Netflix ATLA: S1 Ep 2

Ep 3 of the original has Zuko's ship get taken in for repairs after Aang's escape & we meet Zhao here, the secondary enemy of Season 1. With Zuko's ship fine, I wonder how he'll be introduced? Maybe Zuko's ship will be damaged at Kyoshi Island? It's not pivotal that Zhao get introduced here, but this is the 1st big shift from the show in terms of character intro on the whole timeline.
Zuko & Iroh going to Kyoshi Island is a LOT more justified here. In the original, when Aang is there, it travels by word of mouth from fisherman to Zuko's chef on his boat. That could take any amount of time & leaves Aang on the island for that indiscernible amount of time. Here, it's thanks to Zuko's notes that Aang took.

I've seen some reviews and they say that Sokka is no longer comic relief. What show are they watching? Aang saying he wants to learn to "...control his power before-" Sokka jumps in "You kill someone?" Sarcasm seems intact.
So Aang doesn't come here to ride the elephant koi. Again, as stated in my "Before Going In" section, they go on 3 fun detours max in Season 1. Taking one off here isn't too good, but if Aang is treated like a celebrity as he is in the original, he can still have fun here & that character through-line still remains until Ep 8. Only question is what about the Unagi?
Also, in the original, they sort of just accept that they're going with Aang across the world. Here, there's some trepidation from Sokka & that's understandable; If helping to save the world wasn't enough reason, Katara can learn Waterbending from whoever teaches Aang. She gets more out of this than Sokka, the non-bender in a bending world. However, his tribe's only bender has to hide it most of the time. He's more valued in the tribe than outside of it.
Momo, having a more vocal real-world animal, has monkey noises as well as Dee Bradley Baker's trilling. Fine with it.
So THIS is how they get the Waterbending Scroll without having the episode (S1E9). I gotta say, the justification is pretty rock solid and since Aang already has a sky bison whistle, there's no need to touch that episode (The pirates from it return b/c they're hired by Zhao to kill Zuko so Iroh will join him on his siege of the Northern Water Tribe, but they can be replaced easily)
Okay, short Gyatso burial scene, which is nice and Aang's actor finally flexing a bit. If he only trends upward in skill, I'll be happy with his performance.

Aang naming him Momo is a cool piece of trivia to know, but always struck me as weird. It's because he was eating Sokka's peach when asked what to name him & the Japanese word for "peach" is "momo", but does that mean he's aware of the connection or was it truly off-the-top? And Sokka's "hatred" of Momo is here.

Oh, They're still having Zhao introduced here. So I guess props to them but I also gave the show too much credit because now, that 1st paragraph is pointless.
So the comedic timing of the "sign" that proves Aang is the Avatar to the Kyoshi Warriors is almost laughably bad. I mean, yes, being an Airbender alone wouldn't be enough proof. He could just be an Airbender that survived, not THE one Air-born Avatar that survived, but the way it just happens is just so bad.

Lot to unpack here... Kyoshi Island being so distrustful was in part because of the war but also because of Chin the Conqueror who tried to unify the Earth Kingdom, but under a brutal regime. Kyoshi separated her home from the mainland (and inadvertently killed him) making what is now Kyoshi Island (This is explained in S2E5) HOWEVER, "Kyoshi benefitted from the kindness of strangers" & "she believed in helping those who could not help themselves" is a reference to the 2 "recent" Kyoshi novels, so it's cool to see them incorporated into the flow of the original story. With Oyagi's (the elder Suki is talking to) 2-day limit & overall strictness with the Gaang, it doesn't seem like he'll be treated as a celebrity. We'll see if the townsfolk like him.

Would you look at that? Sokka trying to impress Suki, seeing her as a woman first and a warrior second. Looks like he's still on track to learning a lesson in the episode. Also, Aang's not treated like a celebrity. I'm not as angry about this than other people because, despite him going to these places not for fun but for training, knowledge, etc., he's finding fun while there. He can do both. Which is the revelation at the end of his development arc.

