#sokka isn't even that bad in the og! i feel like if you watered him down more he'd just not be sexist at all lol

[merrilark]

I don't want to sound like I'm hating on something before it's even had a chance to be released, but if the news is true, there's something a little amusing about the LA!A:TLA show supposedly watering down Sokka's arc because his sexism in the OG show "was iffy". A:TLA, the show with one of the most widely loved redemption arcs... The show most people think of when they think "well-written redemption arc"...

Like... are we going to water down Zuko, then, too? Or does he get a pass at being crappy because he's a "villain", while Sokka, a "hero", isn't allowed to be a little dislikable?

I'm too zonked today to put my thoughts together eloquently, sorry, but something about only allowing "bad" characters the room to do bad things and expecting them to grow, while assuming "good" characters must always be good and never make mistakes because duh, they're the GOOD guys seems... really ironic for a show that constantly pushed the thought that there is good and evil in everything, and what might look like acts of heroism to one person may look like acts of villainy to another. Villains will often see themselves as the heroes of their own story because they're doing what they believe is right according to their environment or circumstance. No one is perfect and everyone has the capability to evolve and change for the better (or the worst). Etc. etc.

Obviously Sokka's sexism is nothing compared to the harm Zuko does, but that makes the possible watering down of Sokka's arc worse, in my opinion. It creates this idea that badness is exclusive to identifiably "bad" people and that "good" people will always be right and just, and are above being influenced into bad ideas or beliefs. But that's just not true! Zuko and Sokka are both products of the places they came from, the culture they grew up in, and the trauma they endured. Sokka grew up in a tribe that had at least some heavy focus on traditional gender roles, enough that all the men were expected to go to war and the boys, like Sokka, left to defend the tribe. Being the oldest boy and carrying around the horror of losing his mother and potentially his father to the threat of the conquesting Fire Nation, it's no wonder Sokka carries some sexist notions. He's a young teen who feels he has to shoulder the weight of protecting the entire Southern Water Tribe alone. I'm shocked he's not more sexist, actually, because it's also a matter of pride, duty, and promise for him to protect the women and children around him. It makes just as much sense that he would believe in the rigidity of gender roles as much as Zuko, also a teen, also burdened by the weight his father placed on him, believes that his quest for finding the Avatar is important. Honor is important to both of them, because it's really all either of them has or have known.

But even if Sokka's sexism wasn't rooted in something as dramatic as his mother dying in a Fire Nation attack or all the other men going off to war, getting to see him grow through his experiences with Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors is so satisfying despite how quick it is. It's fun to see characters like Sokka get a little humbled, it's fun to see them change and grow and become more likable, because that's real.

Anyway. That's a lot of words for really just trying to say that I think "good" characters should be allowed flaws just like "bad" characters, because in the end, everyone is a person and what is A:TLA about if not the power of nuture vs. nature, and the ability to choose your own path?

[ultfreakme]

Thoughts on Jessie Gender's video on NATLA

I really admire Jessie Gender's videos usually, she's the one whom I usually go to to see videos on gender and queerness in media. I like her stuff a lot and respect their work.

But the NATLA video left me going "no, wait, that's not what happened" a lot. I can't summarize the video, I suggest people go watch it if they want to know but I disagree with practically everything for the most part.

I'm not anybody on the internet. But what I do have is a lifetime of growing up on ATLA, a degree in Sociology and English Literature, coming from a culture that ATLA is based on, studying about colonial rule, researching the cultures ATLA is based on in my spare time and a love for the original. Does that establish some legitimacy? If for some reason you feel like you need to go hate on Jessie for this, DON'T. DO NOT. This is me just critiquing because I think the video content was biased and I want to honestly engage with the points made because everyone has a tendency to demonize the adaption without looking at it on its own merit. With that said:

Point 1: Sokka's sexism is taken out to make the show more palatable and his arc in the Kyoshi Island episode undermines Suki to prop up Sokka.

