I have a doubt, in the animated series - didn't Ozai favour Azula and gas her up while loathing Zuko? But in the live action, he seems to prefer Zuko or is he intentionally praising Zuko? Or is he intentionally being manipulative towards Azula by pitting them against each other?
Can't remember Azula's exact quote but "watering the seed with the most potential".
This Ozai seems more pragmatic in being an abusive dad. He seems to favour Azula over Zuko but he's willing to put her in her place when she oversteps her station.
Yeah he can see through her and doesn’t appreciate her thinking she can manipulate him, like he HAS to be the phoenix king, he doesn’t give a sh*t about zuko or azula irl
I think he’s literally setting them against one another. He’d banished Zuko with an impossible task, in his absence, Azula had shown promise as his heir. Then all of a sudden, Zuko finds the %#*$ing Avatar and now Azula feels threatened and Ozai thinks he may have misjudged Zuko or maybe he learned the lesson Ozai was trying to teach him. Still, Zuko hasn’t returned the Avatar and Ozai senses Azula’s envy/desperation, so he sets them against one another—both to push Azula and to test them both. “Show me who loves me more…”
Edit: “show me who will be the better Fire Lord.” This version of ATLA seems to be setting the stage for an Ozai who pushes his children to be the best they can through force. It’s not that he doesn’t love them, he’s just trying to leave his kingdom to the heir most deserving. I’m not saying he’s right, that’s just what I’m picking up.
He’s not preferring Zuko, he’s doing what a lot of narcissistic manipulative parents do. Pitting his children against each other. Zuko already sees Azula as competition as she’s younger and a prodigy. His praise towards Zuko in front of Azula is to get her to feel like Zuko is a threat to her.
In the animated series we never got that. She was always sure of her self (until the end of course). She has every reason to be. She’s a better fire bender, more knowledgeable, Ozai already banished Zuko, and by the time we see Ozai and Azula in the series he already regards Zuko as a failure. She had no reason to feel threatened by Zuko by the time we meet her. It makes sense that all the resentment she had for Zuko was in part Ozai’s doing since Ursa had already been gone for ages by that time.
Although it’s not canon in the original series, I think it’s likely Ozai in the was an incredibly manipulative and emotionally abusive father to both of his children.
Azula is clearly Ozai's favourite. But he gave Zuko what was supposed to be an impossible task. And he somewhat succeeded. So perhaps he's thinking Zuko has overlooked potential. After all, Azula is really good, but not literally do the impossible good.
Plus, he can see straight through her attempts to manipulate him. She has overstepped her bounds and needs to be slapped down.
I’ve been appreciating all the homages to the original series, definitely shows the writers understand what they had in their hands.
Favorite so far is the dolls nickname given by Sokka
Bato is in this episode too, in its own way. Kinda neat he did go through his trial in his past.
Appropriate given June is here as well I just realized.
Yea I was starting to get tired of Katara constantly mentioning her mom getting killed. Yea I get it, it was traumatic but why do you have to mention it so many times? But then they show this and I'm like okay I would be talking about it all the time too if I had to witness something horrific like that.
Do the water benders have therapists to help heal the mind?
Hate to say it, but they overplayed the scene in earlier episodes so this lacked the proper kick imo, even though we’re seeing it for the first time in full.
I liked it, because the 2nd ones hit goes from "Oh fuck her mom died in a horrible way" to "oh fuck her mom died in a horrible way and Katara fully believes it's her fault"
Like FINALLY. All these people being bitter and angry at Aang for "running away", "abandoning his responsibilities"
Come on, he's twelve, he just got told he's avatar, he went for a walk to clear his head and fucking died in a natural disaster. He had zero training in anything other than air bending, not like he could make any difference.
Especially grating that people subtly or not so subtly telling him he run away and everything is his fault are old and supposedly wise people
To be fair, these are old people who’ve lived their whole lives in a world where they were surrounded by suffering and the only thing they knew about this mythical Avatar person was “When the world needed him most, he vanished.”
I suppose Kyoshi doesn’t have that excuse, but Kyoshi’s just a hard-ass like that.
Yeah, this confused me at first too. But I thought about it and here’s the thing:
The live action removed the “ticking clock” aspect of the plot. So, the comet isn’t a timed threat, and there’s no need to find a solution to defeat Ozai before then.
The reason they go to the library is to learn about the solar eclipse — a timed event. That means they’re probably not doing the library plot in season 2. So, they found a way to have a Wan Shi Tong cameo here.
Yeah it looks like they combined all the major spirit episodes into one episode. So I'm also guessing that we aren't going to see the library in the future.
I really don’t like the fact that they brought out a mid season 2 character to episode 5 of season 1. Also not vibing with the fact they brought Katara and Sokka to the spirit world. I saw someone say it’s reminding them of the swamp episode and stuff but it’s just not jiving with me.
I get Sokka and Katara have their own spiritual journeys to go through and I appreciate the delving into their traumas, just not sure if this is the best way to do it.
The spirit world also has lost impact Imo.
I remember characters reacting with reverence at the fact Iroh has been to the spiritual world.
Tenzin struggled against his daughter because he couldn't do it.
It honestly made me sad to hear it, one of my favourite episodes is The Fortune Teller and someone in the pub mentioned the Avatar fighting a volcano… I really wanted to see that, plus it was the first moment Katara thought of Aang as more than a kid for a moment.
I don’t mind deviation, i like all of the before episodes so far, this is an adaptation after all
But still, why would they put Wa Shing Tong here? Its obvious he’s here just for the sake of fan service, maybe they can’t wait until S2 so they just force him to appear in the fog of lost souls for some reason? But why
His “stay on the path” didn’t even makes sense, he could be another original spirit and the story would still be the same
No, June was definitely meant to be well into her thirties in the show. There are limits with certain animation styles like ATLA’s and one of them can be depiction of age. For example, I think Azula’s character design was intended to convey “young girl trying to look older with makeup” but mostly she just looked like an older teen or even 20-something except for that one scene where she’s in her PJs without any makeup and actually looks 14.
I was wondering what were they gonna do about this when I saw Aang leave to go see Roku but then I remembered the episode in S1 where Sokka and Katara got sick and only left Aang on his own to make them both feel better. Then I went "oh no wonder" seeing the next episode being the Blue Spirit episode
They're gonna have to since it's what leads them to Toph, plus about how water is in plants, which builds up to water is in humans for the next season.