So Zhao's a little more soft-spoken than I'd like him to be at 1st impressions, but the courteous & condescension speaks to his temperament & tactical ability. Looking forward to the Agni Kai. Iroh brushing the "Dragon of the West" title off because you only get that title by killing a dragon, he's been said to have killed the last dragons, but he actually kept them alive and allowed the Sun Warriors to keep them secret from the world (S3E13) After learning of his White Lotus background, all these little moments are so rewarding.

Actually seeing some training along with some character growth is nice. If there are to be more training sequences in the season/series, they'll probably be in montage form or just glimpses until we get a new element. Training helps your skill level but it's also a time to correct your emotional state or think on problems, like meditation without the physically static nature of it. There it is: Aang having fun on his journey & not just from quick destinations. MULTIPLE SCENES OF IT TOO! While not being a celebrity, the locals warm to him enough. 1st Air Scooter & crashing into the statue like the original opening. And Oyagi still limiting there time on the island is because the more Aang stays in one location, the more danger he brings and Oyagi kept Kyoshi Island safe all these years by being this strict? I dunno, it's 3 AM as I'm writing this.

Same way Zhao found out the Avatar is alive & had a run-in with Zuko. Pretty short scene though.

More novel info! Also, I think that's her "beating" Chin in the painting. "Only justice will bring peace." is the advice Kyoshi gives Aang when he's trying to figure out what to do with Ozai (S3E19) Woah... With the Southern Air Temple scenes, I didn't comment on the divide between Aang and the other child Airbenders because it only formed after he was told he was the Avatar & that happened all in one go. To not only get that the kids were afraid of Aang while he was developing control of his power, but also seeing him almost accidentally kill some of them was startling. Really bringing up the devastation angle of the Avatar State that we get in S2E1 & its importance in the chakra training he undergoes in S2E19.

So not only are we not going to get Zuko & Zhao's Agni Kai, but now Zhao will be involved earlier? I can look past the latter, since we're ramping up into Roku's revelation about the comet, but the Agni Kai was a nice way to show that Zuko can be formidable (making him more of an actual threat for Aang in the season) & merciful, even when his enemy goads him. If we don't get it at all, I won't be bent out of shape, but I won't be happy with it.

The training sequence with Sokka & Suki was good. I don't know if we'll get Sokka dressing as a Kyoshi warrior, but it's fine if we don't. It was played more for laughs in the original episode anyway right until the end.
Aang communing with Kyoshi before Roku? Interesting. Avatars usually have a stronger connection with their immediate previous life. It doesn't really fly in the face of anything I can recall unless Kyoshi does what Roku is supposed to do & tell Aang about the Avatar State's "weakness" or the comet. And is that the spirit world they're talking in or just some generic forest set dressing?

Short scene with Zuko & Iroh, but the notion of hope being both helpful & cruel is an interesting topic, especially in reference to Zuko. Aang giving Zuko hope, both when he was trying to capture him so he could return home and when he was training him in the latter half of Season 3 because he became disillusioned once returning home, is an interesting thing to take note of for the show.

This discussion between Sokka & Suki is a very nice addition. Sokka reflecting on that he's not actually a great warrior like Suki, but also seeing the parallel between them as non-benders & wanting to hold their own even against benders to protect the people they care about is something not really touched on by the original. Granted in the original, this is still a big episode for Sokka in terms of growth, but this is really exploring it more than the original did. Kudos to them on this one. And even touching on how Sokka changed Suki & his influence helping her decision to leave Kyoshi Island & help fight in the war (S2E5). They are hitting a lot of marks, some of which I didn't even consider, really well.