She says that Sokka's sexism and him addressing it is a show-long arc, and him deconstructing that is him fighting against the colonial sexism of the Fire Nation.

Sokka's sexism is explicitly dealt with in one episode. He's shown to be overtly sexist in the first 4 and never again except for little comments here and there that every other character makes as well and goes unaddressed. His sexism is not because of the Fire Nation- FN is very inclusive of women as warriors. Sokka's sexism is an anomaly because no one but him cares that Katara isn't just sitting home mending clothes(Bato, Hakoda, none of the men on the ship they are on in S3 say a word and she takes off to join Aang in the Fire Nation islands).

If Sokka's sexism is not systematic to the Southern Water Tribe or caused by the Fire Nation, what kind of commentary on sexism is this?

She also says Suki is played down and demured to give Sokka confidence when she's teaching him, taking away her arc as she pines for the new boy who she likes because he's shirtless. Sokka's throughout the episode shows insecurity and a more subtle form of sexism where he's trying ton prove he's as good as her. He's trying to show off his strength to her, and failing miserably and when he realizes she bested him, he walks away. He goes into it assuming he's better than her but walks away realizing shit she is GOOD. Then he goes to her dojo to observe the practice and follows along, Suki invites him in seeing him fucking up the forms outside and teaches him.

Suki falls for a tackle Sokka does in the og and live action. In the OG, it's shown as Sokka ACTUALLY being better. In the live action? He isn't. One lesson doesn't make him better, she transitions from actually teaching him to kinda flirting until she completely stops. She's not weakening herself for him, both of them are expressing romantic interest. How did Sokka, a boy who that morning was defeated by them, get better than SUKI in a spar she put genuine effort in? I think that's frankly more sexist than the live action take.

Additionally, Suki was meant to be a one-off character meant to teach Sokka that sexism is bad. She existed entirely to serve Sokka's character arc and had no independent motivation in season 1. In the live action, we see her talk about wanting to go into the world, and see her growing motivation through Aang's presence of wanting to not just protect Kyoshi Island, but the world. She became what she is only in season 2 and 3. Sokka's sexism arc didn't even pan out well because he never addressed the issue with Katara after that episode, the first and most affected victim of his sexism.

Sokka wearing the armor in the original, is a joke. Aang calls their uniform a dress while laughing (it's not, like it's not even constructed like one, the bottoms are loose pants called Hakama). He isn't put into the uniform to show solidarity, it's a joke, and we are meant to be laughing at Sokka for the most part. Queer fans have reclaimed and redefined that scene to be like drag, but that wasn't the original intention of the show because we get jokes on Aang's masculinity which never actively get refuted from Toph in season 2. Katara of all people points out Sokka wearing a poinytail in a demeaning manner multiple times, a supposedly girly hairstyle. If the original wanted to honor Sokka embracing gender fluidity, they wouldn't consistently mock him for being choosy about buying a bag and wearing a ponytail(which in-universe has cultural importance to him).

All signs of 'femininity' in Sokka are played for laughs in the rest of the show(down to the scene where he draws a rainbow, and his master Piandao simply rolls his eyes).

Sokka is also never once shown as a better warrior in the live action- his story is the opposite. Sokka yearns here to be an engineer, a scientist tinkering away with new inventions. His father Hakoda and the SWT discourages this because there is no value in that for them. Value is shown for them to come from physical strength, which Sokka NEVER has in live action season 1(him having biceps and being shirtless is not a glorification of strength). He's good, but he's nothing special. His true highlight is in his intellect and the show implies pretty well that Sokka doesn't need to be physically strong or a warrior to fight back against oppression.

That's his defining line in the show teasers "you do not need to be a warrior, to be a hero."

Point 2: The sexism arc isn't replaced by anything more nuanced.

