WEBVTT 1 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:13.439 Hello, and welcome to this episode of Superhero Ethics. Today we are kicking 2 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:17.559 off four days in a row of talking about Avatar the Last Airbender, the 3 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:21.519 live action show on Netflix. All eight episodes have dropped, but we do 4 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:25.679 want to have some modicum of sanity, So instead of recording on all eight 5 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:30.280 episodes or doing something where we've spoiled everything already for ourselves, we're going to 6 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:34.920 watch two episodes at a time and then record each day. So today we're 7 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.719 recording on episodes one and two. If you've watched ahead, awesome, and 8 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.880 if you want to send us questions or feedback or thoughts that you want to 9 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:47.119 have us discussed about episodes we haven't talked about yet, please send those in 10 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:52.759 to Matthew Atthethicalpanda dot com and just make sure to label them episodes three, 11 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.600 episode five, whatever it is, so we know not to be spoiled. 12 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.920 We'll have more to say in a bit about other ways you can help be 13 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:02.039 part of the conversation, but let's just jump right into it, and I'll 14 00:01:02.039 --> 00:01:04.439 start with you, Paul, episodes one and two. What'd you think? 15 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:12.000 Well? I turned the show off within ten minutes, okay, and then 16 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:17.000 I gritted my teeth and came back to it, and then I turned it 17 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:22.640 off again. Oh no, and then I used the Sikh bar to basically 18 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:23.719 be like, Okay, yeah, they're going to do that. Okay. 19 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:29.280 I skipped a chunk of the first episode okay, and then I picked it 20 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:34.439 up where the original series starts and watched the rest of episode one and then 21 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:38.079 all of episode two, and I thought there were some things that they did 22 00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:45.480 really well. I think that they kind of completely missed the essence of the 23 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:53.239 original show in a way that is somewhere between heartbreaking and infuriating. To say 24 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.079 something good in all this, I think that Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko does 25 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:05.359 a fantastic job up with I think the scripts are very bad. I think 26 00:02:05.400 --> 00:02:09.439 the dialogue is brutal, but I think a lot of the acting performances are 27 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:15.919 actually very good. Also. Ken Leung as Commander Choo, I think is 28 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:22.479 fantastic. And you know it's that's good because spoilers for you know, season 29 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:28.960 one of the original series, like, he's actually no okay yet, So 30 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.280 what we're actually gonna do this is I think a lot of people are probably 31 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:36.159 have already seen the animated show and we're going to be comparing the two the 32 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:38.479 whole way we go. But what we're gonna do is the first part of 33 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:44.319 the conversation, we'll try and just talk about what happens in episode one and 34 00:02:44.360 --> 00:02:49.360 two, and then in a later section we'll talk about what we know having 35 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:53.840 seen all of Avatar, about what's happening in these episodes. Well, then 36 00:02:53.879 --> 00:03:00.039 I'll just say that I think that Ken Leung brought a a lot of nuance 37 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:05.639 and like verve. I don't know exactly the best word, but just he 38 00:03:05.719 --> 00:03:09.560 brought a lot to a role that I think. I think at this point 39 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:17.000 in the series, both Joao and Zuko are more interesting characters to me than 40 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:20.919 they were in the original series. So I would say those are the two 41 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:24.080 spots where I feel like it's really shined so far. It makes sense, 42 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:30.520 makes sense, Ricky, What about yourself? It was interesting for me listening 43 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:37.919 to Paul's reaction to the beginning, because I had maybe not as strong a 44 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.199 reaction, but a similar, oh, we're doing it this way reaction to 45 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:47.759 the opening. And so what we're talking about here is that it starts in 46 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:54.680 the past, like from the perspective of the main story one hundred years ago 47 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.919 with the comment that and the beginning of the Fire Nations war on the other 48 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:10.120 tribes, and we get we get Ang's like kind of full backstory in the 49 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:15.360 first I think like ten to fifteen minutes, and that is completely different from 50 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:21.120 how the animated show starts. And I questioned it, like, my reaction 51 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:27.560 is not as strongly negative, I think as Paul's, but I definitely wonder, 52 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.959 like how it's going to play out. And I often use the term 53 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:38.000 manipulative in terms of writing of television and movies, and to me, like, 54 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:43.399 I kind of felt manipulated, like emotionally manipulated by that opening, which 55 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.040 is not it is not necessarily a negative thing, but again, it's very 56 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:49.480 different from the animated show, and it sets a different tone I think is 57 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:54.680 the main thing. Yeah, I hear that. I hear that. I'm 58 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:58.920 kind of in a mixed place because I think I had a very similar reaction, 59 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:00.639 Paul to what you were talking about the first time, and kept thinking 60 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:06.560 to myself, this is not the show that I was looking for. And 61 00:05:06.600 --> 00:05:10.920 then about two and a half hours later, while doing some other work, 62 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.040 I turned it on again and watched the first two episodes again kind of like 63 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:18.439 I've talked about with something like Mad Max, the most recent one, or 64 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:26.160 you know, other things like that. When I was looking to compare it 65 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:30.160 to the original, it fails and does not grasp so much of what I 66 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:33.360 love about the original. And we'll get into more specifics about that. We're 67 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:36.240 all kind of dancing around it, but I'm guessing we're on the same thing. 68 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.560 But then when I watched it again, I feel like I was able 69 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.839 to say to myself, Okay, they're going to tell a different story. 70 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:49.160 They're going to tell a story in which, among other things, a character 71 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:54.519 of Aang is fundamentally different. And I actually I asked myself, is that 72 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:59.199 a story I'm interested in hearing? And my end result was yeah, I 73 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.759 think that's an interesting story to hear them tell. But I do agree it's 74 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.839 going to be hard, because I think I went into this with fairly low 75 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:11.800 expectations of how close it would or wouldn't be to the original. But I 76 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.920 agree that that first, the first part of it was just I mean, 77 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:18.240 the whole thing was also just you know, I really missed what it was 78 00:06:18.279 --> 00:06:21.639 about the original, and so let me let me see if the biggest thing 79 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.839 that I thought was different let me see if it's the same for you. 80 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.879 For me, and we talked about this for those who have heard it on 81 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:33.079 our out our primary episode. So much of what makes Aang the character he 82 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:39.680 is is that he is. And you know what, forget what I just 83 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:42.759 said, because we're gonna there's no way to have the conversation without spoiling stuff 84 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:46.000 that comes later. So if you haven't seen the animated show, we are 85 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.560 going to spoil you about that, at least in general terms. We'll try 86 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:53.480 to avoid too many specifics. I will say that I think what you're about 87 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:57.800 to talk about is not what bothered me so much about the beginning. Okay, 88 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:00.279 sounds good. Well for me, this is not just the beginning but 89 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:05.079 the whole two episode. Okay, what I came to love about the show, 90 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:08.920 and I admit I didn't love it as much, especially in the first 91 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:14.319 season. Ag is a child. He's an incredibly wise child. He's an 92 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:17.480 incredibly powerful child. But he is a child, and he is not, 93 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:24.399 as we first meet him, trauma stricken. He is joyful. He is 94 00:07:24.600 --> 00:07:30.120 able to take joy in small things, and you know, he gets rescued 95 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:32.560 and people want to talk to him about the war and one of the first 96 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:35.959 things he wants to do is go penguins ledting, and and it is kind 97 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.040 of the spoiler part we come to realize that he is deeply traumatized. It's 98 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:45.480 just that one of the things he's he is still the kid who loves doing 99 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:48.639 those things, but also on some level he's focusing on those fun things to 100 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:53.199 not focus on the trauma. And there's a great episode about helping him kind 101 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:57.680 of reconnect with that. And I didn't see any of that in this. 102 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:03.839 I saw Aang as a kid who went through some horrific experiences and carries a 103 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:09.000 lot of guilt and carries a lot of trauma. And I didn't see the 104 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:13.839 whimsy in him at all. I didn't see the joy, and so I 105 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:16.319 think that was the And that's where I was like, Okay, well what 106 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:20.040 if if I can view this as a very different kind of Ang. But 107 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.519 let's see where that goes to the story instead. Okay, that's not what 108 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:26.680 I would have chosen for them to do, but that's an interesting thing for 109 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:28.360 them to do. But what about you, guys? Is that is that 110 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.080 all in line with Paul what you were seeing, or is that, as 111 00:08:31.080 --> 00:08:35.919 you said, something totally different well, I feel like they tried to have 112 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:41.519 some of that a little bit along the way. I agree that they The 113 00:08:41.240 --> 00:08:43.799 the way it came about, or the way that it was revealed, or 114 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:48.279 the fact that, you know, the trauma was kind of front loaded a 115 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:52.919 little bit compared to the series sort of sort of disrupts that there was you 116 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.600 know, there's a moment where he's like splashing in the water with Katara, 117 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:00.159 right and like, and I think they were kind of trying to go for 118 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:01.320 that. I'm like, Okay, there's there's a little bit of that there, 119 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:07.159 you know. I agree that it's not as much the thing that we'll 120 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:09.919 do Riki, do you want to respond to that first and then we'll get 121 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:16.320 into the other separate thing that actually like well, yeah, I mean, 122 00:09:16.440 --> 00:09:22.360 like I was stricken. I guess I disagree about the lack of whimsy. 