're plugged into All the new stuff coming from Avatar Studios, which is owned by the original creators. But we've known for a while that we have a few Avatar animated movies coming out. But I think this is the first time we actually have a release window for the first one coming up. Originally they said it was going to come out fall of next year, but I think now it's been pushed back to 2026. But it is a movie that is gonna be about the adult gang the adult team Avatar and following maybe what happens between the original series and The Legend of Korra.

Wes:

Korra. Well, that'll be interesting.

Pauline:

I know I think a lot of us want to see what the gang would have been up to as adults, now that we're all adults too. But, what has been confirmed so far, at least from several news sites, is that Aang is gonna be voiced by Eric Nam, and I think he is or was a K pop star, and then Dave Bautista is gonna be some antagonist that we don't know, which you know him! I think, you've seen more of Dave Bautista's stuff than I have.

Wes:

Yeah, I watch his movies, not his wrestling, but I love his

Pauline:

he a wrestler? Yeah. I didn't know that, or I forgot that. See, shows how much I know.

Wes:

I think I uh, controversial. I think I like him better than The Rock.

Pauline:

Yeah, is he? He's in Marvel, isn't he?

Wes:

Yeah.

Pauline:

That's kind of cool that there continues to be Filipino representation in Avatar. I don't know if this is confirmed, I've seen it floating out there, but Dante Basco is allegedly going to return as Zuko's voice actor, which makes sense, because, I mean

Wes:

Yeah, he is 50 or 60, like

Pauline:

like that, but his voice hasn't really changed. But I think he's the only original voice actor that is returning.

Wes:

That's cool. I like Dante.

Pauline:

I do like Dante. I wish some of the others would come back because there are a couple that are still, they're voice actors but I can understand that they maybe want to keep the Asian representation, but I'm Maybe, but I don't think they want I'm gonna guess that they don't want to cast any non Asians, and I know that who's the one that voices Korra the one who voices Korra I think has said before that she probably wouldn't come back to voice her character as somebody who's white, so I wouldn't be surprised if that plays a big factor in whether or not the original voice actors would have even been asked to come back or if they would have declined,

Wes:

I'm confused.

Pauline:

the characters in Avatar The Last Airbender are Asian, I think that those who are not Asian would probably be hesitant to come back as non Asian people voicing these characters. I think a lot of us fans, though, wouldn't have a big problem with it because they've been such a core part of Avatar The Last Airbender. So I don't know, it's a touchy subject.

Wes:

I don't see a problem with it, but to each their own.

Pauline:

Yep. Okay so, with this episode that we're doing today here's what we're going to discuss. What I decided to do is we're going to combine a few episode topics that I had and just combine it into this one because I didn't want some of our episodes to get too repetitive, so I figured that we would go over our, favorite and least favorite moments, plus some other, standout moments we'll talk about things that we're looking forward to in the next seasons without giving plot spoilers though. We'll save more of the spoilery stuff for another episode. And then we have more comments to read from other fans regarding this season in general.

Wes:

Great well.

Pauline:

Yeah.

Wes:

you ready to talk about season one?

Pauline:

Before we do just a reminder to everybody listening to follow and subscribe to us. And that way, you get notified on when we come out with new episodes. Okay. Now we're ready.

Wes:

Let's do this. Dive in. Let's just start off by diving right into our cabbage ratings. Pauline, what are Cabbage Ratings?

Pauline:

Oh yes, I guess since it's been, well it's been like a week. Or, Since some people may be listening to this episode as their very first episode with us, our Cabbage Ratings, very much like Rotten Tomato ratings or IGN ratings, they're just how Wes and I rate each episode, but we're going to rate the season as a whole and we do it in cabbages.

Wes:

being bad and ten being great.

Pauline:

Yeah, the best. So I'll go ahead and give my cabbage rating. So I'm giving the whole season a 7.

Wes:

Oh, okay.

Pauline:

feel like that's a nice healthy rating. I think it definitely had its ups and downs. The parts that I thought were really good, I really, really enjoyed, and then the parts that I feel like suffered a little bit, I mean, I had really strong opinions about all of those. But overall, I enjoyed it, it was much better than the movie that doesn't exist, and I think we're headed in the right direction. Of course, just because we're fans doesn't mean that we don't have criticism of the series. What about you? What is your cabbage rating?

Wes:

Okay, so my cabbage rating is a 7. 5. Ooh,

Pauline:

a 7. 5. And why did you give it a 7. 5?

Wes:

Well, I have to say it didn't, it had its, it was a rollercoaster ride. It was up and down

Pauline:

All around.

Wes:

was so many things I was disappointed with, but that's just nitpicking. I think overall, this is probably, and this is probably gonna get a lot of negative feedback, but overall, I think this is probably one of the best live action shows I've watched.

Pauline:

Oh, you like adapting

Wes:

up there. Yes. Yes. And it's up there, top five

Pauline:

Yeah.

Wes:

the best live action shows that I've watched.

Pauline:

That's an interesting take. I do want to take a look at what our Cabbage Rating is based on what the actual average would be, because I know we chose a rating based on our feelings. So you went back and looked at

Wes:

ou r past cabbage ratings.

Pauline:

After I decided what I was giving this season, I wanted to see if it was going to line up with Our other cabbage ratings and what the

Wes:

Oh, this is a twist. You should have told me about

Pauline:

have told me about this. So let's see if we contradict ourselves. Okay, so for me, I said that I gave it a 7. So if

Wes:

Overall.

Pauline:

Yes, for the whole season. So if we take my average cabbage rating, it's a 7. 4. So not bad. Not far off. So for yours, so you said you gave it a 7.5, I took the average of all your cabbage ratings from previous episodes, and yours is at a 7.1. the actual, We're both close. We're both close. The actual average yours is just, just a hair lower than mine. But we're right there in that seven range, so I think that makes sense. Our average. Between the two of us is 7. 3 for all you math nerds out there. So I think that tracks. What do you think?

Wes:

do you think? Yeah, I promise I didn't. I think I was

Pauline:

Yeah, I promise I didn't. I gave my rating first and then looked back to see if it

Wes:

was! I know

Pauline:

up. I wasn't! I wasn't! Yeah, so people could go back and be like, wait a second, this is what you said before. All

Wes:

Alright, Paul. Do you want to talk about the series strengths and weaknesses?

Pauline:

Okay strengths and weaknesses. I feel like, because we want to talk about the positive things, but then, of course, there are things to look at critically as well. I'll start by giving what I think the series strengths are and what I thought Netflix did really well.

Wes:

you know, The things that I thought Netflix did really, Um,

Pauline:

Um, hold on. I have receipts.

Wes:

Oh, it's the second text.

Pauline:

Mm

Wes:

Okay, I don't, I don't, uh

Pauline:

Read all my texts? Like how you still, you're the one that segwayed into, alright let's talk about our Strengths and Weaknesses. Wait a

Wes:

into the

Pauline:

I didn't know we had to do this. Okay, so I'll go first so then you have time to think. I put for Strengths, it would be the visuals and the fight choreography for sure. I think we can all agree. The visuals were really great. The CGI, just all of the visual effects. It was very pleasing to watch. And I think in some of the episodes where I did rate it highly, I think the visuals is what really got it up there. And then same with the fight choreography. It just made it entertaining. I loved watching all of the fight scenes. Both bending and non bending fight scenes. Those were really Some of the most entertaining parts for me. And then as for weakness, I've already mentioned this several times in previous episodes of ours, but it would be all of the exposition. The exposition dumping and then some of the acting as well. There were many moments where the acting was great, but then there were many moments too where the acting was just fell a little bit flat or poor. Seemed a little bit

Wes:

a little bit flat, or seemed a little bit forced. Like acting wise, but I think they got better as this, as the season went on.

Pauline:

Overall, I think I agree with that. And then as far as the exposition goes, I know the avatar has to have some exposition. There's a lot of world building. There's a lot of fantastical ideas that. viewers and especially first time viewers have to get familiar with, but I think it really was just so much whenever the characters were just standing there talking to each other. And I forgot I had wanted to mention this we were talking about I think the last two episodes of this season, if you take a look at the scenes where you have characters talk, there's a lot of dialogue, they're explaining things to each other. Sometimes a lot of those shots were set up a little bit too simplistically? Simplistically? Simple? Simply? There is nothing really creative about the shots. It's like those moments of like, what do I do with my hands? And I feel like Katara had a lot of those moments too, but that's where the show sometimes got a little bit boring, it was just really two people standing there, and they're really just exposition dumping.

