#zutara foreshadowing

[thatoneshippermina]

‼️Live action spoilers‼️

.

Are they going to completely omit Katara and Aang in the Cave of two lovers?

[ecoterrorist-katara]

“It’s gross if Katara marries Zuko since he’s her colonizer” she overthrew the last Fire Lord to put Zuko on the throne. If anything the Fire Nation would be worried that he’s Katara’s puppet

[burst-of-iridescent]

people who say zutara can't be canon because "they only became friends in the last five episodes!" irritate me so much like my dude are we watching the same show? zuko and katara’s arcs mirror each other from book 1, they share parallel after parallel and have layers upon layers of symbolism, their backgrounds and personalities and morals are so similar that we the audience can see how compatible they are and how well they would understand each other even without explicit interaction between them, so that by the time the southern raiders rolls around, it simply serves as proof of what we already know about zutara.

tsr, eip and sozin's comet are, narratively speaking, the culmination of zuko and katara’s arc together, not the beginning! they're the fruit that’s borne from the seeds that were sowed since the very first season, and naturally viewers would pick up on that! of course people who love these two characters would see the connection between them and the similarities they share and the thematic significance of their relationship, and then the show itself validates this audience interpretation in the catacombs, in tsr, in the finale! that’s what zk shippers mean when we say that zuko and katara were meant to be together, because their relationship is threaded so deeply into their own personal narratives and that of the show overall that they don’t even need a lot of screentime together for the audience to know that a) they would be a good couple and b) the direction of the story was naturally leading to a romance between them.

zuko and katara’s relationship extends above and beyond their moments of direct interaction, so that their scenes together after they become friends are really just the payoff for the buildup of the past three seasons - because the narrative foundation for zutara was laid all the way back in book 1, not in the southern raiders or any of the episodes that followed.

[the-badger-mole]

The other ‘camp’ is saying that Katara was the one who suggested she and Aang kiss in the Cave of Two Lovers which I saw too. What’s your take on this?

That they were in a situation that seemed like Kiss or Die. Then Katara ran out of the cave and proceeded to never talk or think about it ever again. Even Aang doesn't list it in his reasons that he thought they would be together in EIP, so I don't know why anyone would hold that episode up as an example of Katara's attraction to Aang when all it really proves is that Katara would rather kiss Aang than die lost forever in a stone maze.

[pokidokieships]

Excuse my Zutara fangirlism but I’m on my hundredth ATLA rewatch and I just noticed another one of those scenes that could have made for PERFECT foreshadowing… it’s really crazy how this ship wrote itself in the show!

Anyways notice how Katara reacts to Jet seemingly wanting to join the gaang and Toph calling her out on it:

(Excuse the bad quality Netflix didn’t allow me to take screenshots bahah)

And then:

She’s blushing because she obviously had feelings for Jet, a canonical love interest of hers.

But doesn’t this scene strike you as familiar in any way…..?

She reacted the same way with Zuko, these scenes are so identical it’s INSANE! The subtext!! *screams*

But this time Zuko is genuine and works to gain her trust back!! And then we see him risk his life for her like a couple episodes later…. AHHHHH

How are they not a canon couple again??

[starlight-bread-blog]

Ember Island Players and Zutara

Two approaches to analyzing literature are Doylist and Watsonian: Warsonian is about analyzing from an in-universe perspective, Doylist is about analyzing out-of-universe perspective.

For example: Why did the Gaang arrive at the swamp?

Watsonian: Because a hurricane made them crash.

Doylist: Because the writers wanted to explore the world & characters, foreshadow Toph, introduce plant benders, etc.

This analysis will be from a Doylist perspective. Meaning, I don't intend to prove Katara secretly canonically loved Zuko. She is a fictional character, she'll love whoever the writers want her to love. And the writers said she loved 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀. What I do intend to do is to show how the writing alluded to Zuko standing in 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀's way to being with Katara.

With that out of the way, let's dive right in!

At the beginning of the episode, when they sit down to watch the play, Zuko and 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 share this exchange:

If you didn't catch that, look at Katara:

This is a classic romance trope, typically used for female characters, to signify romantic feelings/a crush. But what is it doing here, when Zuko sits next to Katara instead of 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀? What is this interaction doing here in the first place?