123 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:28.279 I mean, okay, I saw the same thing, the scene with Katara 124 00:09:28.679 --> 00:09:33.159 practicing her water bending and then they end up I can't remember if she starts 125 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.480 teaching him in the animated show this early, but the fact that they were 126 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:43.360 playing in the water I thought was meant to show that that he's not there 127 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:48.720 yet at the point where he wants to learn water bending. He just wants 128 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:54.240 to have fun. Yeah, And I guess basically I feel like some of 129 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.720 that's there, but I think it's just not as much as it's like very 130 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:01.399 prominent in the show, Yeah, with like the whole penguin sledding and stuff 131 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:07.399 like that. The thing to me that told me that I was watching a 132 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:11.639 very different show was like all these murders in the beginning that none of the 133 00:10:11.639 --> 00:10:16.399 protagonists saw, none of the protagonists, none of the people that we see 134 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:18.240 in the presence, I saw them take place. So the way I feel 135 00:10:18.360 --> 00:10:22.679 is like, there's absolutely no reason to put them on screen. They're purely 136 00:10:22.720 --> 00:10:26.360 gratuitous. They're just telling us what sort of show we're watching. You know 137 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:31.879 that we're watching a Netflix show where a defenseless person is going to get burned 138 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:35.000 to a crisp on screen, and in a situation that makes no sense for 139 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:39.759 the story by the way, Like it's just so that the arch villain can 140 00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:43.120 like spout inane exposition and give the audience like a sense of stakes. So 141 00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:48.279 you're like, oh, people get burned by fire bending, which the animated 142 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:52.159 series like very kind of pointedly occasionally people get burned by firebending. But mostly 143 00:10:52.200 --> 00:11:00.080 they just like get knocked down, you know. And I think in the 144 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:05.639 animated show, there's a sense of all this tragedy having taken place in the 145 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:09.840 past, and especially in the case of Aang, he's trying to process all 146 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:15.679 these things that happened when he wasn't there, right, And I feel like 147 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:22.080 by not putting all of that directly on screen, then we're like living that 148 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.559 along with Aang, right, you know. And there was a show that 149 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:31.600 we did a while ago, I guess on the Sibling Podcast where somebody dies 150 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:37.519 off screen and the character, the main character doesn't isn't there for that, 151 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:41.159 and so we kind of share that feeling of hearing about the death instead of 152 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:46.759 seeing it, you know. And I feel like that can be a useful 153 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.720 thing where you actually have the audience experience parts of the story the same way 154 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.399 that the you know, the protagonist does. But mostly just it just felt 155 00:11:56.440 --> 00:11:58.039 like crass and disgusting, and if I wanted to watch that, I just 156 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:03.360 watched the Boys. Like to me, the thing that I loved so much 157 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:11.080 about the original show is that it does deal with many of the horrors of 158 00:12:11.120 --> 00:12:18.279 the world and the horrors of war, and particularly like the after effects in 159 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:22.080 a way that has a certain lightness that you you rarely get and that I 160 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:26.559 think this show is deliberately trying not to have. And so I was just 161 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:31.559 like, honestly, like my biggest pet peeve in fiction also just like things 162 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:35.080 I don't want to watch are just like defenseless people getting murdered, Like I'm 163 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:41.080 just not interested in that. And I feel like they just very pointedly were 164 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.240 like, we want to put this in your face in this way, and 165 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.720 I'm like, that's not why I want to watch this show. You know, 166 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:48.679 I want to watch this show for other reasons. So I got through 167 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:54.039 that part and it, you know, I guess warmed up to it. 168 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:58.600 I don't know word choice, but you know, there were there were parts 169 00:12:58.639 --> 00:13:03.679 that I really did enjoy, as I said, but just that really started 170 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.480 with like a I started it with a very bad taste in my mouth, 171 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:13.320 just being like, oh, I don't feel like the producers or writers of 172 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:18.519 this show appreciated the original show the same way I did. Perhaps they appreciated 173 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:22.440 it in some ways that I didn't. That's fine, and they're going to 174 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:26.799 do their own adaptation. But it said to me in like one scene, 175 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:31.480 this is not the adaptation that you would want. Not that I even really 176 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:33.600 want an adaptation in the first place, though, so right, yeah, 177 00:13:33.639 --> 00:13:37.600 I would very much agree with all that. I think in some ways, 178 00:13:37.639 --> 00:13:41.039 I think maybe my seeing the lack of whimsy from Aang is probably influenced by 179 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:45.240 the fact that we start so much darker, because you're right, that's to 180 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:50.000 me. Ang's journey is that we start, we the audience start very whimsical, 181 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:52.960 and as he gets darker and darker, and there's an extent to which, 182 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.919 like I wanted to see penguin sledding, but I kind of wonder would 183 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:01.240 it felt glaringly wrong after just watching, like, hey, this kid is 184 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:07.159 penguin sledding and his people all just got brutally murdered. Yeah, yeah, 185 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.879 I feel like it might. You know, I've seen things that I feel 186 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:13.399 like do that and it doesn't feel right. And in the show, they're 187 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:16.960 able to pull it off because they kind of they don't frontload the trauma, 188 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:20.440 right, They don't show us right away all of the horrors of what's happened. 189 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:26.320 They let us kind of uncover that along with the characters and particularly along 190 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:31.600 with Aang, and so it feels different. I think as a result, 191 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:37.120 it was so dark and like literally like that first sequence in the Capital City 192 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:41.720 was like physically dark. And then that matches what we've been talking about, 193 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:48.000 the emotional darkness of the violent acts. And the other part of that that 194 00:14:48.120 --> 00:14:52.639 I thought was deliberate in the opening sequence was the action elements the bending. 195 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:58.000 Oh yes, right, because the other thing that this show has to overcome 196 00:14:58.440 --> 00:15:03.480 is the history of the Life action movie, in which the bending was very 197 00:15:03.519 --> 00:15:09.639 different and has often been mocked for how simplistic and how not martial arts it 198 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:13.879 was. So I thought the action portrayed with the bending was very good. 199 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:20.039 I'm not sure about the VFX of it. Maybe that's the reason it was 200 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:22.360 so dark, other than just for the mood is maybe they're trying to hide 201 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:28.240 some of it. But what was on screen looked very good. It looked 202 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:33.080 very much like the action sequences from the animated show in terms of their physicality. 203 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.120 So I enjoyed that. Yeah, And it felt to me like they 204 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:43.320 wanted to display some of that and that power and flash early on because in 205 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.360 the show, you know, it takes a while. It does, yeah, 206 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:52.080 be a bit of a slow burn, And I do feel like there 207 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:56.919 was a part I was apprehensive about that, and I think I don't like 208 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.919 how they do it, and Parker is what I was thinking is it's adults 209 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.759 fighting adults, which is something we almost never see in the original. There's 210 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:08.000 almost always a teenager or someone else young younger than you know, an adult 211 00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:12.720 on screen. I will say, I do I want to hear more from 212 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.799 you guys at a later point about the martial arts of it. I did 213 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.840 think that the fire bending, in terms of the bending in general, in 214 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.440 terms of the CGI and all that looked very good, much better than the 215 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:29.279 earlier live action. It looked very believable to me. And one thing I 216 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:32.480 did think they did right because it threw me a bit. But here's here's 217 00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:34.679 my understanding of it. Tell me if you all disagree. And this is 218 00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:37.159 a very direct spoiler, so I want to be a little careful about it. 219 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:42.960 But I think fire alart always I himself said or someone else said that 220 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:48.799 at the time they attack the Air Temple, they're they're they're even more powerful 221 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:55.919 than they normally are. And you know, in that very first scene where 222 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:59.559 the Earth Temple person is trying to get away with the uh, you know, 223 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:02.679 the secret plans for the Death Star I'm sorry. I mean for the 224 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:08.359 invasion of the Earth Kingdom. He's literally hit by a fireball and he's knocked 225 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:11.720 down and then gets back up and like his clothes are fine, right, 226 00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:15.880 right. And then later during the attack on the Air Temple, as you 227 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:19.519 said, it is like literally getting hit by fire. People are burned badly 228 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:25.839 and they're killed. At first, I thought that was inconsistent until I realized 229 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:32.200 later when again the you know, Zuko and General General Zoo and all of 230 00:17:32.200 --> 00:17:36.599 them are attacking, We're back to fireballs can hurt you and can knock you 231 00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:41.400 down, but won't always necessarily burn you or certainly not kill you. I 232 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:45.079 think that was because, and I assume they'll tell us about more about this 233 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.680 later, that during the time they attacked the air Nomads, fire bending was 234 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:52.799 more powerful. Well, it was during Sozan's Comet right, which got named 235 00:17:52.839 --> 00:17:59.519 Sozan's Comet because they attacked the Air Temple during it, right and killed all 236 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:04.720 the airbands. I think Susan's comment was already in the sky before the first 237 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:11.119 scene. It was, right, but like maybe it wasn't as close to 238 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:15.200 the planet at the time, and so their strength was gradually increasing. Also, 239 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:19.960 though they actually did want the guy to get away, which is why 240 00:18:21.079 --> 00:18:22.960 that makes no sense that they then captured him and brought him back for the 241 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:29.640 little expository session and you know barbecue, So like, why didn't they just 242 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:32.119 let him get away? You know, they just had to make it that 243 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.079 convince the other other guy got away. Yeah, but it just did, 244 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:40.880 you know. But yeah, I could see like a combination of like maybe 245 00:18:40.920 --> 00:18:47.000 the comment wasn't as close yet, or you know, they weren't. They 246 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:48.279 were kind of half hearted in their efforts. They were trying to make it 247 00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:52.920 look good. They like wanted him to at least get the scroll to the 248 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:57.119 other guy to then, which also this plan doesn't make sense and isn't really 249 00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:00.680 from the original right where they leak a thing, because then they want everybody 250 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:03.960 to think about the Earth Kingdom. But then they think the Airbenders are going 251 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:10.000 to go help the earth Venders because they said he said that, then the 252 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:14.000 air air Nomads and the water tribes will go try and help the Earthbenders. 253 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:18.799 But then they're going to try and attack the Airbenders who are having a big 254 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:22.279 festival during the comment, which they have to know increases fire bending, right 255 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.480 like right, and they know that they're going to plan some attacks, so, 256 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:30.240 like, I don't know, it just it bothered me from that, 257 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.880 like they added a bunch of kind of does it it works for you? 258 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.400 No? No, No, I think you're absolutely right now. It doesn't 259 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:42.880 work because when we get to the Air Temple, they're talking about having to 260 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:48.799 send assistance to the Earth Kingdom, right, and the monks are talking about 261 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:55.119 shipping Ang away for training because he as the Avatar, he has to be 262 00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:59.039 the one to help stop the Fire Nation. Yeah. So if the Fire 263 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:04.519 Nation just ever leaks these plans, they could have done a sneak attack on 264 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:08.839 the Air Temple like completely, and they could send for sneak attacks. I 265 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:15.000 mean I think, like plot wise, it would have made more sense if 266 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:19.119 they leak the attack on the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads send their best 267 00:20:19.160 --> 00:20:22.880 warriors to the Earth Kingdom, and then the Air Temple is less defended. 268 00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.599 Yeah, that makes it is how I feel like it should have happened. 