#jet deserves better

[punkeropercyjackson]

At some point y'all are gonna have to confront the fact that you think brown men are ugly.I go on Atsv pinterest regularly and memes mocking Miguel O'Hara's apperance are an entire genre and it's almost never the funny goofy ahh expressions he's given but just him existing,the Atla fandom is constantly degarding Sokka in contrast to Zuko in terms of appeal and reducing Jet down to sleazebag runner up for Katara(very important note that no Kataang shipper does this and that most Jet stans are also Aang stans),Damian Wayne isn't even a brown man but a lil 15 year brown boy and gets whitewashed in fanon even more than in canon which is saying A LOT for the purpose of making him more attractive by orientalist pedos,Bruno Madrigal is reduced down to a joke and compared to rodents as if he dosen't just look like a normal ass mestizo man-Hell,he looks like my stepdad!!!If you saw him or my neighbours,you'd make a joke to not hurl and i'd punch your teeth out for it

[julietwiskey1]

what do you think about jet

Jet isn't one of my favorite characters but I don't hate him (even if I do joke about that because he was about to blow a dam, a thing a like).

In the show he was a character that showed just how much the war affected children. Left an orphan he found his purpose in fighting the war against the people that harmed him. Ultimately with his passion and drive leading him to want to destroy a dam that would have likely caused more harm to the friendly civilian population then the Fire Nation.

But more importantly was his desire to grow out of it with Smellerbee and longshot in Ba Sing Se. Unfortunately for some people leaving that life is harder and it draws them back. Leading Jet to look for Fire Nationals in Ba Sing Se. He was right and justified in his mistrust of Zuko. But it still goes to show how hard it can be for a child soldier to reintegrate into society. Looking for threats and dangers never stop, they never feel safe.

Jets end was very tragic. He was never able to find his peace. To move on or make a life for himself. Those who should have been focused on protecting him instead kidnapped and brainwashed him. And ultimately died fighting people who should have been on his side.

The fact that writers decided to make a joke about his death instead of focusing on the tragedy of it. Of the inability for people like him to reintegrate is maddening. Jet deserved better than that.

[longing-for-rain]

Katara and Mutuality in Relationships

There are lots of conflicting opinions about which characters Katara felt attraction towards, which characters she didn’t, and how long she felt that attraction. I see in most cases, people point to quick clips of her faintly blushing or kissing another character on the cheek as evidence, but I think these kind of takes miss the nuance of the purpose attraction serves in a story.

Most importantly, I see these characters treated as if they are actually people capable of making their own decisions. It’s important to remember that these are fictional characters. They don’t make their own choices; the writers make their choices for them for the purpose of telling a story. From that standpoint, it’s more valuable to examine how a character’s story and narrative themes tie into their relationships with other characters. Animators can shove in a kiss or a blush wherever they want, but it’s harder to demonstrate through storytelling how and why two characters might feel attraction towards one another, and how a relationship between them would develop both characters and contribute to the overarching themes of the story.

In other words, when discussing which characters Katara is “attracted” to, I’m discussing which relationships and actions within the narrative build on her established story and arc. Romance is always integrated into a story for a reason, and considering that reason is important.

Unfortunately, ATLA is very much a product of its time in this way. It’s easy to see what romance adds to the arcs of the male characters—but not so much with the female characters. All three canon relationships (kataang, sukka, and maiko) follow this trend to some degree. The primary purpose of the woman in this narrative is to act as a prize for the man for performing some good deed. Once they’re together, she ceases having her own motivations and becomes an extension of the male character she’s dating. This is pretty blatant with Suki—she barely had a personality in that later seasons; she is there to be Sokka’s girlfriend. Similarly, Katara becomes a completely different character—she’s even animated differently—when the narrative pushes her into romantic scenes with Aang. Her character is flattened.

So what is Katara’s arc, and how do the romantic interactions she has throughout the series contribute to this?

Well, that could be a whole other essay itself, but to put it simply, Katara’s arc is one of a young girl devastated by grief at a young age clinging to hope that she has the power to fight and change the world for the better. Which she does as she gains power and confidence throughout the series—culminating in her defeating Azula in the finale.

But the part I want to focus on here is how Katara connects with other characters. She connects with them over shared experiences of grief and loss.

Take Haru, for instance.

Haru: After the attack, they rounded up my father and every other earthbender, and took them away. We haven't seen them since.

Katara: So that's why you hide your earthbending.

Haru: Yeah. Problem is…the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know.

Katara: See this necklace? My mother gave it to me.

Haru: It’s beautiful.

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her.

Haru: It’s not enough, is it?

Katara: No.

