#sozin's comet part 4: avatar aang

[juniperhillpatient]

Sozin's Comet Part 4: Avatar Aang Re-Watch

Wow, I'm so sad that this rewatch is over. This show means so much to me, & I've had such a great time revisiting it. Alright - let's get into the final episode. The battles are underway & everything is as high stakes as possible. I'm just going to say that I know pretty much all of us have a lot of valid criticisms of the way that this show was wrapped up, but I still love it overall & I still think the final episode is just a fantastic conclusion with beautiful fight scenes & a lot to love.

The air battleship showdown is freaking intense. The scene where Sokka is hanging onto Toph's hand & he says "I don't think boomerang is coming back. This is the end," is just insanely scary & emotional - these kids really did think that they were about to die. Suki gets +2000 iconic behavior points for rescuing them. I loved "did boomerang come back?" "no! Suki did!"

[id: Suki smiling as she stands on an airship. end id]

I love that this finale really did give everyone their badass moments. Toph gets +1000 iconic behavior points for using metal bending to steer the ship, & Sokka gets +1000 for giving up his space sword to save Toph.

Aang Vs. Ozai, well, that's just a fantastic battle. The animation, the music, the voice acting, the fight itself it's all just so good. I mean, I have to give Aang a lot of iconic behavior points for saving the world & doing it on his terms. +3000.

[id: a scene from Ozai & Aang's final battle. Aang's tattoos are glowing, & he is yanking Ozai's goatee. end id]

I already said in my last recap post that I think that Aang finding a way to defeat Ozai while staying true to his cultural identity & maintaining air nomad values is the most satisfying conclusion the show could possibly come to. However, I would like to add that this is a pretty grim fate - possibly worse than death. In this show, bending isn't just a thing you can do, it's part of who you are. Aang taking Ozai's bending was not done lightly, nor should it have been. I just think that this was a very narratively satisfying way to conclude this epic final battle & while I totally get critiques of it, I don't think there's anything I would change. Maybe the lion turtles could've been brought up sooner? But I also liked the way energy bending was explained & it made sense to me, so that's like, actually me digging for something to critique. I loved this final battle.

The final Agni Kai...And its aftermath. Azula has completely lost it after almost killing her brother. She tries to stop Katara from helping Zuko, & goes after Katara herself instead. This battle is just absolutely haunting & beautiful. It's tragic, it's intense, it's beautifully animated, the music & voice acting is amazing, & it's just a well-written battle. I wish the show had leaned more into the fact that Azula & Katara are foils - younger sister prodigies who overshadow their insecure older brothers, with distant father figures & missing mothers.

[id: Katara putting chains on Azula's wrists. end id]

It's been said before (I can't remember by who) that Azula "loses to a better version of herself" & I think that's a harsh way to put it because it's not like Azula had a chance to be anything different than what she is (that's what's so tragic about her) but it's narratively true that the only one who could ever beat Azula is her foil who was given the chance to be strong in ways she could not. I remember holding my breath the first time I watched this showdown. It's just so beautiful & sad.

***Edit to say that I'm coming back because I totally forgot to give out points. Katara & Azula each get +2000 iconic behavior points for one of the most intense battles on any show ever.

I go back & forth constantly on how I feel about Zuko as Firelord at the show's conclusion but ultimately...I enjoyed the scene where he & Aang promise to restore peace, balance & love to the world the first time that I watched & I enjoyed it this time. It's a good scene, even if I could hem & haw about whether I like this conclusion for Zuko or not all day.

[id: Zuko & Aang, in the Fire Nation Palace. end id]

I really loved the parallel of "we're friends." "yeah, we are friends" compared to "do you think we could have been friends if we knew each other back then?" *cue Zuko fire-bending.* The way that Aang & Zuko have developed & grown & the way that their relationship has evolved really is the heart of the series.

