Contains spoilers · Show review
For one, the visual fx with the bending was definitely better.
The fight scenes were good, I just wish the characters utilised their background a bit more instead of just standing in one place and also have the fights a little bit longer.
Generally the characters definitely had their moments to shine etc. Suki whooping ass, Ty-Lee with her chi blocking, Sokka with his smarts etc.
My standout moments were ofcourse my 🐐's Toph intro, Katara's bending improving alot [ which was my favourite thing to see from season 2 of the OG ], Zuko's fighting scenes and Azula's rath.
There were other good moments like:
• Diving more into Zuko and Azula's childhood + their relationship with their mom and how it has shaped them individually.
• Zuko having the internal struggle of deciding between doing what he was molded to do and doing what he wants to do.
• Sokka dealing with the loss of Yue and struggling to open up.
• Iroh having to atone for the consequences of his actions from his time as a General of the Fire Nation and him joining the White Lotus.
• Toph discovering metal bending.
• Azula just being the crazy girl that she is and causing chaos.
• Seeing the gaang at odds with one another and how they come out of that.
Didn't really care for Ty-Lee and Mai this season much as I did in the OG show. Their scenes weren't bad at all, I just want them to be involved a bit more.
This season or maybe the show in general, is taking a darker and more serious tone than I expected. They are being very straightforward with the choices they are making, like having Azula literally murder people left and right + the propaganda with the whole "There Is No War in Ba Sing Se". It definitely wants to remind us that this is still a show about literal kids fighting a war and what that means for them.
Some scenes/plot points were cut, some were mixed into each other and others were taken from season 3 [ The Painted Lady ] but that was done well, it didn't feel out of place and made sense to the overall story. The pacing overall was good. The acting is still something that can be improved on but the writing and the dialogue was good. I was not convinced yet with the portrayal of Azula but by episode 2, I was fully sold. I love how they took some of the iconic lines from the OG show and weaved them into this season and made it feel natural.
And of course the iconic finale where Aang get's killed. Initially in the OG, he goes into the Avatar State, Azula zaps him and Katara takes him and they escape but now it's a bit different. They flash it out a bit more. Aang, while he seems to be in control of the Avatar State, gets to showcase his raw power a bit more before getting out of it and then Azula zapping him and dying but then my 🐐, Katara, comes to the rescue.
Looking forward to Season 3 as a whole but mostly to see how they will close it up and then we can maybe talk about Netflix doing The Legend of Korra next.
Fingers crossed🤞🏿.