#oma and shu parallels

[zutarawasrobbed]

Oma & Shu parallel: Scarf

There’s been a long-standing theory in the Zutara fandom that Zuko and Katara are the reincarnation of Oma and Shu. I wanted to add evidence from the live action that confirms it.

I would like to point out the slow motion of when Katara passes him, and he reaches out for the scarf. He looks mesmerized, as if he’s getting lost in a memory. He then proceeds to follow her.

In episode 4, we hear the story of Oma and Shu, and I noticed something very familiar in one of the designs. Oma wears a prominent scarf that flows behind her, just like Katara’s did when she walked by.

This scene is filmed and directed to draw our attention to Zuko’s fixation on the scarf and Katara herself. The slow-motion sequence of Katara walking by, her scarf flowing behind her, and Zuko reaching out to touch the scarf, is highly charged.

My theory for his reaction is that he sees a scarf similar to one he wore in his past life on his reincarnated lover, flowing the same way it used to on him, only this time it’s in her color instead of his. Something in his subconscious tells him to reach out and follow her, and I highly doubt it was simply because of his motivations to capture the Avatar.

*Edit:

I will make a longer more detailed post in the coming days, but I would like to point this out before then. Think of this as a synopsis.

[shawandran]

Kataang really asked what if we both uniquely shared the most devastating loss of our people, what if we both lost our guardian to the same war and found their bodies, what if we both experienced uncontrollable rage and pain at the reminder? What if we were each other’s hope anyway? What if we reminded each other that we were children, and you offered to take a Water Tribe girl you barely knew halfway across the world so she could learn how to bend water? What if you gave me back my mother’s necklace and always supported my water bending and fused with the ocean spirit to save the Northern Water Tribe, because you valued my people and my bending that much, because you refused to let what happened to you happen to me? What if I represent the ocean and you represent the moon, the sky, and we were always meant to circle each other, push and pull? What if I’m what tethers you to the world, what if I’m the embodiment of your people’s love? What if my face was the first you saw when you woke up and the last thing you gaze upon in the series? What if we both have access to unbelievable power, what if we both succumb to our anger, but we were able to ground each other in a way no one else could? What if I loved you through your worst, what if we both loved each other when our souls were dark enough to hurt others? What if we were both terrified of the other being hurt, and you tried so hard to protect me, but I couldn’t protect you? What if despite everything you died in my arms and I had to gaze upon the dead body of my loved one once again, but I refused to let it happen, and I brought you back to life? What if we paralleled Oma and Shu, Tui and La, lovers who performed powerful feats of bending after the other died? What if we asked why our story has to end that way, what if we dared to live? What if we can’t be separated, not by space or time or even death? What if the last time you use the Avatar State in the series, the closing move of the Hundred Year War, is a waterbending move, specifically the first move I ever taught you? That simple push and pull? What i

[yourhighness6]

Just saw someone say that NATLA paralleled the Oma & Shu relationship with Katara & Sokka's sibling relationship and they should have just had the Kat@ang parallel instead. Hunny I hate to break it to you but it was never about Katara & Sokka it was never about Kat@ang some ppl know what it was about but its a secret just between us

[sokkastyles]

how is oma and shu a parallel to kataang?

the war doesn’t keep them separated. the war isn’t the thing that’s preventing them from having a relationship.

i have the barest of memory of oma and shu’s story, but i do remember never relating it to kataang despite the episode being kataang-centric.

I had to look up what the KA theme even was. I guess it's that piece with the kalimba, and it's honestly a forgettable track among an otherwise phenomenal soundtrack. And it ain't what plays over the Oma and Shu story.

And yeah, the main difference between KA and the Omashu story is also what makes zutara a healthier relationship, and it's ironically something that is highlighted in this episode.

The Oma and Shu story parallels zutara because it's a relationship where the characters are kept apart by outside forces. Once they are on the same side, Zuko and Katara are as thick as thieves. I've also said this about what makes Sokka and Suki a healthy and compelling relationship. What's keeping them apart is primarily distance, and once they are together they actually just like each other, like real people in a real relationship.

Whereas with KA, there's no reason why they can't be together except that the show wants it to be ambiguous to keep up the will-they-or-won't-they. So the relationship itself becomes the conflict keeping them apart.

Why can't Aang and Katara be together despite kissing in the cave? Well, because Aang puts his foot in his mouth and is too scared of rejection to actually let Katara know how he feels, even when she shows willingness in this episode, and ends up hurting her feelings.