When an episode aims to explore an aspact of the characters, it will remind the audience of it in the beginning. In The Waterbending Scroll, Katara steals a waterbending scroll and gets insecure about her waterbending. The episode opens with the Katara teaching 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 waterbending and getting insecure. In this instance, they want you to keep in mind the dynamic where... Zuko is in the way of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀? (That's without mentioning what Katara's doing with her hair). That is strange.

Moving on to the play – See the joke about Katara's characterization in the play:

The point of Ember Island Players is while the play is heavily distorted, it is somewhat based on reality. It's funny and even gets under the character's skin sometimes because it shows them a parody of themselves. (Further evidence).

When we get to the the scene between Zuko and Katara in the Crystal Catacombs, for some reason, it's portrayed as some romantic moment.

Acknowledging a fan pairing in canon from is always out of the blue/baity from the get-go. I cannot recall a time when another show that did this. Here however, it's under the premise of somewhat founded parody. Which begs the question:

(Side note: There's been debate over Katara and Zuko moving away from each other. It's common for eventual romantic leads to deny attraction. It could be contextualized that way later and audiences aren't trained to rule out the pairing. The meaning is dereminted by the outcome).

Despite that, Katara and Zuko aren't in love. Everyone knows this, right?

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 is jealous. Jealous to the point where he gets up and leaves the theater. The thing that kicks off the conflict of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀 is... Zutara?

Speaking of the conflict, I won't dwell on it too much, but the events were the following: 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 adressed the kiss they shared in the invasion, a kiss that went unaddressed for 5 episodes. Katara is unable to commit to an answer. Her lines, isolated:

"𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀, I don't know" // "This isn't the right time" // "Right now, I'm just a little confused".

Until he kisses her once again.

And realistically, she doesn't take it well. Many girls use this language to reject gently. This is purposely written to suggest that they might not end up together. All of which is kicked off because of Zutara. Remember the beginning: Zuko is in the way of 𝖪𝖺𝗍𝖺𝖺𝗇𝗀.

When 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 is back in the theater, he's concerned about his future with Katara. It is showcased with this shot:

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 isn't angry at Zutara here, so why is Zuko in the shot? A director storyboarded this, it was planned. They could have easily leave him out of it and it would convey the message better. Leaving him here implies that he is somehow related to the conflict, That Aang is worried about them, while both of those things aren't true.

𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 not being able to sit next to Katara isn't ship baiting. 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 getting angry at actress!Katara not returning his feelings isn't ship baiting. Katara herself being unable to immediately return his feelings isn't ship baiting. What is ship baiting is how all of this is caused by Zuko to a degree.

Zuko stealing 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀's seat and Katara giving him a side glance is ship baiting. Zutara being canonically addressed in a play that's vaguely founded is ship baiting. The former causing 𝖠𝖺𝗇𝗀 feeling jealous, leaving, and starting the conflict over it is ship baiting. Zutara is imbedded in the foundations of the episode. Ember Island Players plays out as if there is something between Zuko and Katara, when there isn't. That's ship baiting.

[demaparbat-hp]

I used to just think Zutara was cool because Zuko and Katara had that whole fire-water duality, had more chemistry with each other than their canon love interests, Kataang gave me this sexist pseudo-incestuous vibe while Mai was just way too under-developed to interest me (Zuko gets the most character development out of all the characters but they pair him off with the most boring character in the series?).

Now when I actually think about it more deeply, Zutara genuinely made more sense for the narrative and characters too. Aang was told he had to let go of Katara so he could become a fully realized Avatar but then he just gets a deus ex machina so he doesn't have to. They dropped an entire arc just for Kataang to get together and made it happen in the most stupid way. The lion turtle deus ex machina was already badly done but at least it sorta made sense with the lore. The rock was just beyond ridiculous. Aang solved his problems by randomly hitting a rock even though they already established how Aang had this unhealthy attachment to Katara because she was his coping mechanism for his lost people. Instead of letting her go, Aang keeps that attachment and becomes even more possessive of her. He never learns to prioritize the world over Katara even though it is his duty as the Avatar! He didn't have to sacrifice or learn anything to achieve his goals and the way he became a fully realized Avatar NEVER made any sense. Katara and Aand were not always intended to end up together if you look at the IP Bible. Katara goes back to the SWT to help rebuild it while Aang goes looking for the hidden Air Nomads. There's hints early on in Book 1 that the Air Nomads are still alive (like how Aang was able to get a bison whistle from some merchants but they never explain where they got it from).

