Has anyone else seen this????
(It’s from CBR.com, btw.)
Honestly! Why should Katara as a character be boiled down to her likability??? Because she’s a girl and she’s not allowed to do anything wrong??? Why should she be nice, calm and peaceful all the time when no one else in this entire show is?? Has anyone said this about Sokka or Aang or even Zuko?? Has anyone analyzed their behaviours to see how... how... how their behaviours ruined their likability???!
So much so I’m going to rebuke this example by example. I’ll extract sections of the article here so you don’t have to read it over on the CBR website to understand my rebukes.
1. Katara gets jealous on Kyoshi Island
“When Team Avatar makes a stop at Kyoshi Island so that Aang can ride the giant elephant koi, he quickly becomes a local celebrity. As the reincarnation of Avatar Kyoshi, the islanders are happy to provide the group with anything they need. Aang lets this newfound power go to his head, which ends up making Katara jealous of him and the attention he is getting, particularly from the village girls.
In reality, Aang just wants Katara to hang out with him, but she instead acts like she doesn't care about him or what he does to make him feel bad.”
So let’s go with the actual conversation between Katara and Aang during this scene in The Warriors of Kyoshi. All transcripts are from the Avatar Wiki.
Katara: [Turns around in surprise, but is happy to see that the poke came from Aang.] Oh, good! Can you help me carry this back to the room? [She moves the pot toward Aang.] It's a little heavy.
Aang: [Holding up his hands to fob off with the offered pot.] Actually, I can't right now.
Katara: [Slightly irritated.] What do you mean, "you can't?"
Aang: I promised the girls I'd give them a ride on Appa. Why don't you come with us? It'll be fun!
Katara: [Resumed filling the pot with more vegetables.] Watching you show off for a bunch of girls does not sound like fun.
Aang: [Disappointed.] Well, neither does carrying your basket.
Katara: [Annoyed.] It's not my basket. These supplies are for our trip. I told you, we have to leave Kyoshi soon.
Katara and Aang’s argument is NOT really about the girls. It’s about how they have responsibilities. The Gaang has to leave Kyoshi, not only because Book 1 Zuko is after them, but also because Aang has duties as the Avatar, like mastering the four elements, and Katara also wants to learn waterbending in the Northern Water Tribe, too. Aang’s selfish behaviour and ego boosting with his fangirls is keeping them from doing the right thing and moving on.
While Katara may seem like a killjoy, she is also right.
2. Katara Harbors Unresolved Anger Toward Her Father
“The team regroups after their defeat at the end of the second season, adding new members to Team Avatar, one of whom is Katara and Sokka's father. However, Katara acts less than pleased to have him around, despite not having seen him in years. She is short with him and snaps even when he asks the most innocent answers.
She seems to not even realize it herself, as Aang asks her outright if she's mad at her dad, and Katara tells him no, confused as to why he would ask that. Of course, some of her anger towards her father is understandable, as he was absent for the majority of her life, but she takes it a little bit too far.”
Katara has abandonment issues that come from her trauma following her mother Kya’s death. Not long after her mother was murdered in cold blood, Katara’s father and the other men strong enough to fight leave the village, leaving the women, the elderly and the children in an incredibly vulnerable position. At eight years old, Katara became a huge part of the village’s social structure and supported what little remained of her family, to the point where Sokka sees only Katara’s face when he thinks of his mother.
Here’s the conversation he has with Toph in The Runaway:
Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom.
Toph: I guess I never thought about that.
Sokka: I'm gonna tell you something crazy. I never told anyone this before, but honestly? I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture.
Katara has been holding their entire family up for years. And now that Hakoda is back in the picture, he thinks everything will go back to normal? That after years of trauma, of pain and of suffering, she’ll forgive him and he’ll be the boss again, taking charge and keeping the kids out of the conflict?
God forbid a young traumatized girl (or ANY girl tbh!) has anger issues about being abandoned over and over and over again, only to be left in charge. Her complex emotions make her human!
