I like what they did with Koh in this live-action. They made him actually dangerous. Yeah, he was already dangerous in the OG series, but making him a predatory spirit that hunts human souls trapped in the fog instead of luring them to him is actually a good change. I think they decided to change the way he steals faces, since it would be hard for a live-action character to not have an expressive face. Maybe now he steals the faces by acting like an actual predator and he gets the face of the soul he hunts and then feeds on. That change actually makes him even scarier than before.
Me too, it really gives some needed context into how his crew came together. It's something right in character for Ozai to do, and a better payoff than asking for a favor from Azula.
One thing I have noticed in this season so far is Katara's arc seems to be about becoming self reliant. From her needing someone to show her basics of bending to her being able to tell Jett that she is the reason for her strength, to her developing moves from watching Earthbenders.
It was a good idea to combine the various spirit elements (pun intended) in this one. It looks like they're not only drawing from the original series, but a lot of the secondary material, including "Escape from the Spirit World" a canonical online game. Regarding Wan Shi Tong, we can still see him at his library since the spirits seem to move around a lot in the spirit world. Remember, we see Hei Bai in The Siege of the North Part 2. He helps Ang find his way out of the spirit world.
I love the detail that Katara picked up the ice disc idea from watching earthbenders. It lends some weight to the idea that she's a self-taught master by the end of Book 1. I don't have issues with them introducing Koh this way (to streamline the finale), or teasing Wan Shi Tong (who I'm convinced will be back because we never learned his name). My main issue with this episode is them introducing the whole 'the forest is burned, the land is sick' idea - which we kinda assume is due to Hei Bai - but then not really resolving it fully here or in Ep.6. Aang resolves the situation with Koh and returns the villagers, but at that point Koh has taken all the focus and we forget why they were in the spirit world in the first place - communing with the spirit of the forest. Unless we're supposed to take Koh as the reason everything there is screwed up, in which case the show does a poor job of explaining that.
1:50 Learning from Earthbenders is also something we see Katara do in the original series when she battles against Hama in S3 by standing her ground rather than redirecting Hama’s attack which leaves Hama with a super shocked expression because she’d probably never seen a waterbender use a technique like that
Well, kinda... but she did learn from a specific earthbender: she was training for months with Toph, and more importantly, she does an earthbending stance when she blocks Hama's attack of deflecting it. Here we see her do basically the same thing as in The Water Bending Master except for the last one shattering the ice and sending it the shards flying. Overall this show is saying that its bending works different: the effect is less tied to the move and more to the energy of the bender... nevertheless the dialog is still stupid as is says, that Aang has never seen her try it before and therefore she can now make up new bending forms on the go
@@michaelklaus I didn’t ask, but it’s not saying it works differently because we know the entire cast literally trained to learn what each bending form is based off of and the choreographers based it off the same things.
Even though it's hard, I think the best we can do is try to set aside the way things were done in the original, and look at the things this adaptation is doing as something different, separate. Like the showrunner said, this is a remix, not a 1:1 adaptation. And this is great, in my opinion, because it allows us to see the story we love in a new perspective, how the plot lines connect in different ways.
I'm willing to guess that Wan Shi Tong's cameo was essentially in preparation for a potential season 2 (only phrasing it this way because it hasn't been confirmed yet). Making a cgi model for him so that execs wouldn't have an excuse to cut him from the library in book 2.
Never thought about the colours of the fire like that, going from orange, to blue, to white hot, aka the lightning, which is technically blue, but still.
This episode I liked (not only because of Zuko) but also being able to see Katara and Sokka’s traumatic memories, so we get a glimpse into their head of what they’ve been dealing with. And Koh is played by George Takei, so that’s just awesome. It was also fun because of all the crazy things happening in the spirit world, made it really feel supernatural and dangerous/crazy. Plus Azula’s backstory I’m loving, I want to see part of the reason for the transformation to blue fire. That’s always been intriguing.
I think they will still do the library as its where they get their info for the comet and eclipse. I dont see how else they could get that info so Im taking Wan Shi Tongs appearance here as a wink to the fans but also just to set up he exists as a potential ally thus making their next meeting a little more impactful. But I guess we will see. I loved them mixing Koh and the fog of lost souls together. I think it makes a lot of sense. Loved seeing Gyatso as well basically doing for Aang what Iroh did for Korra. Brilliant use of the lore in my opinion. Cant wait for the next one. Its probably my favorite of the season.
From a production standpoint, I can't imagine they'd build such a great model for Wan Shi Tong unless they intended to use it again. I think it may have been like an "in case we don't get a season 2" sorta cameo, IDK. I actually really do like how they're incorporating a bunch of different lore from the novels, comics, and Korra. I know it feels out of place when compared to the animation, but I think it works within it's own context, though admittedly suffers from some pacing issues. That being said, episode 6 is my absolute favorite. Can't wait to see your reaction.
While I definitely get that they pushed a lot of stories together to build this episode, if they hadn't I don't think 8 episodes could have given us all of this. Good job. Also loved the stories in yhe bar about the pirates and the chasm...Great way to tell us that the other side missions happened (which we say in the animated show).
Katara learning ice discs from earthbenders is actually not that unusual, in the original show you can actually see her use certain techniques from other bending styles but it's never explicitly mentioned. this can especially be seen in her fight with hama where she blocks the water instead of redirecting it (hence why hama was so shocked).
12:09 don’t assume there will be no library. That string of episodes leads up to Appa’s capture. I don’t think they just brush over that considering the group dynamics that come into play in those episodes.
I liked the references to the unseen adventures at the beginning because it works whether you saw the original or not: It's a nod to original fans "Hey, those still happened, we just aren't showing them" and to new fans it illustrates that some time has passed and they're not showing all the adventures they've had I really liked bringing in the Fog of Lost Souls, and bringing Gyatso into it. But I do think that the Koh and Roku temple situation was forced in. It's the only thing in the show that feels like the writers were afraid of not including because original fans expect it, even if they rearranged and gave Kyoshi the role that Roku had in the original. I think it would have flowed better if they had just cut it out, and maybe saved it for a future season.
my favorite part about how they did Koh, was the small detail of the baboon's face Koh steals in the cartoon when Aang meets him. it's such a small and insignificant detail, unlike Kuruk's lover. I just love the little shit man.
