Samhi C.

Features Editor

skc5908@psu.edu

As I write this, it is Wednesday, March 27, 2024. So, when I say I watched the first episode of the 2024 live-action “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series this morning, I mean the morning of March 27. I woke up at 6 A.M., and realizing I have yet to watch the episode and that I had to write this article by 4 P.M. today, I immediately turned my laptop on in a panic and started the episode. 

Best decision I have made all day so far. 

The first episode of the series, “Aang” begins with an action sequence in which Hiro Kanagawa’s character Fire Lord Sozin chases David Sakurai who plays an earthbender. Sakurai’s character who is worried about Sozin’s army invading the Earth Kingdom discovers this is a distraction and the real target is the airbenders. 

From here, we transition into a short animated sequence that concisely and quickly explains who the mystical beings are, what their powers are, and how the Avatar, the only person that is capable of wielding all four nature powers, earth, fire, water, and air, is responsible for the harmony between nations and balance of powers. And of course, we know that Sozin is planning on finding the Avatar who is amongst the airbenders and killing him. 

The rest of the episode is split into two parts.

In the first part, we see twelve-year-old airbender Aang being told by his mentor and friend Gyatso that he is the current Avatar and he must save the nations. Aang subsequently runs off, not wanting to take on the responsibility and give up his childhood. So when the firebenders attack, all the airbenders are killed off except Aang who accidentally activates his water powers and freezes himself and his sky bison Appa in a wave. 

A hundred years later, we watch fourteen-year-old Katara, the last of the water benders and her older brother Soka rescue Aang and try to protect him from the new Fire Lord’s son Prince Zuko and his warriors. But when they take him the remnants of the air kingdom, upon seeing Gyato’s skeleton, Aang becomes enraged and nearly causes a tornado. But upon hearing Katara screaming for him and recollecting Gyato’s words of how they will always be friends, Aang relaxes and collapses into Katara’s arms crying. 

By the end of the episode, Aang is ready to take on his responsibilities and begin training to be the Avatar. 

There are multiple things I appreciate about the execution of this first episode. The following three are the most important:  

1. Balanced Narrative Structure
   I like that though I had limited knowledge about the Avatar series going in, I was able to follow everything. There was enough information given to the audience that new fans do not get lost. At the same time, unlike how I felt about the “Percy Jackson” series’s first episode, it is not super exposition- and flashback-heavy. Which means even people who have prior knowledge about the story would not get bored. 

2. Aang & Gyato’s Relationship 

In any fantasy storyline, physical transformations or power activations must also be representative of emotional and mental states. Otherwise, what is the point? In the tornado scene, I felt it to be a beautiful thing that while seeing Gyato’s skeleton is what causes Aang to lose control of himself, remembering Gyato’s words and his affection is what allows him to calm down and properly grieve. It reminds us that Gyato telling Aang he is the Avatar is what causes Aang to run away in the first place, but it also alerts us that Gyato is the one, even after he has passed on, who inspires Aang to grow up a little and decide to fight for the nations and his new friends and avenge Gyato. 

3. Character Development & Realistic Good-Evil Dynamics: Iroh

Each character has a distinct personality and we are able to clearly tell what their motivations are. I especially thought the inclusion of Zuko’s uncle Iroh was a great addition. He juxtaposes Zuko’s power-hungry nature and somewhat acts as a voice of reason. Iroh also functions as a representative of those who are stuck in groups that are power-hungry and violent but who may have other values. In my opinion, it usually makes for an interesting dynamic to see people with good intentions on the bad side and vice versa. It proves that everything does not have to be so black and white. It is more accurate to how good-evil dynamics play out in real life. 

4. Character Development & Realistic Good-Evil Dynamics: Aang and Zuko

Another way that the show clarifies Zuko’s motives is by paralleling them with Aang’s. At the end of the episode, part of Aang’s monologue goes as follows: “This was my home. And now, it’s gone. It’s only after we’ve lost something that we realize how much it means to us and how we’d do anything to get it back. Anything.” As Aang speaks, we flip between visuals of him talking to Katara and Soka and visuals of Zuko planning on how to capture Aang. On one hand, of course, Aang’s words represent his intentions to avenge the airbenders’ extinction. Yet, on the other hand, because we are aware by this point that Zuko has been exiled by his father, the current Fire Lord, Aang’s monologue also correlates to Zuko’s motivations. Irrespective of whatever his personal ethics are, Zuko knows the only way he can get back to his home and earn the respect of his father is to carry out his ancestor’s mission of killing the Avatar. This somewhat humanizes Zuko who is only a teenager of seventeen himself. 

I will admit that I thought some of the dialogues, especially Aang’s, were a bit too on the nose. Just a bit. And for a twelve-year-old to be having some of the mature revelations he has… it was a little difficult to believe. But nonetheless, it is wise to acknowledge that this is a coming-of-age show in some respects and that this episode is the first steps of Aang growing up. I also think that he was raised to be a little wiser than most with Gyato’s influence. 

I think the one thing that bothered me the most is that there is absolutely no mention of Aang’s parents or any family. At all. At first, I thought maybe the story prescribed to a world in which the concept of parents does not exist but this turned out to be false because Katara and Soka’s parents are mentioned, and in fact, their parents’ lives and deaths play an important role in Katara and Soka’s personalities being what they are. Katara wants to master her waterbending powers to respect their mother’s memory while Soka wants to be the best tribe leader to respect their father’s memory. So why are Aang’s parents just not mentioned? Even if he was an orphan or something, that should be explained or hinted to us. I tried to do some Googling and I guess among the many iterations of the story, Aang’s parents are simply neglected. Which makes no sense and is a little annoying. 

But apart from these minor grievances, for now, I have ninety-nine-point-nine-nine percent good things to say. 

Definitely give the first episode a watch and I will be back with a series midpoint check-in soon.