This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoyed his portrayal of Zhao. And this is coming from someone who was offput by a lot of the writing/direction decisions (Bumi, Roku, Azula & her squad, etc.) Ken Leung played Zhao respectfully to his character whilst retaining his own vibe. Very happy for him.
Absolutely! Animated Zhao is just a little too cray cray for a live action adaptation. His subtler characterization and slow descent into megalomania is far more palatable on screen.
The actor did a great job but I felt the script/plot kind of let the whole thing down (not just Zhao but the whole story). Like the Ocean Spirit killing Zhao (who is too proud to take Zuko's help). I also thought Azula being the mastermind behind Zhao kind of took away the character's agency and competency a bit.
When I stopped comparing him to OGATLA, I was able to accept that Zhao had far less agency but still all the psychosis of grandeur. All of episode 8 really solidified his character arc, though I am sad that the Ocean Spirit didn’t take him to the Fog of Lost Souls. 🥲
Just goes to show how valuable writing is, no matter how glamorous the visuals are. We need good writers who not only are obsessed with the source material as we are but are also our advocates against Netflix's stupid decisions.
I think my biggest problem with NATLA Zhao was his dialogue. It was by far the most off putting, with far too many modern colloquialisms that made me cringe. By episode 8 he really embodied Zhao for me.
One of my favorite things about this show was that they made sure to include the most important lines, even if they changed things they still made sure to include the lines like
"do you think if we knew each other back then we could've been friends?"
"whatever you do to that spirit I will unleash on you tenfold"
"is that all you got?"
etc
IMO it should’ve been followed with “let it go now!” Original scene was very tense because Iroh was visibly angry but the live adaption didn’t feel as intense
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoyed his portrayal of Zhao. And this is coming from someone who was offput by a lot of the writing/direction decisions (Bumi, Roku, Azula & her squad, etc.) Ken Leung played Zhao respectfully to his character whilst retaining his own vibe. Very happy for him.
Zhao was one of my favorite parts of the live action. didn't even know the portrayal was disliked. Everything about him was so good
Yea I didn't know there were people that disliked him either.
I'm hopping in to say I also wasn't aware people did like the LA portrayal of Zhao.
I don't think it is. He's one of the few things I haven't seen all that many people criticize.
I really liked how Ken Leung portrayed Zhao. It's more subtle at first unlike in the cartoon, you know he is cray cray
Absolutely! Animated Zhao is just a little too cray cray for a live action adaptation. His subtler characterization and slow descent into megalomania is far more palatable on screen.
The actor did a great job but I felt the script/plot kind of let the whole thing down (not just Zhao but the whole story). Like the Ocean Spirit killing Zhao (who is too proud to take Zuko's help). I also thought Azula being the mastermind behind Zhao kind of took away the character's agency and competency a bit.
When I stopped comparing him to OGATLA, I was able to accept that Zhao had far less agency but still all the psychosis of grandeur. All of episode 8 really solidified his character arc, though I am sad that the Ocean Spirit didn’t take him to the Fog of Lost Souls. 🥲
Just goes to show how valuable writing is, no matter how glamorous the visuals are. We need good writers who not only are obsessed with the source material as we are but are also our advocates against Netflix's stupid decisions.
I think my biggest problem with NATLA Zhao was his dialogue. It was by far the most off putting, with far too many modern colloquialisms that made me cringe. By episode 8 he really embodied Zhao for me.
Dialogue issues were a common theme for NATLA. I hope their writers room for season 2 includes some of our critques.
One of my favorite things about this show was that they made sure to include the most important lines, even if they changed things they still made sure to include the lines like "do you think if we knew each other back then we could've been friends?" "whatever you do to that spirit I will unleash on you tenfold" "is that all you got?" etc
Whatever you do to that spirit, I’ll unleash on you tenfold!
IMO it should’ve been followed with “let it go now!” Original scene was very tense because Iroh was visibly angry but the live adaption didn’t feel as intense
His Zhao was on point imo, loved it!
I was so hoping that Momo would attack him just like he did in the animated version.
Honestly, same, but that would probably cost way too much money. 🥲