You're being told as a child "you're mature for your age", being compared to adults and being given adult responsibilities as such looking for your younger siblings -
and the next thing you know you're 27 and you have no idea what to do with your life, instead of focusing on your career or getting married or having children you're playing videogames and watching animated series and, yeah, sleeping with plushies
Rewatching Crazy ex-girlfriend because I'm feeling weird about my life and guess I'm back on my CXGF rants and...
God, rewatching ep. 4 is so infuriating. Greg is so so so mean towards Rebecca. Back when I was watching it at first time it was still funny ha-ha show, so I didn't pay much attention then, it just didn't feel right...but now it feels just awful. Greg acted so superior towards Rebecca, then he acted like he was entitled to her being with him and then he sent Rebecca into one of her anxiety and self-loathing attacks and this time I just felt it. Knowing she has a bpd is making it so much sadder.
I know it's just forth episode and love geometry is gonna be much later but this episode is why I don't want to see Rebecca with Greg. Season 1 or season 4. It is indeed a shitshow.
I'm really tired of the "woman sad about her arranged marriage" trope, especially if that woman is royalty.
I am sure that many women across time were sad about their arranged marriages, but I'm sure a lot of others were excited, ambivalent, or resigned. Again, especially if you were royalty! I am sure if you were born a princess, you were trained from birth that your whole purpose in life was to marry someone important to solidify the power of the person on the throne. And honestly, it's an important job, if it wasn't, they wouldn't have tried so hard to do it.
That woman isn't just marrying another king or prince, she's going to be an ambassador of her country. She's supposed to be there promoting good relations. She isn't just a woman being sold off, she has a job! Also, if she is marrying the reigning monarch (or the heir), she may well end up running the country if the king is off at war or he dies when the heir is really young. That happened a lot throughout history! (or maybe she marries the third son and helps him find his way to the throne. Good for her)
It just feels like a modern sentiment being projected back. In Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet's mother first brings up marrying her to Paris, Juliet's basically cool with it and says she'll try to like him. She would have known this was going to happen because that is what rich women do, they marry into another family so their two families can be buddies. What else would she even be expecting?
It wouldn't bother me so much except that it's all we see! Give me a story about a woman who is like, "Cool, I shall give it my all!" Or she's like rolling up her sleeves and planning how she's going to get the court on her side and rule France, power behind the throne style (these women are mostly portrayed as villains, but who is to say the king would do a better job?). And also, have a little faith in women's fathers? You think men in the past didn't occasionally consider the happiness of their daughters? Not even a little bit?
I can't help but feel that korean romantic fantasy manhwas are kinda have a point about arranged marriages. In those arranged marriage is often used as a tool for a woman to get away from her household or a dangerous situation where a man from her family chooses for her or to protect her family heirloom, to gain some sort of resources and benefits. I get it, those types of manhwa are not serious, are not recognized as some high class and high quality media not to mention the overall tendency to disregard any media targeted specifically for women auditory. And sometimes there are too some situations where the main character yells "I will marry someone I love" (most of them are isekaied) but the majority of characters that are born and raised in those fantasy settings are completely cool with arranged engagements if the man is decent. While the "arranged marriage where mc falls in love with her husband" subgenre is specifically about situations where main character often arranges her marriage herself using it as a way to gain some sort of independence from her surroundings. As a deal between her and her fiance. Again - I do not necessarily imply that all of those things are some sort of new ideas in fiction or that all of them are high quality (they are really not) but the idea is there and I think it reflects some real life tendencies.
And actually to be fair I probably can see myself being in arranged marriage. I am not very emotional and it is extremely hard for me to fall in love and it is extremely easy for me to fall out of it. So the deal that would be based on some sort of economical and societal arrangements and benefits seems just much more fair.
Jane Austen taking my face between her hands: you are very young you are going to make absolutely catastrophic mistakes you are going to probably come close to ruining your own life but there are ways of coming back from that ok as long as you really try to do well and surround yourself with good honest people you'll probably be fine in the long run.
i keep seeing people talk abt atla again, specifically zutara. Thought i’d share my opinions bc i can ig
When i first started atla back in like 2020 i think? i looooved katara and aang, honestly would murder for them😭 anytime i saw her being shipped with zuko my blood would genuinely start to boil
while my opinions aren’t as strong now and i’m more open to things i still don’t see the appeal🤷♀️ i get enemies to lovers, trust me. I just don’t see it with them tbh
I'm sorry, can I do a long post? Can I? I'll try to keep it as short as I can but there's kinda a lot to unpack. Hope your boiling blood will at least stop boiling.