I loved this episode oddly enough. The spirit world feels lived in (like in Kora). In The last Airbender animated series every time they went in the spirit world (from what i remember) we only saw the 1 spirit related to that episode's story and that's it. It never felt "lived in". Seeing all those spirits in 1 episode was so cool to me. And i feel like the owl was just a little introduction to him b4 we see him in season 2.
I like your thoughts on Azula. I feel like so far she's benefitted the most from the live action with this episode. In the cartoon, it felt like we got hints of the pressure and drive before what occurs to her in Book 3.. So seeing how Ozi is manipulating her and her drive to be more than perfect helps to lay those foundations so know I understand more clearly the events in Book 3.
I think that the things from other seasons that we see here falls into the category "I think this is cool and I want to show it but I don't know if we'll have a season 2 so I'm going to fit it into this storyline in case everyone hates it and we get canceled without the chance of showing it".😁 As someone who haven't seen the original I loved the show.
There are a few times in this episode where I was waiting for Socka to accidentally step into the spirit world or get taken I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go that route. I guess working with parts of the swamp episode works too.
With Azula, I think she's more confident when she is around Zuko. She's a prodigy and always stood out compared to her brother. Because Zuko has found the Avatar, pretty much the impossible...Azula definitely feels like she needs to prove herself more. I'm really hoping for a book 2, so we can see her let loose.
@@sw-gs no not saying that. She is a country hunter she probably moves from place to place but I’m saying when we found her in the show she was in the earth kingdom boarders
I honestly don't mind the subtle changes from the original to the live action version. It makes it more interesting and you have to treat this as it's own entity instead of trying to compare it to the original. Because just like One Piece it's not going be a one for one telling like the anime so if you treat it as it's own then you won't be so conflicted but other than that awesome reaction bro 👏🏾🔥👏🏾👍🏾💯
Yes Omn1 you got it!!! This is not the animated series, you must watch this as a new telling of the story of Aang (with an easter egg here and there for the people who know the series). The actors do need to become more comfortable with their characters, that should help with the occasional stiffness they display. Remember, this show is also for those who have never seen the animated series. The people who complain about this show sound just like people who have read a book and then see the live action adaptation and get upset that the new telling of the story isn’t exactly like the book. Now i think that the biggest problem for this show is that it takes almost 2 years to make the 8 episodes. If you notice there is no mention of a time table in this show unlike the cartoon. The actors are already 2 years older than they were during the filming of this season. The actor playing Aang was 12 in 2022 and Katara was 14. If this show goes the planned say 3 seasons, the actor playing Aang would be around 17 during the filming of the last season.
When he said to the little girl, to name the doll mr. Pippenpadlopsicopolis the third. I didn’t get it until I went back and re-watched the animated series and realized that’s the name.Aang used when he approached the gates of omashu. Fan service.
The only thing I don’t like about this episode is that they didn’t end up helping the forest spirit. He’s still a giant monster, they didn’t get him back to his panda form. Poor dude.
I think it’s entirely possible the transformation happened off screen, since Aang planted that acorn in front of his totem, as that symbolizes that the forest will regrow, so this was probably just a quick way of not having to actually show the transformation. I believe the panda-monster was physically given the acorn in the original series.
I think the changes to Koh makes sense, because it answers the question of how he sustains himself and makes it make more sense bridging how he sustains himself and how he appears (appears spider-like, feeds like a spider). Also, it’s probably easier to not have to figure out how to put faceless people on the live action 😂
I don’t know about anyone else, but I really REALLY liked the changes they made to both Katara and Sokka’s story arcs. Funny enough, it felt to me like Sokka and Katara’s arcs were switched. Katara is the one that wants to be a warrior and a leader, but the change that they made in her backstory with her Mother’s death was absolutely brutal. Not only was she not strong enough to save her mother, she tried waterbending and wound up nearly giving herself away, forcing Kya to sacrifice herself and Katara to literally watch or at least hear her mother being burned alive…..like…..Jesus Christ……. It’s like they took the guilt she obviously felt in the original show and found a way to multiply it tenfold…….. Then you have Sokka dealing with the expectations of his Father, even though he’s not sure he even wants to be a Warrior. I love how the mechanist points out that his intelligence may be his best quality, also Suki telling him that his heart is what is important more so than his strength. The flashback where he overhears his Dad’s disappointment really affected me on a personal level. As I’m sure it would affect any Son that has ever felt like they haven’t lived up to their Father’s expectations. It’s not even like they’re making Hakoda a bad father, he’s just…..human. He has hopes for what his Son will eventually become and is disappointed when he turns out different than what he expected. Something I’m pretty sure any of us could relate to, while still feeling bad for Sokka. I’m actually thinking about that scene in season three where Katara yells at Hakoda for leaving them behind. In this version of the story, I wouldn’t be surprised if that scene happened between Sokka and Hakoda instead. Which is why I’m really hoping this series gets renewed. There are just certain scenes/stories I want to see this cast & crew’s take on. The Drill & Ba Sing Se. The Eclipse & Avatar Roku/Sozin’s backstory. Etc.
When you you realize ... Gyatso is Avatar Roku's friend hence he calls Aang his Friend and he is the one to lead Aang to Roku . i found that to be profound.
With wobg shi tong, i feel it's more of a foreshadowing of the library than anything. And i mean, it's not like him being in the spirit would be werid. He's an ubber powerful spirit of knowledge.
