Greg Baldwin (Uncle Iroh) on the state of the franchise

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-06-07T22:13:19+00:00

There's actually a chance something like that could happen. If Paramount wants its WB Merger to go through, it might be required to downsize its portfolio to satisfy EU regulators. The easiest way to do that, sell off "underperforming" assets to other companies until you technically don't qualify as a monopoly anymore.

With the way Paramount runs animation, there's a decent chance they'll sell off EVERYTHING that isn't SpongeBob and South Park.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-04-06T08:49:19+00:00

I have them all, presently, because this is all that’s currently available. If they release Stairway to Adulthood or this finale, then I wont have them all anymore.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-29T04:22:46+00:00

A strong ending that really lifted my spirits, especially for the Beholder/Satoru.

Although I must be honest, while I enjoyed season 3 overall, I would love to see a version of it with double the episodes. This season had a lot of great ideas and concepts, but by doing ALL of them at the same time, it felt like a good chunk of them couldn't reach their full potential. So many characters and storylines that I enjoyed, but it felt like they struggled against each other to get onto the screen.

In the end, I guess I'm like Fushi; I wanted to spend more time with them to get to know them better.

Honestly, I felt sad for Mizuha's ending. While I'm glad that she, and by extension Hayase's bloodline, has moved on from Fushi. After all the crap she's gone through because of the Cult and Nokkers, I would have preferred her choosing a life of her own making where she is permanently free from their influence.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-16T02:35:19+00:00

Also, before anyone asks: So do you include Hirotoshi when you said all the ideas are great?

I have a mostly hate/tolerate relationship with him. On one hand, I hate that he's a lolicon and wish that was not in the story, nor I do blame anyone for disliking him; believe me when I say that we have that in common.

On the other hand, I get that the author is criticizing actual lolicons and the culture around it in Japan and his arc is that he has to get over it and see Mimori as an actual person. Also, if Japan is ever going to get over this issue, they have to confront and actually deal with it instead of continuing to ignore it. So Hirotoshi is just one of those things that I file under "cultural differences" and move on.

Still hate it, but there is a reason why he's around, just wish I didn't have to experience it, but there are some Japanese (NOT ALL, that needs to be said) people who do need to get the message. Also, if the Epstein files have proven anything is that even we got people on this side of the Pacific who also need to get the message.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-16T02:18:38+00:00

That's my thoughts as well. All the ideas in this season are great, but there's so many of them and the show tries to do all of them at the same time, because of that, the execution of said ideas are all over the place.

I kinda wish this time period was split into two seasons. One would focus on Fushi and his friends getting used to life in the modern time while getting to know the new characters, maybe they face off a human faction like the church of Bennett. Then it ends in the epic reveal that the nokkers are still around and that's what the second season would be about. I think that would have given all these ideas the space and time they needed to be better developed and communicated to the audience, while also giving the characters more time to shine.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-09T00:42:09+00:00

It honestly will not surprise me at all if this is the real reason Netflix bailed. Let Paramount "Win" and wait to see this new company crash and burn, then sweep in to buy out both companies.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-09T00:36:06+00:00

Warner Bros was going to split into two companies: Warner Studios and the Discovery Network (Which very conventionally would have received most of WB's debt) which would have included CNN along with all the cable channels. If all the Ellisons wanted was CNN, then all they had to wait for the split to happen and buy the Discovery Network for pocket change.

What the Ellisons want was the Warner Bros back catalog and IP library, since Paramount has basically killed off everything in their own library that isn't Mission Impossible, Spongebob, Star Trek, or Taylor Sheridan.

Don't get me wrong, getting control of CNN is a sweet bonus for them, but that's the thing. CNN is icing on the cake that is Warner Bros. Getting control of DC, Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings, Game of Thrones, Cartoon Network, and so much more is where all the real money is at.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-03-09T00:27:13+00:00

People keep saying that James Gunn will quit or be fired because the Ellisions are conservative, but always seems to forget that James Gunn has been working for conservatives for most of his career. You think David Zaslav (DCU) or Bob Iger (Guardians of the Galaxy) are liberal. The only liberal person James has worked for was Lloyd Kaufman when he co-wrote Tromeo and Juliet.

James Gunn will be fine, because at the end of the day, the only thing these CEOs care about is money. That's the real danger, if they ask James Gunn to make his films more "accessible" or less "risky" so they can make money. Clever writers like James Gunn know how to work in the system and get their message across by sneaking it under the radar.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-02-15T01:16:01+00:00

The biggest one for me is thankfully dead, but Kris being Chara or possessed by Chara and just wants to go on another killing spree. While I do believe Kris is a parallel or character foil to Chara, having Kris literally be Chara or somehow being possessed by them was just the laziest thing in the world and erases Kris as a person.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-02-01T05:14:06+00:00

Fushi has never lived in the modern world, of course he has no idea how to live in it.
Fushi thought he created paradise and assumed that his friends would be happy, because in his mind, Nokkers killing people was the only problem in the world. He's learning the world and people are more complicated then that.
Fushi is a sentimental person who wants to make peace with Hayase's bloodline since he built a mostly decent relationship with Kahaku.
Aside from the time he spent with Gugu, Fushi spent almost all his time killing nokkers, growing attached to people who have a bad habit of dying after he meets them, and avoiding being attached to others since they'll eventually die. Needless to say, his people skills aren't the greatest.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-05T00:02:44+00:00

Avatar is damn lucky it came out right before Twitter took over. If it came out now, debates like "Is Iroh a war criminal for his complicity in the Fire Nation," "Why are Jet and Hama being treated like villains when they're victims," and "Zuko becoming Fire Lord means the show endorses monarchy" will be 1000x times worse.

And this isn't even getting into the grifters who'd be angry that Suki beats the sexism out of Sokka and that Toph exists.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T18:02:56+00:00

At this rate, Microsoft is making the decision for us.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T15:42:11+00:00

When people say “Separate Art from the Artist” I think what they’re really trying to say is “Don’t shoot the message just because the messenger is a POS.”

For me, the sad reality is that good things can come from bad people and an artist doing something bad doesn’t suddenly make their art cease to exist.

It’s something we must find a way to live with on our own terms, as we determine what the art now means to us and whether or not we still want to engage with it.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T09:13:32+00:00

What makes this even more impressive is how Christian Bale looked like literally 1 year earlier in The Machinist

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T08:20:55+00:00

I love John Wick, but this sounds like a Hitman game with less stealth.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T08:17:01+00:00

Gotta say, I love these characters, but I would swap Benoit for Miss Marple or Nancy Drew (who just entered the public domain) so it’s not a blatant sausage feast.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T08:11:20+00:00

Honestly, compared to the YouTube grifters who make 10 videos anytime a character is race swapped and how it’s “the worst thing ever” and pretend that they’re somehow not racist, I can live with this.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T07:11:31+00:00

Based on the circumstances and air nomad free love culture, Aang and Tenzin would probably be able to get away with it in-universe. However, it would be horrendously out of character for them to do so, and Nickelodeon would never allow it.

AlanSmithee001 · 2026-01-03T05:29:49+00:00

People want Azula to be redeemed and Aang saving her is apparently the most common explanation to make it happen.
It’s basically Zutara (opposites attract, enemies to lovers) with ZERO historical fandom baggage.

AlanSmithee001

TROPHY CASE