you know what i'm honestly tired of all this pre-release speculative outrage and agonizing over the netflix avatar.

i love love LOVE the original animated series.

i'm not expecting the adaptation to be its perfect mirror nor do i need it to be. the cartoon will always be there, perfect as it always has been. the adaptation not only can but should be something else.

okay, so azula and the fire nation have more season 1 presence, and the deadline-tightening of sozin's comet has been relaxed (for very realistic and practical reasons i think are in the best interest of the young actors tbh). i'm fine with that. is it wildly encouraging that there seems to be some misunderstanding around gender roles and the function of some sexism in the original show? not enormously, but also it's not like there weren't issues in the original. and it's not as though shifting those aspects of the story and characters means they can't still be recognizable or have satisfying arcs.

do i wish literally EVERYONE in the entertainment industry would stop riding GoT's dick as if it remains some phenomenal benchmark of "realistic" or "mature" fantasy? by fuck, i sure do. but i also know a lot of the folks who make these game of thrones comparisons are completely off base and just throwing a recognizable name around to try and catch and hold attention.

the trailer looks fantastic. the casting is solid (not saying perfect, but solid.) the show is not out yet.

maybe i just don't personally have the extra energy to burn getting super lathered up in advance over broad speculation, but i'm going to continue with my tentative optimism, pragmatic understanding it may disappoint, and just be willing to let the damn thing speak for itself and form my opinion based on the actual show when i can watch it in full with my own two eyeballs.

i honestly feel like fandom in general could stand to chill several degrees about adaptations and that this, like the new and frankly excellent percy jackson adaptation, are prime examples of how very over the top and precious we can all sometimes be when a new version of a thing we love is about to happen.

the other version is still there. this is, at worst, expensive fanfiction. and like with any fanfiction i'm not vibing with for a thing i love, i am fully capable of hitting the back button and returning to the source material i find more satisfying.