#seriously just substitute sokka in zuko's place for like half the zk scenes and see if it doesn't get real awkward real fast

[burst-of-iridescent]

hi! do you have a meta against that interpretation that in the final agni kai, the plot was such that katara was meant to be taken as zuko's new sister?

hi anon! boy, do i have a meta for you.

this interpretation usually comes from the argument that katara and azula are narrative foils and so katara is a replacement for azula, which rankles me for a couple of reasons.

firstly, being a narrative foil has absolutely nothing to do with determining an individual character's relationships to other characters in the story. azula and katara being paralleled doesn't mean that katara now occupies azula's role as zuko's sister, any more than this makes azula sokka's sister. azula and katara's narrative relationship reflects on their individual character traits and qualities, not on their role in relation to other characters.

secondly, i personally think (and this might be a hot take) that azula and katara being "narrative foils" tends to be a bit overstated by the fandom. while they do share parallels, i generally see most people go "14 year old bending prodigies who lost their mothers" and end the argument there.

but this ignores the fact that katara isn't a bending prodigy in the way azula is. she's certainly incredibly talented, but in book 1 it's evident that unless she's emotionally volatile, she has to really work to be good at waterbending. you can see this in the waterbending scroll, when aang - who is a genuine prodigy - easily gets moves that took her months to learn, and picks up the water whip instantly, where she does not.

katara does have natural talent and power, but she only gets as far as she does because she goes above and beyond to put in the effort. as pakku himself tells her, "you have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can achieve anything". note that he doesn't credit her talent or skill, though she undeniably has both, but her determination and her work ethic for her success. she is not azula, naturally gifted and "born lucky". katara is constantly practicing, constantly eager to learn, constantly working, and that is what makes her the powerful bender she is, more than her talent.

additionally, azula and katara's loss of their mothers really cannot be compared in the same way. katara is reckoning with her mother's death; azula is reckoning with her mother's love (or the lack of it). for azula, her struggle (at least as presented in the show canon) is never about losing her mother at all; it is about her mother's perception of her and her preference for zuko, something which began long before ursa ever left. they are entirely different issues, and although this can be a parallel about motherly love and legacy, it is never really expanded on within the show.

but you know whose losses are explicitly paralleled? who both love their mothers and are the reasons their mothers are gone? who share a moment of connection over this exact subject?

katara and zuko.

more than azula and katara, zuko and katara are narrative foils to one another in ways that are explicitly and continually referenced in the show. they are both determined, hardworking benders who get where they are through effort. they are both deeply empathetic, compassionate people. they both take on alternate egos in each other's colours, from each other's nations, one used for good, the other used for evil. they both undergo parallel journeys, with zuko unlearning fire nation indoctrination and ideals of fire nation supremacy, while katara learns that good exists in the fire nation just as evil exists outside of it. i won't go on to list every parallel between them, but you get the point.

(interestingly, since zuko and katara are narrative foils, following the sibling logic should also make zuko sokka's brother but you don't see anyone using that to discredit zu/kka.)

additionally, the show makes a point of marking zuko and katara as equals, to the extent that zuko has a line referencing it even when they're still enemies. they are evenly matched in both of their big fights, which also mark the end of each season, and when zuko finally joins team avatar, there is special emphasis placed on how efficiently and flawlessly zuko and katara work together (their fights in the southern raiders and sozin's comet). the fact that zuko instantly asks katara to accompany him to the final agni kai alone is proof that he sees her as his equal.

this isn't to say that siblings shouldn't see each other as equals, but stories usually don't put this much emphasis on developing a sibling relationship in this way. but you know what kind of relationship absolutely does necessitate both partners being equals, and seeing each other as such?

a romantic one.