the Big NATLA Analysis; (s01e03 - OMASHU)
PREV EPS: EP1 | EP2
disclaimers: this is purely my opinion and nothing more. This was done for fun! You don't have to agree with anything that I've written here. I actually did not start this analysis intending for it to be heavy on the critiques, it's just the way I honestly feel.
Overall, I am not a fan of this episode, so I've structured this one differently and instead of going by scene, I've broken it down to four main issues that I have.
Before I get started on my critiques, there were lots of little things that i liked:
There are some moments in the beginning between the gaang that actually felt really good and really in-line with their characterisation!
There's also that moment between Aang and Katara as she's struggling to waterbend which was super cute and I very much enjoyed it.
Aesthetically, the places are very, very beautiful.
I like the subplot of Sokka beginning to realise there are value to skills outside of fighting.
The fight between Katara & and the Freedom Fighters and the Fire Nation soldiers/operatives; and the fight scene between Aang and Zuko were both very enjoyable to watch
in a previous episode analysis, I mentioned Zuko has little agency - in this episode, he actually gets to make a decision!
Now, onto the bulk of my post:
1) I wanted the deep end, but I ended up in the kiddie pool[over-arching lessons | remembering little details]
ATLA is a show that prides itself on its depth. There are whole blogs dedicated to symbolism, there are countless posts analysing and picking up certain pieces that continue to add to the story years later. There are countless lessons to be learned from every episode.
I think a big part of the live action's problem is that it lacks the depth. It looks stunning. Aesthetically it's beautiful, but it's all very surface-level. The overall plot feels fairly thin, and the characters lack complexity and nuance.
It doesn't feel like I'm learning any lessons here.
the original's Jet comments on many things - on orphaned children fighting against an enemy that outnumbers them so severely it might feel hopeless; on being blinded by anger and grief; on knowing where to draw the line; on who is a victim and who is a perpetrator of violence and how they can overlap in the most tragic of ways. It teaches us that we should be careful to direct our rage at the perpetrators, and not the people just caught up in it with no real power.
There's a reason Jet is so beloved in fandom spaces despite how he was intent on murdering civilians just because there were Fire Nation troops in the town - it's because it's so easy to empathise with him even when you don't agree with his actions. We still want to root for him because he's a victim in all of this, and he's just a kid, even if his actions were too extreme.
I think the original summarises this nicely when Jet is confronted about being willing to wipe out the town to kill the Fire Nation soldiers there:
JET: [angry] Sokka, you fool! We could have freed this valley! SOKKA: Who would be free? Everyone would be dead. JET: You traitor! SOKKA: [sympathetic] No, Jet. You became the traitor when you stopped protecting innocent people.
The lack of depth continues with the other storyline of Sai. in The Northern Air Temple, while not not a perfect episode, it still has an important thought for us to chew on. Aang is initially upset about the Earth Kingdom people living there destroying the temple with their new technology and carelessness. He eventually makes peace with it, as he realises that the Earth Kingdom people were displaced and found a new home. Like the hermit crab, both the place and its people protect each other.
(I think TNAT needed to acknowledge the destruction of the temple was absolutely well within Aang's prerogative to be upset about, and perhaps, by meeting with Aang, the EK people could forge a new level of respect for the home they now live in as well - but that's a whole other post).
It also teaches us another lesson - the road to hell is paved with good intentions. In the original, although they fight back and win against the Fire Nation troops, it's ultimately a victory for the Fire Nation. They already had superiority over the land and sea, and even though The Mechanist regretted his actions, he still handed the Fire Nation a massive advantage in the war. His desperate need to protect his family ultimately did far more harm.
Both The Mechanist and Jet pose a question to its older viewers: how far are you willing to go, and are you prepared to face the consequences?
The Live Action sucks that all away. There are traces of it: Jet wants to kill Sai and the King of Omashu to end the corruption in the city, and he doesn't particularly care if people get caught in the crossfire; Sai still sells out to the Fire Nation in an attempt to protect Teo - but all the other little pieces that build up to this moment and the true consequences of these actions are removed.
