The high hopes that Netflix would deliver a competent live-action adaptation of Avatar The Last Airbender have been snuffed out within weeks of the series’ release. In our last article we discussed how the removal of Sokka’s perceived ‘sexism’ actually destroys his growth and character arc, but as bad as those changes are it seems Katara and Aang may have gotten it worse!
In the original series, Katara acted as the emotional anchor for the group, but according to series showrunner Albert Kim that just isn’t appropriate for a modern audience. Highlighting ‘gender issues’ he seemed very proud that he would be dismantling Katara and hinting at turning her into a ‘Girl Boss’.
Without this dynamic from Katara, it sours the entire group dynamic, as she’d often be the one to either settle petty squabbles or highlight when one of the other characters was in the wrong. Although with them removing Sokka’s ‘sexism,’ perhaps the group will never have any internal conflict, ultimately making Katara’s existence in the group rather pointless.
RELATED: Netflix DocSeries on the Former WWE Owner-In-Chief Vince McMahon Slated For Early 2024 Release
All that said the changes to Aang are the most severe and fundamentally change the entire story of Avatar TLA. When Aang is introduced he is only 12 years old and it shows. He’s immature and doesn’t want to be the Avatar, he doesn’t want to fight and he certainly doesn’t understand how bad things have gotten in the 100 years he was imprisoned. Not until the end of Book One does Aang realize how dire things are.
But according to showrunners, the Aang we will see in the Netflix series is a fundamentally different character. He’s more mature and focused, deciding not to see the world, but instead to go immediately to the endpoint of the first book as fast as possible.
Youtuber Totally Not Mark, who is mostly known for his long-form breakdowns of Anime series, also weighed in about how Avatar TLA is one of the most talked about and dissected series while Quoting the post about Aang. Hence, the fandom is acutely aware that these changes will harm the story.
He was joined by Charlie, better known as MoistCr1TiKaL or penguinz0, who was more direct in stating that this was why the original series creators abandoned the project three years prior. And that each time the cast or showrunners do an interview, they seem to keep outraging the fans.
But most shocking is that even those generally on the side of “Woke” ideology and favor it being shoehorned into series are also speaking out.
With the series set to release on February 22nd, 2024 it’s looking to be one of the biggest disasters to release on Netflix. But at least for now, its one accomplishment seems to be uniting everyone against it.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming show, and will you be tuning in? Be sure to leave a comment!
Albert Kim clearly doesn’t give a crap about the source material, and is just doing whatever the heck he wants with this franchise.