not the first time they interacted actually
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not the first time they interacted actually
netflix subtitles are great for when you want to read a caption with like 50% resemblance to what's being spoken
character in a movie: buddy, i'm gonna tell you what i've got to do
netflix subtitles: i'll say what i must do
character in a movie: *exhales*
netflix subtitles: (blows raspberry)
character in a movie: ciao!
netflix subtitles: (in italian) bye!
*character in a movie: ciao!
netflix subtitles: (speaks foreign language)
IF YOU LIVE IN THE USA
THIS IS ILLEGAL
REPORT THEM TO THE FCC
THEY HAVE A LINK ON THEIR WEBSITE TO RWPORT IT
ITS REQUIRED BY THE ADA THAT SUBTITLES EXACTLY MATCH THE DIALOGUE
i reported basically every Star Trek show on Paramount+ because the subtitles were all fucked up. they sent me auto emails to let me know they were working on it, and then a real life human being got in touch with me after they had fixed it, to ask if i was still experiencing the issue. they WILL do something, they are required by FEDERAL LAW to do something.
people often use snow’s experiences with lucy gray as an explanation for how he engages with katniss, but i think that the true story of his downfall lies not in how lucy gray and katniss are similar, but rather in how they are different.
snow knew that it was never him that made the games what they are. it was lucy gray, with her scrappy, passionate artistry, that put on the show that kept people watching. more importantly, it was lucy gray that put on the show that kept HIM watching. all he ever did was give her the stage.
ergo, snow recognizes that the person with the power to usurp him is his natural counterpart, someone like lucy gray, who possessed both the charisma and humanity that he sorely lacks. however, in his mind, those traits are not real; they’re performed in order to obtain power. how could he know better, when he’s never experienced them himself, and the only person he ever truly believed possessed them betrayed him?
so snow keeps his eye out for performers, people with gravitas who could capture the heart of the nation, and squashes their spark as soon as he can. people like haymitch. people like finnick.
and that’s where snow goes wrong. he doesn’t see katniss’ similarities to lucy gray from the start, because while they both demonstrate astonishing, intriguing bravery at their reapings, their actions and motivations are completely different. lucy gray is motivated to perform by anger for herself, and katniss is motivated to sacrifice herself by fear for her sister.
but then katniss starts to put on a show for the audience, kissing peeta and being willing to die with the berries at the end of the 74th games. snow starts to see an entirely different side of katniss that resembles lucy gray to a concerning degree. he sees how, with peeta at her side, she could beguile the nation the same way lucy gray had. and, even worse, she was using the poor, helpless boy who had the misfortune of falling in love with her to survive. the moment katniss started performing, he finally sees lucy gray within her. but it’s already too late.
by catching fire, katniss is the spark fanning the flames of the resistance, but snow fails to understand why. as far as he’s concerned, katniss’ star power comes from her connection to peeta. he tries to weaponize their “love” for his own gain, but it doesn’t work, not because people don’t believe that she loves peeta, but because, for the first time, a victor offers their winnings to the family of a fallen tribute.
snow is caught in a catch 22 of seneca crane’s making—if he kills katniss, she becomes a martyr. but if he lets her live, she’ll be a revolutionary icon. either way, she’s the spark. so he has no choice but to allow the spark to flicker, just for a little while. enter the 75th games. snow knows he needs katniss to die a tragic death in the games. more specifically, he needs it to be a brutal death at the hands of a tribute, not the gamemakers, because he understands that as long as the districts see the capitol as the one who ended the life of katniss everdeen, she’ll still be a martyr.
but snow still doesn’t get it. in the quarter quell, the prey does not become predator. katniss’ allies protect her, ensuring she survives until district 13 rescues her. why would they protect this girl, assuming such a steep personal risk? why would they put everything on the line for a revolution they personally stand to benefit little from? he doesn’t know. but he does know that lucy gray katniss is at the center of it all, so he tries to eliminate what makes her look best: peeta.
and that is snow’s fatal mistake. what he, coin, and everyone but haymitch fail to understand is that it was never peeta that made katniss look good—it was katniss, who befriended and put faith in rue. katniss, who recruited mags, wiress, and beetee as allies. she is the source of revolutionary inspiration. it isn’t her charisma or even her compassion, and it certainly isn’t how well she performed those virtues.
katniss becomes the mockingjay because of her solidarity.
lucy gray was charismatic, like peeta, and compassionate, like both peeta and katniss, but she did not demonstrate solidarity. she was never truly “district” in the way katniss is. she showed kindness to jessup, not because he was from 12, but because he showed kindness to her. lucy gray left behind everything and everyone she loved when she left coriolanus, because she was first and foremost a survivor.
