I've never watched the original ATLA; in fact, my
only experience with it is from the awful movie that bored me to sleep and random episodes
of The Legend of Korra, which I believe is its sequel series. So, I'm going into this blind,
with no preconceived notions of what it should be, and all attempts to judge it off of its own
merits instead. So, let's answer the question: Did Netflix's ATLA start well? Well, the episode
begins with a guy getting chased throughout a village as fires provide
light, and he carries
what appears to be a scroll, probably hinting that he stole it from those that pursue him. We get
a glimpse of this world with these weird animal things, and this moment here when those that
are after him use some sort of what appears to be Fire magic as he utilizes the very ground they
walk on, incapacitating them as they call him an Earth Bender, which, given they use Flames, that
line means they're most likely considered fire Benders themselves. Him using the Earth
to run on
shows the way it can be utilized for exploration, since he could traverse large gaps or climb large
things by utilizing the Earth to his advantage. He rushes towards what appears to be a friend holding
a mount for him as he gets blasted in the back and drops this grow, turning around he faces his
pursuers. He brings the ground to float in front of him and sends it flying, taking the men out.
This sets up some stakes now that he's been hit, showing that he's able to be harmed. It
also
showcases a new use for his power with the ability to separate the Earth from the ground
and use it as a flying projectile. Hearing others in the distance, he uses the Earth to send the
scroll flying into the possession of his ally, telling him to give it to the Earth King before
raising a wall between them. As noble as his sacrifice appears to be, I can't wrap my head
around why he didn't raise the wall with him on the other side and at least attempt to escape
as well, especially sin
ce he made it that far on foot. It's logical to assume he could travel
faster when riding. That being said, after putting up a decent fight with decent choreography, he
gets captured, raising the established stakes since our main character at this time wasn't
invincible regardless of his power. There's a good transition here where we see him talking
to who we can assume based on the terminology used when speaking about the Earth King to be the
Fire King himself. FK tells him that he wanted
the information to get out for the Nations to respond
how he knows that they will and that this was all part of his plan. This establishes him to be a
clever man, manipulative and cunning with full control. Him bringing up the water cultures
as well establishes two other ways of life, ways of fighting, giving us something to look
forward to in the future, adding to the stakes as well as his characterization. He kills the
Earth Bender within moments with only one hand, showing him to be a me
rciless powerhouse in his
own right and a force to be reckoned with. Another man tells them the Earth Benders are a threat,
with FK saying one among them is, and since they haven't chosen who he calls the Avatar yet, they
have to kill them all so no one can become one. It's cold logic but logical nonetheless, showing
the lengths the man is willing to go through, the genocide he's willing to enact to get what he
wants. A simple yet effective way to establish a clear precedent of stakes and t
he menace of your
villains as long as their actions in the future mirror what he says in the present. Now we learn
of the four nations: water, Earth, Fire, and Air, as well as who the Avatar is: a master of all
four elements, and whenever one dies, another is born from their spirit, so there is always an
Avatar. Since the last Avatar died, the Fire King, called Lord San, is wanting to kill off the new
one before they can be reborn. But if they always get reborn, wouldn't that just cause ano
ther to be
reborn soon after? The logic doesn't add up, since the show specifically states that the cycle is
eternal, which means it's forever. Killing every air bender shouldn't affect that. It doesn't even
state that the Avatar has to be an air bender, just that the next one is an air bender. But how
do they know that? I'm all sorts of confused, but hopefully, I figure it out as the episode
goes on. Now we see a boy named Aang being caught; he flies down and establishes himself to
have t
hat ability. He's caught a show-off, told that he skipped training, to which he retorts
that it's the same stuff that he already knows, establishing some more powers, more capability
that we may see in the future. The man states that he still has much to learn, although he is more
advanced than the others, and that there may come a day where he wishes he spent more time with his
teachers. This is foreshadowing, most likely due to the extermination campaign from Lord San, as
a way to establi
sh that although he is powerful, he isn't perfect, giving us a chance to see him
develop his abilities as the series goes on. They are setting up for the Great Comet Festival, where
people, called Air Nomads, are arriving riding on the back of these flying bison creatures. A man
talks to the old man, asking ominously if he told Aang something and that it's urgent that he
does so. Then they leave to speak to a council; this is foreshadowing as well, as the advanced
abilities line from earlie
r that Aang is to be the Avatar. We get more lines of Aang's power, with
him having the markings of a master, which I will assume to be the arrow on his head. We learn his
age: 12. One man on the council, the one that went and got the old man earlier, brings up how Fire
Lord San is planning to attack the Earth Kingdom and that the water tribe already sent backup, so
the air needs the help as well, which they need the Avatar for. The old man says that although
Aang is powerful, he has much t
o learn, especially about who he is as a person, that if they send him
off without instilling values in him, then he may not live up to be the person he's needed to be,
which is a fair point, since the Avatar is built up to be the only force that the Fire Lord fears,
possibly the only person strong enough to defeat him. Another man says the role of Avatar is a big
responsibility, too big for a child, but nobody chose who was to bear that responsibility,
which is also a fair point, especiall
y since people before Aang have beared it for lifetimes.
