The original showrunners and producers of the live-action and original Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra series, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, exited the Netflix adaptation. The pair were attached to the project since 2018, but left in 2020, due to creative differences—even before filming for Season 1 began.
Before the show entered development hell even further, Albert Kim stepped in as the main developer/showrunner for Season 1. When Kim stepped down before Season 2 development, executive producers Jabbar Raisani and Christine Boylan stepped up to the challenge as the showrunners. On top of all the musical chairs, the studio also cut one episode from this season, going down from eight episodes to seven. A series of unfortunate events, and here we are.
Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 picks up shortly after the events of the first season. After a bittersweet victory saving the Northern Water Tribe from the invading Fire Nation, Avatar Aang, Katara and Sokka regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King in Ba Sing Se to aid in their battle against fearsome Fire Lord Ozai.
It is no secret that this part of the journey introduces Aang to Toph, an audacious young master of earthbending, and convinces her to help him add earthbending to his powers of airbending and waterbending. Prince Zuko continues his quest to capture the Avatar. However, Zuko is beginning to question everything he knows. Even worse for our heroes, his formidable sister, Princess Azula, now joins the fray.
Storywise, Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 expands on some gaps throughout the animated series’ Book 2. We see more emotional beats and backstory from Azula and Zuko, explaining why they are the way they are. This was seen in the first season as well. For some reason, certain side characters stick around a lot longer than the original show did this season, though, fluffing up some scenes that did not need to be in this show. Somehow, a show that got an episode cut managed to add in some filler! Not a great look.
Could I confidently say that this live-action explored new areas in the gaps of the animated series? Not really. The condensed story was prevalent, especially when a certain story beat required Team Avatar to travel to a new location, but ended up being amalgamated into the same location for most of the season instead. It may not be the most egregious aspect for new audiences, but longtime watchers of the animated series may be annoyed.
“Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 felt like it lost the plot somewhere.”
New watchers will also experience, along with longtime fans, how emotional beats develop too fast. There is never enough time for you to sit in the sadness or experience heartbreak during certain narrative and character development moments. A better-written series that has the freedom allows its characters to breathe and let them grow, even when the main characters split off on their own. This season attempted to do that, but fell short in execution.
With the changeover of production leadership over the two seasons, Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 felt like it lost the plot somewhere. It is of no fault to Gordon Cormier that he is currently going through puberty, and the voice change and height differences across the seasons show a lot! A recast would be a mistake, and maybe voice modulation/editing would have been weird too. But it took me out of the whole experience that Aang is still just a kid with immense power and responsibility as the Avatar—no, not Spider-Man.
With Cormier unapologetically older as an actor, I noticed how everyone appropriately played their characters and matched the fundamental character traits that I remember from the animated version. It was almost as if the directors forgot to remind Cormier that he is supposed to still be a goofy, fun-loving 12-year-old. Unfortunately, time does not stop for real actors, as Cormier is now 16 years old, and Aang stayed 12 years old until almost the end of the series. Ultimately, Aang felt a little too serious in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, and uncharacteristically mature for his age.
Miya Cech joins Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 as Toph, and kills it. The voice, the mannerisms, the costume design, and the overall vibes matched the Toph I remember from the animated series. For fans, her moments and involvement throughout this season may be a little different, but it worked for the story Boyland and Raisani were aiming for. Kiawentiio and Ian Ousley deliver a small sliver more of a one-to-one with their animated counterparts this season.
In terms of the overall production, the set and environment design, and costume design for everyone were grandiose. If there was one major saving grace this season, the staff below the line were doing their job to the best of their abilities. The CGI/VFX work matched the right levels, too, making the creatures and sets feel lived in and grounded to a certain extent.
The second strength of the season that carried over from the first season was the music and score. Composer Takeshi Furukawa boldly went further in Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2, compared to last season. I noticed the score popping off a bit more this season, hearing the orchestral work to enhance all dramatic action set pieces. But even the sombre, heartfelt moments also deliver melancholic notes that tug on the audience’s heartstrings—even with Furukawa’s rendition of a song the animated series fans will recognize.
By the time the credits rolled, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth for Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. The condensing and mixing felt wrong from a fan standpoint. From a purely narrative critique, it made sense to combine certain things. However, story beats became predictable, and the world felt smaller in this adaptation. The production and look of everything was stunning, but the writers and directors appeared to forget the core of the source material to its detriment this season. Season 3 needs to do better than whatever this was.