katniss was a survivor her whole life, but she survives exclusively to ensure the people she loves are protected. she always does what she can for people more vulnerable than herself. lucy gray couldn’t have sparked a revolution on her own because she lacked the solidarity that makes a hope for a better future authentic to others. katniss is the human manifestation of solidarity, and to a people divided by a common enemy, that’s the most inspiring thing a person can be.
only in the end, when katniss shoots coin, does snow realize none of it was a performance. choking on the blood of his countless adversaries, snow’s final moments are consumed by what he got wrong. what made lucy gray and katniss different ends his reign, but ironically, the final nail in his coffin is an act that both lucy gray and katniss share in their last moments with snow. they both prove, unequivocally, that he is not the center of their worlds like they are his. lucy gray put her own survival before her love for him, and katniss puts the future of her nation before her hate for him. in the end, he simply doesn’t matter. and that’s greater justice than could have ever been achieved if katniss had fired her arrow into his heart.
the greatest enemy to coriolanus snow could only be the person who reignited the embers of a dying revolutionary fire, who demonstrated to a broken people that while one spark alone might not be enough, thousands of sparks uniting in solidarity is an unbeatable force.
and really, he should have known better. after all, even when snow lands on top, fire melts snow.
the official zutara dissertation (p.1)
or: i yell about zutara for 16k words straight, because i have nothing else to do with my life.
This essay will explore the canonical dynamics of Prince Zuko and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, the subtext and foreshadowing in the narrative, and the themes of the show. It will argue that Zutara becoming canon would have developed and completed Zuko and Katara’s character arcs and exemplified the themes and narratives of ATLA. It will also show that Zuko and Katara’s canon relationships did a disservice to their characters and those of their canon partners, were poorly developed, and ran contrary to the messages and themes of the show itself. For these reasons, this essay will prove that Zutara should have been the endgame ship of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
(Includes bonus frustrated commentary.)
BOOK 1: WHY ZUKO AND KATARA ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER
1. Zuko and Katara share the same fundamental moral compass and core values.
They are both empathetic and compassionate people who are angered by the injustices of the world and want to right them. While all the members of Team Avatar are good-hearted individuals, none of them share Zuko and Katara’s need to help, even at their own expense. Sokka and Toph are pragmatists who focus on the big picture (ending the war), while Aang’s desire to help is inextricably tied to his duties as the Avatar, rather than just Aang himself as an individual.
Zuko and Katara, however, are fundamentally different from the rest of Team Avatar in this regard. Their need to help, no matter what the cost, forms the basis of their personalities and character arcs. Katara’s empathy and compassion are demonstrated multiple times throughout the series, such as when she willingly lets herself be captured in order to save imprisoned Earthbenders (Book 1: Imprisoned) and refuses to abandon a suffering Fire Nation village even when it puts them behind time for the invasion (Book 3: The Painted Lady).
In both of these instances, Katara’s motivations are at odds with those of her friends. They want to move on; she cannot leave people in need. They want to do the safe thing; Katara insists on doing the right thing. Katara’s drive and desire to help is unmatched by the rest of Team Avatar, who only follow her lead because she cannot be swayed from her decision. Katara’s entire character can be summed up with “I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!” (Book 3: The Painted Lady) because that is the kind of person she is – someone who will never abide injustice or suffering if she can do something about it.
Similarly, Zuko’s entire character arc is kickstarted by his compassion, when he speaks out against sacrificing soldiers when even seasoned generals did not (Book 1: The Storm). It is this decision that led to Zuko’s banishment, and it is a direct result of Zuko’s kindness – a quality that Zuko tries to bury to earn his father’s love, and which he ultimately realizes is a strength, not a weakness.
Even in his time as an antagonist, there are plenty of hints at Zuko’s true empathetic nature, one that resurfaces even when he tries to stifle it: Zuko putting his own life in danger to rescue his helmsman (Book 1: The Storm), sparing Admiral Zhao in the Agni Kai although he knew Zhao would never have returned the favour (Book 1: The Southern Air Temple) and attempting to save him even though Zhao had tried to kill him (Book 1: The Siege of the North Part 2), exposing his true identity and risking his safety to protect an Earth Kingdom village (Book 2: Zuko Alone), reaching out to Katara with genuine kindness though she was still his enemy at this point, and had been yelling at him just moments before (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny).
