Just heavy-handed, on-the-nose, full of clumsy exposition. I feel like it was written by a committee full of people going, “Do you think people are going to get this? Should we be clearer?” That might be forgivable if it was also fun (as the cartoon was) but it isn’t even that… basically none of the jokes land. Agh.

The best I can say so far is that it’s very pretty and the Kiyoshi costumes are good. Also I do totally believe Zuko is a 16 year old boy.

“Did the writers watch the cartoon or did they just read the wiki???”

Why is Iroh so serious and not perma-stoned???

Tamlyn Tomita is acting the hell out of this part though.

WHY IS KIYOSHI HERE

The pacing is so off. They just can’t stand to draw out any unknowns. They tee something up and then reveal it immediately so it doesn’t pack any punch. It’s actually bewildering.

They even switched around the order of the storytelling in the first episode just to make sure the audience knew who the Avatar was and his entire backstory right from the outset. 😵‍💫

And Bumi reveals his identity before his trials? Why? This is also immediately preceded by a flashback scene that introduces child Bumi as Aang’s childhood friend. A series of revelations that should be fun and surprising is just a joyless check ticking sequence of references to a better show.

My housemate is uncomfortable that the “lovers” in this adaptation are siblings. “It feels weird. I don’t like it.”

Alright, we’re stopping with episode four for the night. There’s only so much we can abuse our sensibilities.

Why am I over halfway through this show and Aang hasn’t made the mildest attempt to or even considered bending anything but air?