Now - the part that I flat-out hate. I think I know when to be charitable to the writers versus when to call them out, & the scene between Zuko & Ozai? I didn't like it the first time that I watched & now I hate it. I'm not a big comics or graphic novel person, it's just a taste thing. And I'm pretty much against post-series extra content, no matter the fandom, just like, in general. I just think stories should be allowed to end. SO, the first time that I watched the show with limited knowledge of the comics? I was vaguely annoyed that we got this obvious advertisement for them instead of something else more meaningful in the final episode. But, I didn't know what the comics were like so I was kinda "whatever" about it. Now that I know how fucking stupid the comics are? Bruhhhh. Fuck this stupid scene.

We could've easily had a scene with Azula instead. And yes, Azula is my favorite character, but I also feel like I'm pretty reasonable about her arc & not like, totally blinded by loving her or anything. I'm not actually opposed to Azula having a somewhat tragic/ambiguous end. I don't think she & Zuko should've hugged it out after the Agni Kai or that she should've immediately been shown as besties with the Gaang or anything. I just think we should've gotten a scene where Zuko - maybe with Katara by his side - visits Azula, & it's shown that he does want to see her heal. THIS post from @theowritesfiction already discusses how this should have happened as well as a number of other valid critiques of the finale, but I wanted to bring this up too in my own post too.

A N Y W A Y. Yeah, that's really my biggest critique, & it's all about that one scene. I actually love the finale for the most part. I totally understand the critique I've seen pretty often from a lot of you that Mai & Ty Lee were shown as good guys way too fast but like...Guys, I WISH there was a Book 4. I do. There's so much that could've & should've been expanded on. But there isn't. So....yeah, I'm glad we saw Zuko & Mai happy together. Ty Lee becoming a Kyoshi Warrior was definitely out of nowhere but I still prefer seeing Ty Lee happy with new friends to just not appearing & viewers being left to wonder if she's rotting in prison. I pretty much think the writers did the best they could with the time they had there.

The final scene at the Jasmine Dragon, well, as someone who's made no secret out of my distaste for the Katara/Aang romance, you'd think I'd hate it. But I actually don't hate it at all (the scene itself that is, not the kiss, the kiss is stupid & out of nowhere.)

I like that we get to see a final scene of the Gaang all hanging out though. I thought it was a cute & funny lighthearted way to end the show. I loved the group just hanging out & the implication that visits like this will be often & they will all be friends for life. At heart, I'm a sap.

Anyway, I'm sad to say goodbye to this rewatch. It's been so much fun revisiting this show.

[aimlacely-sapphic]

I really appreciate that at the end of ATLA Katara and Aang first hug before they kiss and it is Katara who initiates the kiss. After the fiasco at Ember Island it is so so important that their friendship takes precedence over any possible romance AND Katara is allowed to initiate so that it is clear the relationship is mutual and consensual.

[odd-dragon]

I like to think Sokka would be proud of this

This rock? The one that triggered Aang’s reopening of the Avatar state and fixed the whole story?

...It’s a Deus ex Rockina.

You’re welcome.

[jessmalia]

Mal's Avatar: The Last Airbender rewatch: Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang 3.21

[bestepisode]

Vote on the first half of the season here!

Propaganda is encouraged!

Voting has closed on this round. Vote on the next poll here!

[lisaminnci]

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER 3x21 ➢ Sozin's Comet, Part 4 - Avatar Aang

[calderacitylovers]

Zutara SlowBurn FanFiction: Personal Favs, part II

·        DESTINY IS A FUNNY THING by Megara Pike | Published: 2020-08-21 | 198K Words | 45 Chapters

ATLA Season 3 rewrite, fills in a lot of blanks between canon scenes. From the Southern Raiders to Sozin's Comet through coronation and aftermath. Growing friendships, bonding, being there for each other, a carnival & a cave, epic spirits' appearance on the Ember island, sparring, nightmares, assassination attempts, political ruses, and covert operations. Lovely, sweet. Exciting plot.

