celeste

the adaptation removes lots of humour that makes up parts of iroh and aang's personality, leaving only sokka (and toph's sarcasm) as the comic relief. iroh is always tense and doesn't give zuko the serenity he needs, while aang doesn't have that lightness and spirit of freedom that always gives him a positive attitude and makes him such a good avatar.

it seems the adaptation positioned itself halfway between recreating fan favourites scenes and being something different than the original. however, giving the same script to sokka about the cactus juice while they're not in the desert (and so, dehydrated and restless) and without a "mushroom" to look at, but instead just making him drunk, doesn't quite hit the same. Similarly, wanting to make Zuko a gray character of sorts and his story darker, doesn't translate to him robbing from a pregnant woman. He's a complicated teen, but he was never cruel.

I realize now that I'd been way too generous when season 1 came out. There have definitely been improvements: the overall editing, sets (Ba Sing Se and the library felt as real places) and the bending fights are cool to look at.

Toph was my favourite this season, she was just as I pictured her and a great addition to the group's dynamics. Azula had all my attention every time she was on the screen, sometimes she felt even more complex than her animation counterpart. I think they made her a bit too strong, the scene where she strikes all those people at the table was kind of unsettling, but i liked how she showed a bit of vulnerability in wanting to give zuko a way out in the end.

The best change from the og was probably Long Feng and how they dealt with the whole espionage plot, how they were all tricked in the end, definitely less obvious. However, there were just so many things that frustrated me, most of which could be solved if we just had a 10 ep season and we weren't always in such a rush of solving every problem, before another one came into the picture. The pacing was more than a bit off and I can't tell you how much I cringed at certain dialogue choices because of how unnatural they felt. I can try no to fixate on some details, ignore bad writing and acting, but I can't forgive what they did to my beloved characters. Zuko stealing from a pregnant woman just to defend a child right after? This fast recovery/redemption that we are just grasping our head around when he changes idea again in the end?? Aang completely closing off and trusting a stranger more than his friends or him and Katara barely sharing a scene together? Katara without her motherly caring persona or superiority complex just feels completely flat and void of personality. Ugh, I probably have more to say, but I'll stop here.

it is easy to imagine how they probably felt rushed in completing this project after being apart for so long and not really getting the chance to rest for a bit. if you add the fact that they haven't been performing as a group for four years and so many groups debuted and other gained popularity. i get the anxiety and insecurity of already talking about a "legacy" in the netflix documentary.

i'm not one for panicking without need, so i don't want to express bittersweet feelings about this comeback, but it saddens me seeing them so worried, like jungkook yesterday in his live talking once again about trends, as if them being away in the military for one year and a half could let them take some step backs.

the first one is sally being the one to take them to camp (with paul's car hello???). i think we can all agree on how great was the decision to build sally and percy's mother/son relationship in the first season, so i was honestly super happy when i saw her on the screen. on a second note, i would love for the party ponies to come for the big battle in the finale, we need chiron. fingers crossed.