Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 (2024) Review

The 2nd season of Avatar: The Last Airbender came to Netflix recently and I am interested in the franchise, so I thought that I would go back and watch the first season, so I can watch the new season. I finished the season this morning and here is my review for the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The premise of the show sees after 100 years missing, The Avatar returns and aims to save the world from The Fire Nation. 

Main Character

Gordon Cormier plays Aang and he is good in the role. I liked Aang and I thought the balance of likeability and depth was there and credit to the young actor for delivering that. I do wish there had been more focus on Aang's story but it is nothing to take away from a good lead character. 

Supporting Characters

Kiawentiio plays Katara and she did a really good job here. We get a lot of character development with her and she saw the best progress over the show. I mean, I wish more focus had been on Aang instead but she did good work with what she was given. 

Ian Ousley plays Sokka and he was a good character and part of the crew. He has some character development but it isn't as strong as some of the other characters but he was a fun addition and a good character. 

Dallas Liu plays Prince Zuko and I thought he was a really cool character. Though he clearly has villainous origins, there is a lot of depth to him that makes him more then just a straight up villain. I liked the comparisons and mirroring between him and Aang. 

Paul Sun-Hyung Lee plays Iroh and I really liked him here. His relationship with Zuco adds humanity to both of them and expands the idea of The Fire Nation not being completely evil. He also adds some humour which is nice in a show like this. 

Story

The story is interesting. There is a lot of lore put onto the screen and I found a lot of it interesting as you get to learn about the world and how these different nations have ended up at war with each other. But, the story feels a bit like a side mission building towards a bigger event which I assume will happen in the second season, which made it a bit episodic. I also felt the development of Aang wasn't as big as I wanted and again feels like it is taking its time to get going. 

Script

The script is again okay, it has some funny moments and some dramatic moments but none of it really sticks. It isn't very memorable and holds back the story and characters from being better presented. 

Style

The show has pretty good action scenes that use the different powers pretty well. It makes for pretty creative and exciting action sequences. But the pacing is a bit slow, it does feel like the main story moves at a snail pace and it is all just set up for a second season. 

Overall

Overall, Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 is a good show and a fun watch. It does plenty right but it also makes some misfires and feels like setup, so hopefully the second season really delivers. 

Rating - 7/10