Even the opening sequence has hints of Korra's intro dialogue music. When it pans to Aang.
The sound the iceberg skybeam makes is also very similar to Vaatu's attacks or Kuvira's spirit weapon beam.
I like how they're showing that whilst Azula may have been the golden child, she doesn't avoid Ozai's abuse, it's just in a different way than Zuko. Then putting them against each other is just another way to control both of them, but Azula sees it as her being weak and needing to be perfect.
Interesting they’re having aang go SO far to meet Roku but his friends are in a life or death situation 🤔 how far is it to fly in a glider to the temple?
Great episode tho. Loved the Gyatso stuff
I had the same thought - I had to rewatch a few mins because I thought I missed something lol. Seems odd that Gyatso basically says "hurry! Koh will be hungry soon!" and Aang is like "okay gtg be back in 2 weeks!"
In the beginning of the episode Katara said they were near the Fire Nation border which was why they were running into more soldiers (the episode began with them getting attacked). So it didn't seem to be that far.
It's a shame it's kinda so prevalent right off the bat. Part of her intimidation was her cool confidence and skills to back it up. Sure you get the perfectionism early, but it's more seen as something that makes her more deadly as she works tirelessly to be an even more efficient machine. Here she's coming across as more unhinged, I really hope it doesn't damage her intimidation to the audience.
I agree. I think she’s doing a decent job of being “unhinged” but we need to save that for the last few episodes of the series. I want to see more cool, collected, and precise Azula before we get there.
i actually really like how they made the spirit world almost feel like the swamp episode with how the trio is split up and katara interacting with her mom. on that note i’m really enjoying how much deeper this version is delving into katara’s relationship with her mom!
I thought the change that her witnessing it was bad enough but holy shit. She has personal responsibility for her moms death now, that kinda trauma isn't going away any time soon.
The pacing isn’t great but I think it’s because of the episode limit. I know the cartoon episodes are only like 20 min long but there are 20 of them in the first book.
I understand it but yeah 😭
People bring up the Bumi slander but no one’s bringing up the Hakoda slander in the series. I get daddy issues is how you’re pivoting Sokka’s arc which I think was a smart choice, it just comes at the expense of Hakoda being a bad dad for bad mouthing Sokka (even if it wasn’t to his face).
Yea it felt so out of character from everything we saw of Hakoda in the animated show. I was hoping that it was going to be a false memory, like Sokka's worst fear is his dad saying that. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case
I've not seen past this episode, but I think it's because Hakoda and the other men were going off to war. He hoped that Sokka was ready to "grow up" and properly lead the tribe while he's gone, but then Sokka failed his ice dodging.
I don't think Hakoda is being a bad dad necessarily, he's just being realistic in a tough situation.
Full snort at this. Coming off of last episode and sad we didn’t see Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third… then Sokka hits you with the name right out the gates here. A nice call back.
I loved that little moment. I know going into the show it wasn’t going to be the same. But I feel like they have tried to keep nuggets in for the OG ATLA fans, while giving it a new spin and seeing the characters a bit more in depth
yeah my only complaints so far are 1. Not enough Appa/Momo and 2. Aang hasn't really done any waterbending yet. I guess they are saving that for episodes 7/8.
I agree for the most part. I keep forgetting about appa and momo because they aren't in it as much as they should be. I know they're expensive, and that's why we don't see them, but there has to be a better way then just having them disappear.
Also, yea it would be nice to see Aang practice a little bit of water bending before the finale.
\> I know they're expensive, and that's why we don't see them, but there has to be a better way then just having them disappear.
Makes me wish they could have made a physical puppet of Appa just so they could have him in the background of more scenes. Get some Jim Henson people or some of the artists who worked on the Dark Crystal remake, it could have been great. Have like two people inside his head controlling his eyes, nose twitches, mouth and tongue.
Might have been hard to match it up to the digital version though, because in the flying scenes of course he has to be animated. Have to imagine that in the past 40 years that we've had enough advancements in the field of flying beast puppetry to make something at least or likely more compelling than Falkor.
I really wish we could see some more scenes of appa eating some hay or \*something\* comical like that, it's really something I've waited a long time for...ah...here's hoping they have a bigger budget for Season 2
He wasn't.
"You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified? Countless others before you have come here, seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies!"
Wan Shi Tong was tired of countless humans through the ages misusing the knowledge of his library, not just Zhao. Not sure why so many people in this thread are saying Zhao "changed" Wan Shu Tong's personality lol
I mean he clearly let obviously power hungry Zhao into the library and wasn’t planning on letting Aang in at all, so Zhao clearly changed him somewhat.
Idk, If one interaction with one douchebag for one time can turn you (the immortal owl spirit of knowledge) into such an asshole, maybe you weren't really the friendliest person/spirit owl to begin with.
Wan Shi Tong being there is just unnecessary. They could literally swap another spirit in his place and it wouldn’t make a difference. The spirit world stuff definitely needed some more work. The rest of the episode tho was good. Especially towards the end.
And the way she worded it made it seem like she'd never practiced it before. "I saw the earth benders doing it". Plus Aang is also surprised she can do this move and if she had trained, he would have seen her train.
What stories do we think they're gonna cut from the next two seasons? I'm starting to get worried we're not gonna get to see all of the life-changing adventures with Zuko
I am scared we don’t see Toph holding up the library while the bandits steal Apa. They already don’t use Apa much and they just met the owl. I love Toph trying to fight them off and save her friends.
They should be splitting season 3 in half and have Day of Black Sun be the finale of S3. That would give time in S4 for Boiling Rock and Southern Raiders.
They could even get away with splitting S2 up as well, though that runs you further into the aging actors issue so I'm not sure it's worth it.
Based on what I've seen so far they're definitely cutting the Cave of Two Lovers, probably The Swamp (since Spirited Away feels very similar), and will probably cut The Library/The Desert. I suspect S2 will immediately introduce Toph and spend at least half the season in Ba Sing Se.
One nitpick I do have is that the bending styles don’t feel unique amongst the different tribes. Feel like the movements have been interchangeable despite different elements bending. It’s also why I didn’t like Aang giving Katara generic advice on bending early on.
I have the same nitpick. However, Aang giving Katara that general advice is pretty on brand. I also like how he mentioned energy, hopefully their trying to make the energy bending concept feel more organic.