 ·        ATLA Book 4: Ashes by elayne_cypher | Published: 2018-10-27 | 306K words | 34 Chapters

This action-packed story picks up right after Ember Island Players and continues well after the war. Zuko is facing many challenges as a new Fire Lord. Romance, tough decisions, rebels, traitors, out-of-body experiences, secret headquarters, angst, teamwork, fire jets. The story has a bunch of OCs.

 ·        Refraction by caroes3725  | Published: 2020-09-09 | 215K Words | 37 Chapters

After breaking up with Aang, Katara needs to figure out her place and role in the patriarchal world. As determined Katara stubbornly bulldozes her way through Fire Nation political scene, her feelings for Zuko grow. Diplomatic visits, Gaang reunion, bonding with Kanna, insights into the life of Caldera city, stuffy politicians, cute correspondence, tropical storm, women supporting women, assassination attempts, personal boundaries. A sweet well-written coming-of-age story with a healthy measure of slow-burn and mutual pining. Katara and Zuko are both POVs, but the story mostly follows Katara. Bonus: Mai is NOT a clingy resentful idiot, but a smart person and a good friend. Some explicit language here and there, a bit of mild smut.

 ·        I Asked You First by halfhoursonearth | Published: 2020-10-03 | 142K words | 22/? Chapters

Ongoing, incomplete. Post Southern Raiders ATLAS3 rewrite. Mostly canon-compliant with blanks filled in between familiar scenes. Zuko and Katara develop a close friendship built on trust and sharing each other’s fears and hopes. Includes mentions of implied child abuse, Lu Ten’s diaries, exploring Avatar Roku’s legacy, sharing a balcony, heart-to-hearts, a hot spring under the stars, an actual date, and artbending. It’s incomplete, but what we have is bliss. Slowburn, mutual pining. Zutara-centric, but also explores the personalities of Team Avatar and their relationships.

 ·        Katara Alone by cablesscutie | Published: 2020-05-31 | 21K words

Katara is not an “unnecessary accessory to a more powerful man”. After the war, she is willing to forge her own path as she turns to people who need her the most on her journey of self-discovery. Features character exploration, correspondence, exploring outback villages of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, sweet reunions, and new firebending skills.

 ·        THE PHOENIX AND THE DRAGON - THE COMPLETE SERIES by JasmineTeaLatte | Published: 2021-06-11 | 100K words | 31 Chapters

This story picks up after The Ember Island Players. Zuko and Katara get to know each other during a late-night conversation by the campfire. In this story, you will find healthy boundaries, protective Sokka, a dash of Taang, sparring, funny banter & lots of flirting.

·        HESITATE by tiffaniesblews | Published: 2020-07-11 | 22K Words | 12 Chapters

This story picks up right after Zuko's coronation and spans two years afterwards. Zuko & Katara talk, share a few beautiful moments, write to each other, and reunite for the 2nd anniversary of the war ending. Very sweet, fluffy story about two sweethearts figuring out their feelings for each other.

·        LIKE WE'RE MADE OF STARLIGHT by Naladot | Published: 2021-11-28 | 5K Words

Katara leaves her post as the ambassador to the Fire Nation to take up a new one as the ambassador to the Northern Water Tribe. Her absence makes Zuko realize that he's got an unfortunate crush, which he is determined to keep secret. Unfortunately for him, subtly has never been one of his strengths—especially when he arrives in the Northern Water Tribe and she keeps taking him on what seem to be dates.

·        FIGURE IT OUT by clearascountryair | Published: 2021-12-20 | 35K words | 13 Chapters

After choosing not to kill Yon Rha, Katara rethinks her sense of self and others' perceptions of her. Or,    In which Katara learns that there’s a really big difference between being kissed when you don’t want to be and being kissed when you do. Aged-up 3B/Ember Island AU.

-  I FOUND YOU by that_turtleduck | Published: 2020-11-01 Completed: 2024-02-24 Words: 157,541 Chapters: 28/28

After divorcing Aang, Katara uproots her family and travels to Caldera. There she finds comfort, kindness and support from an old friend. Katara tries to find her footing as an independent political figure. Great story & relationship dynamic of Momtara & Dadko in their early 30s (Ember island, diplomatic meeting, dancing, turtleduck pond, letters). Delicious slow burn with rewarding spicy resolution in the end (explicit open door). Titters on the side of Anti-Aang.

