Water. Earth. Fire. Air. You may recognize these words as the start of the beloved intro to Avatar: The Last Airbender, but for me, the words represent so much more. They represent my journey of falling in love with the show at the age of 20 and finally getting around to watching not only the 2005 original animated series but also the newly released live-action remake. Obviously, I had heard of the Nickelodeon show as a result of its wild popularity and assumed it was good, but it didn’t catch my eye until the Netflix live-action series trailer came out.
The comment section of the announcement post was flooded with fans comparing the series to the original and celebrating finally getting a live-action remake that does the original show justice. After seeing these comments, and my boyfriend’s reaction to the trailer, I knew this was a train I had to hop on.
Water
The reason I first started watching this show was to follow the flow of others and avoid getting FOMO. But don’t worry, I soon got pulled into the current that is being a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I fell in love with each of the character’s silly jokes and dry humor. The storylines in each episode were so beautiful and connected. It’s clear that there was no lazy river writing for this show.
I got so deeply invested in this show that I even read the conspiracy theories! Of course, they all got quickly rained on since none of them were ever corroborated (I did somehow convince myself that Katara was the Avatar instead of Aang).
Earth
My attention and love for Avatar: The Last Airbender was almost instantly solidified once I started watching it. I was hooked, and no amount of dirt thrown my way could get me off the Avatar path. The characters were growing to become better people and my obsession grew right alongside them. I mean, they gave a 12-year-old girl with visual impairments some pretty awesome superpowers, like controlling the earth under her and bending metal! I don’t know about you, but I was definitely rockin’ with this show.
Fire
My love for this show burned for every character on the screen, whether it was hatred for a character (cough, General Zhao, cough) or love for the overpowering cuteness of Appa, the flying bison. I was yelling, crying, laughing, and having pretty much every reaction to the characters and story on my screen. As I got more into the show, I felt a fire under me pushing me to continue this story. This was my peak for the show. My Zuko and Katara shipping was endless and so was my dedication to this show.
Air
When it finally became time to watch Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action, it blew the fire I had for this show right out. It was a bunch of hot air. Sure, the visuals are amazing and the scenery honestly perfectly encapsulates the energy of the original setting, but the characters? The plot? The acting? Those blew right past the creators’ eyes.
Aang’s main characteristic in the original show is that he’s a bubbly character, so much so that the first thing he does when awaking from a 100-year coma is go penguin sliding! In the live-action however, they made everything so serious.
They also completely changed Sokka’s sarcasm and ruined his character development. Instead of making him a balloon head who grows to be a mature man, he already is a mature man! What happened to the lightheartedness of the show?
Although my Zutara heart was devastated at the end of the show, it still remains to be a funny, intense show for many ages. The live-action sadly separates itself from the original and has made this show another product of remakes satisfying the creators’ desires rather than the fans. I am utterly sad to say that this was a disappointment for me and others.
Is there a line that the TV and film industry won’t cross when it comes to changing the story and characters of original content for a remake? Hopefully, the year brings more satisfying remakes than this one.
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