I really didn’t like it. I’ll give them a few other chances, but if it stays like this: meh. I don’t need a shot-for-shot retelling of the og series, but the changes need to make sense and the show needs to stand on its’ own. The first episode doesn’t so far.

The tone is all over the place. They apparently want to be gritty and violent but then by the end have this goofy, cartoonish style by the end (e.g. reaction shot of Zuko when they get away). I really dislike this, since it rips me out of the story.

If they want to be dark and gritty: fine. But then they have to be ready to be compared to political fantasy, like Game of Thrones, or Star Wars. And the cinematography, writing and direction is simply too barebones for that. It seems like they want to really drive home the cruelty of the Fire Nation, but the gratuitous violence with the sub-par violence is just numbing. Especially since they failed to make the Air Nomads compelling. It would have hit way harder if they didn’t show the violence and took more time to show the air nomads as they were to have a genuine gut punch when it was all gone.

You barely saw the og air nomads in the original show, so they really had the potential to shine here. But everything is so incrediply boiler plate here, especially Gyatso. They turned this genuine connection, where you believed their friendship into this paint-by-the-numbers trope of “never forget, who you are”. Bitch, we don’t know this character! And he’s not in danger of becoming something he isn’t when he’s refusing the call! By the time this pit becomes important in the end, the connection with Kitara is way more believable. I don’t know why they changed that.

The connection between Aang and Gyatso and Aang’s character is propably so stale, because both just aren’t as goofy. I get that you want to increase the stakes. But Aang was an interesting, layered character and now is just… bland. He says that he would trade with anyone, but I don’t get that from the character. That’s probably, why he has to talk so much, where other characters are allowed to act. With the goofyness gone, Aang also isn’t that wise anymore. And with him being so whiny and self-centered, I don’t buy the tragedy that he has to endure when he learns of the air nomads. Just sloppy writing all around.

Which is weird, because the rest of the cast is top-notch! Kitara, Sokka, Zuko and Iroh are great and they are allowed to act, where Aang isn’t for some reason. The fight between Zuko and Sokka was way more impactful than anything we’ve seen before. Sokka has an arc, Zuko is spot on, Iroh seems competent and diplomatic. And you believe Kitara’s emotional support role and optimism. The south pole was a nice peace of TV.

Except for Grangran’s stilted performance, put what the heck.

Also, the fireball scenes in the end where weirdly shot. Overall: the bending effects are good (except of Aang’s hovering), but so weirdly shot in action scenes so you don’t see anything.