Avatar: The Last Airbender was one of the most beloved stories of all time. Even though it is animation, it managed to completely captivate its audience and became the cult classic that it is today. However, the more excellent a story, the harder it is to retell. Since its end in 2008, there have been two attempts at a live-action adaptation, and both have failed miserably.
Unlike the 2010 film, which had little salvageability, the recent Netflix series has gotten very mixed reviews. It is perhaps because of this feedback that the series was renewed for two more seasons, allowing it to fully tell the story of the animated series and learn from its mistakes.
However, fans cannot let go of all that went wrong, even in this adaptation. Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, who played the role of Uncle Iroh, revealed his explanation for the negative feedback and why he thinks the series will get better over time.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Found The First Few Episodes on Avatar: The Last Airbender Challenging
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee recently gave an interview with The Wrap, where he talked about the criticism that Avatar: The Last Airbender has been receiving, and it was a lot. While audiences were upset about nearly every little detail of the Netflix adaptation, the biggest outrage was caused by its disloyalty to the source material. While it is expected that not everything will be the same, many changes shifted the foundations of the story.
Speaking to this exact critique, Lee explained that it is not easy to completely copy what the original series did. Specifically talking about his own character, he mentioned how he was not able to perfectly imitate the essence of Iroh in the first few episodes.
“It takes a bit to find your stride and get used to [Iroh’s] mannerisms. I think the first few episodes, as excellent as they are, we’re still negotiating and finding the nuances of everything about these characters.” Mentioned Lee.
Trying to copy Uncle Iroh’s mannerisms was something Lee found to be quite challenging at the start. He believes that this is why the first episodes were subjected to as much critique as they were. The series was trying to figure out what it wanted to be, and that is something which takes some time.
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee Found His Uncle Iroh—Or Did He?
Talking about the later episodes of the Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee mentioned that he believes those to be a lot better than the first few. Everyone has a better understanding of the characters that they are playing and, therefore, can portray their personalities better. He believes such a progression to be a sign of good writing and acting.
“As the series progresses, you can see everything drop in place for everybody. The show does seem to take off as the episodes progress, and that’s a sign of really good writing and really good acting.” said Lee.
Interestingly enough, even though the actor says that he better understood Iroh by the end of the first season, many fans were unhappy with how he played the character. Iroh is one of the most beloved characters in the entire series, with fans emotionally attached to him. This is why they were not on board with some of his creative decisions.
The biggest change that was criticized by the audience as a whole was his dropping the iconic accent that the character had in the animated series.