It's actually quite an insult to the memory of Oma and Shu, who were brave enough to follow their hearts and overcome social prejudice to be together, to compare them to the way Aang flounces around with Katara the entire series and then gets mad at her for not automatically becoming his girlfriend, without ever once telling her how he feels.

[abbyofthefirenation]

idk how you can watch the cave of two lovers and see aang and katara kiss in that cave and have the kataang theme play in the background while the story of oma and shu is told and think oma and shu is anything but a parallel to kataang

[lost-in-love-maze]

Kataang shippers try to use the Oma and Shu story for Kataang parallels, and they forget a key word in the original story: “enemies”. Oma and Shu’s villages were ENEMIES. I’ll give you that in one scene of the story Oma is wearing a yellow/green color, but she did also wear red in the next scene. Don’t call Zutara shippers crazy for drawing the Oma and Shu parallel to Katara and Zuko.

[antizutara]

what are your top 5 kataang moments in the show?

this is such a sweet ask but it’s also so hard, anon!! i love them alllllll

my number one is For Sure but idk abt the others

1. katara finding aang on the fire nation island, running and falling on her knees to hug his head. then she looks at him with happy tears streaming down her face and they share a small forehead touch

2. the serpent’s pass speech when aang indirectly tells katara he loves her and she cries happy tears and they hug :’)

3. first two cheek kisses (s1 and s2) are fighting for this spot—i think i lean towards the second bc it also came with a hug and an interrupted confession, but the avatar’s love playing for the first is so sweet!

4. any time katara’s eyes sparkle bc of aang (two waterbenders, sifu katara, the painted lady glance after he called her a secret hero)

5. all of the cave of two lovers (hand holding under the lights? “even if you’re lost you can’t lose the love because it’s in your heart” foreshadowing katara’s uncertainty to begin a relationship?? the way they parallel oma and shu??? peak)

i refuse to categorize the following:

- the desert hug

- their final kiss

- the kataango

they’re just too iconic.

(i’d include more pictures but tumblr limit :/)

[avatarfandompolice]

hey so why did NATLA give us a parallel between two romantic partners Oma and Shu and two siblings? What was that? Is anyone gonna talk about that??

[darklinaforever]

Again...

Why are Oma & Shu from the Earth Kingdom dressed in those damn colors the first time we see a depiction of them ?! If this is only meant to be a parallel to Kataang, why red and blue ? Even if later the red becomes yellow, well Zuko wears precisely this type of color in the finale of season 2 in those damn catacombs with Katara. And even so, why red and not just yellow ? Why choose these 2 colors and dress Zuko with both later ?!

Can people understand that the choice of colors in the animation is deliberate ? If this is only a parallel to Kataang, there is no reason for the red in first... And don't come and tell me that it's because it's the avatar with access to all masteries, because, with this excuse, the colors should not be limited to red and yellow, but also those of the other kingdoms. Oma wears red then yellow. Zuko wears red and then yellow specifically in the catacombs reminiscent of Omashu Cave. It's not for nothing.

[kataraslove]

Do you know anything about where i can find people talking about the fake zk interviews, or how "zutara was originally gonna be endgame" was fake news? conversions haha 😅😅

as it stands, some of the writers on the writing team (joshua hamilton and john o’bryan specifically) wanted zutara. they confirmed this on braving the elements, the atla podcast hosted by dante and janet. one of them mentioned that there was an original pilot that initially had a zutara endgame. i’ve yet to find any evidence of this, and the actual series bible posted on Reddit mentions no ships, so who knows if this was something legitimate or false.

the popular rumour is that aaron ehasz was adamantly pro-zutara and devised a whole season 4 in which they became endgame, in addition to an azula redemption arc. this rumour came from a fake interview from a zutara blog who claimed to be an intern working at nickelodeon. aaron ehasz on video confirmed that the interview was fake, and also stated that he did not personally ship anything in his writing because rooting for a particular ship would lead to contrived plot points. rather, he went with the “natural flow of things” by listening to his characters and their needs. bryan later echoed the same sentiments on the braving the elements podcast, that fandom could ship what they want but ultimately they would make their writing decisions based on the direction of the story and the characters’ wants and needs, whether those decisions ended up finalizing platonic or romantic relationships.

