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blluespirit · 2 months

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Overall NATLA Thoughts

Okay, now that I've watched the series, I can give my thoughts.

Overall, I thought it was good!!! I had fun watching it! I'd rate it a solid 6.5/10. It's nowhere as good as the original, but it was definitely enjoyable and made some nice changes here and there that I liked. There were also some things I was also Not a fan of too.

I said in another post that it's best to treat this like an AU of the original. There will things that are great and things that are bad. That's the nature of adapting something.

Having said that, I need to get my initial thoughts off my chest... here we go.

Things I thought were good:

Sokka's characterisation - I really enjoyed him! I thought Ian did a good job! He played the funny moments well and retained the underlying seriousness/cautiousness. It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed the changes a lot and think it was overall a solid performance.

Zuko's characterisation - Like Sokka, I do think I was most satisfied with their performances. A lot of Zuko's moments from the cartoon are sometimes... well, cartoonish and definitely wouldn't translate to live action, but I think Dallas did a nice job at balancing Zuko's desperate anger and that occasional sassiness well.

Zuko and Iroh moments were great. Had me on the floor crying. As it should have.

The bending looks a trillion times better than the movie - I understand it would not have been easy for the actors but, overall, I was very happy about it.

The scenery was stunning. It just looked so beautiful. I loved it so much.

Absolutely ADORE that they made Zuko a good calligrapher and artist. I read a fic about a million years ago where Zuko is a fantastic calligrapher and I thought it was perfect and made so much sense, and now I can say it's canon. This is perfect for me.

S U K I

The Freedom Fighters were ✨ perfect

They were so real for making Oma and Shu lesbians

Koh, Wan Shi Tong and Hei Bai looked fantastic, but I have more to say about all of them below, unfortunately.

I actually like the change they made that Katara is Aang's sole waterbending teacher.

Aang is not perfect, and needed more goofy scenes HOWEVER, I did like how they've had Aang's guilt more prominent in the story. The original didn't do a very good job with that, imo.

Zuko entering is breaking and entering era by breaking into an impenetrable Earth Kingdom prison is just perfect.

In Masks, I like how Aang and Zuko got a longer conversation - that was pretty cute.

I liked how they changed Yue a bit and got her out of the arranged marriage... how Yue saw Sokka in the Spirit World before meeting him in the real world.

Things I didn't like:

Far too much info-dumping/exposition. So much spelling things out. It was not as egregious as the movie, and I get there's a lot of information that needs to be conveyed well and quickly... but sometimes it really took me out of the show.

Why are Mai and Ty Lee here.... I was hoping the live action would give them a bit more depth (and they might as it goes forward!), but why put them in season 1 at all if they're just going to stand around???

Some odd changes - putting this as one point, but there are some bizarre changes that didn't make sense to me, as they did not benefit the story or deepen the characters. I have two main examples: a) making it so Aang didn't run away from home, and b) making it so Zuko actually fights Ozai in the Agni Kai.

Characterisation of Katara was Not Great. I don't think I got many hints of the reckless, compassionate, badass Katara until the end when she fights Pakku and rallies all the women together to fight (which happens off-screen). She was sweet and kind, but she just lacked the fire that OG Katara has.

Azula's characterisation - Azula is desperate to impress Ozai and so her character is just…. brewing with anger, frustration, desperation. I was SO excited to see the Azula we are introduced too… perpetually and irritatingly calm, calculating and ruthless. She's perfect, she's terrifying! She's literally the character of all time. But this Azula had more Zuko vibes? I don't think there's anything wrong with giving Azula more concrete motivation by wanting to impress Ozai and establishing that Ozai is abusive to both his kids, but I do think trying to do that right off the bat is a mistake.

WHY is Wan Shi Tong here. I love Wan Shi Tong, but like I said: Why Is He Here? Why could we not have his iconic, ominous as fuck introduction from The Library, and instead he's introduced in a random season 1 episode giving Aang Information(tm) about the Spirit World.

When Aang gave Koh the statue, and then he just takes it and immediately lets all the villages go, and neither of them even say anything, I actually laughed out loud. Like, I am so sorry, but what in the jesus fuck was that.

Speaking of Koh - I think Koh is better the less we know about him. Roku saying ~all Koh wants is a family like the rest of us~ just pissed me off?? I like my Koh the Face Stealer Terrifying and Unknowable, thank you.

