this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2025
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Avatar: The Last Airbender
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I've watched the Avatar fandom for years, and discussion of tlok has grown more toxic and toxic. I'd say that does not represent the average viewer, especially those that stepped away for awhile.
The comment threads from the episode premieres are like a totally different fandom.
Premiere threads are always like that. The Agatha All Along premiere threads from a few months ago were overwhelmingly positive too, but now that people have had a few months to digest, the more critical opinions are starting to surface more and more.
It was like that with Korra too - it's just that with how good ATLA was it took a bit longer for people to stop coping and realize just how bad LoK was.
This is my issue with the fandom.
ATLA was not perfect! It had a lot of immaturity, and crude jokes. It had bad or slow episodes. It had a self-indulgent habit of trying to introduce/develop too many characters, dues ex machinas, plot holes, and crappy video quality even on the blu-ray, which I have spent many hours trying to fix. And on mercurial, angry, inconsistently acting, constantly complaining and yelling, constantly losing main characters that make annoyingly impulsive, irrational decisions… I’m referencing Zuko, not Korra, and he’s one of my favorite characters ever. I could go on and on tearing every little detail and flaw of ATLA open.
I swear, every single sentence on the Avatar subreddit these days is prefixed with “ATLA is so incredible but,” every critique sent to oblivion (except for a few memes like the Lion Turtle), and it was not always like that. It reminds me of the Star Wars fandom, which I peeked my head into after being blown away by Andor… only to find people tearing it apart because it’s not like the original movies or something.
So… yeah. Hate to be salty, but there is some salt.
And this isn’t just about LoK either. It’s NATLA too, and even the fantastic novels. And it’s already starting with Seven Havens.
Absolutely this. ATLA is a better show than LOK in my opinion. But this weird cult-like thing that some people have where they consider ATLA the best TV show to have ever existed, and consider LOK to be absolute garbage - that is just weird, man. Do these people actually watch any other TV? Do they have a weird frame of reference? I dont know.
I think a lot of it is Reddit and YouTube fanning the flames. A few Tubers got a lot of engagement peeling every detail of Korra apart or breathlessly praising these tiny things in ATLA.
I think that’s what OP is talking about in regards to the “consensus”
…Engagement algorithms literally ruin everything :/
I don’t get it, I’m a Trekkie and I love ALL Star Trek shows, just because they are in the Trek universe and have spaceships.
I like all avatar shows, even the live action movie prior to the Netflix show for the same reason. And to be honest Kora has a special place in my heart cause she made younger me feels something in its peepee.
I rewatched ATLA recently, time to rewatch LOK and just enjoy the day. I remember the ending, it made me say "wow", I was amazed by her power. I definitely need to watch that again.
Precisely. The trek fandom (at least here) is such a lovely counterexample.
I love all of Avatar too. I don’t like some aspects of the comics, but I still think they’re beautiful, and part of a beautiful universe. TBH I make fun of the movie, but I don’t call it trash.
That’s… kinda Avatar’s theme?
LoK is so dense that a rewatch is utterly enlightening. There’s a lot of subtext like ATLA, but so much of it is character critical, like (for example) Korra’s isolated childhood and being lied to about it, repeated themes in the soundtrack, the blink-and-you-miss-it drop that Unalaq was ex-Red Lotus and that releasing Vaatu was an aspect of their original plan, little bits of enterprise feminism dropped around Asami, like in magazines she reads. It’s also utterly gorgeous, and thats kinda hard to appreciate in the initial blitz.