Who should Aang have ended up with?

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Kataang feels like a kid crushing on their babysitter

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?

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.

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

Only SokkaxSuki vibed well for me. The diamond in the rough. Edited lol

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

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

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.

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.

“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 😂😂😂

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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!)

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)

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

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! 😝

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?

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

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

I think it’s telling that Zuko and Katara have infinitely more chemistry and plausibility as a couple despite hating each other for 80% of the show and having no real moments together besides the catacombs of Ba Sing Sae, so much so that a huge chunk of the fandom prefers them

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.

What ruined Kataang for me personally is that I myself was very much a "Katara" growing up, often a "motherly" figure to kids (specifically boys) a couple years younger than me, so trying to imagine thinking of one of them in a romantic context... there's nothing less romantic. There actually was a boy who lived for a couple months with his family in the sunroom in my parents' house. I was 14, and I think he was 10 or 11. He had a crush on me, and it was *very* awkward. I didn't see him like that at all, and my siblings actually made fun of him and I for it. So when it came to trying to get behind Kataang, I just couldn't see them like that. (To be clear, I don't ship Zutara either.)

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 😅

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.

I honestly wish they had kept the relationships open-ended. They could have gotten together later, because remember they are 12 and 14. That's way too young to think about love and marriage.

"She's 14 and he's 12 and short" 😂

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Despite its flaws, Kataang will always have a special place in my heart. They're just so adorable to me. I remember being 13/14 the first time I watched the show and being completely obssesed with them, they're perfect for each other imo.

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!

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.

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.

I can't point to the exact quote or interview, but I remember hearing something from the creators that came off as Aang x Katara being like a self-insert fantasy fullfillment. (And judging by the fact that adult Aang looks pretty similar to one of the creators I feel more vindicated in this). I personally just can't get past how out of nowhere Katara's feelings always seem and it felt like they were just writing it in when they needed to keep the ship from completely disappearing. Like Aang's crush makes sense but I never felt like Katara felt the same unless it was necessary for the plot.

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.

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.

It's wild that the biggest criticism you have with this shipping is that the characters were too well written. Like, what other shows have this problem? Well written characters and stories seem few and far between nowadays.

The fact I just finished watching the show yesterday after a 3-4 day marathon. Perfect timing, my friend. Right after I finished the finale, I jumped to your channel to see if you had any videos on Avatar (because for some reason I SWORE you had), hoping my critics and favorite characters would be validated. But I was shocked to see you had non. Literally the perfect timing.

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.

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

Kataang's problem is an overall problem with how many people view romance. I don't blame the writers on being oblivious to how healthy romantic relationships actually work because not many people know what that even looks like. Healthy romantic love is not a performance. It is not a competition or a game. There's no "winning the girl". It is not an "endgame" when you finally get together. Being in one does not make you less or more of a person; it is optional. It doesn't have to be complicated or difficult. Romantic love is not more or less powerful or important than other relationships. It is a relationship that typically requires more sacrifice than others, but is not necessarily stronger or better. You and your partner bounce off of each other, fail together, succeed together. Apart of yourself becomes the other person; goals, motives, wants and needs all form into one without taking away your individuality. This and many other things I have learned with my girlfriend are things that not even the most well written stories show. I've grown most as a person AFTER I got with her, not before. I grew WITH her, not separately. Not that the best growth is necessarily with a romantic partner or another person/people, of course. It's just that if you're going to write romance, don't make the only ships be endgames. Because then that tells me you see romance as the best and only happy ending, that what comes afterwards is just a forgettable, static blur. And it shouldn't be. I want to more couples get together mid story. I want to see them thrive together and change in ways I could've never imagined.

Before you tear into zutara, for me, it isnt that it is a "good" choice, but that zuko and katara had far more romantic chemistry on screen than kataang ever did. You pretty much nail it when dissecting kataang; we dont see enough of katara's side of the "romance" to justify anything more than one-sided puppy love from aang, to the point that their endgame status feels like pulling the rug out from under us, even if i dont have much issue with the individual tropes. ("im confused" kiss "i love you" has been used enough to desensitize me, the day dream is supposed to be cringe-y to emphasize the delirium from lack of sleep, and i take less issue with a non-consensual kiss than i do with failing to recognize and apologize for a misread situation.) On the other side, zutara isnt much better, but the moments that fuel it are at least reciprocal and balanced. The single biggest is the cross roads of destiny where both reveal their past trauma to each other and the mere narrative subtext of opposites attract. It isnt that i am a zutara shipper, heck, i dont really obsess over ships to begin with, but instead that i saw more potential in zutara than in kataang. Neither needed to happen, and as much issue as i have with kataang, i can at least acknowledge that it... functions for the sake of the happy ending: i accept it as a means to an end, not the journey. Zutara is simply the option that has balance on both ends with an equivalence in emotional maturity that kataang only barely reaches in book 3.