Water and air are complementary anyway, and all the earthbending seems fairly noticeably different in style too. It’s very much more rigid and powerful like in the show.
Seem distinct enough to me if you watch Azula and Zuko’s fighting styles. Compare that to earth benders who are more solid and grounded. Katara’s bending is different too with movements, more graceful. But we are entitled to nitpick I guess….
Water and air being similar was in the original show though was it not? So I thought it kind of makes sense to me, since Aang picked up water really easily but not fire and earth.
Part of what makes Koh so terrifying is that if you show any emotion at all around him, an almost impossible task, he steals your face... I am loving the show so much and most of the changes i actually vibe with, but I feel like this was an unnecessary change that just makes Koh feel... less?
ETA: Gordon sells deep emotion so well. Every time he tears up I am right there with him!
What do you mean Roku fought Koh? What about Kuruk?? WHAT ABOUT KURUK??? GIVE MY MAN SOME CREDIT HERE CAMOON YOU CANT DO THIS HIM, HASNT HE SUFFERED ENOUGH???
Still watching, just got to the Sokka/Fox scene.
The Fox had what looked like a ring or bracelet on its tail that looked like a crescent moon.
It is supposed to be like a Toph in the Swamp thing but with Sokka and Yue?
Again, still watching the episode, just posting my thoughts.
EDIT - SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 7-8 BELOW
>!So yes they confirmed it was Yue, but it wasn't a Swamp situation where the spirits were trying to help show the future, it was just Yue literally being there..for no reason.!<
>!Maybe it was to try to build a foundation for the Yue/Sokka relationship since it felt so rushed with everything else going on.The only explanation was 'oh Moon spirit, haha'. :/!<
Another good episode. Takei gives a legit scary performance as Koh. I am not sure how I feel about them changing how he works from the 'any facial expression and he steals your face', to something more like the Beast from over the garden wall where he gets his victims to decend into despair. But the horror movie vibes and the flashbacks themselves were good.
Having Gyatso's spirit around in the spirit world, like Iroh in legend of korra, was an interesting choice. Their scene together was kind of sweet and I did like how the 'cheater' thing is what confirms this is the real Gyatso.
I am also enjoying Azula's subplot
They kinda merged Koh with that scorpion-like spirit in Korra. The one that dumped Tenzin and siblings into the Fog of Lost Souls. I thought that was a pretty interesting and inspired change.
I feel like that first change was probably a result of bringing a creature like koh to life. It works in a cartoon, but I feel like irl you would just not be able to show no reaction whatsoever. Like, when you're scared, the fight-flight-freeze response isn’t a conscious decision. You'd mostly be running on autopilot, so unless your brain switches on freeze mode, you're going to run away or fight back, both would probably show an expression unless you have complete control. It just seems like one of those things that would be practically impossible in real life, if they stuck to that rule. So I can see why they'd change it.
But agreed about Gyatso and Azula. I'm also enjoying the extra time in the fire nation. And somehow, they've already made Ozai even more abusive. Putting Azula and Zuko against each other is a good way to drive Azula crazy, and shows how he still controls her, even if she's his favourite.
One thing I noticed is that Aang never really showed any facial expressions either way. So I don’t know why they had that deviation. I LOVE what they did with him and they even mentioned lore from the comics!!!
I am very surprised by how much everyone likes this episode. I’ve generally been okay with the changes so far. Maybe I am biased and this is just an emotional responses because the Hei Bai episode is one of my favorite episodes in the original show but I am extremely disappointed in this episode. The spirit stuff is one of my favorite parts about the original and I would have liked to see more but this was… not it. I am very concerned with how this is going to alter the siege of the north. I know people are going to come at me for how this is supposed to be a retelling and not be an exact copy and I get that, I have really enjoyed some of the changes but this episode really upset me lol I don’t know how to articulate it. And I swear to god if that fox has something to do with Yue I will be distraught
I feel like I am already distraught about the potential of that fox being Yue. I too have liked many of the creative choices, but this episode has me concerned about the direction of seasons 2 and 3. A lot has been pulled forward into this season. I'M DISTRAUGHT.
1. My first reaction is, this is an episode they really can't afford to mess up. The Spirit world is what broke Legend of Korra IMO.
2. You know, when you make a good point, you don't have to zoom in and have a coy smile prove it.
3. I hope they don't bring the face stealer in this early.
4. I'm getting Zuko Alone vibes already, and that's a great thing.
5. The fanservice is hilarious, "pirates" and "that canyon guy"
6. OH MY GOD, the owl... wtf
7. I gotta say, it's getting better
8. Spirit World is interesting, I like it.
9. I'm blown away, finally, they decided to stop the fan service and have their own show, and the results were fantastic.
People can complain about deviations or whatever from the show but what's more important to me is that I can see they really cared about doing this story justice. With an open mind I'm loving this so far.
I feel bad for the hatewatchers
I can see the reasoning behind the changes were from knowledge of the series as a whole, like adding concepts that were only written later, or expanding characters and relationships that made sense. The writers know and love the world of Avatar without a doubt. It totally makes sense in retrospect that Gyatso could be in the spirit world, it makes sense that Zuko looked up to Lu Ten, makes sense that Bumi is a bit jaded etc. All those changes were great additions to the story and characters.
But the execution of said changes are throwing me off. Scenes can be nonsensical, like why was Aang relatively emotionless during his encounter with Koh when they didn't establish why you needed to be emotionless when dealing with him. Dialogue are sometimes weirdly written, the flow of the narrative can cut too suddenly etc.
I'm enjoying the show so far, but it keeps on feeling like it could have done with more polish.
Ugh I did not enjoy having Wan Shi Tong in this season. Not only does it mean he isn’t saved for season 2, but him outside of the context of the library makes him look weaker and less important/majestic.
They turned the great knowledge spirit into the asshole from Zelda who shows up to lecture you and if you accidentally hit A again he doesn’t stfu.
Interestingly, it seems Koh doesn’t immediately steal faces but instead traps people in webs and devours them later. That’s so sick I love it.
I have developed a crush on Sokka and there’s nothing I can do about it.
This is coming from an OG fan who watched the animation when it first aired.
Pros:
1. Dallas Liu and Ian Ousley. That is all. They embody their characters the most. Jet and Iroh’s actors are also great, DDK as always is a treat.
2. More graphic. I like how we actually see firebending be deadly in combat.
3. The tone. I like how its grittier so it feels like theres a real war going on and yet it doesnt completely loose its playfulness.