Meanwhile the whole Maiko relationship seemed like it was a metaphor to represent Zuko's false destiny and dissatisfaction with his life since Mai encouraged him to sink into his bad habits and ignore everything else, and Azula actively encouraged them to get together so she could control Zuko easier and keep him in the Fire Nation. Zuko leaving Mai behind felt like him embracing his true destiny. This entire thing falls apart when they get back together though, and them being so toxic in the comics is just further proving how dysfunctional they are (like, do they think this is going to sell us on the ship?). I also thought it was strange that apparently Zuko and Mai liked each other since they were kids but Mai never bothered to write him his entire banishment, Zuko never thought about her, Iroh never mentions her, Zuko was totally fine with going on a date with Jin (which Iroh also encouraged), and Iroh thought Zuko and Katara would make a good couple as soon as he saw them interacting as friends. It makes me think Bryke just created Mai and put her with Zuko as a way to discourage Zutara shippers but then forgot to develop her properly. Zuko doesn't even think about Mai after she risked his life to save him lol.

I'm about to make this a long answer, sorry about that :)

I love narrative, and I love to analyze how it is built. Narrative is the way a story is shaped to express its themes. Narrative is using the events within the story to build metaphors. Narrative is the smart foreshadowing, the parallels, the foils. Narrative is intentional, until it isn't.

I am not a professional. I do not have a college degree on this subject. I just like to think about what can make writing be great or lacking. I am merely expressing my personal opinion on this show and these characters, not stating an universal truth.

ATLA is such a well-written show. It treats its themes maturely and builds the story and characters masterfully. Of course, it isn't perfect, as nothing made by human hands is meant to be. ATLA has issues with its storyline and characters and, ultimately, with the narrative itself.

Aang's character arc is different to Zuko's in that, while Zuko's is focused on change, Aang's ultimately ends with him standing his ground. (And isn't that poetic? That in order to grow they need to embrace the philosophy of their opposite element?)

Zuko was forced to change in order to survive from a very young age. He learned to suppress his true, compassionate nature, to become The Perfect Prince—that which Azula embodies. When Zuko fails to do this, he is burnt and tossed away and forced to change once more. He has been hurt and thus is the farthest he has ever been from his true self—Zuko almost forgets who he is.

Zuko's arc, in that way, is similar to Aang's. It's about staying true to himself, but also about learning, about opening his eyes to the horror and using that same passion he has always had to do the right thing. Zuko changes, not into the person he was, but into someone who could, in the future, turn into the better version of himself.

Aang is different. Aang is a child born into peace, who does not have the personal, terrible experience of his people's genocide or the hundred years of war that have left the world wrecked. Aang's arc is about changing and learning and adapting to this new reality, about accepting his role as the Avatar. But it's also about standing firm and saying, "This is who I am, this is where I come from—pain will not break me".

Aang's struggle to control the Avatar State was all about that. The Avatar State meant that Aang lost control. It meant the pain and the hurt had turned him into a thing of anger (righteous as it was) and instinct and awe. Aang needed to be at peace with himself in order to control the Avatar State.

That tiny rock at the final battle felt like an easy way out. It felt like taking from the sheer terror of watching yourself almost kill a man as if from afar. The real moment of triumph for Aang in the finale happened when he stopped. It happened when he took control back and ended the Avatar State, stopping himself from betraying what he believed in.

Was not killing Ozai truly the best choice? I won't get into that debate. I know where I stand on it, but it's not really the point I'm trying to make here.

Aang's triumph, character-wise, happens when he stands his ground and refuses to abandon who he is and what he believes in. And for someone whose flight or fight response almost always turns to flight, this is a huge deal.

Now, where do Katara and Mai stand on this?

It has always been clear to me (even as a Maiko shipper) that Mai was always supposed to be a narrative device. Her relationship with Zuko is supposed to give us, the viewers, and him, another reason to see that this isn't the life he wants, that everything isn't perfect even when it should be on paper.