It is! It's replaced by the biases against bending. Sokka discourages Katara from bending because the Fire Nation attacked the SWT to eliminate waterbenders. Both Katara and Sokka hold fear for waterbending, a part of their own culture, specifically because of the Fire Nation's hegemony and hierarchical beliefs. Waterbending = preservation of culture and Katara says these exact words in episode 1. Sokka stopping her is him being under the colonial hegemony of the FN because waterbending is what brought Fire Nation soldiers to their shores to kill their mom. That's the new arc and it has follow through to the end. Instead of Sokka telling Katara to kick ass because he isn't sexist anymore, the live action Sokka says it because he's embraced waterbending and his own culture now through seeing Katara grow and letting her choose for herself what's best for her (instead of smothering in his faux warrior persona, which they literally discuss when stuck in the cave). This arc is exclusive to the show, there's no comment on the cultural significance and erasure of waterbending in the original.

It's made more explicit in Katara's arc, where she needs to get past the fear the Fire Nation has put in her of the dangers of her own bending, and embrace that her people wanted to protect it (Kya sacrificing herself, Gran-Gran hiding the waterbending scroll).

Point 3: Showing the genocide of the Air Nomads is disrespectful

In the original, the Air Nomads are nothing but a memory. At all times. We never see the influence of the Air Nomad culture on Aang, or see them alive and thriving at any point. We see them fight back on the live action, and the actual genocide is a few short minutes, interspersed with Aang sinking. It's not a lingering process and it shows the abilities of Air Nomads. Jessie says this is purely aesthetic and to be cool, but there are significant moments that happen here.

Establishing the powers of Air Benders- this is the first and last time we'll get to see Air Bending on this scale and this shows what they can do

There's a scene where two air nomads nod to one another, and the air nomad switches from defensive to an extremely offensive move. It shows that this isn't typical for the Air Nomads, and that they are being pushed to their limits

This is a festival, they were defending themselves and it's important to show that the Air Nomads didn't just go silently without a fight and were ambushed on an important day.

To show the Fire Nation's cruelty and the extent of their power during the comet specifically.

To give weight to WHY everyone Aang runs into is so critical and hateful of the fact that he was gone, and to also show why Aang never refutes them and the weight of what he's lost (and also that even if he were there, he couldn't have done anything)

It's not just to be cool, it's honestly not cool to watch and taking Gordon Cormier, a child's quote to say that's what everyone's impression is, is disingenuous despite the disclaimer given. The kids' quotes always get taken out of context. Reviewers and Avatar fans who went to the premiere were disturbed overall by the violence. They did not think of the Fire Nation as "cool", they saw the Air Nomads like that. Like don't we want people to think of the Air Nomads in a positive light for fighting back?

Their culture gets little to no expansion in the original, and whatever Aang has left of them is actually slowly stripped away in the original.

Aang is made to okay the destruction and modification of the Northern Air Temple when destruction is shown as wrong during his rage and grief in the Southern Air Temple. The new settlers have used the gliders of Air Nomads to device weapons that fly, which were then sold to the Fire Nation. The Mechanist and his people continue this and create more weapons to fight the war in the temples(albeit this time agaisnt the fire nation but the cycle of violence continues using devices and cultures of a peaceful people). A once-peaceful place, is now a center for war innovation and Aang is told to accept this because he must let go of the past to look to the future.

The above, in comparison to Aang simply saying "I should let go of the past and look to the future" is FAR more disrespectful of Aang's culture and past. The live action keeps Gyatso's memory a constant companion to Aang, he is terrified of letting go of the past and it hinders him from simply living.

Point 4: Violence is shown as good and the cycle of violence is perpetuated.

She says Kyoshi demanding Aang to fight back and hit hard is showing that Aang needs to embrace strength and power. That everyone telling him to fight and be alone means strength is given importance, and that the same is shown when Zuko says "sometimes the weak can become strong, sometime you just have to give them a chance."

Kyoshi is wrong. She is willfully portrayed as powerful, but harsh. Roku(though his screentime was small) disagrees with her and tells Aang to find his own way of fighting and that is ultimately what Aang follows.

