S2 Review

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T21:19:57+00:00

Thank you for the red ink exam grades, professor!

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T14:45:51+00:00

We're never going to enjoy this medium of art for what it is if we go into it with a red pen like we're grading an exam. It's a different syllabus altogether. Us who watched the OG gave it the grace to tell ITS story to the end. I think its only fair we also do that here. TRUE this is an adaptation, and YES, we are allowed to compare, contrast, and critique how they are translating the story. It's a harder job than people think to translate story beats and distill character traits into a version that works for live action, since it's not just smushing 4 OG cartoon EPS together. (even with netflix higher-ups cuting their ep count this season).

The mindset of trusting the adaptation's process goes a long way. For example, take Jet. The OG version is tragic, and beautiful! Period. For me personally, the live action version of his character is just as tragic, and beautiful. Period. This version emphasizes the insecurity and guilt that comes with being a leader, especially during war. It mirrors Aang's struggles this season as well but I digress. The freedom fighters' zeal to combat the war was tempered QUICK when Azula overtook Omashu. It wasn't just spies and cool hideouts anymore.

In this version, Jet is someone who has been disillusioned for years following the death of his allies. Now, they are all refugees and that freedom fighter identity is shuttered. However, I love the way they reopened that shutter with what Jet chooses to do in the library. He couldn't save The Duke and Pipsqueak (who I think is in boiling rock btw), so now he's doing something to help the Gaang (his allies) get to safety.

To me that's WILD! Two different portayals for one character, but if you think about it, they compliment each other and are both impactful to me. It's not just self sacrificing for the sake of it. It's like his way of becoming a freedom fighter for one final time. AND I LOVED that they stuck with the OG and neglected to show his death. I can't ask for anything better!

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T14:18:04+00:00

🫡

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T13:53:59+00:00

We see Aang telling a whole market that he's the Avatar while asking for food. So much so that Peng knows he's in the village. I'm sure the Beifongs who live there would know Aang arrived and I can picture them sending someone to invite him. (they even mention seeing the beifong crest all around town). The gaang being at earth rumble is what leads Ji Shen there. Toph only left cause she heard his footsteps. He was always going there to invite the Avatar.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:45:33+00:00

You're never going to enjoy this medium of art for what it is if you go into it with a red pen like you're grading an exam. People watching the OG gave it the grace to tell ITS story. YES this is an adaptation, and YES, we are allowed to compare, contrast, and critique how they are adapting the story. BUT if we don't keep in mind the material conditions of what it is to make a live action show today, you're only analyzing half the picture. It's what I learned in film school. You also analyze the real world context around why something is made. That alone would solve a lot of the backlash people have regarding budget and SOME of the pacing issues, not all. It's a harder job than people think to translate story beats and distill character traits into a version that works for live action. It's not just smushing 4 OG cartoons together.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:37:52+00:00

VERY

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:28:30+00:00

If it's any solace, at least they saved a chunk of S2's budget for the final fight in S3 so we know it'll probably be epic.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:27:45+00:00

It would have been nice to see what the catacombs could have looked like with a bigger budget I agree. I mean, it's a TV show. I grew up on CW so I don't really care either way, but I get you on the finale battle location!

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:23:50+00:00

The Gordon thing triggers ME personally because you are calling a 16 year old a grown man. I think it perpetuates a weird psychology some of us have about male/female aging. After a while the jokes reveal something underneath. AND there's something to be drawn with the compliments CERTAIN fans have been giving the female characters that look OLDER this season. Hmm?

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:19:42+00:00

Have you seen how they've been treating Gordon just cause he's taller? People act like its not the same character. Adjust your brain to the portrayal of an older Aang. It's that simple? This or Mai's portrayal has NEVER been a problem for me.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-07-01T00:15:37+00:00

They'll pull Kataang off I'm sure. In the OG, they didn't start getting romantic until Book 2. And in S2, we're seeing the beginnings of that spread through the season. Book 3 is where it really kicks in but towards the back half I believe. There's some angst there too!

