Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender: How the Show Failed Katara

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender really failed Katara in a crucial way.

By Nick Valdez

Avatar: The Last Airbender has been taking over Netflix since it debuted last month, but the live-action series really fails Katara in this new retelling of the original animated series. Avatar: The Last Airbender has been a huge hit with fans since the new live-action series debuted with Netflix last month, and it made a lot of changes from how the original series played out. This would have been fine if there weren't other areas in which the live-action series chose to be incredibly faithful to as now it's led to many comparisons between the two projects to highlight their pros and cons. 

While Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender makes some changes from the original animated series for the better in terms of streamlining the entire story, it also makes a change to Katara that will impact her journey in the rest of the series. Just like Sokka got a big aspect of his personality shaved down with the loss of his early sexism, Katara's brash and impulsive nature is seemingly completely removed from the live-action take. Not only that, but she also doesn't really factor into Aang's journey as much as one would hope by now. 

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(Photo: Netflix)

Avatar: The Last Airbender – What's Wrong With Katara? 

In the original Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender series, one thing that sets Katara apart immediately is the fact that she refuses to back down when insulted by her brother. It's a stubborn nature that already makes her stand out from the rest of the Southern Water Tribe, and that early aggression is also what leads to Aang being freed from the iceberg. Katara, from the very beginning, is crucial to Aang's journey and development as an Avatar but that's completely missing from the new take on the series. 

Instead, there seems to be a lot more early focus on her feelings about the loss of her mother. This isn't a bad idea on paper is it allows Katara to address this early on and gain more confidence in her own skills, but it's just a different character arc than the original. It's a difference that will also lessen the impact of other potential story choices in the future, however, as Katara's stubborn and aggressive nature is also one of the big aspects of herself that she needs to overcome throughout the entire series as a whole. 

She's lacking that fire within her to challenge those around her. When confronted by Pakku's sexist idea that the water bending women couldn't help on the battlefield, Katara doesn't challenge him on it right away with a fight but instead declares she will fight and put her skills to the test later on. It's a seemingly small change, but it importantly takes away her edge. She's not rebelling against the idea, she's instead proving that she's just as good as the men. It's not something she's overtly angry about.

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But the biggest flaw Katara has in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender is also one of the show's biggest flaws as a whole. She never teaches Aang water bending! Because this is a Katara who is so held back by herself, she never once thinks to show Aang any of the bending techniques she's learned so far. She's not learning alongside Aang, and even if this Aang is supposed to be more dedicated to his Avatar mission, that just makes it more egregious that he's not learning any water bending until the future. 

But what did you think of Katara in Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on X (formerly known as Twitter)!

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