So I ended up writing the very long post, sorry about that (I was gonna to make a list of reasons to ship Zutara one day anyway, so thank you for creating an opportunity and giving me an excuse to do so), and decided to divide it into two parts. This part is from a more objective perspective - it's about themes and storytelling. Second part will be about more subjective reasons (how people relate to characters involved and how they see the relationship between Zuko and Katara) so if you're not interested in that kind of reasoning - feel free to ignore.
Obviously I don't think you should change your opinion based on all the stuff I wrote but I genuinely hope it'll be interesting for you to read.
So basically there are two groups of reasons for shipping Zutara.
A) Unbiased storytelling stuff
Reoccuring themes of the atla story:
Two of the main themes in atla is forgiveness and balance between opposites and the reason why the bond between Zuko and Katara is so important to the show is that it reflects those ideas perfectly. I'm not trying to say that writers should have made them a couple just because of that. You could say that their friendship reflects those themes pretty well as it is. But what would support those themes and enhance them further than two former enemies, benders of opposite elements becoming a couple? As friends - Zuko and Katara are just your regular friends in group. It's good stuff, yeah. As lovers? They are becoming, if I can say it like that, the embodiment of those themes. Yin and yang, the sun and the moon, the destructive nature of fire and healing of water. They oppose each other and compliment at the same time. This stuff just works on philosophical level, it speaks poetry. As aspiring writer myself I would love to have this level of harmony in my works, really.
Parallels in Zuko and Katara's arcs that balance out them being polar opposites (as in previous point):
So we are not new here. We know that just sharing parallels in stories does not make them romantic, right? Well, kinda. I'd personally argue that Zuko and Katara's arc share the most obvious parallels in the whole atla that mirrors their stories. Better than any other 2 characters, really. (Short list being: mothers being taken by fire nation, them struggling to prove themselves as capable warriors, anger that mostly motivates them, letting go of said anger, motifs of seeing the wrongdoings that their people are capable of (a little bit less for Katara - it's just that one episode about bloodbending) and of choosing right, may I say, honorable means to fight their enemies.) And that makes them pretty similar characters despite being opposites. It allows them to theoretically (as in we don't actually see them doing it on screen - but we are not netflix, we don't need for show to chew this information for us and spit it in our face to see undertones, right?) understand each other on a deeper level than any other characters. They share each other's pain and struggles. Once again - doesn't mean it makes their bond romantic but if the story gonna have this endgame couple - that's the level of understanding and arc resemblance I'd choose for main pairing, not for non-canon and shipbaited one.
The means that writers chose to "shipbate" Zutara - as in if it's not shameful shipbaiting I do not know what the hell it was and why they chose to include those elements.
To keep it short - writers actively included some tropes that are commonly recognizable as tools foreshadow romance pairing.
You remember the "girlfriend joke" Jun used a couple of times? Well, as far as I can remember in the mid 00s it was a common phrase that a lot of shows used to foreshadow or tease future couple. Like in "wow, aren't you two a lovely couple!" "we're not dating!" "ew, gross, he's not my boyfriend!" "yeah, it will never happen" - and then it happens. Obviously, I can not do the compilation of "it happened there, there and there, and it actually didn't happened in there and there", it was long ago and I obviously haven't rewatched all the stuff I watched as a child.
(EDIT: turns out I can, there is a TV Tropes article with the whole list, here it is: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SheIsNotMyGirlfriend)
And, yeah, the joke is reoccuring, it is common for the show and no only for Zutara - but in case of Zuko and Katara it happens more than once during different stages of their relationship. So yeah, it was at least something.
The same goes for the necklace thingy - Zuko literally put on Katara a betrothal necklace. It's just a fairly recognizable way in media to foreshadow endgame pairing. It would have been easy for writers to give that scene to Kataang - so why the hell to make Zuko do it?
Oma and Shu story falls to the same category as in the most famous in-world love story (well, maybe not the most famous but it is the only one we as viewers are presented to). And it is about two people from enemy towns that fell in love despite war and their people hating each other. Yet again, one of the most common way to foreshadow something through the "long ago" story. Fans of George R.R. Martin and A song of ice and fire are very much familiar with that one. It's not very much on its own but at this point all the stuff just adds up.
I'm so sorry, last one probably gonna hurt. It's Kataang and Want vs. Need:
So yeah, one of the main reasons I personally started to ship Zutara is Kataang. Yes, it's about the narrative of the story, not about biased opinions.
