23; they/them; name’s cas!

Although there were a good deal of things I enjoyed about the new Avatar movie, the biggest reason I didn't love it as much as I wanted to because it passed up so many opportunities to develop its characters, and Sokka is the one I think who got done the dirtiest.

Like, come on, people! One of the main antagonists is a RADICAL GROUP OF NON-BENDERS! You don't think the only non-bender member of the Gaang (excluding Suki) would have something to say about what they're doing and how he feels about their cause?! Wouldn't he perhaps be at odds with the benders in the Gaang, probably because he feels more sympathetic about them due to being a nonbender himself and due to how he's been treated, like in the scene above?

And on top of that, wouldn't it have made for compelling conflict if Tagah offered to give him airbending with the staff and his friends and family debated what to do with Tagah's offer? And wouldn't it have made for a very heartwarming message if he chose not to give up being a non-bender because he's proud of it (just as I wouldn't want to give up being autistic)?

Sure, the Northern Tribe might have benders, but they have such a different culture/identity around bending compared to the South. We see in Hama's flashbacks that the Southern Tribe had male and female benders at the helm, fighting equally, learning the same things, sharing the same tactics. They weren't left behind as strictly healers or defenseless women given a man's gift, they were strong.

And the thing that separates Katara and Aang's stories being the last benders of their nations is that Aang remembers what it means to be an Air Nomad. There are obviously blind spots because of how young he was, but Aang knows the customs and the culture and spiritual practices. He was able to pass those down to Tenzin and his grandchildren, he was able to start the process of rebuilding what was lost.

But Katara? She was even younger than Aang was when the Southern waterbenders were eradicated. There are Southern practices that are most definetly just... a fractured part of history because she never got to experience them. There are ways of hunting, of building, of navigating the waters, ways of healing, probably even spiritbending, that are simply lost to time.

And maybe her grandmother can clue her into it, memories from a nonbender living aside benders, but it's not the same. She didn't get to hear it from the waterbenders, she didn't get to learn from a Southern waterbender, she doesn't even know what to rebuild because it was never something she was versed in.

That's why The Puppet Master is such a heartbreaking episode. Because Hama could have been the Southern teacher Katara clearly wanted, she could have shown her more, but ended up passing on her legacy of Bloodbending. And on the inverse, I can't even fully call Hama a villain for wanting Katara to know how to bloodbend, because the ache of thinking you were the only one left for so long, the rage against a Nation known for destroying nations, would've driven anyone insane.

isolated from her culture and parents and the WORLD by the white lotus from age 5. born as the avatar in a world that was modernizing and outgrowing the NEED for an avatar. so excited to experience the real world only to realize her sheltered upbringing has left her exceedingly blind and vulnerable to political vultures and public opinion. experiencing her FIRST EVER crush in the middle of having to deal with a revolution and corrupt politicians. betrayed by her UNCLE who she trusted who tried to KILL her when she was 5 and who plotted to DESTROY her and the world. manipulated and treated like garbage and blamed when she saved the world the best way she could. ZAHEER

is she perfect? no. but neither was AANG! Aang could be impulsive! Aang could be hotheaded! Aang could be SELFISH! Aang could make mistakes! Aang was an amazing avatar but he wasn't perfect and neither was Korra and the enemies they faced were poles apart and yes, I think each one of them would have dealt with each others enemies/battles differently but not because I think Korra would be better at defeating Ozai or because I think Aang would be better at dealing with the spirit world stuff it's because Korra and Aang are two very different people who grew up in two very different worlds with their own unique challenges

On Sokka, non-benders and Katara not being out of water.

Disclaimer: This is an angry rant. You are allowed to disagree or rant back at me in the comments, just don't be a dick about it. I apologize in advance because you will see excessive punctuation, profanity and me getting more and more unhinged. Spoilers ahead.

I have to begin by saying that this movie is an absolute visual delight (props to all the artists!) and it was a lot of fun to meet the characters again, this time as adults. I was laughing and crying and yelling by myself at home almost the entire time, so I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy myself.

However, one of the reasons for my yelling was also frustration LOL

I watched it twice, and once the excitement of having new video content after decades cooled off, the problems became much louder in my perception and no amount of nostalgia can make me unsee them.

It felt like seeing old friends for the first time in years, but then also being upset at what these friends have been doing with their lives. Not to sound like a disappointed parent, but… where did all the potential go?

Several points upset me, but in this post I want to talk about a few that are interconnected.

Characters weren't explored properly.

This movie is about Aang dealing with the loss of his people. That focus isn't a problem in itself, but it became one, because unfortunately the screenplay didn't manage to deal well with the rest of the characters in the short time it had.

As a consequence, we ended up with characters that felt quite flat. I'd say Zuko feels the most similar to the OG, but he had such few lines that it might just be my mind filling in the gap. Suki was removed completely without even a mention, which was a pity. 

But the worst effect of that was seen in Sokka, in my opinion, because:

2. Sokka-who?

Who was that caricature of Sokka on my screen?? This movie did my guy so dirty.

Sokka is introduced working alone in a messy workshop. The only people interested in him are a handful of kids who don't know who he is or why the Avatar would consider him a valuable ally.

Are you freaking kidding me? 

Sokka was arguably the smartest member of the Gaang. He was the guy with the plan, the pragmatist, the person who kept things on schedule, who planned WHOLE INVASIONS at sixteen! He was brave, strategic, and skilled! 

