Aang X Katara: Avatar's Biggest Mistake?

[@SarcasticChorus]

Who should Aang have ended up with?

[@samflood5631]

Maybe Toph.

[@emptinessitself]

No one tbh._. FOUND FAMILY FOR THE WIN

[@mateogarciaguerra9536]

Katara

[@ShinobiPXO]

On Ji

[@crazylemurs]

Aang X Secret Tunnel

[@jknetwork6211]

So we not gonna talk about Sokka’s game? Suki, Ty Lee, Yue and even Toph!? Aang was the avatar but Sokka was the rizz master

[@donkeykong3628]

A certified back-bender, if you will

[@Psub950]

To be honest if he tried he probably would have gotten Azula to

[@TheRibottoStudios]

gotta be the humor and the eyes. As Jessica Rabbit once said "He makes me laugh" when she was asked "why Roger?"

[@Gxylord]

he would've gotten me too, he was a fictional crush of mine lmaoo

[@toadlord8594]

@9Yeah that scene during Black Sun with Sokka interrogating a restrained Azula gave some weird fanart during that time. Sexual TENSION....😳🤗❤ (Careless whisper plays in the background) Yes he was asking about Suki whereabouts of course but still.

[@soundrogue4472]

The scene where he kisses her and she is saying, "I just said I was confused" a useful teaching scene, Aang wasn't rewarded but pushed away because of it.

[@shiannafoxx]

But he still gets her in the end so not really

[@yamataichul]

​​@@shiannafoxx the scene is not a deal breaker but I did expect, as a tween first watching the show, for kataang not being established in the last episode but as alluded to for a possible future. I never wanted for the final scene of 2 characters to _hold hands_ as badly as for Katara and Aang. I'm still not ok with the second kiss a decade later!

[@soundrogue4472]

@@shiannafoxxHe gets her later down the line after maturing/ changing; one bad interaction shouldn't kill your shot. Every relationship has it's rough spots of fuck ups.

[@soundrogue4472]

Holy shit I didn't think so many people would agree with me.

[@TheEgoshoooter]

@@soundrogue4472 I don't understand the issue of a lot of people and of this uploader either. He kissed her in the wrong moment, got burned for it and gave her space. She kissed him in the final kiss.

[@samkpam]

ironically sokka and suki were probably the best ship in the series and it partially had to do with how little screen time they had together but also how all their moments were obviously romantic and there was little to no will they wont they about it. Boiling Rock being probably their best moments and one of my favorite epsidoes of the series.

[@LaCrownedGamer]

Sokka and all of his ships are honestly the best-written romance in Avatar, I don't know if it is because of his personality or his age, but whenever he is in love, the comedy portion of the show, and his funny guy character is toned down, less puppy love and more "I think I am in love" he owns his feelings, he changes for the better with each instance he is with a girl he loves, and they have a lasting impact on him, so with his lovely end game of Suki you see soo much development in their relationship because he changes for her (and for himself) even when she is not around, and it is reflected in the next moment they get to be together, it is wonderful to see an actual relationship happen in real-time rather than as end game, and it makes them feel way more grounded as characters rather than tropes.

[@Isthatthegrimreaper170]

Honestly the boiling rock made me wanna see Suki and Sokka married on Kyoshi island

[@roca7268]

I think it's also because there was no big drama in their relationship, just two people showing their affection for each other and having fun. Sokka is a bit too childish at times (Ember Island Pleayers...), but he can make up for it when it matters. Suki is easygoing and has a lot of patience, and she often plays along with Sokka's jokes, so they seem to work well togheter from what we saw on-screen. Their relationship feels youthful in the best possible way.

[@jacksparrow9227]

@@Isthatthegrimreaper170 should have

[@TipoIrritable]

Kataang it’s still the best one.

[@sayo5885]

''Young love is awkward, but you can do without making me long for death.'' lmao bro that burn was insane

[@FlyingFocs]

I had a revelation recently, that as not great as some of the romance writing in Avatar was, the relationships in EVERYTHING the crew did afterwards (Korra, Thundercats 2011, Voltron, Dragon Prince Season 4) is somehow WORSE or just more annoying. And I find that absolutely hilarious.

[@genericname2747]

This show truly was a miracle. Imagine if it ended like Voltron

[@dadandadandan]

I think the show is so good that even the weakest parts are decent enough for us to buy. Literally every other animation nowdays suffers from the shipping wars in the fandom, many writers budge under pressure and put romance over good plot even if it was not originally intended. Avatar was much more restrained and came out at the right time so it went relatively well. Even now if we cringe a bit we can withstand the romance because we know how bad it can be. And people won't harrass writers on twitter cause the show ended 15 years ago...

[@user-gp5yz5yz4x]

Now that you mention it, dragon prince season 3 kind of feels like a bizarre fluke, lol? I guess we should've seen the BS that was s4 coming

[@gloomygloomstalker3878]

What really sucks is Dragon Prince was really good…until they split the pair in a SUPPLEMENTARY COMIC BETWEEN SEASONS Bruh 💀 You. Should. Not. Have. To. Read. Supplemental. Material. To. Understand. The. Story!

[@FlyingFocs]

@@dadandadandan True, I still like Aang and Katara getting together, but if I had to change it, make it more age appropriate and make it so it seems more like a crush that COULD grow into something more.

[@deva_69]

the only winning ship here is *Sokka X Cactus Juice*

[@idontknowwhatismynickname]

YEAH

[@CTMoorse909]

“It will quench ya.”

[@philly_sports1558]

Don’t forget about the friendly mushroom

[@JuliaZeeGreat]

What about the cabbage Salesman and his CABBAGES?!

[@windygrass9807]

@@CTMoorse909 it's the quenchiest..!

[@Jonathan_Collins]

Proof that ATLA is 100% a cartoon. If it was an anime, Aang and Katara would've needed at least 10 seasons and a spin-off just to work up the courage to hold hands.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

And Katara would have been horribly written.

[@njivwathomassilavwe2056]

*Looks at miraculous* are you sure that it's just anime with that problem

[@youtubeobserver-vj4bp]

​@@njivwathomassilavwe2056 I mean to be fair miraculous was originally supposed to be an anime, so that's where it gets some of its anime influences in the plot

[@aspebb]

Cartoons and anime are the same thing. Anime just comes from the word "animation" and even the Japanese refer to all animation as "anime"

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@njivwathomassilavwe2056 (looks at She-ra) Yeah, you might have a point.

[@mp.6058]

I just feel like Aang letting go of Katara during the ghuru Pathik arc would've been such a nice closure to Aang's crush arc. We spend the entire show watching Aang be obsessed with her, with no feelings on Katara's side whatsoever, on the other hand we're watching these characters grow and mature. Having Aang let go of her would've been such a nice conclusion to their relationship, and him realizing that it's just a childlike crush and their friend/familial love is more important (especially since she doesn't feel the same way) and him also becoming a fully-realized avatar.

[@MizzFujin]

I agree with this 100% Also it felt so very much one sided until the very last episode where katara just decides she likes aang now.

[@toadlord8594]

Honestly yeah that would’ve felt like such a mature but bittersweet closure and probably elevated the character of Aang.

[@mikemorro140]

@@MizzFujin It's one sided aside from The Fortune Teller, The Cave of Two Lovers, The Headband, Day of the Black Sun, like it's fine if you don't ship it but it's wild when people pretend Katara never showed feelings for Aang.

[@icecreamguru7584]

@@mikemorro140 it's just that it was shown for brief instances and then never brought up again. like ooh she kisses aang, but what does that mean for her? their relationship is just about aang

[@DenverZenn]

@@mikemorro140I can understand where they're coming from. Even in your examples, that's roughly 1 episode a season where the writers remember to write something about Katara considering Aang a potential romantic partner. They then doubled it (a whole 2 episodes now!) in season 3 outside of the actual final moment of the show. It's easy to forget about when the writers also seem to.

[@Rembreiker_lychec9257]

0:52 "No show is perfect" while showing a bit of that ATLA episode everyone agrees is the worst ATLA episode. Good one lol

[@IanPendleton-gh6ox]

I actually like that episode. Why do so many people seem to not like it?

[@philly_sports1558]

The joke about The Great Divide in The Ember Island Players makes up for it in my opinion.

[@ilyte1]

​@@IanPendleton-gh6oxit progresses the characters and plot exactly zero

[@IanPendleton-gh6ox]

@@ilyte1 Is that really it? I'm of the opinion that there's nothing wrong with an occasional filler episode.

[@truecaliber1995]

​@@ilyte1 No, but it's a fun side adventure with heroes, villains, conflict, drama, and a comical conclusion. It's an inoffensive episode, which is why it seems inferior in comparison to everything else in ATLA.

[@NowRacattackForce]

"I don't ship Kataang, but I don't ship Zutara either." You had my interest, but now you have my undivided attention.

[@philly_sports1558]

Zutara is just no. They were a great team in The Southern Raiders though and I think that’s where a lot of the shipping comes from.

[@FlyingFocs]

Hot take: there is NOT enough interaction between Zuko and Katara for them getting together to have felt natural. They'd either have to write another season for that (which would be a waste of time and a perfectly good finale), or make it so that Zuko joined them in the second season finale, which would be detrimental to his arc. Also, to do that would likely result in a love triangle between Zuko, Katara, and Aang, and I am SO GLAD that didn't happen

[@smcphee8499]

I’m with him.

[@truecaliber1995]

​@@FlyingFocs Considering there were plans for a fourth season, before they were canceled, perhaps Zutara, along with other Zuko-related relationships within Team Avatar, could have been expanded upon. We'll never know. It's just one of those interesting what-ifs.

[@katejoseph6547]

@@FlyingFocsI feel like Zuko and Katara getting together could have been implied at the end of the story. Like not kissing or anything but after beating Azula they could maybe have a conversation of how Zuko feels and how he’s glad Katara was the one with him in that moment. And she’d be like I’m happy to do this just like how you helped me face my mother’s killer. In the finale Aang and Katara could talk about how much they mean together but Katara makes it clear he’s family and nothing more. They don’t kiss, instead they hug and join the rest of the group and Katara and Zuko glance at each other with no one else noticing. Then we end with Sokka’s painting and just everyone being happy together as a group

[@Jonathan_Collins]

If Katara would've healed Zuko's scar and Zuko would've joined the group earlier, he would've never said, "Hello, Zuko here."

[@valentinkambushev4968]

No, but Sokka's reaction would have been hilarious.

[@4wheal]

Who said he would have actually switch sides if she had healed his scar as he was still in his all about himself stage and if she had used the water she couldn't have healed Aang and he would have died

[@Pak43lol]

THIS GUY IS EVERYWERE

[@samdude1526]

​@@4whealit was heavily implied that he would I can't lie

[@4wheal]

@@samdude1526 Not really as he switched sides vert easily and couldn't even be bothered to remember he betrayed Katara or even her name showing how little what she said meant to him.

[@katrrene]

"you're my forever girl" will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life

[@KaylaParisi-s3n]

same

[@beautifulangel7723]

Whoever thought of that line needs to retire as writer indefinitely. 😬😬

[@villeandersson1487]

Steven He: "Emotional damage! Where's the therapy button?!"

[@tiagodelgado1214]

It's soooo good!!

