Avatar: The Last Airbender stars Dallas Liu and Elizabeth Yu spoke with ComingSoon’s Tyler Treese about the second season of the hit Netflix show. The pair discussed filming Seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back, evolving their characters from the first season, and more. Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 begins streaming on June 25.
“Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation. In S2, after a bittersweet victory saving the Northern Water Tribe from the invading Fire Nation, Avatar Aang, Katara, and Sokka regroup and set off on a mission to convince the elusive Earth King to aid in their battle against fearsome Fire Lord Oza,” says the official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Dallas, we get to see so much of Zuko’s childhood this season, and he’s very much in this state of flux between being loyal to how he was brought up and then wanting to be his own man. What was most interesting to you about really getting to explore that inner turmoil and having it manifest in so many different ways throughout the season?
Dallas Liu: Oh man, it was one of the most fulfilling things that I got to do as an actor this far in my career. Not only am I a huge fan of the animated series, but I also like playing Zuko so much and I love him in our live-action version. So I’m always going to be a fan of whatever the writers put together for me.
And your second question was how does it manifest?
How was it seeing it manifest and twist? Sometimes he’s chaotic good, then he’s chaotic evil. Just so many different spins on it.
Dallas Liu: Yeah, and depending on the scene, there were different qualities to each sort of chaoticness, if you will, or emotion he was going through. We really wanted to explore the highs and lows of what Zuko’s inner turmoil looks like because most people see the side of Zuko where he is very angry and has a lot of outbursts. But this season, luckily, we get to tap into some of Zuko’s inner emotion that he’s not quite able to express, maybe through words or by doing the right thing sometimes.
Elizabeth, for any ounce of self-doubt that Azula had in the first season, it’s totally gone here. You really upped that intensity. How is it unlocking this intense badass version of yourself and bringing it to the screen? Because even talking to you right now, I’m kind of nervous after seeing the season. You blew me away.
Elizabeth Yu: Thank you so much. That’s so nice of you.
I think that Azula truly is like an alter ego for me. It became so much fun. During Season 1, I was a bit nervous. I was kind of scared of fully delving into her truest form of being this no-BS, “I don’t care what people think” kind of person.
But I think that also kind of makes sense. She’s a bit younger. She’s still very innocent in wanting Dad’s approval. I think that toward the end of Season 1, she comes to this place where she realizes her own capacity and what she’s capable of.
Then, at the beginning of Season 2, we see her fully emboldened and confident in what she’s able to do. What she really wants is to go out into the world and prove to her dad that she’s worthy. I think she’s just having a great ride getting to do that.
Dallas, you guys filmed Seasons 2 and 3 back to back. What stood out about having that extended amount of time where you really got to be one character and really got to focus on Zuko?
Dallas Liu: Kind of similar to my previous answer, it’s a real dream come true, especially for Zuko in Seasons 2 and 3 of the animated series, and being able to translate that into live action.
I think I also got to experience my own growth as an actor, which was one of the coolest discoveries. Feeling that growth was really special. I think Season 2 taught me a lot, and then in Season 3, I learned how to execute it better. I felt a lot more calculated and prepared for what is Season 3 of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Thanks to Dallas Liu and Elizabeth Yu for taking the time to talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2.
