Kisses of Decay: Part 2

Disclaimer:  An Avatar: The Last Airbender essay.  This is an anit-Kataang essay that is intended for Zutarians.  If you are a Kataanger or an anit-Zutarian you should not be reading this.  However, if you are reading this essay just so you can bash me for presenting my theories, go right ahead while you still can…

The purpose of this essay is to explore the Kataang kisses and to present how their entire basis is to show why the Kataang love relationship does not fit and ultimately why it will never occur in the AtLA series.  Please read part one of this essay before moving on to read this.

Avatar and its characters are owned by Mike, Bryan & Nickelodeon.


Kisses of Decay: Part 2

In part one of this essay, we looked at how the N&D kiss reveals the inner workings of Aang’s mind.  In it we discovered that Aang was unable to comprehend Katara’s true personality.  His dream portrayed her as an excited, gullible and childish girl who conformed to Aang every will.  However, as the audience we know that Katara is nothing like that.  See is a very strong, wise and determined person who cares about others and their feelings.  She is very conscious of who she is, what she is fighting for and puts others needs before her own.  

This is where the next Kataang kiss comes into play, the kiss from “Day of Black Sun: The Invasion”.  While the N&D kiss shows us the inner workings of Aang’s mind, the DoBS kiss shows us what exactly is going through Katara’s mind before, during and after the kiss.  We see this through here words, body language and facial expressions.

What really amplifies the significance of both these kisses is the fact they occur in consecutive episodes.  The N&D kiss shows us Aang’s point of view through a fake kiss (dream), and in the very next episode we see Katara’s thoughts through her expression when she is kissed for real by Aang.  A fake kiss is JUXTAPOSED beside a real kiss to show their differences.  Here is the definition of juxtaposition:

Juxtaposition: an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.  (Definition from dictionary.com)

Why would the creators put two similar scenes (Kataang kisses) in consecutive episodes and have the results end differently?  It is because they are trying to convey something to us.  For two and half seasons all we have been previewed to is Aang’s affection for Katara.  Never once have we seen Katara showing interest in Aang romantically.  (For those of you who think “Cave of Two Lover” shows Katara’s interest in Aang, you are mistaken, as I will discuss later in this essay.)  But now the series is coming to an end and so the creators are starting to give us insights into Katara’s hidden feeling.  By juxtaposing these two scenes, the creators show us that maybe Katara does not feel the same way about Aang as he feels about her.

So let us explore the DoBS kiss and find out what exactly Katara is thinking…

The DoBS kiss scene starts off with the Gaang meeting atop a submarine just before they enter the Fire Nation port.  Sokka and Toph give Aang some pep talk and they all have a group hug.  One thing to note is that the Gaang is always portrayed as a family, with their group hugs, words of compassion and encouragement for one another.  As Sokka and Toph leave, Katara and Aang are left alone.

For a brief moment we see Katara and Aang standing there not knowing what to say.  Katara seems very nervous like she is unsure of how to tell Aang what’s on her mind.  Yet she gathers up the courage and says what’s on her mind:

“We’ve been through so many things together and I’ve seen you grow up so much. You’re not that little goofy kid I found in the iceberg anymore. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m really proud of you.” (Transcript taken from avatarspirit.net)

While she’s talking, she has a look of compassion in her eyes and her tone of voice is soft and sincere, like that of a proud mother when she is addressing her child who has grown up.  I have heard many Kataanger’s say that her expression shows her romantic interest in Aang.  It is not true and why can I say that, because of what Katara says.  She says that they have been through so many things together and she has seen him grow up so much.  My question here is would a lover speak to her partner like that?  When two people are in love and they go though the same experience as Aang and Katara, they would grow together as one.  So a comment like that would not be expected from Katara if they were lovers.  But here we can clearly see that Aang has grown from a child to a mature person (coughBScough) in Katara’s eyes.  Katara and Aang did not grow together during their travels, instead Katara watches Aang grow.  

Then she goes on to say that he is not that little goofy kid she found in the iceberg.  What does this tell us?  That she has viewed him as a goofy child for nearly two and half seasons.  If she did view him this way, would she have had a romantic interest in him anyways?  No she wouldn’t, why because Katara likes mature guys (e.g. Jet) and Aang does not fit into that category as Katara says herself.  