Here’s a link to Part I of my personal favorites.

Here’s a link to Wholesome Zutara Short Stories.

[starlight-bread-blog]

What My Zutara Endgame Would Look Like

When people hear I want a Zutara endgame, the assumption is that everything will stay the same, except Zuko and Katara would kiss in that balcony instead of Katara and Aang. This is not the case. In actuality, the existing canon material would necessitate adjustments to accommodate such a divergence. I'd be remiss to demand something without explaining how to achieve it. Therefore, I must share a basic (or partial) rundown of my Zutara endgame.

(One might assume that it’s absurd to demand changes to justify a change, which is a very valid assumption I’ve pondered with myself, which is why I’ve written an analysis on the subject).

——————

The portrayal of a Zutara endgame would manifest as follows:

A\ang and Katara have been set up together since the very first season. What wouldn’t change would be the general structure and approach to writing their romantic developments, all of which will be elaborated on in their own posts.

1) In “The Headband”, for a moment, Kstara looks at A\ang with love. Additionally, she is shown to be jealous of him. These moments will be less explicit/toned down.

1½) At the end of “The Cave of Two Lovers”, Katara blushes. This will be removed. (However, it is not a must).

3) In “Boiling Rock Part 2”, Mai and Zuko have a conversation in Zuko’s prison cell before Zuko escapes. In this rewrite, Zuko would imply that once he will end the war, they could be together, which Mai would immediately reject.

2) In “The Crossroads of Destiny”, Aang emerges into the Avatar state before opening his final chakra. He’s still meditating, focusing on letting go of his attachment, is conflicted, and starting to float, but being shot down before letting go. (Additionally, he doesn’t say “Sorry, Katara”).

2½) In In “The Crossroads of Destiny”, Iroh says “perfection and power are overrated”. This will be removed.

4) In the ending of “Boiling Rock Part 2”, both Mai and Ty Lee are shown to have qualms about killing who was once their friends. Everything plays out roughly the same, except the (admittedly, iconic) line “I love Zuko More than I fear you” is replaced with a different declaration.

4½) In “The Southern Raiders”, Zuko says "You were right about what Katara needed". This will be removed. (But again, not a must).

5) In the ending of the play in “Ember Island Players”, Aang is reminded that he is yet to master the Avatar State.

6) In “Sozin’s Comet Part 2”, when the lion turtle drops Aang back on shore, Aang asks it about the Avatar State.The fact that Aang’s last chakra isn’t yet open is mentioned, and Aang sits down to meditate.

7) The show ends with A\ang and Katara having a moment realizing they are better off as friends and a small hint of a future relationship in canon that could take many forms. For the final moments of the show, everyone is on the balcony.

——————

It is important to address the changes required in order to make sure that they don’t interfere with other plot threads. Additionally,one must understand what I’m arguing for, or else my evaluation couldn’t be cogent. Only now that we're in accord, I can trurly delve into the captivating narrative of Zuko, Katara, and the untapped potential of a romantic entanglement between them.

[survivalove]

Avatar The Last Airbender

Sozin’s Comet, Part 4

As the two main characters, Katara and Aang’s series-long arcs come together in the finale as they face their enemies: Azula and Ozai.

Katara vs Azula:

After Azula broke the Agni Kai she made with Zuko, Katara was forced to fight her, dodging fire and lightning while hopelessly looking for any means to defeat the comet-powered firebender on her home turf.

Finally Katara baits Azula into approaching her close enough to freeze her over the drains. However, Azula moves to lightning bend Katara once more. In a split second, Katara bends the water and freezes both herself and Azula before the lightning sparks. Not only is this a testament to her speed, mobility and precision as a fighter, but it also shows how risky this move was as she was so close to being electrocuted and losing her life in an effort to subdue Azula.