269 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.920 So maybe there's a little bit of weird plotting going on here. Yeah. 270 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.559 Yeah, no, I can definitely see that. I can never see that. 271 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:41.400 Yeah, it did seem if you want to show off your CGI bending 272 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:44.759 early, I totally get that, but I agree doing it in this way 273 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.799 having to be so dark, and I guess that's all Here's what I think 274 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:55.680 is gonna for me be The fundamental challenge of this is in general, I 275 00:20:55.720 --> 00:21:00.519 don't think there's anything wrong with saying, here's this fascinating story that was told 276 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:06.119 primarily for one audience. We are now going to take that story and tell 277 00:21:06.160 --> 00:21:10.000 it for a different audience, which will in some ways change the story, 278 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:11.839 but will try to be as true to that story as we can be. 279 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:17.480 And often that is like, you know, it's written as a kid story 280 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.720 or a ya story, and now they're going to tell it for a more 281 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:26.079 adult audience or whatever it is. And I think that often works. But 282 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:29.400 I think, and again, as we all talked about for quite a while, 283 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:33.039 and Paul, you really convinced me of this many years ago, this 284 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.640 story it's not that it's a kid's story. It's not that it's a story 285 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:41.559 told for kids. It is fundamentally a story about a child, and that 286 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.799 that can be told in a more adult way than the cartoon was than the 287 00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:49.839 animated show was, But you still have to keep that it is about someone 288 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:55.880 who can be both very wise and very strong and still have the whimsy, 289 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:57.519 and as you said, maybe it's more of it there that I'm doing credit 290 00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:03.920 for. But I think what you said, Paul about them not getting that 291 00:22:03.160 --> 00:22:10.720 point of the show. I'm going to give them some more chance to see 292 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.720 if they do, or to see if they're going to try and say, 293 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:15.440 what if we make it a different point, But it definitely is not that 294 00:22:15.480 --> 00:22:19.720 original one, And that's that's said. Yeah, yeah, I mean that's 295 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:23.000 pretty much how I feel. You know, it's like it's a show where 296 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:26.839 the protagonists are kids, you know, or teenagers, right, and like, 297 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:36.400 you know, there's only so much like you can really chap that story 298 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:38.759 is really only going to work in certain movies, And there's an extent which 299 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:45.119 I feel like maybe the original series was the perfect, you know, marriage 300 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:51.039 of medium and story where this is a story that was meant to be told 301 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.880 in animation and that's trying to adapt it for live action is just a fundamentally 302 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:04.039 difficult idea if nothing else. But yeah, it's I don't know in terms 303 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:07.880 of like taking a story and making it darker or whatever, like if it's 304 00:23:07.960 --> 00:23:10.799 not just for the sake of making it darker, I mean, I don't 305 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.000 know. I love the Dark Knight Batman. That's not who Batman always was. 306 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:17.680 You know. I love the Netflix Daredevil. That's not who Daredevil ever 307 00:23:17.799 --> 00:23:21.759 always was. You know. It's like, I'm not opposed to like having 308 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:26.920 different versions of characters. I guess it's like when there's an animated series, 309 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:30.119 then you're just trying to make like the live action adaptation. It feels a 310 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:34.680 little different than when it's like comic book characters that have had forty iterations already 311 00:23:34.680 --> 00:23:38.279 in the comics and then you're just adapting them in different ways. You know. 312 00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:44.240 But as I did say, though, I think there are some things 313 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:47.039 that is doing very well, and I mean I am going to give it 314 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:52.160 the chance to, like hopefully, even if it doesn't capture some of these 315 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:56.440 things that I love, I do hope that it manages to capture some of 316 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:02.240 them and then maybe even bring something that that was absent. We're kind of 317 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:06.640 latent in the original show, but like, could we could get more of 318 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:12.039 right than we did? Yeah, this is coming out at a difficult time 319 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:21.480 because we had the Netflix live action one piece within the past six months. 320 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:26.599 I'm going to say, and that was such that was such a success at 321 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:33.680 capturing the essence of the characters of the one piece manga and anime, and 322 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:37.240 it just like blew everything away in terms of all of the other adaptations we've 323 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:42.160 had, like Cowboy Bebop, u U Hawk Show came out after and and 324 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:45.880 so like this is coming out at a time when it's like, oh, 325 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:51.160 now we have this example of something like it finally succeeded, whereas like so 326 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:57.319 many other anime to live actions have not succeeded. So it could have it 327 00:24:57.319 --> 00:25:03.279 could have struck you know, a couple months before and been successful, right, 328 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.759 But now it's like when the MCU haven't, it's like, oh, 329 00:25:07.880 --> 00:25:11.640 the MCU worked. How about if we try to make the DCU work or 330 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:17.119 the Sony Spider versus verse work and they don't, and it's like, well, 331 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:22.079 why can't we be the MCU. Right, So it's difficult when one 332 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:27.400 like very prominent example succeeds so well and now like it's probably even harder to 333 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:33.680 follow that up at this time. Yeah, And I personally am judging it 334 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:37.799 on that like, oh, well it's not quite one piece yet. Yeah, 335 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:40.920 I think it's fair. I think I don't know one piece, but 336 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:45.240 I know for Cowboy Bebop, for example, it is animated, but it's 337 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:48.160 by no means a kid's show. Like if someone asked me, what's a 338 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:49.319 good show to have their eight year old watch? Like, I think some 339 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:52.599 eight year olds would enjoy it, but I think I, you know, 340 00:25:52.599 --> 00:25:56.279 it deals with very adult topics and very adult themes, and you know, 341 00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:59.559 so does Avatars to a lot of other kids shows, But to me, 342 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:02.920 Cowboy Bebop is it's animated, but there's nothing about it that says, oh, 343 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:04.960 this is primarily aimed at kids, in the same way someone like Avatar, 344 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:11.599 I think was, And in some ways, I think, like it's 345 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:15.519 always weird talking about that separation between the two, because I think the best 346 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:19.160 shows are ones that maybe aimed at one audience, but that all audiences can 347 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:22.920 enjoy, you know, which I think Avatar very much was. Yeah, 348 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:27.720 has something for various different people, right, Yeah. Yeah. When I 349 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:32.720 watched The Muppet Show as a kid, my mother absolutely loved it. And 350 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:34.559 then when I grew up and watched it again as an adult, I realized 351 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:40.519 there was a whole leverage layer of meaning and jokes and references that as a 352 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:42.079 six year old I was totally missing that my mother loved, you know, 353 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:48.519 let's talk about the bending just a little bit more. Paul, as a 354 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:52.079 martial artist yourself, someone who's talked a lot about this and studied a lot, 355 00:26:52.680 --> 00:26:55.319 and one thing you always said that you loved about the animated show was 356 00:26:55.359 --> 00:27:00.920 how each of the four benders, you know, it was their own martial 357 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.759 arts. It was clearly drawn on different martial arts from our own world, 358 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:11.079 and each of their martial arts seemed to really fit the ethos and philosophy of 359 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:15.599 the different element that they were doing. It did seem to me like the 360 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:19.319 movements were different between the different groups, but as so a lot more training 361 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:25.119 and understanding of this. How did that look to you? Fine, I 362 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:27.759 guess I would say. I'd say overall, you know, the martial arts 363 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:33.000 mostly looked good to me, believable. You know, I think pretty much 364 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:37.440 everybody who was who was doing action was was moving well. It felt well 365 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:44.839 choreographed. There were some kind of conspicuous cuts where I felt like the fluidity 366 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:51.200 between the martial arts, like the actual physical active bending and then the results 367 00:27:51.240 --> 00:27:56.440 of the bending, right, the elemental result doesn't feel as fluid to me 368 00:27:56.640 --> 00:28:00.680 as as it does in the animation. I mean, part of that is 369 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:06.720 because you're layering you know, VFX on top of physical action, right, 370 00:28:06.880 --> 00:28:10.920 whereas in the animation you're just you're just drawing the whole thing. So not 371 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:15.559 to minimize that achievement, because I think in the the animated series it's fantastic, 372 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:18.759 but just that to me seems like a more straightforward thing where you're working 373 00:28:18.839 --> 00:28:22.920 in one medium. Here you basically have two forms of media that you're laying 374 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:26.640 one on top of the other, and I think it's harder to do. 375 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:33.400 I haven't rewatched the m Night Shyamalan adaptation recently. I mean I maybe watched 376 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:37.039 five to ten minutes, and I was like, I just I just can't 377 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:40.279 which, to be honest, is how I felt in the beginning of this. 378 00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:41.240 But then when I got back to it, I was like, Okay, 379 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:47.039 there's there's definitely strong things here. I mean, there's you know, 380 00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:52.960 two performances that I think are arguably arguably better than in the original, and 381 00:28:53.200 --> 00:28:56.960 definitely some some stuff. But in terms of the martial arts, like it 382 00:28:57.039 --> 00:29:03.519 seemed fine, Katara isn't really that powerful yet, so it makes sense that 383 00:29:03.559 --> 00:29:07.680 she doesn't, you know, her movements, they don't show too much of 384 00:29:07.720 --> 00:29:12.359 that yet. Right, I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing more of that. 385 00:29:12.480 --> 00:29:18.720 It does kind of develop in the first two, but there's some spots where 386 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:22.480 they kind of cut from the result of her bending to then her kind of 387 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:25.400 like holding her arms, and I'm kind of like, okay, you know, 388 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:26.440 that was a choice, and I think it was because they wanted to 389 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.440 be a surprise specifically, like where she you know, brings the water guyser 390 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:34.680 up to knock aside Zuko's fireball to try and knock them off off of right, 391 00:29:37.720 --> 00:29:41.079 and that's just that. But to me that like maybe that's more editing 392 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:45.440 than like choreography, you know, But overall, I thought the choreography was 393 00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:49.240 good and you know, better than I mean, I would compare it more 394 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:56.720 to the twenty ten adaptation than the original series. Was like felt a cut 395 00:29:56.759 --> 00:30:00.599 above this so far. But also it's like it's animation. You can have 396 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.079 people move however you want, you know. Here it's like you actually have 397 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:07.599 to have people doing those stunts, and I think in terms of them just 398 00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:10.960 being human beings doing all of that. Yeah, so far, so good, 399 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:12.640 that is what I would say. Well, especially because one thing I 400 00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:18.079 was thinking about was that, you know, the voice actor you cast has 401 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.799 nothing to do with the physicality of the animated character on screen. Yes, 402 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:26.240 whereas there are some people who were cast who think were quite good, but 403 00:30:26.319 --> 00:30:29.359 I don't think of them as martial artists. Like you know, the the 404 00:30:29.400 --> 00:30:32.599 actor who's playing Uncle Appa. I'm sorry, I mean uncle mister Kim. 405 00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:37.920 I mean Paul Sung Young Lee, the actor who played mister Kim and Conconvenience 406 00:30:37.960 --> 00:30:41.960 and has been many many other things. I think he's fantastic because Uncle Iro, 407 00:30:41.039 --> 00:30:45.839 I'm really liking him. I don't know if he's ever studied martial arts 408 00:30:45.880 --> 00:30:48.359 in any way. Maybe he has, but he certainly has exhiited that in 409 00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:52.480 any of the other stuff he has. Really Okay, okay, okay, 410 00:30:52.519 --> 00:31:00.200 I'm going to talk about here you go. Because I was very disinterested in 411 00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:06.759 the idea of another live action adaptation of The Last Airbender. And I saw 412 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:10.680 some video someone talking about something. It might have been on his like some 413 00:31:10.799 --> 00:31:15.559 like Canadian Awards show where he's getting an award for playing you know, Kim 414 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:22.799 Sagiel on Kim's Convenience, and I was just like, stud would be a 415 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:29.359 great Iiro, he would be a great Uncle Iro. And one of the 416 00:31:29.400 --> 00:31:32.480 reasons was, I mean, you know, he's got the build, right, 417 00:31:32.559 --> 00:31:37.519 he's like he's got a certain size to him. Yeah. You know, 418 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:38.119 at the time, I was saying, like, well, he can 419 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:45.640 definitely do an accent that feels convincing and doesn't feel like really fake. And 420 00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:51.960 he's obviously chosen not to and to you know, just speak as normal Canadian 421 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:56.079 English, right, And that's fine. I don't think that really matters one 422 00:31:56.079 --> 00:31:59.559 way or the other. But like, if you're going to have someone do 423 00:31:59.599 --> 00:32:01.559 an accent, you don't want someone to do a terrible accent, right, 424 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:07.279 Like that's you really don't want that. And and he could do comedy while 425 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:13.559 also being serious. And he can move well because in Kim's Convenience the first 426 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:16.960 season there's a hot Keto episode where he goes and does hot keto. Oh, 427 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:21.640 you're right, And I could tell the actors like he's moving like he 428 00:32:21.680 --> 00:32:25.279 can move, and so I can definitely see him be someone who you know 429 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:29.240 is mostly going to be kind of have a cup of jasmine tea and then 430 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:31.400 at some point, you know is going to be like, did I ever 431 00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:36.119 tell you how I got the name Dragon of the West. It's more of 432 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:38.119 a demonstration, really, you know, and then just be like a total 433 00:32:38.119 --> 00:32:43.960 badass and it's like, oh yeah, okay, yeah, so yeah, 434 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:47.680 I anyway, that's why I watched the series. And he can do that, 435 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:52.640 but he's not like a martial artist first and foremost, which is like 436 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:58.240 the aang that they cast in the In the m Night Shamalan one like sent 437 00:32:58.319 --> 00:33:01.359 an audition tape that was basically just like a martial arts demonstration. You know. 438 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.799 But I think your point that you were getting to that I so graciously 439 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:15.200 interrupted, was that you need actors who can act but then also can do 440 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:21.200 action, right, Like those two things don't always live in the same body. 441 00:33:21.799 --> 00:33:23.559 Yeah right, I mean they rarely do. It's because that's like two 442 00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:28.359 totally different skills that you need to be able to put together. And I 443 00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:30.720 mean, of course you can have stunt doubles, but you don't want to 444 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:32.799 do too much with stunt doubles because then you never have the character's face in 445 00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:38.319 the shot and it can be jarring, right, and you know, unless 446 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:43.839 it's like din jarring and then it works. But sorry, I'm on, 447 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:49.079 But even the basics like, of course they're gonna have stunt doubles. Of 448 00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:52.680 course there's probably gonna be some wirefood going on. Here, but even just 449 00:33:52.759 --> 00:33:57.799 like the basic forms of the kata, like when they take their stances and 450 00:33:57.839 --> 00:34:02.319 poses like that, that has to be believable that they know their stuff. 