Yazar 
Avatar: The Last Airbender returned to Netflix screens with its second season after a two-year hiatus. The general reception of the first season, while not particularly impressed, showed it had potential. That was my take as well — slightly above average, a decent story, and especially a suitable entry point for those stepping into this universe for the first time, if there still are any. With a budget increase and a firmer narrative footing, the show could have reached a good level.
Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 consists of 7 episodes and broadly covers the second season of the animation it draws from as source material — namely, the Earth element. That particular season holds a special place for animation fans; new characters begin joining the story while the narratives’ depth and meaning come more prominently to the fore.
The Difficulty of Earthbending
The main focus of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s second season is the adventures of our team as Aang sets out to master a new element. The natural first move is to travel to the Earth Kingdom to find a new teacher. I generally don’t enjoy comparing adaptations to their source material, since I don’t prefer them to be carbon copies of the originals — but that doesn’t mean I want what I’m watching to turn into something entirely different. Avatar: The Last Airbender actually didn’t do a bad job in its first season on this front. The second season, however, manages to diverge from the show at most points — and it doesn’t do this merely by relocating first-season events to different time slots.
The animated series is one of the best works I’ve ever watched, and I’m admittedly not very objective about it. The biggest reason I liked the first season was simply that I love this universe. But this season, unfortunately, wasn’t crafted with the same care as the first. Yes, the first season had its issues, yet I could still tell the world I was watching was the Avatar world. The second season, sadly, fails on that front.
Toph is probably the fan-favorite character for anyone who loved the animation. In the Netflix version, she’s portrayed by Miya Cech. Personally, I quite liked Toph throughout the season. Beyond the actress’s performance, her story is conveyed in a fairly solid way. They captured Toph’s love of teasing people and her occasional seriousness well. Considering this season generally falls behind the first in terms of acting, Miya Cech as Toph unquestionably stands apart from the rest.
The Destruction Brought by Lightning
Alongside our main Avatar team, the season’s other focal point — in addition to Zuko — is the trio of Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee. Frankly, I don’t think the show’s writers really understand these characters. The decisions made about them feel like they were made at random, purely to keep scenes moving. A large portion of the season, just as in the animation, centers on Azula and Toph. But the live-action version unfortunately fails to shine the necessary spotlight on either character. These two, in particular, have qualities that set them apart through their bearing and manner, not just their lines. Azula’s aura alone should inspire at least a little fear — yet Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 doesn’t even come close to the animation on this count.
That said, Elizabeth Yu, who plays Azula, is absolutely giving her best, and there is nothing wrong with her acting. It’s only the scenes and lines written for the character that stray far from the original Azula’s atmosphere. I can say the same for Mai and Ty Lee. The “off” feeling within this trio, unfortunately, persists throughout the season. Zuko, on the other hand, was in my view one of the standout characters of the first season — both the actor’s performance and the scenes written for him created genuinely compelling moments. The second season fortunately carries that success forward. I’d even say it’s Zuko’s scenes alone that keep the show engaging, because you can track the character’s purpose as you watch his journey. But Avatar: The Last Airbender, in general terms, feels far too weak at preserving the essence of its original characters.
There’s a Whiff of Conspiracy in the Air
The season also has serious problems with its editing. Moments that follow certain scenes break the pacing significantly and cause the viewer to disengage. Unfortunately, the long gap between the filming of seasons one and two also feels a bit strange on the casting side. Gordon Cormier, who plays Aang, has visibly grown up compared to the first season, which is slightly jarring. Of course, the real blame here lies with the producers who allowed such a long gap. Cormier’s performance itself isn’t bad — I liked him in the first season too. He does his best here as well, but unfortunately the gap between him and the animated Aang is noticeable.
The season’s storytelling is, unfortunately, another weak point. The plot never quite manages to pull the audience in. Even at a surface level, the manipulation carried out against the people of Ba Sing Se is an event that demands serious treatment. But because this storyline is told in a disjointed fashion across the season, it never coalesces into the weighty plot it should be. More side stories centered on the people of the kingdom could have been developed — as it stands, the scenes placed there generally don’t go beyond summarizing what happened.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, amid this storyline’s shortcomings, also attempts to focus on the internal struggles of our main team. Each character has their own problems they’re trying to resolve over the course of the season. But I’m not sure how many of these — Toph’s aside — are effectively communicated to the audience. Most problems are brushed off after a few lines in a single scene, and the character development arcs throughout the season don’t amount to much.
It’s also hard to say how much genuine character development the script actually contains. The characters — again, as in the first season — aren’t developed well, Zuko aside. This season in particular needed to handle Sokka’s growth and maturation with far more nuance. In short, lines and scenes that haven’t been thought through are doing considerable damage to the show’s pacing and overall quality. It was said that there won’t be a long wait between the second and third seasons. I’m not certain whether the next season will be the finale — based on the animation’s trajectory it should be, but there’s still a great deal left to cover, and the current episode count is unfortunately insufficient for that. We’ll have to wait and see.
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