NOTHING EVER REALLY HAPPENS WITH HEI BAI!!?? where's my precious spirit bear?? Like Aang never really does anything with him and the replacement Koh story is boring and it sucks.

Bumi.... sorry I just didn't vibe with him at all.

Things I can't decide on:

Fancy spirit knife to kill the moon spirit annoyed me a bit, but I guess they wanted to Kuruk something to work with and a little bit more interaction with Aang which I get but idk. I really flip/flop on this one.

I've been very on the fence about having Azula (and Ozai) being in the show in season 1 in general. I'm not sure if it benefited either of their characters.

Azula & Ozai's dynamic - Okay, so, I think they're trying to give Azula more depth, right? They're trying to establish what it was like for Azula to live with Ozai and that she's also (like Zuko) trying to desperately prove herself to him, but Ozai using Zuko's... achievements to do that just felt so weird. I get he's doing it to manipulate her, but that just felt so wrong when in canon it's very obvious that Ozai just didn't give a single fuck about Zuko. Ozai pits Azula against Zuko by saying he's a failure, he's a bad bender etc. Azula is born lucky, Zuko is lucky to be born - like, Ozai says that to Zuko's face. I don't know if I am communicating this point very well, but it just didn't seem right to me??

Zuko vs Zhao in the Siege of the North... I genuinely do not know how to feel about it! I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. I don't know how to feel about Zhao telling Zuko that his mission is a sham and that Azula is the prized one... It feels like it's saying the quiet part out loud? In the OG we all know that Ozai sending Zuko on that mission was an excuse to get rid of him, but we can work that out, no one actually says it. And then Iroh just fucking killing him/mortally wounding him instead of the Iconic scene where Zuko reaches out to save him despite everything Zhao has done to him, but Zhao's own pride gets in the way from letting him accept help from Zuko.

Zuko’s crew being the 41st is not necessarily a bad thing at all!!! But I do just want to say that in the original, the attack goes ahead, and presumably, those soldiers die. It’s horrible. Zuko’s sacrifice is in vain, and it was always going to be in vain because the Fire Nation as it stands would not allow Zuko's compassion to win. Ozai would not allow it. While not necessarily a bad choice (all the soldiers bowing to Zuko on the boat was so sweet I loved it!) but I think it does take away some of the horror of Zuko’s story (same as it does with making Zuko fight back in my opinion) because the whole point is that Zuko did the right thing - and he was punished for it, and those soldiers died anyway.

anyway...

Okay!! got that off my chest. I know I just had a big whine here, but I still had a lot of fun watching this show. I think some of the backlash is a bit over the top and unwarranted. It was never going to stand up to the original - and that's okay.

Enjoy it for what it is!

#zuko #sokka #katara #aang #yue #iroh #zhao #azula #ozai #jet #koh the face stealer #wan shi tong #hei bai #natla #avatar the last airbender #atla netflix #avatar netflix #jack talks #live action series

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number1villainstan · 1 year

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AtLA Analysis Rewatch: S1E7: Winter Solstice Part 1, The Spirit World

Intro: Man, it's been a while since my last one! I have no idea whether I'll be able to do it all in one day, or start the day I'm starting this draft, but I think I should start anyways, just to make some progress. If I'm not mistaken, this is the episode with Hei Bei and the burnt forest around the village. But: let's get into it!

Let's skip the intro for now, because I procrastinated and don't think I have time. (This is two days after I wrote the intro, rip me.)

The Previously section: two focuses, on Aang being the Avatar and on Katara's necklace being lost. I don't think it's a coincidence that a lot of scenes used for the Avatar emphasis have a spiritual connotation; the statues in the Air Temple, the Fire Sages in their temple, Bumi talking about the duty of the Avatar.

It's interesting how "The Avatar must restore balance by defeating Fire Lord Ozai" is really blatantly stated. It makes sense--the series needs a direction to go, an overarching goal/plotline--but the directness of it, compared to the subtlety with which a lot of other aspects of being the Avatar and the setting and characters in general is approached, is a little odd. Or maybe that's just me having spend so long vibing with my fellow Ozai/villain fans and not watching the show in way too long.

What trees are those shown in the beginning of the episode? Obviously deciduous, with round and very thick canopies. Also, the hawks is bright red; is it the same species as the Fire Nation messenger hawks? It's almost certainly male, though.