on top of that, aaron ehasz also:

said that the only thing he would change in atla was a composition shot of azula and the gaang in the chase in the same interview that he denied wanting zutara as endgame

loved mai and maiko (him and his ex wife first introduced maiko in zuko alone)

confirmed parallels between kataang and rayllum

expressed his interest in reading kataang-rayllum parallel meta (i can’t find the tweet, but it was an interaction regarding @raayllum’s meta).

requested, alongside mike dimartino, the tale of oma and shu to be created as a way to develop katara and aang’s romantic relationship in the cave of two lovers (as confirmed by the writer joshua hamilton himself)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

a z*tara shipper went onto a kataang post about katara & aang paralleling oma & shu and was all like "what a reach" which was ironic considering when asked, their only argument of why z*tara would be a better fit was because they were enemies at a certain point 😭😭😭 then they brought up aang wanting to "separate the nations" for some reason?

"Oma and Shu is not about Kataang even though their romantic theme is the same music from the episode, they discover the legend together, kiss in Oma and Shu's cave, and when Aang is killed at the end of that season Katara goes Koizila mode just like Oma did when Shu died.

It is actually about Katara and her not-love-interest that never even heard of the legend and rejected her peace offering in Ba Sing Se by joining Azula, downright contradicting the message, just because he happened to be her enemy at one point."

The fucking nerve of these people to say it's not them who are reaching, is everyone else.

[miss-sweetea-pie]

 I feel like most fans of zutara know and believe in the Oma and Shu parallels and how it all very zutara coded. But I just been thinking about how Omashu is like a ship name and zutara is a ship name. And then later in Lok they build a new city called… “republic city?”. Ohh lame.

But What if they named that shit zutara?

Sure they could have named it K.ataang but like that, just doesn’t sound as catchy personally. Zutara sound like some planet, also not to mention zutarians sound like a martian to me.

[theotterpenguin]

how am i supposed to get over zutara when they spend one of the most intimate moments in the series together as zuko trusts katara - his enemy - to touch his scar, his biggest insecurity, because of the deep connection they managed to form in such a short amount of time, directly paralleling when he refused to let song from the cave of two lovers, a girl who has shown him nothing but kindness, touch him

and how after this moment that they share together in the cave filled with green crystals - exactly like the one where katara learns the story of oma and shu, who fell in love despite being separated by war and are represented by red and blue - katara feels this same connection that grew between them and turns to look back at him one last time, regretting that she might not ever see him like this again - not as an enemy, but as a boy with the potential to be so much more - directly paralleling when she left the cave of two lovers without ever looking back at aang

[maikingsenseofit]

No, Zvtara is not fundamentally better or more defined than the canon couples: an analysis

This is part 1 of a multi part meta, where I take common arguments used to prop Zvtara over the canon couples and attempt to debunk it with evidence and arguments derived from the canonical universe. In this section we will be talking about narrative symbolism.

The narrative symbolism in the show represents Kataang, not Zvtara. I’m going to be reiterating the most salient points from other posts I will link here.

Oma and Shu:

The Oma and Shu parallels to Zvtara are literally the colors and maybe that they were opposite sides of the war. The rest of the elements, where two people can’t be together because of the war, where one of them is killed (Aang), which leads to a powerful display of bending in the exact same position between Katara and Shu. There might be some surface level parallels between Oma and Shu and Zvtara, but the most poignant ones are explicitly mirrored by Kataang.

1a. Cant be together because of the war - Katara literally tells Aang that their bigger priority should be focusing on the war.

1b. One of the partners is killed.

1c. The other partner, in a fit of blind rage, destroys everything in their path to save their loved one.

Tui and La:

The story of an ocean spirit and a moon spirit - circling each other in an eternal act of push and pull.

2a. The visual comparison

2b. One of the partners (the sky element) does.

2c. The other partner deluges the fire nation in a fit of rage

2d. The loved one is reborn

Yin and Yang:

As described by @lj-writes, the surface level representation of yin and yang is presented by masculine energies and feminine energies, sun and moon, etc. What is at the fundamental core is how these energies feed into each other and are COMPLEMENTARY to each other to maintain eternal peace and tranquility.

From my other meta:

“Yin and Yang might be physically and symbolically represented by the moon and the sun, dark and light, fire and water, good and evil - but it does not represent or characterize the philosophical, emotional, and interpersonal meaning of yin and yang. Like LJ Writes says, confining the definition of yin and Yang only to gender and element is “sexist and heteronormative, and literalizes what were meant to be symbolic representations”. So given that the idea of Yin and Yang on a much broader level represents opposite forces that are actually interconnected and counterbalancing, let’s understand what this means in the context of who people are (their personalities, ideologies, and the way interact with the world) instead of who they are (characteristics they are born with like gender and element).”