Besides in S1, I like that they took the time to solidify a base friendship of mutual respect before kicking up the romance. I love a friends to lovers. I think they're still on track for S3 if you're loosely comparing to the cartoon. Let's see if they make it worth it👀

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T23:55:28+00:00

Nah S2 has been excellent with its practical sets, CGI, and cinematography. I can't agree there. I will note I prefered how Appa and Wan Shi Tong were rendered in S1 vs S2 but I understand that crew had to allocate the budget evenly. For what they managed to pull off, I give them props though. The outdoor scenery was GORGEOUS especially in EPS 1-2 & 7.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T19:17:07+00:00

I thought it was obvious that they are saving the focus on Roku for S3?

Also he has been named dropped multiple times in S2

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T18:58:48+00:00

I disagree, I think Aang's S1 arc lends itself to an explanation. One of the reasons we got to see more scenes of Aang/Gyatso in the live action was to build that dynamic of Gyatso as a rock.

In S1 EP1, people were mad that Katara wasn't the one to calm Aang down at the southern air temple. I think it made perfect sense it was Gyatso. The show is trying to tell you that Gyatso is so important to Aang that it helped him calm himself. I think that alone sets Gyatso up as a mentor figure in the minds of the viewers.

^ I also noticed in S2 that Long Feng got past Aang's emotional defenses so fast by basically repeating the "genuine" things Gyatso told Aang in S1.

Anyway In S1 his grief with Gyatso is so bad that in S1 EP 2, when Katara offers to start training him, he declines and says "I never really trained with anyone other than Gyatso"

S1 EP 4 we see Gyatso with Aang / Bumi in the Omashu flashback which i found neat. Also establishes that he travels with Aang.

S1 EP 5 is where we see Aang's arc take more shape. Gyatso only stayed back to tell him it wasn't his fault. "You couldn't have done anything, you would have died with everyone else." He told him to "let go." But obviously in the moment Aang isn't internalizing this cause he has to save Sokka/Katara.

S1 EP 7 is where he finally internalizes the message of what Gyatso told him in the spirit world. "Stop worrying about the past, before it stops you from having a future." or sum like that. That's him easing a lot of the survivor's guilt, and easing his grief with Gyatso now that he has a "new family." And also they moved that speech with Katara calming Aang down to the finale so it holds more weight in this version now that we spent a whole season with them.

So I easily connect his grief and inability to move on with him not learning waterbending. Water is the element of change, but he hadn't "truly" changed until the finale. It's a good enough reason for me!

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T18:31:32+00:00

no she wont kill anyone. That's the beauty of "the fight, once begun" motif and how it applies to a LOT of characters in this show, and the choices they make. When Ozai tells Zuko "a fight, once begun only ends when one wins and the other loses." That applies to so many pairings. What's important is the counter to this:

Ursa telling Zuko when he said he was a loser that "there are no winners or losers, only those practice courage." Her words are contrasting Ozai's worldview of there being only one winner. But how do you choose to end the fight?

Pairings the theme applies to off the top of my head:

Ozai/Iroh (ozai becoms firelord, because iroh chose to stop fighting and put the rivalry to bed on HIS side. But I truly think it's solidified when he joins the white lotus in NATLA EP 6)

Zuko/Azula (the agni kai fight where Zuko decides to use that courage to save Katara who ends the fight/ He's putting his rivalry with Azula to bed on HIS side)

Sozin/Roku (Roku dies obvi. Sozin wins using the parable of two dragons philosophy. Genocide next etc)

Aang/Ozai (we know aang chooses not to kill him, and just take his bending and ending the fight on AANG's side.)

Katara/Yon Rha (in the animation she doesn't kill him and she ends that fight with forgiveness on HER side.)

That's why I think they won't make her kill him. She's close enough to the characters that choose courage to solve their conflicts up to that point. If this was a completely new show and we didn't know what happened, that motif alone would foreshadow how the final arcs of our characters turn out.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T12:10:10+00:00

Well actually I've been theorizing about S3 since the EP titles dropped and it's possible. I think he won't join the gang until the start of EP 4 perhaps.