451 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:07.440 So I do think it's very important, and that's why like casting live action, 452 00:34:07.519 --> 00:34:12.119 I think the most prominent example for me is going to be fire Lord 453 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:15.880 Ozi in the animated shows, played by Mark Hamill, right, fantastic voice 454 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:20.760 actor. But now like at the end of episode two here we got the 455 00:34:20.800 --> 00:34:25.679 image, we got Daniel day Kim is gonna be Ozi, and I'm looking 456 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:30.679 forward to seeing some of his fights and looking forward to seeing him take his 457 00:34:30.760 --> 00:34:36.679 shirt off for one of those fights. Right, And I don't know, 458 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:42.400 like the martial arts I was even though I didn't like the storytelling style of 459 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:46.960 the starting in the past, I did like that we got to see trained 460 00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:52.880 Airbenders at the Air Temple fight off the Fire Nation soldiers, because in the 461 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:57.599 animated show it's only aang. I don't think we ever get to see a 462 00:34:57.639 --> 00:35:04.119 flashback of the Airbenders maybe one of the avatars, right, But seeing like 463 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:09.079 this very prominent martial arts battle between the Fire and Air and the movements of 464 00:35:09.159 --> 00:35:15.320 the Air Monks, to me was very reminiscent of the I believed the tallow 465 00:35:15.960 --> 00:35:20.840 in hung Chi, the way that they moved in the circular fashions, and 466 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:27.199 of course both literally manipulating you know, airflow and causing circular wind patterns around 467 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:30.840 them. Like I really love that. Yeah, I can see it, 468 00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:34.599 and I mean I was really struck by that battle, and even in that 469 00:35:34.679 --> 00:35:37.119 early scene, which again the first time, I was just like, why 470 00:35:37.199 --> 00:35:42.440 is this here? Then I went back and rewatched earth bending looks terrifying as 471 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:45.760 it should, like you know, the ability to like throw rocks, throw 472 00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:47.920 boulders, throw you know, sharp pebbles at people, and then just to 473 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:52.880 pull up a wall to help keep you safe in some ways, to be 474 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:55.599 the only one that hasn't really looked badass so far as water bending. And 475 00:35:55.639 --> 00:35:59.280 that's because, as Paul you were saying, so far, we're going seeing 476 00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:04.599 Katara and she is still still learning right now. Yeah, for sure, 477 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:07.039 for sure, I actually didn't see that whole battle because that's the part that 478 00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:12.239 I'm like, oh, here's the genocide. I'll skip through the genocide, 479 00:36:12.320 --> 00:36:15.920 but like maybe I'll go back and watch it at some point. But yeah, 480 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:22.440 I think seeing a lot of airbending sounds cool. You know. I 481 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:27.119 mean the thing in the in the original series is that it's like the whole 482 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:30.519 point is that it's the last Airbender, right, but like, you know, 483 00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:35.559 this this does provide more context for that, and to me, it 484 00:36:35.760 --> 00:36:39.679 kind of having Aang be the only Airbender that we ever see I think made 485 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:46.239 sort of Katara and everybody else who lives in this generation their point of view. 486 00:36:46.280 --> 00:36:51.440 We can see their point of view because they've all only ever seen this 487 00:36:51.480 --> 00:36:54.320 one Airbender and we've only seen this one Airbender, whereas now we've seen you 488 00:36:54.320 --> 00:37:00.519 know, centuries apart and you know, score of Airbenders. It was was 489 00:37:00.599 --> 00:37:06.320 anything in the original series about and being like a super powerful Airbender? Did 490 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:08.079 that ever come up? Or is that kind of something that they either added 491 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:13.679 or is in the graphic novels. I think the editor was in the graphic 492 00:37:13.719 --> 00:37:19.599 novels because in agreanted, I didn't memorize it. But I watched the original 493 00:37:19.639 --> 00:37:22.119 animated just a couple of days ago, and one of the things about the 494 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:29.400 episode where he likes the event except for the whole Earth Kingdom spy thing, 495 00:37:29.480 --> 00:37:32.320 like was totally right, the attack on the Air Kingdom something like we and 496 00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.840 the plotting of it all is something that we do find out about, and 497 00:37:35.840 --> 00:37:42.199 so the going there is something we see. But and and we've seen flashback 498 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:44.280 him, you know, running away when he's told he's going to be the 499 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:51.360 Avatar. It part of why I think he in the in the animated show, 500 00:37:51.400 --> 00:37:54.719 he's deeply surprised because he doesn't think of himself as better than everybody else, 501 00:37:55.239 --> 00:37:58.679 right, And and I think that was something that was that was lacking 502 00:37:58.719 --> 00:38:05.920 here. This is very Anakin Skywalker the way they talked about him when he 503 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:10.039 when they were like, he's the youngest Airbender ever to receive his tattoos and 504 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:15.440 stuff like that, like not just the chosen one, but like the chosen 505 00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:19.000 one of chosen ones. Yeah, not only is he the Avatar, he's 506 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:22.000 the greatest, the youngest, greatest Airbender we've ever had, right right, 507 00:38:22.280 --> 00:38:25.559 right, Yeah, Because I think part of the thing in the original is 508 00:38:25.559 --> 00:38:32.000 that he's a good Airbender, but he's made the Avatar. They know that 509 00:38:32.079 --> 00:38:36.119 he's the Avatar for things that have nothing to do with the quality of his 510 00:38:36.199 --> 00:38:40.000 bending, right Yeah. It's just like a sign or something, and it's 511 00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:45.639 it's it's a weird decision because why he doesn't have to be the greatest Airbender. 512 00:38:45.679 --> 00:38:51.599 He's the last airbender in this world. He's literally the only one who 513 00:38:51.599 --> 00:38:55.480 can do this now, right, So he's now the greatest. He's also 514 00:38:55.519 --> 00:39:00.719 the best anybody's ever seen exactly, No one living result was under people, 515 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:02.719 right, he doesn't have to be the best that ever was. So yeah, 516 00:39:02.760 --> 00:39:08.880 that that does feel like a weird choice to make because it it sets 517 00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:15.880 him up as special beyond being the Avatar, which I feel like should already 518 00:39:15.880 --> 00:39:19.239 be special enough. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It also felt like, 519 00:39:19.880 --> 00:39:22.559 again, I don't want the show to be all about making a twelve year 520 00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:25.880 old boy feel guilty and terrible and us thinking he's terrible. But it let 521 00:39:25.960 --> 00:39:30.559 him off the hook for him leaving a little bit more than the animated show 522 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:34.320 did it in that he's just like, I just need to kind of like 523 00:39:34.360 --> 00:39:37.800 go fly to clear my head, and then he specifically says, let's go 524 00:39:37.920 --> 00:39:42.480 back. He's like on his way back on the right, right, because 525 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:45.440 in the animated show, doesn't he like leave, like actually run away and 526 00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:51.239 like leave a letter, right, wasn't that what happened? So he actually 527 00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:53.719 do this, whereas this he's like, I'm just going to go for a 528 00:39:53.800 --> 00:39:57.800 drive, and yeah, yeah, and it and it leads to a very 529 00:39:58.320 --> 00:40:02.039 and it's this is important because it he's to a very completely different sense of 530 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:08.519 responsibility and guilt for this character going Forwardah, Like he he didn't abandon his 531 00:40:08.760 --> 00:40:13.760 tribe, Like he just happened to not be there when the attack happened and 532 00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:16.519 then got caught up in a storm. Yeah. At the same time, 533 00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:22.559 in if he's not like the greatest of all time, you know, like 534 00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:27.920 then it's like, what could he have done in that moment if he'd stayed 535 00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:30.800 at the Southern Air Temple in the in the animated serious Whereas here it's like, 536 00:40:30.920 --> 00:40:35.280 if he's that good, you know, maybe it wouldn't have been the 537 00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:37.559 difference, but like he probably could have helped, you know a little more 538 00:40:37.599 --> 00:40:40.000 than just like, you know, he's just a twelve year old kid who's 539 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.599 an Airbender but isn't like the greatest and you know, yeah, I don't 540 00:40:44.599 --> 00:40:46.840 know, Well, I was just going to add the like, as Star 541 00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:53.280 Wars fans, did we all get like the the Order sixty six flashbacks during 542 00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:58.159 that scene? Yeah, yeah, yeah, when they're hurting, when they're 543 00:40:58.239 --> 00:41:00.360 hurting the kids, and I'm just like I see the lightsaber lighting up. 544 00:41:01.239 --> 00:41:05.199 Yeah, well, it felt like, again, this was a way in 545 00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:07.480 which it was choosing to tell a different story, and it made a bit 546 00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:10.519 sad because it seems to be leaving out when I think is one of the 547 00:41:10.519 --> 00:41:15.480 best parts, at least in some or at least changing because I think you 548 00:41:15.559 --> 00:41:20.800 write, Paul, the public perception of why did the Avatar why has the 549 00:41:20.840 --> 00:41:25.039 Avatar not been with us for the last hundred years is somewhat inaccurate, And 550 00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:30.679 there's this weird thing of ag feels guilty for something he did, but it's 551 00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:35.639 not quite what everybody else doesn't is mad at the Avatar for, And it's 552 00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:42.199 why I really missed. It feels like this show is basically doing a We're 553 00:41:42.280 --> 00:41:44.840 just going to tell the key parts of the story, and we're going to 554 00:41:44.920 --> 00:41:47.639 leave out all the side quests and the side quest that we missed that is 555 00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:52.519 part of the story these epatodes tell is the trial of the Avatar. In 556 00:41:52.880 --> 00:41:58.119 the original part of what happens when he goes to Kiyoshi Island is he finds 557 00:41:58.119 --> 00:42:00.880 out that there's an island right next door that hate the Avatar because as they 558 00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:05.400 see it, Kyoshi came and killed someone who was very important to that town 559 00:42:05.840 --> 00:42:09.639 some time ago, and in going that he connects to Kyoshi as part of 560 00:42:09.679 --> 00:42:14.480 his trying to figure out what really happened, and it really opens the door 561 00:42:14.519 --> 00:42:17.960 to these real questions of sometimes what the avatar needs to do is not what 562 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:22.159 the people want the avatar to do, and sometimes the avatar might be wrong 563 00:42:22.280 --> 00:42:27.480 about what that is, and that there's a tension there and that that has 564 00:42:27.519 --> 00:42:30.440 a lot to do with how people perceive the Avatar. And to me, 565 00:42:30.480 --> 00:42:35.920 it's one of my favorite episodes from the original series, and I was sad 566 00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:38.199 that it's not here because I think it foretells that a lot of those side 567 00:42:38.280 --> 00:42:42.400 quests are not going to be here. I don't think we're going to get 568 00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:44.639 Secret Tunnel, much as I love it, but that's at least a year 569 00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:47.920 away. But also, I just think it's such an essential story. I 570 00:42:49.000 --> 00:42:54.440 was reading and Senile and the phrase secret tunnel was literally in the book because 571 00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:59.920 the characters go down a secret tunnel, and I had to I might have 572 00:43:00.039 --> 00:43:02.320 sung it out loud for a moment. I couldn't help it. I was 573 00:43:02.400 --> 00:43:07.400 like, it was reflexive, But yeah, I mean, they're doing eight 574 00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:10.599 episodes, right, They're not doing a twenty episode season. The episodes are 575 00:43:10.639 --> 00:43:15.360 twice as long, so you should be able to cover or even three times. 