Wes:

Yeah, which is, which is okay. They're going to get that out of the way. I think so too, I think

Pauline:

I think so too. I think so too. And I just want them to remember that, even with exposition, at least there are other things they could do with the shots that can make it a little bit more entertaining to watch. The characters don't necessarily have to be just standing there looking at each other. The camera angles could be a little bit different, but if you watch, especially in the episode, The North, there was just a lot of two characters standing face to face, looking at each other.

Wes:

Sense. Yeah, I think that's a little nitpicky, but I do agree. But think, they're going to get past that.

Pauline:

Yeah, because then they have less to explain in season two. Okay. So what about you? What, now that you've had time to think what strengths do you think the series

Wes:

now that you've had time to think strengths do you think series has?

Pauline:

The effects

Wes:

yeah, totally past my expectations. I don't know what you think about that, but, and their weakness I would have to say pacing. It's too much. Think that was looking for the word, but you already said it, so

Pauline:

yeah,

Wes:

I agree with you. Thank you, babe. I'll piggyback off

Pauline:

I will say I also remember from past podcast episodes, you mentioned several times that they were going too fast with some of the storyline.

Wes:

They could slow way down, but I understand that, there's a time constraint. And they only wanted to do eight episodes. But yes, I wish they would have slowed way down, but even season one of the cartoon, that was slow and Kevin's not gonna like this, but filled with a lot of fillers. And I think I have really high hopes for season two and

Pauline:

Yeah. Okay. So those are our strengths and weaknesses. So I want to talk about several standout moments. And we can just start with our top three favorite moments. Just top three moments that were the best for us. They were our favorite, scenes in the show. How do you want to do it? Do you want me to say my three, and then you say your three? Should we go back and forth.

Wes:

I'll go first.

Pauline:

Okay, what would be number three for you? Your third favorite moment?

Wes:

It would probably be Kyoshi taking over Aang, and then just whoopin ass.

Pauline:

That was cool. That was so early on. It felt like a

Wes:

Felt like a lifetime ago. I know.

Pauline:

I know. Oh, and for anybody that listened to the previous episode I know we talked about re watching the whole season back to back. Life just did not let us do that.

Wes:

do that. Epic fail.

Pauline:

We just didn't have time and we had other shows to catch up on, too. So, we did not go back and re watch the whole season,

Wes:

yeah, Stranger Things kinda took up our time.

Pauline:

Oh my gosh, now everybody's gonna know that we've been so behind on

Wes:

on Stranger Things.

Pauline:

Yes, okay, ladies and gentlemen, we just now caught up on Stranger Things.

Wes:

Pauline, let's get back on the tracks here. This

Pauline:

so number three was the Kyoshi takeover. three? Okay, so my number three was the Air Nomad genocide, which, now saying it out loud sounds really bad, that it was

Wes:

sounds really bad.

Pauline:

The way that they did it I'm just so glad that they put it in there. I mean it, it was a sad moment. It was terrible, but I think it made for good TV. So I'm glad that they got

Wes:

got that in there.

Pauline:

Yeah, okay, so that was number three. What was your moment. two.

Wes:

basically all of episode six.

Pauline:

Which was?

Wes:

Zuko's

Pauline:

Oh the masks episode? Was that

Wes:

Was that six? Hold on. Pauline's pulling some things up.

Pauline:

Click, Click, click, click, click, click, No, episode six was spirited away. Wait no, no, no! Yeah. No, you're right. Episode six was masks. Yes.

Wes:

yeah. Say that again, Pauline, so they all

Pauline:

were right. I get confused with our episode numbers because our podcast episode numbers are always one ahead.

Wes:

Because we

Pauline:

yeah, we did a pre premiere episode, so yeah. The mental gymnastics I've had to do every time,

Wes:

to do every time. I feel that's cheating. Top of the

Pauline:

I feel like that's cheating.

Wes:

give it

Pauline:

is the whole episode. Okay, I'll give it to you because I agree. That was amazing.

Wes:

my

Pauline:

So my number two was the Leaves from the Vine moment. Iroh's flashback

Wes:

No. Leaves the Vine, I

Pauline:

No, Leaves from the Vine, I think, was the episode Into the Dark. Yeah, Secret Tunnel episode. Because, remember we talked about how two iconic songs were put into one

Wes:

iconic songs were put into one episode?

Pauline:

didn't give it a low rating.

Wes:

we can look at

Pauline:

Since we already have it pulled up. We both gave it an 8.5

Wes:

Oh, darn.

Pauline:

And mine was actually going to be lower if it wasn't for leaves from the vine. And since I had rewatched that episode two and a half times, I cried each time, so I had to make my top three moments, for sure. Okay, so what was number one for you?

Wes:

Number one, which I've already said, because you forced me into strength and weaknesses. But it would just, this is also cheating, but it's all the CGI bending. I think all the moments where they're bending, I mean, there was, there was one that I'm going to talk about later. But.

Pauline:

want to see if that's what I'm thinking of. But,

Wes:

Overall it was fantastic. So good. What's your number one?

Pauline:

My number one, this also sounds terrible saying, but just hear me out. It was from the finale, it was Water Tribe vs. Fire Nation. Specifically the scene where, the Fire Nation closes in and there is this shot where,

Wes:

Oh, I know what you're talking about.

Pauline:

you're talking about. Yes, Yes,

Wes:

boat drops?

Pauline:

Yes! There is this shot where one of the Water Tribe people, they look over and there's fire being shot at the wall, the wall collapses, you see these people fall into the water, the person sees the people fall into the water, and in that same shot, the person watching runs to the other side of the wall, sees the boat coming in and then his spot gets hit with with fire and then he falls and that was all done in one shot. It was very beautiful the perspective of, the camera and the camera movement was amazing, and all of that leading into the fight with The non benders, Han, Chief Arnok, all of them. I already mentioned this in the last episode. Yes, their last stand holding off the Fire Nation soldiers after the moon had died. It was just, the whole scene was just top for

Wes:

for me. That's a good number one.

Pauline:

Yes, amazing. Great job. Good job to the whole crew.

Wes:

the whole crew. Well, awesome. So those were moments. What about our worst moments

Pauline:

Maybe we should have started with our worst moments so we could have followed it with something positive. But, um, I'll start first

Wes:

So,

Pauline:

So number three, for me, my number three worst moment, or I guess moments, really were Bumi's tests, because I felt like they missed the mark with them. And we already talked about it before, but they didn't make much sense, at least not as much sense as the cartoon version, and yeah, they just missed the mark. So that

Wes:

Yeah, We had our whole rant on My number three is Iroh's bending when Zhao kills the moon spirit. He's like, whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you tenfold, and it really wasn't tenfold.

Pauline:

He tried. He started in on it. We already talked about this.

Wes:

about this. He is, he

Pauline:

Okay.

Wes:

Number two

Pauline:

Number two for me was Roku and Aang's conversation. It was very cheesy and it left me not feeling that impressed by Roku.

Wes:

Yeah, he was a little

Pauline:

Yeah, he was a little bit too cheesy for me. I hope we see way more of him. I'm sure we will. So we'll see how they take Roku's character moving

Wes:

character moving forward. Oh no! Give him a to

Pauline:

but I think because they didn't show very much of Roku, I think he's one of those characters that if they were to recast him, I don't think we would most people probably wouldn't notice unless they, had rewatched it many times, so that was number two for me. What about you?

Wes:

had rewatched it many times. So, Was number two me. What about you? over his head and it was like a little flash and you're like oh that was

Pauline:

Well, what was she supposed to do? Hit her

Wes:

no you don't have to hit him but there could have been a bigger explosion like a bigger lightning bolt i don't know

Pauline:

I'm sure she

Wes:

it was

Pauline:

it her all.

Wes:

it was like oh here it comes and

Pauline:

It was just a little taste. Like

Wes:

a little

Pauline:

Was It's

Wes:

it was like a bottle rocket, you know, like it was

Pauline:

rocket,

Wes:

it's gonna be so big and then it's like, bop,

Pauline:

I'm, I don't like bottle rockets. I don't like any fireworks. And I also don't like lightning and

Wes:

So you don't agree?

Pauline:

I can appreciate what you're saying. That's not one that crossed my mind at all.

Wes:

I'm Unique.

Pauline:

you are unique and weird. No, I'm just kidding.

Wes:

right, what's your number one most disappointing moment? Oh, sorry. but just. which least favorite

Pauline:

Yeah worst, number one worst moment for me was the Sokka shirtless scene. And it's not because of Sokka himself, it was just the way they put that in there with Suki clearly thirsting after him, after having just met him, was very cringe and, it felt forced. Maybe saved that kind of moment for season two but it's like that was the second episode and we're just getting to know these kids and I think, because in my mind, it's like, okay, these are kids. So the whole thing just felt very unnatural to me and gag.

Wes:

I thought it was okay, they're teenagers,

Pauline:

teenagers. Yeah, but it's like, it could have been done better, I guess, but it felt so out of place. That's just

Wes:

shirtless. That

Pauline:

was number one.

Wes:

Sorry, Sokka.

Pauline:

Nothing against Sokka! It's more about the people who decided to put it in there, like.

Wes:

okay, you ready for

Pauline:

This is what we're gonna spend our time on? Is Suki eyeballing his abs? Or did he have abs? I can't remember. Anyways.

Wes:

One? My number one is Katara's fight with Master Pakku.

Pauline:

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I can see that.

Wes:

Horrible. Like

Pauline:

The whole thing?

Wes:

I didn't like any of it. I thought it could have been way better. Katara's bending was like when you see when your show's lagging, it looked like she was lagging the whole time.

Pauline:

Yeah. Out of all of the fight scenes, I would say that was probably the weakest for So that was too bad. Okay, so those were our top three, our bottom three. So let's shift to our funniest moments. Move on to something a little bit more positive. What would you say is the funniest moment for you?

Wes:

positive. What would you say is the funniest moment for you? I was like, oh my gosh, that is super hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing, which I don't think it wasn't supposed to be funny. We know it wasn't supposed to be but it was when Katara's would jet, right? And they're spying on the spy, right? The Fire Nation spy. That is wearing red. The only one wearing red is the spy.

Pauline:

So funny

Wes:

was, it was so good. I know they weren't trying to be funny, but that was funny.

Pauline:

It was funny, but not for the

Wes:

reasons. my actual like, funny moment was uh, when Aang, Ask Katara to not hurt Zuko, but Zuko thought he was talking to,

Pauline:

yes. Yeah, he burned Zuko. he said, I wasn't talking about you, or something like that, or I wasn't talking to you. pretty funny. That's right, okay. Okay. That probably would have also been mine.

Wes:

what's, well, what's

Pauline:

But I had, I had to put, for me, it was my cabbages! It's only super funny to those that have watched the original series, but the way that they executed the running gag of the cabbage merchant, I think was great. And,

Wes:

and we know there's more to come.

Pauline:

I hope so. I don't know. I don't think we'll see the cabbage guy again. At least not like that. I hope I'm wrong. But the way he in a very cheesy way, looked up to the sky and said, my cabbages! Was so funny. It was perfect. And one of the only times that I feel like that the cheese really worked there. Okay, now.

Wes:

So we've done our funniest moment.

Pauline:

Okay,

Wes:

Okay, what's your saddest moment?

Pauline:

moment? I don't

Wes:

You go, I don't know yours.

Pauline:

It, well, I already talked about it. It was Iroh's flashback during the Leaves from the Vine episode.

Wes:

yeah, Okay. Okay. was super sad.

Pauline:

that was very sad. And, I, between the acting and the music, how could you not cry? I do wonder would I have cried if Leaves from the Vine wasn't playing? Because nostalgia is tied into that as well, and for those of us who knew Iroh's backstory already, it you just hear the song and nothing else has to be said, but then that with the acting and, oh my gosh, it was so

Wes:

good. I have

Pauline:

try

Wes:

Yeah, okay, so this is something that the live action did that the cartoon didn't do. and that was all of Aang's people being wiped out. And they went through that whole, like you got to see them all getting wiped

Pauline:

out. And that was one of my top moments,

Wes:

but was that not the saddest moment? you got to see

Pauline:

I didn't cry, though. No, but it was a sad the, the whole, whole heart, pauling, the whole storyline of

Wes:

cried over a song, but the extermination of a whole bending race being wiped

Pauline:

out Okay. Gyatso did make me tear up many times. But the whole thing with Iroh was, he was the only one that made me have visible tears running down my face, but I agree, I think uh, those two, those

Wes:

I win! I win!

Pauline:

are very sad. They are, they can both be equally sad, okay? All right, so let's move on and give our overall favorite bending moment. I feel like this is an awards show, now that that I'm looking at each topic here. It's like awards being given.

Wes:

topic

Pauline:

So let's hear it for our favorite bending moment. You go first this

Wes:

hear it for our favorite bending moment. Uh, You go first.

Pauline:

Oh, yeah.

Wes:

Fire against water.

Pauline:

I do like

Wes:

And it was epic. It was fantastic. And the whole scene was good because they went between them and also your scene, which was, the Fire Nation entering.

Pauline:

Oh, yeah,

Wes:

So that was all going on at the same time, but

Pauline:

the same time. So all Waterbender versus Fire Nation.

Wes:

And Katara came out swinging. did. She had'em,

Pauline:

The waterbending was a lot better. Like that fight choreography was so much better. And yeah I,

Wes:

messed to katara.

Pauline:

well, and then you see the two opposing colors too. So that was very cool.

Wes:

What was your favorite bending

Pauline:

moment? Mine was all the firebending during the Agni Kai between Ozai and Zuko. Part of it is probably also because of the emotion behind that fight but just seeing the two of them, seeing Daniel Dae Kim and then Dallas Liu, fighting each other was amazing.

Wes:

I assume that was probably one of the most controversial, scenes between fans because Zuko would never have fought back against his But I like I like what they did.

Pauline:

most

Wes:

I like what they did, though.

Pauline:

Well then let's talk

Wes:

I like that the live action showed us that. But in the cartoon, Zuko would have never fought back against his

Pauline:

That was one where I was on the fence on. I know that you had really liked it, for me, I li I liked how they did it, but then it makes me wonder what kind of impact that's going to have on the storyline moving forward, and maybe it won't at all, maybe it's just a different way of getting to the same result,

Wes:

getting to the same result. Well, I want them to keep

Pauline:

Well, I want them to keep

Wes:

but the the trains the track, but there can be different routes.

Pauline:

right, They don't have to remake everything exactly the way the cartoon was.

Wes:

We're gonna have that conversation

Pauline:

Oh yeah, a lot with each following season as well. But. I think I've come to the decision that I'm okay with how they did the fight. The bending was great. It conveyed the same sentiment, about the complications between Zuko and his dad. So we'll see. I may be, depending on what happens in seasons two and three, I may go back and be like, oh yeah, see, they shouldn't have changed that, but we'll see. But yeah, I love that fight. I will say though, although it was my favorite bending moment, it wasn't my favorite fight. For me, my favorite fight was the fight between Zuko and Aang and Omashu, because I thought it was like really fun. So there wasn't as much bending because Zuko couldn't bend. Well, yeah, Zuko couldn't bend because he didn't want to reveal that is a firebender. So they had to get real creative on how to have the two fight. And I thought that was cool. The scarves and the things that they tossed around, the way that they chased each other through the market was cool.

Wes:

I don't want to get into that. You

Pauline:

You didn't like it?

Wes:

it? was, mm, it was mm, mm. It

Pauline:

good. Did you just

Wes:

you just mooed? I was trying to do,

Pauline:

a Ma?

Wes:

but yeah, I mooed. Rawr. It was moo. what was your

Pauline:

your

Wes:

part?

Pauline:

fight then? Was that, I know I didn't put this down, but was it the Zuko and Katara fight?

Wes:

Yeah, that, that scene was amazing, but yeah, I already, I just talked

Pauline:

about it. Well, I had a favorite bending moment,

Wes:

Yeah, but that is a fight. It was the whole fight.

