The day that fans of the "Avatar" franchise have finally arrived. Netflix's live-action adaptation of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was released yesterday, and there have been mixed reactions to the live-action show. One of the most pointed out is the change in Sokka's personality, which the actor behind the role acknowledged.
Sokka Drops His Outdated Belief
Even before the show was released, the news about Sokka losing his sexist beliefs hit the headlines, and it was met with harsh criticism from fans saying that Netflix was trying too hard to be "woke," changing what is already a masterpiece in the first place.
In case you haven't seen the Nickelodeon animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender" showed Sokka exhibiting sexism when it comes to what women cannot and shouldn't do. Believe it or not, this actually served as an important plot point in the series.
With such an outdated idea, it created an opportunity for the character to have a very significant character growth. Netflix decided to remove that aspect, but Sokka actor Ian Ousley believes that Netflix Sokka still has those characteristics that allow for the desired story arc.
The actor said in an interview that the character still had that "I'm the leader and you're the follower" attitude, as reported by Screen Rant, and that the change didn't take away much of what fans have seen in the animated series.
He does have a point. While his sexism plays a role in how Katara grows into a stronger character, the live-action show Sokka does tell her to "grow up" several times, implying that he was the one who knew better as he was tasked to protect their village.
It did take away from some scenes that we all wanted to see. For instance, animated Sokka was doubtful about the capabilities of the Kyoshi warriors given that they were all women, only to find out that they were very skilled warriors.
In the live-action show, instead of Suki cleverly proving him wrong, the leader of the Kyoshi warriors came off as stand-offish. The humiliation of Sokka might've made sense when he was being a jerk about the women's fighting skills, but without the sexism, Suki just appeared mean.
Read also: Avatar: The Last Airbender After 20 Years: How a Kids Animation Endured Through Generations
The Show Did Great Mostly
Even though there has been a lot of negative feedback about the show, it's undeniable that it has stayed faithful to the source material in many ways, unlike M. Night Shyamalan's film version which was regarded as white-washed and just overall terrible.
We are certainly happy to hear "Secret Tunnel" being sung and the cabbage merchant shouting "MY CABBAGES!" in live-action. The show did merge a couple of scenes, like Jet and Sai happening to be in Omashu.
The changes do explain why the original creators, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino, left Netflix after developing the live-action series for two years. Both stated that the reason for their departure was due to "creative differences," as per Variety.
DiMartino even said: "It might turn out to be a show many of you end up enjoying. But what I can be certain about is that whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan and I had envisioned or intended to make."
