Rambling about Katara and Zutara
Ok so Iâm going to kind of just put my two cents out there on this stuff. I joined the ATLA fandom this past summer and just started watching TLOK (my brother and I just finished Book 2 yesterday). This is a hot debate and I just want to ramble on about my opinions on this stuff. A lot of this will focus on Kataraâs perspective because I can understand her better than Zuko or Aang due to personal experience. Im just... gonna... get into it now...
Iâll give you some background on me so you guys can understand where Iâm coming from. Iâm a 15 year old girl with abandonment issues caused by multiple deaths of close friends and family at a young age (my uncle when I was 4, a grandmother like figure when I was 7, my dadâs mum when I was 9 or 10, my great grandma when I was 11, a close friend of my dadâs when I was 13 and many others). I also am the Mum Friend (my friends literally call me âMumâ). Iâm the caregiver of the group- the glue, the harmonizer, the therapist, the teacher, the good advice giver etc. (This stuff actually hot me in trouble as a kid and it kind of messed me up). My friends who have seen Avatar have compared me to Katara on multiple occasions and say Iâve got the temperament of a waterbender. You can kind of see where Iâd relate, you know?
I do ship Zutara. My brother turned to me during the Book 1: Water- Episode 9~ The Waterbending Scroll and asked, âWhat if Zuko becomes a good guy and ends up with Katara?â From then on I was on the Zutara hill and Iâll probably die there. It limited ships that I loved from childhood and I thought it would hav been really cool- it would have fit the themes of the show, it would have been a cool thing to see grow and blossom, etc. It had nothing to do with Katara and Zuko being attractive at all- not in the slightest. It also wasnât me projecting onto Katara. I didnât really care to notice any major similarities between us until Book Three: Fire- Episode 7~ The Runaway. It was this exchange that changed Katara from my favorite character to someone I could heavily relate to.
Toph: [Sarcasically.] Oh really, Mom? Or what are you gonna do? Send me to my room?
Katara: I wish I could!
Toph: well you canât! Because youâre not my mom, and youâre not their mom! [Extends her arm at Aang and Sokka, who are sitting on a ledge.]
Katara: I never said I was!
Toph: No, but you act like it! You think itâs your job to boss everyone around, but itâs not! Youâre just a regular kid like the rest of us! Stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!
I remember bursting out laughing when I heard this. My brother asked me what was up and I paused it and explained that that was a lecture I revived so regularly when I was younger. It really really ended up messing me up. Itâs not like I tried to mother anyone- it just happened. I wasnât controlling it. I didnât notice I was doing it and I got in trouble. Now things are different and Iâve embraced the fact that I am the designated Mum Freind. Still working on getting over being told off about it in therapy though. Anyway, I think you now can understand where Iâm coming from with this âanalysis.â Now Iâm going to get into it (for real this time lol).
I think Iâm going to start with the caregiver stuff. Kataraâs mother died when she was very young. It was a very traumatic death. We can infer that Katara blamed herself for this death because the Southern Raiders were looking for the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe- her. Thatâs a lot for an 8 year old to try to process. Hereâs the kicker: I donât think she ever fully processed it until after Book 3: Fire- Episode 16~ The Southern Raiders. She almost immediately helped her grandmother take up the roll as the woman of the house. She probably didnât feel like she had anyone to talk to about what she was feeling however true or false thatâs what she most likely perceived this to be. When Hakoda leaves for war with all of the men of the tribe, Kanna might be the matriarch and help raise Sokka and Katara but even Sokka admits that Katara became a pseudo-mother for him. Taking care of others doesnât leave a lot of time to deal with your own issues. Sometimes it feels easier to help others face their demons than face your own.
We continue to see Katara become the glue of the Gaang as the series progresses. She keeps them together in the Si Wong desert after Aang leaves her, Sokka, Toph, and Momo. Sheâs always the one cooking, cleaning, and mending not because she wants to, but because she knows no one else will do it and it needs to be done. We see her try to coax Toph into helping out around camp when she firsts joins the Gaang. It doesnât work and this conflict continues for most of Book 2 and the beginning of Book 3. All of this time, sheâs making it a point to take care of everyone. When the adults show up after the Boiling Rock, sheâs still the one making the dinner and probably does a lot of the other chores as well (except for tea making- this will come into play later).