This is a non-exhaustive list of Zuko’s moments of compassion, but they indicate who he is at his core – someone very similar to Katara, someone who cannot leave others in a state of need with an easy conscience. Neither Zuko nor Katara have an obligation to help, the way that Aang does as the Avatar, but they both choose to do so anyway because that is who they are. Zuko and Katara would work well together because they share core qualities, ones that shape their personalities and desires, and can thus understand and support one another’s motivations and decisions. This would have made them perfect rulers for the Fire Nation and great world leaders overall, as they would fight for those who needed their help and would never abandon any of their people to fend for themselves.
2. It is with each other, and only each other, that Zuko and Katara can be fully and completely themselves.
Katara’s role in much of the show is a motherly one, putting her needs and feelings second to take care of those around her. With Zuko, however, this dynamic is reversed. This is not to say that Katara does not care for or support Zuko – she does. For the first time, however, this support is returned to her. Zuko sees her at her most vulnerable in the Crystal Catacombs (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny) and turns to comfort her, to tell her that she is not alone. This is the first time someone reaches out to help Katara, the first time she is in a position where she is receiving emotional support instead of providing it, and it is telling that it is with Zuko – someone who, due to their history as enemies, Katara does not feel the need to coddle, and can meet on an even keel.
After he joins the Gaang, Zuko consistently puts Katara’s needs first – accepting that her anger at him is justified, asking her what he can do to make it up to her, trying to earn her forgiveness. He makes the effort to get to the root of Katara’s hurt and anger, even when she’s not giving him much to work with, and gives her all the agency in the situation, never putting his need to earn her forgiveness over her needs. We don’t ever see any other member of the Gaang give this much thought or consideration to Katara’s feelings. On their hunt for Yon Rha, Zuko supports Katara absolutely and unconditionally. He sees the full depths of her rage and grief, the lengths she is willing to go to for vengeance, her willingness to use bloodbending – and instead of condemning or judging her, he accepts all of it without question.
Katara does not suppress her needs for Zuko’s sake, the way she does with the rest of the Gaang, and is not shoehorned into the position of his caretaker or mother. She is allowed to break out of the role of emotional backbone, a role she often assumes to her own detriment, as the person who gives and never receives. With Zuko, Katara can be herself in all her aspects – the grieving daughter, the fierce warrior, the caring friend – and is a far more multi-faceted and complex individual because of it.
In return, Zuko finds in Katara someone who has seen him at his absolute highest and lowest. All of Team Avatar have seen (and fought) Zuko as their enemy, but it was Katara who witnessed the true depths of his feelings about his scar and Katara who was betrayed by Zuko, an integral part of the worst mistake he ever made. Out of all of Team Avatar, only Katara truly witnessed Zuko at his lowest point, his decision to side with Azula, and still chose to forgive and befriend him.
Furthermore, Zuko does not need to hide who he truly is with Katara, or become someone he is not, as he is forced to in the Fire Nation. He can open up to her without fear of being manipulated (like Azula) or shut down (like Mai), and she validates and soothes his worries without coddling him. Katara sees Zuko in his entirety – at his best and worst, his strongest and most vulnerable – and accepts and supports him through all of it. Zuko and Katara are thus able to be themselves in all their aspects with one another, creating a relationship based on mutual understanding, acceptance, and trust.
3. Zuko and Katara have the deepest and most intimate non‐familial relationship out of all of Team Avatar.
Apart from sharing character traits and motivations, Zuko and Katara are both marked by similar foundational events that sent them along parallel arcs – the loss of their mothers – and this enables them to understand one another on a far deeper and more intimate level that no one else can hope to achieve.
But Sokka lost his mother too! Aang lost his people!
Yes, those are both horrible, traumatic losses. But they are not Katara’s loss. Losing Kya marked a turning point in Katara’s life as the moment she was forced into the role of mother in her family, a role she should never have been burdened with. Not only did she take on this role, however, she did it so efficiently that Sokka admits to no longer remembering his mother’s face, because Katara is the only motherly figure he can picture (Book 3: The Runaway). Katara, a traumatized child, had to deal with the grief of losing her mother and, at the same time, assume that position to keep her family together, at the expense of her own childhood and well-being. Neither Sokka nor Aang had to deal with these deeper layers of trauma because both of them were looked after, and looked after well, by Katara – and for that reason, they will never understand her pain.
If her own brother and canonical love interest don’t understand, how could Zuko? Because, just like Katara, Zuko’s loss marked a turning point in his life and changed him fundamentally. Just like Katara, Zuko’s loss of his mother meant the end of his childhood, leaving him exposed to the cruelty of his father and sister. Ursa’s disappearance signified the start of Zuko’s path to becoming someone he didn’t want to be and should never have been, just as Kya’s death pushed Katara into a role she should never have been forced to take on. Ursa sacrificed herself to protect Zuko just as Kya sacrificed herself to protect Katara. Zuko and Katara’s losses, both significant aspects of their characters and foundational events of their childhood, parallel one another and give them a unique understanding of each other. It is significant that Zuko is the only person Katara ever fully opens up to about her mother’s death and the pain it has caused her because it is a loss that mirrors Zuko’s own, and thus enables them to connect with one another.