Kyoshi doesn't come off as correct, she's demanding and harsh, unforgiving. Aang initially lets her take over because he is scared of the power he holds and she promises she can control it to help others. Aang doesn't want power(he literally says 'I don't want these powers'). In the finale, he gives in to the ocean spirit and does what Kyoshi asks; save everyone, even if it costs his own life. But it is shown as a tragedy. Katara calls back for him and tells him he shouldn't have to sacrifice himself, that he has a place in this world as he is no matter what others tell him and he listens to THAT. He says he will save the world not alone, but with his friends, in the memory of the Air Nomads to ensure it never happens again.

Physical strength is only a priority to Katara's character. Sokka doesn't fight in the end, he's begging Yue to not sacrifice herself and is protecting her. He's not some macho man. Aang is also not embracing power.

Zuko says that line not to show that he can grow stronger, but that people should get second chances. He's a hurt kid wishing his father had the compassion to let him grow. But he doesn't and Zuko walks away from it thinking physical strength and bending prowess is important, crushing his compassion. That line on a meta level isn't even about physical strength. It's about mental fortitude and character, and the strength to be compassionate.

Jet was mentioned as being portrayed as more wrong, but in the original he was ready to sink a village of innocents. in the live action he genuinely helped Katara with her waterbending and was justified in wanting to kill the mechanist(who collaborated with the fire nation) and King Bumi (who is neutral, incompetent and has let the Fire Nation run rampant in the city). He's more sympathetic here because he's doing it with a concrete reason, and he didn't even manipulate Katara the way he did in the original. She was genuinely charmed by him.

A big problem I had with Jessie's video was putting in clips from some right-wing channel between critique of NATLA....which....why? Huh? And these were used to say NATLA is leaning into fascist tendencies and smoothing out any critique of colonialism when it really isn't. I think NATLA is very explicitly saying the same message as the original. Not in the same way, but it is. The show actively engages audiences and the characters in discussions of cultural erasure and the problems of valuing power(the latter especially through Zuko and Azula).

There are million issues with the live action (Sokka's casting, ableism in Zuko's burn scar, the writing issues, pacing issues, the lack of screen time for Aang and focus on the Fire family). The ones Jessie Gender discussed though, are not it.

[sora-of-uranus]

The removal of the sexism pisses me off not because it just affects Sokkas character but because it has ruined almost every woman in the show.

Suki takes off her make up often, as if it isn't a large part of her cultural identity and personality, as if her being a kyoshi warior and her destinctly femenine clothes are something to be ashamed off or that hinders her. Because its only her that gets this treat amongst the warriors, and shes the only main kyoshi warrior for the audience.

Yue's entire character is removed. It is replaced with what I think is meant to be a sympathetic princess to the people, she joins the nans in the kitchens and make deserts for the children. Like a disney princess whose quirky and silly and held back only by her title of a princess. Gone is the battle between her desire to help and her duty to be a water tribe ideal woman. Gone is her realising that the best way to help her people is to not be an ideal woman, but to take action and to do what no one else can, to become one with the moon so that she can forever help not just her tribe but the entire world. It is depressing, it is deep, it isn't fair to her but when has the world ever been fair?

Katara aswell. Her bending is forever unlocked by men (Aang and Jet), her defiance of authority is lessened and her naievety is also changed. A lot of her motherhood role is also completlty gone since they have changed Sokkas sexism into elder brother smothering. Her fight with Paku holds a lot less significance since she has no RAGE behind her. No rage that has built for YEARS as time and time again people have said no to her face for being a woman, for being weak, for not being enough simply because of who she is. that doesn't exist for her anymore because the water tribes are just...nice. We see one bad person in the water tribe and its Hadoka and he's mean to sokka! Kataras rage comes from Paku saying no to her, and whilst thats swell, it changes her entire "I'm a master now" moment into just...lame girlbossery. Thats kinda how the entire last 2 episodes felt like for her character. A common girlboss character without the emotional depth to make it femenism.

