Some light spoilers.
On a scale of 1 to
100, where the original series is 100, and the 2010 movie is a, I don’t know,
20 (I think I only saw it once and don’t really want to spend more time
thinking about it), I would rank this new series as 90 and 80. The reason I have the two rankings is, if I
had never seen the original show, I’d probably say it was 90. But being a fan of the original show, I’d
give it an 80.
The original series,
while tackling some heavy issues, was still a kid’s show. In the first ten minutes of the new series,
we see a guy burned to death. So it’s
very much an adult show. (Also, I have
to assume, the opening was just a flex on the 2010 movie to show what an
earthbender can actually do.) As an
adult show, it’s mostly good. The middle
few episodes, kind of dragged for me, but I did enjoy the beginning and
ending. But I think the reason it doesn’t
score higher for me, is because there were a few too many “Don’t think about
the logic here,” moments. Like, at one
point, there’s an assassination attempt.
Two of our main cast, and two recurring characters, are … ten feet away,
and yet they all just walk home. The
adult part of me is wondering why weren’t they stopped and questioned. There was too big a crowd you say. Oh. Too
bad there weren’t people there who could, I don’t know, magically form a wall
to hold the crowd in so everyone could be questioned and any plotters arrested,
you know, like what happens after an assassination attempt. Or, there’s one part where Aang goes on a
side quest that, I would imagine, took a few days even though there’s a rather
time-sensitive thing going on. (Also, was
it just me, or did he go an episode without his glider only to have it again?) Now, no show is perfect, and even the best
written show will still have some of these moments, the original show was full
of them, but they’re more forgivable in a kids’ show.
To best explain
why, as a fan of the original show I’d give the new show a score of 80, would
be to use a criticism I’ve often heard of the MCU. The criticism is that there will be a serious,
dramatic moment, but right after it will be a joke that deflates all the
drama. For this, there would be a scene
that would be perfectly acceptable on its own, and then there would be a joke
or reference from the original. I admit,
some were good, but there were a lot that were just “Remember this?” Like, if I’d
never seen the show, the June/Iroh bit would be funny. But having seen the original, they should have
just cut that entirely. I know what they
hoped to accomplish by doing it the way they did, but it would have been better
to cut it. And some plotlines, if I’d
never seen the original I’d just think were odd, but knowing the source
material, I was just left wondering why they were shoehorned in that way? Cough, “The Cave of Two Lovers.”
Now, I don’t want
you thinking I hated it because it was different. I admit, I was worried at first about the
character changes in Zhao and Azula, but once I saw what they were doing with
them, I was impressed. And I did like
how Azula was set up in this season, instead of just showing up next, as well
as the stuff between Sokka and Hakoda. Knowing what’s coming, I can’t wait to see how
that plays out.
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