Then she reveals what she was trying to tell him all along.  She says “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m really proud of you.”  Again this does not sound like the conversation between two lovers.  Instead it is that of a proud mother congratulating her child on growing up.  Why does Katara feel this way towards Aang?  Ever since season one Katara has been taking care of Aang and doing her very best to protect Aang, making sure that nothing happens to him. Why because he is the saviour of the world and he represents a free world which she has desired from the very first episode.  All this time she has been protecting him, making sure no harm befalls him so that one day he will be ready to face the Fire Lord and end the war.  So here, in DoBS, that day has arrived where all her hard work (as mother) is going to be paid off.  We see that in her speech to Aang.

After her speech she goes back to being shy, because is not used to talking to people like that.  Therefore she becomes embarrassed and fiddles with her hair.  Yet as soon as Aang begins to doubt himself, Katara’s motherly instincts jump in and she begins to encourage him again.  She does not want him to fail, because if he fails it means that she has failed.  This is a clear example of a mother’s instinct.  But all of a sudden things change.  Aang reaches up and kisses her on the mouth expressing his romantic interest in her.  She is shocked…

Up to this point Katara has seen Aang only as a friend and a brother, hence her surprise when he kisses her.  Yet, why does she let him kiss her?  Let us delve in to Katara’s mind and take a step by step look at what she was thinking during the kiss.

As Aang reaches to kiss her, Katara’s obvious first look is that of surprise.  For the first few seconds of the kiss, Katara is trying to figure out what is happening.  She is looking strait ahead and she blinks a few times, then after her third blink she looks down and sees that Aang is kissing her.  Now being fully aware of what is going on, she begins to close her eyes and focus on the kiss.  But why would she focus on the kiss if she does not love him as we Zutarain’s proclaim?  If she does not love him as we say, wouldn’t she pull back from his kiss?  The fact is she never seriously considered him “romantically” before this moment.  It took a kiss right on the mouth from Aang to make her even consider him as a possibility.  So that is why she closes her eyes and kisses him back.  As she is kissing Aang, she is considering him as a possibility.  What does this show us?  That Katara does want affection from someone and an eventual romantic relationship.  So as these thoughts flow through her mind, Aang releases her from his kiss hence her puckered lips.  She does not immediately realize that the kiss was over.  Then she opens her eyes very slowly.  Like she waking up from a deep slumber, where her mind was contemplating what she truly wanted.  She then blinks a few times as she collects her thoughts about what just occurred, how she felt about the kiss and how she felt about the boy who just kissed her.  
As she contemplates, Aang stands in front of her with a look of ‘I have done all that I can do’ and awaits her answer (yes he wait for an answer).  Then she realizes that as much as she wants affection and love from another, it is not meant to be from Aang.  As she looks upon Aang, she sees his lost yet determined look and she knows that if she says the truth about her feeling to him, he will be crushed.  All her hard work to mother this boy into a man would be lost, because he would go into battle with doubt in his mind and loose the fight against the Fire Lord.  Hence she says nothing and turns her head to the side and has a look of shame and guilt on her face.
Not having got an answer from Katara, Aang opens his glider and flies away.  Katara turns as she watches him go.  Her expression is that of “I am sorry Aang, but I don’t know what to say”.  This scene reminds me of movies where a guy confesses his love to a girl and she looks down not knowing what to say, because she does not know how to tell him that she does not like him as he likes her.  So the guy seeing the expression on her face leaves in angst and the girl not wanting to hurt his feeling turns to watch him leave as the words of “I am sorry” are trapped in her throat.  Because she knows it won’t help the situation.
Aang does wait for Katara to respond to the kiss.  However from the looks of it, it seems that Aang was unable to comprehend Katara’s reaction to the kiss.  How can I assume that Katara is not in love with Aang?  Because Katara is a very emotional person, and if she did love Aang she would have shown it immediately, like she showed us in “The Awakening” with her father.
During this kiss we see no real emotion from Katara.  Her expression is that of a half dazed and surprised look and then it turns to one of thought.  This shows us that she was thinking more about the kiss then enjoying it.  As for Aang, we do not see his face clearly, yet from the view we are given it seems that he is just kissing her.  No emotion on this face just like in his daydream, not knowing what to expect or feel.  This provides us with another glimpse of how there is no romantic love between them.