Even as a big fan of the cartoon, this was one of my favorite episodes. This was the point in the show at which I really started to accept that this is an adaptation rather than a copy or remake. I started being like "HOLY S**T!" I started to get excited by the changes and happy to be surprised, rather than just know exactly how it's going to play out. I loved seeing Azula becoming more and more manipulated and getting a hint of how completely unhinged she'll become later. I didn't mind getting Wan Shi Tong early, as long as it doesn't mean we don't get him again later. I loved the mysterious spirit fox too. Loved her dialoge. I also loved Koh! Perfectly creepy! Not too fussed about the changes or lack of the straight face thing because of what we got with Sokka and Katara instead. And I think we can still get the swamp stuff if they decide to do that. Sokka can still see Yue. And Katara can still have pain over her mom till she resolves it in season 3. The easter eggs to the pirates and canyon guide and volcano were great too, and of course June and Nyla! 😍 And goddamn, that Gyatso ending was beautiful. I loved his little monologue too. Fantastic episode in my opinion.
I don't know how I feel about emotional Azula. Her defining characteristic was how calm and in control of every situation she always was. It's what made her so intimidating, like even when she failed, she learned and adapted instead of getting frustrated like Zuko or Zhao. It also made her losing that control in the end so much more powerful because we had never seen anything rattle her before. This is an interesting and certainly more human version of Azula, but I don't know if it will have the same impact as her original character.
I thought it was a good addition, it showed a bit of her madness peeking out from the veneer of control she shows to the outside world. In the animated series, it felt jarring to me how quickly her descent into paranoia and madness happened without much in the way of foreshadowing. I hope they continue to show emotional cracks from time to time. It makes her more human and not just the unbeatable automaton she was in the animated series.
I think this episode is cool but needed extra 30 minutes to properly flesh out Hei Bai and Koh, maybe include some Kuruk/Koh staff here Wan Shi Tong felt just like a pure fanservice, so I think we will get him in the library next season no problem
It was George Takei playing Koh. I think he does a great job. He is scary and fierce. I do hope they do the library episodes just to see Sokka get wasted on cactus juice. 🌵😵💫 I'm not holding out a lot of hope though, it's a major story line as it kicks off the entire tales of Ba Sing Se series of stories.
I was surprised tk see Wan Shi Tong, and I too was wondering what that ment for the library episode. I won't say more because spoilers for those who haven't seen Book Two, though that was 20 years ago, now? Anyway, the way I see it is the spirits can manifest in more than one place, and what we saw here was Wan Shi Tong's presense in the spirit world. He still has a presence in the natural world, too. I like how they are pulling from several places and bringing them together. It could be a little overwhelming for someone not familuar with the more complete lore like the Fog of Lost Souls. But I like Koh being played now, though not knowing his rules could be confusing to some. Part of the dred from the animated was thar we as the audience were let in on that if you show any emotion, Koh will steal your face. If I didn't know that before hand, I don't know if I'd fear so much for Katara and Soka. Overall, I liked the adaptation (the entire book). I see a lot of mixed reviews, so I don't think it is a blockbuster, but I'm enjoyed it. And after watching several reactors, I'm not tired of rewatching it, yet.
I am sure that he will come back in the library episode if and when they do a season two they just probably introducing him now so it doesn’t surprise me for later
This spirit world is so much more fucking terrifying. So aang because his the avatar can understand things that Sokka and Katara can’t but atleast he is there with them to experience that. What about those other wandering folks who were in the spirit realm.
I'm not sure why people are so shocked that wan shi tong is in the spirit world. he's a spirit. of course he can be in the spirit world AND manifest himself a physical body in the real world (the library). just like the ocean and the moon spirit who become a couple of fishies in the oasis for one night a year. I mean wan shi tong doesn't have to physically be at the library at all time to guard it. that's what the foxes are who. wan shi tong is not a guard dog.
I mean he is it's librarian and attendant so at least his physical body should be there and maybe he's astral projecting into the Spirit World or comes and goes. The foxes are not guards, they are knowledge seekers. Wan Shi Tong is it's protector. They go out into the world to find knowledge to bring back to the library for Wan Shi Tong. As for Tui and La, don't manifest in the human world once a year they live there.
@@Omn1Mediaoh yeah you're right about the foxes. and correct me if I'm wrong but I remembered the library being in the spirit world before wan shi tong moved it to the desert some thousand years before the harmonic convergence. if that's the case then I could see them make an argument for the library being an access point or connected to the spirit world.
@@annaj6512 it’s a completely different show than this one. I’m not spoiling anything for hon why do it to me? I’ve seen the whole live action series and not telling you how it ends but I could. Plus, I did say please
@@annaj6512 ok. During his reaction to Percy Jackson I slipped up and said something about the movie that was a spoiler. I got jumped on all over and I argued that it was a movie that came out years ago and books before that. I deleted my comment. So, your argument doesn’t work for me.
@@annaj6512 thank you for that but I’ll keep watching I was just asking a simple request to make him aware. He didn’t give too much away and I enjoy watching his reactions. Take care
I was in the same headspace as you for this one. I also really didn't like them pulling Iroh's role from LOK and giving it to Gyasto here. Having finished the series I will say that this is the only episode I would call out as really missing the mark, I have issues across the board but this is the only one I feel is a total misstep. The next one is top 3 though.
Since when is anger equal to blue flame? Wasn't it the cold flame and wasn't Azula the coldhearted calculating and manipulating character who's always in control? ... Whatever....
I didn’t like Koh being changed to such a purely malicious entity. He is a pretty twisted spirit but I feel like by making him so overly evil it strips away some of the cooler aspects of him. Mainly the fact Aang remaining completely stoic while talking with him. Koh did a great job testing Aang. Maybe next episode we get that great scene but based off of how both Sokka and Katara freaked out showing fear on their faces and they didn’t lose their faces I doubt we will. Also CGI still remains pretty rough for most creatures. Sokka has been the standout in this show for me. He has been very good!