Thereâs a running joke about Katara being âMomtaraâ within the ATLA fandom (more the Zutaraians in the fandom than anything else but itâs a pretty well known concept). We continue to see this when the Gaang is on Ember Island. She brings them all drink during training sessions, watches said training sessions in case someone gets hurt and they need her, wrangles Sokka to the best of her ability, and just generally looks out for everyone regardless of age gap. Itâs her natural instinct to be motherly. She retains this quality even after she finds Yon Rha. (Getting closure on her motherâs death doesnât mean losing what had become a major personality trait).
Letâs unpack that now, shall we? Kya dies and Katara thinks itâs her fault. She doesnât really talk to anyone about it. A few years later, Hakoda leaves to fight in the war. The Southern Water Tribe recives no letters or news about what happened to their warriors at all. Katara felt like she lost another parent. She nearly says as much during Book 3: Fire- Episode 1~ The Awakening.
Hakoda: Youâre taking about me too, arenât you?
Katara: How could you leave us, Dad? [She attempts to wipe away the tears.] I mean, I know we had Gran-Gran, and she loved us, but we were just so lost without you.
Hakoda moves to comfort her as she turns away.
Hakoda: Iâm so sorry, Katara.
Katara: [Embraces Hakoda.] I understand why you left. I really do, and I know that you had to go, so why do I still feel this way? Iâm so sad and angry and hurt!
The thing that sets off this exchange is Aang running away for the third time since Katara has known him (the fourth time in Aangâs lifetime). The other times he ran were when confronted by the rude fisherman in Book 1: Water- Episode 12~ The Storm, then again during Book 2: Earth- Episode 11~ The Desert. Aang has a, for lack of a better word, chronic running away problem. Iâm not mad at him for it. It makes him an interesting character and shows that he too has flaws (even if they arenât always addressed but thatâs an issue with Bryke). When Aang flys away after waking up during 3.1, Katara is distraught.
Katara: He left.
Hakoda: What?
Katara: Aang. He just took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone, that itâs all his responsibility.
Hakoda: Maybe thatâs his way of being brave.
Katara: Its not brave, itâs selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I know the world needs him, but doesnât he know how much we need him, too? How can he just leave us behind?
Katara feels abandoned by Aang. This is completely understandable. She has every right to be angry at him and feel sad that he flew away. He comes back every time but I feel like if I were in her position, as much as Iâd hope my friend would come back and Iâd tell everyone that I knew he would, Iâd still be afraid that there was an off chance that he doesnât. This is a natural human reaction to this situation. People were seemingly constantly fading in and out of Kataraâs life and that just wasnât good for her mental health. It couldnât have been. This also raises the question of if someone has a very serious fear of abandonment, would it be healthy to be in a romantic relationship with someone who consistently leaves? Personally I donât think so. Be friends? Sure. Date? I donât know. It doesnât quite sit right with me.
Katara probably feels abandoned by Zuko too. During the Book 2 Finale: Crossroads of Destiny, Katara and Zuko bond in the crystal catacombs under Ba Sing Se. They relate over their shared fear of being abandoned by those they love (yes I think Zuko has abandonment issues too- among other issues/fears). When he turns his back on her, she doesnât live him (obviously). She has cared about him enough up to that point to offer to use what is arguably her most powerful possession to heal his scar. She cares. Because she cares about him then, she is downright livid when he betrays her. (Of course the difference between Zuko and Aang with this is Zuko leaves once and comes back and he doesnât leave again. Aang leaves and comes back over and over and over again).
Katara: I thought you had changed!
Zuko: I have changed!
Katara carries the weight of his betrayal on her mind until she and Zuko go on their life changing field trip to confront the man who killed Kataraâs mother. This was her time to finally get closure. She had probably had these feelings bottled up for 6 years and didnât act on them. When she finally had the chance, her best friend and brother tried to stop her. She lashed out.
Katara: Weâre going to find the man who took my mother from me.
Sokka pauses and stands up, surprised.
Zuko: Sokka told me the story of what happened. I know who did it and I know how to find him.
Aang: Um ... and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?
Katara: [Shakes her head in dismay.] Ugh, I knew you wouldnât understand. [Begins to walk away.]
