Netflix ATLA: S1 Ep 3

First impressions of this opening are strange. It's an interesting idea. First off, introducing us to Azula early is noteworthy since we saw here 1st in Zuko's Storm flashback, but didn't know who she was & then in the last scene of the original Season 1, but I don't think they'll have her as an antagonist until Season 2. Maybe they'll have Zuko's flashback in this episode. We'll see, but also, Ozai used Azula to bring out this rebellious group, but the group didn't know what Princess Azula, the daughter of the man they're trying to kill, looked like? I know they didn't have photos, but she's a public figure of royalty. She's surely had public appearances and the Fire Nation has mass-produced paintings & prints of the royal family. Also, interesting of Azula to say she lost her "brother & mother in the siege of Ba Sing Se.", since it was Iroh's retreat from Ba Sing Se (because of his son, Lu Ten's death) that led Ozai to supplant Iroh for the birthright & Azulon's throne, which led to the banishment of Ursa (her mother) & eventually Zuko. More immolation to tell us he's as evil as Sozin, if not more so. Okay.

High expectations for the episode because of what they did for the last one. Ep 1 of this series covered the 3 starting episodes of the original, and you could feel it with a lot of exposition and somewhat rushed feel, even for an hour runtime. Episode 2 covered one episode and allowed time to play with the material of it and I think their additions were largely positive. Another episode seemingly dedicated to 1 of the original, so here's hoping they can repeat.

Not sure how I feel about this "Bending is tied to emotion" thing. At face value, it would seem to make sense; All bending is tied to chi which is tied to emotion and especially so for firebending, the only element where both the bender generates the element using their chi instead of the others needing that element around to bend, and their emotions can help amplify the power of the fire but also unchecked emotion can make them lose control. However, it was largely a point of stance and form for Katara in the original that she was a novice. I'll wait to see how they intend to resolve her inner turmoil before giving a final judgement because her inner turmoil, the attack on her village that killed her mother, didn't get "resolved" until S3E16.

Wait... A glider? Why is Teo being introduced in Omashu?!? He can be a recurring character, sure, but his flying was facilitated by his father, The Mechanist, pumping hot air around the Northern Air Temple.
Hmm, Zhao's contacts makes me wonder if this is how they'll introduce June & Nyla without having to use Bato & S1E15 as a whole. Also, Zuko bursting out at that guard is definitely how they incorporate Zuko's flashback. They did basically the same thing in the original. Plus, trying to hold on to his royal stature is a nice touch to that effect.
Having artisans & inventors in Omashu... are they scrapping the Northern Air Temple but keeping the characters? How will the Fire Nation get the war balloon from The Mechanist? And who is the guy at Omashu's gate? AnOThER iMpOrTaNt ChArAcTeR?! I'm getting Jet vibes but, if it were, they're all over the place in character introductions this episode. Member...cabbages. So Teo & The Mecha-...Sai. (Sure) are in Omashu, but with the talks of bombings in Omashu (which is paradoxical to them saying they're so careful to let people in at the gate) makes me think they'll leave Omashu by episode's end & will take up residence in the Northern Air Temple. I have problems with that, but I'll wait to see if it happens to talk about them.
I actually like the idea of Sai helping in the mailing system. Very clever. And that line about the war being over if people were dedicated as him is instant red-flag that he's inventing for the Fire Nation. So does he just give the Fire Nation the war balloon without it being used? The Fire Nation recreated it from the crashed, full-sized original, which is why, during the invasion on The Day of Black Sun, it was a shock to everyone & a particular point of shock & dismay for the Mechanist when the Fire Nation revealed the air battleships that were an continuation of his war balloon, which they thought was destroyed beyond salvaging. And I like the looks of trepidation from Aang when people paint all Firebenders and Fair Nation as evil. It keys into what we learn in Season 3. Also glad they kept Sokka's inventiveness here. It helps build his confidence in his ability to become a better leader, his whole arc.
Aang stopping to help people instead of blasting past everything & everyone to get to the North. That should finally quell the people bent out of shape about the fun detours fiasco & it makes sense because, for now, there's no concrete timeline for Aang to master the elements & stop Ozai

