What's Next for Aang & Katara?
Aang and Katara now have to transition from being friends to more than friends. Here's my spec on how that all will play out.
The biggest contention point with my meta on the Aang/Katara confession + kiss scene is that I refer to them as a couple now, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.
(Er... the biggest contention point from the rational people, that is. : p I'm not at all talking about The Crackshippers' perspective).
When I refer to them as a couple, you have to understand that I believe that we can expect three major things as we move into the second half of season 3, which will no doubt be related to each other;
(1) A TRANSITION period. There is going to be a transition from being best friends to being lovers too.
(2) A comedic (played for laughs) Haru/Katara/Aang love triangle.
Even before I wrote that meta, I was expecting both of those things.
And it should also be noted that I was expecting a more significant transition than what presumably happened in the (unseen) transition Jim/Pam had between seasons 3 & 4. Because really, the big difference there is that Pam had fully admitted to herself her feelings for Jim by that point (whereas she HADN'T when Jim confessed + kissed at the end of season 2). Really, I imagined Aang/Katara's transition would be somewhere in between Jim/Pam's transition between seasons 3 and 4 and Pam's transition over the course of season 3: that is, it would involve not only figuring out what they were and where they wanted to go and how to do it, but also Katara processing her love for him.
Letttttttt's break it down, shall we?
The Transition Period
Will Aang and Katara just suddenly start acting like a full fledged couple with no transition? I think not! Rawles explains very well why it's dubious that they'll just start making out without any delay:
I mean, don't get me wrong, Aang/Katara is a lock...inasmuch as this will clearly continue to be the major romance of the series and they'll end up together. But I don't know that I buy that them as a functioning couple is locked as of Day of Black Sun.
The circumstances are pretty textbook for the lead-up TO the actual coupling. It was a sneak attack kiss in a life-or-death situation. They haven't talked at all about it and it's not overly likely that a girl like Katara wakes up one day, gets kissed like that by her best friend, and then just goes, "Oh. Okay then! Let's make out some more later!"
She's been sitting on and not talking about and dancing around those Feelings that Aang inspires in her for a long time. I find it hard to believe that this tendency of hers is done playing out. She has some avoiding to do before she comes to terms.
Of course, I could be wrong and they could work it out immediately in 312 and Haru's involvement could be limited to some vaguely and entirely unnecessary jealousy on Aang's part for lulz.
(Rawles)
As Rawles' pointed out, a big part of the transition period is going to be Katara finally, truly admitting to herself that she's in love with Aang. As Shizuma writes:
I think Katara still has some thinking to do about what Aang means to her. She can't go from two and a half seasons of COMPLETE DENIAL (which withstood even the most blatantly romantic situations and his fecking death) to suddenly OH HAI I LOVE YOU over one we-might-die-today kiss. She'll probably spend the next 1-6 episodes coming to accept her epic, passionate love for him.
(Shizuma)
Indeed.
Now, if all of that's true, then what did I mean by writing (in the meta) about the Oma/Shu music and the look of love and all that on Katara's end? I stand by everything I said in that meta, but it should be noted that even though Katara's confession was presented romantically, I don't think the character intended to do that. As Rawles puts it:
I definitely think she wasn't thinking NOW I SHALL OBLIQUELY CONFESS MY LUUURVE. I've always felt that Katara's half of the romance was very much about this slow journey towards realizing her feelings. She knows Aang is special. She knows he's immensely important to her. She knows that she loves him. And she knows that sometimes he, frankly, sweeps her a little off of her feet and makes her feel Things. But I am 95% certain that she has never allowed all of this to coalesce into the knowledge that she loves him romantically.
(Rawles)
Well, then why has this been true of Katara? Really that's a whole other topic, but let's talk about it in brief. White Rain summarizes it well:
I think that it was largely that Katara is more focused on the war, on keeping everyone safe, on her own issues that.. that she never had time to look at her feelings. I also think she might have been a little afraid to because everything would change and Aang is one thing that she really doesn't want to lose.
(White Rain)
Katara is so focused on responsibility (especially with helping Aang achieve his destiny) that she doesn't pay attention as much to her desires the more she thinks she has to be there for someone and not think of herself. Even when she desperately reached out to reconnect with Aang in "The Serpent's Pass," she framed it as being for his sake. She generally doesn't want to admit to herself that she wants things that she perceives as being not 100% selfless. I think Katara also doesn't have a lot of emotional self-awareness, and since this is the first time she's ever fallen for a best friend, the internal transition is trickier for her to self-acknowledge.