3. Katara Is Blinded By Rage
“When Zuko offers to help Katara find her mother's killer, she jumps at the opportunity. Aang and Sokka both try to convince Katara that finding and killing him is not the right thing to do, but she refuses to listen. She and Zuko embark on a manhunt across the Fire Nation, and Katara ends up using Bloodbending, something she had sworn to never do again.
At this point, she is too consumed by the thought of revenge to even think about her own morals. However, in the end, upon seeing the sad life her mother's killer is living now, Katara changes her mind and leaves him whimpering in the rain.”
At this point, A LOT has been said about The Southern Raiders. But I will say this: Katara’s rage is not all-consuming. It is efficient and it is justified. Katara’s anger makes her the person she is, it pushes her to fight Pakku so she can learn waterbending, it pushes her to try and free Haru’s father and the other earthbenders, and it pushes her to save a small Fire Nation fishing village as The Painted Lady. Katara’s rage is fueled by justice.
Even if you could say Katara uses bloodbending against her own better judgment, which might be true, she never actually uses it like Hama did, against innocents. The only man Katara bloodbends is an elite-trained soldier part of an organization that has been committing genocide in the Southern Water Tribe for decades. I have no sympathy for that man.
Oh, and by the way. I know someone whose anger is all-consuming. You know who that is?
Yet no one criticizes him for it.
4. Katara Lies To Her Friends & Disrespects A Local Legend
“During the third season, the team stops at a Fire Nation village located in a swamp that has been polluted by a nearby factory for the Fire Nation's military. Initially, this was meant as a pit stop to resupply before moving on, but Katara is deeply moved by the village's plight. She decides to take matters into her own hands.
To ensure they can stick around a bit longer, she feeds Appa purple berries to change the color of his tongue and convince the others that he is sick. This buys her time to disguise herself as a local spirit called "The Painted Lady," and steal food and medicine from the factory for the village. While her goal is selfless, Katara lies to the others about her intentions and impersonates a spirit, both problematic aspects of her plan.”
Speaking of Katara saving a small Fire Nation village, here is this ridiculous argument about how Katara’s actions in The Painted Lady are supposedly wrong. I don’t care if she lied to the others about her nightly activities, she did it for a good cause! It’s not like Aang in The Warriors of Kyoshi who only wanted to boost his ego by showing off to his fangirls. She’s actively trying to save people’s lives and she ends up destroying a Fire Nation factory! With Aang’s help!
Besides, no one tells Batman off for lying about his secret identity!
And even then, Katara knows lying is wrong and she apologizes for it! She even apologizes about impersonating their local spirit!
Katara: I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't, and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real, and this river is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself.
AND EVEN THEN, that same Spirit doesn’t seem to mind having been impersonated by Katara, does she? After the Gaang helps the village people clean their water, The Painted Lady herself appears to Katara at night.
The Painted Lady: Thank you.
This argument doesn’t make any sense.
5. Katara Does Not Trust Zuko
“Late in Season 3, Zuko joins up with Team Avatar to plan out how to take down the Fire Lord. Aang is open to the idea, as he said previously that he could see them being friends, Toph hasn't fought against him before and he doesn’t seem to be too bad to her, and Sokka trusts Zuko. However, Katara is not on board with this idea at all.
She is still hurt from when she confided in him in Ba Sing Se and believed that he might really have changed, only for him to turn on her and Aang during the fight with Azula. Katara agrees to allow him into the group but she doesn't trust him and essentially tells him that she will not hesitate to kill him if he threatens Aang.”
OF COURSE KATARA DOESN’T TRUST ZUKO!
None of the other members of the Gaang have an emotional bond like Katara and Zuko have. They shared something so personal. They shared their similar traumas, everything they had in common. Zuko let Katara touch his scar.
Katara herself says it was a foundational part of their relationship (not in those words, of course) in The Western Air Temple.
Katara: This is just like when we were in prison together at Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings.