This isn’t just a throwaway moment; it’s an important character moment that leads up to growth and the progression of Katara’s overall story, both in this individual episode and in the whole series.

Katara finds her power in the connections she’s able to make with other characters. It’s a powerful driving force for her that makes her a strong character even before her bending abilities develop. Imprisoned was such an important episode to establish who Katara is and what her power is, and adds so much to her arc.

But there is one line in particular from the above exchange that also stands out: Haru says “it’s not enough, is it?” and Katara agrees. Even this early in the series, we’re establishing the fact that despite her drive and hopeful outlook, Katara feels deeply hurt, she feels a deep sense of loss that she opens up about to other characters in moments like these. But unlike Haru…Katara can’t go rescue her mother. Her mother is dead, and we see her grapple with that grief throughout the series.

Another character she reaches out to like this is Jet.

Jet: Longshot over there? His town got burned down by the Fire Nation. And we found The Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home.

Katara: What about you?

Jet: The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.

Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

Jet: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Another important note about Jet is that there are explicit romantic feelings from Katara in this episode. Again, Katara empathizes with another character through a shared sense of loss. Sadly, in this case, Jet manipulated her feelings and tricked her into helping in his plot to flood the village…but those feelings were undeniably there.

That was the tragedy in this episode, but it also gives the audience so much information about Katara as a character: what motivates her, and what she wants. Katara is established as a character who wants someone who will connect with her and empathize with her over her loss—her greatest sense of trauma. She wants to help others but also receive support in return. The reason why she was smitten with Jet, beyond just initial attraction, is because he gave her a sense of that before Katara realized his true motivations.

A lot of people make the claim that Aang is good for Katara because he also feels a sense of great loss and trauma. And while on paper that’s true…does he really demonstrate that? I just gave two examples of characters Katara connected with this way, and both responded with deep empathy to what she said. Very early on in the show—the third episode—Katara attempts to connect with Aang the same way. How does he respond?

Katara: Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders.

Aang: What about 'em?

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

Aang: Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!

Just compare this exchange to Haru and Jet. No effort to empathize, not even a “sorry for your loss” or anything. It’s a stark contrast, and the reason for that is because this narrative entirely centers Aang. Katara’s narrative always seems to be secondary to his when they’re together—which is exactly my point when I say this relationship has a fundamental lack of mutuality. It’s built that way from the beginning of the series. It does not add to Katara’s arc nor establish what about this dynamic would attract her.

And, look, before someone jumps down my throat about this…I’m not saying Aang is a horrible person for this response. I think it’s a sign that he’s immature and has a fundamentally different approach to problems than Katara. Katara is a character who has been forced to take on responsibilities beyond her years due to being a child of a war-torn world. Aang’s approach to problems is avoidance while Katara never had that luxury. It doesn’t mesh well.

This is all in Book 1. I honestly could have gotten on board with Kataang if the series meaningfully addressed these issues…but it didn’t. In fact, they actually got worse in some ways.

Back to Katara’s mother. We’ve established that this is a core part of Katara’s character and like in the scene with Haru, she indicates that this is an unresolved issue that pains her. But then, in Book 3, Katara actually does get a chance to confront this pain.

This would have been a powerful moment. Surely the character who is meant to be her partner, her equal, would have been there for her. Surely he would have understood and supported her, fulfilling her narrative and adding to her story.

But Aang didn’t do that. I won’t go into details because there are a million analyses out there on The Southern Raiders, but Aang’s response to Katara was the opposite of understanding. He got angry with her, insinuated that she was a monster for wanting revenge, and tried to dictate her behavior according to his own moral values. And importantly, from a narrative standpoint, he did not go with Katara. One of the most important events in her arc, and Aang didn’t support her—he actually tried stopping her. He didn’t contribute to her growth and development.

Also noteworthy:

Katara: But I didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him.

Even at the end of the episode, Aang clearly doesn’t understand at all what Katara is feeling. This line demonstrates it perfectly. He thinks she forgave him when that wasn’t the case at all…but of course, he didn’t even accompany her, so he didn’t see what actually took place. His worldview is fundamentally different from hers, and he’s consistently too rigid in his morality and immature to center Katara’s feelings.

Throughout Katara’s whole arc, her most significant character moments, Aang’s character just doesn’t come through the way Katara’s constantly does for him. Their narrative lacks mutuality. When Katara and Aang are together, she becomes an accessory to him. The ending scene is a perfect demonstration of this.

Now, to address the elephant in the room.

Which character does actually add to Katara’s narrative and support her growth as a character?