We also learn the old man's name, Katara, as the man talking feels he's grown too close to Aang
and that his feelings are clouding his judgment, which is another point that isn't easy to argue
against, so Katara wisely doesn't attempt to. The council rules to send Aang to learn to bend the
other elements, hoping that it's not too late. Sang said earlier that he already knows what
is being taught to him in terms of airbending; this was
the only intelligent next course of
action, so I'm glad they established that before this conversation, a nice nod to continuity in
terms of dialogue. Aang and Katara have some banter between them, establishing them to be
comfortable among each other, showing the bond they share as we learn some lore of the world as
the Great Comet Festival only happens once every 100 years. They talk about when Aang received his
markings, that most get them in a different place but that Katara wanted them
done in the presence
of Yin, the last Air Nomad to be Avatar. Here we get more insight of how the Eternal cycle went
since after her death came Kuruk of the Water Tribe, then Koshi of the Earth Kingdom, and Roku
from the Fire Nation, so the next Avatar would be an air bender. Now let's take a look back at my
question from earlier. Does this answer it? No, no it doesn't, it just adds more information
to it. Now, if the Fire Nation kills all the air benders, that would bring it back to the W
ater
Nation to have the Avatar. It wouldn't eliminate the Avatar in its entirety. I guess they wouldn't
have any training though if I understand this correctly. So, I guess his plan will work by the
end if he just wants to keep the Avatar weakened, but what if someone changed the Avatar behind the
scenes? It's just kind of goofy in concept, but with an eternal problem, it's not possible to find
an eternal solution, I suppose, which helps me not dwell on it too much. Back to the episode, he
then
tells Zuko that he is Avatar and tells him about the Fire Nation's plans, telling him that he needs
to learn to master all elements and save the world as only he can. He gives them a pep talk about his
responsibility and that him not wanting the power is why he's the perfect person to have it. They
say they will always be friends, exchange hugs, comforting each other, and can sleep. So, he
goes to sit on a rock, meeting with one of them Flying Bison things named Opa, and confides in Op
a
about everything Katara said, saying he's a kid, not a hero, but given this happens right after
the explanation, it hurts the pacing and feels unnecessary. We already know he doesn't want the
responsibility. Him telling Opa what was already established and not using any other terminology
to further the point home is a sweet scene, but that's about it. The only new thing we learn
is that he's afraid of his responsibility instead of just not wanting it, which makes sense since
he's a kid.
He flies off on Opa to clear his head as the Fire Nation approaches the village,
vowing no survivors. They use their flames to fly, which is a good way to explain why the Earth
Bender didn't make the wall and then run, but doesn't make sense for the chase scene if all of
them can fly since none of them use that ability in order to cut him off or try and circumvent
whenever he raised the ground. A small point, but when your show is story-heavy, every action does
matter since it all affects c
ontinuity. The Fire Nation begins their assault in a really awesome
scene with good choreography as well as some solid CG. We see that the Airbenders can use air to
send their enemies flying, disperse attacks, and even cause tornadoes, using their weapons to cause
wind in order to make their attacks more powerful. The Fire Nation is far more brutish with their
attacks, overwhelming their enemies with flames, burning everything down around them. Katara
takes the kids to a corner to try and h
ide them, which makes me wonder why they wouldn't have
an area for those that can't defend themselves, regardless of if the peace was established
for so many years. It just feels like a big oversight that any powerful nation should have.
