not to talk about that cursed adaptation but this post has been making the rounds again and it just reminded me of how much aang’s development hinges on his relationship with katara and not vice versa, and it’s something i keep coming back to when i think about why i like their writing so much compared to romances in other action shows:
usually the girl’s development hinges on the guy. this is a key aspect of the ‘hero gets the girl’ trope which you will see people who have no deeper understanding of the trope beyond the words ‘hero’ and ‘girl’ sling at kataang.
yet some (if not all) of katara’s biggest character moments are not dependent on aang and his influence and are a result of the choices she makes (or doesn’t) on her own:
1. imprisoned - katara feeling guilty about encouraging haru to bend convinces aang and sokka to follow him and rescue the earthbenders. in the climax of the episode she delivers her iconic “fate is in your hands” speech. sure aang is there but the words coming out of her mouth have nothing to do with him nor are influenced by him but all her own and are consistent with her character.
2. the painted lady - katara disguising herself as a spirit, slowing down the gaang so she can heal fire nation citizens, blows up a factory and confronts the soldiers who are taking advantage of the town. again, aang is there for her and helps her carry out the last 2 but katara would have done those anyway. aang doesn’t inspire her to take a stand rather she goes out of her way to act independently for the first half of the episode and asks him to join in the latter once he finds out.
3. the awakening - katara confronting hakoda over never before revealed feelings of abandonment; my personal favorite katara moment. yes aang running away triggers this, but the catharsis she gets is not because of his influence or even encouragement. aang has no idea this even happens. katara is the one who goes to her father to confront him and earns that resolution with hakoda in a means that is again consistent with her characterization.
4. the waterbending master - again the climax of the episode comes as a result of katara’s personality and her desires and choices alone. ofc aang is the reason she is at the north pole and supports her throughout the episode but fighting pakku? changing his mind? completely independent of him and a choice she would’ve made regardless. sokka even affirms this.
5. the southern raiders - by far her biggest and most contentious moment in the series that’s unfortunately used for ship wars. like the others mentioned, aang plays a small part in the setup of this episode but the climax, the crux of the episode is all katara. her actions, her choices not to kill but also not to forgive and she states clearly in the end that the choice she made was uniquely hers.
meanwhile aang? well see 1) all of the OP above and also:
2. the storm - katara is the only person aang shares his survivor’s guilt with. he opens up for the first time ever about how he disappeared and she is the one who gives him the affirmation that while he can’t change the past he can and does make a difference in people’s lives now. ofc this ends with him going with katara to save sokka and the fisherman from before.
3. the serpent’s pass - in the beginning of the episode aang is dejected and hopeless after losing appa. he even says that having hope goes against his childhood teachings. katara is the literal personification of hope so this is not really something she is willing to accept and pleads with him to reconsider. aang decides to hang on to hope for her sake willingly forsaking an aspect of his culture because hope is important to katara as a person and she gives that to him.
bonus: not to mention aang’s tumultuous relationship with fire indirectly mentioned above which is inextricably linked to katara or his struggles with attachment, again another tenet of his culture he struggles with because of katara, etc etc.
