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Netflix's live-action Avatar series changes lower the personal stakes in key battles, impacting character growth. This adaptation choice reduces character development, undercutting the emotional depth of Katara's pivotal moments. Adjustments to characters like Pakku in the live-action series shift the thematic elements of the show.

As with Omashu, Netflix uses this episode as an opportunity to conveniently shoehorn in other major plot points while Sokka and Katara are busy slumping over on the ground—like the Hei Bai storyline, the far-too-brief inclusion of the bounty hunter June (Arden Cho), and the vital moment when the Blue Spirit rescues Aang from Commander Zhao’s capture, all of which are events that take place at different points in the original series. The Beginning One of the best aspects of the animated series is how it drops the viewer in the middle of the action, filling in much of the backstory through flashbacks as the story progresses. In the lead-up to the release of Netflix’s adaptation, the show has been intensely scrutinized by the original series’ fans, especially after news broke two years into development that the creators of the cartoon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, had walked away from the project due to creative differences. In this new version, Netflix darkens the tone—something that applies to the entire series—depicting Bumi as deeply resentful of Aang’s absence during the war, and leaving it unclear as to whether the Avatar and the king of Omashu end on good terms. Die-hard Avatar fans might miss the cartoon’s wacky herbalist, from whom Aang seeks help when Sokka and Katara fall ill; the warring Earth tribes that Team Avatar plays mediator between while crossing a canyon; the firemaster Jeong Jeong, who plays a vital role in Zhao’s backstory; and Bato, a family friend of Sokka and Katara’s who gives them information on the siblings’ missing father.

Netflix's adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender maintains a dark tone not explored in the original cartoon. The inclusion of Monk Gyatso's death scene is a standout moment that adds depth to ...