While the battle takes place, the A team is stuck in a storm, swept away in a wave. Katara puts
up one heck of a fight to save the kids, but the Fire Lord prevails, saying it was due to the
power of a comet, which was a surprising scene of respect from the
man that just committed genocide,
killing the kids off-screen. As Zuko floats to the bottom of the river and uses some sort of power
to keep himself alive, it seems like an automatic survival instinct, but I can't say for sure.
Hopefully, he saves Opa as well. We then see a girl trying to bend water, barely able to move it
before eventually giving up. She leaves the cave, and we see a snowy village called Wolf Cove.
I like this introduction; it feels important, wondrous, and uplifting after
the tragedy we just
saw take place. Also, I really love the costume design here; their heavy winterwear looks like
exactly what they would need in this weather. Just wish more people wore their hoods up and that they
didn't look so pristine, but that's just personal preference. A guy says they've been manning the
W in three-hour shifts, but since they can't be trusted to stay at their post, they are now to
use the buddy system, even if that means twice the work they had before, since there
's now twice as
many shifts. When the kids moan and groan, he asks if they have a problem, where none of them do,
showing him to be respected by them to some degree and for him to have some authority over them as
well. He and a girl go for a walk where he reveals that the fishing boats came back empty and says
it proves that if you want something done right, you got to do it yourself, showing an ego on him
that he may grow from in the future. We also learn the girl's name, Katara. The two g
o fishing where
Katara gets goaded for trying to water bend due to the threat of the Fire Nation, a nation that
hasn't approached a village in years. The way they speak about them makes me think that the Fire
Nation has already won the war or at least one against the Water Tribe, but I can't say for sure.
The two start bickering about their priorities, with her caring about water bending since it built
their culture but him focusing on preparing for battle due to the threat of the war going
on. I
can see both of their perspectives, and although the dialogue is iffy, I like that it built them
up as both caring in their own ways. Katara brings up their father, with the boy saying that he's
there instead of him, possibly hinting at their dad's death while establishing the relationship
between them, brother and sister. The boat thing gets pulled in like magnetism, the middle, so we
learned the boy name Sokka. They crash, getting thrown off the boat as Katara looks up at a weird
I formation in the area that they were drawn to, possibly made by Aang to keep him alive with the
power we saw a glimpse of earlier. A boat is on the water, seemingly headed in their direction
with it possibly being associated with the Fire Nation, given the smoke coming out of it and
the line earlier from Sokka, foreshadowing their arrival. As the boat gets closer and Katara
tries to water bend, the ice formation behind them starts to glow along with some statues on the
boat. The formation
explodes with a beam of light blasting out of it as the boat man says, finally,
showing the importance of what we just witnessed, something he has been waiting for,
building a mystery of what it could be given the glowing and did when in the water
earlier and how he affected said water. It was probably foreshadowing him to be the cause
of this moment here. Sokka and Katara look up seeing him stand before them, but sadly, Aang
happens to be present in falls to the ground before them with hi
s energy possibly used
up by the power that made the formation, but what that may mean, I'm not entirely sure.
Sokka and Katara debate on taking him in, with Sokka against it but agreeing anyway without
much pushback. It goes along with his protector of the village characterization, since taking
a random stranger there is definitely a risk, but doesn't push it enough for him to
come off as heartless. A decent scene, all things considered, that ends with what could
be Opa still in the ice.
Back at the village, people are gathered around Aang, commenting
on his appearance and their lack of knowledge regarding his markings. Strange that they
never would have seen it given the amount of air benders that had it. Makes me think this
village isn't the main Water Tribe themselves, but a clan that is stemmed from them. Either that
or Aang has been under ice for so long that people have lived lives where air benders don't exist
anymore. An old woman inspects his body, seeing arrows on
his head and saying that he is an air
bender as Sokka says they no longer exist, so this has to be some time after the air benders were
exterminated. Just not sure how long it's been, leaving it a mystery in a way that doesn't harm
the plot at hand but adds to the world-building. Again, I like it. The boat boy tells who appears
to be an adviser of some kind, like we saw at the beginning, that he thinks the Avatar is at the
Water Village, but the man downplays what he says regarding the bea
m of light, saying it could be
nothing more than a celestial glimmer in the sky. This downplaying of the importance of finding the
Avatar is rather stupid. It could be indicative of the time pass causing people to believe the
Avatar died in the invasion, but since his rebirth is eternal, it's dumb to just ignore something
off of a mere possibility, especially since it's just as possible to be the outcome you refuse to
believe. Makes the advisor guy seem like an idiot and really hurts his ch
aracterization thus far.