Pauline:

Oh no, I guess I should, I mean, it's my favorite fight besides the one between the Waterbenders and the Fire Nation. All the fights were great, okay, let's talk about which scene was adapted the best. the cartoon,

Wes:

the live

Pauline:

Because as much as we talk about how we don't want it to be exactly like the cartoon, us personally, others, can feel differently. Um, there were times where I feel like they did a good job of adapting the source material. So what would you say was the best adapted scene?

Wes:

I don't think, it's not like a particular scene, but The intro, where Aang, I think the camera's coming from behind Aang and he's standing there looking

Pauline:

Oh, the iconic shot of him.

Wes:

that was greatly adapted.

Pauline:

Yeah. I will say since, go ahead.

Wes:

And also, when he was riding the air, his air bubble,

Pauline:

Oh, the air scooter

Wes:

into it and then

Pauline:

he crashes. Yeah. I

Wes:

That was awesome.

Pauline:

that. I do agree. Those little easter eggs and stuff were pretty cool.

Wes:

we'll go back. My best adapted scene was basically the last shot of the intro.

Pauline:

Where Aang flies in and you have that scene behind him. Okay. Yeah, I'm glad that they put that in there. Speaking of the intro, I feel like We can talk about this more when we have our episode comparing, um, the Netflix adaptation to the cartoon like, really get into that because Then we could really yeah, we can really, really get into that. I feel like the intro is, I was so hopeful that they would bring in the original word for word because that's the one thing that really roots us to the original cartoon and I thought they were going to do it when they started in on the shots of the different benders in the intro and then they deviated a bit and

Wes:

I liked the intro. There was nothing wrong with it.

Pauline:

I think it would have been cool to keep the original monologue intact as the intro instead of having Gran Gran be the one to deliver it Awkwardly later. We'll save that for a different episode.

Wes:

it

Pauline:

Aang's intro,

Wes:

for a different episode. Aang's The air scooter ball.

Pauline:

For me it was the entire Blue Spirit rescue. Because it just It felt like the cartoon, between the scenery the overall vibe of the scene

Wes:

Blue Spirit Rescue.

Pauline:

When Zuko has a blue spirit mask on and he goes to rescue Aang from the prison.

Wes:

and he to rescue Aang from the prison. That on. Yeah, the whole

Pauline:

Yeah, the whole blue spirit rescue because the, even the setting of the prison it looked like it was the cartoon. And so I thought that was adapted very well. And then them all, they're trying to

Wes:

escape. It wasn't necessarily a shot for shot,

Pauline:

it wasn't necessarily like a shot for shot, but I think they really kept the essence of that scene from the

Wes:

from the cartoon.

Pauline:

were a lot, there were quite a few that I, had thought about, but this one was top for me, because that was a good episode.

Wes:

that was a good episode. Can we give our favorite characters?

Pauline:

Okay, favorite character, because for each episode we've been talking about who our favorite character is of that episode, so now let's see who we think is the GOAT of the entire season. Our favorite character, greatest of all time, greatest of this season anyways.

Wes:

obviously we're going to have the same

Pauline:

Are we? Yeah. I thought so too. Okay, we're gonna, can we say at the same time, on the count of three?

Wes:

Are you going on three? Three or

Pauline:

No, you gotta, you can't do it on three, cause we're saying three. So, It's gotta be

Wes:

So it's one, two, name,

Pauline:

No! One, two, one, two, three. Name. Name.

Wes:

Okay. do

Pauline:

Let's do this. Ready? One, two, three,

Wes:

Uncle Iroh. No, I'm just joking. I just, I wanted to do that. Okay. All right, let's do it again.

Pauline:

do it again. One, two, three, Zuko! Oh my god! You

Wes:

Sorry, I had to

Pauline:

you knew.

Wes:

had

Pauline:

If I had said anybody other than Zuko, would you have believed me?

Wes:

have believed me? Yes, he

Pauline:

Yes, he would have been, he would have probably been second. So yours is Zuko.

Wes:

second.

Pauline:

And I think we chose him for probably the same reasons. I mean Mm hmm.

Wes:

him probably the same I mean I I just I think he's the most compelling character in the series right

Pauline:

Yeah, I think if we hadn't seen the original at all and didn't know anything about Zuko, I think I would have still thought that he was the best character.

Wes:

character. He's got a lot going on.

Pauline:

Yeah, and I'm really excited to see Zuko's storyline play out in the following seasons and how Dallas is going to bring that to life. Unless they like royally screw it up. I have a feeling that all of KO's moments and all of I row in KO's moments will continue to be my favorite to watch.

Wes:

I wish I could watch this series through the eyes of someone that didn't watch the cartoon. Because it, would they think we were crazy? They're like, what, these people like their favorite character is Zuko? Do they think we're crazy or?

Pauline:

That's, that is an interesting point. Maybe I'll

Wes:

They're like, what, you're supposed to not like him.

Pauline:

We already know from reading the comments from the previous episode that a lot of people watch this with somebody who had never seen

Wes:

this with never seen the show. Yeah like, who is your

Pauline:

So that's a good question.

Wes:

question. My favorite question, what do you call the

Pauline:

question. What do you call the opposite of a goat? This is not a riddle. I'm genuinely wondering.

Wes:

wondering. So

Pauline:

So if you had the greatest of all time,

Wes:

time, Worst

Pauline:

went off. Woat? What, worst of all time? The woat?

Wes:

of But

Pauline:

of all time? But that sounds cool though. Baddest of I didn't know what to call this

Wes:

sheep? We're

Pauline:

A sheep? Gosh, we still have a bunch of comments to What?

Wes:

Sorry, I shouldn't have Googled that. How about the mole? Most obvious loser ever?

Pauline:

That sounds so terrible. But I like the word mole just because of like badger mole. Who's our

Wes:

who's our

Pauline:

Wait, is there a different word instead of loser. We'll think about it, but for now we'll say mole.

Wes:

Do you

Pauline:

mole?

Wes:

We have the one?

Pauline:

Do you think we have the same one? No. No?

Wes:

we don't. Although, I have seen yours, and I would agree if I didn't have mine.

Pauline:

mine. Okay, Okay, so I'll give mine first then. So mine is, unfortunately it's Katara. The writers did not do Katara's character any favors and then also I think not to bash on the actress, Kiawentiio, I just think that she needs to have more opportunities to show her character's depth.

Wes:

Yeah, it's not her fault. She went from not knowing how to waterbend Being a master. in

Pauline:

give her

Wes:

one episode.

Pauline:

with, as far as like character growth and, there were moments that were great, but I, they need to write Katara's character much better in season two.

Wes:

Yeah. She needs more time.

Pauline:

What about you?

Wes:

My least favorite character. You can guess this. take a guess

Pauline:

Taking a guess. up time. Oh, I know, I know. oh you got it? Is it boomy?

Wes:

oh gosh no it almost was

Pauline:

It's jet. Oh my God. Are you serious? It's

Wes:

my the worst okay he is the mole

Pauline:

Why

Wes:

He's so dark

Pauline:

But that's not a bad

Wes:

that is a bad thing

Pauline:

not.

Wes:

Okay,

Pauline:

Okay,

Wes:

gonna win this and I don't want to

Pauline:

give, make your case, make your case.

Wes:

What? He's evil? Jet's not supposed to be that evil, right?

Pauline:

We need to have a

Wes:

I mean, it's okay, It's okay that they took it there. I didn't prefer it. Maybe some people did, but It's like, I'll just kill everyone. Okay, That is not, no, that's Jet. In the cartoon, we've already done, we've already done this. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, everyone. He didn't mind killing Fire Nation people.

Pauline:

That included innocent people. He knew that

Wes:

Fire Nation's not innocent.

Pauline:

there are innocent Fire Nation people.

Wes:

Okay. See, I'm not going to, he was willing to kill anyone and everyone in the live I'm not down with

Pauline:

that. Including PE like citizens of Omashu.

Wes:

Horrible.

Pauline:

Yes, that is horrible. But that was his character from

Wes:

my least favorite character

Pauline:

Okay. I somewhat respect your opinion.

Wes:

opinion. Just move on.

Pauline:

I like Jet, so

Wes:

You can't have, you can't say that right before we move on.

Pauline:

because the last word. Okay, moving on. Let's talk about just their overall favorite episode. And it doesn't necessarily have to be what you rated the highest, because maybe looking back, hindsight and all that and how all the episodes fit together, it's okay if you have something different.