So what will the conclusion to all of this Transition stuff be? I leave you with another Rawles quote, talking about the future of not only Aang/Katara but also Mai/Zuko:
It's just so dead obvious in the show itself that what's being set up currently is: Haru/Katara/Aang love triangle while Katara is still vacillating about accepting her love for Aang for the lulz AND Zuko's well-intentioned fighting-for-right being twisted (obvs. with an assist from Azula) into abandonment and disregard of Mai for the pathos. The conclusions of which will be Aang/Katara epic love confession and Mai/Zuko fraught reunion and epic betrayal-for-Zuko's-sake on Mai's part. + OUTMAKING.
That's how this ends. Seriously. No other way. It's been obviously how it was going to end since the moment both ships were introduced and nothing has ever altered that in any way. I mean, waaaay earlier on things could have changed course (you know, if Avatar didn't have such Western sensibilities), but it's so far beyond the point where any such change would occur it's ridiculous.
(Rawles)
What will be involved in the Haru/Katara/Aang triangle?
There will be a Haru/Katara/Aang triangle: Haru will mack on Katara. There is NO other reason for (1) Haru to have that silly 'stache, (2) Haru to have been re-introduced with Katara blushing, and (3) Haru to even BE there.
(1) It's going to be played for laughs and not as some kind of serious drama.
I think the transition [for Aang & Katara from best friends to lovers] will go pretty smoothly. It will be linked with the Haru/Aang/Katara triangle - that will be mostly amusing and only last for a bit where in the end Aang and Katara make it clear to one another that they're together.
(White Rain)
Trufax.
There's no way there'll ever be any kind of serious contest in Katara's heart between Haru and Aang. Anything that happens will, in my mind, be completely fueled by her being scared to dive into something with Aang.
(Rawles)
AGREED.
(2) It will surely involve jealousy on Aang's part. Rawles noted, responding to someone who said they didn't think Aang would be involved or react to Haru/Katara:
Not only would be intensely less interesting, narratively-speaking [for Aang to not react to Haru/Katara], but it also wouldn't really work for Aang as a character or the situation at hand. Aang has finally, finally after agonizing over it for TWO SEASONS made his intentions towards Katara known. You can bet he's going to be hyper-aware of everything she does with regard to him AND of any kind of vibe she has going with Haru.
I'm certain it won't be a super-serious pathos-n-drama type triangle (i.e. I imagine it'll be played mostly for laughs) and its ultimate result will be Katara accepting her luuurve for Aang/reassuring Aang of same (perhaps even in a situation where the Katara/Haru is more IMAGINED by Aang than it is actually extant)...
But I highly doubt that it'll be something in which Aang is, essentially, not a participant. Which is what him being oblivious to it and it being entirely about Katara realizing her feelings for Aang would be.
(Rawles)
(3) There are various possibilities for how "real" or "imaginary" the triangle will be. As Rawles put it: "I feel like it could possibly be a mixture wherein it is MOSTLY Aang imagining it, but Katara does have one or two moments of RIDICULOUS FACIAL HAIR LOVE."
But why would Katara reciprocate at all, no matter how insignificant that reciprocation would be in comparison to her already existent epic love for Aang? Rawles explains it well:
While [. . .] Haru is generally dull as dirt (in my LJ, I noted that laughing at his absurd facial hair was exponentially more entertainment than I'd derived from the sum total of his existence before) he's an easy object of romantic interest. He's utterly inoffensive, pretty, and complimentary.
(Rawles)
He's inoffensive, pretty, and complimentary. That's an important point. Note that Katara got all blushy at Haru and Tyro's compliments in both "Imprisoned" and "The Invasion." Rawles continues:
And I'd have to say that, yes, Katara has proven herself susceptible to such admiration. A big part of Jet's game in "Jet" was him constantly being all, "Oh, you're so great, Katara. I'd only trust YOU to do this important thing, Katara." etc. and so on. Which is only natural. People, especially teenagers, like to feel special.
I'm not saying that Haru would ever make Katara swoon or think OMG CAN THIS BE LOVE?! but in what is sure to be a very confusing and somewhat awkward time for her post-Aang kissage, I don't find the idea of him turning her head particularly unbelievable.
(Rawles)
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT.
