Don't Mind Me, Just Experimenting As Usual

don't mind me, just experimenting as usual

doing the obligatory atla rewatch rn, and so far the main rewatch-value takeaway has been Uncle POV Unlocked 

A:TLA brain rot consumes me once more

on kataang and hope

its time for another ATLAnalysis woo

so I've watched ATLA maybe 4 or 5 times now? all at various points from when I was 6 to the present, and every time I pick up on more and more stuff, which leads to this little rant on Katara, Aang, and hope.

We all love to make fun of EIP, but this rewatch, something kinda stuck out to me.

EIP Katara loves talking about hope, but hope really is such a central theme to Katara's character, just not exactly how they put it.

Throughout the series, Katara consistently gives EVERYONE hope, so so so much hope. The most obvious example of this is, of course, when she meets Haru and helps the earthbenders on the metal rig in season 1.

"Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe. My family and everyone here owes you much."

She does this again reassuring Aang when the Gaang finds the forest burned down in Winter Solstice Part 1 (the episode where they meet Hei Bai).

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back! Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back."

And again when they're in the desert after losing Appa and it looks like all is lost.

"Ugh ... We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Everybody, hold hands. We can do this. We have to."

And again as the Painted Lady for that fishing village.

"I shouldn't have acted like someone I wasn't, and I shouldn't have tricked you. But I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if the Painted Lady is real or not. Because your problems are real, and this river is real. You can't wait around for someone to help you. You have to help yourself."

And again.

And again.

It's such a consistent and powerful theme with her and you can't help but admire the sheer determination and drive she has to spread the hope that she somehow retains in such a war-torn world, and this is what gets me!

Who gives her that hope?

Aang.

Even when he was still in that iceberg, Aang gave Katara hope.

Aang gives her the hope that yeah, the world can be saved and the war will be over.

Aang gives her the hope that she won't always have to be the responsible person, that she'll be able to let loose and have fun when this is all over.

Aang gives her the hope that as a survivor of genocide, she isn't alone, that she has people who love her and will help her rebuild.

Katara gives everyone else their hope, but Aang is the one to give Katara her own hope.

It's so powerful that these two genocide survivors (who, for all intents and purposes, are the only two in the world who understand their shared struggle) are able to help each other like this, to make the other believe in HOPE and GOOD THINGS after all their hardships.

It's such a core of their characterizations and relationship and just aaaaa how can anyone not love them for that?