Wes:

Well, everyone already knows my favorite episode Not based off my ratings, but i've already talked about it the very beginning of this episode

Pauline:

me again. It's been

Wes:

podcast

Pauline:

It's been an hour. Remind

Wes:

Remember, I, you said it wasn't fair, but you'll as my, all of

Pauline:

okay. Wait, so we have the same one. Masks. That

Wes:

just copied off of on my note! Girl,

Pauline:

For all I know, you're

Wes:

That was a great episode.

Pauline:

That was my favorite, and I think a lot of people's favorites. Even though I didn't cry in it or anything like that, it was adapted the best. It was entertaining throughout the whole thing. Nothing felt too forced. And yeah, it was all of Zuko's backstory, and it was just

Wes:

I wish every character could have an episode would have been

Pauline:

that. Which would

Wes:

know they tried,

Pauline:

Katara and Sokka had their

Wes:

flashbacks. Yes, don't disagree, and I I like the flashback, Um,

Pauline:

But I don't think it was enough to bring that episode up.

Wes:

we have the same favorite

Pauline:

Favorite episode, masks.

Wes:

Alright, moving on, that was quick.

Pauline:

Before we look ahead and talk a little bit about just our expectations of season two. Is there anything? else with this season like different moments or any criticisms that you have like the fire nation spy in red that you

Wes:

that you wanted to see? clip of me just critiquing every episode.

Pauline:

of every

Wes:

Is that too much to ask? Yes. Okay. Okay. I okay, i all right.

Pauline:

Okay, we'll look ahead a bit to Season 2 without giving any plot spoilers. That's not what we're doing in this episode. We are saving that.

Wes:

that. I

Pauline:

I know, I know, but we're just going to talk very generally here. Things that we're looking forward to in Season 2. You want me to

Wes:

Well, the first thing you have on there is a spoiler.

Pauline:

Well, that's a

Wes:

that I have to do That's what I have to do. okay.

Pauline:

So what are you looking forward to in season two?

Wes:

I think me, you, and the entire universe, fandom, is looking forward to T O P H.

Pauline:

Yes, to we are getting Toph I'm very nervous though. Very, Very When there's so much pressure On getting one thing right, I feel like sometimes the fandom eats itself alive sometimes, if, I don't know if that saying makes sense, but we put so much pressure that sometimes things will just always fail in one aspect or another. Somebody's going to be disappointed no matter what. And I feel bad and nervous for whoever the actor is going to be that plays Toph. Because that's a lot of pressure, that's a lot of just the eyeballs on you before you even

Wes:

No pun intended.

Pauline:

Oh. No pun intended. Oh my God. Sorry, Toph. And I just know I wouldn't want that kind of pressure on me because how They bring Toph to life, could make or break the whole series. If Toph isn't amazing from the get go, a bunch of people will stop watching. You know that,

Wes:

will

Pauline:

Do you think so?

Wes:

right? Do you think so? Would you

Pauline:

Would you stop watching if Toph wasn't as great as we've built her up? they're going to

Wes:

you thought she I would be very discouraged to move on with watching the series.

Pauline:

Yeah, and I wouldn't blame you. I would probably just keep watching, but I don't think I would blame you

Wes:

I think we're forced to keep watching because of our

Pauline:

podcast. Oh yeah, that's true!

Wes:

Sorry people, if season, well, whenever they bring Toph in, if it's not good, we're done. else? Disrepair yourself.

Pauline:

What else are you looking forward to in

Wes:

to 2? I think I'm looking forward to more side quests? I would love to get, cause, as I said before, even in the cartoons, season 1 was slow and

Pauline:

The nature of Nickelodeon

Wes:

Yeah.

Pauline:

Yeah. There's a

Wes:

season two and three were epic. And I think Netflix is trending that way too. Like it, it's going to get better. I have a feeling it's going to get better. Just like the cartoon, it got better season two and three. So I'm looking forward to, like I said, more side quests and, them not following the cartoons, like. for us original fans. Um, I hope they don't, I don't want them to change the storyline,

Pauline:

For, yeah, for us original fans. don't want them to change the storyline, but I do want them to add things that, really add depth to the story, and not that the story needs more depth added to it, but there's so much opportunity there. Did you have anything

Wes:

No, that's what I'm looking forward to. Those are also, as I see that you have improvements, but those are also improvements they can make as well.

Pauline:

So for me, besides Toph, I'm looking forward to seeing more Azula. I am I'm not completely on board with Azula just yet. Not that I dislike her. I think just based on the little that we've seen so far I can see it going either way for future seasons. Whether I'm gonna like what they do with her character or I'm

Wes:

I'm gonna what they do with her character, or gonna what they do character

Pauline:

I hope they do Azula justice because, she's an interesting character, and I hope that she gets the treatment that she deserves. And then the only other thing that I have here would be arriving to a certain city in Season 2, and the politics that comes with it. Season 2 is where you see the show mature a little bit for a Nickelodeon cartoon. And there's a lot of politics at play, and I think that it has the ingredients of making a really good live action TV Yeah,

Wes:

and they could make it relevant.

Pauline:

I think Avatar as a whole is relevant to

Wes:

I agree. I'm just saying the live action, they could really make it relevant today. Like, right now.

Pauline:

home that message, yeah. The politics of it all can even rival that of Game of Thrones, in my opinion.

Wes:

want?

Pauline:

Oh, for season two, this goes with the whole exposition criticism. There needs to just be more showing, less telling. Or if you're going to tell it, at least do it in a more interesting and creative way. But Like I've said before, we're all adults. We can follow complex storylines. We can read between the lines as well. So do more showing, less exposition dumping.

Wes:

Which I think they'll do. They've got a lot of the storytelling out of the way. Now we can get to the action.

Pauline:

Yeah, that is my hope. I

Wes:

With everything you have listed. I think I agree with everything. More hybrid animals!

Pauline:

You skipped

Wes:

I'm sorry, but I want to get to it. I hope, and I don't want to spoil anything, but I hope Appa plays a bigger role. They tell more of his story. Team!

Pauline:

I agree. There just needs to be more hybrid animals in general. It's part of the world building. You can't have Avatar The Last Airbender and skimp out on. The animals, I'm sorry, you just can't. So

Wes:

put the bear in.

Pauline:

Up your budget Netflix for the animal department. That way we have more hybrid animals to talk about. There's no Quasilla in the next season. So take some of, that and put it towards the hybrid animals. So, you know, like have, Have more birds flying. It doesn't have to be complicated.

Wes:

they need to have the hybrid ducks. What

Pauline:

the? turtleducks. Okay, they are I think they're gonna have the

Wes:

have the that's a fan favorite.

Pauline:

Okay, so what else? Other improvements that I'm hoping to see? More natural acting. For many of the characters, they need to forget that they are adapting a character from a cartoon. I think so far the only one that has worked for is Sokka's character because everybody wants to be able to see his sarcasm. But for everybody else, This is just my opinion. I could be completely way off, but for a lot of the characters, it just feels like they're trying a little bit too much to be like the cartoon characters.

Wes:

Not even just kids. I would say some

Pauline:

Not even just kids. I would say some of the adults, especially in the Northern Water Tribe just felt a bit campy. Forget that you're adapting a cartoon character um, I think it would be a lot better. Take Zhao, for example. Zhao in the cartoon is this really obvious evil bad guy. He had the voice of a bad guy, he had the look of a bad guy, but then Zhao in this iteration seems more

Wes:

completely different from

Pauline:

different from his character in the cartoon, but it works, and it's more believable

Wes:

more,

Pauline:

Yeah, I would say a lot of the adults there have more experience, but I'm just saying, I'm not talking about this for every single character, and this even goes for Uncle Iroh as well, where the cartoon demeanor of that character felt a little bit forced, if that makes sense. So I just hope they find their footing in the second season, feel a little bit more natural in their roles, and that the writing really allows their characters to take a life of their own, instead of trying to necessarily fit into this exact mold of what it was in the cartoon. So I could be wrong, I could be eating my words. But that's just how I feel right now.

Wes:

I like it.