Correct! I just talked about how important The Southern Raiders is to Katara’s character and story, how it’s a chance for her to finally address the grief she’s been carrying since Book 1. And who stood by her side throughout this pivotal moment? Right—Zuko did.

You can talk all you want about how he’s a “colonizer” while Aang’s people suffered genocide, but you’re forgetting that “show, don’t tell” is one of the most basic aspects of storytelling. The fact is, despite how it looks on paper, Zuko was the one there for Katara at her critical moments. Zuko empathized with Katara more than Aang ever did—as demonstrated in this episode. Zuko never once brought up his own cultural values. Zuko never once told Katara what to do. Zuko’s position was that Katara should be the one to decide, and that he would support any choice she made. He supported her decision to spare Yon Rha, but he would have also supported her if she decided to kill him. I actually found this episode to be a satisfying reversal to what is typically seen in TV—for once, the female character is centered while her male counterpart takes the backseat and becomes a supporting role to her narrative.

Even before this, Zuko is shown to empathize with Katara.

Zuko: I’m sorry. That’s something we have in common.

I think what gets me about this scene is the fact that he’s still Katara’s enemy, and she was just yelling about how she hates him and his people. But despite that, Zuko still empathizes with Katara. She is fundamentally human to him, and he expresses that to her in a way that allows them to connect. Zuko stands to gain nothing from this. It’s true that Azula entered the picture and twisted things around—but in this moment, Zuko’s compassion is genuine. His instinct was to respond to her grief with empathy, just like she consistently does for other characters.

And finally, how else does Zuko add to Katara’s arc?

I don’t think there is any more perfect of an example than the finale itself—the culmination of the arcs and development of all characters.

Zuko and Katara fight together. In a heartbeat, Zuko asks Katara to fight by his side against Azula, because he trusts her strength. She’s his equal—both in his mind, and in a narrative sense.

Then, this:

Both of their roles are so critical in this fight. They both save each other. The scene has such raw emotion to it. These characters were together at the conclusion of their respective arcs for a reason.

This is the perfect conclusion to Katara’s arc. She just played a critical role in ending the war that has caused her trauma her whole life. She just demonstrated her mastery of waterbending (another thing she’s dreamed of throughout the series) by defeating the world’s most powerful firebender during Sozin’s Comet. Even though she had help as all characters do, these are victories that belong to her and demonstrate the growth and power of her character. And to top it all off? She was able to save Zuko’s life. She didn’t have to endure the pain of feeling helpless to do anything while someone else died for her; this time, she had an active role, she changed her fate, and she prevailed. Zuko plays an important role in Katara’s story without dominating it. They perfectly represent mutuality. They add to each other’s stories. Their narratives become stronger when they’re together, without one diminishing or sidelining the other.

So, from that standpoint, that’s why I always see the attraction between Zuko and Katara and why I see it lacking between Aang and Katara. Zuko and Katara’s story doesn’t need some cheap little throwaway moments to shine. It’s integral to both characters’ stories. We are shown not told of the way these characters feel about each other. Given everything we know about Katara, her goals, her values, her past loves…absolutely everything points to Zuko being the true subject of her feelings.

Because let’s be honest. The ending I just described is so much more powerful and so much more Katara than seeing her being relegated back to a doe-eyed love interest for Aang to kiss. It hardly even made sense—Katara played no role at all at the culmination of Aang’s arc. She was relegated back to a love interest, rather than the powerful figure we saw fight alongside Zuko.

[sapphic-agent]

lmaooo not bryke themselves saying katara loves aang like a babysitter or little brother. it's so obvious in the show that katara views aang like that most of the time.

that's why aang gets so offended when it gets referenced by the ember island players and katara is confused about starting a romantic relationship with aang in the same episode. yet the fandom wants to act like you're insane if you think katara mothered aang and they had a sibling dynamic for most of the series. they really just act like you pulled it out of your ass even though both the text and authorial intent are there.

meanwhile they continuously insist "zutara is siblings coded" when there's nothing in the series to imply that view and bryke have never described their relationship like that. plus, bryke having being so salty towards zutara's popularity means we never will get to see zuko and katara have meaningful interactions in the franchise ever again anyway.

it's so frustrating how katara becoming a couple with aang came at the cost of destroying her relationships with jet, haru, and zuko. basically any guy around her age that wasn't her brother would be sabotaged (with jet suffering it the worst) because they would all be deemed "threats" to kataang.

LMAO I STILL FIND IT FUNNY😭

Bryke defenders get pissy when you point out that them being cis straight white men in the 2000s would obviously correlate to the show's flaws. But this is literally one of the reasons why. No woman wants to be in a relationship with someone she takes care of and views like a little brother. They said this while trying to defend Kataang. I'd almost feel bad if every Kataang shipper I met wasn't exceedingly obnoxious.