576 00:43:15.480 --> 00:43:16.800 Right, the first one was over an hour, you should be able 577 00:43:16.800 --> 00:43:24.480 to cover a similar amount of ground. I kind of liked the way they 578 00:43:24.480 --> 00:43:31.280 did Kiyoshi here. I felt like it worked like just that whole episode, 579 00:43:31.280 --> 00:43:36.400 that second episode, the second episode definitely worked a lot more for me than 580 00:43:36.440 --> 00:43:40.840 the first one. You know, although again, like ag just like turning 581 00:43:40.840 --> 00:43:47.639 into Kyoshi also felt to me like just an excuse to like show extremely impressive 582 00:43:47.679 --> 00:43:52.079 bending before any of the characters are that strong. Yet, you know, 583 00:43:52.519 --> 00:43:59.119 that was weird, Like I was not expecting that to physically be Aang's body. 584 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:01.760 Yeah, yeah, I thought that was very weird, like, and 585 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:06.360 there wasn't any look of like it being an apparition. It's like, no, 586 00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:12.000 he just literally morphed into Kyoshi. And you know, the whole past 587 00:44:12.039 --> 00:44:15.639 lives thing was never my favorite part of the whole story, but like I 588 00:44:15.719 --> 00:44:20.480 do like Kyoshi as a character, and like, when I watched that, 589 00:44:20.840 --> 00:44:24.519 I was just kind of like, why don't you just do a Kyoshi series, 590 00:44:25.239 --> 00:44:30.719 Like if you wanted to tell a different story that was fundamentally different from 591 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:36.079 Aang's story, Why not just do Kyoshi's story, like, well, it 592 00:44:36.119 --> 00:44:38.599 could be great, Like you could just do a great Kyota. Yeah, 593 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:42.320 you could do a bunch of different avatars. And maybe they will and maybe 594 00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.400 this was their sort of like, ah, did you like that? Well, 595 00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:50.440 guess what we have a spin off coming taking place two hundred years earlier. 596 00:44:50.639 --> 00:44:53.199 Yeah, I mean I thought the actors playing Kyoshi was great, and 597 00:44:53.559 --> 00:44:55.800 I will say what I would hope would be a part of it, because 598 00:44:55.800 --> 00:45:00.119 I thought it was really well done. You know, last time when we 599 00:45:00.159 --> 00:45:04.199 talked about this, one thing we said was that we all kind of wish 600 00:45:04.239 --> 00:45:07.760 that we had more Suki and you know, her story. Oh and I 601 00:45:07.920 --> 00:45:12.519 really I loved how they did suki story. Yeah, but now as I 602 00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:16.480 did too. I loved the character in this one, the live action. 603 00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:21.840 I loved the scenes with Sokka, but that that's going to make me miss 604 00:45:21.880 --> 00:45:24.800 her even more, Like, oh, when she's she's not gonna show up, 605 00:45:24.960 --> 00:45:28.559 I mean okay spoilers right, like she's not going to show up again 606 00:45:28.639 --> 00:45:32.039 for a while, maybe not for the rest of the season. And then 607 00:45:32.440 --> 00:45:38.719 yeah, like I this is the This is a problem when you adapt something 608 00:45:38.880 --> 00:45:45.079 that already exists, right, is that these two characters, and the actors 609 00:45:45.079 --> 00:45:52.039 in particular just sold that. I loved their interactions and it was i'll say, 610 00:45:52.119 --> 00:45:55.559 like it was hot right like it was that the tension was there between 611 00:45:55.599 --> 00:46:00.199 them. It was it was beautifully done, beautifully acted. And now it's 612 00:46:00.280 --> 00:46:05.000 like nope, like he Sawka's going off to the Northern Water Drive, like 613 00:46:05.159 --> 00:46:08.480 their adventures are going to happen. You'll see Suky later. Yeah. I 614 00:46:08.519 --> 00:46:15.119 feel almost like they did that too well, because then things that might happen 615 00:46:15.159 --> 00:46:17.239 at the end of this season that we won't talk about yet will kind of 616 00:46:17.239 --> 00:46:21.840 feel yeah, like I don't know, I mean, maybe they can really 617 00:46:21.880 --> 00:46:24.760 sell that too, who knows. And this is also the problem with a 618 00:46:25.199 --> 00:46:30.440 like a full season television show, like back in the day when you had 619 00:46:30.440 --> 00:46:35.400 a twenty six episode television show and you filmed the episodes, you know, 620 00:46:35.559 --> 00:46:38.639 kind of one at a time. If you had an episode like this and 621 00:46:38.840 --> 00:46:44.039 you saw the interaction between these actors and stuff, ooh, I like this, 622 00:46:44.599 --> 00:46:47.880 let's bring this character back or like or get back earlier than we had 623 00:46:47.960 --> 00:46:52.480 kind of plotted out. Like that's the kind of change that would happen in 624 00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:57.480 those TV shows. Yeah, Mat Carrow, the character Felicity was like just 625 00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:00.280 barely going to be just a thing, and then they're like, oh, 626 00:47:00.320 --> 00:47:04.039 everybody loves this and the chemistry is great, let's just like make her a 627 00:47:04.119 --> 00:47:07.719 regular and now she's like in the comics yeaheah, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 628 00:47:07.840 --> 00:47:10.519 Spike was supposed to be a one of villain in a week, Yeah, 629 00:47:10.559 --> 00:47:15.360 and she became a part of the regular cast. Yeah, in those ways. 630 00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:17.599 If they do do go pretty far afield, I'd be okay with it. 631 00:47:19.000 --> 00:47:21.800 Like at one point I was watching with I was watching with Mary and 632 00:47:21.840 --> 00:47:23.199 she was like, wait, Suki just going to join them, And I 633 00:47:23.239 --> 00:47:28.199 was like, I hope when he gets the end of the season, they'd 634 00:47:28.199 --> 00:47:30.760 be great. Yeah. I think I think they could just not be doing 635 00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:34.199 anything with her. I think that'd be a mistake. I think we could 636 00:47:34.199 --> 00:47:37.639 have her show up again in various ways. I think we might get like 637 00:47:37.000 --> 00:47:40.800 her doing things with like the Spirit of Kyoshi in some way at Kyoshi's temple, 638 00:47:40.920 --> 00:47:45.480 Like I'm hold, you could you could show some other stuff that happens 639 00:47:45.840 --> 00:47:51.159 not within the presence of the central crew. Yeah. Maybe, Yeah, 640 00:47:51.199 --> 00:47:53.599 for sure. Her martial arts were spot on too, by the way, 641 00:47:53.719 --> 00:47:58.599 like that she was like she can move well. The makeup was amazing. 642 00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:00.639 I was like, why do you take the makeup off? Like that felt 643 00:48:00.679 --> 00:48:05.719 like we just wanted to shook it off as like one wipe too. Mary 644 00:48:05.840 --> 00:48:10.760 was so upset about that magical make myself also like tried for twenty minutes to 645 00:48:10.760 --> 00:48:14.079 get all the makeup off, but kind of sleep still knowing some of it's 646 00:48:14.079 --> 00:48:17.119 there, Like I want to buy those makeup wipes. But yeah, they 647 00:48:17.159 --> 00:48:22.079 did change the story pretty dramatically. Socca is arrogant and obnoxious, but he's 648 00:48:22.119 --> 00:48:27.480 not specifically sexist, right, you know. But I was okay with that, 649 00:48:27.639 --> 00:48:31.519 Like I felt like they giving Socca a different journey. And in some 650 00:48:31.639 --> 00:48:36.920 ways I always got the sense that there's a tension at this point in their 651 00:48:36.960 --> 00:48:39.480 story, but they don't really get together until much later, in part because 652 00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:44.320 she sees how much he's grown up. And but I'm like, look, 653 00:48:44.440 --> 00:48:46.119 I have that story. This is just gonna be a different version of it 654 00:48:46.159 --> 00:48:50.039 in a different way. And so yeah, in some ways that I was 655 00:48:50.039 --> 00:48:52.320 a lot more okay with than some of the other changes we talked about. 656 00:48:52.679 --> 00:48:57.519 Yeah, but it's a shame because the version of the story that these characters 657 00:48:57.599 --> 00:49:01.639 portrayed to me, like the natural conclusion that I felt would have really worked 658 00:49:01.639 --> 00:49:07.679 here was Suoki joining them at the end of this episode, right right, 659 00:49:07.840 --> 00:49:12.760 like just some scene with her mother and her like her mother having already packed 660 00:49:12.760 --> 00:49:15.760 her bags and saying like you need to go with them or like whatever, 661 00:49:15.840 --> 00:49:20.079 like tearful goodbye between them, and then like she runs after Rappa Like I'm 662 00:49:20.079 --> 00:49:22.079 coming to like, yeah, like if you were writing the series from scratch, 663 00:49:22.119 --> 00:49:23.920 that would just be like, oh, yeah, she should join Team 664 00:49:23.920 --> 00:49:27.599 Abacue. Yeah, right, Like that just makes sense. It was that 665 00:49:27.760 --> 00:49:30.960 good. Yeah, I wonder tell me if you guys think this is true. 666 00:49:30.840 --> 00:49:35.880 I'm starting to feel like I would like this show as an adaptation a 667 00:49:35.920 --> 00:49:40.000 lot more if the movie had been much better. And what I mean by 668 00:49:40.039 --> 00:49:45.400 that is, Paul, you were saying about how part of why the Dark 669 00:49:45.480 --> 00:49:49.079 Knight version of Batman works not that Christopher Nolan was the first to come up 670 00:49:49.119 --> 00:49:51.880 with it. There have been comics that went that dark, but it's also 671 00:49:51.880 --> 00:49:57.239 that we have so many other versions of Batman, including on screen. We 672 00:49:57.280 --> 00:49:59.960 still live a world where a lot of folks, I don't think this is 673 00:50:00.199 --> 00:50:04.559 anything wrong with them, it's just different perspectives. Like I would love them 674 00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:07.119 to see Avatar, but they're like, eh, I just don't like animation, 675 00:50:07.920 --> 00:50:10.880 or they'd probably watched the first couple episodes and have a reaction much like 676 00:50:10.920 --> 00:50:15.000 I do. Of this is really a kids show and I'm not here for 677 00:50:15.039 --> 00:50:19.320 it. And I think part of what I was hoping with it, I 678 00:50:19.400 --> 00:50:22.400 think I would really love for there to be a live action. I could 679 00:50:22.400 --> 00:50:24.760 show those folks and be like, hey, this has all the main points 680 00:50:24.840 --> 00:50:30.400 of the animated it's not animated, it's you get to enjoy it and we 681 00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:32.639 can talk about it and just have more of that story out in the world. 682 00:50:34.159 --> 00:50:38.519 And I like them telling a different kind of an Avatar the Last Airbender 683 00:50:38.559 --> 00:50:45.000 story, But I feel like I would I want the first live action that's 684 00:50:45.039 --> 00:50:47.119 actually a good live action to be a lot truer to the story. And 685 00:50:47.159 --> 00:50:50.480 then I want to see things that go for their field. And that makes 686 00:50:50.519 --> 00:50:53.719 sense, Yeah, I can see that. I mean I feel like, 687 00:50:54.639 --> 00:50:59.360 I don't know. I'll circle back to what I said earlier, like maybe 688 00:50:59.360 --> 00:51:02.800 that story is an animated story. Maybe it's just not a story that you 689 00:51:02.840 --> 00:51:08.599 can execute in the same way live action, Like if you literally just took 690 00:51:08.639 --> 00:51:14.360 the same script and tried to have all the characters do exactly the same thing. 691 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:17.719 Like, I don't know that it would work. Maybe it would maybe 692 00:51:17.760 --> 00:51:22.480 if I'd seen one piece and liked it, I would feel that way. 693 00:51:22.559 --> 00:51:28.400 I mean, I having seen the series Keenchin and then watching the movies, 694 00:51:29.079 --> 00:51:35.119 I was really surprised the extent which they could capture the essence of the characters 695 00:51:35.559 --> 00:51:40.840 who are There's a lot of like very anime specific things right in the series, 696 00:51:42.480 --> 00:51:46.840 and they have a lot of those in the live action, which also 697 00:51:46.920 --> 00:51:52.519 has like, I mean, one of them has some like bloody fighting scenes, 698 00:51:52.559 --> 00:51:54.519 you know, although it's very different in tone from the others for various 699 00:51:54.559 --> 00:52:01.440 reasons, but like it somehow. I feel like that felt to me like 700 00:52:01.480 --> 00:52:05.760 a huge achievement and like a lot to ask, you know, And I 701 00:52:05.760 --> 00:52:08.000 didn't think they would do it, and then they did, maybe not perfectly, 702 00:52:08.039 --> 00:52:14.320 but very well. Here I feel like actually capturing the original animated series 703 00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:20.920 in all of its everything about it that was it, I feel like would 704 00:52:21.000 --> 00:52:25.239 probably be really hard to capture in live action. Cowboy Bebop, I think 705 00:52:25.239 --> 00:52:30.480 they could have done a more kind of direct adaptation instead of taking some of 706 00:52:30.519 --> 00:52:34.440 the liberties that they did because of the nature of the show. Like you 707 00:52:34.480 --> 00:52:37.800 said before, it's a different sort of show, you know, that's a 708 00:52:37.800 --> 00:52:42.760 different feel. I've always felt that like Airbender and Kenshin actually have a certain 709 00:52:42.800 --> 00:52:47.599 similar there's a similar something to them, something in their essence that feels kind 710 00:52:47.639 --> 00:52:52.400 of connected. Well in Kenshin might be the perfect example then, because I 711 00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:58.599 absolutely love the live action Kenshin. Yeah, I do not at all like 712 00:52:58.760 --> 00:53:02.599 the say, the kiddies version watch show, yeah, because and I think 713 00:53:02.679 --> 00:53:07.679 that's not fair. But to me, I agree, yeah, the because 714 00:53:07.000 --> 00:53:10.679 the first thing came to mind. But to me, the Kenchin animated show 715 00:53:10.960 --> 00:53:14.760 very much feels like a kid's show, and it makes me feel like I'm 716 00:53:14.800 --> 00:53:17.360 watching something that I'm just too old to enjoy. And that's probably my personal 717 00:53:17.400 --> 00:53:23.039 failing. But to me, the movies are much much more mature in ways 718 00:53:23.039 --> 00:53:27.519 that are And probably that's also because probably it's about adults and it's about yeah, 719 00:53:27.880 --> 00:53:30.519 yeah there's kids and there's like a teenager or whatever. But you know, 720 00:53:31.039 --> 00:53:37.079 it's like it definitely I agree, and I don't. I don't think 721 00:53:37.119 --> 00:53:39.239 failing is fair. I think preference. Let's go as preference. I mean, 722 00:53:39.239 --> 00:53:42.760 you could say whatever you want, but like I feel like, yeah, 723 00:53:42.760 --> 00:53:45.039 people have preferences. Some people just can't watch animation at all, and 724 00:53:45.159 --> 00:53:52.320 like I try to dispel the notion that like it's necessarily four children, But 725 00:53:52.440 --> 00:53:53.639 like if you don't like it and you just and you give it a chance 726 00:53:53.639 --> 00:53:57.000 and you still don't like it, like you don't like it, that's fine. 727 00:53:57.119 --> 00:54:00.360 You know. Also, the first like twenty thirty episodes of Ken are 728 00:54:00.400 --> 00:54:05.199 like quite different from the next like thirty or so and whatever. But yeah, 729 00:54:06.480 --> 00:54:09.719 but yeah, I agree. It's like it's nice when there is a 730 00:54:09.760 --> 00:54:15.400 live action version of something that people who just can't with the animation or a 731 00:54:15.440 --> 00:54:21.360 specific animation can enjoy, like because it to me, I mean, the 732 00:54:21.440 --> 00:54:24.679 Last Airbender is a story that I would like more people to enjoy because I 733 00:54:24.679 --> 00:54:27.880 think it's a great story and I think there's a lot of value there, 734 00:54:28.079 --> 00:54:31.440 you know, and you know they're trying, they're making choices, and you 735 00:54:31.480 --> 00:54:36.320 know, we'll see how it goes. So I just want to get some 736 00:54:36.400 --> 00:54:42.159 clarification. The Kenshin was an anime, right, Yes, I'm trying to 737 00:54:42.199 --> 00:54:47.639 draw a distinctioneer when I say anime, I mean a Japanese product. Yeah, 738 00:54:47.880 --> 00:54:53.880 and the live action adaptation was also Japanese film. Yeah, because so 739 00:54:53.920 --> 00:54:57.800 it's not the same. Yes, sure, And I'm not trying to be 740 00:54:57.840 --> 00:55:01.800 a snob here, like this is anime, Like Avatar is not anime because 741 00:55:01.840 --> 00:55:07.360 it's not Japanese. I don't care like about that distinction. But when something 742 00:55:07.639 --> 00:55:12.639 is written for a Japanese audience specifically, like It's, it's very different. 