When I was seven years old, I had very regular seven-year-old problems. My mom didn’t let me sleep in or stay up. I had to do double-digit multiplication during math class. I was forced to eat vegetables.

Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked.

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” is my favorite show of all time. The first time I watched it was with my cousin. Then I watched it again. And again. And again. Over the years, I’ve seen the show so many times that I can’t keep count, and never once have I gotten bored of it- it’s simply that good. 

“Avatar: The Last Airbender” (ATLA) is set in a fantasy world composed of four elementally based nations: earth, fire, air and water. Part of the population of each region consists of people known as benders, who have the ability to control the element associated with their nation. The strongest bender of all is the Avatar, who can control all four elements. When an avatar dies, they reincarnate as a new person. They exist in order to maintain peace and stability in the world.

 The show follows Avatar Aang, who, after being trapped in a glacier for 100 years, has just broken out. His return brings hope that the century-long war between the Fire Nation and the rest of its world will come to its end, and  balance will be restored.  Through his journey, he is accompanied by Katara and Sokka, who broke him out of the ice. But as he works to bring hope back to the world, he is chased relentlessly by Prince Zuko, the heir to the Fire Nation throne, who has been exiled and needs to capture the avatar in order to restore his honor.

Fans of the show will know that, in 2010, a live action movie, which intended to cover the first season of the show, failed miserably. The movie scored a 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is pretty much despised by everyone who’s seen it. This year, Netflix released the newest variation in the form of a live action television series. This one, I’m happy to report, was an exponentially better adaptation of the original show. 

There’s so many positive things to say about the show, but the best part of it has to be the visuals. The settings are absolutely stunning; The Southern Air Temple, Wolf Cove, and Omashu, all major settings in the original animation, are brought to life beautifully. Not only that, but the bending is also spectacularly done. In most modern fantasy TV series, such as “Game of Thrones” or “Shadow and Bone”, the color palette is muted, filled mostly with browns, grays, and the darkest possible version of colors. The live action ATLA forgoes this entirely and retains the colors of the original series: bright and vibrant, which makes the show all the more visually appealing. 

There were a host of changes from the original show; but surprisingly enough, I can’t say that I’m upset about the majority of them. The show takes a much more serious tone in comparison to the animation; the humor that was a trademark of the original is significantly less prevalent. While I do miss Aang’s goofy demeanor and Sokka’s exceptional comedic timing, the intense mood was a good choice for the new show, as we are exposed to much more detail regarding the war, without the tone of the story being disrupted by a bad clash of slapstick comedy and intense warfare. The harsh circumstances undergone during Aang’s absence are revealed to the audience in a much more graphic way. We see the genocide of the airbenders up close in personal in a cinematically well done fight scene, and we see the Fire Nation’s cruel and backhanded tactics right off the bat; the show opens with Fire Lord Sozin preparing his initial attack to set off the war, a moment we did not see in the original. In giving up the original slapstick humor, we receive a much more mature show, with room to navigate more difficult topics in regards to war.

The live action also makes sure to give viewers information much faster than it is revealed in the animation. This is partly due to the length difference between the original and the live action, but there also some integral story organization changes, which help the narrative  be more attuned to Aang’s character and experience. Condensing 20 episodes into eight is no easy feat, but the new show managed to do it exceedingly well, without missing any crucial parts of the story. 

The casting for the live action was absolutely phenomenal; though it was met with a lot of discourse online when first announced (personally, I never saw the issue), each of the leads played their parts extremely well. Most notable was Dallas Liu as Zuko- it was as though the casting directors had reached into the animation, dragged out Zuko, and dropped him in front of the camera. He captured Zuko’s range of emotions and mannerisms impeccably. Liu, along with Sebastian Amoruso as supporting character Jet, were, in my opinion, the two best casted individuals. 

While the live action does most of the original justice, I have one massive grievance with this adaptation- Katara’s character as a whole. Kiawentio Tarbell, who plays Katara, was not the issue, but rather, the script was. In the original, Katara is an outspoken, brazen and independent character who is never afraid to stand up for what she believes. She deals with the massive grief of losing her mother in a vocal and somewhat unhealthy way, but over time, she learns to cope and grow from her personal tragedy. The depth that makes Katara such a compelling character is taken away. Understanding is substituted for her grief, and meekness replaces her rage. My hope is that, in the next two  seasons, the writers will better develop her character, and portray  the traits that made her so interesting.

All of that to say, for the most part, this was an incredible adaptation. As a long time fan of the show, I could not have asked for anything better. Nearly every aspect of the original is brought to life with this new series, and yet, it still manages to stand apart as its own show. There are plenty of original storylines and concepts introduced that were completely original, and every one of them works for this new interpretation of ATLA. Now, I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the second and third season, to see what other great things they can do with the rest of the story.