Pauline:

The only other improvement that I listed here was just more character and relationship depth for our three main heroes. So Aang, Katara, and Sokka. I've said this in a previous episode, right now, I don't feel That invested in their friendship, their relationship with each other, which is really unfortunate because the series is about them, and how many times has it been drilled into us that Aang has to do this with his friends? But I don't quite buy into their friendship just yet. I think it would have been better if there were more episodes to season one, and they allowed more time to have their relationships develop. But I feel like their friendship right now is very surface level. I think with the possibility of a time jump in season two, that maybe it'll feel better because then in our minds it's like, okay, a lot of time has elapsed, but right now their friendship is feeling a little bit forced.

Wes:

forced. I agree. They're definitely friends, but they're supposed to be family.

Pauline:

Yeah, they need to put the same time and attention to their relationships as they have for Iroh and Zuko's. Because right now, Iroh and Zuko, their relationship is great, but they're not, right now they are, or at least leading up to the finale, they're B plot characters. But they're the ones that really stood out the most in

Wes:

I agree. Your improvements really hit the nose. I think that they were trending in the right direction. So, I think season 2 is going to be easier for them. They have a lot of criticism to go off of. and I, I just hope that they listen to the criticism and, don't be like, well screw that.

Pauline:

I hope they listen to the fans, but also not to the point to where they get themselves in a

Wes:

No, I think they're they were training. I think since the middle of the season they were trending upwards so they're going in the right

Pauline:

direction. Yeah, middle was iffy but they ended great.

Wes:

Shall we read the Facebook comments?

Pauline:

Yeah, let's get to the comments. So these comments, we have a lot of them to get through. But they were ones that we got from our previous question of the week when we had asked other fans what they thought about the finale and if it made them hopeful for season two. And a lot of the comments were about season one overall, so I wanted to save those comments for this podcast episode. Let's see if other people agree with what we think or if they have something different to say um, about season one. So do you want to read our first

Wes:

do you want to read our first one? Our first comment we got is from Damien B. They say, I personally enjoyed the show and I think it did a decent enough job. I was surprised to feel like Sokka was the most well done of all the characters. Not just casting that jawline, but also he felt closest to the original in attitude and mannerism. My three main compliments, er, sorry, my three main complaints, it felt a bit squished from a comparative standpoint. Everything happens in Omashu. Aang is too serious, and my standing complaint with most of the live adaptations, everything is too clean. All the clothes look freshly tailored and pressed, not lived in. A friend who had not watched the original, watched, loved it, and did springboard into the animated so they could get all those missed extra bits of story. So far, they are most upset about the omitted penguin sledding,

Pauline:

Yes omitted hybrid animals in general. But that's cool that, see, like I said, a lot of folks watching it for the first time and then getting into the animated series. I will always agree with anybody who says that the clothes and Characters in general just look really

Wes:

characters in general just look really clean. Yeah, with the

Pauline:

the exception of the finale um, but I think that's what made the finale amazing, it's not like Avatar has to get bloody or anything, but you know, these three are traveling. To different parts of the world and they're probably not bathing all the time. Let them get grimy a little bit. Let their clothes Look a little bit Tattered especially after fighting and whatnot. Then it feels a little bit more realistic that way

Wes:

agree. I like that observation.

Pauline:

Yeah, okay, I'll read the next one. I think we had read their comment partially in our last episode and then I saved this part for the season one wrap up, but this is from Rainier D, and they said, I'm honestly impressed how they weave together the storylines of several episodes into plausible buildup, but the exposition bombing could really be toned down. Really excited how they pull that off in season 2 though uh, because if they could make me love how they rewrote Han into a likable character, then killing him off screen, and how they made Yue's sacrifice more prominent for me, I can only imagine how much better this pays off later on. It's good, not the greatest, but enough to be excited about for a couple more seasons.

Wes:

uh,

Pauline:

uh, Yeah, I was surprised with how much I liked Han by the finale, and I mean, I don't think anybody liked Han in the cartoon, he was kind of a Chad but, that's one example of something different that they did that I think paid off. Same with Yue. I agree with everything Rainier said.

Wes:

I love what they did with Han. I'm glad that some of our commenters were agreeing with them.

Pauline:

Not that people have to agree with us or that we have to agree with them, but.

Wes:

but It's nice.

Pauline:

Okay, you want to read the next one?

Wes:

Our next comment is from Wan Shi Tong.

Pauline:

Just to be clear, like this person's name on Facebook, they have it listed as Wan Shi Tong, and that's how it

Wes:

how it is. Respect.

Pauline:

Wan Shi Tong, why are you on

Wes:

are you

Pauline:

The book of Faces.

Wes:

They say, they showed it is doable, unlike the belief prior to the release, though it doesn't mean the product was ideal. Loads of improvement needed, which I expect in future seasons.

Pauline:

Wan Shi Tong has spoken. Wow.

Wes:

I don't agree with loads of improvement. There is room for improvement, obviously, but not like loads like. Obviously, any show could be improved. Yeah. But yeah, I, there is room for improvement, Not loads of Right.

Pauline:

Yeah, there's a lot of things, like little things they could do here and there to level it up, but, as you know, I'm one that can get nitpicky so yeah.

Wes:

Thank you, Juan. Thank

Pauline:

Wan Shi Tong. That's so funny that's their name. Okay, this next one is from, this is a long one. This is from Andrew V. And they said, Ultimately, I'm excited for seasons 2 and 3. Preferentially, I want Katara and Azula to be better in general. Katara's acting was extremely mid, and Azula, I just don't quote unquote buy it. She's the least sin least sinister one in this show in my opinion. I also would like some of Aang's lines not to seem so forced at times, slash slurred, or whatever. Okay, just pause real quick. I don't think I've ever mentioned this Before when we talked about Aang, but sometimes when Aang delivers his lines, like when Gordon delivers his lines if it wasn't for subtitles, I would have a hard time understanding what he's saying. And if it was theater, he would be getting the feedback that he needs to enunciate more

Wes:

feedback that he needs enunciate more sometimes. Which, by the

Pauline:

me giving that criticism, that's calling the kettle black. But yeah, if it wasn't for the subtitles, I would have no idea what he was saying sometimes, especially when he was talking to Katara. Anyways continuing on with Andrew's comment, they go on to say, one actual gripe. The fact that Aang did not bend a single drop of water, aside from iceberg freezing, is total BS, to be honest. I don't see any significant bending development, obvious struggles, or learning experiences being expanded slash touched upon in any meaningful way going forward, and that goes for all the other elements. It'll all have to be rushed slash glanced over most likely later. I, of course, could be dead wrong, but given the amount of show they've already had to cut out slash rework slash combine already, I don't think I will be. The show has lots of potential, and there were several moments I thoroughly enjoyed. My favorite episode is the first, something that wasn't in the original technically I think they're talking about the Airben or the Air Nation genocide. But it added some serious dynamics and gravitas to the narrative that I loved. Here's to hoping there's more of that without hindering the actual story going forward.

Wes:

of that without hindering the actual story going forward. Oh

Pauline:

Oh my gosh, that would make me really upset. I think a lot of people have already touched upon the lack of waterbending. Yeah, I'm hoping that they have a really good reason for that and that it pays off later, but right now it's I think a valid criticism that fans have. Yeah, I think I agree with everything Andrew is saying. Uh, there's good things, bad things and their sentiment about the first episode, if it wasn't for the added stuff I think the first episode would have been really bad so I hope that they do have more of that, just adding on to what's already there.

Wes:

what's already

Pauline:

Okay, so The next

Wes:

They say, I love the show, and as you can see in the comments, most people aren't really complaining about real issues, even though there were a lot. They simply complain about the fact that some things didn't happen the same way as they happened in the cartoon. Which is just so boring. It's an adaptation, hello?

Pauline:

all caps.

Wes:

It will be different. I think the finale was epic in Every

Pauline:

Every bit. Sorry guys, we're just reading these out there.

Wes:

if we're just reading this

Pauline:

There's another one about the waterbending.

Wes:

one about the water bending. I think it depends on like specific scenes

Pauline:

it depends on specific scenes and specific episodes. I think a lot of people are okay with some of the I don't know if necessarily the changes, but a lot of the additions, but then there are some people that feel like it's deviating too much. The fandom is very split, I will say, so.

