When Netflix announced they would be adding Avatar: The Last Airbender to their streaming platform, I literally squealed.
Avatar is not only one of the best cartoon shows ever to air, but one of the best shows in existence period. The way it is able to tell stories with such mature themes like war, death, and prejudice while appealing to people of all ages, races, and countries is nothing short of masterful.
To this day I cannot think of a single show that is as universally loved as this one.
However…that isn’t to say everything about the show is perfect.
In my opinion, the romances in this show are its greatest Achille’s heel. A lot of the usual care and maturity that is placed in every other element of the show is strongly absent when it comes to the “development” of these relationships, and it often acts as a hinderance to the overall story.
That isn’t to say all the relationships in this show don’t work, but they tend to be very hit or miss.
Emphasis on miss.
Now that Avatar has been thrust into the public eye again, I’ve decided to take the opportunity to air some grievances I have with some of the more popular relationships (or “ships”) in the show in a series of blog posts.
Because I apparently really enjoy making people angry, let’s start with discussing the show’s most noteworthy couple: Aang and Katara.
In The Beginning Was Kataang
When the series begins, Aang and Katara have a lot of chemistry.
Aang’s exuberance and carefree attitude complements Katara’s loving, compassionate nature perfectly. They both share a true passion for helping those in need and, for all appearances, have a deep spiritual connection with one another.
Like any great couple, they make up for what the other lacks. Since her mother’s death, Katara has had to take on much more adult responsibilities, and so when Aang arrives, he is able to remind her that she is still a kid and needs to have fun. Conversely, Katara’s maturity helps Aang become more grounded and secure in his position as Avatar and less negligent and flaky of his responsibilities.
Then…..
Everything changed when the Fire Nation season attacked.
Up until the Season 2 finale, the show makes a reasonably compelling case as to why these two could potentially form a meaningful romantic relationship. However, as soon as Season 3 comes around, all attempts to make them out to be a feasible couple are unceremoniously dropped.
There are some quiet, introspective scenes with them together, but more often than not, they end with one of them shouting at the other. Gone are the scenes where they hug it out or share hope-filled speeches with one another, replaced by bizarre dream sequences and painfully awkward confrontations.
The Beginning of the End
When Aang and Katara meet outside of the submarine prior to the solar eclipse, Aang kisses Katara before immediately taking off to take down Ozai.
Her reaction to the kiss is not surprise, nor wonder.
It’s…...this.
This reaction was the first true indication to me that there was something not quite right about this pairing. While it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for her to be shocked at his unexplained advance towards her, I hadn’t anticipated her looking so sad by it.
I think the question on most people’s minds at this point is why? Why is she so upset if she’s supposed to be so in love with him?
Well, apparently the writers’ didn’t want you to think too deeply about it, because it is never explained.
In fact, this scene isn’t addressed again until the season is more than halfway over.
We will get to that later.
The Southern Raiders
I knew from the start Katara and Aang would be together by the end of the show. Subtlety has never been Bryke’s strong suit in the romance department, so it was obvious to the point of redundancy.
Even after the jaw-dropping kiss, I thought for sure the creators were going to make Kataang endgame. Why else would they commit so much time attempting to charm us with Aang’s frankly childish crush, if not for it to ultimately pay off?
However, once The Southern Raiders aired, I seriously called into question whether or not they had changed their minds.
In this episode, Zuko—hoping to win Katara’s approval as a member of the gaang— tells her he knows the identity of the man who killed her mother and offers to help her find him so she can bring him to justice for his crimes.
While it would be out of character for Aang to co-sign on this plan, his moral condescension in this scene is frankly staggering. The way he talks to her is less like a concerned friend (and prospective lover), and more like a pretentious shoulder-angel that is above human emotions. He spouts platitudes, casts unsolicited moral judgements on her, and continuously asks her to forgive the man who ruined her life because “righteousness.”
You would think this would be a great opportunity to develop their relationship more considering the emotional weight Katara is under in this episode.
I can’t think of a single reason why Katara and Aang couldn’t have shared a moment where they discuss the issue in private. Aang could have told her he was worried because he loves her and thinks this could potentially wind up hurting her and Katara could have either evaded the “I love you” or done her “I don’t know right now” routine. Instead they never discuss the incident one-on-one and it’s never addressed again after this episode.
I’m all for the central focus being on Katara and her struggle, but it’s bizarre that the events of this episode wouldn’t have a long-lasting effect on their future interactions.
The Southern Raiders was a huge eye-opener for me as a viewer. While I wasn’t the most ardent supporter of Katara and Aang, I didn’t think it was an outlandish possibility for them to become a couple. However, this episode truly shines a light on how far they have grown apart as characters.
Aang—in spite of his growth throughout the series—is still a child with painfully unrealistic views of how the world works. Views which unfortunately, more or less, go unchallenged in the narrative.
In fact, I believe the creators did Aang a massive disservice in the long-run by giving him this cop-out of an ending. If he had been willing to set aside his own selfish desires to be the hero the world needed him to be, he might have proved himself a worthy partner for Katara. Instead, she is handed to him on a silver platter like a token rather than a human being with agency. This not only cheapens Katara’s character growth, but Aang’s as well.
But I digress.
Katara, on the other hand, is a pragmatic character by this point. She still has an optimistic spirit, but she has been burned many times and sees the world in darker hues than her wide-eyed season 1-2 counterpart. She isn’t the guileless little girl from the Southern Water Tribe that needs to be rescued from her provincial life anymore. She’s a warrior physically, spiritually, and emotionally.
It becomes clear in The Southern Raiders their differences no longer complement, but outright conflict with one another.
Their age difference is no longer a gap.
It’s a chasm.
This, however, isn’t the final nail in the Kataang coffin for me.
That honor belongs to the next episode.
The Ember Island Players—The Death Knell of Kataang
In The Ember Island Players, the Gaang discover a play about them performed by the titular Ember Island Players. They attend the event expecting to have a fun night out, only to find themselves portrayed as caricatures that emasculate, humiliate, and trivialize their inner struggles. During the play, the character of Katara fauns over the character of Zuko. Upon seeing this, the real Aang becomes enraged and leaves, forcing Katara to go after him to try and calm him down.
I’ve transcribed the following scene because I believe it incapsulates perfectly what is wrong with this pairing . All of Kataang’s foibles are on display here and even the most gung-ho Kataang supporters are reluctant to defend it.
Aang: Katara, did you really mean what you said in there?
Katara: In where? What are you talking about?
Aang: On stage! When you said I was like a brother to you and you didn’t have feelings for me.
Katara: I didn’t say that. An actor said that.
Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the invasion. And I thought we were going to be together. But we’re not.
Katara: Aang…I don’t know.
Aang: Why don’t you know?
Katara: Because we’re in the middle of a war and we have other things to worry about. This isn’t the right time.
Aang: When is the right time?
Katara: Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m a little confused.
**Aang kisses her; Katara pulls away in dismay**
Katara: *angrily* I just said I’m confused!
*beat*
Katara: I’m going inside.
**Katara leaves**
Let’s do an autopsy of this scene: When Aang is talking about his romantic feelings towards her, she acts uncomfortable. She tugs on her hair. She hugs herself. She avoids eye contact. When Aang kisses her, she recoils instantly and lashes out in frustration.
What about this exchange is supposed to convey to the audience that Aang’s feelings are in any way reciprocated?
From where I am sitting, there is no room for ambiguity or nuance. It’s quite clear to anyone with the mental maturity of a gnat that this is a rejection of Aang’s advances pure and simple. The only way it could have been more obvious is if she came out and told him “I’m not interested in you.”
So why doesn’t she? It could be any number of reasons. Perhaps she is worried that such a rebuff could effect his performance on the day of the comet. Perhaps she is simply attempting to spare his feelings because she wants to maintain a friendship with him in spite of her lack of romantic interest in him.
We will never know.
Because this is the last one-on-one conversation they have with one another in the entire series…
They never talk about her initial rejection of his advances, nor her inexplicable turn-around.
They are just thrown together literally at the last minute and the credits roll.
Aang flagrantly disrespects her boundaries, makes emotional demands on her, invades her personal space, and his reward…is a kiss?