[@3LainE_]

The dance was a very sweet moment. Every other romantic coded moment of them was urgh. But their friendship is absolutly precious.

[@andieallison6792]

That's not what coding is

[@PikaPenny17]

@@andieallison6792 What is coding then?

[@andieallison6792]

@@PikaPenny17 "coding" is being used as a sloppy offshoot of "queer coding". Queer coding was used back in the days during the Hays Code, where a character's sexual orientation couldn't be explicitly referred to due to censorship laws and severe homophobia. Coding is a concept used for things that *can't be shown* but relies on traits and sometimes stereotypes that the audience is familiar with. Things can't be "romance coded". And specifically, the moment between Katara and Aang was blatantly romantic. It was fun yes, but it's clearly meant to be a moment between the two.

[@TipoIrritable]

My guy, you saw the series with the eyes closed

[@jyjaeskz]

​@@andieallison6792Why can't things be "romance coded" if they're implied as romantic but not explicitly romantic? I mean "coding" isn't just used for queer stuff (anymore at least) people say like characters are autistic coded or all kinds of stuff. It's something that's implied, but not explicitly stated. I don't really think gatekeeping a word does anyone any good. The word works for "romance coded" (maybe not for that scene tho)

[@Nyahahameha]

13:43 "I shit you not" Onscreen: _Constipated Aang_ That...was masterful. I laughed so hard. Incredible editing work!

[@madmaster0015]

I thought the biggest mistake was having the conclusion to Zuko's mom subplot tied to a book and not in the actual show.

[@emanuelborges4458]

The Zuko's mom plot was Aaron Ehasz (head writer of the show) idea. He wanted the show to have 4 seasons, to explore more themes e ideias, but Bryan and Mike (the creators) wanted to end the show in 3 seasons. Aaron left the show mid season 3 for creative differences, and then Bryan and Mike used his idea to make the comic.

[@SarcasticChorus]

Having read the comic. I honestly prefer the mystery. They were doing too much with the Ursa face swapping storyline

[@roca7268]

​@@emanuelborges4458 Aaron left the show mid season 3?? Seriously??? That explains some things...

[@ember9361]

@@SarcasticChorus yes, thought so too...

[@ember9361]

holy crap this explains the trainwreck that was Korra's spirits... They completely westernized them, yuck

[@sherbert1321]

I always hated how the kataang moments we get are all from Aang’s perspective. The show is not all from his perspective, we see plenty of moments that let us see Katara’s thoughts and feelings, but those moments never have anything to do with Kataang. The writers want to keep her feelings secret for the will they, won’t they dynamic. But I hate that! It turns Katara from a deep and complex character to an object to be won in the end. It’s so dumb. The writers want us to root for Aang to get the girl in the end, but never consider what Katara might think about Aang. Katara’s feelings don’t matter at all in this relationship, because the arc is about Aang “earning his prize.” That’s why the end game kiss is such a “triumphant” moment. We’re encouraged not to root for them both to get together, but to root for Aang to get the girl.

[@H.P.93]

It really did make the end feel out of place, as we didn't really get any moments showing things from her perspective. It made it feel like her feelings came out of nowhere. Especially when you had Zuko help her get her mother's betrothal necklace back and then you just had them together for the final fight with Azula. And I'm not saying this means Zutara was better, just that there was slightly better groundwork laid for it. I remember watching the finale live and getting to the Kataang scene and being surprised, because we didn't really get much indication she saw him as more than a little brother.

[@sherbert1321]

@@H.P.93 the writers were wild for putting so much romantic coding in Zuko and Katara’s interactions and then acting like we were all insane for considering the possibility they might be end game

[@pheonixrises11]

⁠@@sherbert1321tbh if people on the show disagree who a character ends up with, there’s going to be coding for both, even if it’s to the detriment of the show. TV shows are written as they go, on top of not everyone getting a say on every episode. it doesn’t explain the finale, but it does explain the leadup to it.

[@Jinskii762]

⁠@@H.P.93were they really romantic? I only saw cold logic. Zuko chose Katara for the fight against Azula because of the elemental advantage and she has healing, plus they already teamed up in the southern raiders episode. Katara is also stronger than Toph I feel, and Zuko never really knew Toph that well. Sokka, even though he’s strong, would be too slow. There hasn’t been scene between Zutara that showed anything romantic. And they don’t really interact outside of these examples that people comment. Even the southern raider episode, it wasn’t as if Zuko was doing all that to help Katara out of the goodness of his heart or any romantic attraction, it was solely to earn her trust as she was the only one out of the group that didn’t fully trust him. It wasn’t as if he hugged her or kissed or anything or held her hand and said comforting words. Whatever she chose to do in the end was her call but he wanted her trust. With Aang, I feel people forget all the little moments where Katara and Aang would talk about deeper things about the world, about relationships, about themselves, about the right path they should take. All these little moments were never there with Zuko besides their shared trauma about losing their moms because of fire nation. Just my thoughts lol

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@Jinskii762Zuko and Katara are compared to "Mr and Mrs Smith" in the The Southern Raiders script, so I do think some of the writers were writing some of their moments as plausibly romantic.

[@kingpinpasta2934]

Kataang feels like a kid crushing on their babysitter

[@Split_tails]

THIS. Not just physical age and maturity AND emotional maturity! It just feels wrong

[@atanor9787]

ignores that the entire point of the show is Aang teaching Katara to be a kid again

[@islasullivan3463]

^Ignores that this only happens maybe once or twice in the beginning, with the rest of the time Katara mothers him like she does with everyone else.

[@atanor9787]

@@islasullivan3463 Katara doesn't see herself as his mother, and he doesn't think of her as his mom (and no, him acknowledging she has motherly traits/is the "mom friend" is not the same as thinking of her as a genuine parental figure in his life) Those motherly traits are response to the trauma of growing up in a war environment, it is something in which she does NOT want to be pigeonholed. Throughout the series you can clearly see her doing silly and stupid things with Aang. From making a penguin sledding, ruining the maps that Sokka is trying to read with water, destroying a factory, dancing together in a cave, etc. It is sexist and superficial to reduce the ENTIRE deep relationship these two have to her being his mother.

[@brandontv11]

​@@atanor9787 could not say it any better myself!

[@ALtheuncommonicedragon8360]

Biggest mistake wasn’t Katang. It was the fact it had aang forgiving the crazy scientist guy who was demolishing one of the last memorials and pieces of his culture to build a a bathroom. Like they aren’t exactly making no more air bender architecture no more on account of the genociding! Esp given that scientist was building a fire nation blimp in heart of air temple. That’s like building a Nazi tank in a synagogue

[@TheRibottoStudios]

Fr fr I hated the Northern Air Temple episode so much and the fact that Sokka goes "SO MUCH BETTER!" at all the change when this man witnessed his friend have a mental breakdown and nearly blow them off the mountaintop over the loss of his people and culture? God damn I would've smacked him for that remark.

[@blackfox4138]

It does play into Aang's character though. He's 100 years removed from the world, and as far as everyone's concnerned, the Air Nomads are extinct. The inventors are a group of people forced out of their homes and need to make shelter somewhere else thanks to a war. Now, yes, they went overboard and disrespected the culture that was initially there. But the point of the episode is to show that just because new people live there, that doesn't mean what they're doing is inherently wrong. Outside of the whole Fire Nation conspiracy plot.

[@merlumili]

YES. Still pisses me off that the episode paints Aang as in the wrong. Fuck no. The mechanists should've been kicked out of there or forced to repair and maintain the temple they lived in.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@merlumili would've cheered if Aang had been triggered enough to enter the AS.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@merlumili so they should be blamed for making home in a place owned by people who were dead for 100 years?

[@eauxkei702]

Finally, someone else who feels this way. I was okay with them ending up together as adults, but I never liked how the Aang x Katara romance was written throughout the show. It felt so forced and uncomfortable. It was led by the writers just wanting Aang to end up with his crush, without any consideration if it would make sense for his crush to feel the same way at this point in their lives. I, too, have held on to this feeling since I was a teen. I'm in my 30s now lol.

[@miko-ee]

Feel that, too. I don't know if the ship was popular in the fandom. Oh boy, it was! It feels so boring to me and weirdly placed in the show, as I saw katara as aang's older sister or at least role model.

[@mariafyodorovna8362]

Honestly their relationship didn't get any better when they were adults either. Just look what they did to them in LOK, having Aang leave Katara and his non-Airbender kids alone most of the time. Katara having no statues to honor her name, and no significant achievements unlike the rest of the gang, and being widowed incredibly young. I wish they had all ended up with someone they did not know as a kid/teen, someone they met offscreen. Would still be more satisfying than this, and the trope of staying with the first love forever is far to prevalent in children's media anyway.

[@katejoseph6547]

Yeah maybe I would’ve like Kataang more if they’d both lived their lives separate of each other, Katara had a chance to accomplish great things, and then they realized they want to be together. I’m so glad you said this cause I never considered this possibility ❤

[@mikemorro140]

@@mariafyodorovna8362 "Just look what they did to them in LOK, having Aang leave Katara and his non-Airbender kids alone most of the time." That didn't happen, he went on solo trips with Tenzin but it is acknowledged that he'd still be with the family the rest of the time. "Katara having no statues to honor her name, and no significant achievements unlike the rest of the gang, and being widowed incredibly young." I mean would the first part have changed if she didn't end up with Aang

[@mariafyodorovna8362]

@@mikemorro140 It would have changed if Bryke didn't treat her like some trophy to be won.

[@lasercraft32]

Katara and Aang's relationship feels like one of those awkward age-gap crushes... Not because there _is_ an age-gap (they're only 2 years apart, which is basically nothing), but rather because there's a huge gap in _maturity._ Aang acts like the 12 year-old he is, but Katara acts a lot more grown-up (in large part because of the trauma of losing her mother). There's also the fact that they're minors, making their romance very awkward lol.

[@TheEnd-um7yd]

Sorry to break to you but it is actually a 98 year age gap.

[@lasercraft32]

@@TheEnd-um7yd Well yes... But actually _no._ Aang didn't age at all in the iceberg, his physical (and mental) age is still around 12 at the start of the show.

[@ancient_bam]

I don't see a problem with minors who are similar in age having a romance-- it's not like it's sexualized in any way-- but the gap in maturity is so stark that I could never buy into it. AND there was zero romantic chemistry between them. Kid + older caretaker kid is not romantic. But also, as far as we can tell, Aang hasn't even started puberty yet. It's weird to see him with a teenage girl

[@XDanW91]

I disagree. aang acts childish but he is actually very mature deep down. he understands his responsibilities and has seen the horrors of war. she is not his caretaker, aang and katara are comrades

[@kou7191]

I think the awkwardness of minors being involved in romance makes sense, afterall, the biggest demographic ARE minors, so it's more relatable for them. That's completely different from, say, a 'Netflix adaptation where the characters are supposedly 16 and are put in rather sexual situations... that one's questionable.

[@mirrorman345]

Personally? Aang and Toph for me, since they're both runaways but for different/actually incredibly similar circumstances(running away from reaponsibility, except Toph had a family she could go back to, but her found family is better for her. Aang ran away from his family/tribe and needed a found family which turned out great for him.) They were of similar age, meaning they could relate a lot more to each other, and then they're total opposites, which makes them honestly more interesting than Aang and Katara.