We learned that boat boy, whose name is Prugo, has been banished by his father until he finds the
Avatar and that three years have passed, finally giving us a possible time frame since the murders
took place, since Aang became a block of ice in the ocean, but definitely giving us an amount of
time from when Zuko began his hunt for the Avatar. The advisor guy says, 'It's hard to see him get
his hopes up every time he sees a sign,' showing that this isn't the first ti
me he's done this
and answering the question of why the adviser is skeptical. Even though, again, his job is to find
the Avatar, the one being that can bring peace to the land that his father fears. No sign should
be avoided. Zugo brings up being the heir to the throne. The adviser says, 'It's not everything,'
and Zuko fires back that it may not have been for him, adding mystery to the life that the adviser
has lived and what association he's had with the throne in the past, beyond acting a
s a sort of
adviser to the next to be on it. Zuko says the throne is his destiny, and we cut back to a
dreaming of the day he went into water. And, jing, awake, he walks outside and runs, seeing
kids playing not affected by any negative side effects like muscle atrophy from the time he was
frozen. Saka separates Ang from the other kids, saying, 'You could be an enemy,' showcasing his
protective traits that have been talked about throughout the episode. In questions
on where he is, he calls
for APPA, with nobody knowing who he's talking about, and
then flies again as he calls for APPA, proving to everyone that he is an airbender. They should
have waited till this moment to show him flying, make it something he has never done before, but an
ability he discovers he has due to his emotional response to losing Opa. It would have given
the scene some extra emotion that it doesn't have as is, since APPA was only on screen for
a few minutes, and D's response doesn't elicit any emoti
on by itself. He questions the village
on if they have seen Opa, repeating 'Sky bison' in a way that honestly makes me want to smack him.
'Sky bison! Sky bison!' Repeating it doesn't help; he comes off as annoying instead of distressed.
Not a fan of this scene at all. Thankfully, APPA does come through, so we can finally move
on from it. Gr, the old woman from earlier, tells the story of when the Fire Nation attacked
and plunged them into a time of darkness, since the Avatar was missing. Sh
e tells Ang about
the fall of the air Temple and the extinction of the airbenders. She says that the comet was last
in the sky 100 years ago, so the three gears line from earlier, Zuko being banished to find the
Avatar, was just the amount of time since he set out. This is a major revelation. A is over 100
years old, and the war against the Fire Nation has reigned for 100 years as well. Time flies when
you're chilling in the ocean. I'll remember that for the next time I go to the beach. Sug
o is
giving the troops a pep talk. Nothing new is learned. Moving on. Katara finds Aang and asks
him if he's okay. He's struggling with the same revelation as me: that 100 years have passed.
His reaction is underwhelming, though. Like, dude, cry or something. He has the same composure
as he does in every other situation. There's two ways that we can take this: one, he's not
reacting because he's around someone else, like how he never showed his fear around G so
earlier. It would be a decen
t way to cement it as his characterization while showing how his actions
for who he is is reflected continuity-wise, or they could never touch on his pain because
it's based off a kid show. I guess we'll see. She relates to Aang since the firebenders attacked her
village and killed a lot of people there. There's some terrible and quick cuts as she says this that
mean nothing to me. And she says that her dad left for the war right after and never came back. Their
dad left Saka in charge. He
was 13 at the time, which explains his care for the village and
everyone in it as well as his ego. He's kind of earned it. We learn that the Fire Nation
has conquered most of the world, but that the waterbenders are still fighting back and that the
Earth Kingdom still remains strong to the best of their knowledge, showing how disconnected all the
nations have become, a far cry to the alliance that was building in the beginning. Aang says that
he used to have friends in the Fire Nation that
he used to visit, but the conversation with the
council at the beginning made it seem like he has never yet left the village, and that's what the
problem was with that's how he was being raised by G so plus Air Nomads are the travelers, I would
think, not kids, but he does have a sky bison, so I guess anything is possible. Zuko gets a montage
of his skills practicing to fight the Avatar, basing the Avatar's possible skills off the feats
of old avatars. It helps with lore building as well as
the respect a kid like Zuko would have
for powerhouses like the Avatar. The adviser tries to hint that Zuko was sent on this mission
to get rid of him, but he refuses to believe it, holding out hope for who he wants to believe his
father is instead of acknowledging the possibility of who he actually is, which makes sense; kids
want to see the best in their parents, no matter how awful their parents happen to be. Katara
takes Zuko to our water bending practice place, and we learn that she's
the only waterbender in
their tribe left because the Fire Nation killed them all. A tells her a technique he learned for
bending itself that helps her gain better control of her bending. As they look outside to see the
Fire Nation heading their way, his kindheartedness and ability to control and harness his power were
are both put on display here. It was sweet, even if it did feel like a cut on a little too quickly.