Wes:

very, very split, I will didn't

Pauline:

Didn't happen the same way to be fair though there are some things that if they had changed it, say The Blue Mask Rescue. If they had changed that quite a bit, I probably wouldn't have been too happy. I think it just depends. People are valid in their opinions, even if it's not something that I agree with. I'll read the next one from Enrique R. And they said, The live action sucks. They focus a lot on women. Katara became a master out of nowhere, Kyoshi had way too much screen time, and my poor Sokka was stripped. Out of all the jokes and sarcasm. I'm sorry, I'm

Wes:

in. Sorry, I'm

Pauline:

laughing because Okay, no shade Enrique I hear what you're saying. I will say I disagree about that being the reason that it sucks, and it's not just because I'm female. The original cartoon focused a lot on women and female, like strong female characters. Look at Katara, look at Azula I don't think that's something unique to the live action.

Wes:

I agree. It does seem like Katara is the main character though. I

Pauline:

do you mean?

Wes:

In the live action? She's basically given like they're following her. We're not following

Pauline:

with that. I think, the reason why I say I don't agree with that is because I feel like Katara has really blended into the background for me. I wish that they focused on her more, actually, as far as her struggles. She needed to have more struggles To overcome and we should have gotten more of that besides just like her flashback to her mom, I feel like they could have focused more on her character and by not doing so it suffered. But I think in order to do so, you have to add more episodes.

Wes:

episodes. I do have to disagree with Enrique on his comment about Kyoshi. Kyoshi is badass, dude

Pauline:

Keoshi had one episode, right?

Wes:

I wanna see more of Mama

Pauline:

I wanna see more of Mama Kyoshi So you. There are, There are badass women in, in Avatar and that's just how it is.

Wes:

Just how it so

Pauline:

I do. I don't want them to overdo it though, to where it seems too cheesy. That's the only thing. I had no problem with. The amount of sarcasm that he had. I think it was a good balance.

Wes:

I can see Netflix ruining his character too that way. So, That's the tricky balance. Seems like a theme going on here, Pauline. If I hear good things about season two, I might give it another chance, but otherwise I'll just be looking forward to the new animations.

Pauline:

I think that's fair. Don't

Wes:

give up Julia.

Pauline:

give up, Julia, but I understand people's time is precious, and that's why I'm picky about the series that I watch, too. So, Julia, if you're wondering if something seems good or not, then maybe come back to our podcast in season two and see if it's something you want to dip your toes in.

Wes:

We're going to be brutally honest.

Pauline:

We're going to be fair. all right. But yeah, I am also looking forward to the new animations. And that's something we can talk about too. Once those movies come out, we'll do episodes on those as well. At least that's the plan. We'll see where life takes us though. But that is our long term. And we hope that you'll keep listening to us. Okay, so the next one comes from Will N. And they wrote in, definitely going to watch the new seasons. We can see the potential from season one. They just gotta let the Aang actor thrive and be careful with which characters they change. Some are fan favorites and important to the overall story. And we all know we're thinking about Toph, right? so. I get what they're saying about letting Gordon Cormier thrive and honestly I think it comes down to the writing, you know? yeah, No he's talented. I can see that. The kid is,

Wes:

I don't know. I don't know what they need to do, but they need to do something different with Aang.

Pauline:

Yeah, I agree.

Wes:

Okay. Our next comment comes from Terrence T. They say, in my opinion, the beginning was good. The middle was insane, but I felt they pulled it together for the end. It was just weird pacing. They really wanted it to fit a whole lot in eight episodes, but it definitely required more. What they did cut, I honestly didn't miss though.

Pauline:

Yeah, that's a good point. I think that's valid. I already said earlier, the middle was iffy, and then it finished on a strong point. And I, you've already mentioned the pacing as well. They just needed more episodes, to be honest. The things that they did cut out there, I'm okay, just like Terrence said. I'm okay with some of the more filler y things from the cartoon being cut out.

Wes:

there's not a

Pauline:

Yeah, I think there's not a lot of filler in Season 2. It's all very important, okay, so then the next one comes from Cody D. And they said, my only complaint, Miyuki getting into trouble with the Fire Nation. I want to see that old lady's cat terrorizing the Fire Nation soldiers. Do you know who Miyuki is from the

Wes:

Miyuki was the one that gave Aang

Pauline:

Miyuki was the cat. It was the episode,

Wes:

live action. Yeah, Katara

Pauline:

frogs? Yeah, Katara and Sokka were sick, so Aang

Wes:

Aang to take care of the frogs.

Pauline:

came across that old lady, and she had that cat, and she was Basically saying that the Fire Nation has come for Miyuki in the past and the lady thought that Miyuki was getting into trouble again.

Wes:

again.

Pauline:

Hey, it would have been another animal on our animal watch,

Wes:

but it's just a cat.

Pauline:

Yeah, is Miyuki just a cat? Or is it a special hybrid cat? don't think Miyuki's a hybrid. Okay, anyways, moving on.

Wes:

That was great.

Pauline:

Thanks, Cody.

Wes:

Alright, our next comment comes from Grace B. They say, There were some things that irked me. Katara's lackluster portrayal, Uncle Iroh being the Ember Island player's version of Uncle Iroh, I like that. But overall I really enjoyed it. And the special effects were fantastic. As soon as a scene came on, I knew exactly what was about to happen because they made the live action buildings slash places look so similar to the show. I really liked

Pauline:

Yes, I agree,

Wes:

Thumbs up! I like that description. I agree!

Pauline:

no, no, no, No. Okay, I will, okay, fair, I would say in the finale there were some moments where I felt like that, but you agree though like, wholeheartedly,

Wes:

wholeheartedly, that

Pauline:

for those who don't know um, it's something only original fans would know, and I don't, I know how to explain it without

Wes:

it necessarily saying that this Uncle Iroh

Pauline:

they're saying that this Uncle Iroh is like an actor playing Uncle Iroh instead of just being Uncle Iroh himself, but Okay, I can, I that's fair. I uh,

Wes:

Can't really say a lot about that, but

Pauline:

Okay, so then, the next one, how many more do we got? Oh, we still got quite a few. Okay, so the next one was from Bo H., and they said, I have been a fan of the anime since I was 12 years old. Same, Bo, same. I am 28 now. Not same, I'm older than you. Uh, Was the new live action perfect? No. However, if all the producers did was remake every single episode verbatim, then they wouldn't be producers. They would just be casting directors. I thought they did a very good job trying to bring the anime to life while also making it their own. People's unrealistic expectations on other people's artistry is why we can't have nice things. I am looking forward to the rest of the live action series. My only serious criticism going forward would be uh, hoping that Hoping they expand their runtime and or a number of episodes per season that way they can get more details and see more of the actor's personalities trying to shine through Trying to shine through the big roles. They are trying to fill ding ding ding. I think Bo put it very

Wes:

Yeah. It's not a karaoke version of the avatar

Pauline:

Yeah, I'd like what they said about People's unrealistic expectations and other people's artistry is why we can't have nice things. I know we all have our thoughts, we all have our criticisms, but if, sometimes the fandoms can get to a point where it implodes on its, well, I don't want to say implodes, but it's almost like a lose lose situation for all of these live action adaptations, that there's no winning.

Wes:

not going to match the cartoon and we don't want you

Pauline:

You and I don't. Yeah, I like that. Thanks, Bo. Thanks, Bo.

Wes:

The next comment comes from Adriana G. They say, live action was dot dot dot dot. Okay.

Pauline:

was three dots, not

Wes:

dot. Dot dot dot. Okay, the exposition dumps, and here we go again. And constant dialogue killed me. Mm-Hmm. mixing up plot lines that make no sense, et cetera, et cetera.

Pauline:

say et cetera? cetera. It's like two words. Et

Wes:

et cetera, et cetera. I liked how Zuko crew was the 41st division. I appreciated showing. The Air Nomad Massacre but the execution flopped.

Pauline:

Oh. Oh.

Wes:

Same with the Ozai and Azula dynamic. I'm disappointed in

Pauline:

Natla, so that's the nickname for a Netflix

Wes:

Oh, I'm disappointed in

Pauline:

NATLA.

Wes:

NATLA, Netflix adaptation of The La

Pauline:

No, no no no no no no. Netflix Avatar

Wes:

Airbender.

Pauline:

Airbender. Just

Wes:

I'm disappointed in Natla, but I will always love the original series. Like Nostalgia Critic said, there can only be one Avatar, and the original series will always be, to me, the only Avatar.