I think my main issue is that both shows set themselves up as being femenist by nature. The og show wanted to tackle issues with sexism, using book 1 as its main demonstration with it, but the theme still follows throughout the narative. netflix's show outright said they were removing the sexist elements. When you place youself onto that pedastal, any sexist writing you have becomes emphasised.

The og show undoubtably has sexist moments! Irohs comments to June are the most obvious to me, a long with a couple comments from Zuko later on. You can certainly argue that the extreme lack of GOOD mother figures is an issue (Kat and Sokkas mother is dead, Zukos is 'dead', and Toph is awful and rather quite compared to her father). Theres other examples, although currently my brain cannot think of any since I don't often write indepth critisms.

The live actions main point of sexism is its female main characters. we literally meet Yue in the kitchen! Women can be in kitchens but that is certainly a choice! Theres this strange hatred for make up aswell, yes with Suki but also with Sokka. His war paint is removed. Its like saying make up cannot be worn by strong fighters which is rather sexist. Speaking off: not putting Sokka in the kyoshi outfit is just...dumb? If you want to show him learning the style, having him wear the outfit. Its an aspect of the style and philosophy. A man wearing make up and a skirt doesn't emasculate him yet the show makes it feel that way with the refusal to do it. "Oh but then you'd have Sokka and Suki kiss in the kyoshi outfits" who cares. "it will look like lesbians" it won't. Even if it did, who cares? you can't be 'femenist' and anti-lesbian. Putting Sokka in the Kyoshi outfit, having him respect it, is just as important as having Aang learn the other elements, or Iroh creating lightning redirection. Why? because it shows a respect of culture, and how you can blend that into your own way of thinking. It's cultural extchanged based on respect.

When you name yourself femenist, yet have explicitly sexist writing, your GOING to get dogpiled with critism based on that 'femenist' msg.

[nono-bunny]

Thoughts from watching the ATLA live action!

Episode 5:

An very fun fight scene to start the episode!

Genuinely love them confirming the fact that Katara is such an excellent bender because she's resourceful and takes inspiration from the other bendings, and it's such an early case of this train of thought too!! I love it! Her and Iroh would get along great, I really want to see a scene with the two of them just hanging out now haha

Lmao Sokka flirting with a Fire Nation soldier is genuinely so in character, my dude is just looking for a date everywhere he goes

Katara is pretty great in this episode so far! She seems much more open and communicative, it feels a bit like she's growing comfortable with Aang which is great to see.

My name is Sokka, rhymes with Okka! Oh? Pippinpaddleopsicopolis coming from Sokka this time? Oh wait is she the third, after Bonzu and June? Anyway, this is a very sweet scene

Are they... Perhaps going to do a parallel big brothers thing here with Shi-Yong and Sokka? That'd be fun!!

Angry, mean Zuko is fun too. Azula... Makes me sad.

Huh... Interesting- Sokka AND Katara get to be in the spirit world here?

Seedy Tavern... IS THIS THE JUNE EPISODE??? Maybe not, but oh my god this is so funny, just... Mentioning the exploits of the animated Gaang that are implied to happen off screen here hahaha. A bit heartbroken about no "I'll save you from the pirates" and mentioning them brought up that pain, but following it up immediately with The Great "worst episode in the series" Divide is fucking fantastic.

