You know the the Void Within plot may be mixed so far but if nothing else it really has given us a wealth of memes considering it's only been going on for like two months:
Glitched dialogue that mistakenly showed Tavi's sprite with the phrase "[moment of contemplative silence]", which is sometimes paired by people with this image from the Neopedia
Darigan and King Roo dating, which is part meme and part unironic shipping
This one image of King Altador
This other image of King Altador, which actually got memed so hard that they want back and fixed it
56 notes
·
View notes
General thoughts after watching Season 1 of Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender (spoilers may be present)
It's not bad. It's weird, but it's not bad.
No one asked for this.
No one asked, but we got it anyway. So what did we get?
It's not a 1:1 remake. I don't think, despite everything people have worried and griped about before the show's release, anyone wanted that either. It doesn't retain the same character arcs for everyone. Not just Sokka, but everyone.
At the same time, they still have arcs.
They're weird, they feel weird, because this show does what the Shyamalan movie doesn't, and makes an honest effort to capture the essence of the animated show, of the characters, of the world, and there is respect in its efforts.
There are musical motifs from the original. The set designs are out of the original. Many scenes are shot exactly like the original as homages.
And yet, storylines are merged together, elements from later seasons are introduced earlier, character interactions happen differently, character motivations are presented differently, and that feels weird.
We know the motions but when we the audience try to follow them, the show changes its direction and pulls a weird flex out of left field.
I won't say I agree with every major and minor change made, but I'm not enraged or disappointed in the same way as I was (and many of us were) after seeing the movie.
Instead, I'm more inclined to see where these new threads intend to go, and how the story we all know and love can be told in a different way.
Roku had barely a presence in this season, whereas in the original, he was more or less Aang's spiritual teacher. Instead, we've felt more from Kyoshi and Kuruk and Yangchen, and Aang has felt lost in his spiritual journey as well as his physical one.
Ozai, who was just a shadowy one-dimensional nightmare for most of the original first book, is now a more fleshed out figure, but one of confusing motivations. It's not the tonal whiplash of the movie, of the Ozai who legitimately worried and cared about Zuko's well being while also having still scarred and banished him, but one who is playing a 4-D chess game with his kids as the pieces and doesn't care who wins so long as one does.
I don't think it was the right call to have Zuko fight back in the Agni Kai before getting burned, but it gives a different dynamic to Zuko and Ozai's relationship that he's not the towering, shadowy Mark Hamill terror Zuko cowers before.
This Zuko seems legitimately convinced Ozai cares about him and all it takes is the Avatar to win his full love back, whereas there's still bitterness in the OG Zuko of book one. He knows Ozai favors Azula over him, he knows he's had to struggle well before being banished.
I also think not casting Dee Bradley Baker was a mistake. But they have time to correct that mistake.
All the kid actors, being green, of course do not stand up to expressive and gorgeous animation with brilliant voice acting. But they are all giving it their best, and I think they have what it takes to grow into the Book 3 Team Avatar if they get the chance.
The music got to me a number of times, particularly the instrumental renditions of "Leaves From the Vine."
Do we need this show? No absolutely not.
We have the original ATLA, and we always will. It's a timeless classic of our generation. Nothing could ever compete with it or ruin it.
However, I do feel like this adaptation is worth giving a chance to stand on its own. It may be far from perfect, but after watching it through, I legitimately want to see where it goes from here. I want to see this cast grow and change in their own ways. I want to see Toph in live action. I want to see Ba Sing Se. I want to see the new directions this story chooses to take to end up in the same place at Sozin's Comet.
But that might not happen if Netflix decides to cancel it, and I think that would be a shame.
I really do think it's worth seeing this show through, for better or worse.
Overall, as a show, I would give it a modest 7/10. (With individual elements skewing higher or lower throughout)
I don't like that it's only 8 episodes, but that's been a trend of other streaming shows also, across platforms, so I cannot fault NATLA alone for that.
You don't NEED to have seen the original to understand what's happening or get key details (unlike SOME adaptations have been doing recently). You can get a complete picture with just this. Is it as pretty or vibrant as the original? No. But it is still a whole picture (or, could be, with all three seasons).
It has great effects, sets, props, choreography, good music. It has SUKI. And JET. and JUNE. And THE Cabbage Man!
AND OMA/SHU ARE LESBIANS! I mean, I see that as an absolute win.
43 notes
·
View notes
I feel like this should go without saying but just Incase anyone has forgotten.
If you ever look at a union strike or a situation where employees are asking for better working conditions/benefits and think "well I have it worse than them why do they deserve better than what I am getting" those workers are not your enemy.
Use that moment and ask yourself what do YOU and your coworkers need, what do your fellow Blue, white, pink, orange, red, scarlet and everyone else need that we KNOW we can fix or work together to repair and better prepare the future generations of workers and protect our fellow people to ensure they have all their needs met and are thriving.
Corporations and Industries want to have the working class fight and tear each other down instead of providing support and solidarity. In a time where $15 isn't a good minimum wage and only THREE states even have a $15+ minimum wage, where we are seeing a new push for child labor laws to become more lax and cheap prison labor kept in place, to ensure protection for yourself and those you care about means providing support to all workers.
150 notes
·
View notes