I think this was the weakest episode imo, despite the Ghibli reference in the title. It has its moments, all the episodes have their moments, but this one I felt had the least amount
There is a lot of problems with this one. I like that they wanted to populate the spirit world more and show us more spirits right away and i love that they included the mist from Korra,but this took away a lot from Hei Bai,because they made Khu the main villain. It also took away from Rhoku and the Winter Solstice Arc. They gave most of that explanation to kyoshi in Episode 2. I think ultimately they lost focus. While Rokus Inclusion isn't terrible in the next ep,they need to showcase him more in season 2. he felt underrepresented compared to Kuruk and Kyoshi. I do like that we get to see Wan Shi To as a sort of spirit guide in this tho. And I don't think they'll skip the library as that will probably be were they reintroduce the comet again and tell us when it's coming. Overall I'm fine with this ep,but it's definitely one of the weaker ones.
@@disneysydneyresortvirtual9264 it feels disjointed. Because it starts off like the show, Hei Bai stealing villagers because his home was burned, but no it was actually Koh who was never brought up prior nor around the village and stole Sokka and Katara too, and then they brought in Wan Shi Tong, and the fog from Korra. It feels like they couldn't wait to bring in these spirits and things we love, so instead of giving them all the time they need and waiting to use them, they just shoved them all together into this Frankenstinian amalgamation of random beats of a bunch of episodes sewn together
I think it might also be that they won't have time for some of them down the line and that's why they stuffed them in here,because tehy had to cut episodes. I hope that's not the case for Wan Shi To and his library as I believe that's a very important one.@@typo1345
I think it's also because they knew they have to cut episodes with them in the future. I hope that's not the case for the library as that one is rlly important and could be were they learn about the comet.@@typo1345
Everything they did in this episode was an odd choice ONLY IF YOU COMPARE TO THE TOON. Seriously that is SO frustrating. Just enjoy this. I started watching the original an STOPPED Specifically because all these reactions comparing it and it has been making these reactions miserable to watch while I MYSELF- who hasn't seen all the future stories that MAY OR MAY NOT be translated into this show- I'M loving these episodes. Seriously it's not just you. I've said this to others like the Normies. Just ENJOY it. It's not the Movie- which was written poorly. It's also NOT the cartoon. Let it be what it is and maybe, amazingly, you might actually NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. How horrible is that?!
This is my least favorite episode, I hated what they did, or actually, what they didn't do with Hei bai. They completely skipped his story and made Koh the villain when in reality he should have helped Aang.
This feels like they threw away the Swamp and used part of it here. To be fair, the Swamp is my least favorite not Season 1 Episode, so good riddance ^^*
3:11 man... his acting is really bad. Takes me out of every scene. I really hope he gets better or they can just stop making the show. He's killing it... and not in the good.way.
I'm pretty sure he'll return. I see this more as a spirit guide cameo. Surely they can't skip the library episode. I think that's when the crew will learn about the comets return in season 2.
They didn’t butcher him, seriously he only appeared a little bit, it didn’t butcher anything. There is no reason Wan Shi Tong can’t be in season 1. And just because the animated series has an order doesn’t mean the show has to follow it. Besides, seeding Wan Shi Tong now gives new viewers a connection when they do the season 2 story in the library. Viewers will recognize him and that will give them more reasons to care. This is actually a good thing.
@nPikeachu true, but him being there also adds nothing to the story. he can be replace by any other spirits and the message will be there. like, why can't we get the monkey from the koh episode before aang met roku?
I like what they did with Koh in this live-action. They made him actually dangerous. Yeah, he was already dangerous in the OG series, but making him a predatory spirit that hunts human souls trapped in the fog instead of luring them to him is actually a good change. I think they decided to change the way he steals faces, since it would be hard for a live-action character to not have an expressive face. Maybe now he steals the faces by acting like an actual predator and he gets the face of the soul he hunts and then feeds on. That change actually makes him even scarier than before.
Next episode there’s a payoff for Zukos belittling of his soldiers and it’s my favourite change they made
I Agree, I agree! Zuko my favorite! 😍 🔥
Me too, it really gives some needed context into how his crew came together. It's something right in character for Ozai to do, and a better payoff than asking for a favor from Azula.
That change is why, in my opinion, this adaptation is a masterpiece. ❤️
@@ZukoHalliwell Its not a change tho it literally happened in the show lol
Its not a change tho it literally happened in the show lol
They kept Sokka bending style in this adaptation and I love it (Sokka-great Backbender) 😁
I would like to be target practice for the backbending 😏
I'm sure he is learning many new styles and techniques along the way. 😉
One thing I have noticed in this season so far is Katara's arc seems to be about becoming self reliant.
From her needing someone to show her basics of bending to her being able to tell Jett that she is the reason for her strength, to her developing moves from watching Earthbenders.
It was a good idea to combine the various spirit elements (pun intended) in this one. It looks like they're not only drawing from the original series, but a lot of the secondary material, including "Escape from the Spirit World" a canonical online game.
Regarding Wan Shi Tong, we can still see him at his library since the spirits seem to move around a lot in the spirit world. Remember, we see Hei Bai in The Siege of the North Part 2. He helps Ang find his way out of the spirit world.
I love the detail that Katara picked up the ice disc idea from watching earthbenders. It lends some weight to the idea that she's a self-taught master by the end of Book 1.
I don't have issues with them introducing Koh this way (to streamline the finale), or teasing Wan Shi Tong (who I'm convinced will be back because we never learned his name).
My main issue with this episode is them introducing the whole 'the forest is burned, the land is sick' idea - which we kinda assume is due to Hei Bai - but then not really resolving it fully here or in Ep.6. Aang resolves the situation with Koh and returns the villagers, but at that point Koh has taken all the focus and we forget why they were in the spirit world in the first place - communing with the spirit of the forest.
Unless we're supposed to take Koh as the reason everything there is screwed up, in which case the show does a poor job of explaining that.
Damn, fancy seeing you here!