[@josefagomezschmeisser8356]

I never saw it but you got a point! If they needed Aang to end up with someone cuz last airbender, Thoph could have been a better option, they could have the dynamic of tough girl and soft boy, and heal together. Plus I feel it so uneven with Katara, she was practically his mom, not only for the age difference but how she treat him.

[@jubileebaby0]

❤❤❤

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@josefagomezschmeisser8356 not to mention they could have improved each other. Aang could have thought Toph to be a little kinder and softer, and Toph could have thought Aang how to be more firm and tough.

[@toadlord8594]

Never thought of them that way back when the series first aired, I might look up a few good fanfics to see this potential ship @@valentinkambushev4968

[@FlyingFocs]

The older I get, the more that appeals to me. Because we LOVE a soft boy/rough girl dynamic. Also, I met Toph's voice actress a few times. She gave me a hug. It was nice.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

I honestly don't like that Aang and Katara's kiss was the ending of ATLA, as if to tell us: "This story was all about their love.", while it wasn't. A much better ending (in my opinion) would have been the entire Gaang (including Aang and Katara) crapping on Sokka's drawing, while the camera zooms out of the tea shop and the hieroglyphs for "The end" appear.

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

I agree. The Plot should've been about ending the war. Not winning Katara's heart.

[@azulaeatingmochime2353]

Right like don’t nobody wanna see that😭

[@LazyLotusWater]

Yea it would've been better!

[@genericname2747]

Honestly, I think the ending should've included Aang airbending. Because this show was about the Last Airbender

[@LazyLotusWater]

@@azulaeatingmochime2353 two minutes ago.

[@merlumili]

Genuinely, the biggest mistake the crew made was deciding that they *had* to end up together. If all the ending did was let us know that Katara now returned Aang's feelings but didn't act on it, it would've been way better. They're kids, I can't get behind the idea that after that kiss they're together until death. This applies to Mai/Zuko too!!! Why tf did they end up together. When it comes to atla's shipping, I just pretend most of the relationships start in their 20s (except Sukka, they're golden)

[@trellyv8826]

Wdy mean mai betrayed Azula to save zuko's life. Which is honestly insane like I was a little surprised that azula didn't kill mai and tai lee when they were captured. Side note they break up in the comics so there you go.

[@AceBountyHunterRex]

​@@trellyv8826that always seemed dumb to me like why do all that just to break them up in comics after the fact?

[@donkeykong3628]

@@AceBountyHunterRex I don’t count the comics tbh the characters act so out-of-character sometimes, like didn’t Aang agree to kill Zuko?? Tf was that about lmao he wasn’t even willing to kill Ozai

[@merlumili]

@@trellyv8826 that's besides the point though, I know Mai and Zuko still love each other at the end. What I have a problem with is them getting into a relationship again just because it's the end and they *have* to get together. It didn't need to happen imo.

[@anfani6839]

Mai and Zuko are hella toxic together and both parties didnt see eye to eye with their supposed significant other; this is not a healthy, balanced relationship and I hate that the writers didnt act upon it but instead portrayed them as a happy ending couple, when really, they are not

[@Casin]

Aang having a one-sided crush on her made sense when they didn't know each other very well yet. But she always seemed to treat him like a little brother. They could've let his crush die out as they became more of a family, and then not have either of them end up with anyone. There really didn't need to be end-game romance in a story about a 12-year old.

[@Omnihilo]

@@mindovermatter7591 ...

[@rockstarbenjamin02]

If you think that crush was one sided you need to rewatch the show

[@Omnihilo]

@@mindovermatter7591 *...*

[@ggletv]

right, the REAL maturity of aang would be him growing up and realizing obsession and crush isn't actually real love. but the creator admitted he self inserted onto him so that actual maturity was never gonna happen.

[@yayoinkdab5883]

@@ggletvno it’s not real love, but the kids 12 and everyone has had crushes before, idk why yall tweaking so much

[@amongthestars7004]

Imo I think non of them were ready for a romantic relationship yet, so I like to think that their relationship dynamics as adults are different then from we’ve seen on the screen, since they have grown more mature. I think all the stuff that happened in the shows are more like starters of the relationships of each characters.

[@amongthestars7004]

Like many moments were pretty messed up but like they’re all teenagers so it’s pretty realistic

[@pedanticat9479]

Katara x Aang is textbook definition of main boy x main girl must become a couple. I adore both characters and their friendship, but the romance is super bland with it feeling incredibly one-sided.

[@andiman44]

Strongly agree. Nothing terrible but nothing outstanding either

[@buchelaruzit]

exactly. so unnecessary forced straight amatonormativity

[@BoneWalker]

@@buchelaruzit You can't convince me you didn't mash your keyboard for that.

[@NatManzano]

That is because it was one-sided until it was not at the end. He was in love the whole time. She wasn't. Until she was. And that is OK.

[@buchelaruzit]

@@BoneWalker lmao yeah it doesn’t roll off the tongue but well those are the relevant words so!

[@toadlord8594]

Long ago there was an incredible animated series that went for three seasons. With certain types of ships that everyone loved or settled for. But Everything changed when the Zutara Shippers attacked” Thus began the 18 year Long shipping war war between Kattang and Zutara. Edit: Me personally I didn’t really care for Kattang one way or the other. But Honestly after my rewatch of the series Zutara really did appeal much more to me. Hell even out of Guilty Pleasure Azula x Katara was one of my favorite Avatar ships lol.

[@royalreviews5270]

Zutara shipper here. To me Aang and katara felt forced. Even before I started shipping. She literally says I like you like a brother. I know things can change. It is what it is now I'm older. But the chemistry she had with zuko was phenomenal

[@masterDarts4188]

Honestly, I never cared for Aang and Katara, before I even entertained the Zutara thing. Sorry bro, even Legend of Korra couldn't salvage it and it was written by the guys who pushed for that ship the hardest.

[@toadlord8594]

@@royalreviews5270 Cool personally I’m more of a Zutara shipper myself which stated my craving for enemies to lovers. Hell for guilty pleasure I even shipped Katara x Azula or Tyzula as well.

[@toadlord8594]

@@masterDarts4188 Yeah that’s cool. I’ve personally been more on Team Zutara myself

[@royalreviews5270]

@@toadlord8594 the funny thing is Dante and Mae thought that katara and zuko were endgame. That's crazy that even the voice actors are even going for the non-canon ship. But at least we got it in the American dragon jake long. In a way

[@absolutelyabsolute4671]

As much as I like ATLA, it failed at developing the romantic relationships between characters except Sokka and Suki, those two felt the most natural.

[@Chateau22]

I was a Zutara fan, but i was not mad not seeing them ending together, it’s just a ship for fun because they had a bit of chemistry, ennemies to lovers etc. BUT ! Aang and Katara ??? Dude, she was acting as his mother et she looked like a teen while he looked and acted as a child. It irked me how the kiss came out of nowhere to me, with little to no building in this relationship 😅

[@hexellent0324]

Katara acted like everyone's mother that's literally her main character flaw? And if you think Kataang came out of nowhere you genuinely didn't watch the show

[@smcphee8499]

Katara acts like everyone mom. It’s apart of character due losing her mother.

[@islasullivan3463]

^Everyone except for Zuko, and she mothers Aang the most out of everyone.

[@Chateau22]

@@hexellent0324 yay, I know she's the mom of the group, but it is even more painfully obvious with Aang, as Sarcastic Chorus pointed out, since he had no mother figure around him all his life before meeting Katara. Rubbed me the wrong way. And for the no sign, when you rewatch you can see a few in season 3 (when I first watched it as a kid, I did not see it coming, call my 10 years old self denial😂😂) but it feels weird, especially after so much friendzoning through the show.

[@2triedforthis830]

I mean, they were never gonna be together😭 like these ships are making up some kind of love triangle where there was never even an option for katara to choose zuko. At the time he still liked mai and he wouldn’t choose a girl he’s become friends with after a week than a girl he knew since they were kids. Although I don’t hate the ship I find it interesting personally, but the fandom sometimes make it like it could be possible to make them end up together at the end based off the very few scenes they have to together. Which is why katraang is probably the better ship because they just know each other like that even though it has a lot of problems

[@rileybear836]

Thank god someone said it. I never like them together. Aang was “little brother’d “ the whole time. Him having an unrequited love for an “older” friend is something a lot of people go through. We get through it and we learn

[@danielnidhiry5796]

sounds like dipper arc with wendy

[@atanor9787]

no older sister (in a healthy relationship) gets jealous when her brother is with other girls or suggests kissing him, you know lol

[@rileybear836]

@@atanor9787 hence, why the creator of the vid said it was out of place when they just threw romantic shit in in sloppy ass ways….ya know

[@atanor9787]

@@rileybear836 How is Aang's status being just "Katara's younger brother", something that they say was always there except for a few scenes, when literally since the the Fortune Teller episode Katara considers Aang as a potential partner? something that would be impossible and unthinkable if she only thought of him as her little brother, so that "Aang was always Katara's little brother except for a few scenes" is objectively false if you watch the show

[@yunabroadway3033]

@@atanor9787But that’s exactly what the creator said, the show had to convince us that they were end game but they bury themselves too deep in the whole family thing that they basically have to make a character tell katara that Ang and her could be a couple. She didn’t come to this realization herself, someone told her (that’s basically the show telling us the audience that they will indeed be together). It’s kinda like a « now kiss » moment, do it not bc it makes sense for them as character to do, but bc the show decided they will do it

[@Disig]

My reaction to the end of Avatar when they went in for a kiss at the end was to eye roll. Which actually surprised me. I love Aang and Katara. There were moments where I really felt like them getting together was a great idea. But you're right, we saw little to no progress on that with Katara. Lots of close friend moments, but that was it. Her being confused made sense to me at the time because yeah, she hadn't been shown really falling for him and needs to process new feelings. Then they just said okay skip that couple now. It didn't feel earned.

[@Threeleebird]

The problem here is that when you rewatch this series and pay attention to these two, especially Katara, her final decision in the series finale to choose Aang feels like she had to do it. Katara never really had an alternative option or time to romantically explore her relationship or feelings with Aang or for another guy, there are no words or anything beyond a final kiss that feels more like the creators telling us "Come on, you guys waited for this." Yes, we waited but because they decided almost at the end that Katara would finally agree to be Aang's girlfriend, after he stole two kisses from her and basically it almost seemed that Katara did not return Aang's feelings. I don't care about the "Kataang" fandom, they will never convince me that Katara loved Aang, even if the creators made it possible, it will always be a decision they made at the last minute to give the hero of the story his happy ending with the trophy girl.

[@mackncheese1683]

This comment makes me eye roll.

[@Disig]

@@mackncheese1683 what happened to your other eye?