Jet's motivations are understandable, but his rage and pain that's so wonderfully curated by his interactions with the Gaang, his charisma, his charm, and his ability to rally literally anyone to his side in the original is just not as strong. A lot of Jet is lost. Jet's willingness to go to the extreme is simply not that extreme as it was in the original. Jet was killing soldiers he'd never met and if killing them meant killing dozens of innocents because they were in the wrong place, than that was a price he was willing to pay. This Jet wants to kill the King of Omashu who has let the city crumble and another man who's willing to sell them out for violent man's empty promise and he might kill a few innocent people who work in the palace/in the wrong place at the wrong time - but do you see how the gravitas of these actions feels different?
Sai's motivations are also understandable, but the full impact of it is lacking. I didn't feel the full consequence of it, not even when Sokka confronts him about it in the next episode. In the original, the victory is immediately soured as you realise that the Fire Nation now has another leg up in this war.
A kids show taught me so much and even more as an adult, but this is like someone has the basic concept, but not the nuance.
2) They have the outlines, but no coloured pencils [characterisation]
I see there are characters present here. None of them are the ones that I grew up with. I've been making sure to watch the original alongside the live action to make sure I'm not over-inflating anything, but uhh... babes, the characterisation is incredibly fucking boring.
I could talk about every character, but that would make this too long, so I'll use the two new characters - Azula and Jet - as examples.
1 - Azula I adore her, my favourite villain of all time (literally), my baby girl.... is..... a regular Bad Guy???
In the original, Azula's (official) introduction is this, which has woven itself so deep into my brain it's not even funny:
CAPTAIN: Princess, I'm afraid the tides will not allow us to bring the ship into port before nightfall. AZULA: I'm sorry, captain, but I do not know much about the tides. Could you explain something to me? CAPTAIN: Of course, Your Highness. AZULA: Do the tides command this ship? CAPTAIN: I'm afraid I don't understand. AZULA: You said the tides would not allow us to bring the ship in. [In a sharper tone] Do the tides command this ship? CAPTAIN: No, princess. AZULA: And if I were to have you thrown overboard, would the tides think twice about smashing you against the rocky shore? CAPTAIN: [Worried] No, princess. AZULA: Well then, maybe you should worry less about the tides who have already made up their mind about killing you, and worry more about me, who's still mulling it over. CAPTAIN: I'll pull us in.
She's cunning, incredibly smart and knows how to play the game of war and politics better than most (all?) grown adults. While it's great the live action actually let a character demonstrate their personality/abilities to us for once rather than have Azula tell us that she's very smart and is a good liar, it really does not at all hold any water to her introduction in the original with her "Do the tides command this ship?" speech.
But anyway, my point is that in the original, in 2x1, we immediately get a sense of the threat she poses, despite being Zuko's younger sister. She manipulates Zuko easily, convincing him that Ozai wants him back, while she actually intends to have both him and Iroh arrested. She's visibly furious when one of her soldiers slips up and calls Zuko and Iroh prisoners, ending the facade.
When Zuko calls her out about lying to him, she retorts with:
AZULA: like I haven't done that before.
And then immediately follows it up with:
AZULA: You know, Father blames Uncle for the loss of the North Pole. And he considers you a miserable failure for not finding the Avatar! Why would he want you back home, except to lock you up where you can no longer embarrass him?
This is cruel. By season 2 we know how badly Zuko wants to return, and Azula is not afraid to rub it in Zuko's face.
We know we should be scared of her. We are shown she's a great liar, a great manipulator, a great fighter, and has a cruel streak. We are not supposed to empathise with her right now because this is her introduction.
