Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2.Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, has released its second season. It shows Team Avatar making their way through the Earth Kingdom to find an earthbending teacher for Aang (Gordon Cormier), which brings them to the capital city of Ba Sing Se. Meanwhile, Princess Azula (Elizabeth Yu) has left the Fire Nation to hunt down the Avatar and her wayward brother, Prince Zuko (Dallas Liu).
Like Season 1, the second season sees massive changes to the source material. While some changes are understandable due to the shift from animation to live-action, most of these changes are quite nonsensical, and result in an overall inferior product.
10 Trauma Dumping
Image via NetflixSince each episode of Netflix's show is over an hour long compared to the 22 minutes of the original, the writers need to find ways to fill up that time. One choice they went with this season was having the characters repeatedly talk about their traumas and negative emotions. Sokka (Ian Ousley) is one of the prime examples of this, as much more time is dedicated to his trauma at the loss of Princess Yue (Amber Midthunder).
The first few times these conversations happen are fine, and Sokka and Katara (Kiawentiio), in particular, have a nice moment going over their feelings of grief. However, it does get a tad repetitive when every character starts to do it, and the phrase "if you need someone to talk to," shows up enough times to become a drinking game. Aang has some of the most frustrating moments near the end, which the writers try to justify through his anger at the loss of his sky bison, Appa (Matthew Yang King).
9 The Fate of Zuko's Mother
Image via NetflixOne of the defining moments of Zuko's life is the loss of his mother, Ursa (Lily Gao). A descendant of Avatar Roku (C. S. Lee), Ursa did everything she could to protect her children from being corrupted by their father, Ozai (Daniel Dae Kim). In the live-action show, Ursa tries to flee from Ozai when he stages a coup to claim the crown, and is last seen getting pulled out of her carriage by Fire Nation guards.
The original Ursa's (Jen Cohn) fate is tied to Ozai (Mark Hamill) taking the throne, but it's a lot more impactful. After Ozai insults his father, Fire Lord Azulon (Walker Edmiston), by suggesting that he should be made heir over Iroh (Mako and Greg Baldwin), Azulon orders Ozai to kill Zuko so he will know the pain of losing a son. Ursa then poisoned Azulon to help Ozai take the throne, and was banished to ensure she couldn't turn her poison against Ozai.
8 "Zuko Alone"
Image via Netflix"Zuko Alone" is widely regarded as one of the best episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Having separated from Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Zuko arrives at an Earth Kingdom village and protects it from Fire Nation raiders, all while concealing his identity. It ends in tragedy as Zuko is forced to use Fire Bending to save the day, but the villagers instantly turn on Zuko, as one good deed can't make up for centuries of war.
The biggest problem with the live-action adaptation of this classic story is that it is a Frankenstein storyline that combines elements from two other episodes: "The Cave of Two Lovers,"and "The Chase." As a result, Zuko's heroic one-man stand against Fire Nation raiders is merged with a fight between himself, Team Avatar, and Azula, which robs the scene of its tragic climax. It's a microscopic version of a larger problem with the show's pacing, but it stands out because it harms Zuko's personal journey.
7 Warped Screen Time for Minor Characters
Image via NetflixSeason 2 of Netflix's show makes a number of strange alterations when it comes to the importance and screen time of minor characters. One example is the Mechanist Sai (Danny Pudi), now accompanying the group to Ba Sing Se and revealing the return of Sozin's Comet, something that was told to the group by Avatar Roku in the original. Another is Professor Zei (Hoa Xuande), who helps the group find the library of Wan Shi Tong (Randall Duk Kim), only to betray them in the live-action version and die for his trouble, rather than remaining in the library to enjoy the knowledge while the others escaped.
Some of the worst examples of this warped screen time can be seen in Azula's friends Ty Lee (Momona Tamada) and Mai (Thalia Tran). They have practically nothing to do, and whenever they do show up, their personalities are toned down considerably, making them only slightly above background characters. This is really rough, because Ty Lee and Mai's personalities helped to balance out Azula, and it's hard to imagine future plot points playing out with these versions of the characters.
Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.
🐺Stark
🦁Lannister
🐉Targaryen
🦌Baratheon
🌹Tyrell
FIND YOUR HOUSE →
01
Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.
ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable.
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02
What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?
AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs.
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03
Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.
AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone.
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04
How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.
AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something.
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05
What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.
AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword.
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06
You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.
AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs.
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07
Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.
AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power.
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08
The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.
AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign.
REVEAL MY HOUSE →
The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…
Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you.
🐺 House Stark
Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.
- You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
- Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult.
- The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
- You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.
🦁 House Lannister
You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.
- You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
- A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
- You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
- The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.
🐉 House Targaryen
You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.
- You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
- Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
- The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
- At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.
🦌 House Baratheon
You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.
- Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it.
- You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
- The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
- The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.
🌹 House Tyrell
You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes.
- Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
- You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
- The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
- You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
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6 The Painted Lady
Image via NetflixDuring the trip to Ba Sing Se, Katara learns of the Painted Lady, a river spirit who shares the same name with a pretty flower. Upon arriving in the city, Katara disguises herself as the Painted Lady and goes about the lower slums, providing aid and support to struggling refugees. While this is a plot point from the original show, nothing about it makes sense in this version.