[@simon4453oo]

26:18 100%. That's what it felt like to me the whole time as well. Their kiss at the end was all about Aang getting his reward for ending the war, like the classic "hero gets the girl" moment. He needs to get everything he wished for at the end of the show, because he's our great hero and should be happy

[@vicefandonna1575]

Most of the Kataang problems would have been solved if there were a few moments where Katara just _appreciates_ Aang. Like after Aang does something badass, or they're having an awesome fun time together, or of Aang went above and beyond to support/empower Katara, if Katara internally went Aang, huh *blush*, and then give Aang a second look (bonus points if Aang's oblivious), just more moments where its clear that the things she wants in a guy/relationship is something that Aang and their dynamic already checks boxes for... Honestly would've elevated the ship. Edit: My comment has raised quite some discussion, so I decided why not another take? I feel that if the writers had decided at the start of S3, that _this_ was the season that Katara was going to fall in love with Aang then we probably would have gotten one of the best (strangers to) friends to lovers slowburns ever written. Furthermore I suggest it wouldn't even take all that much and require almost no changes. All that would be needed would be at least one scene that was focused on Katara as she argues to herself (or maybe to someone else) after the Fire Dance about whether what she feels for Aang is just as a friend or something more and then arguing to herself that the middle of the war and with Eclispse/Sozins's Comet coming up is really not the time to be thinking about this. It would even make Aang's kiss to Katara (you know _that_ one) feel far less egregious and out of nowhere. It also would make the ship feel less like its Hero Saves The Day and Gets The Girl and more like these two who have been mutually supporting and uplifting each other in difficult times have built up a relationship that organically blossomed into a romantic one even if the romantic nature of their relationship developed individually at different speeds. Thoughts?

[@മദ്യപാനം]

Isn't that basically what went down in the fortune teller episode?

[@ultimateyagerman]

​@@മദ്യപാനംwhat he's describing actually did happen muliple times, like in the episode when they danced with fire nation kids. I dont know what this guy is even talking about

[@Nopeasaurus]

Katara already appreciates Aang though. She goes through so many lengths to protect and comfort him. But that's the problem. Katara does all the emotional heavylifting in the relationship. Aang may be a child burdened with adult responsibilities, but still remains childlike and innocent even by the finale. Her suddenly finally realizing she may have romantic feelings for a boy three years younger than herself and whom she's shown little more than motherly affection for just feels uncharacteristic. I've heard lots of people claim there is potential for this ship but I just can't get on board regardless.

[@vicefandonna1575]

@@മദ്യപാനം Yeah, so more of that throughout the series consistently. Basically (imo) the main thing that seems to shoot Kataang in the foot is that there aren't a lot of moments that clearly show _Katara_ seeing Aang with positive blatantly _romantic_ interest. Too many of their initimate moments are blurred with familial/platonic tones. Like show that Katara has a crush on Aang back, especially in S3.

[@vicefandonna1575]

@@Nopeasaurus That's the point I'm trying to make, Kataang would be vastly improved if they clearly showed that Katara appreciates Aang as a blatantly _romantic_ interest. Not arguably platonic. Like by S3, Aang has largely matured to the same level as Katara and has really come into himself. I would have no trouble believing that Katara had developed a crush on him then, especially after the Fire Nation School Episode. Instead they just kept Katara's romantic interest in Aang pretty tepid and lukewarm for almost the entire runshow.

[@mythicamagic]

The reason I don't ship Kataang is because its emotionally uneven. Katara is ALWAYS there for Aang emotionally, she does all the heavy lifting of comfort and assurance. Aang never does the same for her. Yeah he makes her a flower necklace to substitute her missing one but that was one time vs Kataras constant assurance and support. When she wanted to go find her mothers killer, Aang gets upset because it doesn't align with his values. He never tries to comfort her or be there for her emotionally. The reason why I ship Zutara (but tbh I prefer it in fanon and would've just preferred no endgame) is because Zuko offered Katara the means to make choices by giving her information about her mothers killer. Choices are attractive. He doesn't say anything when Katara decides not to kill the man. He just accepts it, because the moment wasn't about him. Meanwhile the second Katara saw Aang again in Southern Raiders, he cant help but assume shes forgiven the killer. Its this inability to see Katara as someone other than a comforting presence that makes me dislike it. Katara can be petty and angry and resentful and Aang never seemed like he could deal with that. Mix in Katara feeling like a prize bc Aang saved the world her and locked into an inevitable ship, it just turned me away from it

[@hamdepaf6686]

I totally agree and that is probably the reason I tend to dislike any ships where one character has a maternal role for the other. Like I personally watched only the beginning of Avatar at first and than didn't interact with it much for a long while, my brain completely deleted any of Aangs awkward flirt moments because they really weren't that important and only saved what I overall remembered as their relationship. When later looking into the show again I learned they ended up together I was quite shocked to say the least, like the kind of feeling you would get finding out that 2 + 2 = 5.

[@elizabethcarlo5348]

The southern raiders is my favorite episode because Zuko just lets Katara drive the entire time and plays to what she needs. He wants her to like him but doesn't force her too. Like you said, he gives her the means to face this big traumatic thing that happened to her, but doesn't force her into it. He lets her make her own choices and is really only there to support her the entire time. Which is a common trend in season 3. They have these cute moments where they're just there to help each other. Katara is a maternal figure she's the 'mom friend' yet it doesn't feel that way when she's with Zuko. Aang on the other hand kinda just forces his feelings and ideas on to her, as well as idolizing her. I shipped Zutara mostly because it felt more realistic. Katara was the strict mom, Zuko was the cool dad who took everyone on field trips.

[@katejoseph6547]

I like comparing to Stefan and vampire Elena vs Damon and vampire Elena for any TVD fans. Stefan like Aang was unable to accept the darker parts of his counterpart. Stefan went as far as trying to fix Elena

[@TheYoungGeninSasuke]

Some don't ship Aang and Katara because he is 12 and she is 14 but Zuko is 17 and she is 14 which also doesn't make any sense to me.

[@justmatrix3402]

I believe Aang was able to deal with how Katara was able to feel from experience. Which he stated in the Southern Raiders episode, being able to empathize with her. Which is why as someone close to her he wanted to make sure she wanted to make a decision she did not regret. He was fine with her going to see the man who killed her mom, but hoped she wouldn’t make a decision that could emotionally ruin her later on. I can’t say that is him comforting or assuring her, but at least him as a friend being able to understand her feelings, give her advice but ultimately trust in her to make a decision she won’t regret and he looked past his personal feelings. I agree that he has a difficulty of seeing that it’s not easy for her to forgive the killer. Although, I don’t think that that proves he’s unable to see her as something other than a comforting presence when he lets her go on Appa because he is aware of how she is at that moment. He shows he able to deal with her difficult moments even though he can be a little naive still. I believe Katara generally carries the group emotionally and it’s hard to match it for Aang. Although, I personally believe Aang to be the support where even in the midst of war and some hard times he helps Katara and others have fun and Katara specifically to break her mortherly mode sometimes. It may not mean a lot in the grand scheme but something I noticed. Zuko is cool for going with the flow but I don’t think it takes away from Aang for being worried about the mental state of someone he has know for a while and trying to give words of support/advice.

[@Dragonpikachu1994]

let's be honest, the only person in this show with any game was Sokka, and personally I think him getting some dates was a byproduct of his character development more then them actually wanting him to end up with someone

[@tamaraaugustine8459]

Jet had some game

[@AstroSully]

Don’t forget Aang with hair.

[@sparxstreak02]

The only couple I genuinely like is Sokka & Suki. Despite their limited screen time, their chemistry felt the most organic & real. I even liked the brief romance Sokka had with Yue before then. As for who I would’ve liked for Katara to end up with, I actually thought she & Haru made a good pair, not to mention Toph thought they had a thing going! 😆 And just for sheer hilarity - Aang & Meng would’ve been my pic! 😝

[@MelindaClark-d6f]

I think the reason Sokka and Suki worked so well is that there was no huge drama or anything. Just two people who like each other hanging out and showing affection.

[@heiress.]

“Doesn’t play favorites, unless you’re his kids.” Damnnnn 💀💀

[@deandredukes95]

Aang: *”Baby you’re my forever girl.”* 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@samdude1526]

I think everyone can mutually agree that was the worst kataang moment in the series 😭

[@TheRibottoStudios]

Listen we can forgive that cause he didn't sleep for three straight days. As someone who stayed up for 72 hours straight once cause of freshman college exams (they were all at 7am and I didn't want to over sleep so I just DIDN'T sleep lol) I can confirm YOU DO just start SEEIN' sht after the 3rd day. I remember thinking our dorm fridge was breathing. I even asked my roommate to confirm cause I thought I was losing my mind. It's unethical now, to have people not sleep for longer than two days for study, but from what we do know, Aang's condition was pretty spot on. Researchers had been able to determine that staying awake for 72 hours could cause symptoms similar to those of acute psychosis, or a loss of touch with reality. Aang experienced all three the following known signs for being without sleep for 72 hours, so they did do their research. Complex visual hallucinations (seeing fully formed images) Auditory hallucinations, such as thinking you hear a dog barking Delusions (false beliefs), such as thinking someone has sent you on a secret mission or that someone is plotting against you Being awake for 17 hours is similar to having a BAC of 0.05%. Being awake for 24 hours is comparable to a blood alcohol level of 0.10%. The legal limit is 0.08%. With Aang having been sleep deprived for 3 days? It's honestly impressive Aang could even form full sentences.

[@CosmicCreeper99]

That was the whole point of the scene. To be cringe. For the kids watching who like that kind of humour

[@aeenetlom5080]

Man what are you doing with Shrek?

[@pinkitten1712]

That’s part of the humor they were going for in ATLA.

[@Draiocht012]

"Don't worry, Zutara's next." Pfft- there's nothing you can say I haven't heard already, do your worst.

[@nikosmihailidis9440]

Say in the video everything is bad so he will hate this too

[@ChesireWaltz]

I feel like if you hung on long enough on liking this pairing your bulletproof at this point. If the fandom survived the creators of the show actually pulling up fan art of Zutara artists to make fun of at a convention panel we can't go any further down. Which I thought was absolutely heinous because I was a kid at the time and I knew some of those artists were also kids :/ it was just so mean. And immature honestly.

[@soleraprincessgongjunim3320]

some people are used to living in the trenches. the same trenches i was *born* into as said by op: do. your. worst. i will feel nothing.

[@Nopeasaurus]

@@ChesireWaltz I heard about that and that was just petty. Why do a bunch of grownass adults care what kids ship? As long as there not being Voltron-level toxic (sending death threats), then let them cook.

[@ellenwynne5037]

What drives me crazy is this idea that Zurara was done after Zuko's betrayal. I thought they had chemistry until that point, but I didn't actually start shipping it until they became friends and Zuko was gonna help Katara get revenge. Like I feel like they related in a level that just wasn't there with Kataang. Anyway. I'm not exactly a die-hard Zutara shipper; I just think it works.

[@haruzanfuucha]

Writer Joshua Hamilton confirmed that Jet and Katara kissed off-screen and that Jet was Katara's first kiss. That's why Sokka suggests to Katara that she kiss Jet to jog his memory when Jet is in his brainwashed state.

[@andieallison6792]

Sounds like a sloppy retcon lmao

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@andieallison6792 "Sloppy", indeed.

[@Nykandros]

Based Jet

[@Kokuki39]

"She's 14 and he's 12 and short" 😂

[@Nopeasaurus]

Another reason why zutara is so much more popular. Zuko and Katara are in their teens and physically attractive--people love to ship attractive characters together. Aang is still a prepubescent boy by the end of the show (12, I believe?).

[@kelvisaisawesome]

@@Nopeasaurusit’s really not about attractiveness. It is a lot bit about age tho when talking about which one is slightly better

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

@@Nopeasaurus You are acting as if they were 20 years age gap. Is just 2 years dude.