Nothing is resolved. Nobody grows. It’s all just forgotten about and we’re meant to accept this ship into our hearts as the show’s One True Pairing…
The Implications
When you do some digging into behind-the-scenes interviews with the creators, their decision to “give” Katara to Aang is a little…you know…
I’m not one to shout the s-word because I believe it’s trite and overused at this point, but when you treat an otherwise well-written character with brains, ingenuity, and heart as a commodity for the main character to get as a reward, it’s hard to think of it as anything else but.
If they reconciled before the kiss, or bothered to explain her hesitancy at all I could forgive this, but…they don’t.
As far as I’m concerned, Katara’s reluctance to be with Aang can only be categorized as one of two things: One, a paltry attempt on the writers’ end to drum up superficial tension before the big finale; or two, a bigger indication of what’s wrong with this pairing.
Before this scene, I found Katara and Aang’s relationship to be a bit dull and predictable. However, after the series finale, I found this ship downright insulting.
What sort of message does this send? If you force yourself on someone long enough they will consent to you? You know what’s best for your crush even though they don’t? You don’t have to grow or be a better person for the one you love?
Bryke:
The amount of immaturity exemplified in this scene is downright mind-boggling and I still can’t understand why people defend this pairing even to this day.
The Aftermath
One would think that the post-series comics would be a perfect way to iron out the more problematic aspects of Aang and Katara’s relationship, but you would be wrong. If anything it makes the Kataang relationship look even worse than the show did. If that is even possible.
The Promise (which takes place directly after the series finale) shows a happy love-struck Aang and Katara who are totally enamored with each other and…I’m not gonna lie, it’s probably one of the cringiest things I’ve ever seen.
Katara is so out of character in these comics, it’s genuinely painful to read. When she isn’t calling Aang “sweetie”, she is busy reminding all and sundry that the Avatar is her boyfriend all the time.
And I mean all the time.
Someone please explain to me how you can go from “Aang, I’m sorry, but right now I’m a little confused” to “BE THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN!!”
Okay, so she doesn’t say that last line exactly, but she brings up the two of them potentially having children together…even though they are both less than 16 years old at this point.
It would also seem she has very little to do with the plot now that she’s the Avatar’s Girl, apart from complain about the fangirl’s vying for his attention.
She’s the Avatar’s rock and that is now her only function.
I can’t be the only one that sees something wrong with this.
This is Katara. She is a master waterbender. She can bend people’s blood for godsake. What have you done to my girl?
Conclusion
While I’m aware Avatar is so much more than its romances, I can’t help but feel like they had an effect on the overall quality of the show. Is it still a wonderful program? Of course. But I believe it could have been even better if the creators hadn’t been so hell-bent on keeping the Aang and Katara ship afloat.
But they aren’t the only poorly contrived relationship.
Oh, no.
Next up is Mai and Zuko…
Thank you for reading!
The Crooked Pen 
Haha, I just started watching this again on Netflix and I’m going to consider this while watching this time. I wouldn’t say I was a huge Kataang shipper, but I kind of always assumed it was a foregone conclusion. But you made some good points! I personally wasn’t crazy about that ending kiss because it seemed so mature for two kids.
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Yeah, personally I don’t think Aang needs a girlfriend at this stage. Avatar or not he’s 12 years old and, as we have seen, lacks the emotional maturity necessary to sustain a lasting relationship.
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I’ve never really liked or bought into the Aang/Katara pairing, though I’ve never analyzed the show this in-depth to figure out why. For me, I had more of a general sense that the writers kept changing their minds while the show was still being created. At one point, it seems very clear that they are setting up a Zuko/Katara romance–which I think could actually work a whole lot better (though maybe Katara as queen of the Fire Nation could create political complications). But then all the set-up for that pairing is simply dropped and the show moves back to Katara/Aang without any explanation.
I had similar issues with Korra. I appreciated that they were trying to be inclusive, but I again got the impression that the final romance was created while the show was in the process of being written. So there was no lead-up to it. It, again, seemingly materialized out of thin air. And that was, again, confusing. I think audiences like to have some build-up to their romances.
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I have heard there’s a reason for the weird shift in pairing focuses, although it is just a rumor allegedly revealed by those working behind the scenes. Nevertheless, if they are true they make A LOT of sense.