743 00:55:12.679 --> 00:55:16.360 So I'm wondering if some of that is maybe what Matthew didn't enjoy. Because 744 00:55:17.480 --> 00:55:22.400 one of the things that strikes me, like we're talking about Sokka being less 745 00:55:22.400 --> 00:55:25.440 misogynistic in the live action and I was while you were talking, I was 746 00:55:25.480 --> 00:55:31.960 thinking, if the original Avatar had been a Japanese anime, Socca would have 747 00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:37.920 been a pervert, Like that's you have to have one character and that that's 748 00:55:37.960 --> 00:55:40.639 like a pervert, and like that's one hundred percent who that would have been. 749 00:55:42.400 --> 00:55:47.679 So even even the animated Avatar version of Socca is like okay, Like 750 00:55:47.719 --> 00:55:52.800 I can live with that because I don't need this character that just like knows 751 00:55:52.880 --> 00:55:58.559 bleeds every time he sees a beautiful woman, right right, right, Yeah, 752 00:55:58.639 --> 00:56:01.639 that makes sense. Let's talk some more about the casting, uh Riggi, 753 00:56:01.719 --> 00:56:05.719 what do you think about some of the casting choices and how well they 754 00:56:05.719 --> 00:56:14.679 did it didn't work. Okay, I'm gonna say this. I love Paul's 755 00:56:14.679 --> 00:56:17.800 son, Yung Lee. I love him to death, and I was excited 756 00:56:17.880 --> 00:56:23.840 when I saw his name attached to this. Didn't didn't love his portrayal of 757 00:56:23.880 --> 00:56:29.159 Iro quite yet. But you know, I'm a huge Iro stan So it's 758 00:56:29.199 --> 00:56:31.360 like it's just not quite there yet. I don't know what it is. 759 00:56:31.440 --> 00:56:37.960 I may have to like watch it again and specifically watch the Iro scenes and 760 00:56:37.599 --> 00:56:42.840 maybe, like I haven't seen Kim's convenience, so maybe you all who have 761 00:56:42.960 --> 00:56:46.679 seen it can can chime in a little more with with his performance and like 762 00:56:47.000 --> 00:56:51.480 what he brings to the table, like it just some something wasn't there, 763 00:56:51.519 --> 00:56:54.000 something was missing, and I'm not quite sure what it is quite yet. 764 00:56:55.280 --> 00:56:59.800 I really liked his performance, but I also felt like I needed it was 765 00:56:59.840 --> 00:57:04.039 a performance. Like his acting was fine. Maybe it's the writing. I 766 00:57:04.440 --> 00:57:07.079 just don't know quite yet. I don't know if gravitas is the right word, 767 00:57:07.159 --> 00:57:14.280 but it's something like he felt more like a peer than kind of a 768 00:57:14.320 --> 00:57:20.599 wise old man. You know who is Uncle Iro, especially in the earlier 769 00:57:20.639 --> 00:57:23.800 seasons. Well there's only three, but he strikes me very much. Is 770 00:57:23.800 --> 00:57:27.800 that kind of like he's a little bit kooky, but very very wide, 771 00:57:27.840 --> 00:57:31.039 like there's almost Yoda like aspect to him. Yes, yeah, that I 772 00:57:31.079 --> 00:57:37.400 felt, And maybe it may also be because I've seen him play you know, 773 00:57:37.920 --> 00:57:45.920 Appa mister Kim for so long, who is also he's not a kooky 774 00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:50.320 old man. He's a very kind, very loving old man who's a bit 775 00:57:50.360 --> 00:57:53.280 of a buffoon sometimes. And that to me, those is like probably about 776 00:57:53.280 --> 00:57:57.119 our age, right, say again, just for the record, he's probably 777 00:57:57.119 --> 00:58:01.039 about our age, just like in his forties or early fifties. That's just 778 00:58:01.079 --> 00:58:05.679 saying, yeah, yeah, that's fair, that's fair, And it may 779 00:58:05.760 --> 00:58:07.119 also be part of it. It's to me like I wrote someone like in 780 00:58:07.159 --> 00:58:13.079 his like sixties or seventies. But right, it's yeah, I want to 781 00:58:13.079 --> 00:58:15.199 give him the chance, and I think he has the chance to really be 782 00:58:15.199 --> 00:58:16.559 good. And I thought there was nothing about him that I was like bad. 783 00:58:16.599 --> 00:58:20.320 I was just like, this isn't quite striking me in that way, 784 00:58:21.159 --> 00:58:23.800 right, And it was, like I said last time, Iro's my favorite 785 00:58:23.880 --> 00:58:28.159 character. So it's like there's a very high bar for me in terms of 786 00:58:28.199 --> 00:58:30.800 like an Iro performance. And I think the what you mentioned, the koo 787 00:58:30.880 --> 00:58:36.559 keeness, that could be part of it. I think this portrayal of Iro 788 00:58:36.840 --> 00:58:40.800 was much more. I don't know, like it's not necessarily I guess deadpan, 789 00:58:42.039 --> 00:58:46.559 yeah, like like he talks about t but there's it just maybe it's 790 00:58:46.639 --> 00:58:52.239 the Zuko as well, like he has to play off Zuko in a certain 791 00:58:52.280 --> 00:58:55.719 way. And there was only really one moment where I felt like they got 792 00:58:55.719 --> 00:59:01.280 that really right. Was when they're walking around the the village and he's talking 793 00:59:01.320 --> 00:59:07.119 about food and says something like very serious and then part way through is like, 794 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:09.760 oh, sticky Rice. Yeah, it just like walks away and then 795 00:59:09.840 --> 00:59:15.239 the face that Zuka made, like that was their relationship to me, And 796 00:59:15.320 --> 00:59:21.280 maybe just because we have fewer episodes, like they can't sprinkle those in as 797 00:59:21.360 --> 00:59:25.039 much or something. Yeah, I felt like in the second episode they were 798 00:59:25.039 --> 00:59:30.239 really getting it, especially in that spot in some other spots as well. 799 00:59:30.840 --> 00:59:36.559 And then they showed the little the bamboo leaf rapped sticky Rice later which makes 800 00:59:36.559 --> 00:59:42.079 me hungry. But I mean, I have a theory and I don't like 801 00:59:42.159 --> 00:59:47.880 it, but like I think it's possible that the sort of feeling that we 802 00:59:49.000 --> 00:59:52.519 get from Iro and the difference between the animated series and here is like his 803 00:59:52.639 --> 01:00:01.199 accent, Like I think that that is probably an unfortunately significant part of how, 804 01:00:02.159 --> 01:00:05.880 yeah, I mean, how someone's words are received, right. And 805 01:00:05.920 --> 01:00:13.480 I think there is this perception that if you have like an older wise you 806 01:00:13.480 --> 01:00:19.440 know, generally Asian, but it could be a number of different backgrounds with 807 01:00:19.719 --> 01:00:24.960 an accent that sounds somehow different to what you might be worth used to hearing 808 01:00:25.039 --> 01:00:30.480 day to day. I think there's a certain sort of wisdom that's ascribed to 809 01:00:30.559 --> 01:00:36.119 that, particularly in the realm of martial arts, you know. And I 810 01:00:36.159 --> 01:00:40.639 don't want it to be that way, you know. And I know that 811 01:00:40.719 --> 01:00:45.000 he could have done an accent. I mean, I know that the actor 812 01:00:45.039 --> 01:00:49.920 has done many different accents throughout his career, and he specifically said that the 813 01:00:49.960 --> 01:00:52.440 first time he did a Korean accent, or agreed to do a Korean accent 814 01:00:52.480 --> 01:00:57.960 is when he did Kim's Convenience, because it always felt it felt like kind 815 01:00:58.000 --> 01:01:00.599 of not right to him. And and I know, I know, like 816 01:01:00.920 --> 01:01:07.679 the idea of like Asian American and Asian Canadian actors like having to do an 817 01:01:07.719 --> 01:01:14.760 accent all the time is like this very unfortunate type casting thing that finally were 818 01:01:15.639 --> 01:01:22.239 somewhat getting pasted, right. But I do think some of I mean like 819 01:01:22.960 --> 01:01:27.760 a huge part of the original Uncle Iro was like the performance of Maco, 820 01:01:28.079 --> 01:01:32.800 right, Yeah, And I believe that was just the actor's natural speaking voice, 821 01:01:32.960 --> 01:01:37.280 right, and his accent, because I've and I don't know for certain, 822 01:01:37.360 --> 01:01:40.360 but like I've been sleeping with like Fraser running in the background, and 823 01:01:40.400 --> 01:01:44.679 I'm like, that's Uncle Iro and he's playing like a book editor or a 824 01:01:44.679 --> 01:01:46.960 publisher or something. And he sounds the same, you know, the same 825 01:01:47.000 --> 01:01:52.280 way you can hear Batman if you hear a cheers Kevin Conroys in an epism. 826 01:01:52.320 --> 01:01:57.639 But so I feel like, and when you say Yoda, I remember 827 01:01:58.159 --> 01:02:01.960 a time passed when I was talking about and whatever. And like, I 828 01:02:02.000 --> 01:02:07.039 mean, like, why do you think George Lucas or whoever actually wrote the 829 01:02:07.079 --> 01:02:13.039 dialogue for Yoda, like, had Yoda not use standard English grammar? Ye? 830 01:02:13.880 --> 01:02:20.360 Like, it's probably to make him seem sort of different, and it's 831 01:02:20.440 --> 01:02:23.159 probably kind of supposed to be. I mean, it's not the same kind 832 01:02:23.199 --> 01:02:29.039 of grammar that someone of any particular language would necessarily speak with, right, 833 01:02:29.199 --> 01:02:32.880 But like I do think it's to try and kind of replicate that feeling where 834 01:02:32.920 --> 01:02:38.119 people get this sense of kind of perceived wisdom. I mean Ironically, people 835 01:02:38.639 --> 01:02:47.039 also often ascribe incorrectly the like ignorance to people who have various accidents, right, 836 01:02:47.199 --> 01:02:51.679 and so it can swing both ways. But I do feel like that 837 01:02:51.760 --> 01:02:54.840 was that was a part of the character. In terms of the way most 838 01:02:54.880 --> 01:03:00.719 people experience the character and see the character, that shouldn't be an integral part 839 01:03:00.760 --> 01:03:05.360 of the character. But I think for me, I think I had to 840 01:03:05.440 --> 01:03:10.559 sit with Paul Sunken Lee as Iro for like a full episode before in the 841 01:03:10.599 --> 01:03:14.079 second episode, I was ready to be like, Okay, this is who 842 01:03:14.119 --> 01:03:22.360 Iro is here, and I feel it his interaction with with Zuko, and 843 01:03:22.760 --> 01:03:25.639 I think really Dallas Leo does a like brings a lot to that as well. 844 01:03:27.039 --> 01:03:30.880 That that dynamic, I feel is going to be one of my favorite 845 01:03:30.920 --> 01:03:36.519 things through throughout the show. And it did take me a little bit to 846 01:03:36.519 --> 01:03:38.440 get into because you know, I didn't know what he was going to go 847 01:03:38.519 --> 01:03:46.559 with, you know. And I also think that the writings is not the 848 01:03:46.599 --> 01:03:51.920 best in terms of dialogue overall. And you know, as an actor, 849 01:03:51.960 --> 01:03:53.679 you just you work with what you're given, right, and then maybe you 850 01:03:53.719 --> 01:04:00.559 can make some suggestions or whatever. But if the dialogue's a little a little 851 01:04:00.880 --> 01:04:06.000 clunky, maybe then it's probably just harder to bring it kind of, I 852 01:04:06.039 --> 01:04:13.199 think, you know, Yeah, I mean, I think you are right 853 01:04:14.039 --> 01:04:18.440 that the accent of the original Iro played by Maco, And it's weird because 854 01:04:18.519 --> 01:04:25.519 in that show, very few other people from the Fire Nation had had any 855 01:04:25.599 --> 01:04:30.679 kind of accent, including his own brother by Mark Hammel. Right, he 856 01:04:30.800 --> 01:04:33.320 just played it straight up as he usually does. Yeah, it's just the 857 01:04:33.400 --> 01:04:41.280 joker, and it's I agree with everything you said about how you know, 858 01:04:41.400 --> 01:04:47.800 Asian actors were or are sometimes still often forced into roles where they have to 859 01:04:47.840 --> 01:04:53.280 play it a certain way, a certain accent, so I do appreciate it. 860 01:04:53.599 --> 01:04:59.920 But it is something about his voice and something about the accent combined with 861 01:05:00.039 --> 01:05:06.519 it's his like cadence and speaking speed just made Iro right, and it's it's 862 01:05:06.679 --> 01:05:13.639 hard to replicate that and have that without the accent. I think is part 863 01:05:13.679 --> 01:05:15.480 of it, no doubt, No, I think it's arry true. I 864 01:05:15.480 --> 01:05:19.280 think I hadn't thought about it, but I think you're right. I hate 865 01:05:19.280 --> 01:05:23.000 that, but it's part of just though you know, where we're all taught 866 01:05:23.000 --> 01:05:26.800 and things like that. And it's funny because I think you're right that it 867 01:05:26.880 --> 01:05:31.480 is primarily experienced with Asian accents and things like that, but definitely not exclusively 868 01:05:31.519 --> 01:05:34.519 because one of the ones that I was thinking about this was is that often, 869 01:05:34.599 --> 01:05:38.760 especially a lot of the TV and movies I grew up with, there's 870 01:05:38.800 --> 01:05:43.679 a time when the character will go see their like their Jewish grandfather, and 871 01:05:43.920 --> 01:05:45.039 I couldn't have life. Let me tell you what it was, But there's 872 01:05:45.039 --> 01:05:49.599 some movie I saw in the nineties where it was a Jewish grandfather but clearly 873 01:05:49.639 --> 01:05:53.719 like the family had been in New York for a number of generations, or 874 01:05:53.960 --> 01:05:57.400 I know they weren't even in New York, because often the Jewish accent and 875 01:05:57.440 --> 01:06:00.199 the New York accent are often intermingled. Person just had like a kind of 876 01:06:00.239 --> 01:06:05.400 standard American accent, and it felt completely wrong to me because I associated, 877 01:06:05.440 --> 01:06:09.559 you know, wisdom coming. And granted this is in part because my uncle 878 01:06:09.599 --> 01:06:12.880 Lou had that kind of an accent, and he was very much the wise 879 01:06:12.920 --> 01:06:15.920 old man of our family. Right he's been passed away for twenty years. 880 01:06:15.960 --> 01:06:18.239 We still tell stories of you know, what Uncle Lou would say and things 881 01:06:18.280 --> 01:06:21.960 like that. So yeah, yeah, so we'll see where that goes. 882 01:06:23.000 --> 01:06:27.400 I do think that the casting as you were bringing up Paul of Commander Jao 883 01:06:27.840 --> 01:06:33.559 and of Zuko is phenomenal. I heard people online complaining that Zuko's scar is 884 01:06:33.559 --> 01:06:36.639 a lot more understated than it is, but I think it's perfect. I 885 01:06:36.679 --> 01:06:40.480 think again, it's the kind of thing like in anime you have to go 886 01:06:41.119 --> 01:06:45.079 not anime and animation, you sometimes have to go over the top a little 887 01:06:45.079 --> 01:06:47.920 bit with a scar, and I think this looks much more realistic but still 888 01:06:47.920 --> 01:06:54.239 incredibly you know, like affecting, like this person's clearly been through something terrible. 889 01:06:56.280 --> 01:06:58.559 I thought, Sokka again, a soaka. We talked about the Saka 890 01:06:58.639 --> 01:07:03.519 suki chemistry. I really like Socca Yeah, Soccer okay, played by Ian 891 01:07:03.639 --> 01:07:09.960 Ousley. He just he just nailed it right. Like of all the characters, 892 01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:15.119 I think he is like the most similar to the animated version of the 893 01:07:15.199 --> 01:07:19.039 character, like the look, the way he talks, like his voice, 894 01:07:19.199 --> 01:07:27.599 the comedy. Like I just probably probably my favorite of the character so far 895 01:07:28.719 --> 01:07:32.719 is the soccer character. Yeah. I think in part because I don't hate 896 01:07:32.760 --> 01:07:38.960 him. It's curious what you said about how like every anime has to have 897 01:07:39.000 --> 01:07:44.079 certain things. I think a lot of American animation often has to have that 898 01:07:44.159 --> 01:07:48.559 one guy who's a chauvinist and he's arrogant and he thinks that he's the hot 899 01:07:48.599 --> 01:07:54.320 shit with all the ladies, and like Wally West in the the Wally West 900 01:07:54.400 --> 01:07:58.119 version of Flash in Young Justice is what comes to mind most. But often 901 01:07:58.159 --> 01:08:01.719 there's that character and you're constantly like eye rolling in work because it's so over 902 01:08:01.760 --> 01:08:05.280 the top. But it's animation, and that's kind of how Socca comes off 903 01:08:05.320 --> 01:08:11.880 to me. In the first couple episodes of Avatar Last Airbenner animated and he 904 01:08:12.079 --> 01:08:15.679 changes rather quickly, And I've always wondered if that was always the idea, 905 01:08:15.079 --> 01:08:18.600 or if they weren't getting test audiences earlier they were like, we just this 906 01:08:18.880 --> 01:08:23.279 soccer guy is just kind of painful to have on screen. But I felt, 907 01:08:23.319 --> 01:08:25.600 and maybe this is just the way they're playing a story. Maybe it's 908 01:08:25.600 --> 01:08:30.960 the actor in this He's not arrogant in the way that just I don't want 909 01:08:30.960 --> 01:08:34.600 to watch the way he was early in the show. To me, I 910 01:08:34.800 --> 01:08:39.800 much more feel the weight of this is a thirteen year old boy who was 911 01:08:39.840 --> 01:08:44.159 told this is a boy of like fifteen sixteen who is told at thirteen you 912 01:08:44.199 --> 01:08:46.840 have to protect the village, and who took them on and it, you 913 01:08:46.880 --> 01:08:49.920 know, it did things to him and the way Toll often do to any 914 01:08:49.920 --> 01:08:53.760 person of any age, but especially a thirteen year old. But I felt 915 01:08:53.840 --> 01:08:57.159 much more sympathetic to him and like eager to see him grow than I did 916 01:08:57.159 --> 01:09:00.880 with the animated Yeah. I mean, I think he has the arrogance and 917 01:09:00.920 --> 01:09:03.800 the chip on his shoulder, like without the side of misogyny. Yeah, 918 01:09:03.920 --> 01:09:11.039 right, which, like we were talking about that in the pre episode right 919 01:09:11.079 --> 01:09:15.520 where it's like, yeah, I feel like he needed the kind of arrogance 920 01:09:15.640 --> 01:09:19.880 that's the it's not even arrogance, it's like the faux cockiness. That's the 921 01:09:20.920 --> 01:09:27.000 clearly kind of compensating for the fear of inadequacy, basically the like the weight 922 01:09:27.039 --> 01:09:30.520 of this responsibility with the knowledge that he might not be up to it, 923 01:09:30.640 --> 01:09:36.600 you know, Yeah, and like you just that to me feels like an 924 01:09:36.600 --> 01:09:42.359 important part of the character. And I think they've showed that nicely without like 925 01:09:42.800 --> 01:09:45.560 it having to be this whole misogynistic thing, which which is nice. Like 926 01:09:47.000 --> 01:09:51.520 I feel like they they they got the essence and left out some of the 927 01:09:51.560 --> 01:09:55.920 specifics, And that is what I'm looking for most of the time, is 928 01:09:55.960 --> 01:09:59.680 like, Okay, what what drives this character, What's what's kind of really 929 01:09:59.720 --> 01:10:03.239 import about this character and then like kind of what sort of just like surface 930 01:10:03.880 --> 01:10:08.279 you know, oh, his scars a little smaller, okay, whatever, 931 01:10:08.600 --> 01:10:12.079 you know, like her head tails aren't long enough. Okay, well they're 932 01:10:12.119 --> 01:10:15.840 probably really heavy on a live action yeah first, yeah, you know, 933 01:10:15.039 --> 01:10:23.439 Like so to me, it feels like a good instance of getting the essence 934 01:10:23.479 --> 01:10:28.520 of the character without necessarily trying to match all the specifics. I do feel 935 01:10:28.520 --> 01:10:31.119 like I could get a little bit more humor hopefully as we go along. 