There is nothing so divisive as the battle between relationship camps on television. And though Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender was an animated series aimed at a young demographic, it was no different. Romances in the animated series are pretty cut and dry. From the moment Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) lays eyes on Katara (Mae Whitman), he is smitten with her. For her part, Katara first sees the last airbender as a little brother before they ultimately get together in the final episodes of the show. It is a rare thing that you fall in love at 13 and spend your life with that person forever, which is perhaps how a rivalry took hold of the fanbase.
Like the fire that changed everything in Avatar: The Last Airbender, support for a relationship between Prince Zuko (Dante Basco) and Katara also caught on. Though neither character ever admits any romantic yearning on either side, the signs are all there. Referred to by their shipper name, Zutara, Zuko and Katara are a classic example of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and that is hard to resist.
What happens between Zuko and Katara?
From the onset, it seems like Zuko and Katara could not be more opposed. The Fire Nation killed Katara and Sokka’s (Jack De Sena) mother, eventually causing their father to leave the tribe for war. Their first interaction isn’t the stuff of romance, either. Zuko invades their village, trying to capture the Avatar, and gets into a confrontation with Sokka. And that is just to start. Zuko constantly attacks them, fighting for a dictatorship that has committed multiple war crimes.
And yet, the entire point of the series is redemption. Zuko fights against his programming and the brainwashing of his father to finally join the right side. A relationship between him and Katara would be another facet of that story, had the writers given the fans what they wanted. And this relationship wasn’t just borne out of the minds of a few viewers, either. The signs were all there.
Zuko and Katara are from different worlds, but they have a lot in common. Both are intuitive and powerful benders in their own right. They have faced similar adversity, such as losing their mothers, whom they loved deeply. And they both have a spark of rage that comes out, from time to time. Zuko is more than accustomed to righteous anger, something that he has to teach Katara about controlling. In one of the most memorable episodes, Katara goes on a revenge kick to find the man who killed her mother. Zuko agrees to help her, overcompensating for the fact that she has yet to forgive him for betraying them time and again. But in the end, it is a learning experience for everyone. Katara learns forgiveness and applies that to her relationship with Zuko, finally accepting him into the group.
The writers weren’t unaware of how the fans felt either. There were many tidbits along the way that hinted at a potential romance. An interesting potential plot point happens early in the series when Katara goes to a fortune teller who tells her that she will fall in love with a powerful bender. Katara immediately realizes that it’s Aang and starts to see him in a different light. But wouldn’t it have been a red herring for her to then fall in love with the enemy? Also a powerful bender, Zuko has a lot to teach Katara. And vice versa. Katara can be self-righteous and unyielding. Seeing things from Zuko’s perspective could make her more empathetic to other people’s perspectives while a relationship with Katara could have brought Zuko away from his father’s clutches sooner.
But alas, it was not meant to be. In the podcast, Braving the Elements, writer John O’Bryan acknowledged fans’ love of Zutara.
And even though there was consideration at one point about making the relationship canon, it was eventually passed over. A devastating blow for many fans, to be sure. However, perhaps in a different timeline, there may once again be potential.
Can Netflix pull it off?
It has been close to two decades since the animated series ended, but perhaps romance can still bloom. Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender has already set itself apart from the subject material. Season 1 of the series has taken on a more gritty and realistic approach than perhaps many may have expected. But it could work in favor of Zutara.
Unlike the animated series, the Netflix show has delved deeper into mature themes. We all know that Aang’s community of Air Nomads was wiped out by the Fire Nation, but viewers get a front-row seat to the genocide. We see the ramifications of what it is to wield fire and how monstrous it can be. Fans also get a closer look at Azula’s abuse and how that affects her mental health early on. Certainly more violent than the children’s program was, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to explore more complex relationships.
Instead of painting Katara’s romantic leanings in an unnuanced and innocent light, we could actually see her consider Zuko. This approach would add further complexity to her character. Katara can often get on her moral high horse, but a character like Zuko would challenge her. He would make her question things about herself and give her a better understanding of why people act the way they do. And this isn’t to say that Zuko and Katara would end up together in the end.
Deviating from the source material in such a manner would be extremely polarizing to Avatar: The Last Airbender purists. But if the Netflix show is committed to a darker take, not considering something fans have been hoping for since the start of the series would be a missed opportunity.