Consider Zuko and Katara’s personalities. They are both driven by emotion and uninhibited passion, which can lead to dire consequences when left unchecked.

Zuko’s fiery rage is complemented by Mai’s rational, logical demeanor. When Zuko is quick to anger at the Beach due to his internal circumstances, Mai reminds him that it doesn’t mean he Can externalize them and act unfairly to his friends and girlfriend. This is best epitomized by when she says “That doesn’t excuse the way you’ve been acting.”

Katara’s passion and anger is subdued by Aang’s calmness and willingness to explore all options. Aang allowed Katara to feel the rage of her mothers death by explicitly stating “you need to go on this trip.” But Aang knew the Katara that cried in dismay when she learned blood bending. He knew that she would regret making such a decision, no matter how justified it is. That’s why Zuko says “You were right about what Katara needed, Aang.”

Parallels between alter egos:

When evaluating the Painted Lady/Blue Spirit alter egos - they’re really not similar or intertwined when compared to others.

The Painted Lady and Kuzon are both identities that Aang and Katara put on to understand the complexities of the fire nation people, to help them through their problems, and to understand that good resides in places that were once thought to be inherently evil. These alter egos are driven by a desire to help the greater good, albeit anonymously.

The Blind Bandit and The Blue Spirit were both personas adopted by Toph and Zuko to escape the crutches of an abusive, oppressive family. These personas represented vigilantes who act against the tide, driven more by individual accomplishments as opposed to the greater good. The Blue Bandit had notable moments of acting for self preservation - like freeing Aang from Prison. Likewise, Toph competing to prove herself and free herself from the clutches of her family. And the most notable thing - these two alter egos were demasked by Aang.

So there you have it. This was more of a post to point out the obvious fallacies in the argument that Zutara works better because of the narrative symbolism behind their relationship - when most of that symbolism actually represents the relationships between the canonical ships. The next part will develop on how Zvtara shippers attribute personality traits to all four characters that aren’t canonically evidenced. And finally, why the deep understanding between Zuko and Katara - isn’t really that well sourced.

Links/credits especially to the author who pointed out the parallels in the first place:

[sokkastyles]

sorry if you have already talked about this but im a huge omaxshu lover and it's just so insane how there's people, in all seriously, saying that it parallels Kata@ng/reminds them of them. Well they're both people and are in love in canon, I guess. I would never bother these shippers, of course, but I truly have a hard time understanding this take. You could deny the connection with omaxshu and zutara but apply it to Kata@ng is crazy man. I was wondering what's your take on this?

Yeah, I don't see the KA parallel. They're not being kept apart by being on opposite sides of the war, and the parallel fits zutara much better.

I think "love is brightest in the dark" is supposed to parallel KA in that there is this idea that love will shine through and find a way, and in that way the show is attempting to parallel Oma and Shu's love shining through the darkness of war with...Aang breaking down Katara's barriers? Aang getting over his insecurity and actually asking Katara out, instead of just expecting it to magically happen? (Something he never actually does, because it magically happens for him anyway.)

The story kind of highlights the differences between the conflict in KA vs zutara. In zutara, the conflict is the war, not their relationship. In KA, the conflict is the relationship. That's also the difference between enemies to lovers who grow to care about each other across whatever outside barriers seperate them, and an actual toxic relationship where the relationship itself is the problem.

[pinkrabit]

ATLA LA Episode 4 Into the Dark

The glowing rock candy 🤤🤤

Iroh and Aang bonding in prison.

"I'm really starting to see what kind of person his is." "I doubt that."

Sokka yelling at Sai like you yell at your father's mistakes

Love how active the fantasy racism is.

DONT GUILT SOKKA, SAI

Sokka is still so proud of Hakoda. He's so proud to be his son, "My father would never do what you did."

Zuko sneaking in??? We've seen numerous times in the OG his stealth capabilities when he tries. So, I'm excited.

BABY BUMI ! BABY (hes still a baby) AANG !

"I like the parts of Omashu that aren't so depressing :D"

SECRET TUNNEL

Great touch to openly address labor camps and POWs with the real world terms

"It's time to stop fighting. It's time to fight."