I just hope we still get to go to the library where Wan Shi Tong remembers them. 🤞🏻
1:50 Learning from Earthbenders is also something we see Katara do in the original series when she battles against Hama in S3 by standing her ground rather than redirecting Hama’s attack which leaves Hama with a super shocked expression because she’d probably never seen a waterbender use a technique like that
Well, kinda... but she did learn from a specific earthbender: she was training for months with Toph, and more importantly, she does an earthbending stance when she blocks Hama's attack of deflecting it.
Here we see her do basically the same thing as in The Water Bending Master except for the last one shattering the ice and sending it the shards flying.
Overall this show is saying that its bending works different: the effect is less tied to the move and more to the energy of the bender... nevertheless the dialog is still stupid as is says, that Aang has never seen her try it before and therefore she can now make up new bending forms on the go
Otherwise yeah... they do get separated every episode so they are probably also having separate off-screen adventures
@@michaelklaus I didn’t ask, but it’s not saying it works differently because we know the entire cast literally trained to learn what each bending form is based off of and the choreographers based it off the same things.
Even though it's hard, I think the best we can do is try to set aside the way things were done in the original, and look at the things this adaptation is doing as something different, separate. Like the showrunner said, this is a remix, not a 1:1 adaptation. And this is great, in my opinion, because it allows us to see the story we love in a new perspective, how the plot lines connect in different ways.
I'm willing to guess that Wan Shi Tong's cameo was essentially in preparation for a potential season 2 (only phrasing it this way because it hasn't been confirmed yet). Making a cgi model for him so that execs wouldn't have an excuse to cut him from the library in book 2.
I hope so too. The library could be were they learn about the comets return.
@@disneysydneyresortvirtual9264 Not exactly. Its the eclipse. Aang already knew about the comet from Roku in the anime
It could be either or 🤷🏾
Maybe we’ll get some (as of yet unknown) excuse for a library side quest next season… doesn’t have to be the comet. I’ll take anything. 😂
@@RainbowSheltie I think we will. It includes Appa being kidnapped which is another big story moment. And sad.
I like this adaptation so much
❤❤❤
So do I. Makes it more darker than the original
Same! I love Azula! We need Season Two rn! 🎉
@@Savage.-_.Gamer1 exactly. Especially once that blue flame started to kick in
@@Corey313 💙🔥🔥🔥
That moment with Gyatso truly broke my heart....
And who knew we all needed a therapeutic talking fox with multiple tails in our lives. Lol
Never thought about the colours of the fire like that, going from orange, to blue, to white hot, aka the lightning, which is technically blue, but still.
The fox 😢
Almost our own personal Kurama so to speak
She's a kitsune. They look like foxes, except for their tails
This episode I liked (not only because of Zuko) but also being able to see Katara and Sokka’s traumatic memories, so we get a glimpse into their head of what they’ve been dealing with. And Koh is played by George Takei, so that’s just awesome. It was also fun because of all the crazy things happening in the spirit world, made it really feel supernatural and dangerous/crazy. Plus Azula’s backstory I’m loving, I want to see part of the reason for the transformation to blue fire. That’s always been intriguing.
George Takei also voiced the warden in book one of the animated series.
@@jamesstutz6907 I’m always game for anytime he wants to come back and appear on Avatar. 😍
I think they will still do the library as its where they get their info for the comet and eclipse. I dont see how else they could get that info so Im taking Wan Shi Tongs appearance here as a wink to the fans but also just to set up he exists as a potential ally thus making their next meeting a little more impactful.
But I guess we will see.
I loved them mixing Koh and the fog of lost souls together. I think it makes a lot of sense.
Loved seeing Gyatso as well basically doing for Aang what Iroh did for Korra. Brilliant use of the lore in my opinion. Cant wait for the next one. Its probably my favorite of the season.
From a production standpoint, I can't imagine they'd build such a great model for Wan Shi Tong unless they intended to use it again. I think it may have been like an "in case we don't get a season 2" sorta cameo, IDK. I actually really do like how they're incorporating a bunch of different lore from the novels, comics, and Korra. I know it feels out of place when compared to the animation, but I think it works within it's own context, though admittedly suffers from some pacing issues.
That being said, episode 6 is my absolute favorite. Can't wait to see your reaction.
While I definitely get that they pushed a lot of stories together to build this episode, if they hadn't I don't think 8 episodes could have given us all of this. Good job.
Also loved the stories in yhe bar about the pirates and the chasm...Great way to tell us that the other side missions happened (which we say in the animated show).
We didn’t get wan shi tong until the library episode in the desert. They blended that with the forest spirit and koi. Nice touch.
Katara learning ice discs from earthbenders is actually not that unusual, in the original show you can actually see her use certain techniques from other bending styles but it's never explicitly mentioned. this can especially be seen in her fight with hama where she blocks the water instead of redirecting it (hence why hama was so shocked).
12:09 don’t assume there will be no library. That string of episodes leads up to Appa’s capture. I don’t think they just brush over that considering the group dynamics that come into play in those episodes.
I liked the references to the unseen adventures at the beginning because it works whether you saw the original or not: It's a nod to original fans "Hey, those still happened, we just aren't showing them" and to new fans it illustrates that some time has passed and they're not showing all the adventures they've had I really liked bringing in the Fog of Lost Souls, and bringing Gyatso into it.
But I do think that the Koh and Roku temple situation was forced in. It's the only thing in the show that feels like the writers were afraid of not including because original fans expect it, even if they rearranged and gave Kyoshi the role that Roku had in the original. I think it would have flowed better if they had just cut it out, and maybe saved it for a future season.
my favorite part about how they did Koh, was the small detail of the baboon's face Koh steals in the cartoon when Aang meets him. it's such a small and insignificant detail, unlike Kuruk's lover. I just love the little shit man.
I loved this episode oddly enough. The spirit world feels lived in (like in Kora). In The last Airbender animated series every time they went in the spirit world (from what i remember) we only saw the 1 spirit related to that episode's story and that's it. It never felt "lived in". Seeing all those spirits in 1 episode was so cool to me. And i feel like the owl was just a little introduction to him b4 we see him in season 2.
I like your thoughts on Azula. I feel like so far she's benefitted the most from the live action with this episode. In the cartoon, it felt like we got hints of the pressure and drive before what occurs to her in Book 3.. So seeing how Ozi is manipulating her and her drive to be more than perfect helps to lay those foundations so know I understand more clearly the events in Book 3.
I think that the things from other seasons that we see here falls into the category "I think this is cool and I want to show it but I don't know if we'll have a season 2 so I'm going to fit it into this storyline in case everyone hates it and we get canceled without the chance of showing it".😁 As someone who haven't seen the original I loved the show.
There are a few times in this episode where I was waiting for Socka to accidentally step into the spirit world or get taken I'm a little disappointed that they didn't go that route. I guess working with parts of the swamp episode works too.
With Azula, I think she's more confident when she is around Zuko. She's a prodigy and always stood out compared to her brother. Because Zuko has found the Avatar, pretty much the impossible...Azula definitely feels like she needs to prove herself more. I'm really hoping for a book 2, so we can see her let loose.
June was not in the fire nation def in the earth kingdom bar. Man I love her character.
Neither.
@@sw-gs what you mean neither? She was in an earth kingdom best in the show
@@Kidapollo92 Living in borders of any of the kingdoms doesn't makes you it's citizen.
@@sw-gs no not saying that. She is a country hunter she probably moves from place to place but I’m saying when we found her in the show she was in the earth kingdom boarders
When I heard that bar music playing I immediately knew we were getting June, lol. Love her.
I do not think that this cameo from Wan Shi Tong does have to mean we would not get the library or get the library without him there.
I am gonna miss your credit dance.
It makes me smile every time!
I honestly don't mind the subtle changes from the original to the live action version. It makes it more interesting and you have to treat this as it's own entity instead of trying to compare it to the original. Because just like One Piece it's not going be a one for one telling like the anime so if you treat it as it's own then you won't be so conflicted but other than that awesome reaction bro 👏🏾🔥👏🏾👍🏾💯
Yes Omn1 you got it!!! This is not the animated series, you must watch this as a new telling of the story of Aang (with an easter egg here and there for the people who know the series). The actors do need to become more comfortable with their characters, that should help with the occasional stiffness they display.
Remember, this show is also for those who have never seen the animated series. The people who complain about this show sound just like people who have read a book and then see the live action adaptation and get upset that the new telling of the story isn’t exactly like the book.
Now i think that the biggest problem for this show is that it takes almost 2 years to make the 8 episodes. If you notice there is no mention of a time table in this show unlike the cartoon. The actors are already 2 years older than they were during the filming of this season. The actor playing Aang was 12 in 2022 and Katara was 14. If this show goes the planned say 3 seasons, the actor playing Aang would be around 17 during the filming of the last season.
Which is probably why they didn’t set themselves a time limit, unlike the original.
When he said to the little girl, to name the doll mr. Pippenpadlopsicopolis the third. I didn’t get it until I went back and re-watched the animated series and realized that’s the name.Aang used when he approached the gates of omashu. Fan service.
The only thing I don’t like about this episode is that they didn’t end up helping the forest spirit. He’s still a giant monster, they didn’t get him back to his panda form. Poor dude.
I was a bit disappointed with that too.
I think it’s entirely possible the transformation happened off screen, since Aang planted that acorn in front of his totem, as that symbolizes that the forest will regrow, so this was probably just a quick way of not having to actually show the transformation. I believe the panda-monster was physically given the acorn in the original series.
@@RainbowSheltie perhaps, but I’m still disappointed I didn’t get to see a big ass panda 😂
@@Just_Some_Clown I really wanted to see it too 😂
I think the changes to Koh makes sense, because it answers the question of how he sustains himself and makes it make more sense bridging how he sustains himself and how he appears (appears spider-like, feeds like a spider). Also, it’s probably easier to not have to figure out how to put faceless people on the live action 😂
I don’t know about anyone else, but I really REALLY liked the changes they made to both Katara and Sokka’s story arcs.
Funny enough, it felt to me like Sokka and Katara’s arcs were switched.
Katara is the one that wants to be a warrior and a leader, but the change that they made in her backstory with her Mother’s death was absolutely brutal. Not only was she not strong enough to save her mother, she tried waterbending and wound up nearly giving herself away, forcing Kya to sacrifice herself and Katara to literally watch or at least hear her mother being burned alive…..like…..Jesus Christ…….
It’s like they took the guilt she obviously felt in the original show and found a way to multiply it tenfold……..
Then you have Sokka dealing with the expectations of his Father, even though he’s not sure he even wants to be a Warrior. I love how the mechanist points out that his intelligence may be his best quality, also Suki telling him that his heart is what is important more so than his strength.
The flashback where he overhears his Dad’s disappointment really affected me on a personal level. As I’m sure it would affect any Son that has ever felt like they haven’t lived up to their Father’s expectations. It’s not even like they’re making Hakoda a bad father, he’s just…..human. He has hopes for what his Son will eventually become and is disappointed when he turns out different than what he expected. Something I’m pretty sure any of us could relate to, while still feeling bad for Sokka.
I’m actually thinking about that scene in season three where Katara yells at Hakoda for leaving them behind. In this version of the story, I wouldn’t be surprised if that scene happened between Sokka and Hakoda instead.
Which is why I’m really hoping this series gets renewed. There are just certain scenes/stories I want to see this cast & crew’s take on. The Drill & Ba Sing Se. The Eclipse & Avatar Roku/Sozin’s backstory. Etc.
When you you realize ... Gyatso is Avatar Roku's friend hence he calls Aang his Friend and he is the one to lead Aang to Roku . i found that to be profound.
11:17 best response man, cuz that was mine, I was like what are YOU doing here???? So soon??? What does this mean for season 2!?😂
With wobg shi tong, i feel it's more of a foreshadowing of the library than anything. And i mean, it's not like him being in the spirit would be werid. He's an ubber powerful spirit of knowledge.
