Zuko and Katara Belong Together - The Ship We Deserved (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Intro

When it comes to the nickelodeon series Avatar the Last Airbender, it has a lot of reasons as to why many claim it is a masterpiece. Whether it be its worldbuilding, lore, power system, plot, or themes, this series has a lot of components that garner its highly acclaimed reputation. But the thing I find most compelling about The Last Airbender is its characters, more specifically its character interactions.

See, this series boasts a variety of diverse characters from different backgrounds, ideologies, and who encompass different attitudes. So when the diverse cast of characters interact, a lot of interesting relationships are formed. And although there have been many interesting and dynamic relationships in Avatar, to me, the most interesting relationship in the show is the one between Katara and Zuko.

But before I proceed any further, there is a concept that I want to discuss first. In Avatar, each character’s personality coincides with their respective element. Aang is free flowing like air. Toph is rigid like earth. Katara is soothing like water. And Zuko is fierce like fire. So with these elements and personalities we also can see how each character relates to one another. For instance, Aang's personality is opposite to Toph’s and Zuko’s personality is opposite to Katara’s. In contrast, Zuko’s personality is adjacent to Toph’s and Katara’s personality is adjacent to Aang’s.

This concept is evident as it explains as to why Zuko was able to earn Toph’s trust the easiest compared to the other members of Team Avatar. Also from the beginning of the series Aang and Katara got along well and had very few altercations. But in contrast Aang clashes the most with Toph. This antagonistic dynamic is clear throughout the show as Toph constantly targets Aang the most with her teasing (often calling him twinkle toes).

Furthermore, this theory is made more obvious in Aang’s struggle to learn earthbending and is consistent with my aforementioned claims. As a result of Aang’s struggle to learn earthbending, we can come to the understanding that his struggle is due to his free flowing nature being averse to the more rigid nature commonly associated with earthbenders. Therefore, due to their opposing natures, it stands to reason as to why Aang and Toph were so adversarial.

But although Aang and Toph had their skirmishes, in Team Avatar, no other pair shared more fierce clashes than Zuko and Katara. At the beginning of the series, Zuko and Katara were complete opposites. However, after their respective character arcs are completed, they end up becoming more similar to each other and this newfound similarity is due to their inverted character journeys. Let me explain.

If we look at Katara’s characteristics, they often reflect her element of water. And just like water, Katara is often shown to be soothing and healing. In addition, Katara is also portrayed as the nurturing mother of the group just like how water is the source to nurture a flourishing ecosystem. However, on the flipside, just like water, later on in the series, Katara shows instances where she can become fierce and unruly. Thus, these personalities of Katara, although varying, are completely emblematic of her element water.

With Zuko, we see a similar transformation but in reverse. Zuko goes from someone who is easily irritable and enraged to becoming someone who is warm and enlightened which is emblematic of his element fire. Like fire, Zuko can be irate but later on he learns to garner a warm heart and becomes the light to lead his nation to a brighter future.

Therefore, the inverted evolutions of Katara and Zuko is what makes their relationship so fascinating. It's because at the beginning of the series, they were each other’s antitheses, but after they develop, they realize that they are just two sides of the same coin and that their differences complement each other.

However, one contention against this relationship I frequently hear about is that Zuko and Katara’s contrasting personalities would result in a volatile relationship. However, I completely disagree. I believe that the contrast between Katara and Zuko is the key reason as to why their relationship would work.

We all know the age old proverb of opposites attract. And although relationships are too complicated to assign a single notion. I do believe this ideology has some validity. I mean, there is a reason why the good girl bad boy trope is so prevalent even to this day. It's because usually in relationships when both individuals come from different upbringings, they introduce one another to paradigms outside their initial bubble. Thus, through their interactions they both push each other to grow outside their comfort zones.