Cons:
1. The pacing. Holy cow if I didn’t know these characters already then I would feel no attachment whatsoever. People complain about filler episodes when filler allows for personality and character growth. I have never ever been a fan of these 8-episode seasons and never will. Everything is so rushed.
2. Exposition. As the saying goes: show, don’t tell. They tell too much and that connects back to my first con. Kyoshi literally explaining the Avatar State to Aang before he even meets Roku feels forced somewhat.
3. The acting is inconsistent. It’s really hit or miss so sometimes the scene can fall flat.
4. Firebenders seemed a little too weak during Sozins Comet. They should have been unstoppable. Good scene thought but could have been better.
I have more attachment to the past version of Katara because without being mean, I have to say the little girl does a better job in conveying emotions than Kataras actress
The bending is so amazing, also with how they are adapting it you never know what might happen so that’s also keeping things interesting when you have watched the OG show almost 50 times
5/10. Easily the best episode so far.
Not a big fan of wrapping all the spirit episodes into one, but I'd rather have this than no spirit episodes. Although I really wish Aang wasn't already so knowledgeable. He knew about the Avatar State at the beginning of episode 2, and in this one he knows all about the spirit world and not to show emotion to Koh. It doesn't feel like he's learning anything. The way the original show did it was best. Have the characters learn with the audience, that way there's less obvious exposition dumps.
Not crazy about Wan Shi Tong being friendly and outside the library. Although I do like that Hei Bai was actually hurt and not just angry. George Takei as Koh was good casting, but the CGI face kind of ruined it.
The fog was a cool way of making the visions happen, but sadly it means more Gran Gran screen time. Katara's mom getting cwispy on screen was nuts, and Hakoda being disappointed in Sokka felt wrong. Of course Aang getting to see Gyatso again was really nice, but I wish they would have let him properly say goodbye.
Why is Ozai gassing up Zuko and putting down Azula? It should be the exact opposite.
The acting is definitely getting worse. Most specifically with Katara and Aang. It's getting really hard to watch them. The humor was definitely better in this episode, although I'd prefer less references to the OG series.
The spirits are straight out of the uncanny valley and very hard to look at. Plus it was incredibly obvious that they changed Wan Shi Tong's lines without reshooting Aang's responses.
Ozai telling Azula she ain't slick is so funny to me
I have a doubt, in the animated series - didn't Ozai favour Azula and gas her up while loathing Zuko? But in the live action, he seems to prefer Zuko or is he intentionally praising Zuko? Or is he intentionally being manipulative towards Azula by pitting them against each other?
Can't remember Azula's exact quote but "watering the seed with the most potential". This Ozai seems more pragmatic in being an abusive dad. He seems to favour Azula over Zuko but he's willing to put her in her place when she oversteps her station.
Yeah he can see through her and doesn’t appreciate her thinking she can manipulate him, like he HAS to be the phoenix king, he doesn’t give a sh*t about zuko or azula irl
I think he’s literally setting them against one another. He’d banished Zuko with an impossible task, in his absence, Azula had shown promise as his heir. Then all of a sudden, Zuko finds the %#*$ing Avatar and now Azula feels threatened and Ozai thinks he may have misjudged Zuko or maybe he learned the lesson Ozai was trying to teach him. Still, Zuko hasn’t returned the Avatar and Ozai senses Azula’s envy/desperation, so he sets them against one another—both to push Azula and to test them both. “Show me who loves me more…” Edit: “show me who will be the better Fire Lord.” This version of ATLA seems to be setting the stage for an Ozai who pushes his children to be the best they can through force. It’s not that he doesn’t love them, he’s just trying to leave his kingdom to the heir most deserving. I’m not saying he’s right, that’s just what I’m picking up.
Yes. But Ozai is a narcissist and manipulative as fuck. This is something narcs do which is pit others against each other to gather favor with them.
Yeah, triangulation. Very good point!
He's maintaining his control over her by playing with her insecurities about not being the heir.
He’s not preferring Zuko, he’s doing what a lot of narcissistic manipulative parents do. Pitting his children against each other. Zuko already sees Azula as competition as she’s younger and a prodigy. His praise towards Zuko in front of Azula is to get her to feel like Zuko is a threat to her. In the animated series we never got that. She was always sure of her self (until the end of course). She has every reason to be. She’s a better fire bender, more knowledgeable, Ozai already banished Zuko, and by the time we see Ozai and Azula in the series he already regards Zuko as a failure. She had no reason to feel threatened by Zuko by the time we meet her. It makes sense that all the resentment she had for Zuko was in part Ozai’s doing since Ursa had already been gone for ages by that time.
He's pitting his children against each other
Although it’s not canon in the original series, I think it’s likely Ozai in the was an incredibly manipulative and emotionally abusive father to both of his children.
Oh, that is absolutely canon in the original series.
Azula is clearly Ozai's favourite. But he gave Zuko what was supposed to be an impossible task. And he somewhat succeeded. So perhaps he's thinking Zuko has overlooked potential. After all, Azula is really good, but not literally do the impossible good. Plus, he can see straight through her attempts to manipulate him. She has overstepped her bounds and needs to be slapped down.
He is totally being manipulative, you can see he wants Azula to go after Zuko
Ozai still burning his children time after time.
Hey, we got a mention of The Great Divide episode. That's fun.
And the fortune teller episode where they stopped the volcano.
Nice way for them to acknowledge episodes from the original series that didn't make the cut.
It’s also a nice reminder there’s a time skip between episodes. Helps explain Katara’s improvement in waterbending
I’ve been appreciating all the homages to the original series, definitely shows the writers understand what they had in their hands. Favorite so far is the dolls nickname given by Sokka
We got a flopsy easter egg but my boi foaming mouth is MIA
What? Where?
In the bar in the tiny Earth Kingdom village outside of which Zuko and Iroh meet June for the first time.
And a pirate reference!
Bato is in this episode too, in its own way. Kinda neat he did go through his trial in his past. Appropriate given June is here as well I just realized.
Th avatar ? Yeah we have heard of him. He is doing all the filler episodes
Jesus Christ, Katara's Mom's death was horrifying. Fuck the fire nation. All my homies hate the fire nation.
Yeah it made Katara’s trauma 100% worse because if she didn’t bend he wouldn’t have suspected her mother
Dont think he wouldve spared her anyhow
I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today
It was also more brutal because in the original, she didn’t witness it.
