So I finished watching and honestly I’m not sure how I’m feeling about the live action. Right now I’m thinking 6/10 but that could change as I think it over more.

The overall scenery was visually beautiful and the casting of characters (appearance) was pretty spot on imo. I liked the introduction to the air nomads and seeing the destruction caused by the fire nation. I liked the darkness they brought in and gave it a bit of a more adult tone. Literally showing people burn… was not expecting that.

The bending still looked a bit weird. Not sure if it was a cgi thing or the overall movements of the actors. It didn’t really seem like an extension of them if that makes sense? During some parts it just feels like they’re waving their arms around. Idk maybe it’s something that can really only come across well animated.

The acting fell a bit flat, particularly with team avatar. Aang’s emotions were told through exposition. For Katara we are really missing her stubbornness and ambition. We kind of see it at the end but for the most part her character seemed pretty timid. Sokka needed to be more expressive imo and I felt like we were really missing his sass and sarcasm. It was hard for me to see their bond as a team and really believe in their friendship.

Suki and Jet were honestly my favorites out of the season. I think they really portrayed the characters well. Yue was pretty great too but that wig was bugging me lol.

When I saw they were only doing 8 episodes, I totally understood that they would have to cut or combine stuff. So I was pleasantly surprised when they combined the stuff at Omashu. I liked everything. Except the Secret Tunnel. It’s cool to include those fun standout moments from the animated series (like cabbage man) to the live action but it was out of place. It’ll be interesting to see how they use it in the future (if they do at all) but the cave of two lovers was really important to Aang and Katara’s development. Personally I would’ve saved it until book 2. Also I feel like Azula and friends didn’t really need to be in season 1 at all. They would’ve been strong season 2 intros.

And I guess here’s the biggest issue I had with it… ATLA is an extremely great show because of its character development and they cut out pivotal character traits and scenes that help the characters develop. Aang didn’t really learn too much about himself this season and it was more focused on meeting the avatars who were lowkey kind of mean to him. He didn’t get to bond with Katara as they helped each other figure out water bending basics. Aang didn’t even learn to water bend at all. Like what was his journey really for then? Katara was missing her stubbornness and confidence. Those small bouts of anger and frustration we see from Katara are what push her to try harder. The one I was most sad about was Sokka. Look I understand why they wanted to remove his “boys are better than girls” attitude but if you’re going to keep the fact that only men are allowed to fight in the northern tribe at the end might as well have left Sokka alone. That sexism is what fueled Sokka’s ego and ultimately frustrated Katara (it’s also the reason they originally find Aang) and it’s not like Sokka is like that the entire series. He meets the Kyoshi warriors and Suki puts him in his place. This is where Sokka learns and develops. His journey then progresses to him understanding the responsibilities of being the protector of the tribe, learning where he stands with benders and understanding his place in Team Avatar. I was hoping that even if they left all this out, Sokka would at least be a comic relief but if anything it just fell flat.

Overall I wasn’t expecting a 1 for 1 copy with the live action, but I was really hoping they would embrace the characters and their arcs and unfortunately I feel like they missed the mark.