Pauline:

I'm sorry, Adriana. I don't know why that was so funny. It can't be true.

Wes:

exposition dumb. And we agree. Agree. I agree. I don't

Pauline:

though. And we agree. I agree. I don't know about you, but. I wish that we could text Adriana right now. Because I wonder what they mean about the execution flopping. regarding the Air Nomad Massacre. Because I don't think I've seen that kind of criticism yet. It was so highly regarded. Not saying, they're not wrong, of course, I just want to know What they mean by that? What parts did they didn't?

Wes:

we need more context.

Pauline:

Yeah. Like What parts didn't you like about that? So that's interesting. Do you agree about the Ozai and Azula dynamic not being great?

Wes:

Well, I think they kind of explained that he was using her,

Pauline:

Mm-Hmm.

Wes:

I think there's gonna be more there. I think we just gotta wait. But I think it's okay.

Pauline:

Yeah. Their

Wes:

dynamic's Okay.

Pauline:

I'm cautious about it, but yeah.

Wes:

He's playing them.

Pauline:

Yeah, I'm not crazy about it, but I think if, as long as it pays off

Wes:

Yeah, it's just a different

Pauline:

then I can change my mind about that, so. Yeah, thank you, Adriana. So next one comes from Nick C, and they said, I'm a massive fan of the animated series, but I really enjoyed the NATLA the

Wes:

Natla! The Netflix adaptation. Okay,

Pauline:

Okay, I,

Wes:

out of time.

Pauline:

uh, But I really enjoyed Natla. I loved all the nods to the animated series. I'm honestly glad they didn't copy verbatim. You can never beat the original. The only huge flaw was not getting to see Aang waterbend. That was supposed to be the main purpose of Book 1, water. So now, in Season 2, he has to learn water and earthbending. That, er, thought that was a bad call. But it was still fun to watch, but I am definitely excited for season two. And I introduced my mother to the Natla, and she doesn't know the animated, I'm so sorry, and she doesn't know the animated series. She loved it and was so upset season two wasn't available yet. I think she watched the whole series twice already. Nice. Oh, yay. We always love

Wes:

always know who her character

Pauline:

Yeah, let us know who her favorite character is. Just based off of the live action. as

Wes:

action. We all hate that Aang didn't do any waterbending, but in season 2 of the cartoon, he's also learning more waterbending,

Pauline:

Yeah, I just think from, cartoon aside, I think it just didn't make sense that he wouldn't at least try to pick some things up from Katara, or try to learn along with her. That's all.

Wes:

they pointed out it's It's the series is water.

Pauline:

Yeah, book one of the cartoon, season one is called Water.

Wes:

Alright, our next comment comes from Camilo L. They say, I enjoyed it. It added so many layers to the original show. Suki, Zuko, Iroh were the big winners. I loved the feeling of getting surprised with the changes.

Pauline:

Same, and I agree. Suki I know we haven't really mentioned her much in this episode, but I thought Suki was great too, even though she only had one episode. Oh, hey, we're at our last one. It's a long one too, so. Um, so this is from Bri F., has our final comment here. And they said, I've been a fan of the original since its premiere. That being said, I also loved some of the details that were thrown into Natla. My favorite of which being that Zuko's crew on the ship with him was the same crew he stood up for was the same crew he stood up for against being slaughtered in the war meeting. I loved that it became full circle and when the lieutenant found out that he was only alive because of Zuko and not slaughtered like the sacrificial lamb Ozai uh, was. was prepared to make him. He was prepared to do whatever it took to help Zuko. It is an adaptation, not a remake, and especially given how the first attempt at a live action turned out, there is no movie in Ba Sing Se. I think Netflix did a fantastic job. What you also have to understand is that the target audience between the two movies are uh, the target audience between the two are decades apart. The animated series was made for children. This new adaptation is made for those same children who have now grown into adulthood. The age range in those two demographics being vastly different. Sure, both touch on very heavy topics, but in different ways. I stand by both the Nickelodeon and Netflix versions.

Wes:

I like Bri's comment.

Pauline:

Yeah, that was wonderful. I completely

Wes:

That's summed up.

Pauline:

That summed it up very well. Yes, you're right. It's

Wes:

great one to end on because I think they hit on everything. I loved it.

Pauline:

Yeah, it's an adaptation, not a remake. So that is a good point. Any step up from the live action movie is welcome. And yeah I've implied it several times now that we were kids when we watched the cartoon and now we've grown up so we can handle a more mature adaptation, we can handle more complex storylines, and it doesn't have to be just like the cartoon.

Wes:

like a cartoon, so.

Pauline:

Those are all the comments

Wes:

Thank you all for your

Pauline:

Thank you all. I'm sorry I did have to cut out several of them because I just don't think we have time to read them all.

Wes:

Yes, and thank you for giving us a great laugh with the NATLA.

Pauline:

I don't know why that's so funny, because I've seen it referred to as Natla many times. You

Wes:

seen it. You should have gave me a heads

Pauline:

Well, you're not online a lot, so I see it as Natla a lot, and in my head it is NATLA but you're trying to figure out the acronym. Don't make fun of me. So thank you for those laughs. And just as a reminder to everybody else, if you Want to put in your two cents? I don't like calling it two cents because it's that kind of demeaning.

Wes:

worth more. How about, give us one copper piece.

Pauline:

your two copper pieces worth of your thoughts find us online. Whether it's responding to a question of the week or, you're just commenting on anything we put out there. We may include it in a podcast episode whether we read your comment or listen to a voice message that you send us we'd love to hear it all, whether you agree with us or not.

Wes:

Yes.

Pauline:

Okay, so before we wrap up our wrap up, do you, Wes, have any closing thoughts?

Wes:

High 2.

Pauline:

Oh, I wonder if that got caught on the microphone. Baymax shook his head, and it's always loud. It's like a

Wes:

and it's loud.

Pauline:

Launched drool everywhere. We're all good, though.

Wes:

everywhere,

Pauline:

what was that?

Wes:

all good, though. Continue, what I hope

Pauline:

I hope so, too. Was there anything in your notes that we didn't touch upon?

Wes:

notes that we didn't touch upon?

Pauline:

I know there's, I have lots of thoughts and I never get them all down, so we'll see if something comes up, we'll talk about it in a future episode. But speaking of future episodes, so our plan for upcoming episodes of ours, it'll probably be a looser schedule, first of all. May is a very busy time of year for us. Lots of great things happen in May. Right? Right?

Wes:

A certain person was born in May.

Pauline:

May. Yeah, it's Taurus season, guys! But aside from that, there's a bunch of other things taking up our time. We have Youth Theatre that's getting ready to start out that we're helping out with. It's the end of the school year. And Zoe's gonna be

Wes:

the pool opens.

Pauline:

opens. Yeah so, um, we'll Rest assured, we will still be making more episodes. It may not be as rigid of a schedule as we've been doing but we want to assure you guys, we're not going anywhere. And As I mentioned earlier, we will do a more spoiler y, looking ahead type of episode, talk about our predictions for those that haven't seen the original avatar, or maybe you've started it and you haven't finished the whole series. We'll tag that episode spoilers, so then that way if you want to avoid that episode of ours, then you'll know which one it is.

Wes:

Yeah so,

Pauline:

Yeah, so let's close out the show.

Wes:

Alright, well that's our show for today. Thank you all for listening to us. If you enjoyed this episode, or any of our other episodes, we would love for you to leave us a rating and review, because it helps other fans find our podcast. A written review on Apple Podcasts helps tremendously, and has an even bigger impact, and would be greatly appreciated. If you don't want to miss out on any upcoming episodes, make sure to follow and subscribe to us on your favorite podcast app.

Pauline:

Yeah, that would be wonderful. We would also love to connect with you all on social media. You can find us at Avatar Nation Pod on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok. Um, And uh, And I always forget to mention, we're also on YouTube too, by the way. Leave us a comment or as some others have done, you can send us a voice message and we might just feature it on a future podcast episode. But either way, we would absolutely love to hear from you.

Wes:

that like button.

Pauline:

my gosh. That's all for today. I am

Wes:

And I'm Wes.

Pauline:

been listening to Avatar Nation. See you next

Wes:

next time.

People on this episode

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Pauline Ford

Host
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Wes Ford

Co-host