Atla Meta - Blog Posts

I have to be honest: if Katara had gotten the same treatment Toph did in ATLA, people would like her much more.

What do I mean about “getting the same treatment”? In many moments of the show, I realized that Katara was written differently than Toph (in the sense of how female characters are written). Toph is given much more substance and power showing scenes than Katara. She’s a genuine person that it’s not being written for a particular cause and has her story ending already written; she gets to do more and be more. While, for me, Katara has moments where she gets to be the amazing, waterbending master, that’s fair and loving (that to me are the scenes that show the true Katara), and then there are others where it seems she’s not allowed to be anything more than a plot device.

The episode that got me into that conclusion was “The Day of the Black Sun”. Katara does nothing in that invasion. Absolutely nothing. There’s a small scene of her attacking people, then her father gets hurt and she’s immediately removed from the story. While, Aang, Sokka and Toph go kick people’s butts and do something, Katara is (off-screen) healing her father. I wouldn’t have a problem with the trio fighting together, if it was shown Katara doing something important as well. While, Toph gets to be a person and get in fights, showing her skills and “hanging out with the boys”, Katara is only there to fulfill a purpose of that episode’s plot: which is getting kissed by Aang. After that, she’s removed from the narrative.

That’s something you never see happening with Toph. She fights creatively, grows on her power, gets to show her skills and is known to be a badass through the whole fandom, she doesn’t have scenes where she’s downplayed or underused and then just disappears. The reason for that is that she was written as a person with nothing binding her , with no sort of romantic connection to another character; therefore she gets to be a person. Now, this isn’t a post shitting on ‘kataang’ (this is not a post about ships), but Katara was written in many moments as just the romantic interest of Aang, having scenes where her entire actions are revolved around him, like in “The Day of the Black Sun”. Her purpose was to be kissed and now that’s she fulfilled it, she can be removed from the story.

Which makes me come back to my original point: if Katara was given the same treatment as Toph, people would adore her, ‘cause we know what she’s like when written normally: a fair, talented, fighter who guides the group through moments of helplessness and wants to save the world.

Every time people use ATLA as an example of progressive children's cartoons that was "unusally politically sound" I remember how there were two whole villain characters (including an orphan kid and an elderly Indigenous lady) who were victims of genocide and settler colonialism but chose to fight back and were thus rebranded in canon as terrorists for harming "innocents", as in, harming the very colonialists who have settled on their land and leeched off their resources and are definitely not in favour of the Fire Nation imperialist propaganda because they are cute little civilian folk ofc, and dont you get, the Fire Nation has good humans too 🥺🥺🥺.

And I'm not usually someone who makes those Hunger Games, AOT style comparisons to real life events etc but I am a literature student and I genuinely think it's not unsurprising the number of people who fall for American liberal "pacifist" propaganda in media, that paints revolutionaries and armed resistance as inherently evil, that has the central character call his indigenous love interest as bad as aforementioned canon "terrorists" because she wanted to kill the colonial officer who murdered her mother during a genocide, and she has to defend herself saying "no that was different Jet was killing civilians (aka settler colonialists are not = military and therefore are totally absolved of their crimes) I am killing a dangerous man (aka safe to blame imperial military)"

And like. Do you not see it. Do you just. Not. See it.

Let's Talk About How Book 3 Ruined Aang

If you've seen any of my prior ATLA posts, you know that I don't hate Aang. In fact, I quite liked him in Books 1 and 2. He was flawed, as all characters should be, but the show didn't shy away from those flaws or justify them. He was called out for burning Katara and rushing his firebending, Sokka and Katara were rightfully upset when he hid Hakoda's letter, he willingly owns up to the fact that his actions helped drive Toph away, and his entire arc after losing Appa and finding hope again in The Serpent's Path was beautifully done.

(Hell, even in The Great Divide Katara says what Aang did was wrong and he agrees. It's played for comedy, but the show still makes the effort to point out that what he did wasn't the right thing to do. You're just meant to understand that he was fed up and acted off of that)

Those flaws and mistakes were addressed and improved upon and helped Aang to grow as a character.

But for some reason, that aspect of Aang's character was completely flipped in Book 3.

The best examples of this are in both TDBS and EIP. Both the show and the fandom are too quick to brush off that Aang kissed Katara twice without her consent, one of which after she explicitly said she was confused about her feelings.

(And yes, she is angry in response and Aang calls himself an idiot. But after this, it isn't really addressed. They go on like nothing happened for the rest of the episode. Aang's lamentation comes from screwing things up with her romantically, not that he violated boundaries)

The show never really addressed why what he did was wrong. Not only because he wasn't given consent, but also because both times he isn't thinking about what Katara wants. In both instances, Aang is only thinking about himself and his feelings. This is something that persists through a lot of the third book. And by Sozin's Comet it ultimately ruins any character development he had built up in the second book.

One thing I feel was completely disregarded was the concept of having to let go of Katara in order to master the Avatar State.

For me, the implication wasn't that he had to give up love or happiness necessarily. He was emotionally attached to and reliant on Katara, to the point where she was needed to stop him from hurting everyone around him and himself. This is obviously detrimental to his functionality as the Avatar. And the point of him "letting her go" wasn't that he had to stop caring about her, it was that his emotional dependency on her was stopping him from being the Avatar he needed to be and that was what needed to be fixed. I don't even think it's about the Avatar State itself, it's about being able to keep your emotions and duty as the Avatar separate.

(If you look at Roku, he loved and had a wife. It wasn't his love for her that messed everything up, it was his attachment to Sozin. He wasn't able to let Sozin go and not only did he lose his life for it, the world suffered for it. It's the unhealthy attachments that seem to be detrimental, not love itself)

And Aang realizes that in the catacombs, which is how he's able to easily enter the Avatar State and seemingly control it. He let Katara go.

So then why does it seem like his attachment to Katara is not only stronger, but worse in mannerism? He liked Katara in Books 1 and 2- obviously- but he was never overly jealous of Jet or Haru. He only makes one harmless comment in Book 2 when Sokka suggests Katara kiss Jet.

But suddenly he's insanely jealous of Zuko (to the point of getting frustrated with Katara over it), off the basis of the actions of actors in a clearly misrepresentative play. Katara showed a lot more interest in Jet and Aang was completely fine with it.

(Speaking of EIP, Aang's reaction to being played by a woman was interesting. He wore a flower crown in The Cave of Two Lovers. He wove Katara a flower necklace. He wore Kyoshi's clothes and makeup and made a funny girl voice. He willingly responded to Twinkle Toes and had no issue being called that. And for some reason he's genuinely upset about being played by a woman? Aang in Books 1 and 2 would have laughed and enjoyed the show like Toph did. His aversion to feminity felt vastly out of character)

I guess my point is, why did that change? Why was Aang letting go of Katara suddenly irrelevant to the Avatar State? It felt like him letting go was supposed to be a major part of his development. Why did that stop?

Myself and many others have talked about The Southern Raiders. The jist of my thought process about it is his assumption that he knew what was best for Katara. And the episode doesn't really call out why he was wrong. Maybe sparing Yon Rha was better for Katara, maybe it wasn't (the only one who's allowed to make that choice is her). Pushing forgiveness? That was wrong. But the episode has Zuko say that Aang was right when the course of action Katara took wasn't what Aang suggested.

Katara's lesson here was that killing him wouldn't bring back her mother or mend the pain she was going through and that Yon Rha wasn't worth the effort. That's what she realizes. Not that she needed to embrace forgiveness. How could she ever forgive that? The episode saying Aang was right wasn't true. Yes she forgives Zuko, but that wasn't what Aang was talking about. He was specifically talking about Yon Rha.

And that was wrong. Aang can choose the path of forgiveness, that's fine. That's his choice. But dismissing Katara's trauma in favor of his morals and upbringing wasn't okay.

I know it sounds like this is just bashing Kataang. But it's not simply because I don't like Kataang, in my opinion it brings down Aang's character too, not just Katara's. But let's steer away from Kataang and Katara for a minute.

The one thing that solidifies Aang's character being ruined in Book 3 for me is the fact that he- at the end of the story- does the same thing he did in the beginning.

He runs away when things get hard.

Aang couldn't make the choice between his duty and his morals. So he ran. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but subconsciously he wanted an out. And this is really disappointing when one of the things he was firm about in Book 2 was not running anymore. His character went backwards here and that's not even getting into the real issue in Sozin's Comet.

There's been contention about the Lion Turtle intervention. For many- including myself- it's very deus ex machina to save Aang from having to make a hard decision. And that in turn doesn't reflect kindly on his character.

Everyone- Sokka, Zuko, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen (who was another Airbender and was raised with the same beliefs he was and would understand which was the whole point of him talking to her)- told him he had to kill Ozai. They all told him it was the only way. And he refused to listen to any of them, rotating through his past lives until he was given the answer he wanted.

And before anyone says that I'm bashing Aang for following his culture, I'm not. Ending the war peacefully, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. In a way, I think it allowed the world to heal properly. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Aang refused to make a choice and face the consequences of that choice. Instead, he's given an out at the very last second.

Even if he couldn't kill Ozai and someone else had to deliver the final blow, that would have been better than the Lion Turtle showing up and giving him a power no one's ever had before. It would have been a good compromise, he doesn't have to have blood directly on his hands but what needs to be done needs to still get done. It would also show that being the Avatar isn't a burden he has to bear alone. That when things get hard, he can't run away but he can rely on the people closest to him to help him through hard decisions.

All these issues aren't necessarily a problem with Aang. Aang prior to Book 3 didn't have most of these problems. This is a problem with the way he was handled

not the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished parallels between Zuko and Katara

katara s1: urges Haru to save Old Man Mine Snitcher, Haru gets taken away by the fire nation army

zuko s2: gives lee the knife thing as a gift, lee gets conscripted by the earth kingdom army

both have a meal with the victim’s family beforehand. both consequences fully affect someone else. both are told about said consequences by the mom of the victim

Official Art of Katara and Aang for ATLA’s 20th anniversary Avatar in Concert tour. The artist is @velinxi.

Toph's Statues.

1. My name is Sokka, it is pronounced with an okka. YOUNG LADIES I ROCKED YA

2. I don't know, maybe we can think about our place in the universe?

3. Don't tell him Aang. Thanks Zuko.

Basically the whole show if ya ask me

the inarguably best three avatar moments in no particular order

that’s rough buddy

no firelord ozai YOU’RE not wearing any pants

that part where they’re all completely baffled by there being just a regular bear

Don't forget-

"You just Love pulling me out of my comfort zone, don't you?"

“It’s the quenchiest!”

"You miscalculated. I love Zuko more than I fear you”

“My first girlfriend turned into the moon.”

“My cabbages!!”

“Alright hair, it’s time to face your doom!”

“Little Soldier Boy Comes Marching Home.”

"HONOR!"

“At my age, there is only one big surprise left, and I'd just as soon leave it a mystery.”

“You’re looking at the rare white dragon bush. Its leaves make a tea so delicious it’s heartbreaking! That, or it’s the white jade bush, which is poisonous.”

“Zuko, it’s time we had a talk…about your hair. It’s gone too far!”

“Who would have thought that, after all these years, I would return to the scene of my greatest military disgrace…as a tourist!”

the inarguably best three avatar moments in no particular order

that’s rough buddy

no firelord ozai YOU’RE not wearing any pants

that part where they’re all completely baffled by there being just a regular bear

Well you're not wrong-

i'm sorry, but the atla fandom is the only place where i've ever seen people unironically use a 12 year old telling his friend that killing someone out of grief is maybe a rash decision and not healthy to argue that that same 12 year old is being controlling and is an unhealthy partner

you guys know that murder is like....a bad thing....right? especially for a 14 year old? you guys know that revenge murder isn't a healthy strategy? you guys know that anyone who would encourage that is probably actually the unhealthy one in that scenario...right??

The Southern Raiders were never looking for Katara

This is one of my favorite theories behind atla and I wanted to share my own breakdown of it. 

SO the raids on the SWT began in 40 AG. They continued until each and every waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe had been captured. (Note: captured) 

Worth noting is that Hama refers to herself as the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. 

Here’s where the conspiracy gets juicy. Hama was the only one who managed to escape. She created bloodbending to get out of the prison. And she says herself that she’s the only one who escaped. This could be for one of two reasons: 

All of the other prisoners had already succumb to the conditions or been killed 

The remaining waterbender prisoners were murdered after Hama’s escape

The second option is more plausible. Hama displayed a dangerous, powerful, unknown form of waterbending and overtook a Fire Nation guard’s body. She had him unlock her cell and fled. If there were remaining waterbenders in the prison they would have been killed out of fear once Hama escaped. 

They Fire Nation couldn’t risk anyone else in their prison possessing this power. So they were all murdered because of Hama’s escape. 

Look at Hama’s reaction to hearing that the raids continued. A kind of casual “oh, you poor things.” Hama knew that the raids continued because she escaped. All of the waterbenders had already been caught! The only waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe that was known at that time to be free or alive was Hama. 

And she knew better than to return to her home, where they were sure to come looking for her. She stayed and hid right under their noses because she knew they were going to tear the world apart trying to track her down. She was too dangerous. 

When Yon Rha comes to the Southern Water Tribe in 94 AG Katara is still a child. Their tribe has been in shambles for years at this point. Katara is the tribe’s last hope and they’re a tiny tribe at that point in time. Do you honestly think that word of a child waterbender would have made way to the Fire Nation? 

Do you think that the Water Tribe would ever release that information willingly? I don’t. I think that the Southern Raiders had no idea that another waterbender had been born into the Southern Water Tribe. 

Why else would Yon Rha have accepted that an adult was the waterbender he was looking for? The intel didn’t say that a new waterbender was born, the intel said that there’s one waterbender left. The Fire Nation already knows about the last waterbender of the SWT. She escaped. And they’re still trying to find her. 

The Fire Nation is adamant about finding the last waterbender because they’re looking for Hama. Hama, who can control people’s bodies. Hama, who managed to escape a high-security Fire Nation prison without any water. Hama, the only waterbender to best the Fire Nation. And the only one left. 

Kya offers herself up as prisoner to Yon Rha. Because she knows that the past raids meant that the Southern Raiders took the waterbenders prisoner. But that has changed. 

Why would their procedure have changed? Why did they stop taking waterbenders as prisoners? Because of Hama. They stopped taking waterbenders prisoner after Hama’s escape. 

Tl;dr the Southern Raiders were never looking for Katara, they were looking for Hama.