u/HopeAndDo

I noticed something on my first watch during the Tudum event, but I'm glad even YouTubers like Avatarist gave attention to it in their reaction videos:

The Season 2 intro was epic, but they changed one thing from the original: instead of saying "I believe Aang can save the world," Katara says "We believe Aang can save the world."

Some people criticize this change, but I believe it's not that bad. However, I really think that, especially considering the circumstances when everyone thinks the Avatar is dead and all hope is lost, it would be a really strong message for Season 3 as a whole if the intro changed to Katara saying:

"I believe Aang can save the world."

Kataang relationship (not only talking about romance here) was probably the most underdeveloped thing in the entire show so far, but I believe this small change can make it better.

Here I'm thinking about things that are present in both shows, but feel free to add things that are only in this version if you think they made the story better.

I'll start:

Long Feng – I LOVE THIS LONG FENG. I think it's amazing how, in this show, he didn't just manipulate the Earth King, but the Gaang as well (especially Aang).

Professor Zei – I really enjoyed his betrayal and the way he died.

Jet's death – It was executed much better in this show, and here we don't have to ask ourselves why Katara didn't just use the spirit water to save him. It felt like he truly redeemed himself, unlike in the original version. (I'm not saying every character needs a redemption arc, but I simply enjoyed this version more.) I also find his last words really interesting: "Katara, do me a favour. Kill them all."
They might lead to something in Season 3.

The Gaang failing to get the Earth King's support – This may sound controversial, but I really like that they failed in this regard. It was a result of Long Feng's brilliance, sure, but the writers also finally addressed the fact that the Gaang isn't as close to each other as they were in the original show. For almost two full seasons, I was worried that them not being very close friends was simply the result of bad writing or a misunderstanding of the characters. But in S2E6, they clearly showed that this different approach can work too. I really enjoyed watching them argue with each other after they failed.

Those were the things that really stood out to me, but I believe there are many more.

I really liked it for the first three episodes because it felt like they were finally about to catch up to the pacing of the original show.

I really think they should have hugged more, and Katara should have shown her affectionate side by calming Aang down when he entered the Avatar State. They had two opportunities to do that, but for some reason, they decided not to include it.

In the second half of the season, they kind of stopped progressing with their feelings. I don't see any improvement compared to the original show in that regard.

In OG S2E19, Aang admitted that he loved her, and my understanding of Katara is that she loved him too, at the latest by the beginning of Season 3. (She definitely had a crush on him since late Season 1 or early Season 2-that's up for debate, but I'm talking about love here) The main reason they weren't together earlier in Season 3 was that Katara was afraid of losing him. That's why she waited until after the war ended before starting a relationship.

In NATLA Season 3, they're almost certainly going with a different approach. Here, I'm not even sure Aang loves Katara. I think they're both still in the crush phase, and their relationship hasn't had enough time to develop.

I feel like the main reason for that is this:

THEY DIDN'T BUILD A STRONG FRIENDSHIP IN NATLA SEASON 1

The OG trio were done really dirty. Once they arrived in Ba Sing Se, they kept secrets from each other. Everything culminated in S2E6 when they failed to convince the Earth King to listen to them. I wish Aang hadn't pushed Katara away the way he did with Sokka and Toph, but it is what it is.

It's really unfair that the main relationship ended up being so underdeveloped. We actually see Sokka and Suki get more attention than they did in the original show, and even some friendships like Mai and Ty Lee, Katara and Zuko (before the betrayal, of course), Sokka and the Mechanist...

Important: This is not me saying you shouldn't watch this season. Watch it and give it a chance!

I still think Season 2 was much better than Season 1, even though our Aang and Katara are not the same characters as they were in the animated series—especially Aang.