Avatar: The Last Airbender Actor’s Season 2 Wish Would Fix A Netflix Adaptation Problem

Although some of Netflix’s live-action shows like Alice in Borderland and One Piece have seen critical successes, one of Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s stars has expressed ways the streamer can improve the second season. Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s second season is in a position to improve the overall mixed reception of the first, and looking at what other Netflix successes have done is one of the ways it can accomplish its goal. While the cast have speculated about season two, little is actually confirmed, which provides a greater opportunity to correct course before things get too deep into production.

Despite Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s mixed reception, its casting and action scenes are some of its strongest attributes. However, Avatar: The Last Airbender suffers from a number of things that other live-action Netflix adaptations have also fallen prey to, which suggests the streamer may want to reassess its handling of certain shows. From matters relating to Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s special effects to more crucial mistakes made by the live-action adaptation, one of the show’s stars has already provided some insight into how the upcoming second season can improve significantly.

Dallas Liu Is Right About Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 Needing More Episodes

Avatar: The Last Airbender’s eight episode structure presented many pacing issues.

Zuko actor, Dallas Liu, has suggested that Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 should have more than eight episodes, as it would improve the poor pacing from the first season. By referencing the animated version of the series, Liu demonstrates his understanding of what made the animated series special to so many people. Moreover, he displays a solid solution to one of the live-action version’s biggest criticisms. While the issue isn’t specific to Avatar: The Last Airbender, there’s hope that Liu’s comments can spark a shift in direction moving forward. Speaking on the matter, Liu exclaimed:

“I mean, the thing you see in the animated series is each episode becomes more and more crucial… Each one of them is that much more important, you know? Personally, I’m hoping for more episodes, actually. Just so that also things don’t feel as compact and rushed… I’m hoping for 10. And then, you know, [for] the third season, there’s so much going on, I feel like you have to give it if not 10, [then] 12.”

Although the second season is still in development, following a narrative structure that more closely resembles the animated series is arguably the best way Netflix’s adaptation can improve its quality and rectify the mistakes of season 1. The animated Avatar: The Last Airbender had three seasons, with the first two containing twenty episodes, and the third season consisting of twenty-one episodes. As demonstrated by the animated series, audiences were able to connect with each of the series’ characters – good and bad, and the key events felt meaningful since they were properly presented to viewers.

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1’s Pacing Problems Hurt The Show

Too much crucial information was glossed over due to the show’s rushed pacing.

Although Avatar: The Last Airbender is a much more faithful adaptation of the animated series than M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, the Netflix live-action adaptation still suffers from some of the same issues the 2010 movie suffered from. Chiefly among both versions’ problems is the fast pacing of key events. While it is somewhat more understandable in Shyamalan’s case, considering movies have a smaller framework to tell a story than TV shows, Netflix’s version is more disappointing because it has already made the same pacing mistakes with other adaptations before.

Netflix’s YuYu Hakusho also suffered from poor pacing, as key events were glossed over, and important characters weren’t given the necessary amount of development to make them interesting or even somewhat relatable. Avatar: The Last Airbender suffers similar issues, as crucial moments that don’t occur until much later in the animated show’s later seasons occur in the live-action’s first season, and important characters who should have been introduced aren’t. However, even with Liu’s proposed solutions and Netflix still having time to develop season 2, it is very unlikely the streamer will change its structure.

How Likely Is It Netflix Will Extend Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Upcoming Seasons?

It is unlikely Netflix will deviate away from its eight-episode structure.

As seen with Netflix’s Alice in Borderland and One Piece, Netflix has cultivated a generally successful structure that sees its adaptations and even original shows tell their stories in no more than eight episodes. Although One Piece‘s handling of the source material’s earlier moments, its spot-on casting, and its innovations with some of the source material benefited from its eight-episode structure, it faced some issues of certain characters not receiving an equal amount of screen time. While the structure might have worked out well for One Piece and Alice in Borderland, Avatar: The Last Airbender might need a different approach.

Since Avatar: The Last Airbender is the shortest series by comparison to its other live-action counterparts, it would benefit the most from a slower approach. Extending the episodes from eight to twelve like Liu has suggested, would provide Netflix with the necessary amount of time to properly handle the nuances and subtleties that made the animated series so great, with more grace and consideration. Since Alice in Borderland and One Piece are longer series, condensing information is more beneficial to its overall structure. With Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 in development, Netflix will hopefully extend the season’s episodes.