You see, in Aang's story Katara performs the role of his motivation. His inner goal. His "want". Aang fell in love with her in the very first episode and his feelings for Katara are integral for his story arc. But - what is also integral for his arc is his "need" - to become the avatar, to master all four elements and to master the avatar state.
In creative writing theory one of the most basic writing advice you can see everywhere is that the "want" of your protagonist is most likely to stand in the way of their "need". For your usual, good, heroic protagonist in order to fulfill their "need" they gonna let go of their "want" and that makes them hero of the story, it is usually positive character arc. Almost all your classic protagonists do that. For negative character arc in which protagonist regresses into antihero, villain or whatever it's opposite - they choose their "want" over their "need". The easiest example being Anakin from Starwars - he loves Padme, she's his "want" but in order to become a jedi he needs to let go of his feelings to her. He refuses choosing her over his "need" and becomes one of the most famous villains of all time.
It's like the most basic writing formula, it is not used in all the media, it's a little bit more complicated than I presented it. It can be more subtle or character's Want may not contradict their Need at all. It does NOT mean everybody needs to use it that exact way, it does NOT mean it can't be subverted. You can find examples of character giving up on his "want" and then somehow still getting it in the end - sometimes it is kinda the reward for choosing "need" - or getting the "want" but it is not in the way character expected.
THAT BEING SAID: atla presents us to this very basic type of "want vs. need" for Aang's arc. It is said very directly in the show that in order to master the avatar state and open his seventh chakra Aang needs to let go of his feelings for Katara. Ultimately he chooses to save her. Now, I do not say that this decision was unmotivated or he should've chosen differently, but it is still the same old "want vs. need" conflict in which he chose "want". Yes. he faced some repercussions afterwards, he paid the price, but it's basically all the writers did with that presented conflict. Aang didn't face the same choice for him to choose this time differently, he opened his seventh chakra thanks to, dare I say it, Deus ex Machina aka bump in his back.
Yes, I understands that is basically more of anti Kataang argument but it makes actually a pretty great base for Zutara's case. Aang is our protagonist, the story is all about him despite all the shipping and in that light Zutara's existence would've made a great narrative sense for the purpose of our main story.
Let's theorize. It's the end of the series. We have this unresolved conflict of Aang's arc - he chose to save Katara, didn't open his seventh chakra and is not able to enter the avatar state ever since. He opens up about his feelings to Katara - she does not immediately reciprocates them and at the same time we see his reaction on Zuko and Katara's bonding. I'd say it would be a logical way for him to progress the plot and advance his character arc: to see Zuko and Katara falling in love, be presented with the same "want vs. need" choice and to choose this time the "need" - letting Katara go, and thus open seventh chakra and master the avatar state. I don't know what it sounds like to you but to me from a writer's perspective it makes great sense. Not only it progresses the plot, not only it progresses Aang's character's arc — it gives purpose to the romantic subplot and the very existence of both Kataang and Zutara.
So basically - no, Zutara is not just your regular enemies to lovers non-canon ship. As a Zutara fan from my very first time watching atla - I may have trouble to see the same amount of narrative establishment and base for Kataang as, you know, the main endgame couple of the show. It's not that I don't want to - but it's I think the same for you and Zutara, I just fail to see that. As I see both pairings right now just form the perspective of narrative of the story and general storytelling Zutara just makes much more sense for me than Kataang.
Of course none of the reasons above on its own doesn't mean that Zutara should have been the canon. But when you put them all together it creates this weird situation where it just makes sense and every time I rewatch atla or even think about it long enough - I'm surprised that they are not canon. I'm actually frustrated every damn time because I see all those Chekhov's guns but they won't fire. Not only that - but the writers of the show, that actually put all this stuff in their story, actively deny it's existence. It's very weird, to say the least.
I'm so sorry, that post is so damn long and I so haven't finished yet. I haven't even touched the point B) Biased opinions on Zutara reasoning that are not actually that biased and Zutara appeal from the perspective of audience relating with characters involved.
I'm gonna make part two. Feel free not to check it out if you're not very interested in more personal reasons for large part of atla audience to ship Zutara.
In reply to you 'zutara bait might not be bait' post. One of the Natla creators confirmed that katanga is happening and that Kataras 'I need you' in the final episode is foreshadowing is the start of their build up :(
I'd have loved zutara though
Well that's a crying shame. However. Delusion dies last and must I remind us all that there was probably a point during the original run of the show where the writers room was divided on whether Zutara or Kataang will become canon? Things like that are subject to change and I think that theorizing is fair game until the show ends.