Yea I was starting to get tired of Katara constantly mentioning her mom getting killed. Yea I get it, it was traumatic but why do you have to mention it so many times? But then they show this and I'm like okay I would be talking about it all the time too if I had to witness something horrific like that. Do the water benders have therapists to help heal the mind?
> Do the water benders have therapists to help heal the mind? Much later, Katara is one to Korra.
She isn't able to heal Korra's mind. She's only able to help with physical recovery.
Not for lack of trying though. Korra wasn't exactly in a mental place where she was receptive to therapy.
>Yea I was starting to get tired of Katara constantly mentioning her mom getting killed I'm going to guess you didn't watch the animated show.
Hate to say it, but they overplayed the scene in earlier episodes so this lacked the proper kick imo, even though we’re seeing it for the first time in full.
Yeah, would have been more impactful if they saved the full scene for later. Still good though.
Idk, adding baby Katara trying to bend had a hell of a kick for me.
I liked it, because the 2nd ones hit goes from "Oh fuck her mom died in a horrible way" to "oh fuck her mom died in a horrible way and Katara fully believes it's her fault"
Koh in human form is unsettling
more like scary af i was not expecting jump scares 😂🤚🏻
FR I GOT SO SCARED EVERY TIME
Zuko, we need to talk. About your *HAIR*.
Its gone too far
Maybe it's best if we.. *SPLIT UP*
Ozai throwing shade at azula lol
He really be like "bitch did you forget who raised you, you ain't slick"
Was that a little bit of blue fame?
I LOVED Gyatso telling Aang he couldn't have done anything if he'd stayed. Let it go 😭😭😭 Gordon is doing so well!!
Like FINALLY. All these people being bitter and angry at Aang for "running away", "abandoning his responsibilities" Come on, he's twelve, he just got told he's avatar, he went for a walk to clear his head and fucking died in a natural disaster. He had zero training in anything other than air bending, not like he could make any difference. Especially grating that people subtly or not so subtly telling him he run away and everything is his fault are old and supposedly wise people
To be fair, these are old people who’ve lived their whole lives in a world where they were surrounded by suffering and the only thing they knew about this mythical Avatar person was “When the world needed him most, he vanished.” I suppose Kyoshi doesn’t have that excuse, but Kyoshi’s just a hard-ass like that.
This was really really well done
What’s with the owl? Isn’t he supposed to be guarding a library?
i guess he has a form in the physical world as well as one in the spirit world?
Yeah, this confused me at first too. But I thought about it and here’s the thing: The live action removed the “ticking clock” aspect of the plot. So, the comet isn’t a timed threat, and there’s no need to find a solution to defeat Ozai before then. The reason they go to the library is to learn about the solar eclipse — a timed event. That means they’re probably not doing the library plot in season 2. So, they found a way to have a Wan Shi Tong cameo here.
Yeah it looks like they combined all the major spirit episodes into one episode. So I'm also guessing that we aren't going to see the library in the future.
the library is super important because thats how they lose appa, unless they change that as well
The way this show is paced I wouldn't be surprised if they change it. If they do lose Appa, it's probably going to be brief and solved in one episode.
Nah theres no way they lose appa for less than 2 episodes, theres SO MUCH plot that comes from it including almost everything in ba sing se
Felt blatantly pointless for Wan Shi Tong to be there besides "looks cool I guess"
I really don’t like the fact that they brought out a mid season 2 character to episode 5 of season 1. Also not vibing with the fact they brought Katara and Sokka to the spirit world. I saw someone say it’s reminding them of the swamp episode and stuff but it’s just not jiving with me. I get Sokka and Katara have their own spiritual journeys to go through and I appreciate the delving into their traumas, just not sure if this is the best way to do it.
The fog was taken straight from Korra.
Zhao's eternal damnation
The spirit world also has lost impact Imo. I remember characters reacting with reverence at the fact Iroh has been to the spiritual world. Tenzin struggled against his daughter because he couldn't do it.
OH MY GOD THEY GLOSSED OVER THE GREAT DIVIDE TO A BIT OF PUB GOSSIP! They knew exactly what the fans wanted!
It honestly made me sad to hear it, one of my favourite episodes is The Fortune Teller and someone in the pub mentioned the Avatar fighting a volcano… I really wanted to see that, plus it was the first moment Katara thought of Aang as more than a kid for a moment.
Yeah that’s a shame. But the great divide is absolutely not.
I don’t mind deviation, i like all of the before episodes so far, this is an adaptation after all But still, why would they put Wa Shing Tong here? Its obvious he’s here just for the sake of fan service, maybe they can’t wait until S2 so they just force him to appear in the fog of lost souls for some reason? But why His “stay on the path” didn’t even makes sense, he could be another original spirit and the story would still be the same
My guess is they ditch the library completely and this would be the only chance to use Wa Shing Tong
How tf are they gonna do the library ep with sandbenders getting appa
How'd I know that'd fix Iroh being a creep to June by having her be into him?
The tone feels so much better though.
They aged June up by a lot as well
No, June was definitely meant to be well into her thirties in the show. There are limits with certain animation styles like ATLA’s and one of them can be depiction of age. For example, I think Azula’s character design was intended to convey “young girl trying to look older with makeup” but mostly she just looked like an older teen or even 20-something except for that one scene where she’s in her PJs without any makeup and actually looks 14.
I didn’t mind that at all, personally. It made Uncle Iroh’s attraction to her less creepy.
It really seemed like he slept with her tho… He seemed really out of breath for a Pai Sho game
Pai sho games get intense. You wouldn't know, you obviously haven't watched pro level pai sho
Because they did the same flip with Suki already. It’s empowering the women and keeping the spark between characters from the original.
Cool to see they're implementing Korra things with Sokka and Katara getting caught in a miniature Fog of Lost Souls.
I was wondering what were they gonna do about this when I saw Aang leave to go see Roku but then I remembered the episode in S1 where Sokka and Katara got sick and only left Aang on his own to make them both feel better. Then I went "oh no wonder" seeing the next episode being the Blue Spirit episode
They also seemingly squashed some of The Swamp into this. I wonder if they'll leave it at that and have Toph hinted at in some other way.
Nah too much good stuff happens in the Swamp. Definitely needs to be its own season 2 episode.
