One of the stars behind Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender was honest about some of the critics’ reviews of the show.
Fans were very excited before the release of the live-action series, especially since everything in the project looked so accurate to the original series.
Unfortunately when character finally aired, its reception was lukewarm. Critics were vocally disappointed with many aspects of it – although some of it was consistently praised, such as Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Dallas Liu’s performances as Uncle Iroh and Zuko.
The show currently holds a 60% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 73% viewer rating.
(Netflix’s Avatar Season 2: Dallas Liu Reveals His Big Hopes for Future Episodes (Exclusive))
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee is honest about the critical reception
Avatar: The Last Airbender star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee shared his honest thoughts with The Direct at Paleyfest 2024 about the reviews the Netflix series received upon its release.
Lee agreed “I was actually really surprised at how critical some outlets were about it:”
“That’s a really good question. I expected a lot of responses, like I hoped the fans would really dig it. I was actually surprised at how critical some outlets were about it. It was almost like—and I’m biased, I’m biased because, you know, I’m a part of the.”
“It seemed that some of the reviewers had already made up their minds about it beforehand.” the actor continued:
“But from my perspective, it seemed like some of these reviewers had already made up their minds based on everything they heard instead of the real thing, like watching the show. And they were willing to pick it apart. Even if the fans really embraced it, I don’t know about this, I’m cautiously optimistic.
Lee explained how people should “approach different things with different expectations” mentality “it’s good for everything in real life:”
“And I think we just have to kind of approach differentending things with different expectations and not prejudge and jump to conclusions before you have a chance to see anything. And I think that’s good for everything in real life is really open minded, go in, experience it instead of saying ‘I’m going to judge this’ instead of ‘I’m going to look at this and I look.’ And then I’m critical or judgmental or whatever, but that’s all you ask for in life.
“It’s one of those things that has to grow up” Lee noted, adding that it is “very rare for something to be absolutely perfect right out of the gate:”
“And I’m really impressed with the fan community that made it and embraced it. It went really well; it wasn’t perfect, but we really enjoyed it. And then, at the end of the day, that’s it. And we also learned, that’s one of the things where things must grow.
As for the fan reception, Dallas Liu told The Direct how he “love(s) to see how excited everyone is about the bending effects:”
“I would say I love seeing how excited everyone is about the bending effects in our show. I think Jabbar (Raisani) and his team really saw that part of what everyone loves about the original.”
Producer Jabbar Raisani revealed that it is “fan reception for the show” he is the proudest:
“I really mean the reception of the fans of the show, right? We were trying to make this thing that felt like an animated series, that had the heart and soul of an animated series, but lived in a live-action world. And people responded to that. It was really challenging.”
Arden Cho, the actress who plays June, shares how she’s been doing “So happy to see everyone enjoying and loving the show:”
“I think I’m really happy to see everyone enjoying and loving the show. And there’s just so many different things that are taken into account. And yes, I think I knew people were going to love this because everyone’s working so hard on it. And it’s so loved story to begin with, I’m so excited to be a part of it, but I think I enjoy seeing the answer to all the kids and everything and just the world. ) I love the world… It’s so much fun to be a part of it.”
( Avatar Star Dallas Liu Explains Zuko and Katara’s Rivalry in Live-Action Show (Exclusive) )
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee has a point – the quality of countless shows has improved exponentially. Some just take time to find their footing.
With Season 1 in the wild and plenty of audience feedback, the creative team has every opportunity to improve upon the foundation they’ve already built. They don’t even have to worry about whether they can finish the story.
If Netflix can knock the next two seasons out of the park, fans can likely look forward to even more stories to be told in this universe. Maybe one of the upcoming new adult Aang movies could get an adaptation or even The Legend of Korra.
Avatar: The Last Airbender now streaming on Netflix.
Read more about Avatar:
‘It’s Gonna Suck’: Avatar Netflix Star Prepares Fans For Season 2 Conflict (Exclusive)
Avatar: The Last Airbender Zuko’s Live-Action vs. Dallas Liu’s Animation Differences Explained (Exclusive)
Who is Sebastian Amoruso? 5 Things You Need to Know About Avatar’s Jet Actor From Netflix’s Live-Action Series