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.

Shipping is what ruined The Legend of Korra.

I feel like Aang and Katara didn't have enough, if not any, proper romantic moments

Oh thank god, I thought I was the only person on Earth who didn’t ship Katara with Aang OR Zuko. Aang and Katara were way too much like a mother and child. I understood why Aang liked Katara (completely forgot about the gendered air temples), but I never understood it from Katara’s perspective. Zuko and Katara always made more sense; their dynamic wasn’t parental, they had more serious demeanors (despite almost exclusively shipping grumpy cat/golden retriever personalities), their intimate moments were heartful and genuine (The Southern Raiders, The Crossroads of Destiny, The Siege of the North, etc.), and they had shared trauma over their mothers. But I couldn’t ship them. I wanted to, the fire/water dynamic was *right there*, but there was always something that made me feel weird.

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

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.

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

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.

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’!

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

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

when you mentioned "closure" whas when it clicked to me. that's why people go crazy over shipping in general, because most medias either don't know how to do it right or just take too long to do something after throwing the "bait". it's frustrating, and it's mostly the writers fault that the shippers become so anoying over time, cuz if it had a better closure or it didn't take so long for something to happen, then the fans would have no issues with this. also, I'm sad that Sokka never had children as shown on "the legend of Korra", that whas kinda frustrating to know, but I think it's just me.

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

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???

I agree with all of these icks, but my biggest one is from the Southern Raiders when Aang tries to have this righteous, moral high ground on how Katara chooses to resolve her rage and grief- ESPECIALLY when Aang has gotten to rage out for his grief throughout the series whenever he sees fit. But the second when Katara has the autonomy to do the same thing, he doesn’t hold space for her that same way she has always held space for his feelings. What’s right and wrong is out of the question, it was her choice in how she handles her trauma. Aang came off as incredibly judgmental and tries to force his personal morals and beliefs onto her when his own actions haven’t always lined up with those spoken beliefs.

This is a fair criticism. I think most fans agree that Avatar doesn't handle romance very well.

I saw the OG thumbnail. I do not forget.

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

If you didn't see that Kataang was a foregone conclusion from the first episode then you must've missed the first scene where Aang awakens. I do however wish it was a little more developed and we got more from Katara's perspective.

A 12 year old having cringey romantic moments? Really? That's a problem for you? This really is just a you problem. The writers set up their romance from the very beginning. Hell, the fact they even ended up together is far more than many other cartoons and anime can say.

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

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

can platonic intimacy not be a basis of a romantic relationship? the way I see things you gotta be friends before anything for any relationship to work. am I weird or smth?

I heavily enjoy your shipping videos. They include your best analysis in my opinion and they are kinda rare in general on UKposts reviews, at least on this genuine extent so I appreciate that! When I first watched Avatar I guess I was way too oblivious and untrained to shipping to notice any the "obvious endgame" edging so this ship did sort of baffle me back then too. I related to Katara a lot and having the small experience of having to gently reject some younger boys while also being her age I was so certain the ship would end this way too and I was both surprised and uncomfortable by that ending. I never really noticed zutaara potential either till I rewatched years later as an adult but this time having developed a preference for villainxhero ships and enemies to lovers it definitely got me more. So the Last bit of the video made me perk up cause after all that talk I didn't think you'd tackle it so pretty awesome surprise there. Looking forward for that video!👀

The atla shipping discourse is the most annoying experience ever

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

I think overall Katara's emotions was the hardest for the writers to communicate or develop. We get her sometimes breaking down under the pressure of being the group mom, but the final kiss at the end of the series felt so weird after the one right before it. Like it was literally just... time? that made her be okay with it? I think it's a fantastic show but I completely agree with all your points. I think they could've toned back the awkwardness and embarrassing moments a little, and added a couple more scenes of Katara and her feelings, and it could've been wayyyy better.