MAI & TY LEE TOO!?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!? Mai's father is appointed the governor of the Fire-Nation-conquered Omashu later but it doesn't mess up anything to intro either of them here.
So does Azula know June? WHO KNOWS JUNE? And there's the war balloon... that he's at least lying to develop for the Earth Kingdom. They are doing A LOT in this episode, but not in the way I wanted. They didn't fill the single episode with moments, elaborations or dialogues with the characters or themes of that episode, but crammed in so many other things they wanted to cut from other episodes. Looking at the episode titles, "The North" could have included both episode 17 & 18, but 17 is here instead. Jet could have been in "Into the Dark" because of his plan to destroy an Earth Kingdom village just to wipe out the Fire Nation soldiers there (pretty dark) or "Masks" because he was deceitful with his intentions (I know "Masks" is for "The Blue Spirit", but if their track record of condensing stories is to continue, it could've been a possibility), but just his intro at least is here instead. And we have yet to get to Bumi, the major thing that's supposed to be the focus of the entire episode. It's too much.

AND THERE'S JET! JUST STOP! How is this episode & this series both cutting things for time & bloating the episodes they have?! Just ask Netflix for another episode or two! Fuck's sake. We're nearly halfway through "Omashu" and haven't seen OR EVEN HEARD FROM AANG AN IOTA OF BUMI! I may just have to rewatch this episode without stopping to see if it truly feels bloated. It may look like they're doing what they did for their 1st episode (putting 3 episodes worth into 1) but those 3 had flowing storyline. This is episodes 5, 10 & 17 into one. And the Snears erasure from the Freedom Fighters. Yeah, fine, he wasn't important in the group (and only had a semi-important role in the graphic novels) funnily enough, the one thing they cut.

"The world is filled with warriors, but there are far too few great engineers." Feel good notion, but it's Sai's inventions that are continuing the war & making the need for warriors...
In the original, Bumi is crazy, but not senile. Like Hamlet, there was a method to his madness; it was a front to hide his true power & genius. He'd never let the crazy front lend way to corruption & Fire Nation spies, which again, is counter to Omashu being careful who they let it. This seems wholly manufactured for this show...
Blasting jelly is what Jet used to blow up the dam & wipe out the village near his forest in the original. It seems they're including all of Jet's episode here, but is he gonna blow up Sai's house/lab?
Adding more to Jet's backstory is a nice idea, but it borders on generic. So Katara focuses on the good memories of her mother to have better control (like Magneto in X-Men: First Class) Sure & it keeps S3E16 alive but will her bending be affected then when she's supposed to be a master? Iroh sowing good and White Lotus tile. "Warroirs don't hide their faces in a fight." ...You're literally doing that as you speak.
So Azula is trading information from Zhao for higher military standing, which is probably how he'll get to be Admiral Zhao and command a fleet big enough for the Siege of the North. It also means it's ping-ponged back to Zhao possibly knowing June. Forget it, I'll just wait until she is introduced.
Aang remembering the robes from the turnip cart is a bit of a stretch, but how the hell does Katara know? And, again, WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME FOR BUMI, THE WHOLE REASON OMASHU IS AN EPISODE!!
Oh, this is how we get the one-sided distrust of Jet from Sokka. And a genuine chuckle from the "To prove you're a jerk!" "I don't need proof for that!" They're really milking the cabbages, huh? (I know it's the original VA, but just let him have it already. It was funny in the original because he sprang up multiple times. Here, it just feels too "We know the fans want it")

