Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ balance is created in the world through the four elements— fire, water, air, and earth. This has divided the world into four countries, and establishing peace between them is the purpose of the Avatar, the only one who has the power to bend all four elements. The balance is disturbed when Fire Nation decides to kill the Avatar and claim the rest of the world for itself. Fire Lord Ozai sends his son, Prince Zuko, to find and capture the Avatar, but it’s not an easy task, considering that the Avatar, Aang, has a few friends of his own who are not just ready to lay their lives on the line for him, but are also exploring the extent of their own powers and capabilities.
Katara from the Water Tribes in the south is one of Aang’s closest friends. Considering that opposites attract is often used as a romance trope in stories, one wonders if Katara and Zuko being complete opposites of each other creates grounds for a future romance. What are the prospects of them ending up together? SPOILERS AHEAD
The Netflix Series May Explore Zuko and Katara’s Romance in Depth
There are only a few things that are as opposite of each other as fire and water. In the world of ‘Avatar,’ fire represents the need to destroy. The Firebenders consider themselves the most powerful of all benders and believe that the world should be under their rule. Due to their connection to the fire, they are considered more aggressive and destructive, and something similar appears in the nature of Prince Zuko. He is driven by the fire of proving himself to his father and showing everyone that he is meant to be the next Fire Lord. He will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Avatar and end his own banishment.
As opposed to Zuko, Katara is calm and nurturing. She has barely begun to scratch the surface of her waterbending skills, but as a few people mention, she’s a natural and a rather quick learner. In a short amount of time, she displays control over her waterbending skills by leaps and bounds. The more powerful she becomes, the more she finds it her responsibility to save those who cannot save themselves. She is not driven by ambition or lust for power but purely by her intentions to help make the world a better place.
Being polar opposites of each other and working towards different goals, Zuko and Katara seem the unlikeliest of people to develop a romance. However, it also posits them as the yin to the other’s yang. They are exactly the balance that makes their world go round. They complement each other not just through their powers but also their personalities. While the Netflix series is yet to delve into their relationship (considering that they’ve only come face to face twice in Season 1), Katara and Zuko have been one of the most popular ships in the Avatar fandom since the original series first came out.
With the path that the Netflix series is set to follow, it makes sense that we will see more of Zuko and Katara together in the future. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they will end up together. In the original series, Katara ends up with Aang, while Zuko ends up with Mai (who has so far appeared in Netflix’s version as Princess Azula’s close friend). It turns out that Zuko and Mai were together before he was banished from Fire Nation. This complicates their relationship a bit, but in the end, Zuko ends up with her, not Katara.
Considering that the Netflix series may make some changes in its version, there is a possibility that we might see more of Zuko and Katara’s romance, and the creators of the show may lean towards a different ending for them. In the first season itself, their two meetings happen at a time when both of them have been through something drastically life-changing. In the beginning, while Zuko is more powerful than a novice Katara, in their second meeting, Katara is more in control of her powers and is good enough to stand her ground against Zuko.
Eventually, Zuko is meant to join Team Avatar. The hints of him not being as villainous as initially portrayed have already been strewn through the first season. His arc is leading him to join the team of the good guys, which means more time with Katara. It opens a lot of space for the show to focus on their relationship, especially the banter that would certainly be entertaining. As to whether they end up together in this version, only time will tell.
Read More: Netflix’s Avatar The Last Airbender: Is Princess Yue the Three-Tailed Fox?