And then Zuko turned on her.
And Azula conquered Ba Sing Se.
That is all Katara knows until Zuko shows up in The Western Air Temple. She doesn’t know he’s redeemed himself, she doesn’t know he fought Ozai during the eclipse, and she doesn’t know he’s genuine when he wants to teach Aang firebending. She only knows what he did to her. To them.
As she says in the episode, too.
Katara: The thing is, it worked. I did feel sorry for him. I felt like he was really confused and hurt, but obviously, when the time came, he made his choice, and we paid the price. We can't trust him.
But do you know what happens in The Southern Raiders?
Zuko makes it up to Katara. He wants her to find closure for her mother’s death and he offers her just that.
He goes to Sokka to find out what’s wrong with her, he takes her to Yon Rha, and he brings her home. He leaves everything up to her, he lets her decide, he lets her take the lead. After that, he knows she doesn’t have to forgive him. He just wanted to give her what his fight against Ozai gave him.
And Katara actually forgives him. Zuko validated her feelings. That’s all he ever did. And she knows that. Katara puts their past behind them, tells him she’s ready to forgive him, and hugs him.
And they never talk about it ever again.
So what happened to “Katara does not trust Zuko”, huh?
6. Katara Drives Toph Away
“From the beginning of their relationship, Katara and Toph were always at odds with one another. Toph's heavily independent attitude did not mix well with Katara's desire for everyone to work together and share the workload. However, Katara tries to be nice at first and gently suggests to Toph that she should help out a bit more.
Eventually, the two explode into an argument, and Katara unloads on Toph about how she really feels. This leads to Toph temporarily leaving the group and wandering the wilderness alone. Luckily, after a friendly chat with Iroh, Toph returns and helps the group defeat Azula.”
Do I have to remind you all that the Gaang was sleep-deprived, stressed and angry during The Chase? No one was at their best. And it’s even admitted that Katara told Toph gently that she had to help. Their argument after that was all caused by Toph for being stubborn and not adapting to their group dynamic.
But apart from that. Why is Katara blamed for Toph’s decision to leave?
The actual conversation in The Chase goes like this:
Katara: [Irritated.] I'm just saying. Maybe if you helped out earlier, we could have set up our camp faster and gotten some sleep [Shouting.] and then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation!
Toph: You're blaming me for this?
Aang: [Desperately.] No! No, she's not blaming you.
Katara: [Angrily.] No, I'm blaming her!
Toph: Hey, [Shoves Aang out of the way.] I never asked you for diddly-doo-dah. [Points her thumb at herself.] I carry my own weight. Besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's Sheddy over here!
Aang: [Sitting on Appa's tail.] What? You're blaming Appa?
Toph: Yeah, you want to know how they keep finding us? [Grabs a handful of Appa's fur and lets the sheddings blow away in the wind.] He's leaving a trail everywhere we go!
Aang: [Jumps down to face her.] How dare you blame Appa! He saved your life three times today! If there's anyone to blame it's you! You're always talking about how you carry your own weight, but you're not. He is! Appa's carrying your weight. He never had a problem flying when it was just the three of us
Toph: [Stomps the ground, launching her pack into the air which she catches.] I'm out of here.
Really, it’s Aang who is the last straw in this conversation. He’s Toph’s student, he’s the one who asked her to join them, so she’s really his responsibility. He puts himself in their argument, tries to tone it down unsuccessfully, then yells at Toph for accusing Appa of being at fault.
Why isn’t Aang also blamed for Toph leaving?
And even if we go beyond their fight. It doesn’t matter who’s at fault for Toph leaving. No one really needs to be blamed. Toph took the decision herself to leave. No one told her to go. She did it herself.
It doesn’t matter who’s at fault because Toph took the conscious decision to leave! That’s what matters here!
