Heavy expositions and predictable plotlines overpower the decent performances and some solid action set pieces in Netflix’s

Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian

Ousley) inadvertently bring him back to life. The three team up to, you guessed it, save the world.

There are quite a few reasons the animated series gained cult status and one of them is the goofiness you would expect from cartoons; while the new adaption tries to double as Avatar for Adults, it fails to pander to both sets of audiences. There are the occasional jokes — and shots like Aang recreating the scene from the animated series where he airbends around and hits a statue — but the series doesn’t set the tone straight and does no justice to the fantasy world filled with mythical creatures and magic; a problem that we encountered with Disney’s liveaction adaptations as well.

But what’s more troubling is the breakneck speed the series travels and how it still rakes up a sevenplus hour runtime. Why was Aang the chosen one? What’s with the comet? Why are Fire Nation folks so...fiery? Despite feeling a little too long, the show does not get into such intriguing details.

What comes as a muchwelcomed move is its neat casting, something the 2010 film not only failed to nail but was also rightfully criticised for whitewashing the cast list despite the source material’s influence being East Asian and Inuit culture. Cormier is perfect as Aang, embodying the character’s childish nature, the willingness to make friends with enemies and the power to take charge when required. Dallas Liu, as the scarred Prince Zuko, who has been exiled and is hot on the heels to capture Aang, is equally good. On paper, the parallels between these two are brilliant — both were raised to be what they are destined to be since childhood; both long for good companions; they have their own missions that they cannot fail at; and while Aang looks for a mentor in many after he loses his, Zuko’s mentor is his father who considers his own blood to be a weakling. However, these parallels rarely translate on the screen.

The action sequences are quite decent and the final episode is visually stunning, but the visual effects are not consistently in great quality. The animated series, despite being targeted at children, addressed several themes like war, imperialism, genocide and women’s empowerment. Considering how the new series largely focusses on a comparatively older target group, these topics could have been explored further. Instead, what we get are heavy expositions and predictable plotlines. For instance, the minute we are told about water’s healing abilities, we know it’ll be put to use later in the story. Or, when Katara is told that women do not participate in wars, no points for guessing if she will go on to do it.

It also gets painfully obvious that the trio are going to be unfazed at the end of the season and hence, the stakes are never too high. Unidimensional secondary characters and underdeveloped interpersonal dynamics amidst the trio don’t help either. Just last year, Netflix hit the bullseye with the liveaction adaptation of One Piece. This time, however, it has failed to recreate the magic with Avatar: The Last Airbender. Despite being a largely faithful adaptation with decent performances and some solid sequences, capturing the true essence of the classic animated show seems to be a task too big even for the Avatar. Only if he could bend minds!

Avatar: The Last Airbender is currently streaming on Netflix