From the DoBS kiss we get a glimpse of Katara’s feelings towards Aang and we learn that she is in fact looking for affection from another, but from whom?


NYCC Trailer kiss…

I know that I said we will be exploring the “Cave of Two Lovers” episode next, but we are not.  Instead we are going to take a look at the NYCC trailer kiss first.

Just as in DoBS, there is going to be a scene in a future episode where Aang confronts Katara about his feeling and kisses her in the process.  However, this time around Katara does not accept the kiss as she did in DoBS.  Instead her reaction to the kiss is immediate withdrawal.  Why is that she acts this way now, when before she accepted the kiss.  As I explained before, the DoBS kiss is her first kiss with Aang (most likely her first kiss with anyone).  In it she accepts the kiss because she wanted to give the relationship a thought before she decided how she felt about Aang.  From her reaction afterwards we see that she did not share the same feelings for Aang as he did for her.  So how does this relate to the NYCC kiss?  Since Katara has already established that she does not have romantic feeling for Aang she does not have to accept the kiss and think about it all over again, because she has made up her mind.  Therefore she pulls back from the kiss without a second thought.  
Kataangers have argued that she pulls back quickly because there was someone behind Aang, as they have noticed her eyes looking over Aang’s head.  It is true that Katara’s eyes are overlooking Aang.  However she does the exact same thing when Aang kisses her in DoBS.  She looks up in shock at first just as in DoBS, but her eyes eventually return to look at Aang.  This shows us that Katara does this when she is shocked.  Therefore we can conclude there is no one behind Aang in that scene.  I believe in this scene Katara will finally reveal to Aang that she does not love him the same way he “loves” her.

On a side note, Katara’s quick withdrawal from Aang’s kiss really intrigues me.  It’s like something inside of her is telling her that this was wrong.  I believe that Katara has begun to fall in love with Zuko at this point, even though she does not realize it.  And it is that that is telling her pull away from Aang.  How can I come to a conclusion like this?  I believe (along with every Zutarian out there) that Zuko and Katara will grow very close together in “The Southern Raiders” episode.  How can I assume this?  In “Ember Island Players” episode Katara clearly flirts with Zuko through her teasing.  Just a little food for thought for all the Zutarians out there.


CoTL kiss…

Now we come to the infamous “Cave of Two Lovers” episode and the question of whether Aang and Katara kissed in the caves.  Let’s answer this question together shall we.  It is important for us to explore the kisses from season 3 first because the answer to our question lies within them.  
In DoBS we see that Aang kisses Katara, and Katara responds by accepting the kiss.  Why does she accept his kiss, because the first kiss reveals many things as Katara found out?  Here she realizes that she does not have romantic feelings for Aang.  Then we have the NYCC kiss.  In it we see that Aang kisses her again, but this time she quickly rebuffs him.  Why does she pull away for the kiss?  It is because she has already kissed Aang and realized her feeling.  Therefore she does not have to accept the kiss again to figure out what she already knows.  Coming back to our question, “did Aang kiss Katara in the caves”?  The answer is “NO”, because if they did kiss in the caves then Katara’s reaction to the DoBS kiss would have been that of the one from NYCC trailer, since she would have realized her feeling with the CoTL kiss.

I will not dwell on this episode anylonger, since many Zutarians have covered this episode from head to toe.  However for my last analysis I will look at the riddle from this episode and explore its meaning and its significance to Zutara.

The riddle is “Love is brightest in the dark”.  I have always wondered what this riddle means.  I dwelled on it for the longest time and now I believe I have finally come up with a short and simple answer for it.  What do they mean by “dark”?  Do they mean pitch black or “dark” as in terrifying or do the mean “dark” as in mysterious?  The answer is none the above.  What they mean by “dark” is to be “unexpected” and by “brightest” they mean “strongest” or “most powerful”.  So when we translate the riddle using these words we get:

“Love is strongest when it is unexpected”

And we can see that this holds true with the story of Oma and Shu.  They were from two villages that were at war with each other, so they were technically enemies.  But “unexpectedly” they fall in love with each other, because they learned to set their differences aside and understand each other?  Therefore their love became very strong.  Does any of this sound like Zutara?  

From this analysis we see how each Kataang kiss only shows how Kataang does not work.  With each kiss Kataang begins to decay into nothing.