But if they DO do this, then I just know that nobody will be happy because so much of their scenes and original build-up have been taken out. Which means they'd need to make up new ones and the sooner the better because s2 will run a tight schedule and s3 will almost certainly have to cut huge amounts of vital content.
It is genuinely, at this point, in their best interest to not go with Kataang. And I don't say this as a Zutara shipper but as a fellow writer. I'd rather have Katara end up with no one than tank the story by forcing Kataang to happen.
I still think that they don't know what they gonna do yet because, you know, netflix didn't even confirm the second season. I'm sure they will, the show surely got its hype and semi-good ratings. Even despite the loud "it was not like the original series!" crowd. It's just they haven't said anything officially yet so, you know, anything could happen.
And even if they will go for kataang endgame - they are gonna have a handful of problems.
First of all, the main point of my previous post was "they know what they are doing with zutara" and it's just cruel at this point. The second time in a row? What for? To attract these few percents of the audience that watched natla only after discovering the scarf scene? (Well, netflix IS kinda evil, it's not like they are not able to do such thing).
But, you know, it's not like they JUST filmed that scene and let it flow, no, they are promoting it on their official account ("meanwhile in Omashu" post on twitter). Not to mention the tremendous load of photos of Dallas Liu and Kiawentiio together I've seen without even trying that hard. If it's just for shipbaiting zutara - the lengths they're going are crazy.
While Kataang - well, it's nice that they count the "I need you" line as foreshadowing but...how do I put it? You see, I've always believed that the bond Katara and Aang shared is much more then him being in love with her and getting the girl in the end. The show actually made a point of it and made her explain it to the audience (like they do with every little thing, just explain it in words and dialogues). For god's sake, she called him a family a few seconds before "I need you" line! I'm not saying that it means nothing - but I'd argue that could mean literally anything, not just the, you know, quite definite romance foreshadowing like in the animated series. Kataang fans went on their posts like "See? See? Kataang is happening, you filthy Zutarians, so lose all hope!" - only after that information from the creators dropped. It doesn't seem they paid it much attention before that. So I don't know man. If it's a foreshadowing - it doesn't do the foreshadowing thingy much.
Secondly - the age problem. Yes, one of the most favourite arguments Kataang usually use - Katara is two years older than Aang, it's the same age difference for Zutara too, what is the difference then? (Let's pretend for a second that I really do think there is no difference while romance between two teenagers of 14 and 16 is socially pretty much acceptable when romance between a 14 y.o. and a literal child of 12 is...well...have you seen 12 y.o. boys? Also while a mental development of 16 y.o. is kinda comparable to a mature 14 y.o. girl, I can't say the same for a 12 y.o. boy. Once again - have they even seen a preteen boy before?)
So in the animated series both Katara and Aang are drawn pretty much in a similar way, the only difference is their height. You look at them and see two children of approximately same age, so it kinda works if you don't think of it very hard. In the live-action version - yes, the cast is slightly older then their animated counterparts, but Kiawentiio is 17 going on 18 (her birthday is in april). In the next season she will be pretty much a legal adult. Gordon is 14. He looks like a baby. Yeah, he will look like an older teenager in later seasons but he will still remain a teenager. Can you imagine a bunch of Kataang videoedits with some romantic pop songs showing a young woman and this baby face from the first season? Well, it's internet, it's wild there, but let's not pretend that it won't be bothering anyone. It'll be hard to promote, you know.
I think netflix understands this too that's why the best foreshadowing they could do is "I need you!" line. But - what the hell? They do understand that this problem won't just go away a year or two later? They do, riiight? It's alright to have such age difference when it's adult actors, not when a literal teenager is involved.
And even then, they took away too much of Kataang's foundation. There is no "they're meant to be" basis they had in the animated series. They didn't have to do any kind of romance tones to lightly foreshadow it directly in the context of a show. Also Katara was kinda Aang's goal, his inner "want" from the very beginning in the original - so narratively it made sense for his arc to end up with either achieving that "want" or letting it go. So they took away this arc - and it robbed Aang ending up with Katara of any narrative purpose.
Compare this lack of establishment to all the Zutara heavily canonical stuff there still is that they will have trouble to get rid of (at least the events from "the crossroads of destiny" which are vital to both of their arcs and the ending fight with Azula) and all the ways the Kataang was not-so-great in the 3rd season. Of course they can change it, they probably will if they are still going for Kataang, but then what's even the point? To achieve the "original" ending that would be even less developed and robbed of any purpose? That's just stupid.