[@clemclem4076]

@@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801 years gap at this age are so much more important than later in life. Just 2 year but how different are we between 12 (end of childhood) and 14 (real start of the teen years) ? A lot more than between 20 and 22.

[@MachinaOwl]

@@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801 The way she acts combined with the fact she's two years older has a lot to do with it though. And for kids, age gaps are pretty important.

[@KendallChantelle-ff3ue]

As a Zutara shipper and hopefully, as a representation of all Zutara fans, if you dont ship Zutara or Kataang or don’t ship either or ship just Kataang. That’s completely fine! You're all free and entitled to your own opinions! I can see why you wouldn’t like them!

[@amongthestars7004]

Fr I like both ships and other ships, they’re all nice in their own ways.

[@nikosmihailidis9440]

As big zutara hater and kataang shipper I agree❤

[@大城泉-c7d]

@@nikosmihailidis9440ew

[@zero-xg9rm]

Yh I like zutara and kataang was lowkey salty but yh was okay with anyone happening

[@mizukihimura9669]

Silence. You cannot be a fence sitter. It's one or the other

[@rileybear836]

“Zutara’s 9-11. Never forget “ I ugly laughed

[@TipoIrritable]

Kataang > Zutara.

[@eingoluq]

@@TipoIrritable yes! people who like Zutara, like toxic relationships and not healthy ones.

[@dae_da21]

@@eingoluqwell that’s a very general statement. Zutara isn’t as toxic as ppl make it out to be but wtv

[@Wheelwalker8]

Your words seems to ring true to yourself and not the others, get some help​@@eingoluq

[@Wheelwalker8]

​@@dae_da21don't bait yourself, he's rude trolling as anyone who does rude things to the fans

[@somono5116]

My main issue with this ship is that while the romantic episodes focus on Aang's feelings for Katara, they rarely if ever explore her feelings for him. The Cave of Two Lovers forces them into a situation where they have to kiss, but then it isn't brought up again in the episodes after- she goes back to treating him the same as always. Even in the 3rd book Aang kisses Katara before the Invasion, then it isn't brought up again for 7-8 episodes. They talk during the Ember Island Players... and then they reconcile offscreen and they kiss immediately afterward at the end? Where is Katara's choice in the matter? Her agency? Her development? How did she come to fall just as in love with Aang as he is with her?

[@theagingmillennialvarietyh7751]

“I dont ship Kataang, but I dont shipr Zutara either. We are not the same.” As a casual Zutara shipper, I can respect that, sir 😂😂😂

[@Mr.WestcottX]

Understandable

[@tshepizee]

I personally love Kataang as a ship but at the same time for me it was hard to tell when they were having a couple/romantic moment, a family moment or a friendly one and it just got really confusing for me tbh.

[@AnnMari871]

Honestly, I feel like Katara always gets the short end of the stick in relationships in the series: She does the heavy emotional lifting, act as the mature one, Aang never apologises for kissing her without consent, Sokka never apologises to her for being sexist, etc, etc. It’s just… painful to think about.

[@rileygrace4426]

Such big points for me too. The forced kisses felt sooo weird. Especially when she expressed that she doesn’t know what she wants. Felt selfish and self serving. And he never apologized and made it right.

[@lc6134]

​@InevitableOption-ic2vx one sentence with actual evidence in the show said to be true vs a life time of disrespect for being born a girl doesn't really seem balanced. Sokka already admitted in the same season that he forgot what his mother looked like so.

[@andieallison6792]

Sokka is her brother dude lol we don't have to act like he doesn't love or appreciate her just because of a squabble

[@AnnMari871]

@InevitableOption-ic2vx I mean, from her perspective, after her mother died, he just used Katara to replace her, meanwhile she had to take on all her mother’s responsibilities despite being the younger sibling. I can’t say I don’t understand why she would come to that conclusion. (Besides, her saying one thing in anger is very different to a sibling constantly saying dismissive and sexist things over several years.)

[@AnnMari871]

@@andieallison6792 I squabble with my siblings. There is a difference between arguing and genuine disrespect, which is how Sokka treated her. You can care about someone, and not respect them. It doesn’t immediately erase the disrespect shown. It just bothers me that Katara constantly gets the short end of the stick. I mean, Suki only needed to deal with him for a while, and she got an apology, but his sister, who needed to deal with it for longer, doesn’t get one?

[@midknightshade330]

The love cave episode in S2 completely threw me off guard. I never even got that type of vibe from Aang and Katara in S1, and like you said, their relationship always felt familial, maybe one-sided from Aang's end if you look hard enough.

[@Harvey_Mod]

On rewatch, I've been more receptive to the ship. Always felt Kataang would work longterm as adults while Zutara would have worked better in the ATLA runtime

[@MaroonAngel101]

I actually always liked Zutara best out of the ships, so I am curious to see what will be covered in their upcoming video. Which also makes me curious, will you be covering Avatar's best ship Sokka x Suki? At least I think it's largely the healthiest of the Avatar ships. Rewatching it recently for LA remake, I found I had a lot of appreciation for the ship. But Kataang was never my cup of tea cause it always felt familial/mother-son and it just made the ship feel weird. And it didn't help it felt it was more about Aang than about them equally. And Katara never really got that same emotional support she offers Aang a lot. They just didn't feel... equal. Though I think I would not have minded the ship as much if they went a route of them getting together later in life when they're older, Aang has matured more, and Katara doesn't see him as a baby brother/son as much.

[@engineering9065]

Why do I feel like most people who hate Kataang wouldn't care if their genders were reversed but the dynamics and age gap remained the same?

[@m4rcyonstation93]

@@engineering9065 what no thats just as bad lmao

[@Rosa-kd2cl]

@@engineering9065honestly it’s still be ehhhh if it was a guy being a father/older brother role to a 12 year old girl who has a crush on him.....

[@Gabriel-df1ex]

Don't get me wrong, but this criticism is a bit ironic coming from Zutara because Katara also had almost no emotional support from Zuko, in fact, it was extremely opposite, the only "emotional support" he gave her was in a single episode in which he helps her find her mother's killer to get revenge, which is very wrong if you think about it. Considering the entire violent trajectory between the two of them, in which Zuko kidnapped and tried to kill Katara (and the others) more than once, forming a couple with such a messy history and with only 3 episodes of formation, would be very inappropriate and forced, and, it gets to be quite worse than Kataang if we compare.

[@themagicconch.804]

I don't want to be that person but agreed fully Katara x Aang never felt right she didnt feel the same about him not for a while then towards the end it was just pushed and happened.

[@4wheal]

Not really she had sences in both season 1 and 2 showing she was interested in him so it didn't come out of nowhere

[@islasullivan3463]

^It also showed scenes where she wasn’t interested in him.

[@dadandadandan]

​@@4whealI mean in season one she was falling for everyboy she met, but season two and three build up their relationship enough for me to be satisfied in the end. It was certianly the weakest part of Avatar though.

[@mikemorro140]

@@islasullivan3463 Were there? There was only thing you really got was The Ember Island Players where she said she was confused, not that she didn't have feelings for him in general

[@islasullivan3463]

@mikemorro There were multiple times that her feelings were purposefully kept vague so as to have stakes, like for example that time she says she sees him like a brother, or when they apparently kissed in the secret tunnels, or even the black sun kiss where Katara looks very unhappy afterward. Yet their relationship and interactions don’t change at all when they should if Katara ata any point started developing feelings for him. Also that scene where Katara says she’s confused is unintentionally very similar to a lot of girls who are trying to let a guy down gently but also don’t want to hurt their feelings.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

While it's fine to have your opinions on the shipping in ATLA, I feel like everyone kind of overlooks one big reason why honestly shipping Aang with ANYONE just doesn't work. He's an Air Nomad. And I don't say that because of "lol he needs to get busy repopulating" even if Aang DID go that route, it would still take GENERATIONS to repopulate the Air Nomads, and EVERY Nomad child WOULD have some relation to Aang which...ehhhh. We all know what kind of problems that can create in Warrior Cats with half of ThunderClan related to each other via Firestar's line. No. What I mean is that I sometimes wonder if the better play would've been to not pair him up with anyone, that way he can be fully devoted to his roots as a Nomad and travel. Aang was so dedicated to bringing his culture back. With what we know about Airbending, is that EVERY child born to a Nomad was auto an Airbender because of their spirituality. Who's to say Aang couldn't bring that spirituality out of people, and train them to become a new group of Airbenders? It would certainly have been a much more fascinating way to bring them back rather than Harmonic Convergence conveniently doing the job-seems the writers realized what I did about genetics and biology; repopulating the Nomads the natural way just wouldn't work. But what could work, is going about it the spiritual way, back to the roots of learning from Sky Bison and being spiritual. Maybe Aang could've bonded with Avatar Kyoshi over this even, since her mother was an Air Nomad but a renegade nun who lost some of her bending ability after focusing on material objects; that's where Kyoshi's fans came from. Their her mother's. I could see Aang traveling the world, finding people who would be willing to try and become Air Nomads vs staying in one place. It just doesn't seem like something he'd do. Much less get involved in politics. And for the most part what we see of him in Korra, he didn't. Again, sticking more so to those Air Nomad roots of not getting too involved but stepping in when he NEEDS to because he's the Avatar. Aang and Katara's romance isn't BAD by any stretch of the word, they do compliment each other very well especially in the comics. But if we were to look at Aang's roots, at what his people are based on? Aang should've stayed single. With Avatars like Roku, or Kyoshi, Kuruk, it's much easier to see them having the family life and being involved in a relationship, because they're part of that type culture. To be in a traditional family (although in hindsight Roku really should've been a great great GREAT grandfather to Zuko and Azula the math doesn't math right there). Aang simply wasn't. The only reason Aang couldn't achieve spiritual enlightenment was because he was the Avatar, his sole duty was TO the world. He cannot see himself as ABOVE anyone IN it because he is a PART of it. But if he were a regular Airbender? I just don't think he'd be into the typical traditional relationship.

[@olleselin]

Alot to read....

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@olleselin had a lot to say lol

[@kameshaanimelife8304]

Completely agree now that it's been pointed out

[@josefagomezschmeisser8356]

Damn... this is the best approach, that about bringing spirituality to the people, and that could be mixed with air nomad descendants like Ty Lee, awaking their air bending by re connecting with their spirituality, heck, it could be a series on its on the nomad trip to find and take air nomad apprentices with Aang and Ty Lee

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@josefagomezschmeisser8356 I didn't really like the idea that Ty Lee was a Nomad cause it detracted from Aang being THE LAST AIRBENDER. But now? I love it. Cause it hit me that Airbending comes being spiritual and Ty was ALL ABOUT auras and the universe speaking to her. Would love to see an AU fanfic of this idea.

[@izabelamlf9961]

I've always felt like every Kataang scene just removed every ounce of Katara’s agency and strength and reduced her to "the avatar's girl" she just got boiled down to mothering and guiding him instead of them growing together as a couple whenever there is a kataang scene, Katara just stops being a character of her own. Great video man

[@Jinskii762]

really? not me. katara held her own throughout the entire show. she was definitely the strongest character of the group, mentally and...bendingly? lol i never once thought of her as the avatar's girl lol

[@Jinskii762]

i mean you can't even compare katara and captain marvel. katara is so well written, and captain marvel was like instantly powerful... what? lol

[@noorbohamad5796]

@@Jinskii762THANK YOU

[@denisborzov8406]

@@Jinskii762 that's the thing, throughout the show she's the strongest character and holds her own, but when the show hints at Kataang all of that is suddenly gone, lol.

