Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi Talks Ba Sing Se and Behind-the-Scenes Magic in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2

Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 follows Team Avatar’s journey through the Earth Kingdom, which intensifies once they reach Ba Sing Se.

Aang and his friends learn a lot about the intricate Earth Kingdom city, from its staunch social classes to the Earth King’s soldiers to Long Feng and his Dai Li.

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi, who portrays Lieutenant Khettry — one of the Earth King’s soldiers — in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2. We had an excellent discussion about many things regarding the show, including the ins and outs of Ba Sing Se.

Adapting a beloved cartoon is no easy feat, and Netflix’s live-action adaptation has both strengths and weaknesses. One of the best narrative choices Avatar: The Last Airbender makes is to set almost the entirety of Season 2 in Ba Sing Se.

Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi wholeheartedly agrees, and he has also seen the original animated show. He called his role in Avatar: The Last Airbender “a dream come true,” after seeing the cartoon 20 years ago.

I can only imagine what it must be like to get the opportunity to join an adaptation of your favorite piece of media. Based on how Prevost-Takahashi described his experience, it seems like Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was nothing short of magical.

I asked Prevost-Takahashi about the timeline adjustments involving Ba Sing Se. He offered a lot of thoughtful commentary, taking into account that the live-action adaptation has only seven episodes and is on a tighter timeline.

“I think I can speak on behalf of a lot of us, is that we internalized [the animated show’s original timeline] and then translated it, acting in real time on the real live-action show,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all representing members of [Ba Sing Se]; we’re all living in slivers of the life and times of people in that city just trying to make a life for themselves.”

Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi gave Long Feng as an example to illustrate his point, noting that Netflix goes much more in depth on his motivations, opting to portray them as a shocking plot twist rather than just being upfront, which makes this storyline infinitely more exciting. 

Prevost-Takahashi also attributed the show’s exceptional focus on Ba Sing Se to the behind-the-scenes production, crediting production designer Michael Wylie as a key reason why this narrative change worked so well.

In general, Avatar: The Last Airbender‘s production is something Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi and I discussed in great detail. We spoke about acting in a show that relies heavily on visual effects.

“For one, so much of it is because there’s just such strong actors on that show, and, big mention to Elizabeth Yu, who was so easy to work across from,” Prevost-Takahashi noted.

“There’s some things that didn’t make it into the show, but we still have a great time filming it, and it’s really just based on the aura everybody is kind of giving off of each other.”

Prevost-Takahashi went on to commend production again, and rightfully so. He revealed: “Ba Sing Se in itself was a huge village built practically in Vancouver. So I think that allowed people to immerse themselves a lot more easily, and you know, you have flooring that were cobblestone roads, and you had amazing Chinese traditional architectural design built into the sets too.” 

It is evident that filming Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 was an unparalleled experience, from the talented actors to the meticulous filmmakers. Hearing Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi’s admiration for the show’s production creates a newfound appreciation for the live-action adaptation, despite its flaws. 

I had to ask Prevost-Takahashi about his experience working on Shōgun and how it compares to Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. These two shows deal with similar themes, even though the former is historical fiction and the latter is set in a fantasy world that involves manipulating natural elements.

“The physicality and the energy and the pacing of Shōgun allowed me to understand the assignment for what was required for Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Prevost-Takahashi explained.

“With Shōgun, that was just such a huge set to be on, [and] the filming that took place for me took place on an entire mountain in Vancouver from top to bottom literally.”

“It was this humungous set, and there’s a lot of nerves attached to that. But it’s a good team attached, and you learn how to navigate pressures when you’re working with 300 background actors, you know, and you have a star-studded cast as well. So for me, Shōgun, I learned so much from, and I felt like I earned my stripes, and that allowed me to gain a lot of confidence for Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

Before the interview ended, I asked Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi about his favorite part of working on Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.

True to the theme of our discussion, he talked about the filming environment and the authentic friendships the cast formed. He shared that the cast grew close during production despite the long workdays. 

Gabriel Prevost-Takahashi even revealed a fun tidbit about Miyako, Toph’s actress, disclosing that she helped him master earthbending moves in Toph’s teaching style. It is more evidence that she was born to play Toph in this live-action adaptation, and we could not be more grateful.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.

*Featured image credit: Cydney Rose Photography

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