She may be more powerful than she seems. They learned that Aang, the Avata
r, with Saka calling
him a coward and telling Katara to hide as someone entrusted with protecting the village since he
was 13, seeing Aang as a coward for shirking his responsibilities makes all the sense in the world.
It also reflects Aang's very own fears that he doesn't deserve the responsibility. If someone
like Saka was the Avatar, would things have turned out differently? Contrasting the two was
a good move, and I'm glad they went that route. The Fire Nation soldiers land and approach
the two
village gates, Zuko leading them and saying he has no desire for conflict and just wants the outsider
that doesn't belong. Saka goes to get Aang because village first, but Katara reminds him that their
mother taught them to protect those that can't protect themselves, calling the Avatar hope that
they need as a reason to keep going. Saka grabs a weapon and challenges Zuko to a duel, which he
agrees to since there's no glory in sending an army in to slaughter them, knowing that they
'll
win. A mindset that's a far departure from Zuko's when he attacked the air Temple, showing some
redeeming qualities in Zuko that we hopefully see get touched on in the future. Zuko wins; it's not
even a contest, but before he can claim the kill, Aang interjects showing that he isn't a coward
because, regardless of his fear, he has just accepted his responsibility as the Avatar. He
throws the soldiers around, blocks the fire from Zuko, and gives himself up to spare the village,
a selfle
ss move, a noble move, showing what it means to truly be a hero. Him willing to fight for
the tribe causes them to fight for him. They throw rocks and fire spears, but are unable to do any
lasting damage. Aang tells Saka he's the bravest person he's ever met and that nobody has ever
fought for him before going with the Fire Nation. This just completely downplayed the deaths of
the entire air Temple. The whole reason they died was for him, and he knows this because gr said it
earlier. It was
a kind line, but definitely should have been tweaked to something else, saying, 'You
didn't have to fight for me. Thank you. It meant the world,' would have had the same point without
dishonoring the deaths of those that fought for him 100 years ago. Saka puts another boy in charge
who gets super excited over it, pretty wholesome, as he and Katara go after Aang, who is now locked
in a cell. He is visited from the man I've caught an advisor this entire time, revealed to be named
Iroh, son o
f Fire Lord Azalon, and questions on why the Fire Nation started the war, to which he
gives other people's perspectives, some that chalk it up to being their nature to burn and consume,
others say the drive is ultimately for peace, since they believe it would best become real
under their rule. He retorts that peace comes from respecting life, not destroying it, as Iroh
says that peace can come from ending the war, which is what capturing Aang may lead to, since
as Katara said earlier, Aang
means hope, and capturing him takes that hope away. Aang wonders
if he believes that capturing him will bring about the end of the war. Iroh refuses to answer and
leaves, which is an answer in and of itself. Aang uses his airbending to snatch the guards' keys as
Saka and Katara discuss how they will get Aang. Saka says they can utilize a current and maybe
draft off their wake, showing some problem-solving skills and intelligence from him. Katara, on the
other hand, thinks riding APPA is a b
etter idea, something Saka is against but does anyway. Not
only a decent and then the opposite happens joke, but also showing that Saka would go against
what he wants for what he should do, developing his personality through some good humor. Aang
escapes the cell and wanders the vessel, finding what appears to be Zuko's room and stealing a
book about the avatars that have come before, hoping to either learn something from it or to
keep Zuko from having the information himself, while also sh
owing that Zuko has some respect
for those who bear the title of Avatar, which was brought up earlier. Aang finds his glider
and makes it outside. He sneaks across the ship, getting seen by Zuko, jumping over the edge. The
Fire Nation opens fire, and Zuko skillfully avoids them all, showing prowess in the air that was set
up with him flying from earlier. But Zuko manages to hit him, showing Zuko's prowess compared to
the men that were with him, a good way to contrast their abilities and sho
w him as more of a threat