7. Katara Puts A Scroll Before Everyone's Safety
“During the first season, the group comes across a band of pirates selling various collectibles and knickknacks, including a Northern Water Tribe Waterbending scroll. Aang attempts, rather poorly, to haggle with the pirate over the price of the scroll, but is unsuccessful. As a result, Katara decides to steal the scroll instead.
Sokka tries to explain why this is a bad idea but she and Aang decide to use the scroll anyway and teach themselves new techniques. When Aang is able to easily pick up the new techniques, Katara becomes annoyed that he is better than her. She tries to learn the moves on her own, but the group is attacked by the pirates along with Zuko and Iroh.“
Okay, sure. Katara stole the scroll in The Waterbending Scroll.
But it wasn’t just a scroll.
This was a Water Tribe waterbending scroll. It was an important part of her culture. She only took back something that had already been stolen from her in the first place. I’m not going to talk about the very heavy, very relevant topic of reparations because I’m not BIPOC. This isn’t my place to talk about it.
But my point still stands.
Katara didn’t just take any scroll.
And even if that scroll wasn’t, somehow, relevant to Katara’s culture, it was still relevant to their quest in Book 1. It was their only way to teach Aang any amount of waterbending before making it to the Northern Water Tribe. She didn’t steal it for fun. She stole it to use it for its original purposes: teaching waterbending. Whereas it would have gathered dust in that pirate’s ship.
I mean, she also stole it from pirates, so there’s that.
And Aang is thrilled when he learns she took the scroll and they use it to teach themselves waterbending.
Honestly, that scroll is probably the reason Katara was able to beat Pakku in the Northern Water Tribe in the first place! Because she was disciplined and taught herself waterbending enough to fight a grown man and a Master!
Besides, no one holds Katara responsible for the pirates after the end of the episode, anyway. Honestly, Sokka, Aang and Katara hold Zuko responsible for it in The Western Air Temple!
Toph: All I know is that while he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you're all just letting your hurt feelings keep you from thinking clearly.
Katara: Easy for you to say! You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates!
Sokka: Or when he burned down Kyoshi Island!
Aang: Or when he tried to capture me at the Fire Temple!
And about the part where Katara is jealous of Aang’s prowess as a waterbender? What does she say at the end of The Waterbending Scroll?
Katara: Aang, I still owe you an apology. You were just so good at waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger, I'm sorry.
Katara acknowledges what she did wrong and apologizes for it.
8. Katara Is Directly Responsible For Zuko's Capture
“In Ba Sing Se, Zuko and Iroh took a new direction in life. Rather than continuing to pursue the Avatar, the two settled down as humble tea shop workers. However, Katara, upon seeing Zuko, rushes to the palace to warn the Earth King, believing that he is only there to capture their group. Unfortunately, Azula has taken over the palace at this point, so she captures Katara and uses this newfound information to her advantage.
Then, after the two are imprisoned together, she lashes out at Zuko, still under the impression that he is evil, despite the fact that he is just as much of a victim of Azula as Katara is.”
Katara thought she was doing the right thing with the knowledge she had at the time. How in the world was she supposed to know Azula, Mai and Ty Lee were hiding behind the Kyoshi Warriors’ makeup? How was she supposed to know the Earth King’s palace, virtually the world’s safest location, had fallen? And how was she supposed to know Iroh and Zuko had turned their life around? She wasn’t there to witness any of it! The last time she saw them, they were in the burning village in The Chase and Iroh was hurt. Way before Ba Sing Se. And even then, she offered to help Iroh when he was injured!
Katara: Zuko, I can help!
And of course, she wasn’t going to trust Zuko after everything he’s done to hurt them in Book 1! Again, she wasn’t there to witness his amazing redemption arc, which was only completed in The Western Air Temple, and, as said earlier, was only completed as far as Katara and Zuko’s relationship was concerned, in The Southern Raiders, one season later!
Sigh. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Right, Katara?
