“Avatar: The Last Airbender” gets Katara all wrong to make amends with the show’s past sexism

As a child, I always saw myself in Katara from "Avatar: The Last Airbender." She was stubborn, loudmouthed, questioned authority, and had an overbearing, sexist brother who pushed her buttons. Oh yeah — she was also a badass water-bender who can manipulate water with her hands and mind.

Katara is one of the central characters in the Nickelodeon cartoon show that first aired in 2005. Netflix's new adaption tells the adventurous tale of the Southern Water tribe siblings Katara (Kiawentiio Tarbell) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) who stumble upon an iceberg that has frozen their world's last and lost Airbender, Avatar Aang,(Gordon Cormier) in time. In a world split into four nations — the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and the Air Nomads, each representing a natural element — a fascist Fire Nation regime threatens the balance. And the Avatar, master of all four elements, is the only one who can stop the imperial Fire Nation's plans to conquer the world.

The animated series' popularity dominated Nickelodeon for decades; so much so that this is actually the second time it is being adapted for live-action. The first was the insulting and white-washed 2010 M. Night Shyamalan film.

The 2024 Netflix adaption does a lot that film didn't do. For instance, like casting Indigenous and Asian actors from the wider diaspora who accurately portray the diverse characters and their backgrounds. So, it is definitely more favorable than its steaming-pile-of-garbage counterpart, but being slightly better than the universally panned film doesn't necessarily mean that the new adaption is without its faults, especially in its new characterization of Katara and her relationship with her brother.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview with Ousely and Tarbell, Tarbell specifically discusses how they removed some of the more sexist storylines surrounding Sokka. "I feel like there were a lot of moments in the original show that were iffy," she said. 

And while this may be the more politically comfortable step — there were countless moments in the original cartoon that were heavy-handed with misogyny from the chauvinistic Sokka — the result doesn't serve Katara as a character. 

Ultimately, the sexism in the cartoon existed as a way to expose just how ironic it was that a bumbling fool, like powerless Sokka, could have the audacity to make sexist digs at his dominant and naturally talented, younger sister. That version of Katara fought tooth and nail against the raging system of the patriarchy, even if it was just her annoying older brother. The new adaption, however, dims the fire behind her eyes while also dulling the power behind her self-taught bending, showing that "fixing" sexist writing with more sexist writing isn't an improvement — it's just a Band-Aid. 

In the cartoon, Katara is tasked with countless responsibilities as a teenage girl in her village. As such, she's almost always fed up with Sokka. In the pilot episode of that version, the siblings set out on a fishing expedition to get food, which erupts into a fight after Sokka makes the snide comment, "Leave it to a girl to screw things up." 

Katara explodes in response: "You are the most sexist, immature, nutbrained— I'm embarrassed to be related to you!" Unintentionally, she begins cracking the iceberg behind her with her water-bending. 

"Ever since mom died, I've been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier," she continued. "I even wash all the clothes. Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you! Not pleasant!" And with the fall of her arms, the iceberg cracks open and a frozen Aang appears glowing in the ice. 

Comparatively, in the live-action, Katara has nothing to do with Aang's discovery and she isn't in a leadership position in their village — Sokka is, because he is the eldest boy whom his absent father has left in charge. She practices bending in secret, and diminishes her own powers when confronted by Sokka. "Besides there's nothing to see," she says defeatedly of her bending. "An otter penguin could bend more water than I could."

This demeanor is unlike the passionate, hothead ready to tell Sokka or any man off in the original.

This isn't the only instance where Katara seems meek in the face of conflict or her own self-discovery. Katara's self-taught bending is a major plot point for the character throughout the show, but her abilities can only go so far before she needs guidance. With the help of Aang, she steals a waterbending scroll from pirates.

However, in the live-action, Katara is simply gifted a waterbending scroll by her Gran Gran (Casey Camp-Horinket). In both versions, Katara struggled to bend at the beginning of her journey, but there was an extra sense of determination inherent to the cartoon that is not present in the live-action version. 

Not to mention when Katara does struggle to bend in the Netflix series it takes two dudes — Aang and a vigilante named Jet (Sebastian Amoruso), whom the group meets in their journey into the Earth Kingdom — and their unsolicited advice to home in on pain and memory of her late mother to bend. Jet admits to Katara that he "doesn't know anything about bending." 

"But I do know that you have to use everything inside you to help you fight," he continued. Soon thereafter, in the episode "Spirited Away," Katara breaks out new bending moves, shooting out ice shards against a whole team of firebenders, whereas two episodes ago she barely understood the power of her bending.

The end of the season promises an impending battle with the Fire Nation, who are trying to conquer the Northern Water Tribe. Team Avatar travels to the South Water Tribe to train. There, Katara meets Master Pakku (A. Martinez), one of the most powerful waterbenders of the tribe. In the cartoon, Pakku tells Katara that women aren't allowed to use waterbending for battle and she responds in fury, "I didn't cross the entire world so you could tell me no!" 

In the live-action version, Katara is instead told by a female healer, "I'm sorry women don't fight. We use our skills to heal, not to harm." She confronts Pakku and tells him she thinks the rule is "stupid and it's dumb." She challenges him to a fight and loses even though she puts up a valiant fight — but it's still not enough for her to be considered as a fighter.

In the cartoon, when Katara offends Pakku — and he drops teaching Aang as a result — she considers apologizing, but then tells him angrily, "No way I'm apologizing to a sour old man like you!" Instead, she challenges him to a duel, which she ultimately loses, but through which she earns Pakku's respect (and during which he realizes he has a connection to her Gran Gran). Inevitably, Pakku softens and begins training Katara to showcase her talents and strengths. This narrative in the original series shows that Katara isn't one to be underestimated and that she will always stand up for herself, through waterbending or just straight fury. 

This is why live-action Katara is unrecognizable. In her battle for autonomy in the season finale, "Legends," she still has to ask for Pakku's blessing to fight. The fearless and authority-evading Katara in the original would never ask for anyone's permission — let alone wait for a sexist old man's approval. Writing a female powerhouse waterbender in this way feels more regressive and patronizing than the original version, which used instances of sexism as teachable moments, making it clear that misogyny is a character flaw for both its male characters and young audiences.

Because of Katara's dedication and sheer ability to advocate for herself, she challenged the pig-headed men whom she encountered as a fighter. That friction resulted in growth and development for herself and the narrow-minded people around her. This sparked meaningful and authentic conversations about girls' real agency, capabilities and inner strengths, especially those that aren't just simply given, but are fought for, instead.