Zuko and Katara’s interaction in the Crystal Catacombs is the perfect illustration of this, because it is their shared loss that leads them to see each other for the first time as people instead of enemies. Their mutual pain allows them to become deeply vulnerable and intimate with each other as they have never been with anyone else. Katara is the only person Zuko opens up to about his conflict over his destiny and the first person he allows to touch his scar. In return, Katara offers her precious spirit water to heal him – her staunch enemy – with no hesitation and is the first one to genuinely believe in Zuko’s capacity to change, which is why his betrayal later affects her so deeply (although Aang is the first person to reach out to Zuko in Book 1, he is also utterly unsurprised when Zuko tries to capture him in return, in contrast to Katara’s genuine shock and hurt at Zuko’s betrayal – indicating that she’d trusted him where Aang had not). As Zuko is the only member of the Gaang to truly empathize with Katara’s trauma, it is thus fitting that he is the one to help her find closure from it.
The Southern Raiders tackles the deepest trauma of Katara’s life, and it is not with Sokka, her brother or Aang, her canonical love interest – but Zuko. While there are some issues with the writing, it’s unsurprising that Zuko takes Katara’s side rather than Sokka and Aang’s, because the lingering effects of Katara’s trauma and her desperate need for closure to the event that has haunted her all her life reflects his own, and so he can empathize with her in a way they never can. Zuko, who did confront the man responsible for the loss of his mother and made peace with his trauma, understands better than the rest of Team Avatar why it is necessary for Katara to do the same, as he knows first-hand how cathartic it can be.
Zuko and Katara’s arc in the Southern Raiders is based on the intimacy that already existed between them from the Crossroads of Destiny, but within the episode itself, this intimacy only grows deeper. Zuko sees the “darkest” side of Katara and accepts her regardless, while Katara separates Zuko once and for all from the title of enemy and sees him once more as just Zuko, a boy like her, someone worthy of her affection and friendship. It is the episode of their reconciliation because they both break out of their defining roles for good in one another’s eyes and embrace each other for who they truly are, having seen each other at their best and worst in a way no one else ever has.
After this, Zuko and Katara’s relationship just gets more intimate, natural and comfortable. They spend the final episodes of the series together, often positioned right next to or parallel to one another. They adopt co-parental positions in the Gaang (Zuko has Peak Tired Dad energy), comfort one another, offer support, and have complete trust in each other. Katara looks to Zuko to take the lead when Aang goes missing (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 2), and Zuko turns to Katara for reassurance right before he goes to ask his uncle for forgiveness. Zuko has no hesitation in asking Katara to accompany him to the final Agni Kai and she in turn completely trusts his judgement in choosing to fight Azula on his own (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 3). They fight together in beautiful harmony, protecting each other and working side-by-side with seamless efficiency (Book 3: The Southern Raiders, Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 1). We never see Katara fighting with any other individual in such perfect, wordless synchronicity, and the only other person who has this sort of bond with Zuko is Iroh, the person he loves most.
(Also, the parallel between Zuko waiting outside Katara’s tent and Zuko waiting by Iroh’s bed for both of them to wake up??? This boy’s love language is clearly I-will-stay-up-all-night-to-earn-your-forgiveness-because-you matter-the-most-to-me-in-the-world.)
Book 3 brings Zutara closer just as it separates them from their canon pairings, culminating in the final deepest layer of connection and intimacy in the finale as Zuko literally sacrifices himself to save Katara – and then does a heel-face turn and shoves them back with their canon partners (seriously, what the fuck). While their canon pairings would never have worked without some serious rewriting, making them endgame at the very moment where Zuko had never been more distant from Mai and Katara from Aang, while Zutara had hit their peak in terms of intimacy, understanding, trust and emotional connection, only drove home all the more why Zutara should have been endgame instead.
the official zutara dissertation (p.1)
or: i yell about zutara for 16k words straight, because i have nothing else to do with my life.
This essay will explore the canonical dynamics of Prince Zuko and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, the subtext and foreshadowing in the narrative, and the themes of the show. It will argue that Zutara becoming canon would have developed and completed Zuko and Katara’s character arcs and exemplified the themes and narratives of ATLA. It will also show that Zuko and Katara’s canon relationships did a disservice to their characters and those of their canon partners, were poorly developed, and ran contrary to the messages and themes of the show itself. For these reasons, this essay will prove that Zutara should have been the endgame ship of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
(Includes bonus frustrated commentary.)