Allegedly, MANY of the writers involved with Avatar wanted Zuko and Katara to be together including writers Elizabeth Welch Ehasz and Aaron Gabriel Ehasz. The issue (it is believed) is the series creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, did NOT and were hell-bent for leather on making sure Kataang became cannon, all reason and lack of chemistry be damned.
This resulted in a brutal tug-of-war between the writers and the head of the series which lead to the tonal confusion we see in Season 3. While both Ehaszs tried to covertly shift the show in a more Zuko and Katara orientated direction, Bryke had the final say and made Kataang officially cannon anyway, even though it was poorly executed.
Keep in mind the Ehaszs wrote some of the most Zuko and Katara-centric episodes including “Crossroads of Destiny” (penned by Aaron) and “The Southern Raiders” (written by Elizabeth).
Again, I cannot attest to the veracity of these claims, but in my mind there is enough circumstantial evidence to at least consider this explanation a possibility.
As for Korra, I actually liked the romance between Korra and Asami because there was no convoluted love-triangle, nor was there any of the usual awkwardness that came with your usual Avatar romance. It was just two people that got along together, coming together as a couple. However, I believe the relationship with Mako and Korra was HORRIBLY forced and painful to watch. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the show-runners didn’t know they would be getting a SECOND season, much less a fourth….that or they are just really bad at writing romance. Take your pick xD
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That… would actually make a lot of sense. I never understood why the show seemed to be shifting between potential pairings like it was confused! It just seemed obvious Katara and Zuko were, at one point, developing a much deeper emotional connection than Katara and Aang! Plus Aang’s younger age seemed to be causing some issues as the series progressed–which you noted, as well.
Oh yes, the infamous Mako/Korra relationship. It never worked! And I hated that Mako’s brother was also in love with Korra. Where did that come from? It was like there was an over-abundance of romance because the show is more teen-oriented? I don’t know. But none of it worked. I think Korra and Asami do work, but I kind of wanted some longing glances between them or SOMETHING before the final season opened up and they were suddenly a thing with no build-up.
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It is kind of funny that you say that you cannot think of an amazing show like avatar and you used a Breaking Bad Gif (Jesse Pinkman’s Seriously). I personally think Avatar, the Last Airbender, and Breaking bad are two meticulously well constructed shows that have very few flaws. Breaking bad is one of the greatest television shows of all time! It’s that good. Avatar, however, is the greatest cartoon show in Nickelodeon (Better than Spongebob maybe), and one of greatest shows ever to air like Breaking Bad.
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I agree they don’t make a great pairing and was surprised when the show went that way, but my reason is a little different. To me, Katara is more of a “mother figure” to Aang. That’s the impression I’ve always gotten. To me, their interactions range from being like siblings (older sister and younger brother) to friendship or mother-son. I agree that Katara doesn’t seem interested in Aang. He may technically be older than her, but she’s far more mature than him and they just don’t seem to be on the same level. In terms of romance, I’ve always shipped Katara and Zuko.
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That’s a good point! Another reason why this couple is so uncomfortable lol. Yeah, there are some people that actually try to make the argument that the age gap isn’t a bit deal…but it pretty obviously is. Especially when you consider how much of a regression Aang’s character seems to undergo during Season 3. I, personally, believe Katara would have been better off with Zuko as well.
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I’m not sure if you know this, but the age gap between Aang and Katara (going of Aang’s *biological age*), is the exact same as the age gap between Katara and Zuko. In the beginning of ATLA, Aang was 12, Katara was 14, and Zuko was 16.
Now, you might say that Aang, at 12 years old, dating someone two years older than him might not be too appropriate for him since he’s not even a teen yet, whereas Katara and Zuko are both teens already. However, by the end of ATLA, a year apparently might have passed since the beginning of it (according to Zuko and Aang’s conversation of looking back a year before, right before Zuko became the new fire lord). In that case, Aang, Katara, and Zuko likely might’ve been 13, 15, and 17 respectively by the EOS. Therefore, all three of them were already teens by the end of EOS, which is right when Katara and Aang officially start dating.
In short, if you like Zutara over Kataang, then I got nothing against that, but age difference really isn’t an excuse to argue against Katara and Aang being together, when the same can factually be said with Zuko and Katara. And honestly, it’s just blatantly hypocritical.
