throughout the film, it is implicated that sonam and tagah had a layered relationship that was once, without uncertainty, built on a foundation of trust and understanding between one another. although, most of it can be based on interpretation (until guaranteed confirmation), i believe that tagah met sonam during a time of vulnerability, and she was his stability. in sonam’s words, “the tagah i gave bending to was a different man”—that alone tells us that he did once carry the same values and ethics as sonam, but of course, trauma can change that. they had a close bond before granting him the ability to airbend–and, in some way, she trusted that he would pursue the same path for peace that she had spoken of–perhaps in the monastery. tagah was a disciple of the temple that sonam made long before he became an airbender: “my most devout pupil, tagah, was the first to receive it,”—and he was even the first person she granted airbending to. when sonam refused to use the staff to will a brigade of airbenders for the sole purpose of battle, she was deeply conflicted at even the shift of tagah and his values–but why did she not take his bending then? she still trusted him, regardless of the hardship he endured to make him think otherwise. sonam still saw the same man who was her most trusted follower, a man she held up just as much as he held her. she did not think once that she would have to fortify the staff from him, or anyone she trusted–but especially him. when he stole the staff, she did not expect him to, so she was not prepared for that situation. although he was too substantial for her to kill, could she even bring herself to kill him? even though it was claimed he was much stronger than her, maybe parts of her were reluctant to fight back even in battle. air nomads often tread in the more pacifistic means of life, meditating on all conflict with nonviolence because of their ethics–there is no doubt in my mind that she was hesitant in fighting against him, even before she was wounded by him.
additional rambles: i wish we got to learn more in the film about how tagah and sonam met–did they grow up together in the same temple? did tagah seek out sonam? are they even the same age? i honestly imagine that sonam is likely a year or a few years older, but maybe they even met in adulthood rather than childhood. honestly, i wonder if they were romantically involved in some way because that would make the betrayal between them much more significant.