BOOK 1: WHY ZUKO AND KATARA ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER
1. Zuko and Katara share the same fundamental moral compass and core values.
They are both empathetic and compassionate people who are angered by the injustices of the world and want to right them. While all the members of Team Avatar are good-hearted individuals, none of them share Zuko and Katara’s need to help, even at their own expense. Sokka and Toph are pragmatists who focus on the big picture (ending the war), while Aang’s desire to help is inextricably tied to his duties as the Avatar, rather than just Aang himself as an individual.
Zuko and Katara, however, are fundamentally different from the rest of Team Avatar in this regard. Their need to help, no matter what the cost, forms the basis of their personalities and character arcs. Katara’s empathy and compassion are demonstrated multiple times throughout the series, such as when she willingly lets herself be captured in order to save imprisoned Earthbenders (Book 1: Imprisoned) and refuses to abandon a suffering Fire Nation village even when it puts them behind time for the invasion (Book 3: The Painted Lady).
In both of these instances, Katara’s motivations are at odds with those of her friends. They want to move on; she cannot leave people in need. They want to do the safe thing; Katara insists on doing the right thing. Katara’s drive and desire to help is unmatched by the rest of Team Avatar, who only follow her lead because she cannot be swayed from her decision. Katara’s entire character can be summed up with “I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!” (Book 3: The Painted Lady) because that is the kind of person she is – someone who will never abide injustice or suffering if she can do something about it.
Similarly, Zuko’s entire character arc is kickstarted by his compassion, when he speaks out against sacrificing soldiers when even seasoned generals did not (Book 1: The Storm). It is this decision that led to Zuko’s banishment, and it is a direct result of Zuko’s kindness – a quality that Zuko tries to bury to earn his father’s love, and which he ultimately realizes is a strength, not a weakness.
Even in his time as an antagonist, there are plenty of hints at Zuko’s true empathetic nature, one that resurfaces even when he tries to stifle it: Zuko putting his own life in danger to rescue his helmsman (Book 1: The Storm), sparing Admiral Zhao in the Agni Kai although he knew Zhao would never have returned the favour (Book 1: The Southern Air Temple) and attempting to save him even though Zhao had tried to kill him (Book 1: The Siege of the North Part 2), exposing his true identity and risking his safety to protect an Earth Kingdom village (Book 2: Zuko Alone), reaching out to Katara with genuine kindness though she was still his enemy at this point, and had been yelling at him just moments before (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny).
This is a non-exhaustive list of Zuko’s moments of compassion, but they indicate who he is at his core – someone very similar to Katara, someone who cannot leave others in a state of need with an easy conscience. Neither Zuko nor Katara have an obligation to help, the way that Aang does as the Avatar, but they both choose to do so anyway because that is who they are. Zuko and Katara would work well together because they share core qualities, ones that shape their personalities and desires, and can thus understand and support one another’s motivations and decisions. This would have made them perfect rulers for the Fire Nation and great world leaders overall, as they would fight for those who needed their help and would never abandon any of their people to fend for themselves.
2. It is with each other, and only each other, that Zuko and Katara can be fully and completely themselves.
Katara’s role in much of the show is a motherly one, putting her needs and feelings second to take care of those around her. With Zuko, however, this dynamic is reversed. This is not to say that Katara does not care for or support Zuko – she does. For the first time, however, this support is returned to her. Zuko sees her at her most vulnerable in the Crystal Catacombs (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny) and turns to comfort her, to tell her that she is not alone. This is the first time someone reaches out to help Katara, the first time she is in a position where she is receiving emotional support instead of providing it, and it is telling that it is with Zuko – someone who, due to their history as enemies, Katara does not feel the need to coddle, and can meet on an even keel.
After he joins the Gaang, Zuko consistently puts Katara’s needs first – accepting that her anger at him is justified, asking her what he can do to make it up to her, trying to earn her forgiveness. He makes the effort to get to the root of Katara’s hurt and anger, even when she’s not giving him much to work with, and gives her all the agency in the situation, never putting his need to earn her forgiveness over her needs. We don’t ever see any other member of the Gaang give this much thought or consideration to Katara’s feelings. On their hunt for Yon Rha, Zuko supports Katara absolutely and unconditionally. He sees the full depths of her rage and grief, the lengths she is willing to go to for vengeance, her willingness to use bloodbending – and instead of condemning or judging her, he accepts all of it without question.