Even as a big fan of the cartoon, this was one of my favorite episodes.
This was the point in the show at which I really started to accept that this is an adaptation rather than a copy or remake. I started being like "HOLY S**T!" I started to get excited by the changes and happy to be surprised, rather than just know exactly how it's going to play out.
I loved seeing Azula becoming more and more manipulated and getting a hint of how completely unhinged she'll become later.
I didn't mind getting Wan Shi Tong early, as long as it doesn't mean we don't get him again later. I loved the mysterious spirit fox too. Loved her dialoge.
I also loved Koh! Perfectly creepy! Not too fussed about the changes or lack of the straight face thing because of what we got with Sokka and Katara instead. And I think we can still get the swamp stuff if they decide to do that. Sokka can still see Yue. And Katara can still have pain over her mom till she resolves it in season 3.
The easter eggs to the pirates and canyon guide and volcano were great too, and of course June and Nyla! 😍
And goddamn, that Gyatso ending was beautiful. I loved his little monologue too. Fantastic episode in my opinion.
it's epi5 and only now i'm like "OMG Aang's eyebrows!" LOL
I don't know how I feel about emotional Azula. Her defining characteristic was how calm and in control of every situation she always was. It's what made her so intimidating, like even when she failed, she learned and adapted instead of getting frustrated like Zuko or Zhao. It also made her losing that control in the end so much more powerful because we had never seen anything rattle her before. This is an interesting and certainly more human version of Azula, but I don't know if it will have the same impact as her original character.
I thought it was a good addition, it showed a bit of her madness peeking out from the veneer of control she shows to the outside world. In the animated series, it felt jarring to me how quickly her descent into paranoia and madness happened without much in the way of foreshadowing. I hope they continue to show emotional cracks from time to time. It makes her more human and not just the unbeatable automaton she was in the animated series.
Your shirt is awesome. I feel much the same as you do about this show. I’ve really enjoyed your reactions. Good work
I don't spoil episode 6 but when you've watched episode 6 and review it you def need to circle back to what you say here about episode 6.
XD i was thinking the same thing lol his self in that moment dosnt know but we do 🤣🤣
They tried to calm down the tone of the spirit world. I would like to see your take on the Water nation Avatar Korkut
In this episode i finally understand who Wan Shi Tong is.
I got my skeptical friends into this show now they love it and as a Azula fan I love what they did with her character
I think this episode is cool but needed extra 30 minutes to properly flesh out Hei Bai and Koh, maybe include some Kuruk/Koh staff here
Wan Shi Tong felt just like a pure fanservice, so I think we will get him in the library next season no problem
I think so too.I believe that the library is where they will learn when the comet returns as season 2 and 2 might be filmed back to back.
11:17 exactly how I felt
It was George Takei playing Koh. I think he does a great job. He is scary and fierce. I do hope they do the library episodes just to see Sokka get wasted on cactus juice. 🌵😵💫 I'm not holding out a lot of hope though, it's a major story line as it kicks off the entire tales of Ba Sing Se series of stories.
I was surprised tk see Wan Shi Tong, and I too was wondering what that ment for the library episode. I won't say more because spoilers for those who haven't seen Book Two, though that was 20 years ago, now?
Anyway, the way I see it is the spirits can manifest in more than one place, and what we saw here was Wan Shi Tong's presense in the spirit world. He still has a presence in the natural world, too.
I like how they are pulling from several places and bringing them together. It could be a little overwhelming for someone not familuar with the more complete lore like the Fog of Lost Souls. But I like Koh being played now, though not knowing his rules could be confusing to some. Part of the dred from the animated was thar we as the audience were let in on that if you show any emotion, Koh will steal your face. If I didn't know that before hand, I don't know if I'd fear so much for Katara and Soka.
Overall, I liked the adaptation (the entire book). I see a lot of mixed reviews, so I don't think it is a blockbuster, but I'm enjoyed it. And after watching several reactors, I'm not tired of rewatching it, yet.
I am sure that he will come back in the library episode if and when they do a season two they just probably introducing him now so it doesn’t surprise me for later
This spirit world is so much more fucking terrifying. So aang because his the avatar can understand things that Sokka and Katara can’t but atleast he is there with them to experience that. What about those other wandering folks who were in the spirit realm.
Walked into a horror show with this one
Shyamalan has nothing on this, which is extra embarrassing for him as a spooky movie guy.
I do like that June is the lusting creep in this one and not Iroh
I think she's flirting but not bordering on creep.
I'm not sure why people are so shocked that wan shi tong is in the spirit world. he's a spirit. of course he can be in the spirit world AND manifest himself a physical body in the real world (the library). just like the ocean and the moon spirit who become a couple of fishies in the oasis for one night a year. I mean wan shi tong doesn't have to physically be at the library at all time to guard it. that's what the foxes are who. wan shi tong is not a guard dog.
I mean he is it's librarian and attendant so at least his physical body should be there and maybe he's astral projecting into the Spirit World or comes and goes. The foxes are not guards, they are knowledge seekers. Wan Shi Tong is it's protector. They go out into the world to find knowledge to bring back to the library for Wan Shi Tong. As for Tui and La, don't manifest in the human world once a year they live there.
@@Omn1Mediaoh yeah you're right about the foxes. and correct me if I'm wrong but I remembered the library being in the spirit world before wan shi tong moved it to the desert some thousand years before the harmonic convergence. if that's the case then I could see them make an argument for the library being an access point or connected to the spirit world.
@@iamai_iggs They could do something like that. Kind of like what they do with the coy fish-ish.
George Takei as Koh was a great choice.