Point is, I really hope they won't go for it. I was alright with Zutara not happening before seeing the scarf scene, I will be alright after some shameful shipbaiting. Kataang however...This just won't look good, visually or narratively, I'm sorry.
It seems in the end we ought to repeat history. On the one hand we'll have hella underdeveloped canon pairing because the creators will still be uncomfortable to put them in any romantic setting and on the other - heavily implied and shipbaited non-canon Zutara. It's gonna suck for both sides. Nobody's winning.
I'm sorry for ranting under you post, it seems that I have troubles to keep it short. This whole situation is just so fucked up. I'm so frustrated.
P.S. By the way, I actually couldn't find the source of this information to fact-check. I've seen people talking about it on kataang tag, but there were no direct link or description of the source, just vague words. Not saying anything just...
EDIT: okay, found it, apparently was not looking for it very diligently. The exact quote is "we are obviously aware of where it goes in the original series, but it's more of a future issue and a future storyline to be dealt with". All he's saying is - we planted a hint, we know the canon, don't know what we're gonna do with it.
First of all, the scarf scene. I won't be repeating myself, here are some main points - there was absolutely no reason for Zuko to act the way he did and for the scene to be shot this dramatically. Even if they did the shipbaiting in this scene - it means there's a ship which is much more than live-action kataang has at this point. Also I don't really think these guys are shipbaiting type but that's just the impression I got.
Then - the second obvious one - Oma and Shu's visuals. We have star-crossed lovers from two towns at war, basically the local equivalent of Romeo and Juliet (as in legendary lovers who are known above all for their love) wearing coincidentally colors that are primarily associated with two of our characters (who shared this dramatically shot scene in the previous episode).
And I know, it may seem so insignificant - but but but but! - you have to think about this. Of course there are creators, writers and showrunners that are unaware of some non-canon ships or don't care about them. But it's not the case for atla. No, creators of atla were so aware of zutara - they wrote a parody scene in a in-world trashy play to mock this fan pairing and it still proved absolutely nothing and just gave zutara more content. The creators and writers of this adaptation clearly had the discussion "what we should do with kataang" - because there is no trace of kataang in the 1st season. So it was a conscious decision to omit that - but where would the romantic subplot go? Well, I don't know, but they are showrunners, they most certainly discussed options. They are clearly very, very, very much aware of zutara. And they still do this? They still show us Oma and Shu wearing red and blue? All they had to do is to give at least one of them any different color. Any. But they didn't. (for fuck sake, it is the Earth Kingdom - yellow and green would do it)
There were zero, no, nada Kataang interactions, implications or those scenes that are filmed just a little bit too dramatically like the scarf one. I don't know, there's still a chance that they will wait for season 3 to make Aang's crush on Katara happen. I'm also not so sure what will happen to Aang failing to open seventh chakra, I mean - his love for Katara has a huge purpose in series, so it still doesn't look very good. But you can't even imagine how glad I am that they didn't do this secret tunnel thing. It was very uncomfortable.
So it was the more fact-based part of my case, let's get to the irrational, almost delusional part, tin foil hat probably needed.
Almost all the scenes Zuko and Katara shared in the first season kept reminding me of another famous enemies-to-lovers ship that actually became canon in the infamous final episode - Reylo, the way it was filmed in The Force Awakens. I mean - the first fight in the woods where she looses, the intensity of him staring at her, the final fight in snowy location where she kicks his ass and shows her mastering this superpower, him trying to talk to her during this fight and mentioning her learning/having to learn...Zuko calling Katara a peasant reminded me of this "Rey is no one" discourse. I don't know man, I haven't thought about The Force Awakens reylo for a very long time and it just kept popping in my head.
All of this - it's like a blueprint for enemies to lovers.
Also I actually think that the look they shared in the 2nd episode was also shot kinda weirdly and dramatically. It's not to the extent of the scarf scene but I do remember thinking that "why did they film it they way? it's too intense".
In the conclusion I'd like to say that as much as I like all the season 1 zutara stuff they left out in the adaptation - necklace subplot and implications, pirates and the famous "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" - I think I actually prefer the scarf scene. Yes, it would be so great to see those things in adaptation but in the end of the day they would still be just the things they kept from the original and probably noting more. Like the cabbages or the secret tunnel song or anything else, just things from the source material that implicate nothing. While the scarf scene, the Oma and Shu's clothes - it means they made a conscious decision to make it that way. It means they put some thought into that and some meaning. And this gives me hope there's a chance for Zutara in this adaptation.