Kyoshi being all about POWER lines up with her character and establishing early on that there are 2 kinds of Avatar State based on the Avatar's control over it: The defense-mechanism state, where the Avatar is not in control and the version where the Avatar is fully autonomous while wielding it. Pai Sho mentioned by Iroh (Memberberries for now). Another character the Agni Kai helped was Zhao. It also established him as a threat, not only to Aang but the Zuko and his hope of returning home. Which is why Zuko goes to great lengths to free Aang from Zhao in episode 13 of the original. If not here, really hoping we get it before the Blue Spirit episode in this series.
Zhao's dialogue with Oyagi started cold & calculating, but on his order of looking around the village for Aang, it departed from that quickly. There's a reason Bryke was looking for a Jason-Issacs-type during casting in the original and eventually got Jason Issacs. Even his playful nonchalance was menacing.
Here's where having some knowledge about Kyoshi through the novels will help understand why she's treating Aang so harshly. I'll just say that Kyoshi went through a LOT of shit. Losing a lot of people she cared about very early in her beginnings as Avatar, being manipulated by the Fire Lord of her time & having to kill one of her earliest friends due to spirit possession made her very ruthless, but tying the potential genocide of the Water Tribe people from the siege to Aang & his people's genocide definitely lit a fire under him. This, on top of Roku's comet revelation, is gonna be real heavy for him. Excited for that episode now.

Sokka/Suki team up is fine and they're playing it straightforward. Strange moment here for Zhao; He's only said to have more resources as a commander but he's left visibly dumbfounded by Sokka deflecting his fireball, then it awkwardly cuts to Sokka & Suki suddenly getting overwhelmed by his conveniently off-screen reinforcements? Katara showing some progress in fighting but Zuko outclassing her now makes sense. However, it'll be a nice shift when Katara trounces Zuko at the Northern Water Tribe at night when the moon is out. (S1E19) Kyoshi's spirit manifesting here is a fine way to establish when it happens in the future (S1E8, S2E5 (who am I kidding S2E5 is being scrapped. Regarded as the 2nd filler episode)). I guess we're not getting the Unagi but there's no village-wide fires to put out and the Kyoshi's spirit manifesting here helped reinforce the power the Avatar State grants and the danger it brings if that power is unchecked. Thank goodness they're limiting the past lives manifesting to just at their respective shrines. That could be OP down the line & gives further credence to S2E5 being cut (Kyoshi manifests but not at a shrine). Having Ozai know the Avatar is alive is interesting, but I don't know why. (It's now 4:30 AM) Zhao saw value in it but only because Zuko wanted his honor returned by being the one to capture him. Also, Ozai looks and sounds great. I've seen the actor before in less physically-demanding roles, so if he puts on the muscle to fill the frame Ozai is supposed to cut underneath those royal garments, he will fit the big bad role to a tee.

PROS:
Almost everything in this ep: Seriously, it would save time just to list the cons. Sokka learning to respect Suki as a warrior. (Really, that whole dialogue with Sokka's 1st training with her) Aang having fun while dropping huge responsibilities on him. Katara learning from the scroll & holding her own in a fight. Kyoshi's surprise addition, ruthless demeanor & setting up the conflict at the season's end. The acting was barely an issue this time around too. The 1st episode had 3 episodes in it at an hour runtime. This one was just one 22-minute episode into 40 minutes and it works.

CONS:
Zhao isn't too intimidating (yet?): I can't stress enough that the Agni Kai was the start of Zhao being a formidable force against Aang & even Zuko through the season, but here it feels like they thought they succeeding in doing so, but obviously failed. Sokka & Suki wipe the floor with his forces, then all of a sudden, the two of them are on the backpedal. SHOW, DON'T TELL! We really need that Agni Kai to establish him.

Some very short scenes: They had a lot of jumps to Zuko & Iroh as well as Zhao, had them deliver some lines, and then within a minute, jump back to Kyoshi Island. It came off as poorly edited. Put some of them together to make them cohesive & longer.

OVERALL STANDALONE: Kept what was good, fixed what was bad. Looking better & better.
OVERALL KNOWING ORIGINAL: Great episode with some minor gripes.