Katara does not suppress her needs for Zuko’s sake, the way she does with the rest of the Gaang, and is not shoehorned into the position of his caretaker or mother. She is allowed to break out of the role of emotional backbone, a role she often assumes to her own detriment, as the person who gives and never receives. With Zuko, Katara can be herself in all her aspects – the grieving daughter, the fierce warrior, the caring friend – and is a far more multi-faceted and complex individual because of it.
In return, Zuko finds in Katara someone who has seen him at his absolute highest and lowest. All of Team Avatar have seen (and fought) Zuko as their enemy, but it was Katara who witnessed the true depths of his feelings about his scar and Katara who was betrayed by Zuko, an integral part of the worst mistake he ever made. Out of all of Team Avatar, only Katara truly witnessed Zuko at his lowest point, his decision to side with Azula, and still chose to forgive and befriend him.
Furthermore, Zuko does not need to hide who he truly is with Katara, or become someone he is not, as he is forced to in the Fire Nation. He can open up to her without fear of being manipulated (like Azula) or shut down (like Mai), and she validates and soothes his worries without coddling him. Katara sees Zuko in his entirety – at his best and worst, his strongest and most vulnerable – and accepts and supports him through all of it. Zuko and Katara are thus able to be themselves in all their aspects with one another, creating a relationship based on mutual understanding, acceptance, and trust.
3. Zuko and Katara have the deepest and most intimate non‐familial relationship out of all of Team Avatar.
Apart from sharing character traits and motivations, Zuko and Katara are both marked by similar foundational events that sent them along parallel arcs – the loss of their mothers – and this enables them to understand one another on a far deeper and more intimate level that no one else can hope to achieve.
But Sokka lost his mother too! Aang lost his people!
Yes, those are both horrible, traumatic losses. But they are not Katara’s loss. Losing Kya marked a turning point in Katara’s life as the moment she was forced into the role of mother in her family, a role she should never have been burdened with. Not only did she take on this role, however, she did it so efficiently that Sokka admits to no longer remembering his mother’s face, because Katara is the only motherly figure he can picture (Book 3: The Runaway). Katara, a traumatized child, had to deal with the grief of losing her mother and, at the same time, assume that position to keep her family together, at the expense of her own childhood and well-being. Neither Sokka nor Aang had to deal with these deeper layers of trauma because both of them were looked after, and looked after well, by Katara – and for that reason, they will never understand her pain.
If her own brother and canonical love interest don’t understand, how could Zuko? Because, just like Katara, Zuko’s loss marked a turning point in his life and changed him fundamentally. Just like Katara, Zuko’s loss of his mother meant the end of his childhood, leaving him exposed to the cruelty of his father and sister. Ursa’s disappearance signified the start of Zuko’s path to becoming someone he didn’t want to be and should never have been, just as Kya’s death pushed Katara into a role she should never have been forced to take on. Ursa sacrificed herself to protect Zuko just as Kya sacrificed herself to protect Katara. Zuko and Katara’s losses, both significant aspects of their characters and foundational events of their childhood, parallel one another and give them a unique understanding of each other. It is significant that Zuko is the only person Katara ever fully opens up to about her mother’s death and the pain it has caused her because it is a loss that mirrors Zuko’s own, and thus enables them to connect with one another.
Zuko and Katara’s interaction in the Crystal Catacombs is the perfect illustration of this, because it is their shared loss that leads them to see each other for the first time as people instead of enemies. Their mutual pain allows them to become deeply vulnerable and intimate with each other as they have never been with anyone else. Katara is the only person Zuko opens up to about his conflict over his destiny and the first person he allows to touch his scar. In return, Katara offers her precious spirit water to heal him – her staunch enemy – with no hesitation and is the first one to genuinely believe in Zuko’s capacity to change, which is why his betrayal later affects her so deeply (although Aang is the first person to reach out to Zuko in Book 1, he is also utterly unsurprised when Zuko tries to capture him in return, in contrast to Katara’s genuine shock and hurt at Zuko’s betrayal – indicating that she’d trusted him where Aang had not). As Zuko is the only member of the Gaang to truly empathize with Katara’s trauma, it is thus fitting that he is the one to help her find closure from it.
The Southern Raiders tackles the deepest trauma of Katara’s life, and it is not with Sokka, her brother or Aang, her canonical love interest – but Zuko. While there are some issues with the writing, it’s unsurprising that Zuko takes Katara’s side rather than Sokka and Aang’s, because the lingering effects of Katara’s trauma and her desperate need for closure to the event that has haunted her all her life reflects his own, and so he can empathize with her in a way they never can. Zuko, who did confront the man responsible for the loss of his mother and made peace with his trauma, understands better than the rest of Team Avatar why it is necessary for Katara to do the same, as he knows first-hand how cathartic it can be.