And so, YEAH. That's what I think is the most likely way the transition will play out!
The biggest contention point with my meta on the Aang/Katara confession + kiss scene is that I refer to them as a couple now, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc.
(Er... the biggest contention point from the rational people, that is. : p I'm not at all talking about The Crackshippers' perspective).
When I refer to them as a couple, you have to understand that I believe that we can expect three major things as we move into the second half of season 3, which will no doubt be related to each other;
(1) A TRANSITION period. There is going to be a transition from being best friends to being lovers too.
(2) A comedic (played for laughs) Haru/Katara/Aang love triangle.
Even before I wrote that meta, I was expecting both of those things.
And it should also be noted that I was expecting a more significant transition than what presumably happened in the (unseen) transition Jim/Pam had between seasons 3 & 4. Because really, the big difference there is that Pam had fully admitted to herself her feelings for Jim by that point (whereas she HADN'T when Jim confessed + kissed at the end of season 2). Really, I imagined Aang/Katara's transition would be somewhere in between Jim/Pam's transition between seasons 3 and 4 and Pam's transition over the course of season 3: that is, it would involve not only figuring out what they were and where they wanted to go and how to do it, but also Katara processing her love for him.
Letttttttt's break it down, shall we?
The Transition Period
Will Aang and Katara just suddenly start acting like a full fledged couple with no transition? I think not! Rawles explains very well why it's dubious that they'll just start making out without any delay:
I mean, don't get me wrong, Aang/Katara is a lock...inasmuch as this will clearly continue to be the major romance of the series and they'll end up together. But I don't know that I buy that them as a functioning couple is locked as of Day of Black Sun.
The circumstances are pretty textbook for the lead-up TO the actual coupling. It was a sneak attack kiss in a life-or-death situation. They haven't talked at all about it and it's not overly likely that a girl like Katara wakes up one day, gets kissed like that by her best friend, and then just goes, "Oh. Okay then! Let's make out some more later!"
She's been sitting on and not talking about and dancing around those Feelings that Aang inspires in her for a long time. I find it hard to believe that this tendency of hers is done playing out. She has some avoiding to do before she comes to terms.
Of course, I could be wrong and they could work it out immediately in 312 and Haru's involvement could be limited to some vaguely and entirely unnecessary jealousy on Aang's part for lulz.
(Rawles)
As Rawles' pointed out, a big part of the transition period is going to be Katara finally, truly admitting to herself that she's in love with Aang. As Shizuma writes:
I think Katara still has some thinking to do about what Aang means to her. She can't go from two and a half seasons of COMPLETE DENIAL (which withstood even the most blatantly romantic situations and his fecking death) to suddenly OH HAI I LOVE YOU over one we-might-die-today kiss. She'll probably spend the next 1-6 episodes coming to accept her epic, passionate love for him.
(Shizuma)
Indeed.
Now, if all of that's true, then what did I mean by writing (in the meta) about the Oma/Shu music and the look of love and all that on Katara's end? I stand by everything I said in that meta, but it should be noted that even though Katara's confession was presented romantically, I don't think the character intended to do that. As Rawles puts it:
I definitely think she wasn't thinking NOW I SHALL OBLIQUELY CONFESS MY LUUURVE. I've always felt that Katara's half of the romance was very much about this slow journey towards realizing her feelings. She knows Aang is special. She knows he's immensely important to her. She knows that she loves him. And she knows that sometimes he, frankly, sweeps her a little off of her feet and makes her feel Things. But I am 95% certain that she has never allowed all of this to coalesce into the knowledge that she loves him romantically.
(Rawles)
Well, then why has this been true of Katara? Really that's a whole other topic, but let's talk about it in brief. White Rain summarizes it well:
I think that it was largely that Katara is more focused on the war, on keeping everyone safe, on her own issues that.. that she never had time to look at her feelings. I also think she might have been a little afraid to because everything would change and Aang is one thing that she really doesn't want to lose.
(White Rain)
Katara is so focused on responsibility (especially with helping Aang achieve his destiny) that she doesn't pay attention as much to her desires the more she thinks she has to be there for someone and not think of herself. Even when she desperately reached out to reconnect with Aang in "The Serpent's Pass," she framed it as being for his sake. She generally doesn't want to admit to herself that she wants things that she perceives as being not 100% selfless. I think Katara also doesn't have a lot of emotional self-awareness, and since this is the first time she's ever fallen for a best friend, the internal transition is trickier for her to self-acknowledge.