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You’re right, the age gap is technically the same. However, I would argue there is pretty significant distinction between a 15 year-old girl dating a 13 year-old boy and a 15 year-old girl dating a 17 year-old boy. Girls tend to mature at a faster rate than boys both physically and mentally, so they tend to go for older boys. Granted Aang is more mature than a lot of 13 year-old boys but, at the end of the day, that’s really not saying a lot.
It’s not just their biological age that is the true issue at play, in my opinion. The real issue is the differences in maturity level (I discuss this at some length in the post). As I noted, they started off as being a plausible couple, but as the series wears on, I don’t personally believe their connection is nearly as strong because their age gap becomes all the more obvious.
I won’t say that Aang doesn’t mature at all (that would be unfair and untrue), but Katara is quite a bit more mature than him by the time the series ends. She’s had to be the mother-figure to the entire group, forsaking herself and her feelings in order to keep the group together while Aang throws temper tantrums and runs away.
I’m not trying to argue that they are a bad couple solely because of their age, that’s only the tip of the ice berg where I am concerned.
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I had never completed the series previously and have now done so with it being on Netflix. I’m so glad you wrote this. As soon as I saw that last, confusing, forced kiss, I jumped on the internet to see if anyone felt similarly. I was about to give up—as there are many Kataang reddit threads, and then stumbled on your article.
Having binged the series in a few days, it’s much clearer that Katara IS NOT INTERESTED. And as someone who has had friends jump the gun, overstepped boundaries and tried to force something out of thin air, I felt triggered. This will still be one of my all-time favorite shows, but I’ll just skip that last scene on any rewatches.
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https://twitter.com/ilykataang/status/1782498304074629154
I think she’s been interested in him for quite some time, she just states that she’s confused because she doesnt want the emotional burden on Aang while he fights Ozai. But once all is done, she goes and makes it official with him.
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The fact that some blatantly biased pro-Kataang Twitter account (since a lot of the moments she choose could be interpreted as platonic) has to create a whole thread just to convince people that Katara was into Aang, whereas everyone in the fandom agrees that Katara was totally into Jet is downright hilarious. Katara’s attraction to Jet was far more obvious than her attraction to Aang, made even funnier by the fact that Katara spent much more time with Aang compared to Jet.
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No, the actual explanation is that the writers had not actually decided if Katara and Aang were going to end up together in the series finale because a lot of them didn’t like the pairing. Katara’s feelings were purposely left ambiguous in The Ember Island Players as a plot device to give the writers the freedom to not have them become a couple if they chose that option instead.
Aang never unlocked his final chakra because Azula killed him before he could, yet somehow, being slammed into a rock allows him to master the Avatar State in the final battle. His entire character arc ends with an asspull. The creators can’t explain this plot hole; they gloss over it even in the screenplay. This conclusion doesn’t work philosophically either—attachments are inherently unhealthy and distinct from love, which Guru Pathik suggests when he implies that Aang’s attachment to Katara is a coping mechanism for the loss of his people.
By choosing Katara over cosmic energy, Aang’s character doesn’t truly grow. I find it frustrating that Kataang shippers treat this as a grand romantic gesture, when Aang has always been selfishly fixated on Katara. It isn’t much of a sacrifice if he never wanted to be the Avatar in the first place. In his imagination, he even says that he is going to save the world for Katara, not because he understands that it is his duty as the Avatar. The story would have been more powerful if Aang had let go of Katara and finally embraced his destiny.
The writers began setting up a major character arc for Aang that involved deconstructing the Kataang relationship, but they abandoned it right after, and by the series finale, the writers had written themselves into a corner with Aang being unable to enter the Avatar State. Zuko was supposed to join Team Avatar instead of betraying them in The Crossroads of Destiny, so Aang’s attachment arc being aborted may be related to the change in plan with Zuko’s redemption arc.
In the end, Aang gets to have his cake and eat it too. There was no real growth from his end, the solution was just handed to him at the last minute on a silver platter. While people often criticize the lion turtle giving Aang energybending, the rock making him a fully realized Avatar was far worse. Not having Katara and Aang end up together would have made more sense for the narrative, as it would have prevented the need for the deus ex machina of Aang slamming into a rock. I would have loved to see the alternate route where Katara rejected Aang for good and/or Aang successfully let go of his attachment to Katara.
