Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action series has finally premiered on Netflix, bringing several differences compared to the original material. The NerdBunker has gathered the main modifications made by the new show.
To discuss the changes, the list below openly talks about events throughout the first season of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Proceed with caution as there are spoilers:
1 – Fire Nation Attack
The first major difference occurs right at the beginning. Unlike the animation, which starts in the present with Aang being released after a hundred years trapped in the ice, the live-action begins by recounting what happened before the boy was frozen.
The Netflix version goes back a hundred years to show him discovering he is the Avatar and being frozen at the same time the Fire Nation starts the war. In fact, the villains’ attack on the Air Nomads is never shown in the original work, which only talks about the event.
2 – Fire Lord Ozai and Azula
Speaking of the Fire Nation, another notable change is the participation of Fire Lord Ozai and his daughter, Azula. The two characters barely appear in the early part of the original story, making their arcs in the live-action part original creations, part adaptations of later moments. This difference is better illustrated in the flashback explaining Prince Zuko’s exile.
The live-action shows the boy fighting Fire Lord before being punished with a burn on his face. In the animation, the boy does not have the courage to face his own father, and the quick scene ends with his punishment. Although the whole moment is watched by the families of the two, including Azula, since she had not yet been introduced, she seems more like an extra.
3 – Blend of Different Narratives
The beginning of Avatar follows an episodic structure, with almost isolated adventures. For narrative and financial reasons, Netflix’s adaptation combines events from different chapters into a single arc when the protagonists reach Omashu.
The base of this phase is found in the fifth episode of the animation’s first season when Aang and company visit Omashu and meet King Bumi. However, the live-action also adds the rebel group led by Jet, who appears in the tenth episode, and the Mechanic and his son Teo, who only show up in the seventeenth.
But the blending does not stop there, as the series also adds elements from “The Cave of Two Lovers,” the second episode of the second season. In it, a group of musicians from the Earth Kingdom guides our heroes through a cave marked by a tragic love story.
Originally, none of these plots are connected and function independently.
4 – Bumi and the Avatar
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5 – The Water Scroll
In the live-action, Katara receives a scroll from Gran containing waterbending teachings, something she uses to train and develop her skills. In the animated series, however, the young girl steals the scroll from a group of pirates who almost lead the Fire Nation to them.
6 – Encounters in the Spirit World
An important part of the first season is Aang’s journey to the spirit world. Like the Omashu segment, the live-action took the opportunity to merge some stories related to the location early on.
The Netflix version uses as a base the story of Hei Bai, the forest spirit destroyed by the Fire Nation, which appeared in episodes seven and eight of the first season. However, the plot incorporates the appearance of Koh, the Face Stealer, who only shows up in the last episode of the first year.
In addition to mixing two major stories, the production also has time to bring other new encounters. The first is with Wan Shi Tong, an owl-shaped spirit that only presents itself to Aang in the middle of the second season of the animation. The second is with a spiritual version of Princess Yue, whose fox form is an original creation in the live-action.
7 – Aang and the Bends
An important part of Aang’s mission is to master elements other than air. While the boy develops these skills slowly even in the original animation, the live-action does not show him learning to master any new elements.
By the end of the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the boy had at least experienced water and firebending.
8 – Sozin’s Comet
The final scene of the live-action shows Fire Lord Ozai being warned that Sozin’s Comet is about to return after 100 years. A cliffhanger the production leaves for the future but does not explain to the audience unfamiliar with the animations. If that is your case, do not worry: you can understand everything by clicking here.
The live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix brings a fresh perspective to the beloved animated series, providing fans with a new way to experience the story. While there are noticeable differences from the original material, the show still captures the essence of the world and characters that fans have come to love.
