The main source of contention surrounding Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Gilligan cut is that it’s clichéd. Things become tropes for a reason — they work. In this instance, the Gilligan cut has persisted because it can be mined to lofty comedic heights. Comedy is inherently subjective, so if someone doesn’t find this scene funny, that’s up to them. But it should be judged on its own merits and not simply because it relies on a trick numerous other shows and movies have utilized.
The Gilligan cut in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” actually does subvert the trope a little bit, with Sokka getting cut out mid-sentence. He doesn’t have time to complete his thought, which typically happens with this bit, so it may catch viewers off-guard in that sense. Part of the beauty of tropes is seeing how other artists deconstruct them, and numerous other properties have put their own spins on this smash cut. For example, in the “Simpsons” episode “The Princess Guide,” Carl says he definitely won’t dress up as a Nigerian princess. It then smash cuts to him wearing the same outfit and saying, “Thank you for listening to my objections.” In that instance, the joke is on the audience expecting Carl to dress up like a princess because of the trope, but then it does something else for the punchline.
Everyone’s entitled to an opinion, and plenty of people commented how much they actually enjoyed the joke on “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Considering everything else the show does, such as changing Aang’s (Gordon Cormier) origin story for the worse, there are plenty of other things to criticize.
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