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Reddit is full of incels who believe the friendzone exists so they absolutely love Kataang over there.
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I just gotta say, Aang is an Avatar so basically he is mad mature, this is because he shares the same spirit with all the other avatars, plus, isn’t this taking place in a time when people were considered grown at 16, also too aang was still a kid and so was Katara so it is not illegal in today’s time, plus it is only a 98 year age gap so basically he was basically on the earth for 112 years making him probably the oldest out of them, oh yeah and I forgot to say did you know that relationships have ups and downs especially when you are considering the fact that they are teens, plus with all the drama of the war that causes a lot of stress on teens who are not fully mature yet, also after the war they did not have that much stress, also for the record Zuko is a pure mf and very toxic
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Nicely written article which makes a lot of interesting and thoughtful points. I see what you’re saying.
Personally I would have been happy with Katara either remaining single at the end of the series, or in a relationship with Zuko as I think they have far more chemistry and have built a close emotional friendship. Honestly, I don’t think Katara and Aang have any romantic chemistry at all; her relationship and interactions with him seem far more like an elder sister or mother rather than girlfriend/wife.
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Because that’s how their relationship is supposed to be viewed. Bryke described the Aang/Katara dynamic as “the young kid having a crush on the older girl, and she loves you but like a babysitter, you know, like a little brother or something”. Aang isn’t just “friend-zoned”, he is straight up “brother-zoned”, and the romantic development between the two is Aang having to overcome this “brother-zone” while little attention is given to Katara’s perspective.
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Forgot to write this in my last comment, but I’m very glad you touched on Aang’s fight with Fire Lord Ozai having a “cop out ending.”
On the one hand, the whole “taking away his bending” was a creative twist, I’ll admit. But I’ve always taken issue with Aang’s response to Sokka regarding the possibility of killing the Fire Lord. Pretty sure Aang says, “I can’t just go around wiping people out because I don’t like them.” I think that was roughly his statement.
I do see why Aang is having such an internal struggle over killing in battle given that he was raised a pacifist and taught that all life is sacred—but I still don’t understand why Aang didn’t see that it was never about him “not liking” the Fire Lord. For God’s sake, Ozai committed genocide and is likely responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people. That’s not “wiping someone out because [you] don’t like them,” Aang. That’s saving people from being murdered by a dictatorial psycho.
Anyway, that’s just additional supporting data regarding the “emotional maturity” conversation surrounding Aang.
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Aang doesn’t kill. He just maims or seriously injures.
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Katara was confused because she had a lot on her mind before the battle and was worried about Aang dying.
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Bruh. So much of this is wrong. Katara, actively said in EIP that she didn’t view Aang as a brother “an actor said that”, not to mention there was hardly any indication that she was aware of Aang’s feelings and to add to that, you had episode like COTL which showed she clearly didn’t think of Aang in a sibling-like way. This is just bad faith arguments.
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No, they’re right, the writers themselves have said that Katara was very much aware that Aang always liked her. The writers for the EIP have also said that the episode was written in an ambiguous way to leave their options open because there was no established plan to actually have Aang and Katara end up together at the end of the series. Not sure where you’re getting “bad faith arguments” argument from.
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This post pretty blatantly excludes how important Season 2 is to the development in their relationship and how central it is to the show (the entire season hinges on their relationship and it’s connection to the Avatar State). Katara (unless we’re just arguing she’s entirely clueless about Aang’s feelings) actively reciprocates his affection (kissing him on the cheek after he was about to confirm his love for her), and that trend continues in episodes like The Headband.
As for DOBS/EIP, we can take Katara pretty much at her word here: “we’re in the middle of a war, this isn’t the right time”. Aang kisses her initially because he’s afraid he won’t return to her (also why she frowns) and then confronts her about this later. Katara, who has seen Aang die once already, is afraid of opening them up to that again and that’s why she rebuffs him before they defeat the Fire Lord.
