Katara: A Character Study (Likely pt. 1)
It is 12:47am on 8/25/25 and I am exactly 16:00 minutes into “The Avatar Returns” from Avatar: The Last Airbender. I had an entire blog post typed up about Katara and her character and how some choices made by writers and how they chose to continue her story in later series (Ex: The Legend of Korra) doesn’t make sense with where they took her development in the original series. That, however, was lost between the three computers I’ve signed in on because my Microsoft account hates me, so I’m restarting. This is gonna get really (really) hypothetical and I’m gonna sound insane, but I chugged a monster from like 3pm to 4pm and im not sleeping until at least tomorrow night and I have things to say about pretty girl. (Correction: I fell asleep at 2:45)
Katara is the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe, which (allegedly) used to be much bigger, much more lively, and much better as a whole before the hundred-year war began. That, however, kind of a little bit, was not the case in the state we find the Southern Water Tribe. The state we find her in is a few tents, a shoddy wall made of packed ice, and a (likely) hastily built watch tower with poor structural integrity. The Southern Water Tribe is made up of women and young children, the only “suitable” warrior being a 16 year old motherless boy with an ego issue. So, honestly, not a lot. A far cry from the assumed prestige one of the two water tribes may have had, especially considering how it is seen in the next series and compared to the Northern Water Tribe. I don’t care to explain the tribe in further detail, so I’m going to carry on with my study.
Before
after
The story follows along with brother and sister Sokka, the 16 year old with an ego issue, and Katara after they discover a boy frozen in an iceberg. In the first episode this boy, Aang, is revealed to be destined to save the world or.. something. Don’t ask me, I’ve only seen it four (five-ish) times.
In the first episode Katara, who is the voice narrating the opening, is set up very early to have a major supporting role within the show. (Since this is not a summary of the show as a whole, I’m going to not talk about the show anymore or else I will be renaming this blog to “How Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cinematic masterpiece and can do no wrong.”) Katara is depicted as dominantly motherly throughout the series, but she is also warm, deeply responsible, stubborn with a deep desire to be independet, and overall compassionate.
(Not at all bringing up later characterizations throughout the series, where she becomes so fiercely protective of team avatar, even vengeful at some point. Pictured above is her dressed as The Painted Lady, arguably one of her most compassionate moments throughout the series)
Katara, set up from the very beginning is more compasionate than Sokka. He’s expressed as paranoid, misogynistic, self-absorbed, practical – overall someone, upon first meeting, you’d assume is pretty reasonable. I, however, would not trust him with my drink. Not like he’d do anything bad but he’d straight forget who’s drink it was and chug it on his own. He’s stubborn, he’s selfish, out for his own self-interest, and a few other words I may not be able to post to my blog. Compassion, if i had to name HER character trait, would be the first thing to come to mind.
She takes the place of her mother at such a young age, essentially becoming that in Sokka’s eyes. There are dozens of times that she puts someone else before herself, even if she’s being manipulated or believes she can’t do it. She is single-handedly holding team avatar together in the desert. And, hear me out, just like waterbending. “Woah!! Danny’s pointing out something they don’t shut up about in the show (they never bring it up in THIS series, let me cook (the kitchen is burning))!!” I can go on forever about how each of the benders and even non-benders have a personality that perfectly represents them and their bending technique… so I will!! That’s why I have a blog!! (Look out for me yelling about how scrappy and resourceful Sokka is in like a week or so)
Waterbending is very insistent on the ebb and flow of things. Two fish circling each other, Yin and Yang, pushing and pulling, high tide and low tide, even the moon and the waves. They’re all waterbending, all the original sources of it. Humans were taught waterbending by the moon, inspired by the way she pushed and pulled at the ocean. This sounds peaceful, but where there is good there must be something disruptive. This is perfectly displayed in Katara’s character, because just like she is motherly and helpful and compassionate she’s also got a temper, she’s stubborn, and she’s determined. I sound insane. Don’t make me backtrack again, decent outline danny. (Little does no outline danny know, decent outline danny is rocking back and forth, waiting to be let out of circus jail. He will not be let out of circus jail. Why am I talking to myself???)
Waterbending is dependent on grabbing energy and not so much controlling it but shifting it. Thinks something similar to a scale, like the one lady justice holds. You want the water to go here so you shift your entire body with it, right? Kind of like a literal push and pull. Anyone who’s seen The Northern Water Tribe parts 1 & 2 know what I’m talking about. If you don’t just nod and pretend you do. The fact Katara is a waterbender does shape her personality, just like it does with Toph and Aang, and even the fact that Sokka isnt a bender. She reasons but, ultimately, chooses her emotions over rational or “i can’t do it” thoughts.
There are two events where i think Katara shows the most compassion, and all three relate to Firebenders. She hates firebenders. One killed her mother and she believes them, for a long time, to be the cause of all of her problems. (which.. yeah) But she still recognizes when people need help. She, as the painted lady, aids a village of sickly and starving fire nation civilians by liberating them from a nearby metals factory. This threw them off by days, could have made them late, and they barely even had the supplies to feed themselves; however, people needed her help and she couldn’t abandon them.
The next event is when she, wracked by grief over her late mother, searches for and finds the fire nation officer who killed her with the help of zuko. That’s a whole other story for a whole other blog post, but in the end she decides to spare his life.
Okay, I’m getting off track. I’m also getting to long. I’m going to end this here and leave my actually organized notes on the benders and how their personalities are in relation to that for next week. Hmmmm. Hmmmmmm. Hmmmmm. (This got deleted halfway though writing it and only like half of it got saved so this is gibberish and I’m SO sorry)
I’m going to try and break up any further blogs on her into arcs, even if it’s just an arc explored over a single episode (Jet, for example) then probably follow it with my favs in order (SOKKA THEN ZUKO RAAAAGGHHHHH)