[@haruzanfuucha]

Katara is basically nothing but Aang's arm candy in the comics and it turns out she has fewer achievements in TLOK compared to almost everyone else in the Gaang apart from Suki lmao.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

I wonder if people would have liked Kataang so much if Katara was a boy and Aang was a girl...

[@princessjazmin6499]

Wait I think you might be on to something…👀

[@fruitloops2058]

Feel like a different selection of people would (dis)like it. Of course some would feel the same but it'd be different enough. -the girls would have related to her-

[@itsjustme6334]

Hmmm. I think some die-hards on both sides might change their minds tbh. One of my biggest issues with Kataang was the weirdness of the parent/child coding. I think that would still stand for most people, but who knows?

[@electrichunnel6281]

absolutely! hell i know a couple of folks who would like em more

[@tarotsushima3332]

@@itsjustme6334Yeah, I wouldn't exactly call her his maternal figure or anything(More of an older sister type) but yeah the main reason I didn't ship it even as a kid is that Katara always felt way too old for him, sorta like a Wendy and Dipper situation. Kinda blew my mind learning she was like 14 at the start.

[@ThePrincessCH]

Avatar isn't the only franchise that had an interesting redemption arc. There's also "Sofia the First" and "Elena of Avalor." And those are kids shows that specifically target kids. A lot of popular fantasy adventure shows targetted towards the same demographic as Avatar seems to try and mimic Zuko's arc.

[@alwaysrootingfortheantihero123]

Sofia the first was an absolute MASTERPIECE

[@laotaohoney]

Something I never see people mention is that their last conversation before the kiss was an argument. They spent basically the entire last season clashing due to their differences in ideology and both of their own stressors getting to them. When Zuko goes with Katara to “deal with” the man who killed her mother, Aang is so against it. He coddles her and tries to push his pacifist approach on her and she’s not hearing it. She hugs Zuko after that moment to tell him that she trusts him now. He seems to get her in a way the rest of the GAANG doesn’t. Also, Aang forced a kiss on her and she was, again, not having it. He couldn’t really read the room when it came to her sometimes. This isn’t really a pro-Zutara, anti-Kataang comment, it’s just very clear to me how people felt weird about Aang and Katara ending up together. It’s not like there was no lead up to it, but it definitely feels the creative team was afraid to go in a different direction with Kataang not ending up together. The hero can’t NOT get the girl at the end, of course, and Zuko was set up to end up with Mai. It’s also not lost on me how their age gap plays into that. Aang is technically a boy in preadolescence; Katara is blossoming into a young woman. They’re in different mental stages of their youth. Also, if you’ve seen what a twelve year old and fifteen year old look like next to each other in real life, the pairing doesn’t really look right. Especially when you factor in how Katara was such a maternal force in Aang’s life throughout the show. No one wants to have a partner they have to parent! We also see the other people Katara dates/has crushes on/etc. throughout the show and Aang does not fit that “type” she has (older!). In the Ember Island Players episode, even the show itself plays into how it was very clear that Zutara had some solid foundation as an alternative ship, enough for them to acknowledge it at least. With the argument, we never see Kataang actually having conversations to reconcile and rectify that gap in their ideologies. It feels like the show was giving us reasons NOT to ship them together and then boom… the finale and the kiss. All this to say, I don’t hate that Kataang end up together. Once they’re older, they look quite handsome as a couple. But, I can see why people (including Zuko, Toph, and Katara’s voice actors) didn’t love it and ship other things these days. Aang and Katara ending up together feels a little bit like a consolation prize. Edit: have any of yall seen the ATLA chibi cartoon? lol. it’s canon and shows all of katara’s love interests bickering over how much they each love her and zuko is notably on the love interest side. just sayin’!

[@yulee3266]

This makes sense

[@angelb33ts]

I agree except I wouldn't say he "pushed his pacifist ideals on her" or coddles her. He treats her as an equal and doesn't let the situation give him an advantage with her. He tried to give her the best advice he can coming from a place of peace and a someone that has grappled with feelings of hurt and anger. He turns out to be right in the end and that she needed to face him and let it go. Zukos approach was still coming from one of anger, which is his usual route and lacks wisdom. He also was using it to get Katara to like/trust him (as a friend in the canon) I think this is actually what made Kataang better, having a partner that will let you make your mistakes but try to get you to see the better choice. I like that he didn't actively try to do this for her in order to get her to like him (which was Zukos motive). It's better than an equally destructive partner. Everything else you said I agree that he's very young and doesn't understand relationships proven by the forced kiss after Katara had said no.

[@laotaohoney]

@@angelb33ts I can definitely see that. Aang grounds her; Zuko indulges her more in being emotional.

[@angelb33ts]

@@laotaohoney Yes exactly. I also think Zutara had a lot of moments I really thought the writers were going to do it for a bit. I don't think relationships are Avatars strong suit 😅

[@hexellent0324]

You didn't understand the Southern Raiders at all. Aang was partially in the right--killing the man who killed her mother wouldn't make Katara feel better. Although he was wrong that she needed to forgive him. Furthermore, Zuko telling Katara about her mother was a purely selfish decision, an attempt to get her to forgive him. The knowledge didn't help Katara, it hurt her. It made her feel angry and, most importantly, obligated. She felt like she had to kill the man who killed her mother or else she didn't truly love her. Zuko couldn't have known this was how Katara would feel, of course, but it shows he didn't fully understand her. To suggest that Aang was coddling Katara by telling her not to kill is to suggest the show itself was coddling Katara, because lest you forget, she didn't acutally kill him.

[@hapytreefriends78]

You know, I have recently rewatched a different show, Kim Possible, which I feel like is exact opposite of ATLA while being excellent. It doesn't have a serialized structure, but it's very character driven and the show explores main characters and their relationship very deeply to the point it not only makes sense they end up becoming a couple, but also why it takes so long for them to become one, because they both start out as equals, but they also influence and inspire each other, and they sort of crossed boundaries of normal friendship a long time ago and now it's just taking them time to realize what they have isn't just friendship. The show has a lot of moments where Ron and Kim support each other and they never show explicit disinterest in the idea, but rather entertain it but then get scared by the other one and backtrack, or demonstrate, if not to each other but to themselves and the audience that they do want more but they're too afraid of one another to really make that move. They're somewhat awkward but they're never really shown in a way that patronizes the other and always kinda showed signs of interest from more or less the beginning. The show puts emphasis on their, initially, friendship, throughout the entire show and it shows Kim gradually learning to respect Ron as his own person and understanding value of their friendship until she develops a more concious romantic interest in Season 3 and her various failed attempts at getting their relationship going until the movie. KP also has a whole other season after they get together which gives Ron some much neeeded development now that they're together now and it's likewise great. Where Aang and Katara fail to me is in lack of a consistent build up, as you've mentioned, Season 2 is a black void between them, where I think it would've been a good place to have them come together, perhaps even somewhat messily in view of Appa being lost, and then Katara being afraid to resume it in Book 3 after Aang had died and her not wanting to experience that loss again, but instead it's very uneven and has very little legwork put into it.

[@karlgrimm3027]

I always thought it was weird that Ang was 12 and Katara was 14, like if he was 18 and she was 20 it wouldn't be a big deal but that's a very formative age.

[@ChesireWaltz]

I was a lil younger than Karata when this aired. The idea of being a freshman in high school going after a 7th grader was unfathomable. There is no force on this Earth that made that math add for the teenage girl I was. I do like Zutara and a freshman going for a high school junior which was Zuko's age? Made a lot more sense. Though honestly I think there being no ships at the end expect for Sokka and Suki would have been fine.

[@RedLights9000-f3l]

It's just 2 years?

[@angelsunemtoledocabllero5801]

Is just 2 years dude. You are acting as if they were a 20 years age gap is just 2 years.

[@AstroSully]

Bro what? 😂

[@andieallison6792]

Dude, no.

[@jubileebaby0]

Zutara is technically canon in another life, "American Dragon: Jake Long" with Jake (voiced by Dante) and Rose (voiced by Katara's VA)

[@katejoseph6547]

Love that! They found each other in another life 😂

[@damonika09]

There’s even this fan art of Jake and Rose where Zuko and Katara were like, “don’t give shippers more ideas than they already have!” While Jake and Rose look lovingly at each other. It’s hilarious. 🤣

[@jaydencparker4968]

The universe found a way lol

[@justjoannak]

Literally this

[@stephquest315]

I really wish we had more moments like the dance party between them. Like that was amazing moment and felt romantic!

[@RandomGuy-vp6fh]

This should have gone the same way Dipper-Wendy went in gravity falls: he gets shut down. Realistically, given how these characters are written and behave, he tries to get with her and she rejects (friend zones) him. It would have been a better learning moment for him to realize she'll never like him and then move on. But I think there was some wish-fulfillment going on with this ship ("See, my real life crush that was like this totally could have worked out!)

[@maem7462]

Aang liking Katara makes sense. I never saw much moments of Katara feeling the same way towards him. There was a little bit of stuff kinda here and there. It could’ve possibly worked better if Katara’s romantic feelings developing towards Aang were more clear. There were a couple moments but not much. Even in the moments that show that it still isn’t fully clear or it’s clear in the moment but later on in the next episode it seems she still sees him as a friend

[@CupcakeDruggie330]

So can we talk about the whole "unlocking the 7th chakra and accessing the Avatar state means letting go of earthly attachments and thus letting go of feelings for Katara" thing? Because Avatar Kuruk had a girlfriend (that he lost to Ko), and Avatar Roku had a wife that he had previously pined for for a decade at least, and yet we saw that Avatar Roku had control over his Avatar State. So what made Aang so different? It feels like they did the "you gotta let go of Katara" thing purely for dramatic romantic stakes, because clearly he didn't let go of his attachment to her even when he supposedly did. So what gives???

[@Draiocht012]

Not every Avatar had the same route to mastering the Avatar state. And it's always possible that it's just being able to let go when necessary rather than actually not having any attachment in the first place.

[@darkdragon7210]

@@Draiocht012 So what its like that Flying Power from Korra. Where that one guy spent the Last 40 years of his Life Never touching the Ground?

[@Draiocht012]

@@darkdragon7210 Since the power of flight requires one to lose all earthly attachments they technically have the same requirement if that's what you're asking.

[@LilacSreya]

It was just 1 specific guru telling him that. The other avatars probably did something different which suited them. And Roku was probably willing to let his wife die for the “greater good”, whereas Aang would make efforts to protect Katara; pretty different.

[@anfani6839]

I always saw it as a way of Guru Pathik basically telling Aang that his feelings for Katara stem from his trauma with his people - hence why he tells him "the love for your people is being reborn as a new love" kinda line - and thats why he has to let go of it, so he can also start working through his trauma in a healthy way that doesnt involve coping mechanisms

[@lesterwilliamsjr649]

Who else hated it that The ember island players episode K said she was confused and it was never brought up again.