Some of them even try to compare her relationship with Aang to her relationship with Sokka. But they're completely missing that a) she grew up with Sokka, b) Sokka treated her like crap while Aang was sweet, and c) Aang was in great emotional pain so of course she was nicer to him.

I don't mind thinking of Zutara as sibling-like, unless you're only doing that to shut down Zutara. I love their platonic relationship, it's one of my favorites in the show.

I will always be mad about Haru, but I'll always be even more livid about Jet. The way Bryke treated him was gross. Especially when Aang threw his name out to shut down Katara's feelings despite the fact that he died helping them. Aang deserves more shit for this idc

[starboysbrainrot]

the sound of myself - disasterpeace.

[missaccuracy]

So obviously Azula and Jet would not get along since she's the opressor and he is the opressed. But do you think, if they got to know more about each other, there would be something they respect about each other? Azula might respect Jet's leadership, his savvy and his willingness to make tough, questionable decisions. And his resistance to get back on his feet after being deprived of so many. Azula might find him strong and not underrestimate him.

I agree. Even though they wouldn't get along, Azula might respect Jet for his will and the fact that he's not afraid to do morally questionable things for what he believes is right. If they had to work together, it could make for an interesting dynamic. Despite their obvious differences, they definitely have some things in common.

[valeron99]

I wanna give him the whole world.

[jana2071]

This meme perfectly sums it up

[fanfic-lover-girl]

Katara's Crush vs Aang's Crush

So it hit me how the Jetara crush was framed vs the Kataang crush in season 1. For Jetara, BOTH Katara and Jet were under the romantic filter.

Whereas, with Kataang Katara is always the one under the filter and Aang is separate from the framing, admiring her. Aang is never depicted as desirable. We always see Katara being admired but the same is not done for Aang. Can't remember Katara ever checking Aang out, not even in simple ways like Aang did in season 3 when Katara first appeared in her fire nation clothes.

[punkeropercyjackson]

Jet and Azula discourse is just.'Yes,Jet was sympathic but he went too far-'That's called 'The Radical' trope and it was created by white americans as fearmongering against brown people like Jet.'Azula didn't WANT a redemption arc-'Right,because no child,ESPECIALLY not female,character has ever had their abuse justified by ageist writers.If you talk shit about Hama i think you should be interrogated on your Iron opinions beforehand and if you think Aang should've killed Ozai i'm assuming you just straightup don't have asian friends

[jetaradefender]

[rusty-lustful-fireflies]

[sapphic-agent]

Is it me, or is it super odd how Katara's love interests who aren't Aang are treated?

Like, Haru was given that god awful mustache and beard for what?? There's no way a storyboarder looked at that and thought, "Hey, that looks great!" It feels like they made him less attractive on purpose so that he couldn't be considered for a potential romance with Katara.

(Which is also shallow. Kataang fans complain that Zutara fans don't want Katara with Aang because he's unattractive, except Bryke did the exact same thing with Haru. He stopped being a love interest as soon as he got that mustache. They even go out of their way to point that out when Katara says she never had a thing with Haru when she did)

And then there's Jet. I know everyone was portrayed terribly and EIP and that was the whole point of the joke, but Jet's death? Katara, Sokka, and Aang just don't react? After he died helping them? Sokka even jokes about it???

And I know they also joked about Yue's death (which also kinda sucked), but at least Sokka was emotional. At least he cared. Jet was just completely brushed aside as an afterthought. Of course Katara can't have any feelings about it (even if it's not necessarily grief, but unresolved anger or hurt or whatever).

It feels like these actions were deliberate to push Katara towards Aang. And that's so unfair, not only for Katara but also for Haru and Jet. These were two great characters who deserved to be treated well

[jahtrashh]

I saw your take on Zuko and like I agree so much. this fandom either idolises him or hates him and I always found that sooo weird. same goes with characters like Jet who are somehow treated like perfectly functioning adults by the fandom and held accountable of their actions as if they were grown men. and that’s so freaking weird. the point of Zuko’s redemption arc is that his arc isn’t linear, he makes mistakes, learns from it, makes up for it. as for Jet, although not a big fan of the way the writers handled his death, he’s literally being seen as an unredeemable monster, as if worse that characters like OZAI OR ZHAO by many fans and… just… how ?? why ?? they are both 16 ?? like yeah, they did so much bad stuff, they did really messed up stuff but they are also quite literally products of their environment and a freaking 100 years war. how is Zuko, fed with propaganda, on a ship since he’s 13, with a freaking general as his only paternal figure at that time, surrounded by men twice his age who are also either soldiers or at least army related, and still 16 at the time, suppose to be a “nice guy” archetype that does nothing wrong. like please be for real one second. and don’t get me started on Jet. whole village burned to the ground, orphan, had to raise so many kids, probably grew up in extreme poverty. ofc he’s messed up. ofc he’s violent, blinded by rage. but again, 16 !!! HE’S 16 !! it kills how people don’t realise that teenagers (especially teenage boys) are anything but mature, collected and emotionally rational. like bfr.