Zuko goes back home. Zuko is welcomed by his nation with open arms. He is revered. Loved. His father tells him he is proud of him. Zuko has a doting girlfriend—a beautiful, noble girl who can kick his ass and is everything a Fire Prince could wish for. She is adequate and things with her are easy, untroubled. Zuko has everything he could wish for.

And yet he is not happy.

Mai and Zuko have issues that should not be pinned fully on either of them. They had trouble comunicating. They wanted different things in life. They had different ways to look at the world. Different ways to look at each other. Different ways to cope. Different ways to express themselves. Different expectations.

And that's okay. It's possible to make a relationship like that work. Nobody is perfect and no relationship is flawless. Opposites attract and it's possible to find a middle ground in which they can both be happy.

Except they never truly did.

Mai and Zuko's relationship was a plot device. One that did its job damn well... Until it didn't.

If your relationship with the girl is supposed to symbolize the lowest point in your life, and going back into being someone you don't like anymore, then why get back to her when the story is over?

As for Katara, well...

Many things have been said about the abandoned Letting Go Of Katara arc. I'd like to avoid that discussion right now, if that's okay.

I think Zuko and Katara's relationship would have made a lot of sense both narratively and thematically, but also (and most importantly) it would have made sense character-wise.

Give them a few years, let them explore the beautiful friendship they had at the end of the series. Let them find themselves and grow into their roles in this different, exciting new world. Let them reconnect.

If they fall in love in the process? Well, maybe it was a long time coming.

[miss-sweetea-pie]

Zutara lens vs k.ataang lens.

I been thinking about how some of the messages in avatar Change if you watch them through a k.ataang lens vs a zutara lens.

The big one is Jet.

In the zutara lens, jetara can be seen as foreshadowing for zutara. Jet and zuko have alot in common. Rugged teenage boys with traumatic back stories. They both betray katara and test her character, katara’s biggest strength and weakness is her companion. Katara is extremely trusting and it’s really satisfying to see her grow but she never loses her ability to love. The one difference we see is Zuko working to earn her forgiveness. jet could have had this arc too but his untimely death cut it short. I don’t think jet was all that bad of person he was consumed by grief and bitterness, and I think he did feel bad for hurting katara, when his life flashes before his eyes she was a big piece of it. He even told her that he changed. He just didn’t have the time to show her.

Taking it a little deeper jet dying could also foreshadow Zuko almost dying from lightning. It’s a bittersweet lesson how we waste time holding grudges and sometimes people don’t have the luxury of apologizing to the people they love. Just a thought.

So from a k.ataang lens it leads more towards the lesson that katara need to stop letting these “bad boys” break her heart, “dumb girl your too trusting just give the sweet guy a chance”. And some will feel these types of lessons have aged poorly, but they were quite common in the early 2000s and targeted at kids especially for shows with male leads. But I do believe that this contradicts the overall message of avatar as a whole. In the episode the avatar and the fire lord, it explains how all people are capable of good and evil. And people need to be given a chance. People are complex. But I guess not if they are a “bad boys” who want your forever girl those guy are just bad. Also I think this is why a lot of people misunderstand the southern raiders episode and why Zuko gets characterized as the manipulator and katara is misguided and need the “nice guy” to save her.

[ghanjrho]

A:TLA; how it should have ended.

Recently, I've been on a deep dive into the A:tLA fandom, specifically the Zutara sphere. And that means I've found a lot of long-form meta on the show, it's ending, LoK, script final drafts, you name it. That's all gone in the brain blender, and here's what came out the other side.

Sozin's Comet honestly doesn't change that much; only two real differences.

The magic rock is gone. Instead, we get a flashback to Guru Pathik, and Aang realizes that he has to let go of his attachment to Katara.

The Maiko/Kataang victory laps in the last 5 minutes are gone. Mai and Zuko get a scene where they wish each other well, but acknowledge that they're over. Katara and Aang have a nice moment where they choose friendship. There's love there, but it's Philia, not Eros.

@burst-of-iridescent has a delightful essay series on Zutara, and the part that sticks in my head is that in the run-up to the finale, Aang and Katara are at their least unified. To wit:

In "The Southern Raiders" Aang is preachy, condescending, and more than a little hypocritical about Katara's plan to take vengeance for her mother. The episode ends with Katara explicitly rejecting Aang's belief that Yon Rha was forgiven.

In "The Ember Island Players" Aang is distraught at the idea that EIP!Katara's statements, namely that Aang is like her brother and she's attracted to Zuko, are true. When he questions Real!Katara about this, he responds to her statement that she's confused about her feelings by kissing her. The kiss is not returned. Again, no resolution is had.

Finally, in "Sozin's Comet Part 1" Katara is part of the chorus condemning Aang for refusing to even consider killing Ozai, no matter how many people are at stake. He runs off from the group, and from there disappears into the Spirit World to get Lion-Turtled. Yet again, no resolution, and the two don't reunite until the tea shop.

Now speaking of the Lion Turtles, I'm actually not opposed to them. Yes, they come out of nowhere to deliver an 11th Hour Superpower that handily spares Aang from having to actually make a choice he disagrees with, but at the end of the day it is a kid's show. Nickelodeon was never going to approve a script where Aang killed Ozai. Throw in a little bit of foreshadowing, and I'm good. It's worth noting here that the story of Avatar Wan was supposed to be covered in A:tLA, which would handily cover that requirement.

Now, for the post-canon. We'll start with Fire.

Zuko is NOT left alone in the Fire Nation. Similarly, Iroh does NOT fuck off back to Ba Sing Se.

Toph and Suki stick around. Suki in her canon role as commander of Zuko's Kyoshi Warrior bodyguard, while Toph and Mai use Toph's lie-detection and Mai's insider knowledge to purge threats to the new peace.

Toph eventually goes back to the Earth Kingdom to start a metalbending academy, but first she needs to make sure that her Sparky lives to be the grumpy old man he was born to be.

While Iroh is correct that for political and diplomatic reasons Zuko needs to be Fire Lord, he also bows to the reality that Zuko is plain and simply not ready to be the Fire Lord.

Zuko went from 4th in line to 1st in line basically overnight, and the 5-ish years he spent as Crown Prince were clearly not spent preparing him to succeed Ozai.

So a teenager with a fairly surface-level understanding of "how to monarch" has to self-Reconstruction the Fire Nation, while paying reparations, without having been militarily conquered.

This is how idealists get assassinated. New Plan!

Zuko is crowned Fire Lord. Iroh is his Prince Regent. It's very clear to all involved that Zuko is the one charting the course forward for the Fire Nation, while Iroh is there to convert intent to action, while teaching Zuko how it's done.

It doesn't hurt that Iroh is one of the Fire Nation's most successful military commanders, so the civil war route is a lot riskier for anyone to attempt.

Next, Sokka

Sokka honestly has a pretty good arc in the post-canon. Nothing I really feel the need to correct.

Eventually, Suki is able to hand off her duties in the Fire Nation to someone else and goes home to Kyoshi Island

It’s still home, but it isn’t the same. Or rather, she isn’t the same.

She never leaves the island behind, but it’s usually a stop on the journey from Wolf Cove to Republic City.

Then, Aang

Aang divides his time between Avatar duties and Last Airbender duties.

Avatar duties involve a lot of sitting in on meetings and reminding people that the ultimate goal is peace.

Last Airbender duties involve a lot of teaching Air Acolytes everything he remembers from his childhood. He gets lucky here, though.

The Airbender Genocide wasn't complete. More than a few Air Nomads escaped the Genocide, and hid themselves away. Some in small villages built in remote mountain valleys, others blended into Earth Kingdom settlements.

Plenty of quarter- or eighth-Air Nomad kids running around with airbending potential they never had the knowledge to develop. Think very early Book 1 Katara here.

The result is that a resurgent Air Nation is being formed, with a culture woven from the threads that survived through relics, the refugees, and Aang himself.

Airbenders are still rare, and it's over a decade before another airbender earns their mastery, but it's not his son and his grandkids when Korra comes around.

Finally, Katara

Katara spends a lot of time traveling. She spends time in the South Pole, helping to rebuild and learning Southern Style Waterbending from the released waterbenders. She also travels the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, doing what she can to solve problems.

There are a lot of problems to solve.