P.S. I told about this my sister who hasn't watch the series yet and she said "I think people who made this show are just shipping zutara in secret". I do not necessarily imply she might be right - but creators of animated series (the very same people that made kataang canon, not zutara) DID leave because of some creative differences and because they couldn't control creative decision. Might as well be THAT kind of decision.
@phoebester I hope you don't mind me replying to you like that, I kinda have a lot to say and I'm not good with conciseness to do that in comment section.
Just look what that damned netflix did to me:
This is what I'm doing with my time now.
So the guy in the video actually talks a lot about that specific quote you cited and the thing is - it's so condescending and vague and quite applicable to every single ship there is in the world. It just confirms that creators haven't really think about Zutara OR Kataang all that seriously. I don't know, maybe they just weren't that interested in any romance cause the only couple that actually works more or less is Sokka and Suki (in my personal opinion). The thing between Kataang and Zutara isn't just that one ship is canon and the other is not and some shippers got angry, it's that it was a series of misdirections the writing of the show took (specifically bryke and dimartino) and
and instead of acknowledge it or trying to fix it in, let's say, comics or at least respect fans that ship zutara - they openly mock them. I don't know if you know this - I learned it just today - there was a "joke video", made by bryke and dimartino, called "avatar book 4: air" about "forbidden love" between zuko and katara, showing how they wouldn't work as a pair and designed specifically to mock zutara fans (don't go there, it's really bad). Like - what type of creators would do that? What the actual hell?
That was news to me, so I'm kinda still enraged by it and almost lose all the respect I had for these guys (it's terrifying how one shitty joke crosses out all the actually great work they've done).
Point being they showed on multiple occasions how short their creative vision is when it comes to their own original endgame pairing.
They underdeveloped their endgame couple and they shipbaited Zutara so much that it accidentally made much more sense than canon and got mad at fans for it.
And there is just 3 options for netflix version to handle it - they can either fix Kataang so it wouldn't have same issues they had in the original or risk it and go in the completely opposite direction. And of course to abandon all ships at once. I don't think they know themselves what they're gonna do. I just hope they won't do something "just because it was in the original" cause contrary to the popular opinion - the original show is great but it is not perfect. Well, they kinda showed that they are able to male some bold changes - I think they were bold changes - for better or worse...
Back to the point, I've also noticed "the looks"TM but I actually didn't think of them that much. Aang and Katara always shared a special bond which is much more complex than being just romantic. She also calls him a family in the ocean godzilla scene so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It wasn't filmed any more dramatically than any similar inspiring/"please consider your actions" speech from any other movie, series or even anime. Scene at the dinner too - no weird angles, slow motions, score changes, just a little bit prolonged sequence meant to establish the bond, I think. Unlike the certain scarf scene ;D
(I've been clowned by too many ships at this point to pay much attention to "the looks"TM)
I don't know why I'm keep doing it - it's like I'm deliberately setting my hopes high. The pure clownery I'll experience after it will turn out they were just shipbaiting will be devastating but here I am. Writing essays on how zutara still stands a chance and convincing myself and some innocent zutarians. To cite one zutara fan that reblogged my previous post: It's delulu time!
I agree with you that it was never Katara for Aang, It should have never been Katara. That's one of the biggest arguments that drew me to Zutara initially - that it made so much sense for Aang to let go of his feelings towards her like Guru said. Aang's not ending up with Katara would make as much sense as finishing Zuko and Katara's intertwined arcs as "yin and yang", "the moon and the sun" couple.
It's sucks that creators got too blinded with the initial idea they came up with and weren't able neither to let go of it nor to develope it properly. And that was the reason Katara and Aang got together - because they were just supposed to from the very start. Writers should be able to see their creation critically and unbiassedly to see the mistakes they're about to make and Bryke and DiMartino certainly failed to do that.
I thought the events of past, idk, 10 years taught us something about creators and writers being wrong about their own creations - but apparently that's not the case for those people.
First of all, the scarf scene. I won't be repeating myself, here are some main points - there was absolutely no reason for Zuko to act the way he did and for the scene to be shot this dramatically. Even if they did the shipbaiting in this scene - it means there's a ship which is much more than live-action kataang has at this point. Also I don't really think these guys are shipbaiting type but that's just the impression I got.