June baited me!!! Her and Nyla were outside the pub!! Oml that entire scene was fucking hilarious

Genuinely, why is Wan Shi Tong here, it's so fucking weird. A lot of the changes I can understand, but this dude's whole thing is that he and his library are interconnected- why is he just... Here, outside of it? Fuck, I actually hate this whole thing. I really liked how OG Sokka was kinda spiritually tuned against his will, here his reluctance is just a joke to uplift Katara- it feels bad, and them being unable to understand Wan Shi Tong fucking sucks. Literally why are they even here, genuinely I hate this change a lot. Literally the water siblings' only contribution to the scene is "hehe we can't understand what the magic spirit animal is saying" and it feels insulting, and cheapens everything they adapted here. Also, they literally couldn't even have him say "until we meet again"?? Are we just. Not gonna see him next season and/or ever learn his name? I hate that he appeared here, it was meaningless and didn't fit with ANY of the established lore. It literally was just a character cameo, it fucking sucked balls.

In other news, unhinged Azula!!! I love my girl. Every scene she's in is good and perfect and I love that she's in this season so much!!

I think I can pretty safely say at this point that they're finally getting into the groove of writing Iroh- he's much, MUCH better here!

I like the theme of both Sokka and Katara being in denial about something, and I think that's a fantastic plot thread to have here. That said, I still think having Wan Shi Tong introduce it was a wild choice that contributed nothing- he's literally just there for people who saw the original and would recognize him, and honestly? That makes it worse because you know it doesn't make sense that he's here. That role should've been filled by either another spirit, or someone new entirely. The whole scene with him was just SO bad, but I'm glad they seem to be recovering here.

Pretty funny to see Aang and Katara realize they can't bend only for Sokka to essentially be like "welcome to my world" and be the only useful one by paying attention because he isn't distracted by how weird everything is.

Sokka and foxes. It's a thing. Actually, I'm really happy that they're making sure that Sokka is vital here given that it's originally an episode that revolves around his journey in the spirit world- which it doesn't show too much, because ultimately the focus there is on Aang and the role and powers of the Avatar, so I'm happy to see a focus on Sokka here!

Dangerous fog gives me some P4 vibes ngl, my stress immediately shot up purely through association.

In general the vibes of this episode kinda feel like it can serve as a sort of precursor to The Swamp, which I desperately hope they don't cut because I feel like it could work really well with them having experienced something similar before already!!

Oh no. It's Katara backstory time, isn't it? Oh no. Fuck, literally making Katara relive this is brutal- having older Katara experience most of it somehow hurts more than if she just saw her younger self. Fuck, Katara bending to try and save Kya and having it directly lead to her death is devastating.

Koh?? Ah fuck, this whole thing is emotionally ruining me rn. Btw, Katara's face should 100% be gone, idk why they're once again breaking established rules here just to feature spirit world characters, but I hate it.

So... I hate this Hakoda? He sucks? Why would they make him suck so hard? This is a bad change. Hakoda was ALREADY a bit controversial, they didn't need to make him an asshole. Idk if these are like... Real things that happened or what Sokka is projecting went on behind the scenes, but I hope beyond hope Hakoda isn't actually like this.

Cool, Sokka's face is gone too! What the fuck are they even doing in this episode, I hate it so much, they're legit just alternating between good and bad scenes, it's wild!!

It feels really weird that Aang is automatically emotionless here when meeting with Koh. I don't like it, it feels off, like he was warned- but he wasn't, he has no way to know he should be emotionless, and it isn't exactly his neutral state, so... What the fuck. This episode is a mess. Showing the monkey face has no effect when we didn't see the faceless monkey, Koh has no reason to interfere here... It's all literally just so shoved in and feels so unnatural!!

I... Also can't believe it's really Gyatso, in fact, I don't think he is, and if he is, it feels like the wrong time and wrong way to make me believe it is him.

Still cried, and even though it makes no sense and he's done very little to prove it ig I am meant to belive this is Gyatso, so I'm just. Ignoring how poorly written that whole setup was and focusing on the meat of it- it was heartbreaking, and something I'm very glad Aang got to hear. Even though it wasn't executed super well, I am glad we got to see Gyatso again.