Aang just jumps straight into the clouds--impulsiveness--but brings his staff--enough wisdom/foresight to not die. Thank god. Also, the 'turns out clouds are made of water' line--am I wrong? Is this the fortune-teller village episode? (Also, would you really get that soaked from jumping into a cloud? It's basically just fog but higher up, right?)

Okay, so it is the burned-forest episode, as I thought. Also, the forests themselves look very thick (and very green), which makes me surprised that the forest fire didn't reach a lot farther; thick forests like that are generally conducive to really strong wildfires, along with a high percentage of young trees that haven't built up bark to survive and--guess what?--suppression of smaller natural fires, which makes easily-burnable debris build up. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail here but forest fires are an important part of a forest's life cycle, and it looks like the forest here has seen a lot of fire suppression. Which is probably why the 'scarred' part of the forest looks so bad, with no trees that survived or anything. Although ash is full of nutrients, generally, so why haven't faster-growing smaller plants moved in yet?

But enough about the forest fire, I guess. Even if it's not accurately portrayed at all.

There is an interesting character/philosophical moment that goes on here. Aang feels responsible for this forest burning down ("how could I let this happen?") and while Katara feels otherwise ("You didn't let this happen") Aang doesn't listen to her, saying that it's his job as the Avatar and that he doesn't know how to do his job. Which is odd, because he's 12, he shouldn't have this responsibility--it's canon that the Avatar should only know they're the Avatar at 16--and because the burnt area is a tiny, tiny fraction of the world. It's a symptom, not the systems the Avatar is supposed to work on the level of.

When Sokka asks about how Aang is supposed to talk to Roku, you can hear the compassion in his voice--he's trying to be sensitive, obviously, but it's also in his nature to be practical and well-grounded.

We see Iroh again, but his antics in the hot springs make it clear that his character hasn't yet switched from the comic relief old man of the early episodes to the wise mentor figure he is in later seasons. Also, Zuko's insistence that his troubles "cannot be soaked away"-- is he refusing to rest or relax, no matter how tired or burnt out he gets? That sort of tunnel vision is not going to help him. At all.

Iroh also calls himself Zuko's 'teacher,' rather than Uncle. Not sure what that's supposed to say.

"Are you ready to be cheered up?" Katara doesn't jump straight into trying to make Aang happy; she knows the importance of grieving and letting yourself feel sad.

What was the old man doing wandering out there? What's his job? Why was he alone? He was probably looking for the flying bison, but again, why is he alone? Are there others searching for it? (Also, why aren't his clothes all ashy?)

The destruction Hei Bei caused, shown in the village--what stage of rebuilding are they in? Most of the buildings are fine, but one part of one of them is just a frame that's all broken--how the hell did it get like that??? Also, are those roof tiles the only thing the roof is made of? That doesn't seem like wise building sense, unless it's a cultural thing that I'm missing.

"It is the greatest honor to be in your presence!" Aang didn't even bat an eye at that. Maybe he's getting used to being the Avatar, or grateful that he has something he can do as the Avatar after running into the burnt forest and blaming himself.

How many people are in the hall? It doesn't look like a whole lot. I'm not going to do the counting like I did with the SWT. Are there any other families or people in other buildings? What are the people doing there in the hall? Is this an agricultural town? What is its source of income? Does it trade? How did they build those buildings and what are they for? I know I'm not gonna get answers but STILL

Oooh, Hei Bai, not Hei Bei. My bad.

Why doesn't Katara know about the Winter Solstice bringing the Spirit World closer? Does it not interact with the human world unless there are enough humans gathered? Perhaps it's a symptom of the cultural destruction of the SWT. (Or perhaps it's prompting exposition for the audience, which, fair.)

Katara again displays an ability to pick up on other's emotions, and Aang brings up his inexperience ("I don't know anything") at being the Avatar. But Aang tries anyways, because someone is in need and he is in a position to help even if he doesn't have the expertise.

Iroh doesn't seem all too concerned about missing Zuko's deadline, probably familiar with a teenager's empty threats. His interactions with the meadow mole give us the first (I think) glimpse into his later characterizations of 'wise mentor.' In fact, with the EK soldiers trying to take him prisoner (and calling him the once-great General Iroh) this episode also is the first time in which the series starts to take him seriously.

Should have written this earlier, but why is Hei Bai choosing to abduct villagers? And why only one at a time? (The probably explanation is to keep it kid-friendly, but what about in-universe?)

I find it funny how much grandstanding Aang did right before Hei Bai showed up, and also how oblivious he was to the massive spirit walking right behind him. Did the spirit's footsteps make sound? Did Aang just not hear him? (Also, why wasn't he more afraid?)