[@Tina_Bo_Binaaa]

Just one word: CRINGE It all made us feel like how Regina George felt about Gretchen Wieners tryna make “Fetch” happen.

[@stryke-jn3kv]

That plot twist genuinely made me jaw drop so really well played with that. I didn't really engage in the shipping in ATLA at the time, possibly thanks to only really getting into the show as s3 was airing, more getting amusement from the sidelines, and reading the comics mocking the whole wars was fun. Saying that I do think the dance episode is way way better than it has any right to be and does a lot of heavy lifting in making the final romance work as well it possibly can. For me it's up there with Moon Dance on Frasier in terms of what it was able to pull off in a single episode.

[@rubiconprime1429]

I think this has to be the first time I've been glad that a KZbinr changed the thumbnail of their video an hour after uploading it

[@kiwikarp9509]

What was the original thumbnail?

[@rubiconprime1429]

@@kiwikarp9509 a screen shot of Aang from the episode where he’s freaking out about having to face the fire lord where Toph Sokka Nad Katara each try to help him deal with the pressure, specifically from the fantasy where Aang thinks he’s confessing to Katara and about to kiss her. That picture was put beside a picture of Katara looking mildly disgusted/annoyed

[@donkeykong3628]

I found that thumbnail hilarious, kinda wish he kept it lmao

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

In the first episode, Katara freed Aang. In the last episode, Katara kissed Aang.

[@stephh9630]

Actually, they first kissed in the cave during season 1.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@stephh9630 *season 2.

[@Nyahahameha]

Thereby imprisoning him once more...in the bonds of monogamy. _Dun dun dun_

[@Barrystue]

@@stephh9630yknow it was really unclear

[@SupportGamin2024]

The ending was good 😂

[@Edi-xt3rq]

I actually enjoy Kataang and Zutara in fandom, but my ideal ship for Katara would actually be with Haru. I've seen other people say they would pick Haru as a second choice, but I don't know of anyone else who picks this ship first- which I mean yeah makes sense.

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

Shipping is what ruined The Legend of Korra.

[@genericname2747]

Imagine if Avatar had a love triangle

[@blackmoment3052]

​@@genericname2747 It it had Sakka😂

[@sunyavadin]

Only in the sense of the creators shipping Unalaq/Vaatu

[@sunyavadin]

Nah, almost all the attempted relationships in that show were super cringe.

[@magnus5747]

I just ignored it and it was a pretty good show. Also it was nice to see some representation on the end (a main reason most people hated that show and yes I remember the untasteful hate)

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

The thumbnail is perfect and matches my current opinion of the ship. Love your content

[@bigsmokeinlittlechina174]

I saw the OG thumbnail. I do not forget.

[@MrStanFungi]

bro what was it

[@owlbert2020]

What was it I forgor

[@ShadyRK9]

OG thumbnail? What was it?

[@haruzanfuucha]

They were trying to build up the Kataang relationship more seriously in Book 3 but then Katara tells Aang she is confused and gets more emotionally intense interactions with Zuko in the finale. 💀 Aang needing to let go of his feelings for Katara, and Zuko originally being planned to join Team Avatar at the end of season 2 (before they rewrote it to have him betray them) was obviously a set up for Zutara. They just straight up dropped that arc of Aang letting go of his attachment to Katara with no explanation.

[@DGenHero]

Intense = Romantic?

[@haruzanfuucha]

@DGenHero No, but they will influence people to view them as more important relationship-building scenes than what Kataang was getting in the finale.

[@DGenHero]

@@haruzanfuucha That feels more like brainrot than building a romantic connection between characters.

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@DGenHero Compared to Kataang's relationship-building which just got butchered in the latter half of season 3, it's no wonder people became torn about the pairings.

[@staserstaa1969]

"Gets more emotionally intense interaction with Zuko in the finale" No, she didn't. Aang and Katara had a thing for each other for like 3 seasons, if you didn't see their moments go rewatch the show.

[@Justryan-v7r]

Me waiting for this video for literally 4 years: Ah, yes, my life is complete.

[@chiroptera9729]

I always got the vibe it was like a kid crushing on his babysitter

[@noorbohamad5796]

I never really got the vibe instead it’s kinda just the main male character Aang the avatar the last Airbender:(the whole name title of the show like just like literally):just consistently remains in love with MVP Katara and kind of like how Aang’s not just the Avatar but also just literally the last Airbender Katara’s pretty much the last water bender from the southern water tribe

[@noorbohamad5796]

basically it’s like y’all wanna act like Aang’s more immature than he actually in fact really was/is and so basically just cause y’all wanna call Katara “babysitter” doesn’t really make her one except in her brother’s case

[@dogeknight6000]

Katara and Zuko would’ve been so much more interesting no matter the view you have on it considering just the fact that she hates the fire nation. This by itself would make it interesting plus every other detail

[@syzorst]

Zuko and Katara wouldn't have worked. Zuko had better chemistry with Jin.

[@dogeknight6000]

@@syzorst never said they would work, i said they would be interesting

[@haruzanfuucha]

@@syzorst How ironic. The Tale of Zuko was written by Katie Mattila, who is a huge Zutara shipper. She wanted to test the chemistry between Zuko and a Katara-like girl which is why she created Jin. She also wrote The Beach where Maiko is depicted negatively.

[@andieallison6792]

Katara and Aang really never shared a solid moment with each other that made me believe they have romantic chemistry. Action-adventure show? Main boy character? Main girl character? WE GOTTA PUT THEM TOGETHER!

[@ThePastAnalysis]

The dance in the Headband episode? The hug after the Serpent’s Pass? The kiss in the Secret Tunnel? None of these moments suggest chemistry to you? People like you show why the “main boy main girl” criticism is so shallow. You don’t care about actual chemistry or character development. You only care that both are main characters and that they’re opposite genders. It’s shallow as fuck.

[@Wright805]

You must not have paid attention then. There were multiple such moments.

[@amandamoore7512]

23:16 Even though she is the Mom Friend/Emotional Support for Aang I don’t think that had anything to do with the Earth Kingdom Avatar State(AS) incident General Fong spent the whole fight telling Aang he was trying to trigger his AS but he clearly wasn’t enough of a danger to him to trigger it. When Fong fake buried Katara and *that* sent him into AS, he immediately called out to Aang and told/showed him that Katara was fine. Once Aang *saw* Katara and knew she was fine he immediately came out of AS Yeah in earlier AS moments it’s been only Katara that could reach through to Aang because she was his Emotion Coach/Mom. The Fong Fight really didn’t fit that though

[@s2sHoXXs2]

i actually like kataang and I'm usually a big critic of the "main boy x girl" ships, sometimes downright hating them. But theres something sweet and transcendental about them... I do wish they had more slowburn, maybe hints of them liking each other the way they did in the show, but them getting together much much later (like late teens to early 20s) But I dont mind it the way it is, I think there's enough there for me to like still

[@TabbyWithMittens]

Yeah I think I agree with your point the most. Maybe if I rewatch it completely I would think differently, but this ship doesn’t outright annoy me or make me think it’s the worse. Probably helps that I never viewed Katara as a motherly figure among them (which many say). I already got hints of something in the first episode, but maybe that’s just me 🤷‍♀️

[@s2sHoXXs2]

@@TabbyWithMittens Yeah, I think people lean too heavily on the fact that Katara developed more "maternal instincts" as a coping mechanism after losing her mother. Because she does, but that's not all her character is to people. Saying Katara is too much like Aang's mother figure for them to have a good relationship kind of defeats the purpose of their respective character growth as Aang learns to be more responsible and Katara learns that other people don't expect her to "be the mom" of the group. And people claim it's one-sided, it definitely isn't. People forget that Katara would always fuss over Aang even before she realized she liked him. And it was her that suggested they both kiss in the tunnel underpass. People saying theyre more like a kid and his babysitter forget theyre only 2 years apart, btw.

[@declanracic4468]

I agree there’s something charming about their story aang always making advances getting shut down and stumbling on his words and katara while always having feelings there can’t fully realize them until aang matures more i think it’s done well enough tho i do agree they should’ve shown kataras perspective more

[@s2sHoXXs2]

@@declanracic4468Yeesss, I would've loved to see more of Katara's perspective! I think it was really nice to see her in the scene where she views Aang as a "powerful bender" for the first time. She's not immediately gushing over him, which is good that she doesn't, but it's the first time she begins to think "The people around me are growing into their own skins and identities without me having to lead or guide them." and I really think Katara needed that moment. Many people see that moment as a Kataang ship moment, but I see it as a very obvious moment for her development. **edit: take a shot every time i say "moment" at the end there 😅 haha, oops

[@Rosa-kd2cl]

Tbh I think I would’ve been a really cute if cliche ship if they’d had more moment of pining and desire from Katara’s perspective like they both want to be together and then feel free to do so after the war ends.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Much prefered Aang X Toph tbh

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

Aang and Toph would've had very powerful Earthbending kids.

[@valentinkambushev4968]

The REAL "opposites attract" ship of Avatar.

[@toadlord8594]

@@SpammytheHedgehogPersonally was more of a Sokka x Toph fanboy. Yeah the bit of age difference aside Toph was honestly a Cute Tsundere mostly that blush at the end of “Sokka’s Master”.

[@fucknames]

Bro yes he’s so soft and she the complete opposite I would love to see there dynamic

[@bumblebeeproductions1673]

Zutara and Toph x Aang (Tophaang?) are my jams

[@ObsidianFaux]

Gotta admit, they wrote Zuko’s redemption arc really great

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

Imagine if Aang ended the war only for Katara to put him in the friend zone.

[@ZeniV2]

Well he is a monk he can probably take it but slowly 😂

[@valentinkambushev4968]

@@ZeniV2 or go full "Hellfire".

[@ZeniV2]

@@valentinkambushev4968 Aang to Last Airbender to Last Hoodbender 😂

[@NWILS-uc1ju]

Women shouldn't be used as a 'reward' for the male protag

[@drumusic5665]

​​​@@NWILS-uc1ju she wasn't a reward? Tf? She is a genuinely fleshed out character with her own trials and tribulations who earns her moment with the person she loves. The irony of sticking up for woman but also belittling all of her own battles and hardships explained through the show and saying she shouldn't get hers because of that ignorance is wiiiild. You are acting as if there feelings for eachother hasn't been an on going, hinted at, thing since the beginning of the show. It would of been a wild choice to not give these 2 characters, that have been through so much, there moment of peace and tranquility after all the chaos of saving the world basically.

[@lilil9752]

Honestly i think it would be more palpable if the reason they didn’t get together on season 3 was because Aang took the guru’s words at heart that he needed to let go of her and get the clousure when realizing his love for her while distracting, made him stronger

[@islasullivan3463]

Or that he was in love with an idealized version of her, and then fell in love with the real her.

[@PrincessLioness]

@@islasullivan3463It felt like we never left the idealized version of Katara stage.