936 01:10:31.199 --> 01:10:34.760 Maybe, Yeah, I feel like they're definitely missing a misogyny, But it 937 01:10:34.800 --> 01:10:40.600 also felt like the in the animated show, it feels like his confidence is 938 01:10:40.720 --> 01:10:45.840 so overblown that it is often humorous because it's often like Katara and Aang or 939 01:10:45.960 --> 01:10:49.760 both of them, or sometimes even Tough who will meet later rolling their eyes 940 01:10:49.760 --> 01:10:55.840 and just how ridiculous he is, and that you know he did take control 941 01:10:55.880 --> 01:10:59.199 of the of the town and defend them quite well. You know, he 942 01:10:59.279 --> 01:11:01.760 is very confident than this. So yeah, it feels like it's it just 943 01:11:01.840 --> 01:11:04.800 dialed down from like a ten to a seven in a way I really appreciate. 944 01:11:05.039 --> 01:11:15.760 Sure, what do you guys think of bang medium, Like obviously like 945 01:11:15.800 --> 01:11:21.439 a very important character, but I think given how young the actor is, 946 01:11:21.840 --> 01:11:28.399 Gordon Cormier, it's it's more important that he not be bad than he gets 947 01:11:28.479 --> 01:11:31.319 good. Does that? Does that make sense? Right? I think he's 948 01:11:31.359 --> 01:11:35.399 doing the job that he needs to do and that's fine. Like he doesn't 949 01:11:35.439 --> 01:11:39.720 need to carry the show, but he needs to be there throughout the entire 950 01:11:39.800 --> 01:11:44.239 show. And like, I don't hate it, I don't love it, 951 01:11:44.960 --> 01:11:48.079 and that's what he needs to do. Yeah, I mean Aang is one 952 01:11:48.159 --> 01:11:53.600 of my favorite characters of all time. And I don't even know if he's 953 01:11:53.640 --> 01:11:56.439 one of my favorite characters or if he's just one of the characters I feel 954 01:11:56.479 --> 01:11:59.680 like I identify with the most in some ways. Like those are kind of 955 01:11:59.720 --> 01:12:01.880 two things, right. There's characters that I love that I'm like, yeah, 956 01:12:02.079 --> 01:12:04.560 I think the Joker is a great character, but I can't say I 957 01:12:04.560 --> 01:12:09.199 identify with him, you know. Yeah. Like, but like Ang is 958 01:12:09.239 --> 01:12:13.399 a character who like feels important to me, and I feel like so far 959 01:12:14.119 --> 01:12:17.399 this feels like Aang. I feel like there's not as much of the whimsy 960 01:12:17.920 --> 01:12:23.079 as there could be, not as much of the lightness. I think some 961 01:12:23.199 --> 01:12:26.960 of the dialogue, some of the lines are not great. And I don't 962 01:12:27.000 --> 01:12:30.479 fault the actor for that, I think he moves well. You know, 963 01:12:30.680 --> 01:12:38.359 I'm not like blown away, but I you know, I feel like that's 964 01:12:38.399 --> 01:12:42.960 a role where you have time and like kind of like what Riki was saying, 965 01:12:43.159 --> 01:12:45.079 like sort of like get the job done, and like to me, 966 01:12:45.279 --> 01:12:49.119 like, don't blow it, kid, you know, just don't blow it 967 01:12:49.439 --> 01:12:53.920 and it'll be okay because you get more to build on as you go on. 968 01:12:54.079 --> 01:12:58.880 And I think one thing about young actors, and not necessarily just in 969 01:12:59.000 --> 01:13:01.520 terms of twelve versus twenty four versus thirty six, but like in terms of 970 01:13:01.560 --> 01:13:05.880 within their career, right, people who haven't been acting for decades and don't 971 01:13:05.880 --> 01:13:13.359 have the most experience. I think when paired with actors who have more experience 972 01:13:13.439 --> 01:13:16.520 and do bring a lot, I think that's a it's like a learning opportunity. 973 01:13:16.560 --> 01:13:19.800 It's an opportunity for growth and there's something to play off of. And 974 01:13:20.000 --> 01:13:24.479 that's one of the things that I think is so challenging here having multiple young 975 01:13:24.520 --> 01:13:28.600 actors working together. You know, that's going to be harder. But I 976 01:13:28.640 --> 01:13:32.720 did think like his scenes with Giatsu, like I found them moving. Yeah, 977 01:13:32.760 --> 01:13:36.199 Like I thought those were very well done, and I was definitely going 978 01:13:36.239 --> 01:13:44.439 to bring that up the edition of that interaction earlier on and having Gyatsu on 979 01:13:44.600 --> 01:13:48.439 screen really worked and that actor, hang on, I got it written down 980 01:13:48.520 --> 01:13:56.199 right here case you lim is monk Kyatsu. Yeah, absolutely, like perfect, 981 01:13:56.279 --> 01:13:59.600 and I can I can understand why they're going to use that as their 982 01:13:59.720 --> 01:14:02.439 Luke use the force. They're going to keep like using his voice, right, 983 01:14:02.920 --> 01:14:08.159 he says of like you are strong and kind and generous. Like I 984 01:14:08.199 --> 01:14:12.039 feel like that's going to be repeating multiple times because it's perfect. It is 985 01:14:12.039 --> 01:14:15.239 the perfect line for the character and for yeah, the delivery. Yeah, 986 01:14:15.239 --> 01:14:17.520 And they're like, I don't you know, I don't want to have the 987 01:14:17.560 --> 01:14:19.800 power, and it's like, that's why you're going to be a great avatar. 988 01:14:20.039 --> 01:14:24.199 Yeah, yeah, I just want to be your friend and he's like 989 01:14:24.319 --> 01:14:29.199 you will always be Yeah. Oh it's so hard. It did, it 990 01:14:29.279 --> 01:14:31.600 did, and I actually I had to pause it and I had to like 991 01:14:31.640 --> 01:14:34.520 talk to my television and say, are you really going to do this to 992 01:14:34.600 --> 01:14:40.880 me? Yes? Yeah, yeah. Well one of the things I was 993 01:14:40.880 --> 01:14:45.439 thinking about in terms of the acting is also whimsy is really hard to do 994 01:14:45.520 --> 01:14:50.960 on screen, especially for a fairly newer actor. And I mean very clear, 995 01:14:51.039 --> 01:14:56.199 I'm not saying this is the actor's fault. But whimsy can be done 996 01:14:56.800 --> 01:15:00.840 very badly, especially by a young kid. And if you don't know what 997 01:15:00.880 --> 01:15:03.920 I'm talking about, just see if you can hear in your mind Jake Lloyd 998 01:15:04.000 --> 01:15:11.560 Anakin saying yippy like or now this is pod racing? No, yeah, 999 01:15:11.720 --> 01:15:14.920 just blew up a ship that's not pod racing. Yeah. Those those are 1000 01:15:15.000 --> 01:15:19.600 terrible lines of dialogue. But also again, I do not if the director 1001 01:15:19.680 --> 01:15:25.319 could get Natalie Portman to give a bad acting performance. The acting is definitely 1002 01:15:25.319 --> 01:15:29.239 not Jake Lloyd's fault, but those scenes come off as cringe worthy in part, 1003 01:15:29.880 --> 01:15:31.560 you know, because of that. And I think so there's an extent 1004 01:15:31.600 --> 01:15:36.680 to which again, like I want whimsy, I am okay without whimsy. 1005 01:15:36.720 --> 01:15:42.479 If my option is bad or cloying whimsy, well, it's the last major 1006 01:15:42.520 --> 01:15:45.479 actress we have. So the last major actor we haven't talked about it yet 1007 01:15:45.520 --> 01:15:48.439 is Katara, and I want to start with her. I want the first 1008 01:15:48.479 --> 01:15:50.359 thing I'll say about her. I want to talk about her in her own 1009 01:15:50.399 --> 01:15:57.119 right. But big spoiler here, h So skip ahead if you really don't 1010 01:15:57.119 --> 01:16:00.000 want to be spoiled. But there is going to be the idea of romance 1011 01:16:00.039 --> 01:16:05.359 between Katara and Aang introduced later in the show, and to me, one 1012 01:16:05.399 --> 01:16:09.560 of the things that came across very strongly in live action, I feel like 1013 01:16:09.600 --> 01:16:14.439 it's a lot easier to know what ages people are, and there was a 1014 01:16:14.479 --> 01:16:16.239 set I never liked that idea. We talked about this in our last episode, 1015 01:16:16.239 --> 01:16:20.840 in part because Katara feels older than Aang to me in this it was 1016 01:16:20.920 --> 01:16:27.399 incredible, like, to me, looking at those two actors together and maybe 1017 01:16:27.399 --> 01:16:30.800 they're going to extend the timeline of the show, sounds that Angrily grows up 1018 01:16:30.079 --> 01:16:33.720 because in the original it all happens over six months. But looking at those 1019 01:16:33.760 --> 01:16:36.600 two the idea of him having a crush on her felt very much like, 1020 01:16:38.039 --> 01:16:40.960 you know, nine year old Anakin having a crush on fourteen year old Padme. 1021 01:16:41.760 --> 01:16:47.079 And yeah, it just made it made me very uncomfortable because it really 1022 01:16:47.119 --> 01:16:53.079 feels like they are two different age groups at this point. Right now they 1023 01:16:53.159 --> 01:16:59.920 are and I've looked into this. Right in the animated show, Aang is 1024 01:17:00.159 --> 01:17:05.239 supposed to be twelve, and I believe Katara is either fourteen or fifteen. 1025 01:17:05.600 --> 01:17:12.199 I thought she was thirteen, Okay, maybe, but she is older than 1026 01:17:12.279 --> 01:17:15.640 him, right, Yeah, And the I think part of the problem is 1027 01:17:15.720 --> 01:17:23.000 how young they are. Plus the three seasons take place in one calendar year, 1028 01:17:23.640 --> 01:17:28.399 so that they don't age up that much. My understanding is that the 1029 01:17:28.439 --> 01:17:32.920 live action show to account for the fact that they have to film over multiple 1030 01:17:33.159 --> 01:17:38.079 years, and the actors are going to age up, the human beings are 1031 01:17:38.079 --> 01:17:41.680 going to age up. They are going to let the characters also age up 1032 01:17:41.720 --> 01:17:45.880 at the same pace. So by the end of the show, in theory, 1033 01:17:46.079 --> 01:17:50.439 we should we should have a ang character who is like fifteen or maybe 1034 01:17:50.520 --> 01:17:57.000 sixteen, and I think that will make it more palatable and more believable that 1035 01:17:57.079 --> 01:18:01.800 they have this like young romantic relationship budding. Yeah. Right, But it 1036 01:18:01.880 --> 01:18:05.720 was just like the fact that the original show all happened in one year, 1037 01:18:05.840 --> 01:18:11.960 so he's at most thirteen. I think that is what really made that ending 1038 01:18:12.359 --> 01:18:15.560 off the romance, because to me, it's not even just that it's an 1039 01:18:15.600 --> 01:18:18.680 age, especially in this she is a teenager, he is a child. 1040 01:18:18.960 --> 01:18:23.039 Yeah, And that's what comes across to me. I mean, I know 1041 01:18:23.079 --> 01:18:26.199 those lines are arbitrary, but like puberty is not arbitrary, Like it's a 1042 01:18:26.239 --> 01:18:31.880 thing people go through. Sure, I don't know. I feel uncomfortable with 1043 01:18:31.880 --> 01:18:35.640 the discomfort to some extent, but I mean, I hear where you're coming 1044 01:18:35.640 --> 01:18:40.119 from. I mean, so here with these the actors here, I think 1045 01:18:40.159 --> 01:18:44.479 they're like three years apart, right, although I think he's like fifteen and 1046 01:18:44.520 --> 01:18:48.520 she's like eighteen or something something like that, which I guess they're both teenagers 1047 01:18:48.520 --> 01:18:55.000 then, but like, I mean, he's a centurion also, you know, 1048 01:18:55.079 --> 01:18:58.239 I mean he's like one hundred or something. Technically, yeah, you're 1049 01:18:58.319 --> 01:19:00.479 rolling your ice, but like literally, I mean, because that's the thing 1050 01:19:00.520 --> 01:19:08.439 though, It's like, I don't know, I think I think it's the 1051 01:19:08.479 --> 01:19:12.800 sort of thing that like it's one of those things that is usually problematic. 1052 01:19:13.119 --> 01:19:15.640 But to simply look at something and say this is usually problematic and therefore it's 1053 01:19:15.680 --> 01:19:21.600 never okay. I think it's problematic. And yeah, and I understand, 1054 01:19:21.920 --> 01:19:26.560 like in the first show kind of sort of where people are coming from, 1055 01:19:26.760 --> 01:19:30.600 you know. But also I don't think she's supposed to be fifteen or sixteen 1056 01:19:30.600 --> 01:19:31.840 in the first show. I think she's thirteen east twelve, and they're like 1057 01:19:31.880 --> 01:19:36.960 a year apart. Yeah, and in a lot of ways, like in 1058 01:19:38.000 --> 01:19:40.239 a lot of ways, he's more mature than she is, you know, 1059 01:19:40.600 --> 01:19:44.960 it's like they're mature in different ways, and I think it's complicated, and 1060 01:19:45.319 --> 01:19:47.760 I don't know, I do think that their romance kind of comes like a 1061 01:19:47.800 --> 01:19:53.119 little out of left field, you know, like it's not really it does 1062 01:19:53.159 --> 01:19:56.279 feel more like, you know, he kind of has a crush on her 1063 01:19:56.319 --> 01:20:01.439 and she's like just focused on She's obsessed with him as being the Avatar, 1064 01:20:02.039 --> 01:20:08.399 right, you know, like she's that's like her focus in the world in 1065 01:20:08.479 --> 01:20:12.720 life is like Aang is the Avatar and is going to save the world, 1066 01:20:13.359 --> 01:20:17.399 right, you know, So that like eventually blossoming into some sort of something 1067 01:20:17.439 --> 01:20:24.000 else is not sure illogical or unbelievable to me, and of a theory. 1068 01:20:24.039 --> 01:20:26.840 It's not that I think that it can never happen. Yeah, I do 1069 01:20:26.880 --> 01:20:29.439 think it's stages of like I said, you know, they're not always the 1070 01:20:29.439 --> 01:20:31.159 same. But I think that there's a you know, at first glance, 1071 01:20:31.239 --> 01:20:36.000 this feels wrong to me. The show can make me believe it it's okay 1072 01:20:35.840 --> 01:20:40.079 by telling me that in the story. I don't think they did that in 1073 01:20:40.119 --> 01:20:43.640 the animated And I mean in terms of how they feel for each other, 1074 01:20:43.680 --> 01:20:48.279 sure, but in terms of like reconciling the age difference. But and I'm 1075 01:20:48.520 --> 01:20:50.560 what I'm more and I can sort of reconcile it. I mean, like, 1076 01:20:50.600 --> 01:20:54.079 well, maybe she's not as old as I might have thought she was 1077 01:20:54.359 --> 01:20:58.079 in this it just looks much starker, Like sure, yeah, And I 1078 01:20:58.119 --> 01:21:00.359 mean I do think it's the sort of thing also that like, I mean, 1079 01:21:00.399 --> 01:21:03.760 if you're that young, you're actually not that se separated by that many 1080 01:21:03.840 --> 01:21:09.239 years years and if it's it's not like you know, it's not like they're 1081 01:21:09.920 --> 01:21:14.439 having a one night stand or something. It's like they're you know, kind 1082 01:21:14.439 --> 01:21:19.279 of like life mates for like decades and so after a few years, like 1083 01:21:20.239 --> 01:21:24.920 yeah, you know, I mean, yeah, I mean just like I've 1084 01:21:25.079 --> 01:21:28.600 never really dated anyone closer to me in age than they are to each other. 1085 01:21:28.960 --> 01:21:32.399 And granted I've been an adult, you know, but like and so 1086 01:21:32.840 --> 01:21:38.279 has everyone else. But like, you know, I didn't really date in 1087 01:21:38.319 --> 01:21:44.359 school. But like my point just being that, like over time, if 1088 01:21:44.359 --> 01:21:47.920 we're talking about like a long term relationship, like the age difference is like 1089 01:21:47.960 --> 01:21:53.880 irrelevant in terms of them like being interested in each other and like getting it 1090 01:21:53.960 --> 01:21:56.640 on. Like yeah, no, that seems weird. That seems weird to 1091 01:21:56.640 --> 01:22:01.159 me. He's twelve, right, But like I don't see that as that's 1092 01:22:01.199 --> 01:22:04.279 not like it's not that kind of show, you know, Like I feel 1093 01:22:04.279 --> 01:22:08.760 like it's not that kind of romance, right, but I don't know. 1094 01:22:09.000 --> 01:22:12.239 Yeah, so we'll see. Listen. It just was striking to me. 1095 01:22:12.279 --> 01:22:15.960 But let's talk about Katara herself, because again, I don't feel like she 1096 01:22:15.039 --> 01:22:18.199 had enough to do that made her really stand out. And I think Katara's 1097 01:22:19.319 --> 01:22:23.880 the character of Katara get some really great stuff later in the show, including 1098 01:22:23.880 --> 01:22:27.239 in the season, but there was nothing about her that made me feel like, 1099 01:22:27.279 --> 01:22:30.119 oh, this is the wrong person. Like, I thought the look 1100 01:22:30.239 --> 01:22:33.920 was great. I love that they got her hair perfect. She felt very 1101 01:22:33.920 --> 01:22:36.079 believable to me, and I really liked seeing her and I want to see 1102 01:22:36.119 --> 01:22:42.000 more of her. Yeah, she felt kind of like gang to me. 1103 01:22:42.800 --> 01:22:45.359 You know. Yeah, I kind of felt like they were both fine. 1104 01:22:45.920 --> 01:22:50.680 I enjoyed their scenes together. I liked the I liked them kind of teaching 1105 01:22:50.720 --> 01:22:57.079 each other a little bit. You know. You know, she's learning water 1106 01:22:57.159 --> 01:23:01.439 bending very fast, you know, but like that's fine, Like she's talented, 1107 01:23:01.520 --> 01:23:04.600 right, I Mean it's a world where like bending is kind of this 1108 01:23:04.640 --> 01:23:11.359 innate ability, It's like an innate talent, but then developing that talent is 1109 01:23:11.399 --> 01:23:15.359 a skill, you know, And so she's kind of not really been trained. 1110 01:23:15.359 --> 01:23:18.840 She's deliberately not been trained throughout her life, so she's been kind of 1111 01:23:18.840 --> 01:23:23.319 stumbling through on her own. And then finally she gets to talk to a 1112 01:23:23.359 --> 01:23:28.600 master bender who has some wisdom that helps her with her bending. And then 1113 01:23:29.039 --> 01:23:30.800 then she gets a scroll and like that's helpful too, you know, it's 1114 01:23:30.840 --> 01:23:34.840 like, oh, now here's some concrete knowledge related to like water bending. 