#atla aang
It’s your local fire boy
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The op Announces ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Co-Op Board Game: ‘Fire Nation Rising’
The co-op game will have players gather teams of heroes to battle Fire Lord Ozai and the Fire Nation. It’s set for release this summer.
It’s time that we had a real conversation about Aang…
For the main character of a television series, Aang somehow almost always finds himself under-rated and dismissed in fans’ posts. You see all these posts and, when they do reference him, it’s usually accompanied by the phrases “immature” and “12-year-old boy.” I mean honestly, in some ATLA fans posts, it seems as if Aang’s name is almost synonymous with the word immaturity–and it’s been that way for years. I’ve always wondered why people discredited him. Was it because they saw his age and immediately ruled him out? Is it an excuse for Katara and Aang to have never happened? Was calling him the most immature character a way to bring up their favorite characters? Or did they simply get conditioned to think Aang was immature because everyone just… said he was? Well, I think Aang’s the most mature character (from start to finish) on the show, and Imma tell you why.
I think that Book 1 Aang is the Aang that everyone has stuck in their head. We get introduced to Aang in a strange way: he’s a boy frozen in an iceberg, and the first thing he asks is to go penguin sledding. Then he boldly explores a fire navy ship after being told it might not be a great idea. This kid’s kinda stupid, we think. Why does he care about penguin sledding? Why does he explore something he is told not to? Then he stops at Kyoshi Island to ride the Unagi, then he stops at Omashu to ride the delivery service, and then he lets the gang stop at other locations—having mini adventures—without worrying about learning waterbending on any sort of timeline. Why does he choose to explore all these different places at first rather than master the four elements? Doesn’t he even care about being the Avatar? Ah… that’s right. He’s only 12.
Except surmising his entire maturity (or lack thereof) to the fact that he stops for these adventures means that you are ignoring one glaring detail of the show: Airbender and nomad culture. Aang asking Katara to go penguin sledding instead of what year it was and taking his friends to all those random stops in B1 so that he can explore can not be chalked up to immaturity. Because then you are ignoring an entire culture. We don’t get to see a lot of airbenders, and I think that plays into the problem, but from what we do know, we learn that a critical part of their culture is that they travel. A lot. And experience different cultures. A lot. Think about all the different places he’s referenced going to 100 years ago in the series. Then think about all the friends he’s talked about having in these obscure places—and it always sounded like he visited them more than once. Traveling, experiencing different cities, and meeting new people was a part of him and a part of his culture. He wasn’t being a 12-year-old when he stopped to ride the Unagi or the delivery shoots in Omashu, he was being an air nomad
On a similar note, one of Aang’s most notable traits is saying, “Hey, check this out,” excitedly while doing some air bending trick that seems juvenile–like spinning marbles around or doing an air scooter. People look at him doing this and his previously mentioned traits and go, “Oh, what a kid.” But here’s the thing: we can’t roll our eyes at his persistent need to show people marbles floating in the air or his air scooter. In the episode “Southern Air Temple,” we see Monk Gyatso—an extremely old, wise air bender—throwing cakes on other monks’ heads, and then we’re told throughout the series that Airbenders were known for their playful nature. Airbenders didn’t use their bending the same way other benders do. For example, Waterbenders might show off their skills by creating a giant wave and being like, “Look how cool!” (See: Katara, like every time she learns a new move.) We know Airbenders have some pretty powerful moves–we’ve seen the tornado Aang created, the air body imprint of Aang that slammed Zuko back–but they don’t show off those moves because they’re so combative and not so fun. They show off the good-natured side of air bending (ex: Gyasto’s staff surfing when he was a child). So those marble/air scooter tricks can’t be watered down to 12-year-old immaturity. Because he’s not being a kid when he does those things, he’s being an Airbender. People also tend to look over the fact that he is a survivor of a genocide. You need to keep in mind that he is a living relic and the only example left of what his race was. So even later in the series when he continues to show people those tricks, he’s showing them not just for fun, but to keep his culture alive. And what do you think he’s going to show them: a tornado with random objects flying around in it or two marbles flying in his hands? Which is a better representation of Airbender culture?
Also, do not forget that Aang earned his arrows. Airbenders are not just regular benders; they are known for being especially enlightened. You don’t just need to be a master at airbending to get your arrows—you also need to be a master at their culture. Aang was an enlightened boi. Look at all the speeches that he gave as the series continued. He didn’t just magically become wise in the course of a few months because he had to fight the Firelord, he just tapped into what was always there and never showed. The maturity was always there, and the receipts are in the arrows.
So, I’ve gone over why he’s not as immature as everyone thinks, but why do I think he’s the most mature on the show? It’s because his emotional maturity is freaking through the roof. He’s part of a genocide, his culture is mocked, the few things—his clothing and glider—that he had left from his home were completely destroyed, and he had to do something that severely went against what he believes in. And he almost never loses his shit. In fact, we only ever see him get actually upset (we’re not counting the Avatar state cause that’s a whole different thing) 3 times in the series: when he was telling Katara about how the monks wanted to take him away from Gyatso, the episode when Appa was stolen, and when he was explaining that no one understands the position he is in (in terms of killing Ozai). Think about how much we saw everyone else freak out over the course of the show? About even smaller things.
Katara and Zuko are generally accepted as the two most mature characters of the series. But why? Zuko is continuously snapping at everyone, and, yes, he matured. But he is not completely there yet. He still somewhat believes in revenge (See: Southern Raiders), and it’s only at the last episode of the series that he understands violence is not the answer. And Katara? She acts very mature towards everyone else, but when it comes to her own emotions? She’s a whole basket full of mess. (See: Southern Raiders, again. Or anytime she uses anger as her way to show she’s “passionate.”) A good way to showcase the difference between Aang and these two is realizing that all of them lost a parent from the war and analyzing at how they handled it. (For Zuko let’s focus on the idea that he never really had a father) Katara lost her mother, Zuko his father, and Aang his father, Gyatso. Throughout the series, losing their parent was a huge topic point for both Katara and Zuko so much so that it was as if they thought no one else had ever suffered. (Katara, we see you telling Sokka that he didn’t love your mom the same). Aang, however, acknowledges his pain, tells stories of Gyatso and uses him as an example of what he wants to live up to— eventually coming full circle at the end wearing Gyatso’s beads and an identical outfit. I can’t imagine a more mature way to handle what happened than that.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is, maturity isn’t based on how you have fun, it’s based on how you react to hard situations. And nobody, nobody reacted better in those situations than Aang. So if you watched Avatar and thought it was a story about a young boy maturing, then you misjudged. It wasn’t a story about an immature boy growing up. It was a story of an Airbender becoming an avatar.
Me, throws water balloon at random child:
Azula and Zuko rolling up to the fire nation after killing Aang in Ba Sing Se:
Aang: But Kyoshi, I cant kill the Firelord. The monks taught me that every single living thing’s life is important no matter what! I’m even a vegetarian!
Kyoshi:
I always wondered why Aang and Katara’s kiss at the end of the series felt like such a moment.And then rewatching the series, I figured it out. It was the song. Don’t get me wrong it’s a lot of build-up that we had been waiting for, but there’s more to it. The song is literally a timeline of their relationship.
In the finale, when we first see Katara walking up to Aang all the way until she hugs him, we hear a tune that sounds very familiar. It’s a clear staple of the series, but when does it normally play…
The tune’s typical appearance occurs whenever Katara kisses Aang on the cheek at the end of the episode, and he begins to blush. It’s a sweet little melody. Their cheek kisses almost always were done with friendly intentions, but there was always a hint that it could lead to something more. (Katara isn’t giving Toph, and everyone else cheek kisses, so it isn’t 100% platonic). This parallels their hug in the finale scene because while it’s a hug rooted in so much friendly love, their eyes give you a look at the end that tells you there is much more to it than that.
Then the song changes briefly into a very soft melody. An iconic melody. Right as Aang and Katara are about to kiss.
Say hello to the song from “The Cave of Two Lovers” episode. This parallel is gorgeous. The scenes line up exactly. The images are almost identical as they are about to kiss each other. It’s the song of their firstandlast kiss in the series.
Which brings us to the last part of the finale song: the part where they actually kiss. This tune is much louder and, for some reason, makes us feel passionate? If you weren’t a Katara/Aang stan before, I’m not sure how you’re not one after watching this. The kiss paired with this song makes you feel like their adventure is not over. Like you’re about to go off to battle, and you’re prepared to die with this ship. But why?
Becauseyou are about to go off to battle. This is a louder version of the song that was playing when Aang kisses Katara right before he went to fight the Firelord, and you didn’t even know it. The finale kiss makes you feel passionate and promotes a sense of urgency in you because that’s how the kiss before the invasion was supposed to make you feel. What is so beautiful about how they used this song in both scenes is that:
- Aang kissed Katara the first time it was used and now Katara is kissing Aang the last time it is used—tying it together in a really pretty way.
- They are letting you know that the kiss at the invasion was a massive milestone in their relationship, and, yes, it was mutual. Otherwise, that song wouldn’t have been in the finale. So congrats, Aang, your baddie move worked.
My point is, is that throughout this entire goddamn series, we were being conditioned and trained to fall in love with the pairing. Their intention with putting all these tunes into one big song at the end was to remind you of how you felt during their past romantic moments. It was a mental nostalgia montage. We were being told, it’s going to happen no matter what, and here are the signs. And as they left, the creators/writers/music director wanted to leave you with this one note: it’s Aang and Katara. It has always been Aang and Katara.
Flameo, sir. Fla-me-o.
Iroh: Your great-grandfather wasted the rest of his life searching for the avatar and never found him. Take a break, Prince Zuko.
Zuko:
There’s so many articles or “think pieces” popping up about making Zuko/Katara a thing now that there’s going to be an Avatar live action remake. (Buzzfeed has even mentioned Zutara in two of their recent posts) And, while I doubt the creators would change who she ends up with, I hope Netflix doesn’t push them to throw in a love triangle for the sensationalism of it all. Not only because love triangles are annoying and unnecessary, but also because I can’t stress enough how unhealthy that relationship would be. I don’t care about people shipping them—to each your own—and some people have even said they shipped them because they like Zuko and related to Katara. All the power to you! But I’ve said it once and I’ll die saying it: he tried to kill/harm her several times. He fought with her in the Siege of the North episode with a vengeance that was meant to kill. He hired an assassin, stalked her and her friends, verbally abused her, stole from her, and there was literally physical confrontations. If someone does that to you, donot get into a relationship with them. I can’t believe I even have to say that. Yes, he changed, but you can’t discredit that he did all those things to her at a point in time. If you choose to ship them though, then that’s fine. Tomato, toe-ma-toe. But please for the love of everything, do not write think pieces or posts asking for the remake of a children’s show to have a young girl be in a relationship that would ultimately be toxic rather than the healthy, supportive-from-the-start relationship she originally ended up in. Let’s give kids healthy relationship examples.
The avatar is back
There’s no need to fear
The entire Zutara v. Kataang discourse explained
I’m always very confused by people who thought Katara and Zuko were going to end up together and thought that Aang and Katara were forced. In each season they had essentially a whole episode screaming it in your face that they had feelings/would end up together:
- The Fortune Teller(S1): This entire episode is basically one big lead up to telling you that Katara would look at Aang as a serious love interest once he grows up. Also, it’s unclear whether the fortune teller is a fake at the end of the episode because while she may have been wrong about the volcano, she’s right about everything else (the umbrella, Aang’s battle, etc). And when she told Katara that she would end up with a powerful bender, it’s literally pointed out to us—in WORDS—at the end of the episode that that bender was Aang.
- The Cave of Two Lovers (S2)- Katara is the one who brings up kissing and in an embarrassed-maybe-I-have-feelings-for-you type of way. It has also been confirmed by creators and voice of Katara that they kissed in that episode.
- The Headband (S3)- Katara gets visibly jealous when the Aang is dancing with a girl who obviously has a crush on him. Then when Katara and Aang dance, there is a clear connection between the two of them and it looks like they are going to kiss.
Every single season made sure to let you know where the endgame was. Yet people who ship Zuko and Katara argue that there were all these moments: he gave her this look (while he was attacking her), he kept her mother’s necklace (after he stole it to hunt her down), etc. It’s all very abusive. The main argument comes from halfway through S3 when she forgives Zuko, and they begin to have a friendship. Except the problem is, is that the entirety of S3 shows Aang and Katara’s growth from friendship into a relationship. (See: Katara’s extra protectiveness over him after he died, Katara leaning into Aang’s kiss on Day of the Black Sun, The Headband, Katara threatening Zuko specifically if he hurt Aang, etc.) Not to mention the fact that the writers literally made fun of Zuko/Katara shipping in Ember Island Players.
No one watched the show and thought that Aang and Katara were going to be together in the first or second season, but it was pretty obvious from the beginning that they were going to do a “last episode and now the main characters are a couple” thing. So, if Aang and Katara came as a surprise/seemed forced to you, then you either were paying too much attention to Sokka or you got too caught up in wishful thinking.
Saw these hashtags by @floppy-ding-dong and I feel like it’s an important addition to the post that many people don’t talk about.
I’m always very confused by people who thought Katara and Zuko were going to end up together and thought that Aang and Katara were forced. In each season they had essentially a whole episode screaming it in your face that they had feelings/would end up together:
- The Fortune Teller(S1): This entire episode is basically one big lead up to telling you that Katara would look at Aang as a serious love interest once he grows up. Also, it’s unclear whether the fortune teller is a fake at the end of the episode because while she may have been wrong about the volcano, she’s right about everything else (the umbrella, Aang’s battle, etc). And when she told Katara that she would end up with a powerful bender, it’s literally pointed out to us—in WORDS—at the end of the episode that that bender was Aang.
- The Cave of Two Lovers (S2)- Katara is the one who brings up kissing and in an embarrassed-maybe-I-have-feelings-for-you type of way. It has also been confirmed by creators and voice of Katara that they kissed in that episode.
- The Headband (S3)- Katara gets visibly jealous when the Aang is dancing with a girl who obviously has a crush on him. Then when Katara and Aang dance, there is a clear connection between the two of them and it looks like they are going to kiss.
Every single season made sure to let you know where the endgame was. Yet people who ship Zuko and Katara argue that there were all these moments: he gave her this look (while he was attacking her), he kept her mother’s necklace (after he stole it to hunt her down), etc. It’s all very abusive. The main argument comes from halfway through S3 when she forgives Zuko, and they begin to have a friendship. Except the problem is, is that the entirety of S3 shows Aang and Katara’s growth from friendship into a relationship. (See: Katara’s extra protectiveness over him after he died, Katara leaning into Aang’s kiss on Day of the Black Sun, The Headband, Katara threatening Zuko specifically if he hurt Aang, etc.) Not to mention the fact that the writers literally made fun of Zuko/Katara shipping in Ember Island Players.
No one watched the show and thought that Aang and Katara were going to be together in the first or second season, but it was pretty obvious from the beginning that they were going to do a “last episode and now the main characters are a couple” thing. So, if Aang and Katara came as a surprise/seemed forced to you, then you either were paying too much attention to Sokka or you got too caught up in wishful thinking.
I see a lot of people posting that now that they’re adults and rewatching avatar, they wish Katara and Zuko had gotten together. But rewatching it as an adult has made me even happier that they didn’t end up together. Yes, Zuko changed and had one of the best redemption arcs I’ve ever seen in a show, but you also need to remember what he did to Katara. He constantly tried to kill her and her friends, stole her mother’s necklace to get leverage in a situation, hired an assassin to kill them, chased them all over the world trying to hurt them, and the second she trusted him, he betrayed her. However, people took those moments and made them something they weren’t. This was a show aimed at children and having her end up with a person—even though he changed into a great guy—that tried to murder her on several occasions, just sends a terrible message to young girls, and just overall demonstrates a very unhealthy relationship. As women, we have enough tv shows and movies telling us that it doesn’t matter if a guy treats you bad at first, as long as he changes, it’s all good!
So yes, Aang was two years younger than Katara and looked a little bit like Caillou. Still, he treated her with respect, he complimented her, and if he ever hurt her/made her uncomfortable, he apologized immediately. That is the type of relationship little girls should be shown to choose.
And honestly, what’s great about the show is that both Katara and Zuko both got into relationships that were healthy for them. What else could you ask for?
Wind and Hope
I know. I know.
but it’s October
embrace the darkness