Then - the second obvious one - Oma and Shu's visuals. We have star-crossed lovers from two towns at war, basically the local equivalent of Romeo and Juliet (as in legendary lovers who are known above all for their love) wearing coincidentally colors that are primarily associated with two of our characters (who shared this dramatically shot scene in the previous episode).
And I know, it may seem so insignificant - but but but but! - you have to think about this. Of course there are creators, writers and showrunners that are unaware of some non-canon ships or don't care about them. But it's not the case for atla. No, creators of atla were so aware of zutara - they wrote a parody scene in a in-world trashy play to mock this fan pairing and it still proved absolutely nothing and just gave zutara more content. The creators and writers of this adaptation clearly had the discussion "what we should do with kataang" - because there is no trace of kataang in the 1st season. So it was a conscious decision to omit that - but where would the romantic subplot go? Well, I don't know, but they are showrunners, they most certainly discussed options. They are clearly very, very, very much aware of zutara. And they still do this? They still show us Oma and Shu wearing red and blue? All they had to do is to give at least one of them any different color. Any. But they didn't. (for fuck sake, it is the Earth Kingdom - yellow and green would do it)
There were zero, no, nada Kataang interactions, implications or those scenes that are filmed just a little bit too dramatically like the scarf one. I don't know, there's still a chance that they will wait for season 3 to make Aang's crush on Katara happen. I'm also not so sure what will happen to Aang failing to open seventh chakra, I mean - his love for Katara has a huge purpose in series, so it still doesn't look very good. But you can't even imagine how glad I am that they didn't do this secret tunnel thing. It was very uncomfortable.
So it was the more fact-based part of my case, let's get to the irrational, almost delusional part, tin foil hat probably needed.
Almost all the scenes Zuko and Katara shared in the first season kept reminding me of another famous enemies-to-lovers ship that actually became canon in the infamous final episode - Reylo, the way it was filmed in The Force Awakens. I mean - the first fight in the woods where she looses, the intensity of him staring at her, the final fight in snowy location where she kicks his ass and shows her mastering this superpower, him trying to talk to her during this fight and mentioning her learning/having to learn...Zuko calling Katara a peasant reminded me of this "Rey is no one" discourse. I don't know man, I haven't thought about The Force Awakens reylo for a very long time and it just kept popping in my head.
All of this - it's like a blueprint for enemies to lovers.
Also I actually think that the look they shared in the 2nd episode was also shot kinda weirdly and dramatically. It's not to the extent of the scarf scene but I do remember thinking that "why did they film it they way? it's too intense".
In the conclusion I'd like to say that as much as I like all the season 1 zutara stuff they left out in the adaptation - necklace subplot and implications, pirates and the famous "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" - I think I actually prefer the scarf scene. Yes, it would be so great to see those things in adaptation but in the end of the day they would still be just the things they kept from the original and probably noting more. Like the cabbages or the secret tunnel song or anything else, just things from the source material that implicate nothing. While the scarf scene, the Oma and Shu's clothes - it means they made a conscious decision to make it that way. It means they put some thought into that and some meaning. And this gives me hope there's a chance for Zutara in this adaptation.
P.S. I told about this my sister who hasn't watch the series yet and she said "I think people who made this show are just shipping zutara in secret". I do not necessarily imply she might be right - but creators of animated series (the very same people that made kataang canon, not zutara) DID leave because of some creative differences and because they couldn't control creative decision. Might as well be THAT kind of decision.
So I just went on tiktok and saw people shitting on the adaptation. And it's like...Is the netflix atla flawed? Yes, of course. It it a perfect adaptation? Come on, it's like you're living in a world where such thing exists. If you are not enjoying the show - it's completely fine.
But it absolutely does not deserve the utter hate I see from those guys.
I'm sorry, but what did you expect? The very same show as the animated series but this time with real life people? Sorry to break it to you, but it's impossible.
Look, I don't really remember the first season of animated series all that much, I absolutely do not remember all the details. But I can tell the shitshow when I see it and that's not it. People who adapted aang's story clearly love the source material and care for it and they did a great job with adapting the plot to the live action series format.
Yes, of course, they downplayed some of the characters. Aang is much less joyful and childish - but maybe it's because they don't have 20 episodes for him to realistically go from actively avoiding responsibility to fully accept it. Like, yes, you can probably say that the episodes length compensates amount of them, but it doesn't really work that way for emotional journeys. Usually each episode has it's own little emotional arc for every character - so for animated series we have 20 little arcs showing Aang's emotional growth with 20 stages. The netflix series has only 8 of them. Even if the amount of time in theory adds up - it's not the same, it's not how the episode are being structured.
