Avatar: The Way of Water Ending Explained

Avatar: The Way of Water isn't just the long-awaited sequel to James Cameron's Avatar – it's also the beginning of an entire new Avatar Saga. As such, the finer details in the story of Avatar 2 are crucially important for Avatar 3 – and the same goes for the ending of The Way of Water. 

Below you'll find a SPOILER-FILLED breakdown of how Avatar: The Way of Water Ends. Read it only if you want to know (or are confused by what you saw). 

How Does Avatar 2 End? 

The final act of Avatar: The Way of Water sees Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and his team of marines (now cloned into Na'vi Avatar bodies) set a vicious trap for Jake Sully and his family, by attacking the Tulkun, Pandora's version of whales, who are spiritually bonded to the Na'vi water tribe, The Metkayina, and have an enzyme that can stop human aging. One outcast Tulkun, Payakan, bonded with Jake's son Lo'ak, but when Quaritch and the RDA manage to tag Payakan with a tracker and mark him for death, the Sully kids rally with the kids of the Metkayina leaders to save him. Instead, Quaritch ends up capturing the Sully kids and taking them hostage, forcing Jake and Neytiri into a final showdown. 

The final battle of Avatar: The Way of Water sees Jake, Neytiri, and the Metkayina take on Quaritch and the RDA's massive sea vessel on the seas of Pandora's coast. The fight takes several turns of the kids being freed and re-captured, but things take a tragic turn when RDA forces gun down Jake's oldest son Neteyam while he is hoping his younger siblings escape. Payakan, Jake, and Neytiri all go ballistic on the RDA, sinking the attack vessel and killing the entire crew (save for Quaritch, who narrowly escapes drowning). 

In the aftermath of the battle, Jake and Neytiri bury Neteyam at sea, choosing to stay with the Metkayina and defend the oceans against the RDA. The film ends with Jake and Neytiri bonding with the Spirit Tree of the seas, where they are able to visit their son's spirit in beloved shared memories through Eywa. 

Avatar 2 Ending Explained

The ending of Avatar: The Way of Water brings to a close the internal conflict that Jake Sully feels about his responsibility as a father (protecting his family vs. fighting darkness and oppression as a Na'vi leader), by having him realize those two duties are actually one and the same. The cost of that lesson was incredibly high, as Jake and Neytiri lost both their home in the forest and their son. 

However, Avatar 2's ending also leaves clear threads to set up the plotline of Avatar 3. The Avatar version of Quaritch didn't die like Jake and Neytiri (once again) thought. The original Quaritch's son, Miles "Spider" Socorro (Jack Champion), secretly saved his 'father' from drowning and allowed him to escape, betraying the Sully family he was finally, fully, accepted into. 

The Avatar sequel also does answer the critical question of who Sully's adoptive daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) was fathered by. Kiri was born from the Avatar body of Grace Augustine, but who she mated with in that form could be a major reveal (especially if James Cameron goes for some kind of immaculate conception story). 

Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters.