Avatar: The Last Airbender, on Netflix
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Caution: spoilers.

This is a 2024 live-action remake of the 2005-08 animated series of the same name, which is my favorite show ever. This show isn't nearly as good, but at least it's slightly better than the 2010 live-action movie The Last Airbender (which I didn't hate like some Avatar fans did). I don't think the writing or acting in this show are as good as in the animated series, but at least they did a fair job of casting Asian and indigenous actors, unlike the movie. And the actors do the best they can with what's been written. I do think the show suffers for the lack of involvement of the animated series' creators. And of course, it would be impossible to cram all the events of a 20-episode animated season into an 8-episode live-action season (even if the episodes in this show are about twice as long as the animated episodes). But the show does manage to incorporate a surprising amount of plot points from the original series, albeit often mashed together in new and unexpected ways. A lot is still left out, and there are some different plot points, and the groundwork is laid for future seasons earlier here than it was in the animated series. In any event, I find this series entertaining enough. I have to wonder what I would think of it if I weren't already a fan of the animated series, though. Would I like it more if I didn't have anything to compare it (unfavorably) to? Or would I like it less, because I'd have less understanding of what the hell was even going on? And there are plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the animated series, so that's fun. I dunno... it's all just... fine, I guess. Not really good, for the most part (though there are some bits that are rather good, and even provide greater explanations than the original series did). But it's not really bad, either.

Season One
Okay, so this is set in a fantastic world divided into four cultures: the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the Air Nomads. Some people in each culture are able to manipulate, or "bend" their native element. Only one person in the world is able to bend all four elements: the Avatar, who is meant to keep balance between the four nations, as well as between the mortal world and the spirit world. At the start of this series, the Fire Nation begins a war against the other nations, starting by wiping out the Air Nomads. This is because the new Avatar is a 12-year-old Airbender named Aang (who still needs to learn the other three elements). However, Aang runs away (or flies away, on his CGI sky bison, Appa). They end up frozen in an iceberg for 100 years. They are eventually found by two teenagers from the Southern Water Tribe: a waterbender named Katara, and her older brother Sokka, who has been leading the tribe since their father left to fight in the war. Their mother had been killed by the Fire Nation some time earlier. Now, Aang, Sokka, and Katara set out to fly to the Northern Water Tribe, hoping to find a waterbending master to teach both Aang and Katara.

Throughout the course of their journey, they meet both new friends and enemies. The main antagonist is Prince Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). Ozai had banished Zuko for reasons that will be revealed later in the season. The only way Zuko will be allowed to return home is if he captures the Avatar. At the start of the series, he's been looking for the Avatar for three years, traveling on a ship with his uncle, General Iroh, and a crew including Lt. Jee (whose role here I'd say is more important than it was in the animated series). A secondary antagonist is a Fire Nation soldier named Commander Zhao (Ken Leung), who has an ally inside the Fire Nation capital: Princess Azula, Zuko's younger sister (who wasn't properly introduced in the animated series until the second season). In the original series, she never had contact with Zhao, but here she helps him out in various ways, including getting her father to promote him to admiral. We also see a bit of her friends Mai and Ty Lee, who presumably will become more important next season.

Meanwhile, Aang and his friends meet a group of warriors on Kyoshi Island, including a teenager named Suki, who teaches Sokka a bit about fighting. Later, they travel to the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu, which is ruled by King Bumi, an old man who had been friends with Aang 100 years ago. Katara also befriends Jet, the leader of a small gang of rebels against the Fire Nation, though he turns out to be problematic in his own ways. They also meet a mechanist named Sai (Danny Pudi), who is secretly working for the Fire Nation, designing weapons and airships for them, in order to keep himself and his son, Teo, safe. He encourages Sokka's talents as a possible engineer. I should also say that Aang occasionally visits the spirit world, where he can talk with past Avatars such as Kyoshi, Roku, and Kuruk, as well as his former mentor, an Airbender named Gyatso, who had been killed in the Fire Nation's initial attack, 100 years ago. In the penultimate episode of the season, Aang and his friends reach the Norther Water Tribe, where Sokka befriends Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder). And in the season finale, everyone must work together to thwart a Fire Nation invasion led by Zhao, while Zuko tries to capture Aang. In the end, Yue sacrifices her life to stop one of Zhao's plans. Meanwhile, Azula leads Fire Nation forces to conquer Omashu.

Well, I've left out many details and characters, and I haven't even mentioned Momo, a CGI winged lemur who travels with Aang and the others. Because I keep forgetting he's even in this show. He seems far less important here than in the animated series. But anyway, I think I've mentioned all the most important plot points, for now. Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and Zuko all grow somewhat as characters, throughout the season, though never as much as in the original series. I guess the bending special effects are decent. And um... well, the show isn't as funny as the original was, despite its best efforts. And the dramatic aspects don't hit quite as hard as in the original series, but they're still okay. The characters don't quite have the same chemistry as in the original series, but they're okay. Like I said before, it's really impossible for me to know how I'd feel about the show if I hadn't already seen the original series. There's so much that I think makes a bit more sense to me about this show because I understand what it's going for based on my understanding of the animated series. But I do appreciate some of the changes and new information. It's still an interesting fantasy world and story. And I look forward to seeing how the next two seasons unfold.