TOMORROW!!!
First forum review
S2e1 was disappointing. Lots of stilted talk and cgi effects but not much character advancement. Aang grew up and almost ages out already. I don’t like Azula - she should e skinnier and more evil. Uncle Iroh is ok, not impressive .
S2e2 introduces Toph Beifong, one of the best characters of the series. Her live action incarnation is on point so far. Aang, the avatar, isn’t quite working for me. Neither is Katara. Sokka, who was the comic relief, is coming forward as the main character, which is odd. It’s staying relatively close to the original but there’s more with the Kyoshi warrior and Sokka, which is ok. The fights aren’t bad - fair for anime-to-live-action but it lacks impact. The races are interesting because in the original, the races aren’t clear.
By S2e4, Toph & Sokka are the main characters, upstaging Aang & Katara. There’s more new or amplified stuff that’s not quite working for me: Katara’s Batman-like avenger, Iroh’s regret, the Suki & Sokka romance. The most annoying thing is that they redid my fav scene from the original series - the cactus juice scene - into something totally different. Similar lines (Quenchiest) but a different context.
Overall, it was ok - not great but not terrible. There was a big payout in e6 when the foursome had their blowout fight. The actors got to show some range. It’s a good cast of young actors and I look forward to seeing their future work. Also, the fight choreo isn’t bad. It relies heavily on odd camera angles, like a lot of bird’s eye shots, that covers for a multitude of sins. There’s a dramatic shift with the death of Jet, which was implied in the original series but plays out differently in the Netflix take.
S2e7 ends on a major cliffhanger, and an announcement that the series will end next season. The original only ran for 3 seasons, but it was 60+ 20+ min eps. Netflix is trying to do it in 15+ hour long eps. Actually, depending on how long S3 is, it could run for a similar time, especially if they pull one of those S3 parts 1 & 2 series.