[Azula is about to shoot lightning at her when Katara freezes them both with the water under the grate.] - Transcript:Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

Aang vs Ozai:

Similarly, Aang has spent majority of the final battle running from Ozai as he tried to find a way to get close enough to him to take his bending away.

In the beginning, Aang gets the opportunity to take Ozai’s life by redirecting lightning, but chooses not to. Instead, Aang subjects himself to ~ 20 minutes of almost getting burnt alive just because he didn’t want to end Ozai.

A chance encounter with a rock physically unblocks Aang’s avatar state and he pins Ozai down before coming out of the avatar state on his own. Again, another opportunity where he could have ended Ozai but chooses not to. As Ozai berates Aang’s people for the last time, Aang holds him in place to take his bending away. There was absolutely no way he could’ve known for certain that this would work or that he could even do it successfully until he did it for the first time here.

[Aang remembering.] To bend another's energy, your own spirit must be unbendable or you will be corrupted and destroyed. - Transcript:Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

To summarize, both Katara and Aang risked their own lives to spare the lives of their enemies. Just as Aang’s journey to the final battle builds up this moral dilemma of how he would end the war, so too, episodes like the Puppetmaster and the Southern Raiders introduce a similar theme for Katara where is she faced with the temptation of enacting extreme violence in the name of justice and vengeance.

In a show about child soldiers, the main theme I picked up from ATLA was “How does one win a war without losing oneself?” The protagonists, Katara and Aang, are both challenged with this at different points in the series and finally defeat the firelords of the nation that decimated their cultures without forsaking their personal beliefs and morals in the process.

[atla-daily]

we've made it to the end! today's episode is sozin's comet—part 4: avatar aang

[wildpokemon]

Aang airbending in (almost) every episode (x) ~~ S03E21: Sozin's Comet: Part 4 - Avatar Aang

[animentality]

Not that anon, and you're sort of correct, though it definitely wasn't just one one ATLA writer wanting a Zutara endgame. It seemed more like it was several of them, to the point where it caused a split in the writers' room.

John O'Bryan said he pushed for the pairing and likes to think they are canon in an alternate dimension, Joshua Hamilton also says that he favored Zutara and he even alludes to there being an earlier plan of the series where Zutara became canon instead of Kataang, Elizabeth Welch's script for 'The Southern Raiders' flat out drops the word "Zutara" and compares the two to "Mr and Mrs Smith" in the notes, the published script for 'The Ember Island Players' actually makes Kataang look worse by having Aang act even more possessive of Katara and the Zutara ship tease is heightened by not having the two move away from each other when their characters are portrayed as lovers in the play. The final episode of the series, 'Sozin's Comet: Part 4', has the writer's note "Kataang wins!" in its script, which implies there must have been some type of competition up against Kataang.

Janet Varney, the voice actor of Korra who has personally talked to a lot of the ATLA writers, has stated “...even in the writer’s room, as this show [Avatar: The Last Airbender] was being written, writers were advocating for Zutara. Like, they were like ‘No! Come on!’. Like, there was like, the hardcore Zutara fans in the, you know, early aughts when the show was being written. Even if it was a show ostensibly written for kids, people were like ‘Come on! Let’s do this! It makes sense!’”

The wildest one was M. Night Shyamalan asking Bryke about how the series would end because Bryke were the executive producers for Shyamalan's 'The Last Airbender' movie, so they were legally obligated to inform Shyamalan about how Book 3 would conclude. But according to Shyamalan, "At that time they hadn't even decided where things were going to end, even like who Katara was going to end up with." This links up with Christopher Nance's comments (a pro-Kataang storyboard artist in the animation industry) who met Bryke at SDCC 2008 and told them "Thanks for the Kataang", but Bryke responded with "Well, it was a 50/50 chance".

You could be right that the introduction of Aang's attachment arc might have been a set-up for Zutara and it gets even more convincing when you look at how Ehasz has confirmed that the original plan was for Zuko to join at the end of Book 2. They might have decided against it when they had Zuko betray them instead and they had to drop Aang's attachment arc with no explanation. Nowadays Bryke pretend Zutara was never ever considered and that Kataang was endgame from the start (it wasn't, since they don't even end up together in the IP Bible). It's like a full-blown gaslighting of the fandom and it's worse than usual because it's also part of a brutal ship war, lol.

