Tagah's mirror situation specifically was likely meant to be a flattering easter egg-- not realizing it was an insult.
Now if I wanted to say I liked that Tagah iceberg decision, I'd call it a "parallel" or "homage" because of Tagah & Aang being similar but different:
But how is that any better from the mirror meme of MCU Villains just being dark versions of the heroes and how boring that can be?
Though simultaneously he is the coolest character in the movie but the dichotomy between him & Aang is hollow and somewhat superficial, if this was for some reason one of his childhood friends? Like one of the kids we saw in Book 1 E12, that'd be a contrivance, also trivialize Aang surviving but that would hit different because Aang knew him once upon a time.
Furthermore, a memberberry alone isn't respect, it's cheap "Remember that!?" key jangling because of how easy it is to get people to accept it: How do I know? Beyond film theory itself that identifies it clinically as "Nostalgia", I know cause it worked on me at first lmfao.
I'll admit it, I in fact did like the Tagah reveal but then i realized "Aang surviving isn't special then?"
I get liking something, I get not wanting to see a problem in everything, I get that :::: But why is memberberry for the sake of it specifically okay just because it reminds us of something else that did it better anyway?
Sure, a memberberry sometimes can outdo what it's referencing, but this isn't it.
>And the same goes for that forced Avatar Sonic or Sonum Sonam, SONAHM, or whatever her name is-- that looks like a uninspired, overdesigned oc I'd cook up back in highschool.
Oh: her pain, agony, her shame & regret was so much more special and unique that she got her own little corner in the avatar realm.
and get this---- 99% of the past lives know nothing about her. Oh please, gimme a break lol. The telegraphed importance.
Otherwise, since airbending was the focus in the movie (Good choice btw), then they shoulda just used Yang Chen, her story vs that Combustion bender (Thapa) is incredible. ✅
We've seen Aang speak to her before, that's already less work for the writer.
Just rekindle that & have her mentor Aang on mastering the fine nuances of Airbending, including the dark side.
And the conflict beyond the villain would be Aang accepting that Airbending isn't just this peace loving art he's known his whole life-- but like the other bending arts, Air also has brutality.
Who better as a master to teach the Avatar than an Avatar? -- And an Avatar we've seen him speak to.
She's a female airbender which checks the Sonam box. So when you put Chen in Sonams place, when frankly Sonam did next to nothing in the actual present day plot; here Yang Chen would be actively doing something with & for Aang and the story.
I know what you're thinking: "Wouldn't Aang already know what she knows because the avatar state shares knowledge?"
Great point, but the issue is this scene in S3 E19:
Think about it: 'why is he talking to them for their takes when he is them & has been them enough times to know their life story?'
But see, that's not how it works. While in the state specifically, they're in sync, yes. But outside of it they're still individuals, the Avatar state is a active buff, not passive. Aang doesn't know everything Yang Chen does unless in that state.
So Yang Chen teaching him techniques to use regardless of the avatar state still works within the mechanics ATLA set in place. And because he's been doing this mentor program with various Avatars before the film, in the movie he uses the form maybe twice but only when he needs to, that way it's not cheapened. Point being: He's so good now, he doesn't need the glow, until the villain makes it clear he just might need that clutch.
Vs inventing some new special snowflake avatar. I had the same reaction with Wan. It's just some things are best left in mystique, best left consistent. That's why this shiny, bright Pokemon Spirit World doesn't work for me.
But that's what I'd do, and through that mentorship we learn about how she, a nomad, stepped outside her moral norms to face Thapah; and that was a brutal fight.
Not Tagah retcon , not Sonam oc. Give that role to Yang Chen, someone we've seen before. Why not?!
USE the good content THAT YOU HAVE already, why make more work for yourself?
A reasonable retort would be: "why retread? isn't original content a good thing?"
> But let's be honest: THAT's what we consider original tho?
> And Yang Chen teaching Aang to this degree, as far as i remember hasn't been explored, someone feel free to correct me.
📌And as for a villain of the story, if Bryke really wants to lean into that LOK Nonbenders as threats theme then lean into something more gritty: focus on someone who hates benders to the extent of using psychedelics or steroids via exotic plant pedals (to keep it grounded) to close the gap.
Super-soldier shit, & taking the pedals dances upon death, weakening the heart the more pedals you ingest within a certain time interval, similar to combustion bending.
What does Earthbending do against someone who can punch boulders out. Or Air against someone who can run through a tornado, flames against someone who will shake off 3rd degree burns or just wears armor anyway. Or waterbending against someone who can force through solid ice & firehose level pressure.
And make them scary too, wear a mask the whole time, and get someone who can sell calculating & unsettling like James Woods' take on DC's Owlman. Just spitballing.
Otherwise the *giving ppl airbending* plot device was always stupid & not of ATLA, that's Korra's device. But that doesn't mean it's automatically bad, just the vehicle of giving people bending itself is too easy, it's not earned.
So naturally, being a Korra prequel and this being a PLOT-DRIVEN story, ofc we get a magic artifact Mcguffin. Easy way to get the plot going.
Take it with a grain of salt📌This is not giving the film a 2/10 but this also not an Avatar the last Airbender original series sequel; again, this is a Korra Prequel, because most of this film is validating what the LOK series' direction did than honoring the original series' work.... like a sequel would. Fancy that.
>Still better than the Netflix series, not the worst movie I've ever seen.
>I'd sooner watch this than LOK ever again or any of the Bayformer movies that also possess style over substance elements.
>And no, this isn't all I have to say: I'm holding back:::: immensely to maintain some semblance of nuance, for now.
TL;DR It's a sequel in name only, so enjoy the eye candy, that's where the budget went.
Side note: If they just keep the writing of ATLA intact but put this animation ontop of the original show,🚨 I repeat:: LEAVE Team Ehasz' writing ALONE just remaster the animation🚨---- then you somehow turn platinum content into pure uncut supernova gold.
>Cause almost every frame in this movie looks like HD concept art, it's damn near immaculate. ✅
✅First watch: no expectations, zero hype. Entertained, hyped by the sakuga immediately, impressed (Tagah's Special Air Cannon and KamehameWind dash) & slightly agitated at various points throughout for retcons & mischaracterizations, but I ignored it. What I didn't ignore was how little presence Katara had on screen & how much her personality was defanged, turning Sokka into Bolin-lite? Grit my teeth, I bore it. But Katara? Can't overlook that.
🚨Second watch: 90% over it because I really began to pay attention to the 3rd act and how fanficcy it is. And like Korra, Bryke has this habit of making the Avatar state weak af until suddenly it isn't (korra spirit beam bend) vs Aang for some reason needing the staff to match Tagah's Evil Genie Jafar-esque spirit form.
> #A I'm more powerful. / #B Now, I'm more powerful!!!
> ATLA: whenever that Glow happened, it was an event of the season. Bryke really likes to circumvent or at minimum: trivialize what was in theory the most powerful force on the planet; not just a wildcard powerup, again.
>10% of the 2nd watch, I still enjoyed Tagah's Special Air Cannon and KamehameWind dash, Airbending fatality attempt "Wind-Coffin", Air whip, etc.
But after I was done laughing my ass off, one of those moments being:
"I'm not like you! The world hasn't been good to me."
(Authentically casted and spoken😏) dialogue.
#AuthenticCasting < #AuthenticActing < #SegregativeCastingIsNotProgress
Pure cinema, pure memes, plot driven contrivances, retcons, trivializing the main team through caricature writing; memberberries out the ass, mischaracterization of said team by the same exact sin of caricature writing, pretty colors and badass feats.
Definitely a Horikoshi approach via: plot over Character, style over substance type of movie.
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