So what will the conclusion to all of this Transition stuff be? I leave you with another Rawles quote, talking about the future of not only Aang/Katara but also Mai/Zuko:
It's just so dead obvious in the show itself that what's being set up currently is: Haru/Katara/Aang love triangle while Katara is still vacillating about accepting her love for Aang for the lulz AND Zuko's well-intentioned fighting-for-right being twisted (obvs. with an assist from Azula) into abandonment and disregard of Mai for the pathos. The conclusions of which will be Aang/Katara epic love confession and Mai/Zuko fraught reunion and epic betrayal-for-Zuko's-sake on Mai's part. + OUTMAKING.
That's how this ends. Seriously. No other way. It's been obviously how it was going to end since the moment both ships were introduced and nothing has ever altered that in any way. I mean, waaaay earlier on things could have changed course (you know, if Avatar didn't have such Western sensibilities), but it's so far beyond the point where any such change would occur it's ridiculous.
(Rawles)
What will be involved in the Haru/Katara/Aang triangle?
There will be a Haru/Katara/Aang triangle: Haru will mack on Katara. There is NO other reason for (1) Haru to have that silly 'stache, (2) Haru to have been re-introduced with Katara blushing, and (3) Haru to even BE there.
(1) It's going to be played for laughs and not as some kind of serious drama.
I think the transition [for Aang & Katara from best friends to lovers] will go pretty smoothly. It will be linked with the Haru/Aang/Katara triangle - that will be mostly amusing and only last for a bit where in the end Aang and Katara make it clear to one another that they're together.
(White Rain)
Trufax.
There's no way there'll ever be any kind of serious contest in Katara's heart between Haru and Aang. Anything that happens will, in my mind, be completely fueled by her being scared to dive into something with Aang.
(Rawles)
AGREED.
(2) It will surely involve jealousy on Aang's part. Rawles noted, responding to someone who said they didn't think Aang would be involved or react to Haru/Katara:
Not only would be intensely less interesting, narratively-speaking [for Aang to not react to Haru/Katara], but it also wouldn't really work for Aang as a character or the situation at hand. Aang has finally, finally after agonizing over it for TWO SEASONS made his intentions towards Katara known. You can bet he's going to be hyper-aware of everything she does with regard to him AND of any kind of vibe she has going with Haru.
I'm certain it won't be a super-serious pathos-n-drama type triangle (i.e. I imagine it'll be played mostly for laughs) and its ultimate result will be Katara accepting her luuurve for Aang/reassuring Aang of same (perhaps even in a situation where the Katara/Haru is more IMAGINED by Aang than it is actually extant)...
But I highly doubt that it'll be something in which Aang is, essentially, not a participant. Which is what him being oblivious to it and it being entirely about Katara realizing her feelings for Aang would be.
(Rawles)
(3) There are various possibilities for how "real" or "imaginary" the triangle will be. As Rawles put it: "I feel like it could possibly be a mixture wherein it is MOSTLY Aang imagining it, but Katara does have one or two moments of RIDICULOUS FACIAL HAIR LOVE."
But why would Katara reciprocate at all, no matter how insignificant that reciprocation would be in comparison to her already existent epic love for Aang? Rawles explains it well:
While [. . .] Haru is generally dull as dirt (in my LJ, I noted that laughing at his absurd facial hair was exponentially more entertainment than I'd derived from the sum total of his existence before) he's an easy object of romantic interest. He's utterly inoffensive, pretty, and complimentary.
(Rawles)
He's inoffensive, pretty, and complimentary. That's an important point. Note that Katara got all blushy at Haru and Tyro's compliments in both "Imprisoned" and "The Invasion." Rawles continues:
And I'd have to say that, yes, Katara has proven herself susceptible to such admiration. A big part of Jet's game in "Jet" was him constantly being all, "Oh, you're so great, Katara. I'd only trust YOU to do this important thing, Katara." etc. and so on. Which is only natural. People, especially teenagers, like to feel special.
I'm not saying that Haru would ever make Katara swoon or think OMG CAN THIS BE LOVE?! but in what is sure to be a very confusing and somewhat awkward time for her post-Aang kissage, I don't find the idea of him turning her head particularly unbelievable.
(Rawles)
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT.
And so, YEAH. That's what I think is the most likely way the transition will play out!