Dude ok, I gotta save this because I never knew any of this, and I find it fascinating.

that's nuts.

and the kataangers act like zutarans are nuts, but this kinda sounds like... we almost had something legendary...

listen.

I must state again.

I hate kataang more than I love Zutara... but Zutara could've been interesting for sure.

the fire/water, opposing nations, prince and pauper, enemies to lovers shit was right there.

aang and katara was meh, but Zutara... ooh.

ugh.

also I would've loved to know if a kid of theirs would be a fire bender or a water bender.

[sugarqueen-katara]

Kataang Week 2023 Day 3: Confessions ✨✨

For today’s prompt i wanted to highlight all the confessions or almost confession between Aang and Katara throughout the series:

1- The Fortuneteller S1E14

Although there are a couple moments before this episode (will you go peguin sleeding with me, why are you smiling at me like that...) , The Fortuneteller is the first time we really see Aang trying to confess to Katara that he likes her. One of my favourite parts of this episode is Aang confessing and getting (not great) advice from Sokka (especially since he doesn’t know it’s Katara).

2- The Avatar State S2E1

AHHH “For the people who love you” (i just love this scene) Besides Katara’s hugs and kisses on the cheek, this is the first time the confession comes from Katara. This might be more in a friendly way, but it is still such a sweet moment !!

3- The Cave of Two Lovers S2E2

Katara is on a roll, two episodes in a row the confession comes from her.  “What if we kiss” isn’t necessairly a confession, but I had to include it because it’s ICONIC. 

4- The Earth King S2E18

Right before they part ways Aang is so close to confessing to Katara before Sokka interrupts. Let’s not forget Katara’s reaction to Sokka interrupting 👀👀

5- The Guru S2E19

“Why would I let go of Katara? I love her!” This is the first time the audience knows that Aang little crush on Katara evolved into more <3.

6- Day of Black Sun pt.1 S3E10

THE scene where Aang finally confesses to Katara. Also their first real kiss.

7- Sozin’s Comet pt 4 S3E21

The balcony scene. The final scene where both of them finally confess their love to each other

[bestepisode]

The Crossroads of Destiny

Azula betrays Long Feng and assumes leadership of the Dai Li. While Team Avatar attempts to stop her, Zuko, after some deliberation over the consequences of his actions, betrays his uncle's trust and chooses to attack the Avatar. Aang is killed by Azula while in the Avatar State, but Iroh intervenes and gives his friends enough time to escape. With the Earth King overthrown, Ba Sing Se falls to the Fire Nation. Katara uses the spirit water to revive Aang.

Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang

Ozai accidentally unlocks Aang's chakra, causing him to enter the Avatar State. The Order of the White Lotus successfully liberates Ba Sing Se, while Sokka and Toph manage to disable all of the airships. Katara defeats Azula and heals Zuko's injuries. Aang in the Avatar State easily overwhelms Ozai, yet still refuses to kill him. He uses an ancient form of bending, known as energybending, to strip Ozai of his firebending powers, keeping true to his beliefs and defeating the Phoenix King without taking his life. Newly appointed Fire Lord Zuko declares the War over, with Aang and his friends celebrating together. Aang and Katara share a romantic kiss on the balcony as the series draws to an end.

Vote for more episodes here!

