This column contains spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix.
There are objectively too many shows. It’s a sentence that sucks to write, because it’s nice that so many people are getting the opportunity to make the art they care about, but there’s just objectively too many. It’s too much even for me, and my literal job is TV. I present this very clear fact upfront because I know that what I’m about to say is going to sound a little funny in our current landscape.
I did not like Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, and, despite that, I still very much hope that it gets renewed and gets the opportunity to be better. Is that a fair thing to say when there is so much damn television? Probably not. But what about life is fair, anyway?
Let me explain.
I don’t like the Netflix adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was concerned when the original series’ creators left, but wanted to give the show the benefit of the doubt all the same. Then those silly Game of Thrones comments happened and, well… listen, I wish I could tell you that my (typically) cynical ass knew the graves were dug then and there, but I still wanted this dang show to work. Unfortunately, though I am thrilled for the folks who managed to connect with it, my benefit of the doubt was unwarranted. The series’ edgier approach to the Avatar was frustrating at best and a complete tonal misfire at worst, but there’s still hope in there. And, after all, isn’t hope the entire core of this series?
My insistence that the show see a second season is largely rooted in those dang kids. Mostly the whole cast, to be honest. While the middle episodes aren’t without their pacing problems and tonal struggles, when the kids are given the opportunity to be their characters, the work really shines. Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka) and Dallas Liu (Zuko) were all made for their respective roles, so credit where it’s due for casting directors Anya Colloff, Michael V. Nicolo and Michelle Olivia Seamon. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here begging for more episodes of a show that I really did not care for.
The premiere and the finale are both rough, but so much of that can be attributed to the live-action adaptation not knowing if it wants to be The Last Airbender or Game of Thrones and the complete lack of understanding that it does not need to try to be both.
The adult animation era notwithstanding, there’s kind of a near-universal habit of looking down on animation as cutesy or twee, or just for kids. Sentiments that all sound insane when you look at the original The Last Airbender series. Not only did many people find the series as adults, but it also introduced a ton of kids to heavy themes that it had absolutely no trouble balancing with its light-hearted nature. Sokka cracking jokes at weird times works when he hasn’t just been looking down at the scorched corpses of his fallen brethren not thirty seconds before. But if you’re gonna have him mourning the loss of people he connected with and staring at their dead bodies, you’re kinda obligated to leave him somber for a minute. If you haven’t watched the series yet, what I’ve just described is, regrettably, not a hypothetical but instead one of the last scenes of the finale.
The thing is, if given the choice between dead bodies or Sokka being funny, if you’re making an Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation, the road you have to choose is Sokka being funny! That’s not to say the series can’t or shouldn’t grow or take risks, but individual scenes have to make decisions on which path they’re taking. The more adult themes aren’t frustrating in and of themselves — I watched the Murder Archie show for the gods’ sakes! (RIP, Riverdale, I miss your mess) — and horror is one of my favorite genres. The problem is that if Nickelodeon can figure out how to balance weighty stories with emotional heart 20 years ago, then it’s legit bonkers that a Netflix show with crazy resources struggles to do the same.
I’m here writing this dang column because I believe the Netflix series can achieve that balance if given the opportunity. Do I think live-action showrunner Albert Kim and the undoubtedly small army of Netflix executives that meddled with the final product should have listened to original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko in the first place? Sure. But they didn’t, so I hope the critical response to Season 1 helps nudge them in the right direction when it comes to Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, if we’re lucky enough to have it.
And, not for nothing, but I will not have a normal, adult reaction if I am robbed of more Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh. Iroh is, perhaps, the only solid example of the show matching heavier themes with the source material’s warmer nature. Of course, I miss the animated series’ more lighthearted Uncle! Still, there is a richness to his story in the live-action adaptation that seems to really hit the sweet spot when it comes to updating the original story. He’s still kind and warm, but he’s also haunted. We get a more intricate picture of how he came to be the most lovable character in the series. And, lo and behold, we got that picture without needing to see a single child burnt alive.
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She's also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia
