Get in losers we're stanning Zutara (It's BACK!)

[@SneezyReviews]

Video FAQ: 1. "What do you think of the "zutara is a pocahontas/colonizer ship" argument?" I deliberately avoided discussing this one in my video because I find it pretty irrelevant, not least because it doesn't even apply properly, considering that Zuko's whole arc, his raison d'etre, is to be a _de-colonizer._ Zuko's redemption arc is kinda all _about_ being a de-colonizer, and his redemption arc is probably like _the_ most talked about plot point of ATLA, so frankly I'm not even sure why we're still having this discussion. On a deeper level, I find that the colonizer argument is usually an attempt to smear the ship as "problematic" - i.e., this ship is an immoral dynamic, which would make it problematic to depict as canon, and if you ship it regardless, you're probably problematic yourself. That's _usually_ how I see this argument presented. I'd be more open to it as a rebuttal if it were A) canonically sound and B) actually focused on how this dynamic would have weakened ATLA storytelling in some way, but A) is already untrue and I rarely if ever see anyone attempt B) as opposed to just being morality police. This may be a bit of a hot take, but I think that a good story well-told _is not always,_ and _does not have to be,_ a story free from moral vices/questionable themes etc. There are good problematic stories and bad "pure" stories and literally everything in between. Internet has a tendency to conflate good art with non-problematic art and I think that's not only inaccurate but also potentially dangerous. In my experience, it tends to encourage wilful blindness one way or the other, because it boxes all art into either "morally permissible" or "morally impermissible" categories, and often shames people for enjoying art in the "morally impermissible" box. Unfortunately, I see a lot of people responding to this by A) making excuses for art that they guiltily love despite its problematic elements and/or B) denying the value of any art that they are unable to defend as free from moral wickedness. Y'all do you, but I'm not here to be the morality police, I'm just here to talk about good vs. bad writing. (And when I say "good", I mean structurally sound, thematically cohesive, etc; I don't mean _morally_ good). So the whole colonizer angle isn't something I'm interested in discussing, for the same reason that I actually avoided discussing Katara "mothering" Aang or the "problematic" aspects of the Kataang ship (such as how he kissed her twice without her consent). My whole entire sections on "Kataang bad" or "Maiko bad" is specifically, "how are they written _in a way that did a disservice to the story",_ and "how making them false leads would have created valuable _meaning"_ - not just, "here's how Kataang/Maiko toxic and Zutara wholesome, Zutara superiority go brrr, the end" - something that maybe I could have made clearer. The point is, there's ways that a romance comes off "icky" and then there's ways that it's actually bad for the story, and meming/shitposting aside, the fact that these two things don't always align is not only a truth I recognise about art but also one of those truths that makes art incredibly interesting to me! But generally, I prefer to talk more about the "how it's good/bad for the story" stuff. Which is why....... 2. "Katara does _not_ mother Aang, actually (and you're wrong for suggesting otherwise!)" In fairness I don't get this comment _that_ often but every once in a while it does come up. I call it a paper town - a clear sign that someone didn't watch my video before commenting 😂 3. "To be fair tho, I think the 'hero gets the girl' trope/'Katara mothering Aang' angle isn't just smth icky, it's also bad for the story because thematic/narrative/character justifications such as [abcdefg]?" You can totally construct an argument on that line of logic and I genuinely encourage you to do so! _I_ can't do that argument justice myself, which is why I avoided talking about it (so you might _think_ you want to hear my refined opinion on it but really, you don't, I don't have any 😂) - but that doesn't mean nobody else can present that take and do it well! Genuinely, if you think you got it, go nuts. 4. "Hold on, about the lightning thing - Sokka _would_ have sacrificed himself for Katara, though?" Yes, he would have. I was talking about framing there, not subject. I believe, wholeheartedly, that Sokka _would_ have protected Katara with his life, but I also believe wholeheartedly that if he'd done so, the music choice would have been different, it _probably_ wouldn't have dragged out as long, there's a good to fair chance there wouldn't have been a slow-motion _"nooooooo",_ I'm skeptical that we'd have gotten a double hand-reach shot from the perspective of both characters, and overall I definitely doubt we would have gotten _all_ of these components combined. In general, I think the final delivery of the sequence would probably have felt a bit more shocking/tense/suspenseful and a bit less mournful/tragic - more Scar murdering Mufasa energy and less... _*gestures at the scene we got*._ If you think Sokka sacrificing himself for Katara _would_ have been depicted the exact same way, then we'll have to agree to disagree. If you just think Sokka would have sacrificed himself for Katara period, and if you think you're disagreeing with me by saying that, you're not. 5. "Aang and Katara's arguments in the final arc of the show aren't contrived, there's logical in-universe reasons why they fought." and/or "But Aang was actually _right_ to challenge Katara/Katara was actually the one who was in the wrong for those fights." I can't say I agree - especially if we're talking about the Southern Raiders stuff (see my Katara analysis video for that). But I also don't have to disagree either to make the point I was making. It actually doesn't matter at all who's right or who's wrong during those final arguments; what I'm focusing on is that they _were_ fighting, and arguing, and failing to resolve their issues at the worst possible time in their romance arc this could have happened - and then proceeded to kiss and become a couple at the point in the show where there had never been more distance between them, relationship-wise. That Zuko and Katara had also never been closer at coincidentally the exact same moment, just makes it even messier. The reality is you can come up with the best possible Watsonian explanations for the Kataang fights and also make Aang the most defensible, blameless, honourable "winner" of the arguments you possibly can - legit, Aang could be a mega chad vs Katara the silly whiny idiot for all that it matters - none of that would be enough to solve what is really a structural problem of the romance arcs at the end of the show. 6. "Okay, but you still did Aang dirty with those Southern Raiders edits >.>" I mean, you're not wrong, but in my defense Aang has some fantastically memeworthy lines and it is a federal crime for me as an Australian to not milk that material for all that it's worth. 7. "Please inform your dad that rhinos actually do live in India." I discovered this during the editing process of my video and have since informed him of this fact. My dad now denies any memory of having ranted about rhinos in India ruining his enjoyment of the Jungle Book. And, my favourite: 8. "Zuko and Katara never showed any romantic interest in each other. Zutara isn't canon, Kataang is." At some point while making a 2 hour video whose sole purpose was to explain, in depth, _why_ Zuko and Katara not being canon was from my perspective _a narrative mistake of epic proportions,_ it did actually occur to me that they are indeed not canon, yes. Thank you for being a good citizen and double-checking though; it would have been embarrassing for me to have gotten this far and not known. Cheers mate ❤ Edit from 1 week later: Actually, I should mention that of the commenters I get who claim to be Kataang/Maiko shippers, I get a lot more compliments along the lines of "while I still ship kataang/don't completely agree with all your points/never liked zutara/etc, this was well made and gave me something to think about" than I do the silly strawman or troll-y type comments. Which is actually really cool tbh! Always puts a smile on my face when I see a comment like that and I appreciate them all, alongside the zutara shippers who are never shy with showing their love either 😂 So this is a shoutout to all the positive comments I get (which really do outnumber all the silly ones) - thank you for being so sweet and kind! Y'all are awesome 😁

[@bxzarie_]

thank you!! with the recent avatar marketing we’ve been getting especially through instagram, as soon as i see something to do with kiawentiio and dallas a war breaks out in the comments. i’ve especially seen the zuko coloniser pocahontas argument, and while i came up with some ideas to rebut i dont think i’ve seen anyone put a rebuttal together as well as u do!! love the vid, from another aussie 💕

[@SneezyReviews]

@bxzarie_ heh, I mean in fairness it's less of a direct rebuttal and more of a "why is this relevant again?" line of questioning but I'm glad 😅 I think there are other videos/metas that actually address it properly, which is cool even if it's not really my thing. The one thing I will say is that the zutara fandom, from what I've seen of it, skews heavily BIPOC and female. For a ship that is supposedly problematic or harmful in what it implies for the indigenous-coded "colonizer victim" in its pairing, the sheer support it has from a disproportionately indigenous fandom ought to make one stop to think, at the very least. But anyway, if people really wanna fight about that they can argue about it till the cows come home. All I care about is zutara being the best answer possible to the story we got, and I don't believe that the best answer possible happens to be problematic in some way, but even if I did, it wouldn't change my reasons for shipping them. And you can try to shame me for that but you'll lose because I have no shame to begin with 🤣 peace ✌️

[@awsome182]

​​@@SneezyReviews Tbh, I don't get the "colonizer" comments at all. I feel like people nowadays want to read problematic issues into things that aren't there. And it doesn't make sense in that specific example of Zuko X Katara. The Fire Nation attacked the Water Tribe, but never colonized it. They colonized the Earth Kingdom and yet many people ship Zuko with Jin from Bang Sing Se... Why is no one talking about a "Pocahontas X Colonizer" dynamic there? Because Jin isn't brown? To me it kinda comes across as double standards or hypocrisy, tbh... And yes, as you said, Zukos arc wasn't about being a colonizer but a de-colonizer and peacemaker.

[@jessical4866]

Thank you for tackling the ships from a purely narrative standpoint. The sheer amount of loose ends that Zutara would fix often goes overlooked for the aesthetics of the ships. (I struggle to find a KZbinr who talks about Zutara without reducing Zuko to a pretty boy.) But simply talking about their roles and symbolism in the larger narrative does reveal a problem in how the series concludes unsatisfyingly.

[@smart.but.stupid]

The first point is so bad tbh, it's literally offensive to interracial couples. What, we have to divide ourselves now? I thought the world had to become more progressive and people should've become more smart, but they pull out a new card of stupidity making claims like "a coloniser/colonising victim pairing should NEVER exist", even though there were thousands of happy marriages irl And that's simply because they want to label a cartoon ship as problematic, they go into this territory irl.

[@DivaQuinzel]

I always find it weird when people say that Zutara as a couple would fight all the time. They have very similar morals, beliefs, emotions etc. After the became friends there where no hints at them butting heads or not getting along.

[@sparkyblue7016]

They were literally attached to the hip at the last 4 episodes . If there is any ship which would constantly fight, I'd be maiko.

[@quasi8180]

I see more fighting between aang and Katara than Katara and Zuko considering how much Zuko and katara understand one another whereas Aang puts air nomad philosophy above everything else and that could lead to a lot of problems we see proof of that in Korra

[@squidwardstentacle]

@@sparkyblue7016 They even do in the comics.

[@Swahili14]

​@@squidwardstentaclehonestly I wonder how their domestic fight would look like LMAO 💀😂😭

[@doodleplayer4014]

I feel like they would fight a lot (not big fights), but would be good at communicating and working through issues.

[@minimumwage2169]

The fact that aang gets to master the Avatar state without making the sacrifice of letting worldly connections go was a pretty big plot convenience.

[@minimumwage2169]

I hope the live action do something about this.

[@pauloricardo-wn6ps]

was it? roku was the avatar and he was married to Ta Min

[@Ri-Lizzie]

@@pauloricardo-wn6psbut do we know if Roku mastered the avatar state?

[@alinac5512]

I am hoping and PRAYING (and I'm an atheist) that he live action goes he Zutara route. I'd actually squiel, SQUIEL (like a little girl even though I'm an adult) if they actually brought us Zutara. I'd throw a party.

[@noemimairhuber8902]

​@Ri-Lizzie letting go of unhealthy codependent earthly attachments does not mean one has to live in celibacy. family and having romantic love and mastering the avatar state is not mutually exclusive. It's all of the "nature" of the so-called love

[@erinbathie-moore8478]

The thing with Kataang is that, if you take away the kisses and weird tension between them, Katara treats Aang the same way I treated my younger brothers when we were little. I'd love them, support them, hug them and get into shenanigans with them. Katara and Zuko easily fall into parental roles of the group once they settle their differences and have great chemistry. Its no surprise that I've been a Zutara fan

[@mj6680]

Well obviously if you take away the tension and kisses it’s a different ship😭 If you took away the tension from zuko and katara it would be the same…

[@ilykatara]

lmao so you project yourself onto katara basically? "if you remove the kisses and tension" do u realize how dumb that sounds? 💀 if zuko were shorter than katara absolutely no one would be shipping them together

[@ProbablyTheSmartest]

@@ilykatara Well Zuko (his character design) would still be hot even if he was short. I just doubt he would have a lot of shippers when he had his ponytail

[@donalddonald348]

“If you take away all the romance, it’s actually not romantic” What? There’s no way you thought this was a salient point

[@donalddonald348]

@@ilykatarafacts 😂 someone said if aang was 4 inches taller than zutara shippers wouldn’t exist.

[@addictedtothewrittenword3451]

I've always thought Zuko was shown to be honorable and empathetic right from the start. Aang asks Zuko, when he first raids Katara's village, if I go with you will you leave everyone else alone, and Zuko agrees it show his objective was to capture Aang to win back his father's love, and not spread the ideologies of the Fire Nation through destruction and genocide like his father and sister. I don't think he ever really thought about the war or it's impact on the rest of the world until he got out into it.

[@smart.but.stupid]

Yeah, that's right. And his Agni Kai with Zhao pretty much showed Zuko was a complex, but not entirely evil character either.

[@alinac5512]

Let's also remember Zuko is like 16? He's a literal TEENAGER. His father send him on a mission and told him to fulfill this impossible mission or never come home. Who of us would act any better than he does in the beginning in his situation? I think it's rather admirable that he finds the right way and leave his home and family to do the right thing, still as a literal TEENAGER.

[@hiruki8]

​@@alinac5512 A teenager who has known abuse and neglect all his life. Especially after the disappearance of the only one who had his back, his mother. And he didn't even have Iron. Iroh went on a big spirit journey so it really was Zuko alone with wolves for years. The approval of the only parent he has left, was such a big drive for him. Especially because accepting life without said approval would be telling a child to be ok with their parent not loving them. In fact, it's made even more painful by the fact that there IS a golden child. Azula is molded into exactly what ozai wants. Powerful and compliant only to his orders. Zuko has only ever struggled with the idea that to earn his father's acceptance, he would have to become Azula. Which he knows isn't possible. So yeah let's cut the kid some slack when his worse crimes are harassment, property destruction, battery and theft.

[@FearsomeVoid]

I always liked Zuko. He was a villain in the first season who did bad things but even then you could see that he wasn't evil like Ozai, Azula and Zhao were. He was conflicted.

[@optimisticnihilist3417]

Regarding the "Katara is a peasant" argument, I mean she's kind of not. Granted, the SWT don't really "do" royalty, but Katara is still the daughter of a world leader. Wartime experiences and accomplishments aside, she and Zuko are still political peers.

[@arriannaniv]

Not to mention political alliances. Chiefs daughter of one of the groups of people who was being persecuted becomes elevated to a queen with power.

[@ClairvoyantMeow]

I saw someone else compare Zuko/Katara to John Smith and Pocahontas? Which honestly only seems to be being made because Waterbenders are written as Native American-inspired. Emphasize on the word "inspired". The Waterbenders are only *inspired* by Native American peoples, but Waterbenders in Avatar had far more power and means to fight against the Firebenders than First Nation peoples had against European colonizers. This isn't a situation of spears and bows vs. guns and cannons. It's more akin to Spain vs. England in Elizabethan times. I always saw Zutara partly as a marriage of state between two warring nations with the intention of creating a better world that isn't at all like the wartorn world prior. Also the idea of any marriage happening between them happening AFTER Ozai was defeated. Katara and Zuko just would have had the added benefit of being friends/lovers prior entering into any marriage of state, so it'd also have been a marriage for love.

[@LilyShimizu]

@@ClairvoyantMeowexpanding off of how flimsy the (Disney) John Smith/Pocahontas comparison is, while I see the vague parallel between Katara and Pocahontas as both are “the daughter of a Chief,” John Smith is absolutely not on Zuko’s level in any way.

[@LilyShimizu]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Sokka sort of make the joke of being pretty much a prince himself to Yue with this exact line of reasoning? Because the same goes go for him, he essentially is the closest thing to a prince the SWT has as the Chief’s son.

[@optimisticnihilist3417]

@@LilyShimizu same goes for Sokka. So I guess the Sokkla shippers also have something of a leg to stand on assuming you can get around the whole psychotic, murderous child soldier thing.

[@moondaisies2078]

katara having to grow up fast and being responsable for a lot of stuff after her mom died and having to put her needs to a side -> zuko validating her needs and actions and not judging her zuko needing to know that he deserves compation and forgiveness after what his dad did to him -> katara giving him her forgivness and treating him with kindness and validating his feelings zutara really out there just being the best ship omg

[@daright1157]

This. This is exactly what i've been thinking! 😭 if they were canon and writen this way as a couple i would have died of happines

[@catdownthestreet]

Zuko treats Katara like a person instead of a monolith, which is why their relationship is so compelling and honestly healthier than Aang and Katara's. Wish they had considered that when they were writing the show instead of whatever they tried to do with Kataraang, there was some real potential for Kataraang to be just as healthy and loving. Zutara just ended up getting that development instead. Not that I'm complaining, Zutara is my favorite lol

[@Mugiduck]

@@catdownthestreet Did you just say katara's relationship with zuko is better than with aang's? How does that make sense?

[@chereruimoongui7397]

​@@MugiduckThey meant in a way of that they have more of an equal standing point rather than katara being more motherly to aang. For zuko's case, she did not need to. A ship pairing on whether or not its better is objective however I do feel like it would be amazing for Aang's develop of letting go of katara completely. it can also be one of those messages of just because you did great deeds for the world doesn't mean the person you love owes you to recipricate their feelings. Or perhaps learning to let go for Aang's case can also be a nice development for him as an avatar that he needed to priorities his duties even when it hurts him deeply and his sacrifice can be an amazing development

[@emperorboss5557]

1:08:57 why was zuko and katara in a cave you ask. Simple Azula was secretly the biggest zutara shipper of us all.

[@drartemisa21]

Fun Fact: Gray Delisle (Azula's VA) ships Zutara!

[@amuroray9115]

@@drartemisa21 not surprising. Doesn’t Dante basco?

[@gaga4gaga4143]

@@amuroray9115 yep he sure does. As well as Mae Whitman, Katara’s voice actor.

[@maimunayusuf9020]

@@gaga4gaga4143 really the voice actors ship it wow I don't know that cool .

[@drartemisa21]

Follow up: I retweeted a two year old tweet of a pic of Grey Delisle signing a Fan's ATLA picture book saying she shipped Zutara, and the legend herself liked it. Goes to show being a Zutara fan doesn't ever go away.

[@ameerasparkle5019]

2 hours ago, I was a casual Kataang shipper. Now I know I won't be able to sleep tonight. My mom was right to be a Zutara shipper...it could've been great. Really.

[@-_-amandaaa-_-]

😂😂😂

[@isharahman8562]

Yess we will convert them all🔥💧

[@karina1047]

Your mom has good taste. A true veteran

[@alinac5512]

My story exactly. My mind was so nlowm after this video and I was so angry. How did zutara not happen? HOW?

[@drfifteenmd7561]

@@alinac5512 there were writers who shipped indeed, but I personally am still an avid Kataang shipper and I’ll admit it does influence why I can see it didn’t happen. The thing is though, that’s personally a testament to Avatar’s great writing imo

[@theway6763]

I honestly feel like the show should’ve just ended in friendship, rather than that questionable kiss . An ending scene with the whole gaang gathering around and hugging each other outside the tea shop while staring off into the sunset at ba sing se, seeing a world of peace they helped bring back, would’ve been a MUCH more satisfying ending and would’ve actually made more sense in all aspects, I’d say. After all the heart of the show really was friendship, not romance. They should’ve left all potential pairings, or ships, open ended so everyone could only be left to speculate who actually ended up together down the road. But alas we can’t always get what we want🤷🏽‍♀️

[@infinitedreamer9359]

I wish they did that. If you can't dedicate time to fleshing a romance to believably show why two characters should be together,then leave it ambigious so that fans can chose. Going back and seeing how Avatar treated romance in hindsight makes it less surprising that the Korra romances wound up as shitty as they did.(Yes Korrasami too)

[@annabellthedoll9953]

@@infinitedreamer9359 Hey, Korasami is good unlike Kataang they fleshed out their relationship well and showed why they should be together and developed it really well.

[@mxntyffx1535]

not to mention that they were all still teenagers and the romantic aspect isn't necessary at that point in time. They could've left it for development in the comics when theyre a little older or just kept it neutral.

[@rinowichan]

​@annabellthedoll9953 korrasami is hideous what are talking about??😅😅

[@lmaoashley]

I felt like this when I first saw the ending too. I felt like the last minute romance elements at the end feel really rushed. I would have been happy with just a friendship ending too.

[@lelle3233]

i hate when people downplay zutara just because they are a "good-looking ship", and therefore the reason behind people liking it must be shallow (ESPECIALLY when the fandom consisted mostly of teenage girls- which just screamed red flag to me.) yes, they are indeed visually pleasing ship (fire and water, red and blue etc) but that's just a bonus, the icing on the cake if you will. if you're willing to analyze their dynamic, parallels and potential just as this video has wonderfully shown, there is so much more to unpack. they deserved each other and this is indeed the hill i will die on :') amazing vid!

[@SneezyReviews]

I didn't get a chance to go in depth into the symbolism in this (partly because visual symbolism and foreshadowing is not my strength; writing is), but the fire/water thing also isn't completely shallow either. The dichotomy between fire and water or Sun and moon is given much much more weight, significance and attention in ATLA (even impacting the story itself, such as in the case of the eclipse or when Zhao killed the moon spirit), than the dichotomy between earth and air or the complementary nature of any other combinations. Like I said visual metaphors like that are not my strong suit so I focused on what I was good at, but I think there is a narrative basis behind finding the fire/water couple to be the more compelling couple, not just a shallow one.

[@lelle3233]

@@SneezyReviews thank u for the reply! i hope i didn't sound like i was calling it shallow, i was more so criticizing people who had that kind of take. i am a huge sucker for these kinds of visual parallels and symbolisms so i very much agree.

[@monca1222]

@@SneezyReviews it didn't help that Aang had dreams of Toph and they were around the same age at that time too. lol It seems like they lampshaded that ship with the whole Tenzin and Lin past as well in LoK.

[@spectorthecritic1723]

@@SneezyReviews The thing that is actually given the most weight is the Moon/Ocean, the moon grants waterbenders there strength of course, and the ocean represents the motion of life. Moon and Ocean (Tu and La) are the Yin and Yang of the ATLA universe, Waterbenders are largely represented by the "moon" so Katara could fall into that category, and Aang became the Ocean spirit, Kataang... Ocean and Moon, Yin and Yang. There is also the fact that Aang is also a firebender soo..

[@spectorthecritic1723]

@@monca1222 lol what, dreams? he had visions not dreams, and it just avatar spirit stuff like sokka said, this heald no romantic weight at all and wasnt even hinted at doing so..

[@molliejaznim177]

You know what’s really amazing? Hearing the thoughts I keep to myself....come out of someone else’s mouth. And you did that over and over. Just as you said, Zutara is the only non-canon ship I’ve ever liked, but it took me a while to put my finger on why. But here’s an actual sentence I wrote about it in my diary as a 16-year-old after the Southern Raiders: “Aang saw the dark side of Katara and chose to pretend it away, while Zuko chose to work with it. I know which one I would prefer my boyfriend to do.” While you didn’t say it in those words, hearing the idea expressed on screen was pretty validating, honestly. I loved how you took it a step further than that, though, showing how Aang’s development was hindered and how it could have been fixed.

[@nukesakuji]

Your 16 y/o self said it best like wtf. I couldn't have thought of that then LOL. I just know I felt it.

[@claireneville1070]

holy shit you put it into words

[@FeyPax]

This 100% I am not a shipper at all. I personally don’t care what gets cannon and not but this show really threw me for a loop. I strongly relate to katara, being a young person thrust into the role of “mother” only because I was the eldest and therefore needing to be more mature. And not to mention the trauma lol but I always felt that Aang wanted everything to be fixed which is fine for him on his own and the responsibility thrusted on him, but I felt that Zuko understood Katara more and wasn’t trying to push her internal trauma deep down to make it better. I feel like Zuko could relate to Katara and if I were in her place, I would feel more like an individual and less like a prop to the avatar. And I don’t hate kataang by any means, I just personally feel like Zutara is a more mature relationship that instead of only propping up Aang, Katara gets to come into her own with the help of Zuko. Zuko gives her the go ahead that she was craving, and it was something that made me stop looking even at Zutara as a romantic relationship but further as a mutual partnership (which the best relationships are founded on)

[@destiny5315]

your 16 year old self is so eloquent and for what

[@alisasayani5320]

No one is perfect. Aang thought Katara was perfect and ignored her dark side and her pain. Zuko saw her dark side and accepted her with it. Katara wouldn't have to be secretive with him

[@alorapendrak9752]

Honestly, my biggest problem with Mai x Zuko is how Mai never grows she ditches Azula because she wants to be with Zuko not because she has a problem with any of the Fire nation's values or the harm they inflict. Because of her desire for a relationship with a childhood crush. In fact, Mai x Zuko emphasizes how Mai has never grown up since she's still after the guy she had a crush on as a kid who she hasn't seen for a couple of years. Mai was a spoiled brat who only cared about her comfort/ safety at the beginning of the series and she ends it that way too. And by the end of the series Zuko has outgrown her.

[@carlaherrera9946]

Exactly!! Like how does a character like Zuko who grows through SO MUCH development and very emotionally painful revelations about the Fire Nation, his father, his goals, life, values, etc. end up with Mai who stays pretty stagnant as a character and stays sympathetic to what the Fire Nation has done (and seems pretty comfortable with her life in the status quo), without addressing any of this? Ultimately Mai's motivation to go against Azula is "liking Zuko a lot." I feel like they have fundamentally very different views of the world by the end of the story and it's just brushed aside like "we don't really want to get into all that, they just like each other, ACCEPT IT." But it just doesn't make sense when there's Katara, who Zuko had better chemistry with and aligns more with than Mai on nearly every measure (except perhaps knowing what it's like growing up in the Fire Nation)

[@milka9164]

SAY IT LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK !

[@linaa6981]

what are you talking about? mai wasnt spoiled at all, and they discussed that in the beach episode. Money isn't everyhting, and even when she was in a higher class and grew up around comodities, her family never showed affection for her, so she grew up alone. She learned that she would be fine if she never complained or showed emotions, thats her trauma. Her father could be very volatile and we learn that from the comics, he was basically a fan of the government and a supremacist, and was willing to affect his family if it meant he accomplished his goals. Mai learns to fight for what she really wants: her love for zuko. It wasn't just a childhood crush anymore, they are seen pursuing their desires and emotions, and growing in a relationship that has its pros and cons. This is her growth, her learning that she doesnt have to settle for what everyone else needs just to be safe, and puts her life in danger in order to finally go after what she wants. Her remaining a moody and gloomy teenager doesnt affect the fact that she has growth even being a secondary character.

[@alorapendrak9752]

​@@linaa6981 That's the problem though the Beach episode told us all this but it doesn't match up with what's shown. Everything we know about Mai is told to us and it feels like a complete recon to try and make her an acceptable girlfriend. Oh um she only went along with the fire nation because she was taught to hold in her emotions trauma! Also I consider the comics fanfiction at best. Mai would of been fine if she stayed a minor character but bringing her in as someone the audience is supposed to care about was a big mistake. And a slapped on sad backstory that comes out of nowhere. (Zuko, Azula even Ty lee ect had build up). Didn't help her case. If it works for you that's great, but for me personally. I just don't buy that Mai was that deep.

[@amuroray9115]

@@alorapendrak9752 okay hold up. I never really liked Mai but Zutara shippers trash her far too much. Don’t you people realize that Mai was willing to sacrifice her freedom, her life, and her own safety to help Zuko escape? Mai breaking free from Azula was the most shocking moment of Azula’s life so far. No one had done such a thing to her. For Mai to get over her fear because she loves Zuko is far more than a “boyhood crush”? It takes a lot of maturity to do such a thing. I think people just hate Mai because she’s emotionless and didn’t connect with Zuko over his feeelings

[@rohitbabar8715]

Daughter: makes a 2 hour long video Her mom : sums up everything naturally in 2 mins.

[@SneezyReviews]

#rekt

[@alinac5512]

@@SneezyReviews 😂😂😂

[@ValenArtsAnimation]

This is probably one of the best video about Avatar Not only because it explains Zutara's wasted potential, but also because it shows that Avatar is not as perfect as many people say

[@stephaniewilliams6756]

Yep totally accurate comment. The show shows its age, its just too simplistic sometimes

[@2triedforthis830]

The show is still a 10/10 but because the flaws, although are pretty significant, kinda are outweighed by the amazing ness that is avatar the last air bender. Cuz it’s just amazing!? Ok but like I never really had that much of a problem with how aang suddenly gets his wants instead and gets the girl at the end because I just accepted it and this kinda opens my eyes. I still don’t really have that big of a problem but I definitely see it now. The season was lowkey kinda rushed if I was gonna be honest like while watching I realized the season were getting shorter as it used to be 20 eps to 18 to finally 16?? Like idk if this was done on purpose because they definitely needed those last 4 eyes in the last season even with the 40 min eps

[@a_little_flame589]

yeah atla fans genuinely get on my nerves they claim so much about atla and greatly exaggerated while I would never recommend a lily orchard video their video on the atla community hit the nail on the head

[@georgespiggott5615]

Now that I think about it, Kataang would have been a lot more emotionally resonant if they actually resolved their conflicts and opened up to each other emotionally. Or they could have just avoided all the talk of attachment and the last-minute fights and kept them sweet and wholesome. They intentionally sabotaged their own endgame ship, and instead of repairing it so it would be stronger, they just painted it over. Even the voice actors of Zuko and Katara talk about how they expected Zutara to be a thing up until they recorded the final episode. Very strange decisions were made in the writer's room and I'm not sure why.

[@carlaherrera9946]

This is a good point. Really though, objectively speaking, they didn't NEED to have Katara and Zuko spend most of their time together in the last few episodes. They could've had Aang and Katara grow closer in a more romantic way instead, address the conflicts Sneezy talked about in the video, and make Kataang endgame make more sense and feel earned. Did it make for a better story to have Zutara interact that much? Yes! Did it help both Zuko and Katara grow as characters and reach more fully realized versions of themselves? Yes! Did I love every moment of it? Yes! But if the creators really didn't want ANY confusion on who would be endgame, then these moments sure didn't clarify Kataang. Apparently it's rumored there were conflicting opinions amongst Bryke (who wanted Kataang) and other writers/animators (who wanted Zutara), but I don't believe Bryke just never read the final drafts before giving the final ok, so like...it's still on them. I will continue to ship Zutara, because it's better lol.

[@georgespiggott5615]

@@carlaherrera9946 I know that the Korean animators, at least, were confused about the endgame. One of them actually drew a Zutara poster promoting season 3 if I remember correctly.

[@sleepykat44]

It's because I think Aaron Ehasz and some other writers might've been into Zutara as well. Pretty much all of the Zutara episodes starting from Waterbending scroll had either been written by Ehasz, Elizabeth Ehasz, or John O'Bryan and I believe Ehasz wanted a season 4 where Zuko and Katara do end up as endgame and Aang DOES get his wants vs need conflict resolution and completes his character arc Aaron Ehasz put in the Crossroads of Destiny.

[@Jay.T4NA]

Yes!!! Dante Basco (zuko voice actor) is TO THIS DAY the biggest zutara shipper!

[@alinac5512]

Honestly Id still ship Zutara cause it would still be vastly superior, but I agree they made their inferior ship intentionally even more inferior... Why? Im 100% with you on that.

[@nonoxnana6672]

1:58:31 i totally agree. i feel like kataangers sometimes act like they’re dropping a bomb by putting in evidence of all the times kataang showed feelings for each other. of course they did-bryke planned this from the beginning. our point is and always has been simply that the potential for zutara based on their friendship dynamic and upbringings alone is far greater than that of kataang.

[@donmoez6289]

We can't really regard "individual dynamics, upbringings, etc" and ignore the narrative. Both are important. And both in context proves it doesn't really work. Both Aang and Zuko had dynamics and upbringings that all could've potentially complimented Katara's story; it just depends based off what lens/perspective you want to look at it.

[@ЕкатеринаМартюшина]

okay, but one question: how can someone articulate SO flawlessly and comprehensively what's been brewing in my head for YEARS ??! :______)))) I got SO tired of explaining to people that Zutara wasn't (or, at the very least, wasn't SOLELY) about girls having a crush on Zuko and using Katara as a stand-in (seriously, I got that one A LOT). To me, it was ALWAYS about narrative coherence and symbolism - it truly had the potential to tie all the major themes of the show together. Anyway, thank you so much for putting it all into words!!!! I got so invested in following your arguments that it made me forget for a second that Zutara was NOT, indeed, canon. Watching the vid kind of felt like experiencing a better ending vicariously )

[@ЕкатеринаМартюшина]

also, i can't even begin to imagine the Tremendous amount of work that went into this vid.... thank you so much !

[@elysacaso-mchughpowerfulpo760]

It diddd

[@IshtarNike]

Made sense to me as an adult male fan. Watched on and off as a kid but only fully appreciated it after watching it all through on Netflix. Zutara makes just as much if not more sense.

[@beccat6055]

Omg yes, they always try to invalidate your opinions and make you seem shallow. The theme matched their RELATIONSHIP and that’s what it should have been about.

[@sparkyblue7016]

@@beccat6055 yes people say that we project ourselves as Katara , now thats just shallow and wrong on so many levels . I get so frustrated by such comments . Like let us enjoy our ship , your ship is Canon be happy with it.

[@Worldbuilder-o1k]

I find it interesting how my feelings on both Kataang and Zutara have evolved over the years. When I first watched the show, I was 12, the same age Aang was. I was enamored with the sugar-sweet interactions and the blushing awkwardness Katara induced in Aang. I pictured the way I wished my crush a boy in my fifth grade class would react to me. I wanted him to think I was perfect and pretty and kind and all the things Aang thought about Katara. But then I got older. And started to develop. By the time I was Suki’s age I had realized that so many men in this world didn’t care for my mind and my heart half as much as they “cared” for my body. Catcalls, inappropriate jokes, staring too long... along with my own blossoming sexuality and self image, all of them soured the treacle sweet, worshipful image Aang held for Katara. Then something happened. A boy in my class, who was two years younger then me, decided he was in love with me after about 3 weeks of interaction. He called me out to the yard, dressed in his Sunday best, and gave me a bouquet of roses before declaring his love for me. All of these things, that, on paper, where the kind of things every girl is supposed to love. But I just felt blindsided and numb. I was backed into a corner with the expectation of reciprocity and I mostly just felt trapped by this person who had built up this idealized version of me in his head. I turned him down as gently as I could. But he continued to persist, into the next school year until I dropped the veneer of kindness and told him flat out that I despised him (and I did by that point. He hadn’t respected my wishes or my boundaries) That’s the thing about someone treating you as perfect or the ideal in real life. It’s not based on who you are as a person, it’s based on this fiction of you that they have built up in their head, and they often get angry or “disappointed” if you fail to live up to that fictional image. Real love in my opinion, is summed up in the Young Justice quote “Finding the person who knows the psycho that you are... and likes you anyway!” So yeah that my really long winded description of why I’m a Zutara shipper now! 😅

[@LegioXXI]

"That’s the thing about someone treating you as perfect or the ideal in real life. It’s not based on who you are as a person, it’s based on this fiction of you that they have built up in their head, and they often get angry or “disappointed” if you fail to live up to that fictional image." Thats why the nice guy / nice girl trope (even in fiction) is actually harmful because it gives young people a complete wrong understanding how love works. You just can't "earn" the happy ending by being nice. And just having a crush isn't enough of a foundation for any serious relationship. I was a victim of this mindset too - and it took me many, many years to grow out of it.

[@rayesafan9628]

Seriously. When I was watching ATLA, I was 14 or so. And I was an early bloomer. I already had someone who had a crush on me and who wrote me poems and stuff like that. He had a crush on me because I was a nice person when we met when I was 11. We were friends, then it came out that he liked me. I didn’t mind, but I didn’t feel anything for him. He was just a buddy. But he took that as an invitation to invade my personal life and expected emotional commitment. Then he started sending me messages that made me feel like if I didn’t respond, he would hurt himself or worse. It was a lot for a 13-14 year old. As I watched Katara and Aang, it grossed me out. The whole time. Because that sort of one-sided relationship was not a happy thought for me. Nice, mothering, pretty young girls have so much thrusted upon them by boys. And if the girl falls from grace in their eyes, then it’s the girl’s fault for “not being as good as she seemed to be”, and not the boy’s fault for idealizing her without her asking for it. And that’s why I can’t stomach Kataang. (Except in Korra, because then I could imagine them growing up and understanding things in a more mature light. Hypothetically)

[@ashton_playz9341]

​@@rayesafan9628 You say that but the entire thing with Katara is that she hated being demoted to the housewife role. now she's forced into it. and even in the comics, everytime she's seen she's either alone or comforting Aang, completely sidelined, and everything that she's worked for, to be a warrior, to be respected, is just replaced with being the avatar's girlfriend, wife, mother of his children.

[@Ariais_sad]

@@Worldbuilder-o1k womp womp

[@AlashiaTuol]

What gets me about The Southern Raiders is that it's really the first time someone, _anyone,_ goes out of their way to support Katara enough for her to allow herself the chance to work through her trauma and feelings that have festered for six to seven years by this point. The rest of her family and friends do love her, but everyone around her has relied so much on her strength since she was a child that they've created an expectation for how (and who's) emotional needs are met; Katara always had to give, she almost never received, and she always bears the weight when someone in her family doesn't have their shit together. That's why, as much as I like Aang, I can't believe Aang's and Katara's relationship can be healthy the way it is portrayed, especially not healthier than Zuko's and Katara's. Aang's relationship with her is a continuation of a pattern that has clearly strained Katara for years, even before Aang himself showed up.

[@sparkyblue7016]

Yes exactly , zuko understands her . She is shaped a lot by having responsibilities thrown at her . When aang was sad about his people gone and went into the avatar state to destroy everything , Katara gave him comfort. But aang he just told her to forgive and forget . If it was that easy then why the hell was she suffering for 7 to 6 years . Zuko made the right choice by giving her some closure . She needed that . Katara herself said that aangs advice wasn't good and that zuko was there for her when no one was there . Somehow it felt like everyone didn't care about her trauma or her feelings . She was supposed to be the mother of the group and suck up her feelings. I was quite angry at aang when he told her that . Granted that she was sokkas mother as well but sokka didn't share such a strong bond with his mother , he even claimed to not remember her(which for some reason felt heartwarming, that he loves Katara so much and sees her as someone he can rely on , such a beautiful sibling relationship 🥲) Bottom line Zuko understands Katara and could see the hurt she was going through . Him accompanying her on the trip was for her mother because zuko understood how badly she needed a closure . Her forgiving him was also a part of the reason but I personally feel that he connected to her and her situation that's why he wanted to help her recover from her trauma . And aangs trauma of getting his whole nation wiped was something the creators glossed over. It didn't get as much screen time as I would've liked to show some character development in him.

[@gentleauroraasmr8562]

Perfectly said! Zuko allows Katara to express her feelings/tramua that has harbor inside her. Aang just brushes it away, and tried to find tactics that would basically "try to take her mind off it". What Aang doesn't understand is that, a person can't be a better version of themselves or move on. If they don't find or have closure to the person who's done them wrong. It's just like How in some scenarios, people meet with their abusers whether it's their, parents, ex, friends, siblings...etc to ask why they did this, what made them want to do this, what did I do to deserve this??..etc Katara never accepted, or been able to acknowledge the fact that her mother is dead, and that someone was responsible for her death. She's been held to an expectation all her life. With Zuko, she's able to backtrack, and face her tramua. Which is hard but it needs to happen. I think the way Aang acts & Katara not healing really reflects on why their children are the way they are. I can't understand how Kataang supporters feel like this relationship is healthy & non toxic. Maybe not now, but later on!

[@katitax508]

It’s also note worthy that once Zuko joins the group he is the only person to help with the chores Katara usually does on her own, and it’s noticeable she’s doing much less of the housework and has more time to enjoy herself. So he not only eases her emotional labour, but her homemaking labour too. Can’t help but stan Zutara.

[@BlackGirlLovesAnime6]

Ooh good point. Zuko was the only person that allowed her to relinquish her control and take the back seat for a change. He took the leadership position in their dynamic which is something that helped katara heal through her trauma.

[@Devinisapimp2019]

But aang soon agreed and Said that she should face this man but not kill him, cause he knows that she would regret it overtime and it would eat her up, I means it’s killing someone and human life good or bad he was trying to help her like she did to him she when he felt rage

[@aerinhinton964]

funnily enough, Katara never seemed that happy to me at the "Aang's a powerful bender" "I suppose he is" line, and the music didn't seem really triumphant or romantic.

[@SneezyReviews]

Same!!! And to this day it's wild to me that other people watch that clip and think Katara looks happy in it 🤣

[@smart.but.stupid]

@@SneezyReviews Katara barely looks happy in most Kataang moments to be honest. Eh, so much for the long-hidden feelings, I suppose.

[@2triedforthis830]

@@smart.but.stupidthe fact there was no follow up as well like your joking😭

[@raphaelflament]

y'all are fr so delusional@@smart.but.stupid

[@camillacongiu7828]

i think that scene would’ve been more powerful if sokka wasn’t the one saying it, but rather she figured it out on her own (maybe even several episodes later) and then remembered the prophecy, making everything click in her head. i don’t like that scene precisely because of what you said, never seemed too natural or joyful to me

[@heisenberg1681]

You know what is funny? It’s the fact that people ship mai and zuko, who broke up 3 times, and they claim it is a healthy, canon relationship.

[@moonstonehersisters]

Lmao true

[@InternetNonsense]

Both Mai and Aang share "didn't ask, be my idealized first love" to their respective canon lovers' emotional and moral struggles. They seem to be stuck in the honeymoon imagination, outgrown by their partners, who tend to carry the reality aspect and relationship's burden that Mai and Aang just feel entitled to with no connection and contribution outside a couple acts of grandeur, that wouldn't carry the day-to-day partnership. Katara and Zuko feel complex and deep enough for each other, with balanced give-and-take, understanding and willingness to listen to each other (while their respective lovers shut them down, Aang wanting Katara to remain angelic healing mommy support player and Mai wanting Zuko to be quiet obedient zero emotion Desna-like goth bf). Katara and Zuko feel like healthiest combination by far, especially for each other as what they share seem balanced. And for the show, to show that the idealized first crushes can be not the right thing for you at all. That you should find compatible love and not be obsessed with the first pretty girl or boy you met in second grade. And that's not even getting into them working visually, being fire and water, red and blue, sun and moon, yin and yang. It works politically too. Warrior chief's daughter of the Southern Water Tribe and the Fire Lord? Zuko needs a gentle guidance and some political agency would be great outlet for Katara's idealism, moral compass, empathy and shared goal to make the world a better place. One of Zuko's arcs was learning from other nations, especially the waterbenders (redirecting lightning), and one of Katara's arcs was learning Fire Nation is not pure evil. It would be symbolic bow on the top how they would restore and heal the Fire Nation as Katara healed the lighting-struck Zuko, harmed by same royalty that ravaged the country in self-destruction. Would also help quench the Fire Nation's supremacy and nationalism to have Fire Lady be someone from the Water Tribe. Katara wants a fair world and Aang wants baby making wifey to continue HIS Air Nomad legacy. But what about Katara's legacy of being the last Southern Tribe waterbender? She despised the same misogynistic expectation to take support caretaker role, sitting out the action and ignoring HER wants and needs when it came from Paku, why is Aang different? Definitely feels like Fire Nation would have appreciated her more as Zuko and Iroh learned life-saving techniques from studying waterbending. Hama is what Katara would have been, had she not gone on a life-changing field trip with Zuko. It would be interesting to see her also living in the Fire Nation, but not for destruction and seething with revenge, but for healing and appreciation of her arts. Katara shone the brightest in the Fire Nation and had the strongest, most life changing moments there. Painted Lady, Hama, Southern Raiders etc. It gave her most definition and sense of self and purpose. Being Aang's "Forever Girl" feels like a downgrade, settling, she gets nothing out of that. The writers were so focused on "nice guy" " getting the girl" that they didn't stop to introspect why it doesn't work and why it didn't happen in their lives as well. Different levels of maturity, needs, goals and interests with uneven footing and compromises, that's why your babysitter won't fall in love with you. How do you improve HER life? Gravity Falls does a much better job addressing this with Wendy and Dipper, still making them remain on friendly terms, but realizing it isn't true love, but infatuation. Aang never has a realization that he is to Katara as that fortune teller girl is to him. If they so desperately wanted a girly cheerleader for Aang to have their male wish fulfillment, Ty Lee would've worked better, she even looks like Air Nomad and has similar childish sense of humor and entertainment as Aang with similar pacifist and conflict averse "brush trauma under the rug and just be friends!" outlook. Katara is too heavy for Aang in terms of maturity, her shoes are too big for him to fill. In a show obsessed with balance, their relationship seems way lopsided.

[@marzipantart]

​@@InternetNonsensethis 100%, Zutara I'd the best. The only reason I would support Maiko is because I'd feel so BAD for Mai having and losing Zuko. How could you like anyone else after that? Sorry but Kei Lo is a major downgrade.

[@marviiczeq7094]

​@@InternetNonsensethank you for saying all of that, it made my day ^^

[@alinac5512]

​@@InternetNonsenseI wanne copy this comment and spam it everywhere. And that's only scratching the surface. Take the southern raiders alone: you see respect, maturity, tolerance and gentleness in every interaction between them. The talks she has with Zuko who listens to her and supports her, it's so amazing to see. He's a better bf than 90% of tv bfs without beeing her bf. Their energy together... It's just amazing to see. It's my favorite episode and their dynamic would have been perfect as a couple, and that's the hill I'll die on.

[@erinrosado1617]

My whole life has led me to this. I am ready.

[@cripwalker665]

the pfp makes it soooo much better

[@Jay.T4NA]

Same. It was inevitable

[@forecastjanna1906]

Fate has led us here, on this day we shall gather together and ship Zutara

[@theaustralianviewer8838]

I always just assumed Zutrara was cannon, like I genuinely believed they ended up together. I watched bits and pieces of the show as a kid and didn’t see the whole series and final episodes until a few years ago, and I was shocked to see that it wasn’t cannon…

[@SneezyReviews]

You're not the only one, I can tell you that!

[@theway6763]

I consider zutara canon tbh😂I reject kataang and Maiko as romantic relationships

[@anfani6839]

Even as a kid - that shipped Kataang back then - I knew that something was up between them and took it for granted that Zuko indeed had romantic feelings for Katara in Book 3

[@quengquymaiman8005]

as a kid i shipped them only because one was water and one was fire 🥑👄🥑

[@Scarlet_Starlight]

⁠@@quengquymaiman8005and why shouldn’t you ship fire boy and water girl when Fire and Water, as well as the Moon and the Sun, (which are the sources of Fire and Water powers in this verse) are given such narrative and thematic importance as a juxtaposition.

[@AGR04]

I always loved the way that small locks of Zuko’s hair refuse to remain tied back when he returns to the Fire Nation and tries to assimilate back into his title. It’s a subtle part of his design that tells us he’s not as put together as he seems, and that he still has doubts and guilt about the way everything has turned out for him. He can’t just slide back into his role as the prodigal son. He’s learned and grown up too much now, and those lessons refuse to be pinned down and ignored, no matter how hard he tries. And considering Zuko’s hair has always been a major visual tracker for his character growth in general, I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume it applies here as well.

[@Heather_Duke]

The creators basically using Aang as a self insert and shoving Katara with him is funny when you consider the fact that Zutara is accused of being a ship girls use to self insert themselves with Zuko.

[@lemoon_pie]

yea, when men do self insert all ppl defend them. But dont dare women do it! Because all hell will get loose, like, make it make it sense.

[@Heather_Duke]

@@lemoon_pie Yep. The ones actually responsible for the show made a self insert, but teenage girls are apparently the issue for crushing on Zuko. It also funnily enough ignores that a lot of Zutara shippers are queer.

[@Therisibledeer]

yeah i like zutara on its own, but as a brown girl myself its extremely frustrating to see them never being giving much agency over their romanitic lives. like i would like kataang a lot more if katara showed more obvious interest. this and voltron just give so much personality to a brown girl that isn't just ooohh smarttt or ooh tough side character and then they just kinda end up being the love interest prize. also sue me if i wanna see the brown girl actually get the hot guy for once instead of the guy who pines after her that she doesn't show much interest in and kinda makes it look like she settled for him really

[@slimy_rayxp256]

The funny part of that for me is that it’s not even the only early 2000s-2010s Nickelodeon show that did that!! (Glares at 2012 tmnt Apritello)

[@Heather_Duke]

@@Therisibledeer Yes! That's the thing, I think Zutaras (a lot of whom i've noticed liked Jin/Zuko or Haru/Katara, for instance) would've accepted Kataang more if we'd actually seen Katara display romantic feelings for him. We didn't though. She basically treated him like a kid/brother.

[@leilahussain9171]

You can literally make 100 more zutara videos and I will watch them with the same amount of interest that I watched this one.

[@rachelconsoli8428]

This tho! Whenever she says “eh let me know if you’re interested and maybe I’ll make more vids” my thoughts is yes...I’m always interested in Zutara, I will go down with this ship...

[@sparkyblue7016]

@@asha-bi7by I know right as a person who sometimes writes for enjoyment, this was very helpful and I found some of the mistakes i make and found ways to correct them . She didn't invalidate Kataang and at the same time made arguments about why they don't work out without bringing in zutara. Kataang has many problems without even considering zutara . And she was correct in school I don't pay a lot of interest in literature but watching shows and analyzing the literary devices helps a lot and my language skills have improved a lot . I now find fun in reading and analyzing poems and story's and easily find the significance and symbolism in them . It's an internal drive for me to analyze everything in a show. And Atla sure has lots of symbolism but as she mentioned they threw it outta the window and that thing bugged me when I watched Atla and even now after I've finished it .

[@jentlesites]

“Mom she’s watching that 2 hour Zutara video again!”

[@SneezyReviews]

You guys are wild and I love y'all for it ❤️❤️❤️

[@jentlesites]

@@SneezyReviews 🥹❤️💙

[@februerik]

2 HOURS OF ZUTARA SHIPPING? YES PLEASE

[@ColeAndPhoebeForever]

I was always a Zutara shipper from before the show even aired. In 2004, I did an internship at Nickelodeon, watched the pilot episode, listened to the audio tapes of the first six episodes, and satt in on a script writers meeting for the end of The Waterbending Scroll, it was totally awesome! I also met the really tall guy who played Haru's father and Gantu in the Lilo and Stitch franchise. Anyway, for all Katara and Zuko fans, their voice actors were in another popular show, American Dragon- Jake Long, where Jake (Dante Basco) and Rose (Mae Whitman) did end up together! Thank you for making this excellent video, laying out all the reasons why Zutara would've made a great couple, but at least we have Jake and Rose, right?

[@carolinagriva8419]

@@ColeAndPhoebeForever I really liked Jake along! But for some reason they changed the design in the middle of the show and it flopped.

[@sorcerersapprentice]

Honestly, I think Kataang should've taken the same direction as Wendip from Gravity Falls. Both Aang and Dipper are boys who fall for idealized version of girls who are a few years older than them. Where Wendip succeeds where Kataang falls flat is that the former never end up together. Around midway through the series, Wendy turns Dipper down, saying that she doesn't see him anything more than a friend. Dipper is hurt by this. But he quickly grows up and accepts her friendship. That feels far more realistic and relatable. First crushes becoming something more rarely happens in real life. Aang ending up with Katara in the end just seems like some weird wish fulfilment power fantasy instead of something more grounded. I wish something similar went down in Avatar. Like you said, Aang wants is to fly into the sunset with an idealized version of Katara, but what he needs is to see her for what she truly is and to be turned down. It needed to happen for Aang to grow as a character and complete his arc. Plus, if something like that happened, it would be a great lesson to kids about how to handle romantic rejection in a healthy manner much like the Wendip subplot did.

[@_StarXDust_]

also fin and pg from adventure time

[@forecastjanna1906]

I wish i could heart your comment omg this is actually a great idea!!!

[@smart.but.stupid]

When the partners aren't equals, or on the same level of wants and needs, I don't even see what's there to argue about.

[@a_little_flame589]

no wendip is the only pairing more cringe than kataang

[@DrRush-ow4qg]

@@a_little_flame589they are equally cringe: Amon

[@sanjomaz]

Dude! I was a former Kataanger who also shifted to Zutara. It took me some years and a little bit of relationship experience to realize that they were very very young, Aang still had that child-like immaturity compared to Katara's maternal maturity, and Katara didn't really have much of a POV in the Kataang romance. I still saw them as cute together, as a cute "first crush" relationship in your early teens, but not "true love." :[. I always saw Katara and Zuko eventually finding each other after a few years post-war. :D

[@Ariais_sad]

@@sanjomaz shut uuuuuupppppp

[@canvas_125]

I’m back to express my sadness with how the fanbase treats Katara. If you look up the scene of the Southern Raiders when the Gaang are arguing on YT, the comments berate Katara badly and speak bad about the Zuko and Katara’s dynamic and how toxic they are in the scene. It sucks. People deal with trauma differently especially someone like Katara who always helps others, but no one actually tried to dive into Katara’s pain and work through it like Zuko did. The truth is, this pain of Katara is HUGE and haunts her throughout the show. The fact that it’s ZUKO that wants to help her sort through this pain is HUGE. It’s like people still think Zuko regresses his character in Southern Raiders. Zuko could see what Katara’s trauma was doing to her emotionally and it was overflowing. It felt like Aang immediately became more concerned about the safety of the person Katara was looking for than the open wound Katara was letting open now in full effect. Zuko having faith in Katara through thick and thin is more powerful. Zuko and Katara have an emotional mature dynamic that feels more equal.

[@canvas_125]

@대양 If you look up the comments and sort them through new comments, you can see people still crap on Katara. It’s crazy.

[@sparkyblue7016]

@@canvas_125 exactly like you're shitting on the person who is suffering trauma , must be a new level of low to reach at that point . I agree with your comment.

[@LegioXXI]

To be fair, Aang was a 12yo boy raised by monks. The air temples got divided by gender, so basically Aang fell in love with the first girl he sees (no female friends of Aang before the war were ever mentioned). This poor boy simply needed to literally get grounded and get more interactions with girls - and not even in a romantic way. Imho maybe the air nomads detached themselves a bit too much from the world.

[@sherbert1321]

I watched atla in high school years after it ended, not knowing anything about the fandom, and I remember finishing season 2 and talking to my friends about it and saying “I hope Zuko and Katara end up together” and the entire lunch table turning on me all at once to tell me how much better Kataang is. I threw a match onto a fire pit I didn’t know existed

[@sherbert1321]

To continue on this, the funny thing is despite their insistence of how much better Kataang was, I still ended up going through season 3 and being more and more convinced Zutara was going to happen. When it didn’t, I was shocked and disappointed. Not overly, cuz that wasn’t the part of the show that I cared about the most, but still. I honestly hate the romance trope of the guy pining after the unsuspecting girl who sees him just as a friend. It always feels like the trope doesn’t take the girl’s feelings into account, and treats her like an object to be won once the guy overcomes some sort of trial. It’s an age-old trope you can see as far back as literature itself, and by the time I gave atla a shot I had seen it a million times over. I was hoping atla would be as brilliant with its romance as it was with every other aspect of the show. It was not. Katara is far too strong a character to be reduced to nothing but an object for Aang to win over. If we had seen Katara’s thoughts and feelings on the subject, I likely would feel differently about this, but we never got to. It was all about Aang in this relationship. The difference with Zuko and Katara though, is that we get to see both sides of the story. We get to see how Zuko feels about Katara (admiration strong enough for him to sacrifice himself to save her), and we get to see Katara’s feelings for Zuko (An emotional whirlwind of anger and forgiveness that leads to a extremely strong bond that no one, not even Aang, can replicate). Forget everything, which trope is stronger, etc. The reason Zutara works so much better for me than Kataang is because it gives Katara the respect in the relationship that she deserves.

[@SneezyReviews]

@sherbert1321 beautifully said. I can't believe your friends turned on you like that! And not one of them was a ZK shipper? Tragic 😂💀

[@DrRush-ow4qg]

Yea… I find KatAang to not be too toxic. KatAangers on the other hand… ☣️

[@BluePenguin200]

It honestly makes me cringe to think about how the creators stated how they were nerds who could never get the girl (hence Aang’s longing for Katara) and had crushes on their babysitters, in relation to Kataang. You can’t deny this self-insertion is a notable element of the foundation of the relationship. Katara is such a strong female character and for her to be relegated to a love interest to the main boy character who longed for her, it is unsatisfying. Most notably in how they executed it. The story could have worked fine without it, or even if it was executed better with real development. It’s even worse because after the main series, she gets denoted to just the avatar’s wife/girl/mother of his children. I suppose this is another element as to why the Zutara shipping is so enticing, Zuko and Katara having a sense of equal value in the way their relationship is presented is appealing to many people. It feels like it could work because it feels more real to us, it’s not a fantasy self-insert, and does justice to the way the narrative was leading up on. You’ve made some great points that I think all come together with this point.

[@julchensweet2538]

You’re right. Grownup Aang even looks exactly like Mike it’s creepy

[@makingthestorybetter]

Nailed it. Aang is a simp lord

[@shoganflamemasta3975]

Are you serious!? Holy shit I didn't know that, was that in a interview or something? Where can I find the babysitter thing. It's pretty creepy to hear it. Makes pushy incel Aang all the more real.

[@annabellthedoll9953]

@@julchensweet2538 Like who?

[@niicespiice]

is there a source for this information? i'm reluctant to believe this otherwise.

[@bloomwiththestars]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Also, something this video made me realize that I hadn't thought of before watching this regarding Zuko's relationships are that Mai is more cold like Zuko's father and Katara is more empathetic like his uncle, which, we were shown throughout the show is what Zuko needs. And I agree about Katara needing someone who validates/supports her, even when she is angry or rageful. She's a wise person and she'll come around in her own time, but no one deserves to be told what to do or shamed by their SO for their feelings.

[@licorish_]

I know it was a joke but the very first thing you said about how the ship names for Kataang and Maiko are such that Aang's and Mai's names are completely there is kind of a perfect unintentional example of how both relationships have major issues to do both people (Aang being immature and Mai not at all being present in the relationship) whereas Katara and Zuko are equal 😭😭😭

[@niyamitchell6818]

Ikr I was hooked from the start. Like clearly such an unserious argument yet here I am like you right tho

[@bridgettemartinez5335]

Every time I guess frustrated at sloppy romance subplots in media, I like coming back to this video. Zutara is honestly the blueprint of how romantic subplots can strengthen the thematic narrative of stories, and seeing this video makes me feel validated in my love of shipping. Romance is so often disregarded as unimportant in bigger stories, and I feel that much of the stigma against romance is due to how women tend to like it more than men.

[@klear19634]

Yes yes yes! Something i always hated was how people treated Katara as some "prize" for Aang. Like he earned her love after saving the world.

[@niapurdue230]

Not to mention in Korra she's relegated to being a healer after specifically saying she wanted to do more. No statue, just "the Avatar's wife." I'll never be over it.

[@katn1751]

@@niapurdue230 me neither. I can't deal with the disservice they did to Katara.

[@BluePenguin200]

I honestly feel as though she would have had more agency (politically and personally) if she had been Fire Lady to Zuko instead..

[@asobimo5532]

​@@niapurdue230and how much she was mad at her father for being away all the time, yet ends up being married to a nomad (and the avatar) that has to be away from home and his children very often. Idk but I don't think Katara would've liked that, especially since in her culture the whole village was together and was raising kids, while she was away from the South pole and her family most of the time

[@niapurdue230]

@@asobimo5532 exactly like it infuriates me, the comics are even worse!

[@cris4ever70]

I just found this video and lord, we could have had it all. I shipped them casually but now I *really* wish this was part of the masterplan from the writers. Also, I’m not nearly as courageous as Katara but I did share a lot of traits with her which made me see myself in her. Ending up with someone with whom I have to repress my dark feeling or have to mother after spending my whole (real) life doing sounds like my literal worst nightmare. Poor Katara, having to always be the emotional crutch of everyone gets exhausting after years and years.

[@8nicopink868]

Jesus, I already knew Zutara was robbed, but all the deeper analysis of how Kataang and Maiko could be good red herrings, the even further thematic connections I didn't even recognize, how tied they are to the other's arcs.... *Zutara was so so robbed*

[@hodzal5258]

Not only that. Thanks to the new fans they’re undermining Zutara in favor for Zukka. Which seems like the writers might pick up on it

[@actress5256]

Also zuko and Katara being together adds even more reason for republic city ( a place for all benders) to have been formed. Katara being the « queen » of the fire nation allows an Avenue for the nations to become together

[@thecagedsong]

Actually, I think it would result in something else. There wouldn't be a carved out place for the nations to come come together, while the others retained their cultural identity. I think Republic city would have remained part of the earth kingdom, while still accepting multiple bending cultures. Just as the fire nation would become a safe place for multiple bending cultures.

[@whatismyadjectiveiconfused]

The 8 y.o me thought the reason zuko brought katara with him to agni kai is to introduce the future queen of fire nation lol. And yeah katara being the fire lord's wife adds more symbolism to the peaceful era. Which make the story even more interesting

[@brendapaz1609]

OMG I agree with everything you said. One thing that always bothered me is how Aang only brings up Airbender beliefs and culture when it's convenient to him (southern raiders, not wanting to kill ozai,...) but it never applies to his idealized relationship with Katara. The airbenders had a free, polyamorous philosophy, with no monogamic marriages and labels like mom and dad. He's trying to bring his culture back and yet he lives in a completely different way. Can you imagine the new air acolytes trying to adapt to a new vegetarian non monogamous way of life while watching the avatar living his closed marriage with his meat-eating, fur-wearing wife? I don't know how people think Zuko being with a peasant from the Water Tribes is less realistic than that.

[@twocanplay7976]

Where does it ever say the air nomads had a polyamorous philosophy?

[@brookenutt3580]

@@twocanplay7976 it’s been mentioned in Yangchens books and in the comics

[@estephanieaguilar4015]

I always thought that part of the reason Aangs kids have so much baggage in the future was because Aang and Katara never had enough growth as a couple. Katara does coddle Aang and Aang has a hard time seeing things outside of how he thinks. I mean no parents are perfect, but it is fascinating seeing consequences occur, not everything is perfect.

[@linabean7566]

facts because clearly katara loved aang maybe even in a romantic way but i dont think the sparks were ever there for her, definitely not the way they were for aang, not even by the end of the show. so it could have been like a duty thing or maybe she felt natural and comfortable with aang after years of companionship, but maybe being with him with that way was never what she really wanted. and that confusion/dynamic was bound to come out in their marriage and parenting.

[@thecagedsong]

I think you're right that it's about growth. The reason Aang favored his airbending kid was because he knew how to be a teacher, not a dad. With his life sunk into restoring airbending philosophy and teachings, it would have taken a lot of work and growth for them to make a multi-cultural family work, work they decided to handle how they handled everything, it seems. Aang ran away, and Katara told him everything was okay, because the narrative never demanded he grow into someone that could be anything but an air bender.

[@estephanieaguilar4015]

@@thecagedsong You put it exactly how I was thinking it.

[@oliviarose4594]

@@thecagedsong absolutely you're so right!!!

[@chrystianaw8256]

@@thecagedsong so true. Aang even considered himself an airbender first and an avatar second.

[@pao-fh6xv]

To add to the romantic aspect of the Zutara lightening scene: I remember when I was watching the premiere of the finale, my grandmother came into the room and watched those last moments with me. She had never seen any episode of avatar and it was basically her first exposure to it. I remember her clearly asking me “Awww did he do that out of love for her?” after watching Zuko sacrifice himself. And me, being a full on Kataang shipper at the time, replied “NO! They’re just friends!” Lmao 😂 But if anything that proves that scene alone undeniably implies romance between Zuko and Katara

[@sparkyblue7016]

Lmaoo my dad saw that scene and he was like "Are they in a relationship?" And he liked them a lot and when I told him that no she ends up with Aang , he was like 😶😶 . He was shocked for a good while.

[@magikphoenix140]

I didn’t watch the show as a kid, but I remember seeing the clips of it and stuff, and I was genuinely convinced that Zuko and Katara were together but when I started watching it and came to the conclusion they weren’t together I was shocked

[@a_little_flame589]

@@sparkyblue7016 Zutara passes the dad test which is a true bar to pass

[@adeleaslan8182]

Kataang getting together bothered me so much, Aang basically kissed her without consent and she got mad at him the last time they saw each other, then they kiss. It was almost like it had to happen because he won the war and now they have to, like she’s a prize. It bothers me

[@takitoTaco]

i completely agree. the end kiss felt so forced, it made the end of atla very disappointing to me. i would've been okay if we found out they got together when aang matured, but i wish they just stayed friends at the end.

[@bluubandette8871]

Not to mention the complete age gap...

[@quasi8180]

The writers literally treated Katara as a spoil of war rather than the epic warrior she was.

[@quasi8180]

Katara shoulve been standing alongside Aang and Zuko as a hero of the war but she doesnt get aknowledged much outside of Aang

[@ccappa2001]

me too, I hate that :/

[@rose516]

I feel like so many people hate Zutara and love Kataang are just guys who see themselves as "nice guys" and Katara choosing Zuko would make them feel bad that a woman prefers a "bad boy", even though the "nice guy" was so sweet and caring and liked her first. But as you pointed out, they had better story, were more fleshed out, Kataang had so many plot holes and nonsense going on, and they seem more fitting and yes, they do look better together and they have meaningful relationship, which could help develop the world. Like literally Aang liked her from the day 1 for her "good" qualities, not accepting bad ones and Katara for 99% of the time treated him like a kid and didn't want to be with him just to at the very end completly change his mind and kiss him, which felt so super awkward...

[@Laurieloop54]

and it is for this same point that they think that physical attraction (like blush) is synonymous with developed relationship. The fact that you like someone does not mean that you will form a good relationship with that person because attraction does not build the relationship, it is just an element of it. That's why when they tell us how can we believe that it's enough that with so few chapters Zutara can be a great couple? well, they have the necessary foundations for a romantic relationship, they understand each other, they support each other, they prefer to spend time with each other and they certainly have a LOT of chemistry.

[@rose516]

@@Laurieloop54 And as well my problem is a boy at the age of 12-13 looks like a kid and Katara was 14-15, she looked much more mature. I can't imagine her falling in love with a guy that looks so baby-ish. If they wanted this relationship to work they should have thought of the age and maybe leave the relationship part purely for the comic or some spin off. They are just on a different stage physically and emotionally if it comes to relationship, because of course, Aang had more resposibilities than average adult, but that does not make him a good partner. Honestly, he doesn't seem like he was a good father... He seemed like a pretty bad one at that. And romance didn't have more depth than "cute love birds" honestly. Still baffles me how creators can make SO GOOD romance story without every thinking they should be actually together. Yeah, they were baiting us later on, but that I think wasn't their first intent, they just did it accordingly to viewers reaction.

[@Laurieloop54]

@@rose516 absolutely agree! I was about Aang's age when I started watching the show and even then he seemed childish to me (and when I grew up I could understand why the Kataang didn't fit together for me). Besides what you already mentioned, he never apologized for putting her in that situation and is annoyed by all the negative implications that kind of message has for the younger audience (that insisting is fine even when you throw overboard the clear negative and the consent, it's like that old culture that you have to insist on because women deep down want it -.- UGGH) maybe it's not what they wanted to say but (it's something that should be taken into account anyway) it's the message that could acting and looking good coming from the protagonist, the male hero of the story. They shouldn't have ended up together, in fact I think Aaang wasn't ready for any romantic relationship, even in that Katara is mature enough to identify that it wasn't the time. funny is that they only confirm everything we say with the postcanon, how they crush off the characters and reduce katara to being a wifey with no identity of her own when she hated that and it was her initial and essential motivation in the show, she wanteed to make the world a better place. I am sure that Zuko would never have left Katara behind if they had been together, he would want her to rule on his side and learn from her (&viceversa) and that the fire nation could see an example of a compassionate but firm leader in her, who would fight to do things better. Zutara are wonderful idealists for the throne

[@blueizumi]

I don't like either Zutara or Kataang but yeah some of the guys who ship Kataang give off nice guy vibes and to that extent see Katara ending up with Aang to be good more because they view her as a prize the hero should get than as an actual character who would make a great match for Aang lmao

[@meanieeheart4236]

yes, when the creators said "aang deserves katara" like she's a trophy bride? like just bc you have a crush on someone and you treat them nicely doesn't mean you're owed them, this isn't an exchange 🤔

[@brunoss.3273]

Not a shipper, but your arguments definitely put things into a perspective I had never considered. So while I am still not a shipper, I understand why Zutara would be a better decision for the show, and now I am honestly a bit sad the writers didn't go with it.

[@elysacaso-mchughpowerfulpo760]

I also found it really interesting that the move that zuko ends up having to use to save katara’s life was invented by combining water bending and fire bending techniques...he wasn’t just jumping to defend against a massive ball of flame, but a fire bending technique that time and time again had been referred to as only possible by using the push and pull stances grounded and developed by waterbenders. He was even using and implementing the moves of the element bent by the person he was trying to save...which I think further develops the symbolic significance of such a pairing and of Zuko saving Katara’s life...specifically a water bender who he had spent so much time working to build a proper relationship out of their past strife.

[@optimisticnihilist3417]

At this point, I'm kind of glad Zutara was never canon. The widespread disappointment over the fact that it wasn't, in spite of everything you've laid out here, is what fuelled fifteen years of fan content and obsessive analysis. I can't be mad at that. And to be honest, given the way Bryke have handled this issue and others *cough*Azula*cough, I honestly think the fan content is mostly far better than anything they would have given us anyway.

[@smart.but.stupid]

Tbh yeah. Knowing Brykes and their constant screw-ups better rn, I'm glad Zutara was never an option for them - they wouldn't understand the appeal anyway, and it would've probably led to another Makorra situation. They would ruin it out of incompetency, then would have pretend it was never going to work in the first place and yeah, "they definitely didn't plan it anyway" and called it a day. Or, if it would've been their fave ship like Kataang is, they'd just derailed Katara's character to Zuko's arm-candy wife.

[@annabellthedoll9953]

@@smart.but.stupid Unfortunately.

[@hi-tr1bt]

i would've loved for it to happen, but this 2 hour deep analysis wouldnt have been made if it were canon

[@maybe_its_mia]

I agree. I both wish it was canon but at the same time I’m glad that it wasn’t. 😢

[@saadqazi3833]

Except if Aaron Ehasz got his fourth season, which would have been hands down the best case scenario. Imagine the search for Zuko’s mother where Katara plays the part she naturally would. Azula’s redemption arc as well. Unfortunately the creators wanted that movie too badly.

[@alexlynn5111]

Bryke have basically admitted Aang is their self insert. Theres a blurb in the art book where they say they were never the Popular Guy Who Gets The Girl in school. So Kataangs dynamic makes sense from that standpoint. Ive also heard a lot of other writers and animators preferred Zutara, which might explain all the shippy stuff

[@kat8559]

Ugh that's so gross to me.

[@Pallavi_here]

@Flash Bcz the creators of show are literally self inserting themselves into aang ( just look at lok Aang's character design, seems to look a lot like Mike , and yet somehow we are the ones accused of self inserting)and they purposefully shipbaited zutara and when fans asked them abt it, said it was never meant to be a thing. And thier behaviour towards zutarians is just... outright disgusting honestly. What with that book 4 air SDCC bullying children. Just to add, self inserting is'nt actually inherently wrong bcz stories exist so that we can explore and actualize ourself BUT it is a problem when the literal creators do it bcz it could interfere with the story's plot( just like what happend to atla). Bryke are great at animation and they made the overall basic elements but it was the Ehasz couple who expanded the story and gave some growth and development to the characters. Just look at the gaang in lok, it just did'nt have the same spark did it? And katara omg they absolutely ruined her arc, she's basically the avatar's girl in the comics and lol. Y'know araeph made a whole post on tumblr abt the original characters of everyone. Toph and azula would have boys. There would have been a toph-katara-aang love triangles ( really, whats with bryke and love triangles, 1st zuko- aang- katara, then ozai- ursa-ikem, then mako- korra-asami, suki-mai-zuko, i'm talking abt the comics) zuko would have been the usual bad boy, iroh would have been a strict dojo type master and he would have betrayed zuko, katara would'nt have been a feminist queen. And yeah, bryke has good ideas and great animation skills but they need writers to add depth and nuance to their story.

[@SneezyReviews]

It's kinda sad that being critical of shows through almost any lens is generally considered acceptable, until you start critiquing the romance arcs, and that's when people start calling you childish and delusional. (Especially when in the same breath they acknowledge that the creators did in fact tease the ship.) There are some topics that are "respectable" to "complain on the Internet about" and in mainstream fandom romance arcs rank very very low on that list. I hope one day we can do better. That said, acting like the creators bashing the Zutara fandom is justified because "Zutarians did in first" is frankly unnerving to me. There are so many aspects that make these two actions not comparable, not least being the power difference and age gap between creator and fanbase. There are right and wrong ways to react to fan criticism or backlash; taking fanart from your (minor) fans and suggesting they will never find future happiness in relationships falls way into the "yikes don't ever do this" territory; it seriously disturbs me to see people defending it.

[@Pallavi_here]

@Flash " the entitlement that fans have over the series is ridiculous" Oh i'm sorry i should'nt have framed it that way. I did'nt mean it like that. I'm not mad that zutara was'nt canon, i'm mad that katara ended up with aang.Yes, Girls are allowed to be single, Katara does'nt have to end up with someone for the story to be wholesome. I don't think a big' ol romantic kiss is the best way to end a series at all. Avatar is'nt about romance, its abt war and its consequences and how the next generation has to deal with it. A shot of the whole gaang holding hands or hugging would have been miles better. Bcz at the end it was this bunch of kids who saved the world and i would have liked a tribute to them. Something, anything, just a simple talk between ZK would have given me some closure.( me and a lot of other fans don't think they would've gotten together till after some years) And thats one of the most disapointing things in the finale. The fact that Iroh is'nt there for his own nephew's coronation, toph does'nt have any lines. And they decide to pair everyone up. And shipbaiting, sure, y'know Yuri!!! on Ice, well they shipbait in the begining that yuko and yuuri could be a couple. Then for the ENTIRE series victor and yuuri are shown getting close to each other and become a coupe. Its mutual. This consistency is maintained till the last episode. The thing with atla is they shipbait untill THE LAST MOMENT of the series. Katara and zuko get more closer to each other and aang and katara are getting rifts between them. And katara has'nt really shown any strong feelings towards Aang. Really, is it too much of me to expect more?? And yes, it is a problem when the creators decides to play favorites thus majestically ruining aang's character arc. Thats the thing with writing, Character +conflict+ growth = story. Aang has character, he has conflict but no growth, somehow the narrative feels like it is ok to not aknowledge aang's flaws and instead encourages and even rewards him at the end of the show. If elizabeth and Aaron and the other writers had picked favorites with zuko we would not get a redemption arc as amazing as his ( bryke has almost no part in the best writing of atla).Go through the Ao3 tags, why do u think there are more zuko fics than aang fics there. Bcz zuko has flaws and conflict and growth which is interesting for writers. The narrative just refuses to accept that aang has flaws so if i wanted to write a good aang fic, i would have to work a lot more to give him a good story. Lok had really bad writing comtrasted to the beautiful scenes and imagery. Even if we may disagree on many things, i think we can all agree that lok is simply just not as good as atla. Lok showed the world who the writing talent in atla was. And... my dude, thats literally the whole point of this video. In fact she started the video on the note that zutara would have made for a better story. Thats literally the WHOLE POINT of this video( and i'm not gonna explain it to u, just go watch it again). And...did u.. did u seriously just call zuko a bad boy????????? In canon, zuko's an awkward turtle duck, if anything Aang's the bad boy, he's the one smooth with girls, likes to blow up factories with a smile on his face. Jet is a bad boy. I don't know where this good girl/ bad boy stuff came from, but its absolute bs. Thats not zuko and katara at all. And yes, as she said in her video, ships can affect the narrative and plot of the story. Aang not letting go of his feelings for katara prevents him from being a fully realized avatar. Sorry, but i don't think its a sin to love good writing. And lol, the zutarians i know have always critiziced the writing of Aang and mai. Infact aang is 1 of my favourite characters and he deserves a lot better than what canon gave him. Really, if u don't ship zutara, just go away, no need to waste mine and your time over a fictional ship. The door is thay way👋, have a great day.

[@SneezyReviews]

@Flash here's the thing; whether it's a subjective or biased argument really depends on how you tackle it, because there are ways to write strong romantic subplots and ways to write weaker ones and not all criticism is going to be biased. And secondly, while ATLA is a non romance genre show, the creators bear some responsibility for hyping up the romance aspect of the show. That is literally what shipteasing does: it builds tension and drums up interest for the show surrounding the conclusion of the romance arcs. So while it perhaps shouldn't have played a major role, they wrote it and teased it in a way that inflated its importance. Consider that the final scene of the entire show was of the Kataang kiss - it's an action genre show, as you said, so the choice to end the show on a romance scene sticks out even more does it not? (This is not even going into the trailers and the tie in marketing materials. Teasing the romance arcs was a deliberate choice every time; you can't exactly aim to hype up your fans on a particular element of your show and then turn around and shame them for getting, y'know, hyped up about it or disappointed with how you resolved it). I agree that it's not right to be insulting to the creator just because your ship didn't get together, but the way you phrased your earlier comment sounded like you were excusing Bryke for the way they reacted, or suggesting that both sides were somehow equally at fault, when I would argue what Bryke did was much, much worse.

[@Oraanu]

It’s funny how the creators purposefully added more Zutara content to ship tease Zutara, but in the end all it did was delegitimize Kataang.

[@thecagedsong]

I verbally protested Sokka's face on the lightning scene. That was horrifying.

[@SneezyReviews]

You're welcome! 😂

[@bobi200samatar6]

"Romance and ships are an important part of stories that should be analyzed", I like you, keep being cool.

[@bh673]

Phenomenal analysis but ofc there's headstrong discourse in the comments lmao. I just think Zuko should be with the person he willingly almost died for and not the one he left in prison, which he didn’t even bother to look/go back and then promptly forgot about (as evidenced by the look of shock on his face when she shows up at his coronation). And Mai also deserves better than someone who breaks up with her through a letter and couldn’t even apologize for being a moody jerk at the party, but he WILL indeed wait all night outside Katara’s tent for not even guaranteed forgiveness but just the mere possibility of civility. Just like.. the painfully glaring difference in his effort to repair the relationships with each respective character? How I wish I was making this up but it's literally all there. Maiko both deserve someone more compatible not only to serve the thematic cohesion of the story (though this is SUPER important too) but just as people as well.

[@yeonsoo3843]

ik he was all shocked like “they let you out of prison???” like bruh you’re the newly crowned firelord and you could’ve ordered her release but you just left her there? how did mai even take him back?💀i don't believe there's a way to interpret that scene in favor of that ship and if there is i want someone to indulge me bc im genuinely curious

[@sparkyblue7016]

@@yeonsoo3843 I know right . Maiko is so toxic and I don't understand their appeal or dynamic . I would've been fine with a single zuko by the end of the story . Mai also deserves someone better who cares for her . Zuko just doesn't feel as strongly towards her and if he does that the creators did a shit job at showing that . The original comment already stated the way he treats Katara and Mai . And somehow Mai is supposed to be the love interest????? I really need to know what was brewing in the writers mind when they wrote Maiko.

[@KookiesNolly]

For real like you'd have to be a fool to date a guy who treats you the way Zuko treated Mai while there is someone, anyone around him, that he treats the way he treated Katara. This is not even the behavior of someone who would remain faithful to you. It's just a matter of respect at this point lmao.

[@Scarlet_Starlight]

I was largely ambivalent toward Maiko before this reply chain, but no more. Because What Was That!?

[@lindiweramokgadi1120]

Clock it

[@pls-shanice]

Making katara actively reject Aang, only to force kisses on her again and to have her character to end up with him? What message is that sending little girls and boys about what they want? That boys should keep going even when girls aren’t interested? That what girls want doesn’t matter? Honestly it’s irresponsible for the writers to have written this.

[@itskashkashi]

I've seen others say that the writers wrote it that way as self inserts basically. Like, they're the good guys who were rejected and so they wrote them ending up together. So yeah, exactly what you said.

[@brandanpalmer]

I do not think that was their intention! However… yeah that’s kinda what resulted. It told very young boys that as long as you are persistent you will get what you want. And when it comes to romantic interest… yikes…

[@bituinl]

No no no he clearly stopped after she said no you’re remembering things wrong smh

[@McCammalot]

@@itskashkashi Aaron Ahaez.

[@Laura-vn4su]

Duede. Katara was the one at the end Who aproached to Aang to kiss him. Katara said to aang she was confused because they were in the middle of a war. But when the war ended, katara could make her decision. And her decision was to kiss and be with aang. Wtf do you talk about??? Nonsense

[@whatismyadjectiveiconfused]

I recently discussed about zutara with my guy friend. They seemed to had hard time understanding the zutara appeal. It's very different when I discussed zutara with my girl friends, they easily grasped my point. It seems the male gaze and female gaze is highly involved when it comes to this ship war. Men think that what makes women attractive are looks and motherly nature. Whereas women like men who have time to listen and understand them. Although I'd say zutara is not an accurate depiction of the "real" female gaze in fiction. katara doesn't simping over zuko like "ohh he's handsome prince etc". She also emphatized and learned about him. I'd say their depiction is more of equal give and take relationship, not pure female gaze. I also found some male zutara shippers too. From what I noticed, they're more on older age or someone who already had stable relationship. It's fascinating to see the demographic of the shippers

[@katitax508]

I have another (very small sample, highly unscientific lol) piece of incidental evidence for shipping demographics: My guy friend who ships Zutara is a gay man. Is Kataang more popular with straight men? In this paper we will examine the popularity of ships in the Avatar the Last Airbender fandom, more specifically those involving characters: Aang, Katara and Zuko, and how demographic factors come into play in people’s preferences of ships. Evidence gathered so far seems to place most female fans as Zutara shippers, while most Kataang shippers are male, with a higher frequency in the younger age, single, and straight populations.

[@haruzanfuucha]

I've always felt that Kataang is a ship for straight men.

[@tsuki3752]

i feel like i’ve never met a kataang shipper that was a man lol. don’t usually see men in fandom spaces and those who like kataang and are men, usually are just super casual and probably wouldn’t get super into ship wars and shipping. i feel like people who like kataang just like what kataang COULD be or what they COULD represent: pure childhood crush wholesomeness. kataang isn’t that in reality but i do understand, since zutara is inherently angstier. if kataang didn’t have all the weird fights and pressure, kataang would be what wanted it to be. i am not fond of when ppl generalize shipping demographics (whether it be saying zutara shippers are only horny teenage girls or kataang shippers are incel straight men) just because it is probably not true. at least w kataang. it’s definitely a ship created by a straight man and is for straight men don’t get me wrong, but like the kataang shippers that actively fight in the ship war lol are usually the same demographic as zutara shippers.

[@LegioXXI]

@@haruzanfuucha And Zutara is a ship for gays or what? lmao

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@LegioXXI Yeah why not.

[@Eclecticlly]

My main problem with Katara and Aang has always been that it was forced. Majority of the times katara has shown "feeling" for Aang is when, it had been put into her head. Lady says " I see you ending up with a powerful bender" then Sakka says Aang is a powerful bender. Now Katara starts thinking, she never see Aang in that way until people tell her too. The other main reason I don't like them together is Aang's feeling for katara is very jealous and possessive. As well as, the show runners/ writers who said they wanted Katara and Aang to happen because they were Aang when they were young. So you have these men admitting to wanting the younger, awkward, dorky kid to fall in love with the older pretty girl under all cost just because that is what they wanted to happen to them.

[@whitestone9605]

Just imagine the history potential: Zuko and Katara get married, their first born is a waterbender, THE FIRST WATERBERDER FIRELORD! Imagine the stories we could have had This video is amazing!

[@horrorhistory7342]

YES!!! And a nonbender as another kid!!! Zuko and katara wouldn’t ignore this child and they would have support, and be taught stuff by their uncle sokka and aunt suki, two amazing people who are also incredibly capable nonbenders. And hell also a firebending kid who grows up under zuko’s brand of firebending that comes straight from the dragons, and also learning in ways that is a combination of firebending and water bending!!! Man this pairing was done so dirty. All the possibilities gone.

[@LydiaIsSweet]

IMAGINE THEM BEING NICKNAMED STEAM BABIES AAAAH

[@milkmatcha3698]

at this point, there better be an AU of this STAT

[@bilyanaa2922]

IMAGINE IF THEY HAD TWINS AND ONE IS A FIREBENDER AND THE OTHER ONE IS A WATERBENDER

[@katitax508]

@@milkmatcha3698 there are many fics with them having at least one waterbender kid! you can look them up on ao3

[@sophiebrim5011]

omg lol, i was just watching a compilation of katara being a mom for 9 minutes straight before i ended up here. and watching this had made me realize that one of the only characters that were never featured in that compilation was zuko (to be frank, it mainly consisted of aang.) she didn't need to play the role of an adult around him, and at the same time they were able to reveal their most vulnerable sides to each other that were normally internalized. im also realizing a lot of their later discussions establish that they found consolation with one another as equals. i used to be neutral about this ship, but this video made that particular aspect of their dynamic quite eye-opening.

[@katitax508]

It’s even noticeable that once Zuko joins the group Katara doesn’t do all of the chores she usually does for them because Zuko helps too, you see him serving tea and meals. He also plays the responsible role that before was only fulfilled by Katara, like when he’s the one that tells them to stop playing around and get serious about the fight because the comet is coming soon

[@JBear87]

The second you talked about underlying themes it hit me like a Toph-thrown boulder that Zutara would have been an incredible symbol of the new generation of the fire nation and water nation not only overcoming their differences, but learning to respect and cherish one another. Now my heart hurts even more that this wasn't a thing. DANGIT SNEEZY

[@theloveandcookiesgal]

i put on southern raiders once with my friend, and she assumed zuko and katara were love interest. when i mentioned to her that katara and aang get together actually she was shocked. she was almost uncomfortable bc she interpreted their dynamic as so unequal and mother-son. shes watched the show now but wont finish it bc that ending weirds her out

[@sleepymushroom844]

She could still watch the finale (the final battles are too good to miss), just until the group is laughing at Sokka's drawing in the tea shop, and then stop it just before Aang goes outside and Katara joins him, and pretend like Kataang never happens 😁

[@katitax508]

@@sleepymushroom844 I love that. Denial let’s me sleep at night (and fanfic!)

[@aerinhinton964]

not to mention the Pieta at the end of Season 2. for context, the Pieta (I think that's how it's spelled), is the statue/art/general pose of Mary (mother of Jesus) holding her son's corpse after his Crucifixion. When Aang falls after being struck by lightning, there's a shot of Katara holding him in a Pieta. while this is largely imagery on Catholic art, which isn't super prevalent in America so the directors might have missed the reference, it further cements the morher-son dynamic of Katara and Aang.

[@ukezoro2997]

@@sleepymushroom844 everytime I've rewatched the series, I've skipped that scene 😭😭

[@KookiesNolly]

I was around Katara's age when i first watched avatar and i remember going "ewww" when Aang and Katara kissed at the end. Aang reminded me of my little cousins and many boys I had met in primary school and thought were immature and annoying most of the time. I had never, and still have never, met a single girl 14 and up who finds his behavior romantically attractive. That ending really took me aback cause it was the first time i really thought to myself that the shows i watch on tv aren't meant to represent me or my experiences as a girl/woman. Finding out about what happened behind the scenes and the showrunners comments only solidified that feeling. I do still firmly believe that the idea that Kataang is a fulfilling ship is completely devoid of concern or even interst in girls and women's inner lives. Not saying that no girl can like the ship. But that in order to argue that it is good you have to ignore what women want entirely. It's just a childish male fantasy about a trophy wife. No wonder in canon their family turned out horribly lol. Those showrunners were not responsible for the best writing moments of this show and many of their ideas in LOK were bad for a reason. They're not as smart as they think they are, and should've let the writers of ATLA do their magic instead of meddling right at the end.

[@disneyavenger5653]

Just my personal opinion here, but the way the pairings were handled in terms of writing were not good. Bryke's efforts in writing romance are not very strong, which is why Kataang and Maiko face criticisms from many fans. I feel that Aaron and Elizabeth Ehasz's writing styles for Zutara were much stronger, which is funny because Bryke was more direct with their pairings (showing them blush, headband dancing, kissing, etc.) but the Ehasz couple was more indirect using subtext for Zutara and somehow it resulted to become a popular non-canon pairing by many fans.

[@casper3105]

oh definitley, a lot of times i kept forgetting that Aang liked Katara until the show reminds me that Yep it's still a thing, i even remember feeling shocked on the guru episode when Aang said he actually loved katara since i just thought it was a typical crush that went away, because before that guru episode the last time Aangs feelings for Katara was mentioned (like his actual feelings not him being all blushy ) was in fact the cave of two lovers which was, get ready.... 16 episodes ago, not 2 or 6 but 16 after that there are mostly moments of katara being super motherly towards him and aang just blushing thats it , this is not just bad this is terrible.

[@smart.but.stupid]

@@casper3105 exactly. In Bryke's writing, everything is casual until there's a romance-centered episode or someone brings this up in the show. Aang is in love when he needs to be. That's it.

[@Boss_Isaac]

@@smart.but.stupid Bryke are incompetent writers on the same vein as Butch Hartman.

[@casper3105]

@@Boss_Isaac I dont think it's a fair comparison, Butch Hartman doesn't write his shows that often and when he does it's painfully obvious how bad it is. Bryke are Good writers, not as good as Aaron and Elizabeth Ehasz but still good writers, they just can't write compelling romance Bryke are the brains of the show while the Ehazs couple are the heart

[@sparkyblue7016]

@@smart.but.stupid Lmaoo the writers suck at writing romance . They messed up Kataang , maiko and all the ships in Lok . The only good ship in Lok was Korrasami and Kai and jinora . Rest were just ugh (I love Lok but the Romance is just...) . In Atla the only good ship was of sokka and suki . Which made sense and they had a healthy balance.

[@amorarisa]

The ending of ATLA never really resonated with me. I didn't know why, I couldn't put it into words. I didn't even ship Zutara (maybe just thinking "Hmm, it would be interesting to see more scenes with the two of them alone"). But now I understand why I was left so underwhelmed! It could have been SOOO much better! I watched the whole thing, no breaks, and I can say with certainty that I agree with everything! It would be a very well executed subvert of expectations to see the protagonist realize that he must let go of his unrequited love and move on. We can't always get EVERYTHING we want. It's okay to admit that something is not for us. Plus, Zuko and Katara may have interacted more intimately only after the season 2 finale, but a possible romance between them has been built-up since the first season. For example, when Katara was given the prophecy that she would marry a powerful bender, my mind went straight to Zuko. And when she realized that Aang is a powerful bender I only took it as a misleading move, so it's not that obvious that she will end up with Zuko.

[@sparkyblue7016]

Yes as a person who knew that Kataang was going to be the endgame while watching Atla , I just never felt it to be correct . We never saw how Katara felt about aang . The last time they talked she said she was confused but then after everything they just kiss . And their last interaction is of a fight???? Before the kiss. I didn't really ship zutara while watching the show even though I was picking up the various symbolisms of them ending up together cause i thought it's no use shipping them if they wouldn't end up together. But the amount of dissatisfaction the show left with Kataang was just too much and analyzing zutara they would've been perfect . And aang letting go of Katara would be the perfect character development. He opens his 7th Chakra and understands that Katara is a human not an angel. Plus they both don't even share the same ideals . And aang thinks that his air nomad ideals are the best when in fact no one nation can be fully good. Whereas Katara has her ideals reshaped that no one nation is good and no one nation is bad . Katara wants justice but aang just wants to go with forgive and forget . In the SR , aang tried to force his ideology on Katara whereas zuko wanted wanted give her closure about her mother . He was there for her when Aang wasn't. And it's a really bizarre choice that they had Katara open up about her mother to zuko and not aang . She hadn't even forgiven zuko yet!!!!! That was the moment I felt a huge dissatisfaction towards Kataang and had started shipping zutara even though I knew that thy wouldn't end up together. She opened up so much emotionally to zuko than she had to aang the entire show (and people say they had development)(what development I wasn't able to tell how their dynamic shifted in both the scenes the creator showed of the before and after maybe kiss). Katara always comforted aang but there hasn't been one instance where he comforted her. Zuko and Katara had this give and take , a perfect balance. Zuko comforted Katara and Katara comforted zuko . During the time she needed Aangs support the most he didn't give it to her , and who did give her support , Zuko . Zuko gave her support.

[@whatismyadjectiveiconfused]

plus imagine that you have a scar in your chest after you saving a girl's life and that girl marries someone else. that's what happened to zuko

[@NY-eq6gb]

The aunt wu episode is what convinced me that zutara would be endgame. Just like you, when I heard powerful bender, my mind immediately went to zuko as well. I genuinely thought they were gonna be endgame till the last episode. So imagine my surprise when I saw mai in the end and she and zuko sharing a kiss.

[@freshoffthehook904]

So I went back and looked at a compilation of the Katara/Aang kisses. My findings were... bleak. Out of 8 total "kisses," 3 were on the cheek, 1 was a potential life and death situation that remains up to interpretation whether it even happened, 1 was a dream, 1 was soundly rejected. So out of 8 kisses, only 2 had the potential to be considered consensual romantic encounters, and of those two the black sun kiss was not enthusiastic enough to be beyond debate. To add insult to injury the first kiss Katara ever gives Aang she gives him in jest and she suggests he should pass her thanks and kiss on to... Zuko.

[@LonelyLittleTofu]

And we KEEP WINNINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG 💙❤️ No, cause why did the “could you give Zuko a kiss for me when you see him” feel like a mom telling their toddler to pass a kiss to “daddy”.

[@Ariais_sad]

@@LonelyLittleTofuyou prob don’t have a daddy

[@LonelyLittleTofu]

@@Ariais_sad Seethe harder 😘❤️✨

[@Ariais_sad]

@@LonelyLittleTofu nah i don't need to seethe since my ship is canon 😘

[@LonelyLittleTofu]

@@Ariais_sad And? 😇💖✨

[@amordesdemona]

So basically what you’re saying is Zutara is objectively better? Indeed

[@eiden5778]

no

[@aninas6215]

@@eiden5778 Great Argument! I am now convinced that Zutara is a terrible ship

[@eiden5778]

@@aninas6215 no problem ma'am! personally, i would say i am quite a master debater myself, so of course i wouldnt have any trouble making a genius statement like this with such incredible thought behind it as i just did. you can thank me later for managing to convince you with my compelling argument of intricate words

[@milka9164]

@@aninas6215 😂😂💀

[@catdownthestreet]

Yup! Had Kataraang been written with the same care and effort put into the relationship between Katara and Zuko, Kataraang would've been the better pairing, objectively speaking. All it takes to write a good relationship is a healthy emotional connection and reasonable development, with bonus points if they were friends first. The writers could've written Kataraang with that in mind, but they didn't. They instead wrote Zutara with those qualities. And people wonder why Zutara is so beloved.

[@potatoprodutions7871]

Honestly Season 3's second half builds such an easy Zutara ship that if it had won the shipping war I'd probably be a little put off by just how efficiently Kataang was taken out in those last episodes. Watching Aang's weird clinginess and the conflicts that keep opening up between them almost feels like the writers trying to justify ending the romance they spent the last two and a half seasons hinting at.

[@dramallamarama5300]

I feel similar, I have loved Zutara since my first run of Avatar but I didn’t want them to kiss or anything like that in the finale, what we got for them was really perfect. It would have been too sudden to have them suddenly proclaiming their feelings for each other at that point. Had there been a Book 4 that’s when they would begin to get together, the book 3 finale would have been the start to their development into a romantic relationship. Which would be continued post-war in later media like the comics.

[@karina1047]

Until I saw this video I thought I was the only one that thought Kataang was fucking forced. I wasnt even a Zutara shipper. I just disliked the chemestry between Katara and Aang. Aang saw Katara like this angel that is always there to help him and when she was angry he just didnt know how to respond. And Aang being so desperate for Katara's love (The Fortune teller, The cave of two lovers - I hated these two episode with every cell of my body-, The ember island players) always made me feel like a creep for Aang. If a ship would be toxic it would be Kataang not fucking Zutara. Aang doesnt understand Katara. If she would be mad at Aang he would't try to resolve the problem or try to empathize with her, he would think that she's having an out of character moment and she will be fine in a bit. Their beliefes dont match at all. Kataang love would be only for Aang. Katara would give love, Aang would recieve it, and everything ends there.

[@karina1047]

@@dramallamarama5300 Im with you on this one bestie

[@sleepyrose69]

@@karina1047 the fact that aang keeps imposing amd imposing on katara who is the crutch for him emotionally and there is no actually maybe that’s wrong there’s only well it worked! he gets the girl! is so heartbreaking.

[@laberg9386]

On the point of historical plausibility... Speaking as a student of history I can name no less than three relationships of the top of my head that were made with the explicit purpose of ending a war or as part of a peace treaty or something along those lines that did not end in causing a new one... If I actually went to look it up, I'd find even more. (It was kind of the MO of the Ancient Macedonian ruling family) So the argument "they're from opposing sites of a war that would only have sparked more war and would be historically implausible" is plain wrong. Admittedly, history generally has those as arranged political marriages but their actually having feelings for each other would only make the relationship stronger and less likely to go wrong, not the other way around... As for the difference in social status... Isn't Katara the closest thing the Southern Water Tribe has to a princess, being the daughter of the designated leader and all?

[@SneezyReviews]

Yes to all of that. Political marriages to end wars were very common; I frankly don't understand people's insistence that it would be realistically implausible let alone that such implausibility should impact how we ought to tell a fictional story...

[@buxomboba8210]

I wasn't even planning on watching this whole video tbh.. and never felt really strongly either way between Kataang and Zutara... but here I am, I watched the entire thing (your mom is adorable btw🖤) and now not only do I ship Zutara, but I'm thoroughly disappointed that they chose to go the way they did with the story. After seeing it put together as a whole like this, it really seems like they had planned on going the Zutara route and then changed at the end for whatever reason? I would LOVE to see an equally in depth rebuttal to your video by a Kataang stan. Great video! You did an awesome job and I enjoyed myself, thank you!🖤

[@SneezyReviews]

After slaving away at this video for literally months, thank you so much for this comment. It makes it all worth it for me :) I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!

[@chiefpurrfect8389]

If I remember some old interviews correctly they never particularly planned for Zutara. They initially considered it along with other ships, but ultimately decided against it. I believe one of the creators said something along the lines of "let's be honest, the only reason people like the ship is because it's dark and edgy but it doesn't have anything else going for it besides that". Which... is so damn disappointing coming from a creator of the show, for literally each and every reason listed in the video? Like first of all... You wrote a canon ship that is "dark" and "edgy" and "doesn't have anything else going on for it"... it's called Maiko. Second of all, how can the narrative potential of Zutara be so terribly lost on you when you are one of the freaking creators- and a talented one at that? And that's not even getting into how they teased Zutara while having no intention whatsoever in making it canon. I know fandom etiquette has changed since, but boy did some of the stuff they said or did come across as them mocking part of the fandom for even having the audacity to ship Zutara in the first place. I don't think that was considered okay even back then. Edit: and may I add, back then the general atmosphere- fueled by many a creator's open "contempt" for the ship- was largely weaponized against "fangirls" specifically and I don't think that casual misogyny against teen girls and what they like is something that should be ignored, even if it was like 2008. It wasn't about people who shipped Zutara in tone as much as it was it was about teenage girls being "cringey" for "liking the bad boy"- which is such a reductive way to look at Zuko because his character has so much to like other than the angst and edgyness but ok boomer- and "using Katara as a stand-in for themselves"- which is also an incredibly reductive way to look at Katara, who most of us liked and related to because she was an important character to us, not because she had chemistry with Zuko.

[@wildcatste]

@@chiefpurrfect8389 I also remember hearing that the head writer Aaron Ehaz and the rest of the writers were going for Zutara as end game, but Mike and Bryan pulled rank against it in the end. So they're contempt caused them to even go against the advice of all their writers too.

[@Boss_Isaac]

@@wildcatste Some of the writers and the voice cast were taken with the prospect of Katara and Zuko getting together, and Aaron Ehasz specifically has admitted that whilst he wasn't gung ho for Zutara from the start like some were, if it looked like that's what the writing was heading towards he wouldn't be opposed to it.

[@ElsieZel]

this vid is probably one of the best zk video essays i've seen recently (and probably ever lol) - the balance of logic and humor combined with solid references, a brilliant script, and amazing delivery is really perfect. thank you for this!!

[@miwky406]

Narratively, the heart of all the (subject relevant) ships really hinges on Katara, since she is the narrative "heart" of the show; the emotional-center in most inter-personal dynamics between the main cast. The core and soul of Katara's character is deep and profound emotions (both positive and negative) calm and fierce. She's the gentle stream, and the violent crashing waves. So really, I think the first question to be asked about resolving ships is: "Who cares the most about the 'heart' of the story?". The simple fact of the matter is that Zuko is the only one that doesn't judge Katara for her emotionally raw nature, but actually indulges, nurtures, and encourages the better parts of that nature (in the latter half of the story). Incidentally, Zuko feels he can trust her to do the same. Throughout the story they have been some of the biggest driving forces for each others' continued growth, and largely wouldn't be the same people by the end of it without each other. It's a mutually beneficial relationship full of emotional-intimacy and healing. Naturally then, it's the only romantic option either one gets where both characters have their needs met. Edit: Another thing about the scene where Zuko jumps in front of the lightning: Katara then fights Azula (helping to put Zuko demons to rest), then the scene frames his physical wound in a way that draws parallels to his heart-- a symbolic wound to his heart that he suffered to keep Katara's heart safe, that Katara then heals, thereby adding a romantic subtext to the resolution of both Zuko and Katara's main character arcs through each other. Edit Edit: Your closing thoughts were too relatable XD I never ship anything, I never go out of my way to find romance stories, and I never thought I'd be so disappointed with the conclusion of ATLA.. 16? years later (Jesus)..

[@luv2shuvaskateboardjournal101]

You present such good arguments that I say we pull a Justice League and demand the release of the Zutara Cut.

[@tunemaiden]

flipping. yes.

[@erinrosado1617]

Lmao😆 #ReleasetheZutaraCut

[@zionalbina691]

With any luck that's what we'll be getting with the upcoming live action series

[@aminaismyname4318]

​@@zionalbina691I doubt that since the showrunners confirmed that they're gonna stick to the OG storyline (including ships) which... is little weird seeing how young aang's actor looks compared to katara's...

[@zionalbina691]

@@aminaismyname4318 I think there's still a good chance. From what I heard the plan is to hit all the major plot points, but not follow the original story 1:1. I would say that Aang's crush on Katara has significant plot relevance, but Katara reciprocating his feelings doesn't Plus, considering that Bryke left the project all together, supposedly due to "opposing views on creative decisions" it sounds like a) the live action crew has more freedom to change stuff, and b) them wanting to change stuff pissed Bryke off enough to leave, and if anything was gonna piss them off that much I can easily see it being Zutara, or at least dropping Kataang.

[@MyWeirdNormal1]

Your comment on how you've been looking for a story just like Zutara ever since ATLA ended is exactly how I feel. I've tried romance and reading countless fantasy books with romantic subplots, but I've never been able to find anything close to the symbolism and character arc interwoven with romance and the overarching plot that we found in ATLA. I have been looking for my Zutara in everything I've read since and I feel like this is why I always go back to Zutara fics as my comfort reads because at this point I don't think I'll ever be able to find any other media that comes close.

[@advil9567]

I know this is a mega old comment but I think Arcane has a really good romance subplot that gives me the same vibe as Zutara (and it’s CANON). Vi and Caitlyn fit the personas pretty damn well, with Vi being kind of edgy, strong, and somewhat cocky while changing over the episodes to be more caring and docile to the people she loves. Caitlyn is a lot like Katara; a perfectionist, very good fighter, precise, but also gentle and edgy in her own ways. The only difference on the surface is that Vi is actually in Kataras position in life where she’s poor and discriminated against, whereas Caitlyn is of high birth and nobility. They both come together to fight oppression and I love the dynamic.

[@MyWeirdNormal1]

@@advil9567 Thanks for the recc! I actually have Arcane on my watchlist. I used to love LOL, and I started playing it because of Jinx. The only reason I haven't watched the show is because I heard that her story is really sad. So I'm kind scared to watch it. But now, you have me thinking I should start it after all!

[@TabbyeLynne]

Buffy and Spike from Buffy the vampire slayer and Rogue and Gambit from X-Men (the comics not the movies) have similar vibes

[@Casutama]

I love this video. I know there are _so many things_ you couldn't touch on because of time (although: more videos in the future?). One of them is that one of the reasons that Kataang doesn't make sense at least as a "happily ever after" at the end of the series is that Aang is _just not_ mature enough or ready for a serious relationship. That's obvious, even more than in the "romantic arc" scenes between them, in the scenes where Katara is acting in a (perceived) controversial way (like when she refuses to apologise to Pakku, admonishes Toph in "The Runaway" - and also in "The Chase" - or when she decides to become the Painted Lady. In Every. Single. One of these instances, Aang not only displays that he doesn't fully understand her character, but also doesn't act as a partner would - by either backing her up if he agrees or, if he doesn't, taking her aside and talking to her. Instead, he tries to downplay her emotions and behaviour every single time. Which would be _fine_ as he's 12 and the relationships of 12-year-olds don't have to be all that serious; except it _isn't_ fine, both because the showrunners want us to believe that they are long-lasting get-married-later Endgame, and also because Katara is more emotionally mature and also older and has demonstrated that she _does_ operate from an emotionally more mature perspective. She couldn't be in a "12-year-old's" relationship. (Sorry for ranting! There are three common counter-arguments against this that I've seen, one more baseless than the next: A) whAt do yOu meAn AaNG isn'T mATure diDN't yOU SEe hIS FigHT agAiNst OzAI?!, B) Just because of that one scene in the Ember Island Players it doesn't mean that Aang isn't ready for a serious relationship, and C) They're _children_ so they don't need to be in a serious relationship.)

[@John-nk8tx]

The beginning was very true as Maiko and Kataang are very one-sided.

[@roseberryy_]

When I watched this show with my bf, I felt oddly unsatisfied with the ending. I was so convinced Zuko and Katara made more sense together than Katara and Aang. My bf didn't get it at all just because "But they're cute! And it's nice that Aang fulfilled his romantic goals!". And I was like "That's the point, it felt like they just put them together in order to reward Aang. Where did the romantic feelings come from on Katara's part?". I absolutely despised Maiko, made no sense to me at all that they ended up together after it was proven that Mai didn't understand him in the slightlest and Zuko had outgrown her in every aspect. My bf argued "But they are so alike! They are both agsty teenagers, therefore they make a good couple!". Istg some people have such shallow views in fictional pairings, my hard shipper heart can't stand it 😵‍💫 You have no idea how validated this essay made me feel, finally someone sees the elefant in the room! I used to just not care too much for Kataang, but after realizing how much it hurt the narrative, I'm now kind of upset the writers messed up the ending of such a good show :(

[@addictedtothewrittenword3451]

Yes to everything you said about Zuko jumping in front of lightning for Katara, but I'd like to add that the canonical sacrificial save (Mai/Zuko) isn't as nearly remembered or framed half as romantic nor has a satisfying ending as Zuko saving Katara. After Mai saves Zuko he goes off with the gaang without hardly a thought about Mai (not a good look for Zuko or how he feels about Mai and their relationship, but that's on the writers) Zuko and Katara spend more quality time together than they do with their canonical parings. When Zuko/Mai fight and when Aang/Katara fight (and I'm talking BIG fights) they don't get resolved they get swept under the rug and the next scene/episode everything is copacetic. When Zuko and Katara fight they talk it out and actually communicate to the point where they mutually resolve their issues. They listen to each other and accept all side of each other. Had Zutara become canon their love would have been based in reality and not what one person wanted the other to be. Both Aang and Mai suffer from wanting Katara and Zuko to be different people.

[@katitax508]

I think I speak for a lot of Zutara shippers when I say that what Zuko and Katara had going on (even if it wasn’t canonical romance) is much more real to me than Kataang or Maiko even though they kissed on screen more than once

[@themeerofkats8908]

It reminds me of Guardians of The Galaxy 3 where Peter Quill tried to force Gomorrah into being somebody who's she not and at the end of the movie, Peter learned to accept that she's a different person and not the Gomorrah that he loved which is not so bad.

[@ashleystorrer6899]

Wouldn't Zutara actually make sense in a political alliance kind of way? It would show Zuko uniting with another nation through Katara.

[@shelbyinmon8654]

You kinda have a point, like I think it would be a cool au but I would it be weird in the show I think

[@ashleystorrer6899]

@@shelbyinmon8654 I don't think the show would have ever gone that direction, but I just mean it as a counter to the idea that it's not realistic for Zuko and Katara to get together since they come from different backgrounds. I think it actually isn't unrealistic or unreasonable on the basis of a political alliance since Katara's kind of a war hero since she helped the avatar and new fire lord overthrow the government

[@thecagedsong]

I've played with the idea too, but because bending is blood and leaders are supposed to be spiritually linked to their element, and the nations have such a long history of separation. I think introducing foreign blood into a royal family probably never took as a way to secure alliances between nations. Between people within the nation/tribe/kingdom, absolutely, but across it doesn't work well if your right to rule is enforced by bending.

[@doublehelixalchemist8678]

They are teens anyway. Hormones speak louder than cultural differences XD

[@AlashiaTuol]

@@thecagedsong Although to be fair it doesn't seem like it? Bending is only seen being considered important in the leadership in the Fire Nation (because of battle prowess). Bumi's the only Earth Kingdom royal we see using bending and neither of the Water Tribe leaders or their direct heirs are seen bending either. And in the comics a significant portion of the Fire Nation's upper class was willing to put Ozai back in power even after he lost the ability to bend. And in LoK, Zuko's sole heir can't bend either. Considering the unpredictability of inheriting the ability to bend, my guess is that it became seen as much more critical to Fire Nation leadership _after_ the war started. I don't think the Fire Nation would accept a waterbending heir, but we know the Fire Nation comes to accept the idea of nonbenders on the throne pretty quickly after the war and Katara and Zuko don't have to have only one child like Zuko and Mai did. I think the public opinion on waterbending royals would depend on what Katara, the mold-breaker, does as Fire Lady. Edit: I read a headcanon somewhere that since Katara would never turn her back on people who need her (and proclaims this quite openly), she'd be likely to get more politically active than previous fire ladies and get involved with championing public health and quality of life improvement projects to help poor villages like the one in "The Painted Lady." I think it's a cool idea, and would probably do a lot to shape public opinion.

[@gaslightgatekeepgirlboss6321]

Anyway people assuming discussing shipping is a "waste of time" is just blatantly misogynistic given that majority of shippers tend to be women AND it's a complete joke to the fact that romance is such a intimate way of providing internal conflict and character growth to characters. a whole range of human emotions are so, SO explorable through well written romance. Anyway this video is AMAZING BTW. I have no other notes, you said everything that needed to be said. Zutara fr should have been endgame

[@zoebelle8970]

YOURE RIGHT AND YOU SHOULD SAY IT

[@NeytiriPhoenix]

I would have preferred a scene at the end where Katara is the one to find Zuko on the balcony instead of Mai and maybe she just went to check up on him because they last time she healed Aang from a lightning attack she had special spirit water and for Zuko she just had regular water. Katara being a caring, responsible person it would make sense for her character. Then they could have just had a moment of calm between them, showing the growth of the two characters, how different their attitudes are to one another as opposed to what it would have been a year ago or so. A possible hint or two at the future and how, now that the world would be returning to normal (ish), they could focus on the more simple aspects of life like being happy and at peace... maybe there's a hint of something more between them that up until now they haven't had a chance to address because there's been a war and possibly destruction of the whole world... But no... let's just get Mai back into the picture so he doesn't steal Katara from Aang. Or a fourth book between them could be about them staying with something they think they should want (Aang and Mai) but then discovering that what they want to want is not what they need. Another want vs need situation.

[@whatismyadjectiveiconfused]

Yeah I was baffled when mai came to zuko at the ending. Why she suddenly become nice. When people in this comment section said katara do that job much better I was like "oopsie, Is it katara that's supposed to be zuko's partner in that scene?"

[@helenajournals]

the difference between me first watching the show at 14 and then rewatching at 23 when the big ATLA resurgence happened was crazy. seeing it as an adult i couldn’t believe how many narrative threads they left unresolved when it came to all the kataang arguments in book 3. and aang never apologizing for the ember island kiss??? ever??? 😐😐

[@ElsieZel]

the fact that a few of my tumblr friends/mutuals are referenced in this video makes me so unbelievably happy. they're all intellectuals omg

[@ElsieZel]

stan my-bated-breath and whattheheehaw!!

[@araline2905]

@@ElsieZel Araeph, sokkastyles and babytreehugger are awesome too. Now I have to watch this.

[@ElsieZel]

@@araline2905 !!! yes!! I'm also friends with babytreehugger, and i love seeing sokkastyles and araeph pop up in my dash!

[@naamsainatalie]

You're right...all zutara lacked WAS canonicity

[@catdragon2584]

I still can’t get over the moment in Ember Island Players when Aang gets angry over seeing the Katara and Zuko romance and says if his chakras weren’t blocked, he would’ve gone into the Avatar state. Like, if you see a girl you like and your first instinct is to go on a rampage, that’s more horrifying than romantic. At that point, you don’t need a girlfriend. You need therapy.

[@anfani6839]

Well... considering he is a 12 year old monk, raised by monks... you cant expect him to understand love. Which is why he shouldnt have gotten a girlfriend in the first place - he should have matured and gained a better understanding of the modern world before he should have gotten a love interest

[@leahalfonso2735]

@@anfani6839 Fair points

[@justink5000]

Nah, I think everyone would be jealous in this situation. Plus, it is revealed in the comics that Aang tried to talk to Katara several times after the kiss during the invasion happened, but she always blocked the conversation. That would make anyone feel helpless and frustrated. Frustration and helplessness are also natural anger fuels. The important thing is that he takes it out in a healthy way, he explains how he feels, he explains why he feels it, and he talks it through with the person that it concerns.

[@moonkiva3989]

@@justink5000 but does it make it a healthy relationship for katara if she doesn’t want to talk about? for a grand majority of people, avoidance is one of, if not the most, common methods of rejecting someone gently.

[@imani7979]

@@moonkiva3989 she wasn’t rejecting him though? she was making an serious and understandable decision. she just wasn’t ready and understandably so!! they were at war and needed to focus on winning it….and not dying during the process. aang was 100% in the wrong for kissing katara w/o her consent but that doesn’t mean she didn’t have feelings for him. it’s just that she wasn’t in the right state of mind to reciprocate or even understand her own feelings.

[@nelliebachesneg6655]

Welp. Congratulations. You made me jump the Kataang ship. I'm now a Zutara shipper. Thanks?

[@stephylynnpatch]

No need to jump ships lol. Just happy to hear that you get it at least. Hopefully other people will be as open to at least listening to her. I've been obsessed with this video for days now 😂

[@alinac5512]

@@stephylynnpatch me too 😂.

[@alinac5512]

I was mindblown and since I admire the debt and logic in this video Im actually grateful to her for destroying a part of my childhood 😂.

[@katn1751]

@@stephylynnpatch Oh, I've just become obsessed with it. It's incredible how someone could put into precise and well put words everything I've been thinking and ranting on the internet and to my friends for almost 13 years about this ship and that ending.

[@katn1751]

um, welcome? Lol, no need to abandon your ship but it is nice to see Kataangers not hating on Zutarians, I was there in the fandom for the worst of it and it was literal war. If you do decide to jump ships, I can asure you we all are quite nice people, a little too passionate and crazy but cool and since this is the dark side we probably have cookies somewhere.

[@sherbet3657]

59:21 YES ! I was thinking of what the letting go meant. The letting go of the idealized version of Katara. He may have had a romantic relationship with her at the end or learned to love her platonically. And being okay with rejection. But personally to me…Katara has been a constant caretaker for Aang makes it weird to me.

[@Zancibar]

*Calmly watching* *Realizes that the video is 2 hours long* *Anxiously watching*

[@aditzybell]

45:29 “BOOOO! Pick a plot line!” Near perfect summary really... Edit: I will be saving this video for every time someone tries to criticize the possibility of Zutara. It’s so well put together, so analytical, and feels like a thesis almost. Well done! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Jay.T4NA]

🤣

[@sparkyblue7016]

Agreed 😆

[@Frankie-wc6tg]

It does irk me how one of the reasons Kataang was cannon was bc the writers thought Aang was “the nice guy” and therefore should be with her. (Not the sole reason, and certainly paraphrased, but still.) to me that’s just insulting to all characters involved.

[@katn1751]

I think one of the reasons I hate Kataang it's because Katara is definitely considered "spoils of war" that are due to the hero for being the hero. Katara deserved so much better than everything that came from the finale onwards.

[@tea3677]

Bryke called zutara shippers "self insert shippers" or something but just look up what Michael looks like and compare it with adult Aang.

[@sparkyblue7016]

Exactly during the whole show , we never got to see Katara's feelings for aang . Kataang is all about aang . That if Katara leaves aang he'll be heartbroken . But no one says that if aang leaves Katara would be heartbroken . As someone who knew that Kataang was going to be endgame while watching Atla , I didn't feel it between them . Even when I knew that they are going to end up together and zutara just made so much sense . I mean if I already knew that they are going to end up together but still felt that the development was lackluster and the conflicts added were unnecessary and left to never be resolved that means that they messed up in the writing. The writers of atla can't write good and developed romance . Zutara had so much potential but they somehow managed to ruin a perfect thing with Maiko and kataang.

[@gaslightgatekeepgirlboss6321]

​@@tea3677 don't you know self inserting is BAD when women (the majority of zutara shippers) do it but is perfectly fine and okay if men (majority of kataang shippers) do it? Girls wanting guys who listen to their needs and don't demean them and supports them through their darkest hours is CRINGE, guys wanting a girl who is always there to baby them and take care of them and never act out of the specific mold of a caretaker is GOOD. (All of this to say Zutara shippers arent even huge in self inserting either lol they just take what makes the most sense for the characters)

[@Nightman221k]

I really hope this video gets big and more people see it. Honestly, the more you pointed it out the structure of Kataang was so badly handled narratively that your point of it being deliberately sidelined to be a big finale is definitely what killed it as something you can get invested in when Zutara is more intriguing narratively for the storytelling.

[@cristinaacosta8938]

Honestly, the footage with your mom was a genuine treat. For as the rest of the video, it was also great. I used to be a Kataanger in the beginning of the show, because it was the obvious choice. Then came Zutara (that only became a real possibility in my eyes from their heart to heart in the Catacombs) like a perfect storm and it all seemed to point out at a really compelling angle.... Until, it didn't. I also find one of Bryke's interactions with the fandom quite distasteful, if not downright insulting, to the effect that they actively alienate a portion of the fan base (AKA that one time they said something about Zutara shippers not being able to find stable relationships or something, like, ar you freaking kidding). Sorry to anyone that read this comment, I really needed to vent. Have a nice day 😘💜🥰

[@LegioXXI]

Imo Aang isn't ready for any romantic relationship at all. He was raised by monks, who divided their temples by gender. They had no concept of family and therefore no mothers/fathers, who could even give an example for a relationship (even a bad relationship can teach you how to NOT do things). So Aang spends his childhood with a wiener party, NEVER interacts with any girl at his age at all (there is no mention of a female friend of his before the war, not one!) and is raised by a culture that preaches detachment. How in the hell is he even supposed to know how romantic love works or even looks like? I wouldn't even be surprised if the monks actually prohibited Aang and the other children to have friends from the opposite gender. When he woke up from the ice berg he literally falls in love with the first girl around his age he sees. And its no wonder if you are raised by this mindset. I actually blame the air nomads for Aangs romantic immaturity, because it goes way further than just the average 12 year old inexperience. He is overly obsessive with Katara and its never clear if he actually seeks romance or is just overcompensating his lack of a motherly person in his life. Becoming a monk is a very impactful decision that should NOT be forced onto children. I guess the lesson is that all four nations in this show have issues of their own, which is actually a very realistic depiction - but sadly its completely unaddressed by the show and extended lore alike. The flaws of the air nomad philosophy should definitely get a larger spotlight in the fanbase, because it feels like the consequences for the air nomad children are scarily underestimated.

[@anfani6839]

You are absolutely right and I am glad more people start to see those issues - indeed this is what the show tried to tell us in the first two books - hence why Guru Pathik wanted Aang to let go of Katara (he even refers to his attachment to Katara as just newborn "love" which stems from the love of his people, basically outright SAYING that he just overcompensates his trauma with his attachment for Katara), but sadly that idea was dropped as soon as Book 3 came out, which portrayed Aang even worse than before by forcing himself onto Katara and claiming her even thou she never consended to that (Ember Island Players comes to mind) Plus yes, you also absolutely right about that last point - throughout the show (but especially in Book 3) Air nomad philosophy gets portrayed as the ideal standard and if everything in the world as more like the air nomads, everything would be better! Which is just not true at all - and I also feel like Aang should have gotten through some development with that (him still favouring Air nomads over every other nation and their traditions even at the end of Book 3 comes to mind) plus the show going through more in-depth lore/worldbuilding in regards of the air nomads - honestly wasted opportunity. Aside from all that, it was pretty unrealistic to begin with, that all the air nomads have been wiped out and Aang really IS the last one - you tell me that not even ONE air nomad was able to escape, aka the people that have things like wind gliders and bisons and - oh, wait, are NOMADS?? While Korra wants to make us believe that the air bisons were able to survive and repopulate in great numbers? There are lots of flaws sprinkled in here and there but most fans tend to ignore those matters and pretend like the show is a flawless masterpiece that is just untouchable and has no errors or missed potential whatsoever

[@stephylynnpatch]

Maybe some canon shippers can finally at least understand where we are coming form. This video is excellent it really takes a deep dive into the themes of the show, the writing choices. I'm OBSESSED with this right now.

[@quasi8180]

Videos like this got me shipping zutara hard

[@Snakeskin94]

This, is without a doubt, the Zutara video I've waited my entire life for. I've finished watching this dank ass THICC boi, and I'll probably watch it a few times again before the year is over lol. Great job- I've been subscribed for a long time to you, actually, so, I hope you stick around and make content, you got a knack for it.

[@janellarenner]

WOW. I've been on an ATLA video essay binge lately and I have to say that this is so well put together, highlighting ideas and themes that I haven't even thought about after spending years poring over discussions from both sides on and off. And YES, on the surface, Zutara seems like a ship formula for young girls to put themselves in Katara's place and fictionally fulfill their crush on Zuko, and yes there's a lot of attractive veneer with the pairing (due to story elements, character design, environmental setup, blah blah blah), but it isn't hollow at all, which is what makes it so compelling to begin with!! There are so many multifaceted layers to Zutara and I too am just so disappointed with the sheer volume of wasted potential. I don't mind Kataang, I just don't like how most of the romance subplots were handled throughout the show. And goodness, they are so YOUNG. I love the idea of ATLA having an ambiguous ending regarding their canonical partners with Katara and Zuko finding their way to each other a few years post-war and getting together then, navigating a new life together as an unexpected but beautiful symbol of unity. UGH. This must've taken so much work and I was thoroughly engaged and even entertained during the entire 2 hours. They were very well spent. THANK YOU FOR THIS! ❤️

[@SneezyReviews]

Thank you! Yeah I'm ngl it did take a long time but it was a passion project and I just had to, you know 😅 but thank you, it's comments like these that remind me it was time well spent 😊

[@samanthaknight8584]

I completely agree. They could have left off the romantic ending and been ambiguous on who ends up with who just to keep us guessing. Also, it could have been used as a way to increase sales since they came out with the comics anyways. In the comics, they could have revealed that Katara and Zuko ended up together a few years later.

[@tracycharles4895]

Agreed! If Zutara wasn't gonna happen, I'd much rather the whole team remain friends. Kataang seems like a boy having a crush on his babysitter, and it seemed so awkward because half the time we don't even know if Katara feels the same way!

[@alext-rex5492]

Why are you calling it a ship formula for young girls to fulfill their fictional crush for Zuko? Why can't it be just us all having common sense? 😂 I mean, if it were just to serve that purpose, people would be shipping Mai and Zuko, but honestly, I think it's just the fact that we were LED to the conclusion that Zuko and Katara's chemistry means something, it's how the writers put it, and we were never satisfied with how there was this unresolved love tension between the two characters after they got with their canonical partners, we just crave that conflict and that dynamic of theirs but I guess the writers didn't share that drive

[@Lumiyearsagoedited]

This was two weeks ago, but I can’t be the only one who really disliked the “powerful bender” scene? I felt like Katara was more considering Aang as a love interest because of a prediction that because she actually liked him romantically. Like it kinda looked like she wasn’t letting her feelings for someone dictate her relationship but fulfilling a destiny, sort of.

[@stephylynnpatch]

Think about this too the message of this episode is about shaping your own destiny. But I guess that only applies to Aang? Because Katara is some how bound to her prediction??

[@renoirrr]

i watched that and as someone who already shipped zutara from the start i was like "zuko?" ofc sokka was like "aang" and i wanted to dive headfirst into a toilet, mostly for not realizing that aang was literally right in front of me but also it took away some hope i had for zutara. anyways to cling to zutara i always thought she only considered aang because not only is he the avatar but also bc zuko was on the opposing side trying to hunt them down. aang was probably the only option she couldve thought of at the moment cause he's the only guy she isnt related to who she's close with, on top of that hes the avatar like you dont get more powerful than that as far as i know

[@brendapaz1609]

I completely agree. In the beginning of the episode when Sokka teases Katara about dating Aang she says "he's a sweet little guy just like momo". She literally compared him to a cute pet, how could she have developed attraction to him in just a few months? Knowing he's a powerful bender isn't enough to change that.

[@thirtythreeflavors]

1:09:00 also the caves where these feelings are shared is green. Green just happens to be the color of the heart chakra.

[@asobimo5532]

The worst part about this whole Kataang ship, is that Katara is a family person. She often felt alone with her and Soka being away from their tribe. She was so so happy when they first met their uncle and later their father. And she is used to the life in the tribe, where people you care about stick together to help each other out. And you are telling me, she choose a guy that would be away from home most of the time? In ALOK we see that because of being the avatar, Aang had to travel a lot, be away a lot. And Katara was left with their kids in the tample where they lived. Why would she choose that life of isolation when she grew up being surrouded by people that love her? And you could argue that if she married Zuko, she would have to go to Fire nation, away from the tribe. Yes, but she would still be next to Zuko, and OTHER PEOPLE. How many people can climb the mountains and visit the abandoned Air Nomad Tamples?? And Zuko, being the leader of the nation couldn't be away from his Nation for too long, so they would still be spending time together. And Zuko looks like someone that would rise his kids with affection and being all hands on (because of the love and affection he got from his mother while growing up). In ALOK we see that while being a great bender and avatar, Aang was still very lacking when it came to raising his kids. Other than Tenzin, Bumi and his sister felt very neglected by Aang.

[@dandandan0099]

i love seeing passionate people just analyse their favorite subjects, i just feel like i learn so much somehow. So please, just do as many videos as you want of zutara or whatever u want.

[@reecegraham6921]

I've watched ATLA as a kid and as an adult and I have constantly been onboard for Zutara. Aang's attraction to Katara always kinda weirded me out bc Katara seemed more like a big sis to Aang and generally a mother figure to Gaang and Aang acts like a kid with a first crush who still has rose-colored glasses on. I feel like I've been in Katara's shoes where someone views myself like Aang does to Katara and boy it did not feel good. Maiko on the other hand is just ughhh frustrating as hell. The way Mai is dismissive to Zuko's emotional turmoils always bothered me. And the fact that she doesnt share the same moral values as him just makes me less inclined to root for them since it doesnt really contribute to Zuko's redemption arc if he ended up with her. Mai's missing-the-war-meeting comment was big yikes. I get that she was trying to cheer him up but girl....that was insensitive af. Zutara makes much more sense since they seem share the same emotional wavelength *and* if they do get tgt it serves as character growth to see them put aside their past conflicts and embrace their similarities. If Zutara happened, it would've been super interesting to see how it will effect the reparation efforts. How cool would it be to see someone from a water tribe joining the royal family of a fire nation and vice versa. Even politically, Zutara has so much to offer.

[@herbivi-cus5382]

How is Kataang found so wholesome when for the entire season 3 Aang pushes Katara on and on and is hella obsessive about her when she clearly isn't sure and asks for some space? HOW is this wholesome?

[@danimolusco]

The creators defending Kataang seemed so sexist also. I know they created the show but I don’t think they were that good at giving the characters depth, it seems like the Ehasz were better at that

[@annabellthedoll9953]

@@danimolusco Who?

[@arriannaniv]

I honestly just see a foolish boy messing up over and over because no one has taught him how to do the whole romance thing in a non toxic way

[@gracerodriguez2200]

​@@annabellthedoll9953 I read from someone else's comment, it's one of the other writers

[@alinac5512]

​@@annabellthedoll9953the main writer and his wife. His wife wrote the best episodes, Zuko alone, the southern raiders etc. They are the unsung heroes of the show. I can't stand the showrunners, if I could have chosen anyone to be involved in the live action remake it would have been the writers (especially the main writer and his wife) not the show runners.