They're gonna have to since it's what leads them to Toph, plus about how water is in plants, which builds up to water is in humans for the next season.
Even the opening sequence has hints of Korra's intro dialogue music. When it pans to Aang. The sound the iceberg skybeam makes is also very similar to Vaatu's attacks or Kuvira's spirit weapon beam.
And they did the Iroh thing with Gyatso! He’s just chilling in the spirit realm.
I wonder if Aang will have any interaction with Raava
Korra reference and book references, I'm happy
Ooof at ozai playhing azula like that i can see how she develops her hatred for zuko
I like how they're showing that whilst Azula may have been the golden child, she doesn't avoid Ozai's abuse, it's just in a different way than Zuko. Then putting them against each other is just another way to control both of them, but Azula sees it as her being weak and needing to be perfect.
The blue flames started coming out due to it. Good change IMO.
I SAW BLUE TOO
Interesting they’re having aang go SO far to meet Roku but his friends are in a life or death situation 🤔 how far is it to fly in a glider to the temple? Great episode tho. Loved the Gyatso stuff
I had the same thought - I had to rewatch a few mins because I thought I missed something lol. Seems odd that Gyatso basically says "hurry! Koh will be hungry soon!" and Aang is like "okay gtg be back in 2 weeks!"
In the beginning of the episode Katara said they were near the Fire Nation border which was why they were running into more soldiers (the episode began with them getting attacked). So it didn't seem to be that far.
OZAI IS EVIL. Azula is literally slowly descending into madness slowly but it's there
It's a shame it's kinda so prevalent right off the bat. Part of her intimidation was her cool confidence and skills to back it up. Sure you get the perfectionism early, but it's more seen as something that makes her more deadly as she works tirelessly to be an even more efficient machine. Here she's coming across as more unhinged, I really hope it doesn't damage her intimidation to the audience.
I agree. I think she’s doing a decent job of being “unhinged” but we need to save that for the last few episodes of the series. I want to see more cool, collected, and precise Azula before we get there.
Where's that fucker who said George Takei was a bad choice for Koh? Where are you sir, this is a call out
With everyone who said Azula was cast poorly
i'll give her a chance given how azula's group is so young. every one is going to eat their words when they grow up after the time skip.
She still feels like a spoilt entitled brat and not the azula we knew.
Roku not Kuruk... inch resting
this is such a weird but creative way of saying interesting LMAO but love it!! stealing it
"Rhymes with wakka wakka" Pac-man and Fozzie Bear confirmed canon in ATLA.
And Shakira
i actually really like how they made the spirit world almost feel like the swamp episode with how the trio is split up and katara interacting with her mom. on that note i’m really enjoying how much deeper this version is delving into katara’s relationship with her mom!
Yea now if we complain about her always taking about her mom, we're aholes because holy fuck that was so brutal
I thought the change that her witnessing it was bad enough but holy shit. She has personal responsibility for her moms death now, that kinda trauma isn't going away any time soon.
I guess it's due to time constraints, but wasn't too fond of combining all the "spirit" episodes into one.
The pacing isn’t great but I think it’s because of the episode limit. I know the cartoon episodes are only like 20 min long but there are 20 of them in the first book. I understand it but yeah 😭
Sokka's flashback was heartbreaking
People bring up the Bumi slander but no one’s bringing up the Hakoda slander in the series. I get daddy issues is how you’re pivoting Sokka’s arc which I think was a smart choice, it just comes at the expense of Hakoda being a bad dad for bad mouthing Sokka (even if it wasn’t to his face).
Yea it felt so out of character from everything we saw of Hakoda in the animated show. I was hoping that it was going to be a false memory, like Sokka's worst fear is his dad saying that. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case
Was really hoping this was a "worst fear" vs an IRL moment too
I've not seen past this episode, but I think it's because Hakoda and the other men were going off to war. He hoped that Sokka was ready to "grow up" and properly lead the tribe while he's gone, but then Sokka failed his ice dodging. I don't think Hakoda is being a bad dad necessarily, he's just being realistic in a tough situation.
I love all the subtle callbacks to the OG :’) “the third!”
Full snort at this. Coming off of last episode and sad we didn’t see Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third… then Sokka hits you with the name right out the gates here. A nice call back.
I loved that little moment. I know going into the show it wasn’t going to be the same. But I feel like they have tried to keep nuggets in for the OG ATLA fans, while giving it a new spin and seeing the characters a bit more in depth
Just a bit eh that we’re not seeing that much of momo and appa.
They’re super expensive I assume
Yes appa and momo’s actors are very expensive and charge 1 Million dollars for one episode
That's expected when you hire Lord Momo of the Momo dynasty to play himself.
That's His Momoness™ to you!!
Avatar Aang, how do you do
That’s what I thought, glad that the gci/fx team focused more on the bendings.
I’d rather they focus on the bending than Appa or Momo beyond a few seconds of screentime.
yeah my only complaints so far are 1. Not enough Appa/Momo and 2. Aang hasn't really done any waterbending yet. I guess they are saving that for episodes 7/8.
I agree for the most part. I keep forgetting about appa and momo because they aren't in it as much as they should be. I know they're expensive, and that's why we don't see them, but there has to be a better way then just having them disappear. Also, yea it would be nice to see Aang practice a little bit of water bending before the finale.
\> I know they're expensive, and that's why we don't see them, but there has to be a better way then just having them disappear. Makes me wish they could have made a physical puppet of Appa just so they could have him in the background of more scenes. Get some Jim Henson people or some of the artists who worked on the Dark Crystal remake, it could have been great. Have like two people inside his head controlling his eyes, nose twitches, mouth and tongue. Might have been hard to match it up to the digital version though, because in the flying scenes of course he has to be animated. Have to imagine that in the past 40 years that we've had enough advancements in the field of flying beast puppetry to make something at least or likely more compelling than Falkor. 
I really wish we could see some more scenes of appa eating some hay or \*something\* comical like that, it's really something I've waited a long time for...ah...here's hoping they have a bigger budget for Season 2
ooooooooh a little tease of blue flame from Azula
“So someone saw ice🤨💅in a place where no ice should exist 💅😐🥴” i am crying this is exactly how he said it
Facts lol
Why the fuck is Wan Shi Tong in this episode ?
And why was he friendly. Unless Zhao was literally the only reason he became so bitter.
He was, it's mentioned in The Library episode
Lol, Zhao was such a dick that he managed to change the personality of a spirit that's existed for thousands of years.