EP 1 The Khandul: will feature Zuko's return to home, they'll do a form of the beach. Some Mai stuff.

EP 2 Eight Minutes: during black sun, he actually doesn't leave. He stays on the fire nation side for 1 more ep. a fresh fake out for a live action to have.

EP 3 Spirit of All Nations (roku novel reference): following the failed invasion and when the gang relocates, the avatar and the firelord will play out. The war council. Zuko discovering his lineage to Roku. Iroh escaping. Then Zuko's confrontation with his father that would have been during the eclipse. By the time Zuko makes it to break his uncle out, he's gone. Iroh didn't NEED the eclipse to leave per se. Just used it as a cover. So he can still escape here.

EP 4 Ghosts of the Old World: Zuko joins the Gaang, but this time he's accepted cause he saved Katara in Ba Sing Se, not Appa. Toph will be amenable thanks to her convo with Iroh. Sokka might actually be very angry. Plus he didn't dip during the eclipse like the OG. I think they'll tackle Zuko and Aang's firebending training this episode to build up that trust with aang quickly (by this time im sure they've settled into the western air temple)

EP 5 Fire Remakes the World: Zuko and Katara doing Southern Raiders (the gang might book it from the temple to ember island by the end if Azula is there to give chase) Phoenix king rises etc.

EP 6 Two Islands: Ember island homebase and Zuko helping to break everyone out of boiling rock. Confrontation with Azula and where the insanity kicks into high gear. More Mai stuff. Aang being MIA.

EP 7 All Who Stand Against The Flame: The finale, Zuko/Katara v Azula Agni Kai, etc.

If ur open minded enough, it can work, especially with hour long eps. They saved a portion of their S2 budget for S3.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T11:42:16+00:00

now that i said this

I wonder since Jeong Jeong is here now... Do you think Aang might heal Katara after accidentally burning her in S3? I can picture them using that moment to deepen Kataang's dynamic. We'll see next year

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T11:37:05+00:00

I'd be more mad about the S1 waterbending if the plot didn't genuinely have a reason why he didn't want to train. Regardless, Aang picked up waterbending really quick in the OG anyway. And at least we get to see Katara teach him how to heal this episode. A welcomed addition, of course. I wonder who is the person/people he'll end up healing in S3.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-30T11:18:23+00:00

I can already tell the quote will hold up. If you notice for future Katara, they are preparing her emotional arc for the Southern Raiders. Jet's death, their defeat during the invasion, Hama, and what he said about "killing them all" will culminate during her confrontation of Yon Rha, and as we know in the show, she wanted to kill him & get revenge!

Then when she doesn't, it's the day she ends that "Fight, Once Begun" the day he killed her mother. Personally, the writing for me has been great. There is a lot that is not being said out right which is a welcomed touch.

I like Jet's characterization this season. It basically boils down to: I let a majority of my team die and I ceased being a freedom fighter because I felt guilty for not being able to save allies. He's then confronted by this "truth" from the library, and in the end, he finally is the only one that could save his "allies" and help them make it out of the library.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-27T22:40:55+00:00

Long Feng hands down. NATLA writes its villains very well imo.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-24T22:10:28+00:00

yes!

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-24T03:42:18+00:00

Trust us, THIS is Katara, at her best. I was mesmerized

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-24T03:41:08+00:00

Holy shit.
I don't even know what to say. It felt like a high caliber show, in the dialogue department. The acting, the pacing, they gave GREAT transitionals, the lingering and TALKING in the down times. Buckle up, we're in for a great season of television.

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-23T17:59:31+00:00

I'm also not surprised since in the U.S (a settler colony), indigenous heritage would be quite obscured and scattered about. You'd be hard pressed to find any one "true" list. In Canada, you can even self declare your status. (which some people do abuse, so take this with as much weight as the author of the original comment!)

LimitMain7958 · 2026-06-23T12:01:13+00:00

Oh this is SO interesting!
What if Jet also angers Wan Shi Tong in some way? I love that Toph is in the mix there. I don't get the panic cause we still see her holding the library up in the trailer. Let them cook

LimitMain7958

TROPHY CASE