Please don’t spoil Korrah for me. I haven’t watched it yet.
he warned at the beginning of this reaction series he might bring up stuff from the animated series
@@ozzy760 animated Avatar is fine. But this isn’t Korrah
@@annaj6512 it’s a completely different show than this one. I’m not spoiling anything for hon why do it to me? I’ve seen the whole live action series and not telling you how it ends but I could. Plus, I did say please
@@annaj6512 ok. During his reaction to Percy Jackson I slipped up and said something about the movie that was a spoiler. I got jumped on all over and I argued that it was a movie that came out years ago and books before that. I deleted my comment. So, your argument doesn’t work for me.
@@annaj6512 thank you for that but I’ll keep watching I was just asking a simple request to make him aware. He didn’t give too much away and I enjoy watching his reactions. Take care
4:24 this was my exact reaction to this 😂
If they don't do the Library episode in Season 2, then there's a possibility that they may not do the Black Sun/Eclipse episode in Season 3.
35:18 yes is the answer to that question, but you probably already know that since you probably already watched episode 6
I think by far, episode 5 and 6 have been my favourite so far. I spent the last 30 min of ep 6 just covered in tears...
More like the worst episodes 🤦🏻♂️
@@Jaythesparrow Your opinion.
I was in the same headspace as you for this one. I also really didn't like them pulling Iroh's role from LOK and giving it to Gyasto here. Having finished the series I will say that this is the only episode I would call out as really missing the mark, I have issues across the board but this is the only one I feel is a total misstep. The next one is top 3 though.
It's another _turning of the wheel,_ right?
Since when is anger equal to blue flame? Wasn't it the cold flame and wasn't Azula the coldhearted calculating and manipulating character who's always in control? ... Whatever....
I didn’t like Koh being changed to such a purely malicious entity. He is a pretty twisted spirit but I feel like by making him so overly evil it strips away some of the cooler aspects of him. Mainly the fact Aang remaining completely stoic while talking with him. Koh did a great job testing Aang. Maybe next episode we get that great scene but based off of how both Sokka and Katara freaked out showing fear on their faces and they didn’t lose their faces I doubt we will. Also CGI still remains pretty rough for most creatures. Sokka has been the standout in this show for me. He has been very good!
this episode i questioned why they decided to make the changes they did they totally glazed over the hei bai story line and never go back to it
10:38 lol right?? 👀
Dude…DUDE👀🤣
I think this was the weakest episode imo, despite the Ghibli reference in the title.
It has its moments, all the episodes have their moments, but this one I felt had the least amount
I think that too Northern water tribe episodes are fire though
There is a lot of problems with this one. I like that they wanted to populate the spirit world more and show us more spirits right away and i love that they included the mist from Korra,but this took away a lot from Hei Bai,because they made Khu the main villain. It also took away from Rhoku and the Winter Solstice Arc. They gave most of that explanation to kyoshi in Episode 2. I think ultimately they lost focus. While Rokus Inclusion isn't terrible in the next ep,they need to showcase him more in season 2. he felt underrepresented compared to Kuruk and Kyoshi. I do like that we get to see Wan Shi To as a sort of spirit guide in this tho. And I don't think they'll skip the library as that will probably be were they reintroduce the comet again and tell us when it's coming. Overall I'm fine with this ep,but it's definitely one of the weaker ones.
@@disneysydneyresortvirtual9264 it feels disjointed. Because it starts off like the show, Hei Bai stealing villagers because his home was burned, but no it was actually Koh who was never brought up prior nor around the village and stole Sokka and Katara too, and then they brought in Wan Shi Tong, and the fog from Korra.
It feels like they couldn't wait to bring in these spirits and things we love, so instead of giving them all the time they need and waiting to use them, they just shoved them all together into this Frankenstinian amalgamation of random beats of a bunch of episodes sewn together
I think it might also be that they won't have time for some of them down the line and that's why they stuffed them in here,because tehy had to cut episodes. I hope that's not the case for Wan Shi To and his library as I believe that's a very important one.@@typo1345
I think it's also because they knew they have to cut episodes with them in the future. I hope that's not the case for the library as that one is rlly important and could be were they learn about the comet.@@typo1345
Thank you menthuthuyoupi
Everything they did in this episode was an odd choice ONLY IF YOU COMPARE TO THE TOON. Seriously that is SO frustrating. Just enjoy this. I started watching the original an STOPPED Specifically because all these reactions comparing it and it has been making these reactions miserable to watch while I MYSELF- who hasn't seen all the future stories that MAY OR MAY NOT be translated into this show- I'M loving these episodes. Seriously it's not just you. I've said this to others like the Normies. Just ENJOY it. It's not the Movie- which was written poorly. It's also NOT the cartoon. Let it be what it is and maybe, amazingly, you might actually NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. How horrible is that?!
This is my least favorite episode, I hated what they did, or actually, what they didn't do with Hei bai. They completely skipped his story and made Koh the villain when in reality he should have helped Aang.
A great episode
This feels like they threw away the Swamp and used part of it here.
To be fair, the Swamp is my least favorite not Season 1 Episode, so good riddance ^^*
3:17 lmfao... NO he's has NOT. He's terrible in all the Aang scenes.
Wow that intro is so fast what’s even the point. I can’t understand a thing you are saying
3:11 man... his acting is really bad. Takes me out of every scene. I really hope he gets better or they can just stop making the show. He's killing it... and not in the good.way.
yeah, wan shi tong doesn't belong in the first season, and all of team avatar should be in season 2. i hate that they butchered him
I'm pretty sure he'll return. I see this more as a spirit guide cameo. Surely they can't skip the library episode. I think that's when the crew will learn about the comets return in season 2.
They didn’t butcher him, seriously he only appeared a little bit, it didn’t butcher anything. There is no reason Wan Shi Tong can’t be in season 1. And just because the animated series has an order doesn’t mean the show has to follow it. Besides, seeding Wan Shi Tong now gives new viewers a connection when they do the season 2 story in the library. Viewers will recognize him and that will give them more reasons to care. This is actually a good thing.
@nPikeachu true, but him being there also adds nothing to the story. he can be replace by any other spirits and the message will be there. like, why can't we get the monkey from the koh episode before aang met roku?
They didn't butcher him