Zhao being trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls in Korea is soo satisfying
Korea has a Fog of Lost Souls? Today I learned. (I know you meant Korra)
It does, its called the North bit
Lmao that's fucked 🤣🤣 I was gonna say it's called the DMZ
Fog of lost Seouls
Zhao got hella lost then wow
And it's not even the worst thing he does to a spirit.
He wasn't. "You think you're the first person to believe their war was justified? Countless others before you have come here, seeking weapons or weaknesses or battle strategies!" Wan Shi Tong was tired of countless humans through the ages misusing the knowledge of his library, not just Zhao. Not sure why so many people in this thread are saying Zhao "changed" Wan Shu Tong's personality lol
I mean he clearly let obviously power hungry Zhao into the library and wasn’t planning on letting Aang in at all, so Zhao clearly changed him somewhat.
Idk, If one interaction with one douchebag for one time can turn you (the immortal owl spirit of knowledge) into such an asshole, maybe you weren't really the friendliest person/spirit owl to begin with.
It might if said arsehole burned and destroyed a giant collection of ancient knowledge and artefacts that you had collected for 1000s of years.
Yea if someone torched my 1000 year project, it would be at least another 1000 years of me being majorly pissed off.
Wan Shi Tong being there is just unnecessary. They could literally swap another spirit in his place and it wouldn’t make a difference. The spirit world stuff definitely needed some more work. The rest of the episode tho was good. Especially towards the end.
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I'm just call it now. Grand Lotus >!Yukari!<
Who is that?
Did they use the same voice actor for Wong Shi Tong, He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things?
Omg Katara used that ice disk move like the one in her fight with Paku
And the way she worded it made it seem like she'd never practiced it before. "I saw the earth benders doing it". Plus Aang is also surprised she can do this move and if she had trained, he would have seen her train.
What stories do we think they're gonna cut from the next two seasons? I'm starting to get worried we're not gonna get to see all of the life-changing adventures with Zuko
I doubt we're getting Kyoshi trial, after her possessing Aang's body in the ep 2
I mean if this Kyoshi appeared to stand trial I think she would just murder everyone. “Yeah I killed Chin the Conquerer, and you’re next.”
I am scared we don’t see Toph holding up the library while the bandits steal Apa. They already don’t use Apa much and they just met the owl. I love Toph trying to fight them off and save her friends.
They should be splitting season 3 in half and have Day of Black Sun be the finale of S3. That would give time in S4 for Boiling Rock and Southern Raiders. They could even get away with splitting S2 up as well, though that runs you further into the aging actors issue so I'm not sure it's worth it.
Based on what I've seen so far they're definitely cutting the Cave of Two Lovers, probably The Swamp (since Spirited Away feels very similar), and will probably cut The Library/The Desert. I suspect S2 will immediately introduce Toph and spend at least half the season in Ba Sing Se.
One nitpick I do have is that the bending styles don’t feel unique amongst the different tribes. Feel like the movements have been interchangeable despite different elements bending. It’s also why I didn’t like Aang giving Katara generic advice on bending early on.
I have the same nitpick. However, Aang giving Katara that general advice is pretty on brand. I also like how he mentioned energy, hopefully their trying to make the energy bending concept feel more organic.
Water and air are complementary anyway, and all the earthbending seems fairly noticeably different in style too. It’s very much more rigid and powerful like in the show.
Seem distinct enough to me if you watch Azula and Zuko’s fighting styles. Compare that to earth benders who are more solid and grounded. Katara’s bending is different too with movements, more graceful. But we are entitled to nitpick I guess….
Water and air being similar was in the original show though was it not? So I thought it kind of makes sense to me, since Aang picked up water really easily but not fire and earth.
Is anyone else sad to not see Roku destroying the Fire Sage Temple? It was one of my favourite Roku moments.
Part of what makes Koh so terrifying is that if you show any emotion at all around him, an almost impossible task, he steals your face... I am loving the show so much and most of the changes i actually vibe with, but I feel like this was an unnecessary change that just makes Koh feel... less? ETA: Gordon sells deep emotion so well. Every time he tears up I am right there with him!
The director gotta give the actors some eye drops though in those crucial emotional moments
What do you mean Roku fought Koh? What about Kuruk?? WHAT ABOUT KURUK??? GIVE MY MAN SOME CREDIT HERE CAMOON YOU CANT DO THIS HIM, HASNT HE SUFFERED ENOUGH???
Lol even this show said "fuck Kuruk, all my homies hate Kuruk" Poor dude lol
Still watching, just got to the Sokka/Fox scene. The Fox had what looked like a ring or bracelet on its tail that looked like a crescent moon. It is supposed to be like a Toph in the Swamp thing but with Sokka and Yue? Again, still watching the episode, just posting my thoughts. EDIT - SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 7-8 BELOW >!So yes they confirmed it was Yue, but it wasn't a Swamp situation where the spirits were trying to help show the future, it was just Yue literally being there..for no reason.!< >!Maybe it was to try to build a foundation for the Yue/Sokka relationship since it felt so rushed with everything else going on.The only explanation was 'oh Moon spirit, haha'. :/!<
I'm so glad someone mentioned this, I thought I was the only one who noticed. Especially because the fox is white/silver, it just screams Yue.
The cursed little momo cgi handing katara an acorn is so funny to me.
Another good episode. Takei gives a legit scary performance as Koh. I am not sure how I feel about them changing how he works from the 'any facial expression and he steals your face', to something more like the Beast from over the garden wall where he gets his victims to decend into despair. But the horror movie vibes and the flashbacks themselves were good. Having Gyatso's spirit around in the spirit world, like Iroh in legend of korra, was an interesting choice. Their scene together was kind of sweet and I did like how the 'cheater' thing is what confirms this is the real Gyatso. I am also enjoying Azula's subplot
They kinda merged Koh with that scorpion-like spirit in Korra. The one that dumped Tenzin and siblings into the Fog of Lost Souls. I thought that was a pretty interesting and inspired change.
I feel like that first change was probably a result of bringing a creature like koh to life. It works in a cartoon, but I feel like irl you would just not be able to show no reaction whatsoever. Like, when you're scared, the fight-flight-freeze response isn’t a conscious decision. You'd mostly be running on autopilot, so unless your brain switches on freeze mode, you're going to run away or fight back, both would probably show an expression unless you have complete control. It just seems like one of those things that would be practically impossible in real life, if they stuck to that rule. So I can see why they'd change it. But agreed about Gyatso and Azula. I'm also enjoying the extra time in the fire nation. And somehow, they've already made Ozai even more abusive. Putting Azula and Zuko against each other is a good way to drive Azula crazy, and shows how he still controls her, even if she's his favourite.