The Flopsy statue needs more recognition.

BUMI

Even Aang looks at Bumi like he's insane

Bumi, I know he's your friend, but you shouldn't out Aang like that

"Throw him.... a feast!" Aang looking terrified as if his old friend would EVER hurt him because the world has changed so much since he was last in it breaks me.

"Not everyone out there is the enemy"

"If you stand against us, you are."

"You're fighting because of hate. Just like the Fire Benders"

YES KATARA FIGHT BACK

KATARA THUGGIN AFTER SAYING "Goodbye, Jet"

I love how awful a liar Zuko is in every universe. LEARN TO FIB MY BOY

Aang at the table, like, "did my bsf friend forget I'm a vegetarian???"

Bumi being passively aggressive toward Aang, and Aang serving back "It was a tragedy!"

"Don't you care?" Aang, Bumi has a point when he yells at you. I like this Bumi a lot. His anger feels genuine. However irrational it may be.

THE HIPPIES IN THE MOUNTAIN

Sokka slowly vibing is OOC but still appreciated.

"We're doing what we're doing." They're all high. They gotta be.

Are Oma and Shu...? The gay??

I love how women are often portrayed as ending a war or unintentionally starting it, and then there's Azula.

Thanks for the backstory hippie man, wish you had a map though.

Two lovers, forbidden from one another~

SECRET TUNNEL (×2) THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN

"They're doomed 🤠"

Prisoner cruelty!! I know Uncle War Crimes but what about the Geneva Convention?

"The direct path is not always the best path." Paralleled with Aang wanting to find a way to end the war without killing Ozai.

I hate how they took out Kataang in the LA (i understand it'd be weird to allude to making aang's actor kiss kataras, though), but I like "love" in the tunnels being familial instead of romantic. And I like Sokka using his brain to figure stuff out.

"He was 19.. Was it worth it?" "We were at war.. I was a soldier." Such is the awful reality of war. When it comes to soldiers, it's not personal. It's a job, its dehumanizing to yourself and the rest of the world. It's a politcal game. "You (Iroh) know nothing of loss." And then showing his grief.

Iroh didn't want his son to die a war hero, he wanted Lu Ten to be his son.

!!! This was such an important conversation to put into the show. !!!

Zuko having something from Lu Ten 🥺🥺

I want a separate series with just Lu Ten

Leave from the Vine playing 🥺🥺

Bumi ragging on Aang for wanting to be a kid, AS A TWELVE YEAR OLD, makes me so mad.

Yes, he thinks about fun and games. A boy shouldn't be as bitter as an old man.

Zuko showing up to kick ass for his Uncle because that's HIS FUCKING UNCLE. He's still strong enough to break metal WITHOUT BENDING. SHOWING HIS COMPENTENCY.

"We've all seen enough death."

Zuko showing concern for Iroh's Injury to demonstrate his "true" nature of being sensitive and compassionate. Which is why he was banished in the first place.

The WT Siblings just hold each other before their perceived death feels so important to me.

And I feel like we can and should read into the badgermole/ "Love is brightest in the dark" scene.

"Great, how do you think they respond to verbal commands." Sokka can you be Sappy for like 5 minutes please.

"Some of us have to fight, even if we don't want to. That's what it means to he in a WAR!" This show is delivering so many lines and comments about war and its complexities for everybody involved. Just like the original. Y'all wanna sleep on it because of minor character changes????

I have yet to see a character, Suki has come the closest, that has been so awfully OOC that I've had to stop.

Aang asking for help, "one that requires you to make impossible choices" Bumi is a little misguided here but he means well in sharing his knowledge of leading to his friend.

"Learn what it means to be the Avatar!" "No!" Aang will never give up who he is based on others expectations. And the idea that he doesn't have to do things on his own, "like a child" is going to be what wins the war.

Aangs refusal to kill or hurt isn't bad, he's going to make a difference. He's going to save people. He's going to be the Avatar, but he will be an airbender first!

SAI OUTING THE FIRE NATION IS REDEMPTION

Iroh left to be with his nephew 🥺🥺

He won't let this boy be without a father

LEAVES ON THE VINE

"Everything I need is on this boat"

This episode felt a little rushed, and felt like it lacked a little in terms of the Gaang. But in terms of Zuko, it served. Zuko's story felt stronger here. Especially, after seeing Appa fly away, but he chose instead to prioritize his Uncle.