I feel like the live action almost gets it. We see her play the rebels for fools, and then delight as they're murdered by Ozai - but her next scene with Mai and Ty Lee is, just, well. dull. Let's have a look:
AZULA: [shoots an arrow, hitting her mark perfectly; she speaks, mocking Ozai] “He’s done the impossible.” [irritated] He’s done nothing. He spent three years on an ocean cruise while I’ve been here doing everything Father has asked. [she shoots another arrow along with the Yuyan Archers. She hits her mark, splitting her arrow in two] Who’s the one risking her life to root out traitors? TY LEE: [excited] Oh, that’s right! Tell us about your mission. Were you nervous? Was your life really in danger? AZULA: [blasé] Not really. People in the resistance aren’t the brightest of flames. Then again, what can you expect from peasants? MAI: At least you got out into the city. Zuko may be banished, but he’s out there exploring the world. If I were him, I wouldn’t wanna come back. AZULA: Yeah, well, all dear old Zuzu wants is to make it back here and take away everything I’ve worked for. MAI: Technically, he is first in line to be Fire Lord. [Azula glares at her sharply] MAI: Not that he deserves to be. AZULA: He doesn’t, but now he has hope. And that’s dangerous. MAI: So what can you do about it? You’re here. He’s out there. AZULA: There are always ways to get in the game if you know which pieces to play.
There are two issues I have with this: a) it seems a very odd choice to portray her like this in a character establishing scene as irritated, mopey and jealous and b) she openly mocked Ozai in what is probably the most OOC thing I've seen so far.
Let's expand -
a) She spends most of this establishing character scene moping and is clearly angry/upset that Zuko now has a possibility of returning at taking her place as next in line to the throne. It just feels so, so off. Azula's anger is sharp and directed, not irritated and mopey, but she has no reason to really be here so early in the show, so she has to feel anxious and jealous because that is her motivation to be here at all.
There's a reason she spends the whole of season two as an unstoppable, terrifying force. She hunts the Gaang to the point of sleep deprivation and delirium. She is never a hair out of place. She must be perfect at all times. Failure is never an option. She goes out of her way to assert her dominance over (or just manipulate) Zuko whenever she can - so to see her in an establishing scene angry and thrown off-balance over the possibility of Zuko taking the throne from her - especially when that was never really a concern at any point in the original - the whole thing is just weird and off to me. Her motivations just feel flimsy at best.
b) From memory, the only person Azula is 'submissive' in front of is Ozai, and she only ever snaps back at him in Book Three when she accuses him of treating her like Zuko. Like, I don't think she ever really snaps back at him in the original - because she knows that that looks like (hint: it looks like Zuko).
She will bully and humiliate anyone else on planet earth, but she is terrified of her father - and that says a lot. A kid’s show was able to communicate to us that Ozai's love was conditional. Azula was valuable to him because she was strong. Zuko was not because he was weak. No one ever says this directly, but we see it in how the series plays out.
In the live action, in the scene between her and Mai & Ty Lee, the first words out of her mouth are:
AZULA: [mocking Ozai talking about Zuko] “He’s done the impossible.”
my brother in christ... she would not fucking say that.
This show obviously wants to give Azula more depth and build her as a more sympathetic character, which I am genuinely interested in exploring - but you don't just do that right out the gate!! We don't even know who she is yet, and they're already trying to do too much.
Why is this show in such a damn rush????
2) Jet
Okay - Jet is a wonderful character. I love him. He is a child. He is a soldier. He is a victim. He is a parent. He is a leader. He's a manipulator. He is kind. He is incredibly and unforgivingly violent against people who deserve it as well as people who don't.
I just re-watched the original and I fell in love with him again. The original show LOVES a complex character - and Jet fits the bill. He's fighting against the fascist empire that's destroyed his life and murdered his family; and yet he's willing to murder countless innocent people despite them having no part in the war, just because there are Fire Nation troops in their town. Jet's trauma, anger, and grief push him forward, but he slips over the line.
OG Jet sees Katara and Aang and sees a tool. They're waterbenders. They can fill the reservoir, and then they can blow the dam - and that town will be gone. He can see how they can change the fight against the Fire Nation with their strength. He knows just what to say to convince them both that filling the reservoir is just to fight the fires when the Fire Nation burns down the forest, rather than his true motivations. He attacks an old man, and when he's confronted about it, he lies with ease. Katara and Aang believe him over Sokka, despite barely knowing him.
Jet can play the game and he can play it well.