1115 01:23:36.560 --> 01:23:41.880 I feel like she didn't have a lot of super cringey lines she had to 1116 01:23:41.880 --> 01:23:45.560 deliver. I'm trying to remember there were Grand Grand had to say. Most 1117 01:23:45.600 --> 01:23:53.039 of the things that were just grand had the expedition and exit. Yeah, 1118 01:23:53.279 --> 01:23:59.399 like yeah, maybe that saved us from having to like have Katara deliver that 1119 01:23:59.520 --> 01:24:01.560 lines and they have to like live with the character for the rest of the 1120 01:24:01.640 --> 01:24:05.199 series. You know. Well, so let me actually ask listeners, if 1121 01:24:05.239 --> 01:24:10.039 any of you did not watch the animated show, what did you think of 1122 01:24:10.079 --> 01:24:13.520 when Grand Grand is in the sort of hall with all of them and she 1123 01:24:13.640 --> 01:24:16.560 says, you know, once the Foig Nations lived in fire, Once the 1124 01:24:16.600 --> 01:24:19.760 Foig Nations lived in harmony, but then the Fire Nation attacked and she gives 1125 01:24:19.760 --> 01:24:24.399 them kind of like it's a speech, and she says, this is a 1126 01:24:24.439 --> 01:24:29.840 story we've all heard that is almost word for word in a way that made 1127 01:24:29.840 --> 01:24:33.479 it jarring that it wasn't exactly word for word the exposition that came at the 1128 01:24:33.520 --> 01:24:41.279 beginning of every single episode. So yeah, I'm wondering if to someone who 1129 01:24:41.279 --> 01:24:45.399 hadn't heard that before, did that sound like a grandmother telling a story in 1130 01:24:45.399 --> 01:24:48.640 a way that has been told down through the ages again and again, or 1131 01:24:48.640 --> 01:24:51.119 at least for these act or did it feel really awful? Because to me 1132 01:24:51.159 --> 01:24:55.439 it felt really awful. But to all of us I think, but I'm 1133 01:24:56.159 --> 01:24:59.680 curious to someone who has the the show, did it feel different. Yeah, 1134 01:24:59.720 --> 01:25:01.880 I'm I'm curious too. Yeah, it was too bad because other than 1135 01:25:01.880 --> 01:25:04.359 that, I did love Grand Grant as well. I thought she was very 1136 01:25:04.359 --> 01:25:14.800 good. Yeah, I don't know the casting beyond the main cast that we're 1137 01:25:14.800 --> 01:25:17.880 going to follow, Like, I'm really enjoying some of the people that they 1138 01:25:17.880 --> 01:25:23.760 are. They're peppering in here. So Grand grand was played by Casey camp 1139 01:25:23.880 --> 01:25:32.880 Horneck, and then Yukari, who is Suki's mother. The mayor of Kiyoshi 1140 01:25:32.960 --> 01:25:42.000 Island, is played by Tamlin Tomita, who you may recognize as I believe 1141 01:25:42.039 --> 01:25:45.399 it was Kumi Ko from Karate Kid two from way back in the eighties, 1142 01:25:46.000 --> 01:25:51.880 and she she came back for Cobra Kai whatever the season was. He went 1143 01:25:51.920 --> 01:25:56.600 back to Japan. So, and she's been in a lot of things. 1144 01:25:57.479 --> 01:26:00.279 Most recently, I think she was in Star Trek Picard. So seeing her 1145 01:26:00.359 --> 01:26:08.800 in this was great for me. And that Kyoshi Island, like her Suki, 1146 01:26:09.199 --> 01:26:13.680 like the Kyoshi Avatar character, all of that, give me all of 1147 01:26:13.720 --> 01:26:16.079 that, like more of that. We're not getting more of that, We're 1148 01:26:16.079 --> 01:26:19.600 barely probably going to come back, but that, like we were talking earlier 1149 01:26:19.600 --> 01:26:25.640 about spin offs, that's the spinoff I want is like the Kyoshi Warriors spin 1150 01:26:25.680 --> 01:26:29.960 off and like all of those characters. Yeah, yeah, yeah, or 1151 01:26:30.039 --> 01:26:32.239 like just maybe like thread some of that goodness through the series. You know, 1152 01:26:32.319 --> 01:26:34.600 let's see what's going on in the rest of the world. We don't 1153 01:26:34.640 --> 01:26:40.000 like just have to follow the main characters, you know. Yeah, I 1154 01:26:40.000 --> 01:26:43.159 mean I don't know a lot of my absolute favorite characters get introduced in season 1155 01:26:43.159 --> 01:26:48.720 two or three. So yeah, Paul, you don't want to know about 1156 01:26:48.720 --> 01:26:53.159 any future any people that have been announced as being cast, right, That's 1157 01:26:53.199 --> 01:26:56.479 correct? Yeah, okay, cool. I'd rather only talk about the performances 1158 01:26:56.520 --> 01:27:00.920 we see. The only ones I knew of were paulse On Young and Dallas 1159 01:27:00.000 --> 01:27:04.119 Liu, who was in shunk Chi, who originally I thought played the young 1160 01:27:04.199 --> 01:27:10.560 hunk Chi, but he didn't. He played Aquafina's younger brother. Oh oh 1161 01:27:10.640 --> 01:27:14.920 yeah, ok yeah, who was like barely had he was just like there 1162 01:27:14.960 --> 01:27:19.439 to annoy her. I think mostly yeah, Katie's younger brother. Another thing 1163 01:27:19.479 --> 01:27:24.000 I thought was done very well. That again I was very trepidacious about. 1164 01:27:24.640 --> 01:27:30.039 I freaking loved Apa and Momo. Oh yeah, perfect Momo. Momo like 1165 01:27:30.159 --> 01:27:35.720 oh good Momo. Yeah, Like that was That was one of the few 1166 01:27:35.720 --> 01:27:40.199 spots where I felt like, I feel like they got more out of Momo 1167 01:27:40.319 --> 01:27:44.520 than the show did for most of the time than the original is a walking 1168 01:27:45.039 --> 01:27:49.239 machine, and they did perfectly. Yes, looks great, It's hilarious. 1169 01:27:49.279 --> 01:27:56.000 Like it's the relationship between Mobo and Sokka. Already I can see kind of 1170 01:27:56.039 --> 01:27:59.159 you know, Sokka makes his meat chokes or whatever. But then it's like 1171 01:27:59.199 --> 01:28:02.199 you could tell, Okay, you know they're gonna this is where some of 1172 01:28:02.199 --> 01:28:06.399 our whimsy and our humor and stuff is going to come from. And and 1173 01:28:06.840 --> 01:28:12.960 Opa as well. For sure. Yeah you know, I it's too bad 1174 01:28:13.000 --> 01:28:15.119 Iro never gets on Apa, because then we'd have Opa on top of Opa 1175 01:28:15.319 --> 01:28:20.800 exactly, exactly. Yeah, I mean the scene where uh, the scene 1176 01:28:20.840 --> 01:28:26.079 where Aang hugs Appa ill. Yeah, like that was very powerful. So 1177 01:28:26.119 --> 01:28:28.439 it's kind of like, like, don't put your hand right on his nose, 1178 01:28:28.520 --> 01:28:31.119 dude, that's that's not comfortable. I've had babies do that to me 1179 01:28:31.159 --> 01:28:33.840 and it sucks. But you know, like other than that, I loved 1180 01:28:33.840 --> 01:28:42.560 it. Yeah. No, the fact that that relationship is clearly so important 1181 01:28:43.000 --> 01:28:50.760 to the storytellers that they understand that, like Appa's Aang's only living friend from 1182 01:28:50.840 --> 01:28:56.399 his old life so far, you know, like that's a big deal. 1183 01:28:56.920 --> 01:29:01.079 Like that's a relationship that survived a hundred years in an iceberg, you know. 1184 01:29:01.520 --> 01:29:05.439 And so to me, that was like one of the top things that 1185 01:29:05.479 --> 01:29:11.159 I really was hoping that we get, you know, and it's it's just 1186 01:29:11.239 --> 01:29:15.760 a little you know, it's it's subtle so far. Hopefully we'll get, 1187 01:29:15.800 --> 01:29:18.680 you know, all the way through the various parts of the story that I 1188 01:29:18.680 --> 01:29:21.600 love so much, you know, but just even just getting that much is 1189 01:29:21.600 --> 01:29:29.520 something that I feel like the first adaptation was just completely disinterested in. Yeah. 1190 01:29:29.800 --> 01:29:31.800 Yeah, So that's it. So all right, we've gone for a 1191 01:29:31.800 --> 01:29:35.319 good long time. We're not going to do bonus content. Frankly, We're 1192 01:29:35.319 --> 01:29:39.159 giving you four episodes and four days, and I think that's pretty awesome. 1193 01:29:39.720 --> 01:29:44.199 But members who are getting these episodes earlier, and because of the way that 1194 01:29:44.239 --> 01:29:46.239 I post these episodes, I work with other folks who generally don't work on 1195 01:29:46.279 --> 01:29:49.119 the weekend. It may be that the episodes are going to come out Monday, 1196 01:29:49.159 --> 01:29:53.359 Tuesday, Wednesday, but I imagine a lot of people are not going 1197 01:29:53.439 --> 01:29:56.920 to watch the whole show until over the weekend. So but this episode will 1198 01:29:56.920 --> 01:30:00.840 definitely go out on Friday, and then you'll get the others possibly Saturday, 1199 01:30:00.880 --> 01:30:02.560 Sunday, Monday, or a couple of days later. But any of the 1200 01:30:02.600 --> 01:30:08.560 last comments that you want to make, I'm really looking forward to seeing more 1201 01:30:08.560 --> 01:30:15.479 of Zuko. I just think the sort of anger and desperation that I've gotten 1202 01:30:15.520 --> 01:30:19.840 from the character, along with the complete absence of malice. Yeah, you 1203 01:30:19.880 --> 01:30:25.680 know, like there's this rage, but it's this rage that's not at the 1204 01:30:25.760 --> 01:30:29.359 people that he like, he didn't want to burn the village to the town 1205 01:30:30.199 --> 01:30:32.920 to the ground. He just was going to you know, but like it 1206 01:30:33.760 --> 01:30:38.560 sells the character for me in a way that I feel like it took the 1207 01:30:38.600 --> 01:30:42.640 animated series a while to get to the point where I feel like they've given 1208 01:30:42.680 --> 01:30:46.159 me a better Zuko here than the animated series did in the first ten episodes, 1209 01:30:47.319 --> 01:30:50.720 and so I'm hopeful that the whole arc will just be I mean, 1210 01:30:50.760 --> 01:30:56.680 I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, And speaking of Zuko, one thing 1211 01:30:56.760 --> 01:31:03.479 I noticed that they seem to be maybe emphasizing more was Zuko's belief that the 1212 01:31:03.600 --> 01:31:08.880 Avatar. I think he calls them the Ultimate Warrior, right, yeah, 1213 01:31:09.119 --> 01:31:15.159 right, because when Aang gets escapes from his ship, he says he ran 1214 01:31:15.520 --> 01:31:20.640 the Ultimate Warrior, and so like he has this image in his head of 1215 01:31:20.680 --> 01:31:24.680 what the Avatar is supposed to be, and the fact that it's this kid 1216 01:31:25.159 --> 01:31:28.199 first off as a surprise, but then the fact that he's running away. 1217 01:31:28.840 --> 01:31:32.600 I hope that this is something that they keep revisiting, because ultimately it is 1218 01:31:32.760 --> 01:31:41.000 a part of Zuko's journey. Is that understanding that it's not about how you 1219 01:31:41.119 --> 01:31:45.039 use your bending in terms of fighting and might, but about the heart. 1220 01:31:45.920 --> 01:31:49.319 Yeah, I think it's all really true. And I'll say I still don't 1221 01:31:49.319 --> 01:31:54.119 think overall it's a good thing, but I will say one positive of those 1222 01:31:54.119 --> 01:31:59.199 first scenes was, in terms of what we're talking about here, that sense 1223 01:31:59.239 --> 01:32:01.119 of melos you're talk talking about, Paul, that we didn't feel. I 1224 01:32:01.319 --> 01:32:08.680 absolutely did feel from the fire Benders attacking first that Earth Nation guy and then 1225 01:32:08.720 --> 01:32:14.000 later the Air Nation, the Air Nomad, and I feel like it made 1226 01:32:14.239 --> 01:32:19.199 Zuko's really stand out because you know those people were they you know, they're 1227 01:32:19.239 --> 01:32:21.920 fighting for the Fire Nation. They wanted to defeat the Fire Nation's enemies. 1228 01:32:21.920 --> 01:32:26.359 They want to kill these other people. Zuko, to me, feels like 1229 01:32:27.159 --> 01:32:30.239 he wants to do what will get his his honor back in the eyes of 1230 01:32:30.279 --> 01:32:33.279 his father. Yeah, and the father has said the Avatar needs to be 1231 01:32:33.319 --> 01:32:38.279 captured, and so that's why he's captured. He doesn't. It's not that 1232 01:32:38.319 --> 01:32:41.920 he thinks his father's wrong, right, that he's just not questioning it. 1233 01:32:42.840 --> 01:32:46.199 He has no independent belief that the Avatar has to be captured or that the 1234 01:32:46.239 --> 01:32:49.079 Water Tribe Water Nation has to be destroyed. It's just like, sure, 1235 01:32:49.239 --> 01:32:53.159 this is the goal, and I will do anything that gets in the goal's 1236 01:32:53.199 --> 01:32:57.319 way. But yeah, no, no, no malice, no no sadism 1237 01:32:57.319 --> 01:33:00.720 there. Yeah, And to that point, I feel like the conversation between 1238 01:33:00.760 --> 01:33:06.760 Iro and Aang was actually I feel like that was actually a really nice addition, 1239 01:33:08.279 --> 01:33:12.239 you know, like Aang being like, why are you fighting this war? 1240 01:33:12.319 --> 01:33:15.439 Why is this war going on? And Iro kind of answering the question 1241 01:33:15.600 --> 01:33:20.439 without saying what he thought. Really, you know, I thought it was 1242 01:33:20.479 --> 01:33:27.239 a really nice way of framing it and kind of helping to understand how the 1243 01:33:27.319 --> 01:33:33.960 Fire Nation and it's military can be the antagonist. But it doesn't mean that 1244 01:33:34.079 --> 01:33:39.720 they're all evil, Like what they're doing is evil, but it doesn't mean 1245 01:33:39.840 --> 01:33:44.760 it's like most of the people are just doing what they're doing. And like 1246 01:33:45.159 --> 01:33:48.039 the fact that Zuko has just been brought up this way and then Iro's just 1247 01:33:48.119 --> 01:33:53.680 lived in this world as you know, the fire Prints once upon a time, 1248 01:33:53.760 --> 01:33:59.319 it's it's it. It gives some perspective that I feel we don't get 1249 01:33:59.399 --> 01:34:03.960 until season two or three in the animated show. And that's not a fault 1250 01:34:03.960 --> 01:34:06.680 of the animated show. I think it's interesting the way they do it, 1251 01:34:06.720 --> 01:34:11.520 but I think it's nice to kind of have that early here. Yeah, 1252 01:34:11.600 --> 01:34:15.439 and it gives me hope that we'll we'll get deeper into that, maybe that 1253 01:34:15.600 --> 01:34:18.319 maybe that'll be something that for all the things that I've complained about so far 1254 01:34:18.439 --> 01:34:25.439 that maybe maybe this series does have kind of something to say on top of 1255 01:34:25.479 --> 01:34:30.119 what the original series had to say. Yeah. Yeah, and that's the 1256 01:34:30.680 --> 01:34:33.199 that's the flip side of what I said earlier about the Suki situation, right, 1257 01:34:33.239 --> 01:34:38.119 Like, Suki is destined to disappear now as a character, unfortunately, 1258 01:34:38.760 --> 01:34:44.800 But the fact that the writers of this show know about the entire backstory Vira 1259 01:34:45.600 --> 01:34:49.000 means that they can better prepare the audience and Pepper stuff like that scene in 1260 01:34:49.039 --> 01:34:54.800 with any which I agree like was perfect. So yeah, yeah, that 1261 01:34:54.880 --> 01:34:58.399 was awesome. Well go ahead. Actually, I just want to thank both 1262 01:34:58.439 --> 01:35:01.000 of you because now I actually want to watch the next two episodes. Yeah, 1263 01:35:01.039 --> 01:35:03.680 and before this, I mean I was gonna but like I was, 1264 01:35:03.720 --> 01:35:06.720 like, you know, I feel a little more optimistic, a little more 1265 01:35:06.800 --> 01:35:11.680 you know, I can grab onto the parts that I enjoy and kind of 1266 01:35:11.760 --> 01:35:15.119 let the parts I don't as much. Maybe past I mean, I was 1267 01:35:15.199 --> 01:35:20.159 right there, like that opening is so jarring as a fan of the animated 1268 01:35:20.199 --> 01:35:28.680 show, and the brutality of what the fire Firelartsosan does in that scene was 1269 01:35:28.840 --> 01:35:33.119 just a shock. It's absolute shock, and it seems deliberate, like that 1270 01:35:33.239 --> 01:35:39.119 whole beginning seems very deliberate for setting the tone here and making sure that people 1271 01:35:39.680 --> 01:35:44.520 understand that A, it's not the animated show and B it's not the previous 1272 01:35:44.560 --> 01:35:48.600 live action movie both and all the good and the bad ways. Yeah, 1273 01:35:48.640 --> 01:35:51.439 I think that's really true, and I think that's probably exactly what it was 1274 01:35:51.439 --> 01:35:56.279 a sign of. If you're looking for a shot for shot remake of the 1275 01:35:56.319 --> 01:35:59.760 original, this is not it. You know, we are not doing that. 1276 01:36:00.079 --> 01:36:01.880 And in some ways it makes me almost wait, wish this was a 1277 01:36:01.920 --> 01:36:06.079 weekly show, because then you'll give it a little bit more time to settle. 1278 01:36:06.399 --> 01:36:10.079 But also I just want to know, I want to see everything else 1279 01:36:10.439 --> 01:36:13.119 because frankly, I just mostly was going to kill me. Is like, 1280 01:36:13.159 --> 01:36:15.199 if I do really get invested in this show, then waiting another year for 1281 01:36:15.239 --> 01:36:18.960 the Earth Kingdom stuff. So oh yeah, yeah, yeah we'll see. 1282 01:36:19.000 --> 01:36:21.399 But all right, Well, thank you both so much. This was such 1283 01:36:21.399 --> 01:36:26.920 a good conversation. And yeah, I when when Paul got started and I 1284 01:36:27.039 --> 01:36:30.479 was like, oh, he's right, They're so right. I was worried 1285 01:36:30.520 --> 01:36:32.039 this was going to turn into ninety minutes of bashing it, and I'm really 1286 01:36:32.039 --> 01:36:34.520 glad we didn't do that, and I thank you both for helping to make 1287 01:36:34.520 --> 01:36:38.119 sure we didn't go in that direction, So thank you both so much. 1288 01:36:38.159 --> 01:36:41.800 To our listeners, really want to know what you have to say. As 1289 01:36:41.840 --> 01:36:44.560 always, you can find all the ways to contact us by looking in the 1290 01:36:44.560 --> 01:36:49.119 show notes or just searching for the Ethical Panda on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram. 1291 01:36:49.279 --> 01:36:53.359 You can become a member, get bonus content, ad free content, 1292 01:36:53.399 --> 01:36:57.159 and we're actually doing full bonus episodes right now only on the Star Wars podcast, 1293 01:36:57.159 --> 01:37:00.079 but we're also doing that here eventually. All that untillly five dollars a 1294 01:37:00.079 --> 01:37:02.920 month. Great way to help support us and just be a part of what 1295 01:37:02.920 --> 01:37:05.600 we're going on. If you like Avatar, if you like discussing Avatar, 1296 01:37:05.760 --> 01:37:09.279 please share this with your friends, Tell your friends about it, get them 1297 01:37:09.279 --> 01:37:13.279 in the conversation, follow us on social media, interact, do all the 1298 01:37:13.319 --> 01:37:16.720 things. Such a great way to help help keep the conversation going so on. 1299 01:37:16.800 --> 01:37:20.399 Behalf of myself, Riki and Paul, thank you so all so much. 1300 01:37:20.800 --> 01:37:30.119 We have spoken. Yep, yep,