Her travels in the Fire Nation are particularly fruitful; word of the Last Agni Kai has spread, so she is known to be the one that the Fire Lord sacrificed himself for, and who healed his wound.

She and Zuko stay in contact, allowing themselves to have a slow-burn courtship.

After a couple of years she moves to Caldera City and starts getting down to seriously courting Zuko, preparing herself for Fire Ladydom.

The year before Iroh is set to retire as Regent, she and Zuko start thinking about the wedding.

There are a lot of potential traditions to uphold, even just between the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Nation

This goes double for the daughter of the head chieftain of the Southern Water Tribe, and the Fire Lord himself.

They decide to have fun with it and do everything.

Aang presides over a private ceremony, family/close friends only, that is really just a mutual declaration of love and friendship.

Then come the Southern Water traditions. It's the full gamut, with ice-dodging, sacred hunts and more. In the end, Zuko is an honorary member of the Southern Water Tribe, and he and Katara are wed (again).

There's a diplomatic tour through the Earth Kingdom, stopping at Kyoshi, Gaoling, Omashu, Ba Sing Se, the Foggy Swamp the former Fire Colonies, and ending at the Northern Water Tribe. The language used artfully slides over whether the couple is newly married or about to be married, but overall it works well for the Fire Nation's reputation abroad.

The final act is in the Fire Nation. A full Royal Wedding, a grand affair of state, held at high noon on the day of the summer solstice. When all is said and done, Zuko and Katara now rule alone as Fire Lord and Fire Lady.

Alright, I have more, but I'm tired. Tune in next time for the Fire Nation (extended) Royal Family! featuring Steambabies (Found here)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

How the hell some people seriously think that cave of two lovers is foreshadowing for zutara???

I don't want to be mean but this is one of the most stupid and dellusional things i've ever heard. "Avatar's love" in the background and katara clearly blushing after the kiss.

Like wtf

Zutarians think they were the first person to come up with Romeo and Juliet style romances of "Our groups hate each other, we can't be together", so they assume that anything with that trope is tied to/inspired by their ship.

Plus, as we've seen as of late, they are so disconnected from the actual show that they get offended when the nation that canonically commited genocide is intolerant. They've simply deleted the "This is a Kataang episode, playing Kataang music, in which Aang and Katara kiss, and she had gotten seriously mad when he said he didn't want to kiss her" facts from their brains.

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

*Zuko wins Katara's love*

"Wow. So poetic. They were truly meant to be. It was literally built into the DNA of the show since day 1. They were foreshadowed minute by minute, scene by scene, plot point by meticulously crafted plot point. This is right up there with Pride And Prejudice and the Song Of Songs. It shows the power of redemption and forgiveness. It showcases Katara's agency and strength and independence, as her feelings were always obvious and well fleshed-out. She really deserves Zuko, he's so mature and wise, unlike Bald Buddhist Hitler, ERR, I MEAN...poor little Aang. Zuko is the only one who really understands Katara because f*** Sokka, and always pushes her to be the best version of herself. He has been through similar pain and anguish, and always empathises with her. Sweet Ray Of Sunshine and Dark Angsty Hottie, Yin and Yang, Tui and La, Push and Pull, Pythagorean and Meantone, Tories and Whigs, IT'S SO ORIGINAL! It's so deep that it beggars belief! And just think of the possibilities, Momtara, Zutara babies, Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Diplomat Katara, OHMYGOSH I CAN'T EVEN!!!!"

*Aang wins Katara's love*

"WHAT THE F***??? THIS CAME OUT OF NOWHERE! THERE WAS NO INDICATION! THE HINTS WERE FORCED AND AMBIGUOUS! BRYKE FORCED THIS ONTO THE WRITERS! MAIN GIRL × MAIN GUY AGAIN, IT'S BORING AND OVERDONE! AANG IS AN IMMATURE MANCHILD WHO NEVER THINKS ABOUT HIS ACTIONS AND HE DOESN'T DESERVE HER! HE ORDERS HER AROUND LIKE A HANDMAIDEN! HE SAW HER THROUGH ROSE-TINTED GLASSES AND ONLY EVER FELL IN LOVE WITH HER IDEALISED VERSION! HE NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED HER AS A HUMAN BEING, HE COULD NEVER KNOW THE PAIN THAT SHE WENT THROUGH! KATAANG IS A SHALLOW PAIRING WHICH WAS NEVER FLESHED OUT, IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT HIM! KATARA IS A TROPHY WIFE! HE'S AN ENTITLED COLONISER INCEL! HE SEXUALLY ABUSED KATARA AND WILL PROBABLY FORCE HER TO GIVE UP HER CULTURE AND BECOME A STAY-AT-HOME-WIFE! WHY AREN'T YOU ANGRY YET????"

[dieauster-und-diegarnele]

A:tLA general meta and theories

water/earth/fire/air/general

Passive bending

Gaang's address in Ba Sing Se

Tea of four elements

Aang is a sunshine boy and Toph is a gremlin

Learning during the war

Kataang beats Zutara

Bumi meets Aang after 100 years

About previous avatars

Character's wrong fandom treatment

Wan Shi Tong "He Who Knows Ten Thousand Things"

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2

Tea pots in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3

“Siege of the North" filming - left and right

“The desert” forces characters into circumstances that fundamentally change core aspects of their personality

“The Phoenix Flight”

Great non-benders Sokka and Suki

THE FOUR ELEMENTS + CHEMICAL ELEMENTS

There is nuance in mercy: Aang and Ozai

“The King of Omashu” and Foreshadowing

Color Theory in ATLA Part 3: Siege of the North (links for the previous parts are there)

The Gaang: first and last battles (sort of)

“Rock paper scissors” exist in the Avatar universe

Great A:tLA characters

“There is no war in Ba Sing Se” (about balance)

The best written characters of all time

Avatar drinking game

The Sokka and Zuko dynamic

Can waterbenders bend oil? Can earthbenders bend glass? Can airbenders bend sound? Can firebenders bend mixtapes?

Key cultural influences of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Culture tips for writing asian settings: naming taboo

@atla-lore-archive - EVERYTHING about the show canon

The only advice Aang doesn’t take is Yangchen’s

Patterns in Given Names in the World of Avatar - very useful to name an OC

[burst-of-iridescent]

it will never not be bizarre to me that kat.aangers use the fortuneteller episode as foreshadowing for ka when literally every possible interpretation of this episode is anti kat.aang.

if aunt wu's prophecies are unquestionably true, then kat.aang is DOA right off the bat because she explicitly says she doesn't see romance in aang's future. yet kat.aangers love to uphold the “powerful bender” prophecy as foreshadowing for kat.aang so… which is it? are aunt wu’s prophecies only eternally binding for katara but conveniently untrue when it comes to aang? because if katara marrying a powerful bender is unchangeable, then so is aang not being able to find love, so that’s strike no. 1 for ka foreshadowing.

now on the other hand, if we take aunt wu's prophecies as false, then our boy aang is free to do all the lovin’ he wants… but following the same logic, so is katara. and since her prophecy is the catalyst for her seeing him as a potential romantic partner at all, that’s strike no. 2 for foreshadowing.

finally, we come to the last interpretation and the episode's actual message: that destiny is real, but not immutable. throughout the episode, it’s clear that aunt wu's prophecies do come true, though not in the way that their subject(s) might expect. the future isn’t created through passive acceptance, but active agency. everyone has the power to shape their own destiny, and make their own choices.

this is the complete opposite of katara beginning to view aang in a romantic light solely because sokka makes an entirely on-the-nose comment about him being a powerful bender. because had katara not heard her prophecy, that would have meant nothing to her! how is this meant to be the spark that fuels the kat.aang relationship when it's entirely based on katara holding herself to a prophesized future instead of writing her own story, and hence antithetical to the fundamental theme of the episode?

which is also why so many people interpret this episode to be lampshading zutara, because the only way that all of these contradictory interpretations — aang isn’t meant to find love, katara is meant to marry a powerful bender, but both of them still have the power to shape their own paths — make sense is if the final scene was an intentional red herring… but that’s a discussion for another time.

[plushytoast]

In reply to you 'zutara bait might not be bait' post. One of the Natla creators confirmed that katanga is happening and that Kataras 'I need you' in the final episode is foreshadowing is the start of their build up :(

I'd have loved zutara though

Well that's a crying shame. However. Delusion dies last and must I remind us all that there was probably a point during the original run of the show where the writers room was divided on whether Zutara or Kataang will become canon? Things like that are subject to change and I think that theorizing is fair game until the show ends.

But if they DO do this, then I just know that nobody will be happy because so much of their scenes and original build-up have been taken out. Which means they'd need to make up new ones and the sooner the better because s2 will run a tight schedule and s3 will almost certainly have to cut huge amounts of vital content.

It is genuinely, at this point, in their best interest to not go with Kataang. And I don't say this as a Zutara shipper but as a fellow writer. I'd rather have Katara end up with no one than tank the story by forcing Kataang to happen.

[zutarasbuff]

Rewatching ATLA and found this scene very interesting. You can see that in the episode entitled, “The Water Bending Scroll”, we find Zuko teasing Katara with her necklace that’s a relic passed down to her. As we move toward the end of the first season, in the episode entitled, “The Water Bending Master”, we find that Katara’s water-bending master Pakku had actually got this for Kanna, Katara’s grandma but eventually, they didn’t end up together.

I feel that the writers foreshadowed the relationship dynamics between Zuko and Katara. The necklace itself was traditionally given by the men to those women of the water tribe whom they wanted to marry. So, that’s pretty much clear that the original intention of the writers over here was to make sure that Zuko becomes the one who gets this necklace and teases her with that signifying the nature of their relationship.

As we see that Pakku gets the necklace for Kanna but didn’t get to marry her. Similarly, Zutara were the star-crossed lovers who had hidden feelings somewhere in their hearts even after all the animosity between them. We find this throughout the end of the second season and the final one where Katara tries to cure Zuko’s scar with her miraculous Oasis water and later on Zuko takes up Azula’s lightening on his heart for her. I refuse to believe that it was sole friendship rather both knew that it can get complicated as both had prior sweethearts.

This just breaks my heart to know that they were destined to be together, but still couldn’t make it work. All thanks to the stupid writers who were clearly blind to see the emotional intimacy that was perceived by us all.

[starlight-bread-blog]

Zutara Ship Baiting Moments

Before I start listing off the scenes I need to explain this: The scenes are coded as romantic, they're not explicitly romantic. I'm not saying Zuko and Katara were canonically in love with each other, I'm saying some scenes ended up tropy with romantic undertones.

THE WATERBENDING SCROLL:

"I'll save you from the pirates".

Yeah he's threatening her, but what is this line? Why did he grab her hands while saying that? Why did he get so close to her, even after she was tied? Why wrapping his hand around her? All of this is extra work to the animators. He could have just dangled it in front of her, but instead we got a typical enemies to lovers moment.

THE SIEGE OF THE NORTH PART 1:

(1th) "Well, aren't you a big girl now".

(2th) "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun".

Once again he says these lines, that are completely unnecessary, shippy, enemies to lovers. Why? What is it doing here?

THE CROSSROADS OF DESTINY:

The soft yet exciting music, the shinning crystals, Katara's hand on Zuko's thumb, all speak for themselves. Katara absolutly didn't have to touch Zuko's face like this, they get interrupted. And when she heals she puts the water on the spot, so I'd make sense if they got interrupted. But they didn't, and she didn't even took out the water. Then it won't be shippy.

THE SOUTHERN RAIDERS:

This is a perfect example of the "Suggestive Collision" trope. An actual romance trope. And then, of course, the "Please Get Off Me" trope. They're used to create romantic tension. Whyyyyyy?

EMBER ISLAND PLAYERS:

Aang is about to sit next to Katara, and then Zuko steals his seat. Katara notices, tucks her hair behind her hair and gives Zuko a glance. Why do that? Why do something that really looks like it's foreshadowing a love triangle? Why do that when it goes by so fast and does nothing? Why animating this? Why writing this?

SOZIN'S COMET PART 2:

"She's not my girlfriend"!

Another typical romance trope, the "She Is Not My Girlfriend". Used for romantic leads/ eventual romantic leads.

SOZIN'S COMET PART 4:

What else can I say about this scene? It's very obviously ship baiting. But if you don't think it is, here's a video taken from here with Sokka inserted there. What a beautiful comclusion to a beautiful relationship.