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No, you’re applying your own interpretation to those events. The original script for “Day of Black Sun” had Katara smiling after Aang kissed her, but the writers later told the animation director, Giancarlo Volpe, to change it to a frown. The writers themselves have confirmed that they purposely made Katara’s feelings ambiguous because they were divided on Aang and Katara becoming a couple. After the events of “The Ember Island Players,” it would have made just as much sense—if not more—for Katara to tell Aang that she didn’t want a relationship with him in the series finale.
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It’s actually a third category: a plot device. The crew weren’t certain if Aang and Katara would end up together by the finale, even this late in the series’ development. Katara’s reluctance and ambiguous feelings about a relationship with Aang could have gone either way. While she ended up with Aang in the finale, it was entirely possible that the series could have picked the alternate route where Katara ultimately rejected Aang. Katara could have realized she didn’t truly love Aang but felt pressured by his expectations to return his feelings.
I prefer ships that feature equality and mutuality between partners. The dynamics of Kataang are too imbalanced and uncomfortable for me. Aang admitted that his desire to save the world was ultimately motivated by his longing to win Katara’s love, he behaved possessively toward her, and his attachment to her even prevented him from mastering the Avatar State. Meanwhile, Katara viewed Aang as a messianic hero destined to end the war that had devastated her life, and also as a younger brother who needed to be nurtured by her as if she was his babysitter.
Katara was terrified of Aang’s immense powers and lack of control over the Avatar State, but she was also burdened with the responsibility of needing to keep Aang’s emotions in check and bring him out of the Avatar State when necessary. She constantly coddles Aang and is unable to express her full range of emotions toward him like she can with the other characters. It’s easy to see how they could have written Katara as trying to appease Aang by sending him mixed messages and forcing herself to like him romantically.
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Well I can safely say this isn’t an unpopular opinion with me!! I recently rewatched this with my sister. It was her first time watching it- and she agreed with me that Aang and Katara don’t work!! Personally, I didn’t feel the chemistry at the beginning, because I felt there was an imbalance in age and she seems too motherly to him for it to ever be romantic. And yes, I was disgusted when Katara, who has a fully fleshed out character/wants/needs (and expressly said she was confused, only for him to kiss her against her will) is then GIVEN to Aang like some kind of prize??! I don’t say this often, but this screams misogyny to me. The writers don’t understand consent and seem to think if women say no, they’re just being flaky and you need to try harder at convincing them (and they obviously don’t know their own minds anyway if they do say no). I get that he’s young and he could learn from this, but what we actually get is a romance that’s so underdeveloped that the messaging is just plain bad.
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The writers have always been terrible at romance, but this is one of their greatest offenses in my opinion xD Glad I’m not alone
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“When the series begins, Aang and Katara have a lot of chemistry.
Aang’s exuberance and carefree attitude complements Katara’s loving, compassionate nature perfectly. They both share a true passion for helping those in need and, for all appearances, have a deep spiritual connection with one another.
Like any great couple, they make up for what the other lacks. Since her mother’s death, Katara has had to take on much more adult responsibilities, and so when Aang arrives, he is able to remind her that she is still a kid and needs to have fun. Conversely, Katara’s maturity helps Aang become more grounded and secure in his position as Avatar and less negligent and flaky of his responsibilities.
Up until the Season 2 finale, the show makes a reasonably compelling case as to why these two could potentially form a meaningful romantic relationship. However, as soon as Season 3 comes around, all attempts to make them out to be a feasible couple are unceremoniously dropped.”
I disagree. I thought the ship was bad from the start and I was always opposed to them getting together. Most of the writing in the series was pretty good but it absolutely sucked when it came to romance. It did get worse in Book 3 but I was uncomfortable with Kataang since Book 1 because Katara was clearly intended to be like a mother figure to Aang.
The creators straight up said that the Kataang dynamic was a young boy crushing on his babysitter who loves him like a little brother, and Bryan K (one of the two creators) even based Katara on a real girl he knew from high school who was a few years older than him… Can you believe that they were actually surprised that a lot of the audience didn’t like Kataang when the ship had such creepy and sexist undertones? Their straight male delusion is insane.
I thought the series was actually going to go the route of not making Kataang endgame when they introduced chakras, but then that arc went nowhere. There was definitely something in the story plans that changed.
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