Zuko and Katara’s arc in the Southern Raiders is based on the intimacy that already existed between them from the Crossroads of Destiny, but within the episode itself, this intimacy only grows deeper. Zuko sees the “darkest” side of Katara and accepts her regardless, while Katara separates Zuko once and for all from the title of enemy and sees him once more as just Zuko, a boy like her, someone worthy of her affection and friendship. It is the episode of their reconciliation because they both break out of their defining roles for good in one another’s eyes and embrace each other for who they truly are, having seen each other at their best and worst in a way no one else ever has.
After this, Zuko and Katara’s relationship just gets more intimate, natural and comfortable. They spend the final episodes of the series together, often positioned right next to or parallel to one another. They adopt co-parental positions in the Gaang (Zuko has Peak Tired Dad energy), comfort one another, offer support, and have complete trust in each other. Katara looks to Zuko to take the lead when Aang goes missing (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 2), and Zuko turns to Katara for reassurance right before he goes to ask his uncle for forgiveness. Zuko has no hesitation in asking Katara to accompany him to the final Agni Kai and she in turn completely trusts his judgement in choosing to fight Azula on his own (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 3). They fight together in beautiful harmony, protecting each other and working side-by-side with seamless efficiency (Book 3: The Southern Raiders, Book 3: Sozin’s Comet, Part 1). We never see Katara fighting with any other individual in such perfect, wordless synchronicity, and the only other person who has this sort of bond with Zuko is Iroh, the person he loves most.
(Also, the parallel between Zuko waiting outside Katara’s tent and Zuko waiting by Iroh’s bed for both of them to wake up??? This boy’s love language is clearly I-will-stay-up-all-night-to-earn-your-forgiveness-because-you matter-the-most-to-me-in-the-world.)
Book 3 brings Zutara closer just as it separates them from their canon pairings, culminating in the final deepest layer of connection and intimacy in the finale as Zuko literally sacrifices himself to save Katara – and then does a heel-face turn and shoves them back with their canon partners (seriously, what the fuck). While their canon pairings would never have worked without some serious rewriting, making them endgame at the very moment where Zuko had never been more distant from Mai and Katara from Aang, while Zutara had hit their peak in terms of intimacy, understanding, trust and emotional connection, only drove home all the more why Zutara should have been endgame instead.
Handprint
bro my sister is actually so smart
so yknow how Zuko’s scar is worse directly around his eye?
and there are a lot of reasons that could be but also consider this (and this is what my 12 year old sister came up with)
Zuko was sobbing and refusing to fight his father when Ozai burned him
his tears literally became boiling water against his eye.
[ID: A digitally drawn comic of Toph and Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender talking about Zuko’s scar.
It begins with Toph approaching Zuko, who is sitting near a campfire. “You have a scar?” she asks. Zuko replies, "Oh! Uh, yeah… You didn’t…?“ Toph cuts him off and says, "Came up in passing with the other guys.” Toph casually makes herself a seat out of rock and sits down next to him. “Must be pretty badass if everyone assumes I know it’s there, too,” she continues. Zuko looks aside awkwardly and says, “… It’s on my face.” “Ah.” Toph replies.
Zuko says, “Maybe you could… feel it?” “Huh?” says Toph. “I guess, if I concentrate hard enough.” Zuko reaches for Toph’s hand. “Uhm, just with your hand, if you want,” he says. “I don’t think I can describe it.” “… Gotcha. Guide my hand then, boss,” Toph says. Zuko does so, and there’s a pause as Toph touches his scar. The fire reflects in her eyes.
As Toph pulls her hand away, Zuko says, “…. You know, my left eye is almost blind, too.” “Seriously?!” Toph exclaims. “Why aren’t we a tag team yet?! The blind bandit and the half-blind dweeb!” “Come on…!” Zuko moans. End ID]
id by @strawberrygiorno , thank you!
i’ve had this comic sketched out for months but only decided to finish it now, it’s based on something i drew a couple years back of toph and zuko….don’t think too hard on when or how this takes place because i don’t really know either! it’s just a concept i’ve always wanted to draw
I saw someone post about how they hope the writers got rid of Sokkas “stupid humor” for the live action show and like damn I don’t think someone had fundamentally misunderstood a character more.
