ok, so. i've finally watched season 2 of avatar the last airbender (live action). and i have a lot to say.
I realize now that I'd been way too generous when season 1 came out. There have definitely been improvements: the overall editing, sets (Ba Sing Se and the library felt as real places) and the bending fights are cool to look at.
Toph was my favourite this season, she was just as I pictured her and a great addition to the group's dynamics. Azula had all my attention every time she was on the screen, sometimes she felt even more complex than her animation counterpart. I think they made her a bit too strong, the scene where she strikes all those people at the table was kind of unsettling, but i liked how she showed a bit of vulnerability in wanting to give zuko a way out in the end.
The best change from the og was probably Long Feng and how they dealt with the whole espionage plot, how they were all tricked in the end, definitely less obvious. However, there were just so many things that frustrated me, most of which could be solved if we just had a 10 ep season and we weren't always in such a rush of solving every problem, before another one came into the picture. The pacing was more than a bit off and I can't tell you how much I cringed at certain dialogue choices because of how unnatural they felt. I can try no to fixate on some details, ignore bad writing and acting, but I can't forgive what they did to my beloved characters. Zuko stealing from a pregnant woman just to defend a child right after? This fast recovery/redemption that we are just grasping our head around when he changes idea again in the end?? Aang completely closing off and trusting a stranger more than his friends or him and Katara barely sharing a scene together? Katara without her motherly caring persona or superiority complex just feels completely flat and void of personality. Ugh, I probably have more to say, but I'll stop here.
Maybe I'll come around and when I'll rewatch it, it'll flow better. Unfortunately it's kind of getting to me how the norm has become waiting years for less than ten episodes a season, strange choices and how much i have to squint my eyes to understand what's going on.
also, about aang and katara. i have personally always loved their relationship, i am a sucker for friends to lovers like that. in this season, unfortunately, we just see some moments where aang and katara are thinking about being romantically involved, and the fallout after some secrets come out. however, we don't see much of their friendship, which was crucial in the og and that makes me wonder how they'll build up to certain moments next season...
i've just rewatched the desert plotline up until the serpent's pass. aang gets angry the same at toph for what happened to appa, but we also see how katara pulls him back.
firstly, katara isn't reduced to a perfect hero that does good to poor people ignored by the upper ring in ba sing se. we see her being immature towards toph, making mistakes, but also being the caretaker, the one always full of hope, that guides everyone in the desert when the others are too tired. she gets aang out of the avatar state when they discover who took appa, she's the one making sure he's okay, and after the serpent's pass, aang finds again that same hope, reflected in the couple they took along with them. he thanks her and the two share a touching moment. we see the connection. the live action lacks that soul.