First off, the Painted Lady was the local deity of a Fire Nation village on a river (big shocker) that had been polluted by a nearby factory, and Katara ends up destroying the factory in her efforts to help improve their lives. However, the overall message is one about action: there's nothing wrong with having faith in miracles and higher powers, but you still need to do work yourself if you want things to change. This crucial message is missing from the live-action show, so ultimately, Katara's vigilantism is hollow.
5 Toph
Toph Beifong (Jessie Flower) is one of the most beloved characters in the Avatar franchise. The blind daughter of an influential noble family, Toph rebels against her controlling parents by secretly learning how to earthbend, having been taught how to see the world through seismic vibrations from the Badgermoles. On Team Avatar, Toph acts as both the muscle and a source of comic relief thanks to her dry and blunt sense of humor.
Netflix's version of Toph is a pale imitation of the character. Her jokes feel more like rude quips rather than banter between friends, and a lot more emphasis is put on her relationship with her mother (Crystal Yu). The show also rushes through events to get Toph to join the group as quickly as possible, while eliminating moments of vulnerability that helped her bond with Katara, making the character feel flatter overall.
4 Jet
Image via NetflixJet (Sebastian Amoruso) is another character who stands out for how drastically his story was changed. Continuing from his attempted murder of King Bumi (Utkarsh Ambudkar) in Omashu, Jet and what remains of his freedom fighters are now headed to Ba Sing Se, where he crosses paths with Zuko. After the two of them do a raid together, Jet separates from his friends, commits hate crimes against Fire Nation defectors, and joins Team Avatar to find the library of Wan Shi Tong, where he sacrifices himself to allow the others to escape.
The only parts that are the same between the two versions of Jet are that he meets Zuko and he dies. Not only does he not abandon his friends—half of whom are killed off in the live-action show—but instead of leading a mob to attack peaceful Fire Nation defectors, Jet tries to expose Zuko and Iroh as Fire Nation spies, which got him captured by the Dai Li and brainwashed at Lake Laogai. The team uses his knowledge of Lake Laogai to break into the hidden prison to rescue Appa, which is where Jet dies fighting Dai Li warriors.
3 Too Much Group Conflict
Image via NetflixIn the final few episodes of the original show's Season 2, Team Avatar manage to convince the Earth King (Justin Chien) of what is happening outside the city and arrest the Dai Li's leader, Long Feng (Chin Han). Afterward, the group splits up to do individual stories, before Azula and her friends infiltrate the city to take it over from the inside. The live-action show's depiction of this is a much lower point for the heroes, however, as not only do they fail to convince the Earth King to hear them out, but Long Feng turns Team Avatar against one another by revealing the various secrets they've been keeping.
This results in a rather frustrating scene where everyone is mad at one another for the following reasons: Toph's family makes weapons for the Fire Nation, Karara's actions as the Painted Lady, Sokka's poor judgment towards Professor Zai, and Aang's decision to work with Long Feng. Thus, their splitting up isn't because they have a moment of calm before the storm, but because they're all angry at one another and split up so we can have an obligatory "they were my true friends all along" scene. The whole thing feels forced and contrived so that the finale can feel even more hopeless for the heroes, and it doesn't help that the dialogue is pretty bland.
2 Alterations to the Timeline
Image via NickelodeonIn the original show, Team Avatar did not arrive in Ba Sing Se until Episode 13, "The Drill," where they stop a new Fire Nation weapon from breaching the city walls. The episodes before this involved traversing the Earth Kingdom, discovering new bits of helpful lore, and losing Aang's beloved sky bison, Appa. Some of the most important locations include the library of Wan Shi Tong, a great swamp that reveals cryptic visions, and a village that hates the Avatar due to Avatar Kyoshi (Yvonne Chapman) killing their ancient warlord.
The live-action show has Team Avatar arrive at Ba Sing Se by Episode 3, meaning that more than half of the show takes place within its walls. This results in massive alterations to the timeline, such as Appa getting kidnapped much later because the library is now conveniently within the city walls, or moments like Aang trying to rescue King Bumi getting reduced to a single scene, whereas before it was an entire episode that was also used to establish Azula's friend, Mai. This causes the latter half of the show to feel rushed and bloated, as they're trying to cram too many storylines into one location, meaning that most of them are underdeveloped as they fight for screen time.
1 The Guru
Image via NickelodeonGuru Pathik (Brian George) is one of the original show's most memorable minor characters. Aang meets with him at the Eastern Air Temple, where he instructs Aang on how to unlock his chakras and obtain mastery over the Avatar State. However, their training is cut short when Aang has a vision of Katara's imprisonment, and Aang heads off to save her despite possibly permanently losing access to the Avatar State.
Pathik isn't even mentioned in the show, most likely because the writers made Aang too scared to use the Avatar State after the Season 1 finale. This is a pretty big loss, because Pathik's wisdom is crucial for Aang to move past some of his fears, and can be applied in one's everyday life as well. Pathik was also another link to Aang's past life, as his wisdom is akin to the teachings of the Air Nomads, and he was a friend of Aang's mentor, Monk Gyatso (Lim Kay Siu).
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