9. Katara Takes On The Motherly Role
“While traveling through the Fire Nation, Toph decides to use her blindness and Earthbending skills to the team's benefit. Fooling everyone into thinking she is a helpless blind girl, Toph uses her Earthbending to scam street scammers and win huge amounts of money. As Toph's schemes get more and more out of hand, Katara advises that they all stop this at once.
Toph gets angry at her for acting like the "mother" of the group, which angers Katara. She accuses Toph of acting rebellious because she actually misses her own mother. This feud divides the group until they are eventually forced to reunite to take on Combustion Man, an assassin hired by Zuko.”
SHE. HAS BEEN. MOTHERING THE GAANG. SINCE. BOOK 1.
AND SHE WAS. ENTIRELY RIGHT. TO DO THIS.
BECAUSE IF SHE. HADN’T DONE THAT.
THEY WOULD HAVE ALL DIED!!!
Remember The Desert? Aang was gone to look for Appa, Toph’s earthbending couldn’t help because of the sand, and Sokka was high on cactus juice. Who was the one who took the lead and saved them all from certain death?
Remember basically every time they had to set up camp, prepare food, do the chores to keep them alive during the Gaang’s journey around the world? Who was the one who wanted to keep them fed, safe and clothed?
Remember who was the one who took care of the family after the men left, whose trauma entirely relies on her taking on responsibility for everyone else because no one else did after her mother died?
Katara was criticized for her actions in The Waterbending Scroll endangering the group’s safety, but Toph’s actions - endangering the group (even before Katara’s plan eventually backfires), since they were in the Fire Nation and she brought attention to them - aren’t criticized?
10. Katara Believes Jet Over Her Own Brother
“During their travels in the Earth Kingdom, Team Avatar meets Jet and his band of Freedom Fighters. They rebel against the Fire Nation soldiers that occupy the area, sabotaging their operations and attacking anyone associated with the Fire Nation, including a defenseless elderly man. Katara is smitten with Jet as soon as they meet, and he keeps her on his side even after Sokka voices his concerns about Jet.
Katara doesn't believe her own brother, refusing to believe that Jet could do wrong. However, she eventually sees the truth for herself when she discovers Jet's plan to blow up a dam and flood a nearby town being occupied by the Fire Nation.
Sure, Katara was naive. Jet was a manipulative pretty boy who appealed to Katara’s better nature by sharing his trauma with her, trauma she empathized with because she, too, has lost her parents to the Fire Nation, dead or not (the last one with whom Katara shared a moment like this was Haru in Book 1, who turned out to be an ally) and on whom she had a crush on.
Jet: [Katara and Jet come to a halt as the rest pass.] The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.
Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.
Jet: I'm so sorry, Katara.
But she wasn’t the only one who believed Jet over Sokka.
He figured out the truth first, of course, and believed Sokka after he saw the blasting jelly barrels they’d have used to blow up the dam.
Aang: Hey, those are the red barrels he got from the Fire Nation.
Katara: Why would they need blasting jelly? [Zooms on Aang, who is horrified.]
Aang: Because Jet's gonna blow up the dam.
Katara: What? No, that would destroy the town. Jet wouldn't do that. [Aang opens his glider.]
Aang: I've gotta stop him. [He takes off.]
Katara: [Less convinced.] Jet wouldn't do that.
Katara still trusted Jet because she had an emotional connection with him that Aang - and obviously Sokka - didn’t have. Aang found him cool and all, but he wasn’t as moved by Jet as Katara was.
He was a friend whom Katara deeply trusted.
And she paid the price for it.
You can blame her all you want for not believing Sokka about Jet. Okay. But after that, can you blame her for not trusting Zuko?
As I said: damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
So anyway. A lot of these arguments can be rebuked by:
These important character development moments stemmed from Katara’s trauma and only make her human and complex
Aang also did it but he wasn’t critiziced for it
Toph was in the wrong and she wasn’t criticized for it
And Zuko was in the wrong and he acknowledged it and made an effort to make it up to Katara
I’ll finish this since it took me all afternoon and I’m tired.
Leave my girl Katara alone.