Aang trying to reason with something that is clearly acting like a wild animal (and therefore probably can't be reasoned with)--what is Aang's experience with spirits? Has he had any direct experience? What were the stories and lore surrounding spirits in the Air Temples?

Sokka holds back on going out to help until Aang gets hurt, and then he immediately runs out to try and fight Hei Bai. Loyalty and practicality.

Of course, Zuko's threat to leave without his uncle was empty, and Zuko went looking for him. I wonder how long it took for Zuko to suspect something was up. Not to mention that Zuko knew by looking at the rock formations that it was earthbending, even though his soldiers thought it was a landslide. (Unlikely, methinks.) Perhaps the person who brought up the idea of Zuko's crew being much newer than 3 years, and them being traded out as punishment/disgrace on the regular, was right. If so, that soldier would be a lot less experienced with earthbending than Zuko.

The EK soldiers use ostrich-horses while the FN soldiers use komodo-rhinos. Cultural differences in values (speed vs intimidation/fight capability) or differences in resources (which species is native to where)? Also, what is the armor they're using for their ostrich horses? How do they get the metal? (god i have so many worldbuilding questions--)

This is the first time that someone's mentioned what Iroh has done as a FN General: the Siege of Ba Sing Se. 600 days is a long time, almost 2 years, and it likely would have wreaked havoc on their food/water supply, especially if Iroh was smart and cut off outside sources. And Ba Sing Se is a big city, which means that hundreds, probably thousands, of people died during that siege, from hunger, thirst, or unrest. Unfortunately, while the Siege of BSS is a Thing Iroh Did, it's never really properly in the series; as much as I love the Dai Li as antagonists ("There is no war in Ba Sing Se" and "The Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai" will absolutely give you chills if you know the context) that suppression of knowledge and talk of the war prevents the show from grappling with the long-lasting effects of that siege. Of course, most of the death toll was likely in the lower ring, among the lower classes, and we all know the lower classes don't matter! And if the lower ring's population depletes then BSS can just take in a bunch of refugees to replenish it and keep up a big workforce, right? God, the entire situation is fucked.

But. Back to the actual episode.

Iroh doesn't even mention Lu Ten dying. Smart, who knows what these EK soldiers know? Leaving the shoe on the ground after falling off the ostrich-horse, also smart.

So we have confirmation that spirits (or at least, spirit-touched humans) can walk in the human world undetected. (I doubt that Aang's statement of "I'm in the spirit world!" is fully accurate.)

Iroh canonically has stinky feet. June will show up later in the series, but I still find that funny. (Also, what if it's genetic?)

So, Roku's dragon appears, but without Roku. You might argue that it's because Roku is inside Aang, as his past life, but later Roku shows up outside Aang to talk to him in the Spirit World proper, so that theory, while still possible, doesn't have a lot of evidence for it.

Those spines on the dragon's back don't look so comfy to sit on. Do they stop near the neck?

So, Iroh can see spirits that other humans can't. This episode references/teases his past a lot, apparently, even if first-time viewers don't know his past.

Okay, why can the dragon and Aang go through walls/ceilings when it's convenient and then walk around like normal?

Given the significance of dates such as the winter solstice, the solar eclipse, it's no wonder that astronomy is so important in the worldbuilding of the spiritual side of AtLA. What I want to know is, what are the least spiritual days of the year? The solstices are both very spiritual, but what about the equinoxes? Eclipses clearly block spiritual power here (at least in the minds of the benders) but what about other celestial phenomena?

I also want to know how shrines and statues like the one in the forest interact with the spirits they're supposed to represent. Are they shows of respect from humans to spirits? Do they increase spirits' power? Do they 'anchor' a spirit to a particular place? What spirits like them? What about the shrines do they like?

That's some serious physical strength from Zuko, pushing aside a massive rock (that's being earthbent) and shattering a chain with his heel. What else can he do? In addition, where and when did Iroh learn to fight like that with chains?

Sokka's practicality again: "I need to use the bathroom," "You could give us supplies/money." Utterly shameless, too.

Where is Crescent Island on the map? Where is Hei Bai's village on the map? What's the distance between them? How far are they making Appa fly?

And that's the final credits! I ended up having to space this out over two days, so perhaps I wasn't as 'in the groove' as I hoped, but hey. Another episode that I managed to get out.