Summary
-
Avatar: The Last Airbender
actor Dallas Liu suggests seasons 2 and 3 of the live-action show need more than 8 episodes for proper pacing. - Liu believes additional episodes will prevent the narrative from feeling rushed, allowing key moments to receive proper screen time.
- The animated version of
Avatar: The Last Airbender
became more serialized in seasons 2 and 3, making more episodes in seasons 2 and 3 of the live-action adaptation essential for pacing.
Avatar: The Last Airbender actor Dallas Liu explains why the second and third seasons of the live-action show need more episodes. Liu plays Prince Zuko on the show, opposite co-star Gordon Cormier, Kiawentiio, Ian Ousley, Elizabeth Yu, and Daniel Dae-Kim. Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 aired on Netflix last month and has since been renewed for season 2 and season 3.
Speaking with The Direct, Liu says that Avatar: The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3 will need more episodes than the first season. Liu said that he is “hoping for more episodes” in the second two seasons, citing maybe 10 or even 12 episodes as a suitable count. He believes that this extra screen time will make it such that “things don’t feel as compact and rushed.” It is worth noting that these comments were made just before Avatar: The Last Airbender got renewed for seasons 2 and 3. Check out Liu’s full quote below:
“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.”
Why Dallas Liu is Correct About ATLA Seasons 2 and 3
The animated version of Avatar: The Last Airbender has episodes that are about 20-25 minutes long. The first season had a 20-episode run, amounting to roughly 450 minutes, or 7.5 hours, of screen time. On a one-to-one comparison basis, this is roughly equivalent to the time spent on season 1 of the Avatar: The Last Airbender live-action show, which had an eight-episode run of episodes that ranged between 40 minutes and an hour.
All 7 Original ATLA Episodes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 1 Skipped
Netflix’s remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 skipped seven episodes of the original show, but still created a faithful adaptation.
Though seasons 2 and 3 of the Avatar: The Last Airbender animated show run similar lengths, the latter two seasons indeed demand far different pacing. Season 1 takes on an episodic structure and contains cuttable moments such as the infamously bad episode “The Great Divide.”Avatar: The Last Airbender seasons 2 and 3, however, take on a more serialized structure that tracks character arcs across multiple-episode sets. One prime example of this occurs in season 2, when Aang loses Appa and must spend multiple episodes trying to find him.
Adding more episodes to the live-action run of Avatar: The Last Airbender season 2 and 3 would give the series the breathing room to really explore these narrative arcs. It would ensure that key moments — such as the beloved episode “The Tales of Ba Sing Se” and the four-part “Sozin’s Comet” finale — get their fullest screen attention. Hopefully, Liu’s wish will come true for the next two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender, as it would greatly help the series.
Click here to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender season 1 on Netflix.
Source: The Direct
Avatar: The Last Airbender (Live-Action)
Based on the acclaimed animated Nickelodeon television series, Avatar: The Last Airbender is an action-adventure fantasy series developed by Albert Kim. The series follows Aang, a young man training to harness the four elements to live up to the title of Avatar – the one who will restore balance to the world.