Then there's Katara. I admit - I do not like that they downplayed her motherly nature, her emotional maturity contrasting her rage. I do not like that they got rid of most scenes between her and Aang, especially her teaching him and calming him down. But do you know what I expected? I was so afraid that they would do the same thing the modern medea does to almost every single female character - deprive her of any trait of her character that is remotely traditional feminine, deprive her of her emotions and leave her with only badassery and girlbossery. And I'm so glad they didn't do it that I actually don't care that much.
I heard the guy whining something about "they didn't do the secret tunnel right" and I just can't. You understand why they didn't do it exactly like in the animated series, right? Riiight? It's probably has something to do with kissing between literal children, even if it's just implied. Personally, I wouldn't want that to happen. It was kinda cringe even in the animated version.
Also I saw a video of a guy (90% of such videos are guys) being just "the animated series did this and that, and the netflix version did another thing and it's not like the original" about Suki and Sokka and there was something about "...and then Suki just beats up Sokka's ass out of nowhere". It's like - have we watched the same stuff? She comes to see him training because he is this boy from outer world, from bigger land and she is interested. And then they train together for a little bit and she beats him in a training fight - that is literally what happened. It wasn't ou of nowhere, it was Suki being a girl that doesn't know how to communicate with a guy she kinda likes! Well, I don't know if she actually likes him at this point but she's clearly interested in him. Does it take being a girl myself to understand?
There are many more flaws and drawbacks but it's okay because overall the show is very enjoyable. It doesn't deserve the hate I saw.
I'm so sorry, I really was gonna just note all the "maybe there's a chance for zutara" stuff as a draft and post it all at once later. I really did.
But I've watched the 3rd episode and I just can't get over the scarf scene.
I mean - there was no need, absolutely no need for Zuko to just do this intense stare and then touch Katara's scarf so... how do I put it?.. No need to frame or slow motion it like that or to focus on it. Why is he just standing there and blatantly looking at her? Why he's not attacking or grubbing her if he wanted to catch her? Why he didn't hide his face if he was gonna follow her secretly? Why he waited for her to bump into him just face to face? He's not even trying to dodge. Filming it this exact way has no sense other then building up a tension between them. And it doesn't even look like "they are going to fight almost to death for the next 2 seasons" type of tension!
And I know, I've watched the animated series too, whether you see them as romance coded or as platonic enemies to friends they probably have the strongest tension in the entire series. You could say that they are trying to build up tension like that. But I'd say - I'd maybe believe that if it was only the stare and the bump. The scarf thing? Un-fucking-explicable. I've rewatched this scene like 5 times (more than 5 actually), I really wanted to see something other than what I want to see - I just can't. Why to let it slip through his fingers, why to look at his hand afterwards? Why?
I don't know man. Probably I'm just deluding myself. But it all kinda gives me reylo from the force awakens vibes. And they are strong.
I feel like a fangirl, being excited about every little detail, but I actually love it so much.
The city looks great, there is Jet, well, have you seen Jet? I love how they keep restructioning the plot in the way that is kinda makes sense. (The only problem I have with those changes yet is Kyoshi's prophecy about something happening in the north pole. Shouldn't the motivation to go there be "to learn the waterbending" in the first place? Like, the gaang could figure it out for themselves easily, it's not that hard. I do not actually remember what was in the animated series, but it feels kinda weird. Also - it's not "something will happen that's why aang should go there" it's "aang will go there that's why something will happen" - but that's issue of the 2nd episode)
I mean, you know they love and care for the source material when you see some cabbages being destroyed or a lil champ in Jet's squad they absolutely did not have to include.
Azula is perfect, so perfect I'm still processing it.
There is Danny Pudi. I love him.
The fight sequence? I don't know if it's good choreography or not, but it's great that they use surroundings in the fight. It seems like it's nothing special but it actually is - there are not many movies or series that do that (you can remember marvel movies - even the good ones have this fight where it's nothing but punches and superpowers blows). It's dynamic, it's interesting, it's exciting. It's not boring.
Katara finally has something to do. I sometimes kinda feel that the actress doesn't know what to do in the shot - although I have that idk theory that is the way it is because Katara is still very insecure about her abilities. Which is fine it's just weirdly executed. And even if so - it would be director's fault for not instructioning and correcting the actress.
The worst part of this episode is wigs or hairdressing.
I've watched 3 episodes and the first one - which I liked - was easily the weakest one, at least for me.
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