...So Jet wants to kill Sai & Bumi because of Sai's wheelin' & dealin' with the Fire Nation (Sure) & Bumi allowing corruption to come in under his "senile" rule? Wouldn't the loss of their king weaken the resolve of Omashu, making it MORE susceptible to corruption, attacks & possible Fire Nation capture? (I said Mai's family is in charge of Omashu after it does get captured, but that's because Bumi straight up surrenders because of neutral jing & he reclaims it on The Day of Black Sun)
Huh, I actually like this benders non-bending fight. It really lets the martial arts behind the bending (Here, Northern Shaolin & Bagua/Baguazhang for Firebending & Airbending respectively) come through. Aang's circular movement while dodging & Zuko's aggression is why Sifu Kisu (the martial arts consultant on the original) chose those styles for Air & Fire.
Sokka & Katara FINALLY riding the mailing system just reminds me that we're FINALLY getting what the intended original episode for this one should be.
Pretty decent Jackie-Chan-esque choreography with the staff/plates/basket scene. Also reminds me that there were funny moments in fights in the original, so it's nice to see that they're not afraid to do it here (for now at least). On the other hand, REALLY feeling the green-screen on the mailing system ride scenes.
There's the cabbages. I know they were dangling it on a stick to make the payoff feel rewarding, but again, the ramp up in intensity from multiple times would've helped. Still hope we see him throughout the series.
At first, Iroh revealing himself as the Firebender for Zuko had me reeling, but this is how he's captured & on his way to Ba Sing Se like he was in episode 7 of the original. I know they have the Zuko & chained-up Iroh vs Earth Kingdom soldiers scene, but I avoided watching it (and anything else past the 1st trailer) to avoid "spoilers" (in quotes because I know the original). Plus, Iroh looking out for Zuko again like he was his son just warms the heart (especially when he says it in episode 19 of the original).

Wait... So we just spent near an hour in the episode titled "OMASHU" which has EVERYTHING to do with BUMI and, not only did we get 2 OTHER episodes in it, BUMI IS NOT EVEN FOCUSED ON AT ALL BUT WILL BE IN THE NEXT EPISODE, WHICH COULD TAKE AWAY FROM OTHER EPISODES?!? I get that condensing this show is difficult, but this should not have been the final consideration. This is obviously only a complaint if you know the original, so I'm glad I decided to do both 2 overall review statements at the end of these, one with knowledge of the original & one without. With or without, I hope the rest of the season doesn't suffer from their topsy-turvy pacing & cutting decisions.

Just watched it again and I will say that most of my critiques for this episode are because I've seen the original, which will be reflected in the overall statements.

PROS:
Interweaving separate stories: Strictly from someone who's seen the original, the way they changed & connected Jet & Teo/Sai's stories is okay. Sai being an inventor compliments the Omashu mailing system nicely. The Freedom Fighters guerilla tactics fits well enough with Sai's secret dealings. Also, for it to happen in an unnamed town wouldn't give it the weight or importance it needed like Omashu does. However, I will bring up again that if Teo & Sai leave Omashu next episode & find the Northern Air Temple, I'll have issues.

Omashu: Green screen feeling aside, Omashu looked great. Clustered buildings with green roofs looks better than the almost separated green roofs on the monochrome tan of the cartoon, aqueduct-like mailing system woven throughout. Almost like it's Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings.

CONS:
Character bloat: From episode 1 to 2, we got Suki & Zhao. From 2 to 3, we got Azula, Mai & Ty Lee (who are unnamed for now) Teo, Sai/The Mechanist, Jet, The Freedom Fighters, and we're getting Bumi before leaving Omashu. Even without naming the individual Freedom Fighters, we got introduced to a barrage of characters almost all of which have importance in the rest of the series. This could be remedied by having even just one more episode to play with.

Plot & character contradictions: Omashu's border security is strict but they have Fire Nation spies? Sai truly wants less war, but he's building machines of war for both sides, which will only prolong it? Jet wants to strengthen Omashu by killing its leader when it's already susceptible & vulnerable to Fire Nation bombings?

Bumi & beyond: When I was looking at the episode titles before release, I thought "Omashu" would strictly be about Bumi, "Into the Dark" would strictly be episode 7 about Hei-Bai/the Spirit World (supernatural & dark), "Spirited Away" would be episode 8 "Roku", "Masks" could include Jet, but largely be about "The Blue Spirit", "The North" would be episode 17 & 18 then "Legends" would be for 19 & 20. 2 episodes into 1 MAX. Now, we have 2.5 of the original (maybe 3) for this episode, 1 (Maybe?) for next, but it messes with the order & because we didn't get the war balloon, I have a feeling Teo/Sai will STILL be in "The North". I hope they decision-making gets better, because this episode originally threw me for a loop.

OVERALL STANDALONE: Lot of new characters, but pretty good.
OVERALL KNOWING ORIGINAL: Topsy-turvy decisions but it kind of works?