Aang: Wait! Stop! I do understand. Youâre feeling unbelievable pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sandbenders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found out what happened to my people?
Zuko: She needs this, Aang. This is about getting closure and justice.
Aang: I donât think so. I think this is about getting revenge.
Katara: [Angrily.] Fine, maybe it is! Maybe itâs what he deserves!
Aang: Katara, you sound like Jet.
Katara: Its not the same! Jet attacked the innocent. This man, heâs a monster.
Sokka: Katara, she was my mother, too, but I think Aang might be right.
Katara: Then you didnât love her the way I did!
Sokka: [Hurt.] Katara!
Katara gets a lot of flack for this interaction. She says Sokka didnât love their mother like she did and Sokka Iâd understandably hurt. It doesnât excuse what she said, but people do lash out when they are feeling a lot of emotions and they get defensive when they feel like theyâre being ganged up on or attacked (I myself am guilty of this sort of thing). What Katara said was wrong but I have no doubt in my mind that she didnât apologize to Sokka when he and the rest of the Gaang arrive on Ember Island later in the episode. She is seen walking over to him after she hugs Zuko.
Zuko and Katara go after Yon Rha anyway. For once in her life, Katara is feeling emotions and no one is trying to get her to stop or to push them aside. She doesnât have to be constantly taking care of someone so she can focus on herself. Katara trusts Zuko more than I think she realizes. I mean she trusts him with a lot and he follows through on a lot of unspoken/subconscious agreements and promises.
Zuko is looking out for her. Zuko has her back. Zuko is allowing her to feel all of these emotions and work them out of her own accord. Zuko isnât telling her to feel one way or another. Zuko isnât going to judge her for whatever she decides to do when they find Yon Rha or what she does in order for them to get to that point. Zuko ensures she gets the closure she feels she needs.
When he sees her bloodbend, heâs surprised, but he isnât appalled. When he thinks sheâs going to run Yon Rha through with a giant shard of ice, he doesnât try to stop her. He lets her be her. He sees a dark side of her in a way that no one else in the Gaang has seen. Itâs strangely intimate. Clearly it has enough of an impact to make her forgive him. She knows he isnât going to abandon betray her and her friend again.
Once they become friends, and even before that, Zuko starts to help out with small things here and there. We see him making tea for all of the kids at dinner. He tells jokes to make them laugh. He teaches Aang firebending. He goes with Sokka to the Boiling Rock to make sure he doesnât get himself killed or in a prison cell for the rest of his life. With all of this, âDadkoâ is born.
If you strip away Zukoâs anger, he just becomes the awkward-turtleduck-first-time-father that we all know and love. Thereâs more balance in the Gaang with him there to help and become an âauthorityâ figure with Katara. They become the parents of the other members of the Gaang. Itâs an interesting shift in their relationship- enemies to unsteady acquaintances to enemies to frenemies to friends. Theyâre close enough that they show small signs of physical intimacy and they tease each other.
Also if you look close enough when the Gaang walks into the âseedy Earth Kingdom tavern,â Zuko and Katara appear to be holding hands and are near each other from then until the finale episodes. They are clearly just great friends by the end of the show. I mean Zuko also takes a bolt of lightning to the chest for her...
Zuko doesnât leave when his life gets difficult- not after he joins the Gaang. He made that mistake once and he wonât make it again. Aang was always part of the Gaang but continued to leave (again, Iâm not mad at him for it but he never seems to realize the effect it has on the people around him- especially Katara). Zuko also doesnât all but forget Katara and continue to run around the world. When Zuko fully decides to stick around, you best believe he is sticking around.
This works really well for Zutara. Theyâre both each otherâs rock. They support each other and help each other in times of trouble. Do they argue? Yes. Is that a normal part of a healthy relationship- romantic or otherwise? Yes. Do they take care of and look out for each other while also not smothering or suffocating each other? Yes. I donât know about you but this sounds stable and healthy to me. They balance each other out so well (Iâm not going to get too into that because if youâre reading this you probably already know with the whole Tui and La, Yin and Yang, Oma and Shu thing).