Yet, despite all of this, he's still someone we can sympathise with, even if we don't agree with his extreme actions, we as the audience are still left with a soft spot for him because it's easy to understand how he got to this point.
The Live Action Jet has hints of that. He flirts easily with Katara and slides her into his circle easily. She believes in him and his cause almost immediately, even when he talks casually about disposing of the soldiers/operatives they fought. But it just does not measure up at all to the original Jet. He doesn't have the bravado, the charisma, the charm.
Jet could convince an ant to join his cause, but I really didn't see that in the live action.
3) Found family? babe they don't even like each other | Arch enemies? More like mildly irritating co-workers [character dynamics]
Another day (episode), another soulless interaction between the main characters.
1) Aang, Katara and Sokka
We're three hours into an eight hour show, and the Gaang spends most of this episode apart, when they really, really needed to be together. Katara, Sokka and Aang are the foundations of the story. They are meant to be like family. but, it just simply does not feel like that. There's some friendly banter when Katara teases Sokka about his crush on Suki, and then we never experience fun ever again. It just doesn't feel like these characters have a real connection.
I think the best example is how Jet works as an episode. They start the episode at (friendly) odds, balancing the idea of using Appa or walking, and relying on Sokka's instincts. Sokka wants to be the leader, but the dynamic just doesn't work for that (at least not all the time) - and that's something they have to figure out.
Jet inflames these issues, fuelling Sokka's insecurities about being a leader and a warrior, and confirming Katara's opinions, putting a wedge between them.
In the end, Katara and Aang manage to stop Jet from reaching the dam, and while they can't stop him from signalling to Longshot to blow the dam, Sokka is able to evacuate the village. It's a team effort. By the end of the episode, they are unified once again, and a balance is restored between the dynamic of the group.
The Live action is trying to do too many things at once and so Sokka is off with Sai, Katara is with Jet and Aang is with Teo.
From 5:50 to 8:24 there's some great gaang moments that actually feel the most in character so far. Aang is bubbly and goofy, Sokka is overly serious, and Katara is teasing him like they're actual siblings. Then as they enter Omashu, there's some good moments as Aang is giddy with excitement, but that's it until 37:10 that they're all in the same room again only to argue briefly before they seperate AGAIN so Aang can fight Zuko. If it was just this episode, fine, but because Aang is arrested at the end of this one, they are separated for the next episode too.
The love and connection between the three of them is just not there. They just don't feel that close to me.
2) Katara & Sokka
They have chosen this very odd subversion of the original that I, personally, cannot stand. It's best explained by Sokka and Katara's fight about who's the traitor between Sai and Jet. This is the end of the argument:
SOKKA: This is just like you, Katara! Willing to believe anything as long as it helps you! KATARA: This is just like you! Never believing anything I say! ’m sick of you treating me like I’m a little girl! SOKKA: Then grow up! [stunned silence] [Katara goes to leave] SOKKA: Where are you going? KATARA: To prove you’re a jerk! SOKKA: Oh yeah? Well, I don’t need proof for that!
In the live action, Katara is the "little sister", not just literally, but in practice. Sokka is unequivocally the leader and the one who makes all the decisions. In these three episodes, Katara very rarely actually puts her foot down with any of Sokka's decisions and if she does, she's almost always shot down. She is not the ambitious, stubborn, driven girl from the original series. She is quiet, and shy and sometimes even timid. The original Katara is many things, but I would not describe her base personality as any of those things.
This show gives Sokka so much time and space, while sucking the life out of Katara and their relationship pays for it.
The parentification of Katara is not only an important aspect of her character, but it also informs how Katara and Sokka's relationship, and for some reason the creators just decided to remove this in favour of Sokka being the "big brother" (obviously literally, but also) in their relationship, where Katara feels like Sokka is belittling her and treating her like a little girl and Sokka feels justified enough in this that he tells her to grow up??????????????? I just don't understand this subversion at all.
3) Zuko & Zhao
Last one, I promise, and I will be brief for this one because I really got it all out in the previous analysis here (it's point number 4). I went into quite a bit of depth about it there - but;
TLDR: it's boring.
