I am like, nothing short of absolutely disgusted at Bryke's portrayal of Katara in the comics and TLOK???
And apparently a majority of the audience is okay with this portrayal??
A girl with severe abandonment issues because her mom was murdered by a Fire Nation soldier and soon after her dad left to fight in the war, leaving her alone to take care of her brother and the village.
A boy with chronic running away issues. This fault of his has led to a war extending up to 100 years causing death and destruction all around the world.
Katara does not acknowledge this fault of his because she idolises him as the Avatar but still his actions hurt her. A lot.
Katara: It's not brave, it's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesn't he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?
Logically speaking, a person with abandonment issues should never be with a person who has a tendency to run away from their issues. But Aang and Katara get together anyway.
But then the comics happen.
Literally anyone who cared about Katara as a character of her own (and not just as Aang's love interest) was infuriated at how she was portrayed. She was stripped of all her autonomy and characterization and was made into "The Avatar's Girlfriend". Nothing of her own.
Some people actually call this relationship sweet. Yuck.
But the thing is, it has panels like this:
Katara, the girl with abandonment issues looks— that's right, abandoned and forgotten.
Even if the "abandonment issues" angle is thrown out of the window, the above panel from Katara's pov is a very unhealthy and shitty experience. (I can vouch with personal experience)
When you clearly don't have anyone else and the one person who you completely dedicate yourself to is completely avoiding you in favour of other people who don't really matter that much just because it makes them feel better/superior, how lonely and abandoned does that make you feel?
Also this sort of behaviour is undeniably selfish and self centred.
This problem of "Aang paying more attention to fangirls" exists in the show as well but atleast Aang corrects his behaviour or accepts that it was incorrect. The comics however:
Katara, who was abandoned, ignored and lonely in this entire comic is reasonably upset about this. But instead of the comic validating her feelings, it makes her feel guilty???
If this isn't a fulfilment of the male fetish of gfs/wives putting their own mental issues and feelings on a back bench just for the sake of the man's hApPineSs, then what is this?
Not to mention this fetish is pretty disgusting.
This is what young kids are supposed to learn form the comics?
This is harmful for boys AND girls.
But sure couple goals and soulmates or whatever.
The very existence of LOK!Katara is just—
This definitely isn't the Katara I know and love.
Katara, who was completely devastated by her mother's death but got her shit together immediately and seamlessly slipped into the role of her mother and was so damn good at it that her elder brother could conveniently use his coping mechanism to supress their mother's memories with Katara's instead.
You're telling me this same girl grew up to be a sad old lonely widow who spent her days and nights wallowing in the grief of the death of her husband—
That's straight up romanticization of "life is nothing without you" trope where the wife just becomes a non-functional person after the death of her husband. That, and Bryke not giving a shit about Katara's character.
There's the evident drama of Aang ignoring his two other kids in favour of the Airbending one; leaving Katara with the other two kids. Just like how she was left alone in charge of things as a child.
They actually take the time to show us that Katara is sad and lonely and abandoned??
What family does she have left at the South pole? None.
And yet, people manage to think Katara is perfectly fine and happy.
Katara, a person with severe abandonment issues spends her entire life being abandoned??
Like, it's pretty clear that they didn't give two shits about Katara as a character; she was just supposed to be a pretty arm candy for the Hero™ with some handy dandy waterbending abilities.
But if other people have done a spectacular job of turning this cardboard character into a fully fleshed out, multi dimensional character, why would you throw it away??
Why would they take an infinite number of steps back to turn Katara back into a cardboard character and fulfil romanticized misogynistic tropes?