but in the atla fandom ig saying this would make me a zuko/jet apologist. whatever that means. as an adult i just see a bunch of messed up kids in the middle of the war, and that’s basically it. at best i feel bad for them, at worst i pity them.

Say it louder for the people in the back. I don’t know how to dumb it down enough for people to wrap their damn head around how these are in fact, also, teenagers involved in war. The world is in shambles during war, right and wrong are easily blurred during those times, and it takes a very special person to be able to differentiate between the sides without getting too caught up in what they believe is right or wrong.

Zuko could’ve stayed a racist, imperialist, dipshit. But by the end of the show, he turns into just a simple dipshit who accepted his life changing 180 with open arms. Yes he said some insensitive shit to aang about his beliefs and mocked his anti-violent views even when he joined them in season 3, but AGAIN, not only was he still learning how to be a decent human being, he was also blinded by his own hatred of his father, mixed with the very much pro-violent nature of the fire nation, PLUS the lack of education on Aang’s culture and philosophy which was AGAIN, taught around PRO-PA-GAN-DA the FN created. All of which, takes time to unlearn. On top of figuring himself and who he was, which is what most teenagers, more often than not will have a whole crisis about ALONE. I honestly don’t know how people expect a redemption arc to go, we’ve all had to learn how to be better about things, and the progress isn’t going to be liner nor will it always be easy. That is human nature. That is LIFE.

And on Jet’s case, why do people think it’s such a terrible thing to make some characters who were victims of war crimes, to be angry, to lust for revenge against the perpetrators, or be irrational and violent. THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO. The FN took the last bit of Jet’s life that he barely even had and stripped all of that completely away from him like the savages that they are. Why is it a terrible thing to be angry at people who didn’t think twice about the families, the sense of community that his village had? I agree that Jet was going too far when he was trying to take it out on innocent people, but can you really blame him? He didn’t have an adult to help him out on the importance of emotional maturity and how to be angry at the ones who actually harmed you like Zuko did, and even if he did, teenagers won’t be emotionally matured TRULY until they develop into adults. He had to be the mock adult for the kids younger than him, he didn’t have time to decode himself and better his actions because he was too focused on protecting the freedom fighters and himself against the FN’s abuses.

People don’t realize that this is not babying them, or being so called “apologists” this is called understanding why these two are the way that they are. Why are they like this? And it’s so much to take in and talk about at once that you’d need an entire college level essay to completely break down and comprehend how deep war can affect not just adults, but teenagers and children. Those two groups don’t have true moral compasses, so the environment and circumstances can really impact and easily mold their minds to fit the standards in said situation in order to survive it. This is called self-preservation. A more than common trauma response.

I mean seriously, I heard someone say they can understand Zuko hate but not Iroh hate, when he has in fact, done much worse than Zuko has ever done in those 3 years at sea. I love Iroh, but he’s an adult, why are we choosing adults over traumatized and war-fed teenagers who mainly comply in that shit to seek approval from their actually psychotic, genocidal, narcissistic, and abusive father that would dispose of them if they didn’t fit his standards? Why are we quicker to blame the teenagedvictim of the FN’s attacks and cruelty, than the actual people, adults, who conducted the attacks?

Are we truly regressing as a fandom? The show wouldn’t give them their traumatic experiences and talk about their abusers if they wanted the viewer to antagonize the victims. Goes to show that the loudest voices screaming “irredeemable monster” and “they want people to feel sorry for him” never truly know who these characters are and how they operate, they need everything spoon fed to them which is very unfortunate. The real irredeemable monsters are right there in their face and they choose to look somewhere else.

It’s so obvious how people in this fandom pick and choose who to feel sympathy for, when they all needed it.

[allgremlinart]

looking for Jet content on here is like. its either "every decision Jet ever made was reasonable and healthy and if you condemn a single one of his actions you love genocide"

or "haha Jet is SUCH an asshole and a one dimensional villain who I am very happy died" like what if I threw myself into the ocean you guys.

[coralpaperthoughts]

they could never make me hate you [insert any child/teen from atla's name]