#addressing plot armor

Katara had extreme plot armor during The Last Agni Kai.

The first thing people think about when they hear this sentence is Zuko taking the lightning hit for her. This is a major plot armor point because she can't redirect lighting but Zuko can and so he happens to be able to catch it and redirect it at the last second and none of them dies.

Sure, the Avatar Studios managed to hide how this was plot armor by calling it part of Zuko's growth. Which is why this is not going to be the moment I'll address in this post. I'll be talking about a much less memorable moment that most of you would have forgotten due to the adrenaline of the whole fight bc even if a lot of people don't remember it, it's probably the greatest plot armor Katara even had in the show.

In this post I'll be addressing the panel you see in the picture. After Zuko was down, Azula started attacking Katara, the only enemy left. She did her little spiny thingy and created lightning that she directed at Katara and Katara blocked the attack with water. Which makes absolutely no sence.

A similar thing happened in the crystal catacombs and there was nothing wrong with that moment. Wanna know why? Cause it was with water and fire. Not lightning.

Katara send a huge wave at Azula and Azula hit back with fire. The outcome of that moment was for the fire to be put out and the water to be evaporated. Which makes sense because that's what happens with fire and water, they are opposite forces that destroy each other.

But the same thing couldn't have happened with lighting. After the Agni Kai when Katara and Azula fought and lightning and water met each other some of the water evaporated , the rest of it fell to the ground and the lighting just... Disappeared!

Realistically, the lightning should have traveled through the remaining water, find its way back to Katara and electrocute her. Lightning doesn't simply disappear, it's energy it can only change form, not disappeared. And it also travels through water without having any issues. Which is why this move wasn't very wise in Katara's part. And yet she's alive and unscratched.

The Avatar Studios literally defied physics to keep Katara from being electrocuted to death in order to protect both her and Zuko, who needed her healing abilities asap. If it weren't for plot armor, Katara would be dead. And I don't mean a series of events that could potentially lead to death later on, I mean actual, immediate, inevitable, potentially painful death. And she escaped that because the creators of the show fond physics insignificant. Now, that's plot armor.