Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender Leaves Out One Crucial Thing
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" has, at its core, a very simple hero's journey. You have your hero, Aang, the new Avatar and master of all four elements, in a world where people can at most control one. You have an epic fantastical quest of saving the world before the Fire Nation conquers everything. You have a deadline with the arrival of a comet that gives firebenders incredible power. You also have milestones in Aang having to master each of the elements.
This last bit is important, because it serves many purposes throughout the original animated show, which remains one of the best and most influential cartoons ever made. The show is divided into seasons that are tied to each of the elements, which Aang has to learn from each of the nations he visits throughout the show. It serves as a crafty guide for audiences to follow along with his character progression, and it also sets expectations of what will come next.
Netflix's live-action "Avatar: The Last Airbender" makes a lot of changes to the source material. It drastically changes Sokka's arc and the threat of the comet, taking away much of the downtime that made the cartoon so unique in its blend of episodic and serialized storytelling. It also adds a darker and more violent tone that doesn't fully mix well with the cartoony humor it recreates from the animated show. Still, Aang has to learn the four elements and visit each of the four nations, starting with water, which is the theme of the first season: "Book One: Water."
However, that's not entirely accurate. While we do go to both the Southern Water Tribe and the Northern Water Tribe, and while Katara does learn waterbending, Aang fails at his one job. He never learns waterbending.
Master of one element?
For some reason, Aang spends all of season one of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" worried about having failed the world, but not once does he try to do any waterbending. He doesn't ask Katara to teach him. He doesn't practice with her when she's learning the techniques from the waterbending scroll she has. Even when they arrive at the South Pole, Aang still doesn't ask for a waterbending teacher nor does any practice while there.
This 12-year-old kid is supposed to be a bending prodigy, the youngest airbending master ever. He's the Avatar! Sure, learning an entirely different element, much like learning an entirely different language, doesn't happen overnight. Still, you'd think the kid who spends eight hour-long episodes talking about being a failure, and hearing from everyone he meets that he should be doing more, would at least try asking someone — anyone — to teach him waterbending.
Having Aang specifically not waterbend at all in the first season is such a weird choice. It's one thing to skip the episode where Aang tries to learn firebending and vows never to do it again after accidentally burning Katara. That can be saved for later. It's one thing not to have Aang ask Bumi to teach him earthbending (even if it's kind of dumb he doesn't). But waterbending? The element closest to air? The element one of his two companions and best friends already control? The element for which they have a scroll that teaches you different techniques? The element for which they go to the capital city, one full of benders, including a grand master?
Yes, the season ends with Katara being declared a waterbending master, and she promises to teach Aang. But why so late?