[psychicpinenut]

netflix atla review

i decided that i wanted to see it through anyway so i finished the netflix atla. here are the things that made me want to hurl rocks at my tv (i might not remember a lot of things because i stopped watching after ep 4 and only continued this week so this might get rambly as i try to recall things)

let me start on the cast. no offense to these kids but my god. one of the things i hate the most is when you can tell an actor is acting. the whole time you could see that they walk up to their mark, stop there and recite the lines like they're in a high school play. and i get that they're young and probably don't have too much experience but i just keep thinking about the original voice cast who were children as well at the time of recording and they're some of the most talented actors i've ever heard. but then again i know they had to not only find people who resemble the characters but can do martial arts and act. so whatever, i hope they'll grow more during this. the only actor i liked was dallas liu who is the oldest of the main cast (i believe he was around 20 when they filmed this) which is probably why he doesn't have a chronic case of child acting.

constantly making up and/or changing lore:

why can aang only speak to past avatars in their shrines?

roku is sidelined in favor of kyoshi (who for some reason is extremely aggressive towards him) who can see into the future apparently because she gave aang a vision of the northern water tribe being destroyed instead of sozin's comet coming.

aang somehow being "lost" to the ocean spirit at the end which is ???

sokka and katara can enter the spirit world with aang

koh keeping his victims like some fucking spider and only gives them back after aang gave some stupid totem back. they also brought him so forward that he doesn't tell aang about tui and la which was the entire fucking point of looking him up in the first place

yue is a fox? in the spirit world?

wan shi tong is there also in the spirit world

i'm guessing they're already abandoning the ancient library storyline because they already intoduced wan shi tong and zhao was shown that he found out about tui and la from the fire sages in roku's temple. which is going to be interesting because that's where sokka finds out about the solar eclipse but i guess they'll come up with some other solution like toph can sense the moon moving through her feet or some shit

tui and la becoming mortals for only one night?

zuko having extensive research on the avatars should mean he knows that roku is his great grandfather but we're either leaving that one out or he's just not good at research

they took out sokka's sexism, thus eliminating any chance of character development, in favor of putting in actual sexism perpetrated by the show itself. suki is made into this small town girl, rapunzel type of character who needs sokka, the man, to bring the world to her and expand her mind. and then instead of sokka being grateful to suki for teaching him, she's the one that's thankful for ... going there? and bringing the world to her? because strong women mean they can punch right?

constant references to book 2 in the first season

they made so that aang didn't actually run away from his responsibility as the avatar - which is a pretty important part of his arc as that guilt follows him through the entire series - but that he only took a little trip to clear his head. which makes everyone accusing him of disappearing seem dumb and unfair

which leads me to bumi. why the fuck would bumi be so pissed at him? the whole episode he's antagonizing him and yelling at him to go do his job as the avatar meanwhile he's holding him hostage and making him do his challenges. like let him go so he can do his job maybe?? stupid

the entire ep 3-4. they really just shoved like 5 episodes together into one which i get because they don't have time to do everything but they did it so badly and the messages from each episode disappeared in favor of the CGI fight scenes.

like what do you mean sokka barely even got to interact with jet? that's the episode where sokka is proven to have good instincts and leadership because he saw jet for what he was.

why are teo and his dad here? what about aang's massive grief over the industrialization of his wiped out culture?

why would jet try to kill bumi? they completely obliterated the moral dilemma of jet wiping out a fire nation village because he sees that as justified even though he's killing civilians who happen to be fire nation.

for some reason they had sokka and katara go through the secret tunnel which is kind of fucking weird. i don't mind if they cut the kaang romance line but it is going to be interesting once it comes to the earthly attachments and some plotlines that revolve around aang having a major crush on katara. also what do you mean the badger moles sense "emotions"? toph is about to sense people's emotions in her feet and learn bending that way

they mary sue'd katara. she's bad at waterbending until she isn't and suddenly she's a master just from self taught basic waterbending she learned from the scroll gran gran gave her?? which is another thing they robbed us of because katara going to great lengths to steal the scroll shows how determined she is and desperate to learn waterbending but here she just gets handed the scroll. she's timid and lukewarm the entire season, the only time i can recall her even raising her voice is when she's arguing with sokka over jet. she gets mad at pakku for not letting her fight which is stupid because girl who is gonna stop you? go and fight?? you should be getting mad at pakku for not even trying to teach you waterbending. then she brings the entire untrained female population to the fight because girl power™. despite all of this, she's proclaimed a master without any actual training and beats zuko's ass purely because she's So Good. like at this point she shouldn't be able to hold her own against zuko without the full moon's help because as soon as the sun comes up zuko easily overpowers her ("you rise with the moon i rise with the sun"). which didn't happen here because she's a self proclaimed master now apparently

aang didn't bend a single waterdrop the entire season. it's book 1: water. it's called water. where's the bending aang? too busy doing another stupid walk and talk

stripped of iroh telling zuko he thinks of him as his son

stripped of one of the rawest lines i've ever heard on television: "my father says she was born lucky, he says i was lucky to be born"

which leads me into azula's character. they brought her in earlier just so her role in the whole season can be her groveling at ozai's feet, seeking his approval, trying to outdo zuko. which is insane cause she already outdoes zuko by a mile. she's a prodigy. they make it look like ozai favors zuko over azula which is so fucking insaaaane it made me so mad. she already knows she's better than zuko, she doesn't need her father's approval. also why isn't her fire blue.

iroh being the one who kills zhao. this one pissed me off so badly because in the original, as the ocean spirit takes hold of him zuko reaches out to zhao to try to save him.... that man tried to have him KILLED. and zuko still tried to save him. but zhao's arrogance didn't let him take his hand and that was his demise. that single act tells us so much about zuko and they just??? took that out??? so iroh can just murder him?? instead of it being the ocean spirit's revenge for killing its partner? instead of giving us that glimpse into who zuko is as a person? i'm going insane

don't even mention the fact that zuko fought back against ozai during the agni kai. he was literally banished because he refused to fight him. he got the scar because he refused to fight him. that's who zuko is!!!! and then they show us that he, a 13 year old boy who is still fairly inexperienced at bending, could have defeated ozai but he chose not to?? i'm sorry???

during the meeting where he spoke out against their plan, they made it look like he only spoke up because the general taunted him and not because he thought what they wanted to do was morally wrong.

now tell me which line hits harder: "compassion is a sign of weakness" or "you will learn respect and suffering will be your teacher". yeah...

yue bringing sokka to the spirit oasis to heal momo?? it was so fucking stupid and unserious that they were cradling a cgi lemur that i was in tears of pain. i almost gave up there

sokka constantly talking about wanting to be a better warrior and bossing katara around but doing absolutely fuck all to prove himself was insane. sokka was just standing around the whole season making bad jokes (cause wow they made sokka unfunny somehow) and flirting with women.

there was no goofiness or lightheartedness to aang. he took everything so fucking seriously it actually hurt to watch because they blew things out of proportion that didn't need to be. why was he so afraid of his normal bending power? not even his avatar state power but just his airbending. constantly angsting over his responsibility and how he's failing as the avatar. jesus fucking christ.

since zuko never stole katara's necklace, june had to use some fuckin random fabric she found on one of the trees that could've belonged to anybody??

zuko was able to capture aang after june found him instead of getting his ass whooped and paralysed so when zhao basically forces him to hand aang over to him, it's easier to guess who the blue spirit is as zuko makes a whole scene about it earlier

truly the one thing i really liked was the addition that the 41st division was the crew he protected at the war meeting

circling back to the first episode where we start out in the past and we get to see the whole genocide of the air nomads instead of finding out along with aang. we also get to see how he ends up in the iceberg so we don't get his story paralleled with zuko's backstory like in the storm. i mean whatever but the aang and zuko parallels were always dear to me.

hated zhao's actor. instead of him being intimidating and scary, he was acting like a frat boy and talked like tom cruise's character in magnolia. just simply annoying

jet telling katara to just stop being sad about her mom and she stops being sad and suddenly she can bend again. and later when he tells her she can bend because he helped her, she straight up denies it because it was "all her" like i gotta disagree there cause no, it was definitely him who helped you.

icing on the cake was when zuko walks into a bar and the patrons there reference like 4 storylines that they skipped over

so anyway... that's all i could think of at the top of my head and i hope they fuck up less in the upcoming seasons god willing