Like, imagine making Zuko and Zhao's dynamic boring??? Zhao hates Zuko so much that he tried to have him assassinated. Zuko hates Zhao so much he challenged him to an Agni Kai, and committed treason to make sure he wasn't the one to bring in the Avatar. Zuko has tried to straight up attack Zhao because he was so pissed at him and had to be held back by soldiers.
In the live action, this conversation happens:
ZUKO: I don’t like [Zhao]. IROH: [chuckles] He does have a disagreeable quality. JEE: I spoke to some of his crew. Word is Zhao failed his officer training program three times. ZUKO: [angry] Did I ask for your opinion? JEE: My apologies. [he leaves the room] IROH: He was only trying to help. ZUKO: He was gossiping about a superior officer. IROH: An officer you don’t like. ZUKO: That’s beside the point. There is an order to the way we do things here. Rules. We are Fire Nation, even out here. Especially out here.
BOY WHAT IS THISSS
OG Zuko is trying to physically assault Zhao at ALL TIMES. LA Zuko gets pissy when someone talks badly about Zhao because.... idk. rules I guess.
It's comical.
4) She doesn't even go here [unnecessary character cameos]
Sometimes, making people wait is a good thing, believe it or not.
a) All Mai and Ty Lee are here to do is give Exposition. That's it. b) Azula's motivation is... jealousy?
Ty Lee is there so Azula can talk about how she feels about the mission, and Mai is there so she can get Azula to talk about how she feels about Zuko/what she's going to do next.
I am hopeful for ongoing seasons because I really, really want Mai and Ty Lee (although, personally, mostly Mai as she comes off the worst in the original imo) to be fleshed out more as characters. But, I am happy to wait to get there and have their introductions be a little more meaningful than this.
A character's introduction - even side characters intros - are important to get right. We need to get a sense of who they are as people so we can connect with them on a deeper level than "happy one and gloomy one".
The live action doesn't tell us who they actually are, why they're standing around an archery range gawking, what their relationship to Azula is like, etc.
To illustrate my point, compare Ty Lee and Mai's introductions in the original and the live action:
The live action tells us that: Mai - is gloomy, has romanticised Zuko's banishment, and is blunt to the point of getting herself in trouble. Ty Lee - is carefree and bubbly. Azula - is jealous/off-kilter from the praise Zuko has received from Ozai and wants to devise a plan to get involved to get the upper hand with her father again (she writes a letter to Zhao to stay on top of the situation).
The original tells us that Mai and Ty Lee are people who exist outside Zuko and Azula and do, in fact, have thoughts and feelings that are unrelated to them at times, and that they both have a long history with Azula.
Individually, we learn: Mai - is gloomy, but more than that, she's incredibly lackadaisical about the war and the Fire Nation's role in it. There are no real stakes for her. She'll do what Azula wants if it gets her away from places she perceives as boring. We've seen the utter pain and devastation this war has caused - and she doesn't care to learn about it. Ty Lee - is happy and carefree, but she's not foolish, and knows when to give in to Azula's will. Ty Lee is an acrobat, and at some point, ran away to the circus despite having noble parents; even Mai was surprised to see her again. Azula - has been given a mission, a goal by none other than the Fire Lord, and she intends to fulfil it, and she'll bulldoze her way through her friends dreams and boundaries to get it. Ty Lee wants to stay at the circus, but Azula wants her on her team, and Azula doesn't compromise. She is friends with these people, but it's obviously conditionally based on Azula and what she wants.
So, my point for this section is - appearances for the sake of appearances are a waste of time. So many other events in the first season are removed, but we do apparently have time for this.
Mai and Ty Lee have no purpose here yet. Azula is interfering not because she's on orders from the Fire Lord, but because she's worried Zuko is going to take the throne from her (???), Both of these things make it feel like the adaption is grasping at straws to get all three involved. I would have rather waited until the second season and then get the full impact of Azula's presence and how that changes everything for both the Gaang and Zuko and Iroh. They are making her boring!!! Where is the plot-shaking villain that makes every character terrified???
If you got this far, congratulations <3