[@barwib7935]

THANK YOU FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO DOESNT SHIP KATARA WITH AANG OR ZUKO FINALLY IM NOT ALONE

[@derrickdaniels3955]

My only Last Airbender ship was Ty-Lee x Sokka

[@fracturedfuture370]

​@@derrickdaniels3955I don't disagree, but Suki got way too much development with him for me to ride that ship

[@morinomajou]

Forget Team Aang or Team Zuko, I’m Team ‘Katara is an interesting character who deserves to be talked about in contexts other than which hetero romance she should have ended up in’-

[@thecollector4332]

@@morinomajou I tend to somewhat favor Kataang (I don’t outright ship it but I think it’s better than zutara) and I completely agree with you. It’s a true shame that most discussion around katara are: -related to shipping -in order to tear down other female characters from other media -people shitting on her for mentioning her mom a lot (cause God forbid a 14 year old feels sad that she saw her mother’s charred corpse)

[@mysteryperson1958]

I personally don't mind the ship.......but I don't like it either. My biggest problem with it is katara didn't have any real point where we see her feelings. Aang's feelings make perfect sense, but Katara? Not so much. I think they should've waited till the comics for them to get together.

[@aokhoinguyenang3992]

This is just my opinion: _ Aang & Katara are kids so the serie can keep their romantic subplot PG enough for a kid show. While Korra cast is late teens early 20s so not only the viewers expect more mature & well written romance but also it felt like the writers were constrained by the limitation of a kid show to touch on more mature topics of a relationship(light kissing & hugging is the limit) _ Aang & Katara has an end point to build up to(they are basic but functional. While I don't think the writers knew where Korra romance will go until season 3

[@mariajosec.m2361]

Korea was made for kids of 7 years and above

[@sebastiansuazo2734]

Mature and well written..... Fvck off with that sh1t 😂

[@crazyscotsman9327]

Talk about Mai and Zuko! The fucking line. "I love Zuko more then I fear you is amazing!"

[@TheDaniela3112]

I actually think the relationship between zuko and mai is even more iffy than kataang. It's unearned. They have no chemistry and nearly nothing in common. The few scenes they gave together make it seem like they can't stand each other and are only together to kill time. Mai is always complaining and Zuko trying to improve her mood. I feel like zuko needed to be with someone who was stronger, sensitive and more supportive

[@SilentMute0515]

Maiko is the toxic ship that people think Zutara would be

[@jaydencparker4968]

@@SilentMute0515 I agree. No hate to Man + Zuko shippers but that dynamic felt so off with little room for growth personally.

[@l.n.3372]

​@@SilentMute0515 As I ship neither, I'm genuinely curious: why do people view either ship as toxic?

[@haruzanfuucha]

The funny thing is we never even see Mai scared of Azula and she deliberately disobeys Azula multiple times before that. Ty Lee was shown to be afraid of Azula, so her betraying Azula and Mai siding with her over Azula would have been more powerful.

[@lilil9752]

The atla shipping discourse is the most annoying experience ever

[@drfifteenmd7561]

Agreed

[@IIRadiance]

shipping in general is always annoying. It's always a weird conversation

[@Takejiro24]

Thank you! Yes! If after Aang apologized for kissing Katara at the Ember Island Play and they had a proper, mature conversation about their feelings, their big, grand finale kiss would have been more palatable. As it stands, Aang kissing Katara non-consensually then the show just NOT ADDRESSING ANY OF THAT, leaves a nasty stain on the relationship.

[@elizabeth714]

I agree. At least, Katara initiates the final kiss. I felt like the narrative made it clear that Aang was in the wrong for kissing her and punished him for it. I would have liked some dialogue before their final moment but sometimes things are understood without words so I give it a pass even though I’d prefer that they talked about it.

[@noorbohamad5796]

⁠@@elizabeth714maybe they talked about it off screen

[@paulshipper143]

Great line.. "Zutara's 9/11, never forget"

[@LadyLuckyLu]

Agreed, 100% agreed. It always felt unnecessary and so forced to me.

[@DieNibelungenliad]

Wow, romance is complex and confusing, especially for kids, and not sunshine and roses

[@zaddyfaye6880]

right, but this was *all* grey-skies and weeds

[@Jdudec367]

@@zaddyfaye6880 more like a beautiful yet messy garden lmao.

[@elle-24]

we love a timely king

[@Mr.WestcottX]

For real

[@prospero2405]

Imagine a more expanded ending where Aang had more introspection on how badly he fumbled with Katara and reconsidering again what the monk taught him. He is still refusing to let go of her but he is determined to make things right and apologize when the war is over. Then in the final fight, Aang realizes he'll never defeat Ozai without the avatar state and that to save the world he NEEDS to let go of Katara. He stays in that earth ball, meditates while going through that path again and after a lot of struggle he lets go of her and his attachments, coming to terms with his destiny as the avatar and realizing that to protect the people he loves he needs to fulfill his destiny. It doesn't mean he doesn't love Katara anymore, but it means he is no longer a slave of those desires, which is the core themes of buddhism. Aang does, goes into avatar state and things follow as we know but we finally get a payoff of that moment and not the deus ex machina of the rock we had in the original. This is the moment Aang truly reaches a sort of enlightment. Then in the ending, in that balcony scene, now that the war is over and they can finally b reathe, Aang asks Katara to talk in private and apologizes for misunderstanding her before. He confesses that he'll always love her but that he will respect the path Katara chooses to follow, even if it is without him. As long as she is truly happy, Aang will always be content. Now Katara, who had time to sort her feelings out, is the one who decides that she wants to be with him. Aang lifting the pressure from Katara and promising they'll be friends no matter what, and allowing Katara to decide and sort out her feelings is what the finale lacked. Doing so would have shown Aang's true maturity and Katara's agency, and not a hero gets the girl trope.

[@ecronaclon47]

this is now canon in my mind hahahaha Growing up I related a lot to Aang with his personality and circumstance. I also liked girls similar to Katara in my life and approached them with the same confusion and stupidity that he did. Had that been the outcome of the story, I probably would have learned second hand as a kid what took me years to figure out on my own as and teen and adult.

[@grmgt]

This would've been amazing. I always disliked the "Deus Ex-Rock" lol

[@LittleChocolateChip]

YES! Exactly! *This* is so what I wanted to see in the final moments! I just finished the show recently, and my immediate thoughts upon it ending were: 'that was awesome! That was epic! The battle scenes were AMAZING! ....Would have liked the characters to talk with each other more though. ...And it would have been nice if Sokka and Katara would have shared a sweet sibling moment before they went off to potentially die. ...And did Aang and Katara even share a conversation since part 1 of the finale??' Don't get me wrong - I adore this show and I loved the last four episodes...but I think in all their epicness, they lack somewhat in the human element. I would have loved *all* the characters having more moments with each other in the closing minutes generally, but particularly for Katara and Aang, I really needed them to have a conversation before having kisses.

[@julius-ceasar]

damn that would be genius, like aang in that avatar “enlightened” state could gain energy bending through his own mind, when that final chakra unlocked he could be at his most powerful, beg all the other avatars to help him, with them not seeing any other option than to kill ozai, he could figure it out himself, out of sheer desperation not to betray his ideals. a visit to the spirit world would work too, but with him actually actively seeking out a way to resolve the dilemma

[@Mangacide]

I always thought that Zutara had better chemistry tbh. But more than that the age thing really killed kataang for me. And not even the gap so much as aang's age specifically. Like; if he'd been 14 and Katara was 16 or maayybe 17 I think it would have been fine. But 12 is literal kid age so it always felt weird to me. The lack of chemistry just added to that. I could maybe have been sold on it if they'd gelled better as a potential couple.

[@ThePastAnalysis]

Zuko and Katara were hostile towards one another for like 90% of the series. Do you think people fighting regardless of context means they’re deeply in love?

[@Youaveragecountryhumansfan]

@@ThePastAnalysis✨Enemies to Lovers trope✨ Probably would’ve worked pretty well for Zutara too (I say this as someone who doesn’t ship Zutara)

[@ThePastAnalysis]

@@Youaveragecountryhumansfan Aka development be damned. Katara forgave him in the third to last episode. If the “enemies to lovers” trope means little to no development then it’s a dogshit trope.

[@Wheelwalker8]

I'm a zutara fan since I've watched this show at 9, and i will stand as one forever. 🙌

[@Bols847]

Dont forget that when they danced in the cave party in season 3, Katara and Sokka were disguised as Aang's parents. So the most romantic thing they do, is literally parent-child dance. They really leaned into katara being the group mom too hard to spring this on us

[@aaronfield7899]

They weren't disguised as his parents when they were in the cave, only in the school

[@yayoinkdab5883]

Even if they were disgused as his parents in that scene, which they weren’t, it wouldn’t matter because they ARE NOT his parents and so the costume they wore had no relevance Want was dressed as a firenation colonial going to a firenation school, by your logic in that scene then silks and katara should have fought against him since the costume makes him firenation And hat a silly comment

[@opalsaphyr]

Fun lil fact for everyone, the pose that Katara is holding Aang in after he gets hit with lightning strongly resembles a "Pietà". For those who don't know what that is, I recommend looking up pictures of Michelangelo's "La Madonna della Pietà". More specifically, it "is a subject in Christian art depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross" (quoted from Wikipedia). We can argue about the familial VS platonic VS romantic lenses of Kataang all we want, but frankly I think it's impossible to say that there were never any maternal overtones to their relationship. At the very least, the creators have sent an incredible amount of mixed messages about these characters and their connections. Why else would there still be discussions about this specific subject from a show that came out almost 16 years ago? (besides the fact that atla is overall an amazing show that deserves all the love that it gets 💕)

[@bananabell318]

What i didn't like about Kataang in the show was how many times they set it up for Aang to let go of Katara. The fortune teller episode had that one girl who was crushing on Aang, exactly how Aang was crushing on Katara, acting as a foil for Aang and Katara's relationship. In the same episode, i believe the fortune teller also lied to Katara about marrying a great bender. The fortune teller had gone over Katara's future so many times that the lady said there was nothing else to read. Upon seeing how sad Katara got, the lady picked up a random bone and then told her that she'd marry a great bender (or at least, that's how I interpreted the scene). Towards the end of the episode, when Sokka said Aang is a great bender, Katara seemed a bit more sad and/or confused about it. When Aang was unlocking the avatar state, he rejected it at first because he didn't want to let go of Katara. Ironically, seeing her be in so much danger made him realize he had to. He was even succeeding at doing so until Azula struck him down (which i think would've been a nice point to wrap up his crushing arc and perhaps start a getting over it arc). The third season felt kinda like the writers realized the ship wasnt working out, so they started forcing it. Narrativly, having main guy of the story not get the girl and be dine with it wouldve been more satisfying. Zutara, even though it doesn’t need to happen, would’ve also been satisfying because of two things: it would’ve reflected on again on the fortuneteller episode with the little girl and would’ve been a great narrative on how the war is over and healing can begin between the nations. But once again, Zutara isn’t quite necessary to the plot.

[@ThePastAnalysis]

I don’t know what you were smoking thinking Katara looked sad at the end of the Fortuneteller episode. Also, your Zutara point is cringe. Characters get together because they have chemistry. That’s it. If you have to ignore the character’s lack of chemistry in the show to focus on some grander point, then you’ve lost it.

[@noorbohamad5796]

Narratively having main guy of the story:(ZUKO in this case context):not get the girl:(Katara):and be whatever with it would’ve been more satisfying - wouldn’t have made just about any sense to me if it’s Aang and Katara

[@wolf_7129]

Sees thumbnail Oh yeah this is gonna be good