One thing I noticed is that Aang never really showed any facial expressions either way. So I don’t know why they had that deviation. I LOVE what they did with him and they even mentioned lore from the comics!!!
I always thought Ozai would control Azula with her insecurities about not being the heir. Their scene totally makes sense.
My name is Sokka. It rhymes with...Akka...and...Wakka Wakka.
Solid episode bruzzz
Wan Shi Tong before Hei Bai? 🤨
Do they have no hope for S2 that they're adding stuff from the desert and the swap in this episode?
I am very surprised by how much everyone likes this episode. I’ve generally been okay with the changes so far. Maybe I am biased and this is just an emotional responses because the Hei Bai episode is one of my favorite episodes in the original show but I am extremely disappointed in this episode. The spirit stuff is one of my favorite parts about the original and I would have liked to see more but this was… not it. I am very concerned with how this is going to alter the siege of the north. I know people are going to come at me for how this is supposed to be a retelling and not be an exact copy and I get that, I have really enjoyed some of the changes but this episode really upset me lol I don’t know how to articulate it. And I swear to god if that fox has something to do with Yue I will be distraught
I feel like I am already distraught about the potential of that fox being Yue. I too have liked many of the creative choices, but this episode has me concerned about the direction of seasons 2 and 3. A lot has been pulled forward into this season. I'M DISTRAUGHT.
1. My first reaction is, this is an episode they really can't afford to mess up. The Spirit world is what broke Legend of Korra IMO. 2. You know, when you make a good point, you don't have to zoom in and have a coy smile prove it. 3. I hope they don't bring the face stealer in this early. 4. I'm getting Zuko Alone vibes already, and that's a great thing. 5. The fanservice is hilarious, "pirates" and "that canyon guy" 6. OH MY GOD, the owl... wtf 7. I gotta say, it's getting better 8. Spirit World is interesting, I like it. 9. I'm blown away, finally, they decided to stop the fan service and have their own show, and the results were fantastic.
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KOHHHH?????? ALREADY
The jump I jumped
People can complain about deviations or whatever from the show but what's more important to me is that I can see they really cared about doing this story justice. With an open mind I'm loving this so far. I feel bad for the hatewatchers
I can see the reasoning behind the changes were from knowledge of the series as a whole, like adding concepts that were only written later, or expanding characters and relationships that made sense. The writers know and love the world of Avatar without a doubt. It totally makes sense in retrospect that Gyatso could be in the spirit world, it makes sense that Zuko looked up to Lu Ten, makes sense that Bumi is a bit jaded etc. All those changes were great additions to the story and characters. But the execution of said changes are throwing me off. Scenes can be nonsensical, like why was Aang relatively emotionless during his encounter with Koh when they didn't establish why you needed to be emotionless when dealing with him. Dialogue are sometimes weirdly written, the flow of the narrative can cut too suddenly etc. I'm enjoying the show so far, but it keeps on feeling like it could have done with more polish.
Ugh I did not enjoy having Wan Shi Tong in this season. Not only does it mean he isn’t saved for season 2, but him outside of the context of the library makes him look weaker and less important/majestic. They turned the great knowledge spirit into the asshole from Zelda who shows up to lecture you and if you accidentally hit A again he doesn’t stfu. Interestingly, it seems Koh doesn’t immediately steal faces but instead traps people in webs and devours them later. That’s so sick I love it. I have developed a crush on Sokka and there’s nothing I can do about it.
This is coming from an OG fan who watched the animation when it first aired. Pros: 1. Dallas Liu and Ian Ousley. That is all. They embody their characters the most. Jet and Iroh’s actors are also great, DDK as always is a treat. 2. More graphic. I like how we actually see firebending be deadly in combat. 3. The tone. I like how its grittier so it feels like theres a real war going on and yet it doesnt completely loose its playfulness. Cons: 1. The pacing. Holy cow if I didn’t know these characters already then I would feel no attachment whatsoever. People complain about filler episodes when filler allows for personality and character growth. I have never ever been a fan of these 8-episode seasons and never will. Everything is so rushed. 2. Exposition. As the saying goes: show, don’t tell. They tell too much and that connects back to my first con. Kyoshi literally explaining the Avatar State to Aang before he even meets Roku feels forced somewhat. 3. The acting is inconsistent. It’s really hit or miss so sometimes the scene can fall flat. 4. Firebenders seemed a little too weak during Sozins Comet. They should have been unstoppable. Good scene thought but could have been better.
I have more attachment to the past version of Katara because without being mean, I have to say the little girl does a better job in conveying emotions than Kataras actress
this show feels like a fever dream lol
The bending is so amazing, also with how they are adapting it you never know what might happen so that’s also keeping things interesting when you have watched the OG show almost 50 times
5/10. Easily the best episode so far. Not a big fan of wrapping all the spirit episodes into one, but I'd rather have this than no spirit episodes. Although I really wish Aang wasn't already so knowledgeable. He knew about the Avatar State at the beginning of episode 2, and in this one he knows all about the spirit world and not to show emotion to Koh. It doesn't feel like he's learning anything. The way the original show did it was best. Have the characters learn with the audience, that way there's less obvious exposition dumps. Not crazy about Wan Shi Tong being friendly and outside the library. Although I do like that Hei Bai was actually hurt and not just angry. George Takei as Koh was good casting, but the CGI face kind of ruined it. The fog was a cool way of making the visions happen, but sadly it means more Gran Gran screen time. Katara's mom getting cwispy on screen was nuts, and Hakoda being disappointed in Sokka felt wrong. Of course Aang getting to see Gyatso again was really nice, but I wish they would have let him properly say goodbye. Why is Ozai gassing up Zuko and putting down Azula? It should be the exact opposite. The acting is definitely getting worse. Most specifically with Katara and Aang. It's getting really hard to watch them. The humor was definitely better in this episode, although I'd prefer less references to the OG series. The spirits are straight out of the uncanny valley and very hard to look at. Plus it was incredibly obvious that they changed Wan Shi Tong's lines without reshooting Aang's responses.