This episode REALLY struggles with it's plot and premise, but it hits all of the characters moments extremely well, and that kinda sucks- it could have been great if they just took out the pointless spirit cameos. Idk why Wan Shi Tong was here, and there's literally no reason to bump Koh up to here instead of later in the season- in fact, it weakens his connection to the plot and completely uproots Hei-Bai's because the focus on him is all but gone. It matters that Aang meets Koh while his physical body is in the Northern Water Tribe, where Kuruk- who faced him and lost- was from. Here his powers barely matter, he appears to just... Eat people? It's weak and doesn't work, and the impact is genuinely so much weaker than the original. I don't get the choice they made here at all, he doesn't even connect to Katara and Sokka in any meaningful way, and I wish the writers felt comfortable enough to just create a new spirit with powers that actually fit rather than just coopt and ruin Koh. Honestly? They could've just made Hei-Bai do it semi-accidentally out of grief and it would've worked better than inserting a being with known powers into a situation that necessitates changing them dramatically to tell the story they want. Koh and Wan Shi Tong should not be in this episode- the only theme connecting them is the spirit world, and by that logic you could put Zuko's banishment and the students' dance party in the same episode because they're both about kids from the Fire Nation. It sucks. As much as episode 3 didn't work, I at least got the idea they were going for- it only didn't work because it was a bad setting for it and because they cut integral character moments, not because it was doomed conceptually, y'know?

So Gyatso is obviously lying to Aang about being able to talk more later... Why? Why the fuck is he doing that? Is he trying to teach Aang a lesson about timing or something? It's weird and I don't get it.

I'm... Confused. Is Aang going to be captured trying to save his friends by going to the Fire Nation?? Are Sokka and Katara just gonna be completely absent next episode given that it's the Blue Spirit one and it'd be overly depressing to just cut to them in captivity on Koh's cave? I don't get it. Aang was literally already in the spirit world, so I don't really get why they wouldn't just have Fang ferry him to the temple and have him meet Roku as a Spirit. Is his physical presence there really so important? It feels weird. Literally how does he think he's going to get there solely on his glider??? Some wild decisions here in this episode, for real.

This episode had probably straight up just the worst adaptation of stuff from the original, while simultaneously having the best original stuff. It's... Disappointing to see that tends to generally be the vibe of this adaptation- they try too hard to bring over beloved stuff from the original, and it's to the detriment of this reimagining that has proven to be capable of some really great stuff. Koh and Wan Shi Tong had no place here, ans Sai and Jet both lost the appeal of their episodes for the sake of just... Having them both appear. For contrast- Bumi was wildly different, they took a pretty big swing with him that evidently not everyone was gonna like- and I thought it was a brilliant alternative depiction of a guy who lived for way too long meeting an important friend from his childhood that never had to face the same difficulties he had, and how they still reconcile at the end even if he's much more bitter about it here. And Bumi STILL struggled from sticking too close to the original- his original jokes don't work in live action, but they were still there, unfortunately lol. Anyway my point is that like? Genuinely this show is doing a good job, and it had a really tough fucking challenge, and I think by trying too hard to appeal to old fans rather than committing to telling the same overall story through a different lens using different methods... It really shot itself in the foot, because purists were never gonna be happy even if they stuck to a 1 to 1 adaptation, let alone when they change stuff- they should've just fucking went wild and created an alternate universe fix it fic that reimagines all the characters AND only uses stuff that works from the original. Here they're clearly forcing some stuff because fans love them, and it shows, because things stop making sense. I know I'm probably contradicting myself a bit: I've always liked Hakoda, so seeing him be a jerk here sucks- and yet, it's an alternative take on his character, what he could've been, and in fact, what some fans see him as! And yet, I still don't like this change. Everyone is gonna have opinions on every change, and I feel like they knew that going in and tried to do their best to mitigate that by including a lot of fan favorite stuff- even when it doesn't work- because isn't it fun to see your favorite thing come to life? You have people saying "At least we got ___" right alongside those that say "Wish we still had ___". This show had an insane amount of pressure on it right from the start, and the fact that it was coming from so many sides surely didn't help mitigate that, but. As much as I'm not pleased with what they did to some of my favorite stuff, it has also proven to me that this version of the story is worthwhile, and it's impossible not to see the care and thought put into it! It'd be a lot easier if I could just hate it or love it, but. Honestly it's so interesting in that each episode features choices that elicit both emotions from me. As much as I truly don't get the thought process behind the early inclusion of Koh and Wan Shi Tong, or why they dropped Sokka from Jet and Aang from The Northern Air Temple... They still did interesting things in these episodes! They have a lot of misses, but they also have a lot of hits, and at the end of the day... I'm genuinely enjoying watching this show! I think that for the most part it could stand on its own really well, and a lot of my gripes with it are stuff that would almost certainly not be an issue for people who haven't watched the original- and that's important too! Even if it disappoints veteran fans, it's important that things don't feel out of place for new ones, and honestly I can't imagine many things here that do! Frankly, it's actually mostly the occasional carry over joke from the original (The dramatic Cabbage Merchant moment is probably a wild thing for people not in the know, for example lmao)