Sokkas humor is a huge part of his character and shows a major aspect of his growth. At the beginning of the show Sokka is NOT the funny guy. In fact, he’s the most serious dude in his village. In the pilot, Aang and Katara are off playing with penguins while Sokka is literally putting on war paint and preparing to defend the rest of the village from a Fire Nation war ship. He has been the only man in his village for like four years. And he’s only fourteen. Sokka doesn’t make jokes at first, and when he does they’re usually sexist because his whole thing is about how much of a man he is. Sokka developing humor signifies his growth is a thousand ways. How he learns to respect others. How he starts to make friends. And more importantly, how he turns from a man back into a boy.
there’s a reason why the entire story of avatar the last airbender begins and ends with katara. there’s a reason why we are introduced to katara first before we are introduced to any other character. there’s a reason why katara is the narrator. there’s a reason why the creators have emphasized over and over again that katara is just as titular to the story as aang - she’s the other main character.
when you water down katara - remove her compassion, her ability to connect with others, her nurturing role, her ANGER and RAGE and DRIVE - you water down the very fundamentals of the story. you drastically and severely alter the core dynamics of the gaang, because katara was so important to the development of every single one of them. she was the rock and glue that held team avatar together.
katara was unlike any other character to ever appear on television; she was a young brown girl who took no shit from anyone, yet at the same time remained kind and compassionate and nurturing. katara was a force of nature; proud of her heritage and culture, burdened by the responsibility of being the last southern water bender of the water tribe, angered over the death of her mother and everything that the fire nation took from her, determined to help every single person in need, determined to change the world, angry and resentful because old men and rules and laws kept telling her what she could or could not do, thus, she was determined to restructure thousands of years of patriarchy that stood against her from accomplishing her goals and dreams.
watering down katara into at most 2-3 tangible characteristics, stripping her away of all her motivation and agency and nuance, telling the audience that she wants to help and change the world only to have her stand in the background with an air of grief, demonstrates that the writers of the live action fundamentally misunderstand the spirit of avatar. and that’s something so unforgivable. no matter how many changes they decide to make, or how much they decide to stay true to the original story in other areas, no matter how many flashy VFX fight scenes we get - if you fail to properly understand katara, you fail to understand the heart and soul of avatar the last airbender, everything that makes avatar such a timeless classic.
so my friend had the most insane take today
The thing about Katara is that she was angry.
She was angry that the Fire Nation killed her mother.
She was angry that her father left them.
She was angry that she was the only Waterbender left in the south pole.
She was angry that the only person her age was her brother, who constantly disregarded her interests and her role in the tribe.
She was angry that what little waterbending she knew, had to be self-taught and how she struggled with that.
she was angry that a twelve year old instantly picked up what had taken her a long time to learn.
she was also angry that her tribe wanted to kick that twelve year old into the wilderness over a mistake.
she was angry over the earth-benders the fire nation had captured and put into a metal box.
she was angry.
And she knew she was angry.
Because she knew her own anger, she was the first to empathize with Aang when he got angry.
And it was because of it she could tell Aang forcing himself to lock his emotions up was not the answer.
Because she knew her own anger, she kept herself under control in the dessert, when everyone else was a mess.
Her anger empowered her. where anger was a tool of self-destruction for firebenders, for her it was what helped her push forward.
It was her anger that freed Aang.
It was her anger that helped her stand to Pakku.
Her anger was her strenght.
She was angry. And this was neither a mistake, nor a writing flaw.
headcanon that Mizu’s swords break because she is bad at making swords
also Mizu could have been a graphic designer in another life. she uses orange glasses to cancel out her blue eyes so she clearly understands color theory, and she designed a sick ass logo for herself when she was like 12
something that i really like about blue eye samurai, now that im thinking about it, is that it discusses violence against women without becoming torture porn. like, in a lot of media that portrays women's issues, they show you that scene. like they give you this extended visual of a woman experiencing something traumatic and then laud themselves as feminist for doing so.
blue eye samurai doesn't do that. the whole show is set in a world that is extremely antagonistic toward women, and it makes a point to tell you that being a woman right now sucks, because they are property and are used sexually. but even though it doesn't shy away from this, it doesn't show you the violence itself, which you would almost expect it to because of how graphic the rest of the show is.
im thinking specifically of kinuyo. they very well could have shown us a scene of her being abused, but they didn't. they didn't show the abuse itself, but they did show how it affected her. they showed her seeing a doctor for her sores. they could have made this incredibly traumatic and grotesque scene a spectacle, showing us exactly how powerless she is and how powerful he is. they could have shown us this incredibly triggering event in full detail for our entertainment, but they didn't. they chose not to. and i think that's how it should be.
it is not necessary to have an extended visual and auditory reenactment of violence against women. we the audience understood the gravity of the situation and were able to empathize without needing that scene. having that scene would have completely detracted from the point they are trying to make. it would have turned something completely reprehensible that women everywhere fear because it's a very real issue into entertainment.
Grilled shroom for tiny koroks!
i can't stop thinking about my son and his awful awful hair