Now, this is a big deal for me and it makes me furious, but Katara is forgotten by history. She has no statue. She is reduced to a housewife and healer- things our wonderful water feminist was afraid of becoming as an adult. I mean this girl
This girl
THIS GIRL
She becomes nothing but a housewife stuck in a healing hut who gets forgotten by the world and left behind by her family just... letâs all of that happen? Yeah thatâs pretty unrealistic. I think about this frequently and with starting TLOK I have formed even more opinions and have a little thingy (I donât know what to call it) for what happened to her.
Kya II is everything Teenage Katara wanted to do and be before settling down. Old Katara is everything Teenage Katara was so afraid of become reduced to/becoming.
Itâs an interesting way to think about it and I thought Iâd share. Now if Katara was Fire Lady, she wouldnât end up like that. Sheâd have the power to change the world and continue to fight for what she believed in. She could have helped with the trail with Yakone. Katara has so much potential to not be forgotten or brushed aside and somehow it happened. It makes me so sad. The potential Zutara had to make sure Katara had a genuine legacy was right there at their finger tips and they didnât use it. What a shame. What a shame.
With all of the things Iâve talked about, I just feel like Zutara would have been better for Katara than Kataang was. I think thatâs more Bryke not developing the relationship well enough and instead choosing to be sloppy and selfish in the way they structured the relationship. Yeah this is my rambling on about the issue. Hope it was mildly entertaining! If you want me to write something about how Zuko would have benefited from Zutara, let me know!
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Scourge of the Mo Ce Sea (Pt. 1)
AO3 Link by @ajstyyling in the Zutara Big Bang AO3 Collection
For the @zkbigbang (Created by these amazing people: @rideboldlyride, @soopersara, @likefirings, and @firelxdykatara)
Be sure to check out the other artist and their work for this fic: @batwonder4ever
âYou will not honor the Fire Lord on this ship. You will not honor Agni on this ship. You will honor me or you will die a sad, former prince.â
[ID: two grayscale digital illustrations of Katara and Zuko from ATLA framed with letterbox bars to mimic a film screenshot.Â
The first image is of Katara as a pirate in an alternate universe. She has short hair, with half of her hair pulled up into a braid along the top of her head while two small braids fall into her face. She is wearing a Water Tribe warriorâs outfit that is similar to Sokkaâs in S1Ep2 The Avatar Returns, and has a crescent moon painted on her forehead, the Water Tribe mark of the brave. She is looking straight at the camera with a menacing expression, holding her hands out in front of her, and bending water that hangs in the foreground. She is lit from behind by a skylight.Â
The second image is of Zuko in the same alternate universe as the first image. He is wearing Fire Nation Armor. His hair is shoulder length, half up in a top knot with a fire insignia pin decorating the style. He is seated with his back against a wall, and bound by ropes. He is mostly in a shadow cast by Katara (off screen), except for light illuminating his eyes. He looks up in shock and awe at Katara while sharp daggers of ice hang suspended in the air pointed at him. Blurred water droplets float in the foreground. /END ID]
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You Are Half of This World
AO3 Link by [redacted] in the Zutara Big Bang AO3 Collection
For the @zkbigbang (Created by these amazing people: @rideboldlyride, @soopersara, @likefirings, and @firelxdykatara)
Be sure to check out the other artist and their work for this fic: @favlie
Sometimes Katara awakens from a dream and finds herself crying. She can never remember the dream.
âŚ
Sometimes when Zuko wakes up there are tears soaking his pillow.
[ID: Two colored digital illustrations of Katara and Zuko from ATLA framed with letterbox bars to mimic a film screenshot.Â
The first image depicts Katara in a Southern Water Tribe igloo, surrounded by soft furs and decorated pots, various items of Water Tribe life. She sits up in her bed, her hair undone, delicately wiping tears from her cheeks with the ring finger of her left hand. More tears drip onto her right hand, clutching her blanket. She is sad but also a bit surprised at her tears. A soft fire lights the cold igloo with a warm color scheme. Sokka is asleep on the opposite side of the room.Â
The second image depicts Zuko waking up in his bed in the Fire Nation Palace. He wakes abruptly, his hair catching up with his body falling around his face, while he clutches his heart through his nightshirt. Tears fall down his cheeks and drip off his face. He is more pained and shocked than Katara. A curtain from Zukoâs canopy bed flutters behind his head, and a crescent moon shines through the slats of the shades in Zukoâs room, lighting him in stark shadows and a cool blue color scheme. /END ID]
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