And you want to convince me that this guy spends his days tinkering away with weird prototypes that only half-work? That he works alone instead of with a team? You are telling me that no one invited him to work on anything with any prestige or importance even though he was on the hotspot of the group of rebels who ended the war and set the stage for how the new world would be rebuilt? 

You really want to convince me that Sokka was so sidelined that a group of random kids has easy access to pester him during the day, and he has to paint exaggerated pictures of his very real and very heroic actions during the war just to make himself feel better?

Oh, and this is, apparently, also someone who, despite being the Tech Guy, has never learned how to pilot an airship even though one of his best friends is the literal Fire Lord and owns a whole fleet. 

Worse, you want me to believe that the guy who was a leader on two separate invasions, saved his friends’ lives multiple times, and made fun of Fire Lord Ozai to his face, now can only go into panic mode when a crisis presents? This guy has been through a literal war!

And since we're talking consistency in characterization: Sokka likes to shop and has great sense of style and YOU PUT HIM IN ILL FITTING CLOTHES /screams/

He's supposed to be 29 and they tried to keep him an awkward teenager that, I'd argue, he never even was in the first place. Everything was meant to reduce him to comic relief and it is such.a.waste. Sokka is plenty funny originally, with all of his other characteristics in place.

He isn't allowed a single heroic moment in the movie without it being undermined in some way. The one moment he is treated the same as the other heroes is when they are beaten by Tagah, that's it.

The crisis in the ship? “He steered with his feet” – Why? Why do all the others get their big moments of contribution to solve the crisis and Sokka's has to be something that gets him laughed at?

I kid you not, during the ship crisis, here is how the rest of the gang is shown:

Focused, strong, putting their strength and skill to impressive use. Katara goes biblical and pulls a Moses.

Meanwhile, this is Sokka in that same situation:

…

Oh, for crying out loud!

And if anyone says this is because Sokka is The Funny One, I will remind you that a character can be funny without being made the butt of the joke every time.

Because it gets worse. Later on, there's the fight in Republic City, when he disappears early on, having fallen into a storehouse, just to show up later on an absolutely OUTRAGEOUS scene where lobotomized Katara says:

3. “Oh, no! I'm out of water!”

BITCH, NO YOU'RE NOT!!!

YOU'RE LITERALLY NOT!!!!!! WHATAREYOUEVENTALKINGABOUT??!!

Water is everywhere YOU LEARNED THIS AT FOURTEEN!!! it was a major plot point and everything  Where is Master Katara???? Has the hair-straightening treatment she's been using caused her brain damage? Who is this impostor?

The water you just used is still in the air. You're in the middle of a city where people 100% have water around. And are you gonna tell me NONE OF THESE PEOPLE ARE SWEATING? there are two sweaty shirtless hunks right beside you, are you pretending not to see so you won't be tempted?

What the hell was this scene, honestly? 

Why would anyone announce any weakness out loud when cornered by enemies? And, I'm sorry, why did the others stop fighting? Was Toph out of earth to bend? Was Zuko out of fire? Were they waiting for mommy's permission?

It's obvious that this atrocity of a scene was just the set-up to give room for Sokka to come “save the day” with the water bombs and I can't even begin to express how mad that makes me. 

His workshop is implied to be in the South Pole. Are you telling me he built this in a few minutes in the middle of a fight while the city was on fire and people needed help evacuating? Someone please give this man his sword and his personality back.

Balloon water bombs are things kids play with. They might have thrown The Denied off balance, but they didn't do any real damage:

They only became a real threat once the water got in the hands of a bender:

Also you cannot convince all that water came from those balloons. Did Katara look at Toph and remember that time they were in prison and that she can pull water from the air?  Did that come from all the women looking at Zuko shirtless?

“But he's not a bender, what did you want him to do?”

Things like these:

Which still gave us funny moments like these:

The OG series managed to give Sokka plenty of truly heroic moments without the need for this kind of cheap device that does nothing but nerf a genuinely strong character.

Which is why I say that this treatment of Sokka was absolutely a decision. One they didn't have to make.

4. The non-bender situation

How ironic is it that in a movie where the “bad guys” are non-benders, who believe the only way to get power is by getting bending, the writers give such an infantilizing treatment to the only non-bender of the Gaang?

None of the other character is treated like that. Even Aang who's still disapointingly immature is not infantilized like this.

There was no resolution to that plot point either. Once again the writers are not quite able to resolve this problem, and I don't even mean give a solution in universe, I mean that in the narrative, there's no direction given to this problem, not even a decision or policy that is wrong in the long run but at least moves the narrative along on that front.

We have a scene in the credits where some of the Denied seem to be doing community service? It is unclear. And we have that girl becoming an Air Acolyte, but that's it.

And then there's Tagah, who Avatar Sonam had to trap in an ice sphere, creating a huge mountain, but conveniently disappears in mist and sparkles as our boy Aang recites poetry :) 

It's no wonder the inequality of non-benders is a sore that festered for years and years until it exploded in Korra's days for her to deal with.

Criston Cole: "If I strike my banners will you spare my men's lives"

Oscar Tully: "I promised the dead to build a Sept out of traitors' bones. I don't have enough bones yet"

THAT’S OSCAR FUCKING TULLY FOR YOU