(Just a quick post, long post will come later.)
I spent 3Ā½ hours (my husband, who was stuck outside, said it was more like four hours, but heās exaggerating, anyway -) I spent 3Ā½ ish hours in the Shavelson-Webb Library, aka the Writers Guild Foundation, digging through ATLA scripts for Zutara tidbits like a pig sniffing out truffles :P
I am super busy for the next few days, as I am packing up and moving (permanently) from LA back to Melbourne, Australia on Sunday. So these next few days are going to be super tight - I will *try* to get a long post written up with all my findings, but it may have to wait till Sunday to be published (if I havenāt had time till then, I can type it up on the plane).
To clarify one other thing, these scripts were submitted to the Writers Guild Foundation before animation/production. They are not first drafts; to my understanding itās rare for the library to actually have those, but they are submitted early enough in the production process that typically there are differences between the libraryās copy of the script, and the script we actually see on television. From here on, Iāll be referring to these scripts asĀ āthe original scriptsā for simplicityās sake, though whether that term is strictly accurate perhaps depends on what you consider to be true āoriginal scriptsā.
I can confirm a few basic observations:
The original script for the Southern Raiders is āshippierā than what we see on television. I was absolutely shocked to see that the ship name āZutaraā is explicitly referenced in one paragraph describing Zuko and Kataraās āsynchronicity and cooperationā. Yes, these are direct quotes. (I will provide the full quotes in the long post).
In the original script for Ember Island Players, Aangās reaction to Actor!Zuko and Actress!Katara getting smoochy on screen is given larger focus in the script, and Aang is explicitly written as angrier/broodier - and directing these emotions towards real!Katara.
Kataraās emotional reaction to the Kataang scenes in Season 2 and the first half of Season 3 (e.g. the Cave of Two Lovers maybe-kiss, the almost-confession in The Earth King, the Day of Black Sun kiss scene) are less ambiguous in the script, than on-screen. The script suggests a clearer picture of her feelings for Aang in these scenes, or at least, that sheās aware that something is going on between them.Ā
In contrast, the script for the second half of Season 3, especially Ember Island Players and the Southern Raiders, are written to suggest a deeper discord between Katara and Aang than we get on screen, and a āshippierā dynamic between Katara and Zuko than we get on screen. The final words acknowledge a ship war/battle between Zutara and Kataang, one that Kataang ultimately āwinsā.
Based on these observations, these are my thoughts/speculations:
Kataang was originally planned for
As the show was being written, and the compelling/intriguing aspects of Zutara gradually unfolded (perhaps even unintentionally at first), the writers recognized that they had a choice of going with their original plan, or changing gears and writing Zutara instead
Some writers (esp Elizabeth Ehasz) are/were clearly pro-Zutara
Disagreement over the ships, or desire to capitalise on the benefits of dragging out a ship war in the fandom, or some combination of both, led to a greater ambiguity in the Kataang scenes (on screen) than were originally written in the script
By the time the last half of Season 3 was submitted to the guild, it seems Zutara was being teased/considered as a legitimate contender in the ship war. At least, thatās my interpretation of the way the writers are explicitly acknowledging both ships, by name, and the fact that one of them ends up āwinningā.
I will be making a long post with full quotes and more detailed analyses as soon as I can. Meanwhile, hereās a small crumb, from the Southern Raiders:
Katara: But we were too late. When we got there, the man was gone.
Zuko is movedā¦ maybe even has a tear in his eye.
Zuko: Your mother was a brave woman.
Katara puts her hand on her necklace.
Katara lies down and closes her eyes.
Edit: One more thing! I will be heading back to the library this Friday, September 30th, to see if I can find anything else (I looked up a lot of episodes, but Iād like to do one more read-through and maybe look through some episodes I missed). If youāre an LA local, youāre welcome to join me there, read scripts and say hi! But you have to make the appointment TONIGHT, as they require a minimum of 24 hours notice.
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