Anyway this episode was. A real mixed bag, and I felt equally as strongly about the things I liked and the things I didn't. It's definitely more disappointing for it, I think- the fact that I really liked some of it while I really didn't like others- but. Overall I think it was probably a good one, and honestly I mostly just wish it was allowed to be more original- which is a great thing, actually! They're doing such a good job with the original/changed aspects of the show that I wish there was more of it, and trust that it could have worked better rather than the existing lore remixed to fit the occasion! Honestly I hope they get some breathing room from the announcement of two more seasons, and that they feel more comfortable with making this their own alternate version of the story rather than an adaptation. Don't get me wrong, they should still follow the general throughlines, but... If this episode has proven anything, it's that they shouldn't force themselves to remix and adapt parts of the original story that they don't think fit in theirs just to check a box.

[strawberrymilkyumyum]

also the whole 'shes not just a mother shes the worlds greatest healer' yeah when she specifically said in the og show that she didnt want to be a healer she wanted to be a fighter

the cheating thing is not a popular headcanon i really dont know where they got that from

also the language used to talk about katara cheating vs zuko is weird to me, 'he couldn't do that to his bsf' bc it like revolves around a@ng so much idk how to explain why that rubbed me the wrong way but it it did

the eyes thing i get sounds silly if you dont like know what it is but its just that people dont like the inconsistencies of how katara is drawn looking like an adult when she's by herself vs how she's drawn like a child with a@ng (which isn't even a huge talking point honestly as far as i know ive only seen it like twice)

i dont ship a@ng with toph to get him 'out of the way' i just think they're cute together. i genuinely like them outside of zutara sorry if that makes me a weirdo or something ig lol

also with the watering down characters and shit, i've seen it on like stupid little fake quotes posts but never for real. i haven't personally seen people reduce sokka down to an idiot or anything, i don't think it's watering down katara's relationships with the gaang to point out that she does all the 'mothering roles' (domestic chores) and is often the one carrying the emotional weight.

also with the whole trophy wife thing, can you name three things that katara did when she was married to a@ng that gave her any sort of agency? can you name one? and yeah the 'baby machine' thing is gross but people use that term bc that's what they feel like that's how she was treated. she had kids until they got an airbender. i think it honestly would've been fine if tenzen wasn't their last child its just kinda weird timing imo.

the problem people have with her not fighting isn't bc she's old, it's bc we see zuko fight and we even see toph still being a badass even though she isn't fighting. we wanted to see her get the same treatment

also yeah zutara's not canon. can't argue with that, except that we really don't need it to be and no one's trying to pretend like it is?

there's bad parts of the fandom for sure, like every fandom, but you're not looking at the right posts if all you're seeing in the zutara fandom is hate bc there's so much love for the characters and the community here, it's really not all that bad

Zutarians i lowkey wanna see some of your responses and debunks by this post 😭😭💀