because of it. Aang falls from the sky, not flying because I don't know why. It's proven that he is
able to do so, so the fact that he can't now isn't really explained. We can chalk it up to him having
to have a certain stance or mindset in order for it to work, but if he saves himself from falling
by flying in later scenes without any training to counteract these points, then this scene was
just trying to be tense for the sake of being so, even at the expense of t
he rest of the show's
logic. Once Aang recovers his glider, Saka grabs his hand, saving his life as he said he was
going to do, showing Saka to be a man of his word, as well as an now established ally since he
went out of his comfort zone, his safety net, in order to save Aang's life. Zuko fires fire at them
again, but Katara blocks it with her waterbending, showing great strides in her abilities. But given
how easy it was, it's hard to believe she was at a high altitude from the water yet
was able to
make that much of it rise that far that quickly. It's a far cry from her barely able to move it
in her last scene. It feels cheap and needs to be addressed in some capacity or stakes are hurt
since the characters can conjure up whatever ability they need to in order to save themselves,
regardless of how out of their depth said ability would be. Aang thanks them for saving him. They
say they can't go home and, in response, head to the air Temple. Aang sees the leftover damage fro
m
the battle, destroyed buildings and damaged armor scattered about. It's also not had any upkeep all
that time, so moss and greens are growing around, signifying such. Aang finds the body of Gatso,
remembering what he said to him regarding him being the Avatar, and getting emotional from it.
All his emotions lead to him unleashing power, destroying everything around him and putting
his friends in danger in the process. It shows the overwhelming power he is capable of, even
right now, and
sets a precedent of how equally overwhelming emotions would affect him. Plus,
although short-lived, his bond to Gatso was rather well, and this response cements how
close the two truly were. Aang says he's lost everything and is alone. Katara tries to cheer
him up by saying that when you lose everything is when you learn to fight, and Aang talks about
their sacrifices and how it's up to him to ensure that they weren't in vain. Aang says he's going
to master all the other elements of bending
, showing newfound resolve. As Zuko puts his face
onto a board, showing the danger his now-known existence will have him in, Aang, in the episode,
acknowledges his responsibility and says that this is just the beginning. So did Netflix's ATLA
start out well? Although not perfect, yes, it did. It established the good action scenes we
have to look forward to, the capability of death and the ferocity of the enemy it's setting up. As
a kid, not wanting his responsibility at first, but growing t
o understand the importance of it
as the episode goes on. It built Saka up as a warrior that had to grow into one fast, willing
to fight to protect what he believes he should, even if his abilities aren't necessarily as
strong as those around him. Katara, even if the performance was a little wooden, is shown to
be caring, powerful in the art of waterbending, and willing to stand up for what she believes,
even if it goes against the beliefs of those around her. Even if her not having set lim
itations
in regards to her powers do hurt her at the end of the day. Zuko is out to prove himself to his
father, to defeat the Avatar, and has been for quite some time now. Now that the existence
of the Avatar is not only confirmed but his identity as well, it will hopefully add newfound
drive for him to achieve his goal. Iroh is a wise man who doesn't seem to necessarily agree with
the Fire Nation's cause nor trust the Fire Lord himself. He is skeptical of how Zuko is
treated, treats the
Avatar with respect, and seems to be more open-minded than the nation
he hails from, possibly setting up his defection, betrayal, maybe even a coup in the future.
Most likely him somehow training in the way of the fire, but I'm not sure how that will
work now that they are separated. Only time will tell. My throat is on fire, so I think I'm
going to call it here. If you learned anything, subscribe; if you dislike this,
and dislike it; and for more news, reviews, and whatever we choose, stay
tuned
to Nerds Feed. Have a great day. Thank you." [Music]
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