‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Dropped on Netflix And Fans Are Still Shipping Katara and Zuko
Netflix users in the US shouted “Yip Yip!” when the streamer released all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender on May 15.
In case you missed it, it was a special occasion celebrated on social media for most of the day and night, replete with memes, quotes, and friendly banter. Nickelodeon and Netflix did fans a solid with this one.
Hearts were filled with joy over the opportunity to watch the series again from start to finish, but there is one thing that lingers since the show ended its run. It is a debate as old as the Southern Air Temple: Katara and Zuko should have been together.
‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ set Katara and Aang up
It’s something many viewers predicted from the beginning, but Katara and Aang wound up together romantically. From the very first episode of the series, Katara was charmed by Aang, who at first, seemed like he could have been her and Sokka’s little brother.
Throughout the course of the series, Aang and Katara developed a strong connection and shared a few affectionate moments (with kisses), but as one of the show’s other resident badasses, she had her share of suitors. It didn’t end well, but remember Jet?
Moving into The Legend of Korra, fans met Katara and Aang’s children and grandchildren, proof of the union between two main characters who were once young heroes.
Their union brought us Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya, but some lovers of ATLA the show and ATLA the comics maintain that a Zuko-Katara coupling would have been awesome.
Zuko wound up with someone else
The rich world of ATLA introduced a number of memorable characters, but it was never confirmed which person Zuko married. As a teenager, he was romantically involved with fellow Fire Nation warrior Mai.
She loved him more than she feared Azula. He dated others too (such as Jin) but it’s assumed that Mai is Izumi’s mother, though no one knows for sure.
Zuko and Katara started out as enemies, but because of Zuko’s story arc and eventual close friendship with Katara, it seemed possible the two had a shot at love. Their kiss was an epic event! So many fans wanted them to have a happily forever after, but we know what happened with that.
Why fans still ship ‘Zutara’
Twitter and other social media realms were buzzing this week about Zuko and Katara again, with many still wishing—through memes and emotional declarations—that the fire bender and water bender would have achieved power couple status. Zutara is the goal that was never met.
On Twitter, one user wrote, “Idc idc idc #Zutara always has and always will be my ship.” Another pointed out “He took a lightning bolt to the CHEST for her!! How can they not be canon?!”
Some defended the Aang-Korra love story; one tweet included a photo of adult Aang and read, “Y’all really tryna act like Katara made the wrong choice choosing Aang like he ain’t grow up to look like this. A MF KING.”
Another argued, “What’s crazy to me is that there’s people that actually think #Zutara is better than #Kataang. Aang and Katara’s relationship was built from day 1 while Zuko and Katara had a little moment in Book 3, which wasn’t even romantic and more of her respecting him now that he became good.”
Follow the #Zutara and #Kataang hashtags and you’ll see the debate rages on.
For what it’s worth, Zuko shipped Zutara too. Dante Basco, the voice actor for Zuko, told CBR that he was a big fan of Fire and Water getting together and proclaimed, “Zutara forever!”
He loved working with Mae Whitman (Katara) and told the outlet, “That was the main reason for it, like, ‘I’m into Mae also,’ but I just think Fire and Water, Katara and Zuko are a great thing to ship.”
Stream Avatar: The Last Airbender for the first or millionth time on Netflix now.
