What was the episode that made you say “mmm might be diverging from canon here, fellas”
It was The Desert for me. I have... too much to say about it
@lunafreyalucil Of course! I am.. so sorry for how long this got.
If you meant the original question I posed, what I was going for was saying “when did you know the canon relationships weren’t for you?” When the show was first released, there weren’t a ton of cartoons I watched with more than “the token girl” character, so with ATLA (even though they did a ton for female representation) I had assumed from the beginning that the hero with a crush would “get the girl,” you know? I mean, a love interest having a story outside of the protagonist was already unheard of, right? I usually just accepted canon couples and went on with my life.
The Desert was the first episode where I said “.... um, I don’t accept.”
Here is my elaboration on The Desert part of the original post. Again, I’m sorry it’s so long. Aang is going through a tremendous loss. Appa is his best friend and one of the last living parts of his culture (that he knows of until LOK). Of course he’s upset. He lashes out at his friends and abandons them (but returns!). The whole time this is happening, Katara steps up. She’s alone with three children and a lemur and she steps the f up. She cuts Sokka off cactus juice when she sees it’s not safe, she spots the cloud and has the brilliant idea to collect water, and she used the map to chart the stars. This episode highlights so many of Katara’s greatest strengths: compassion, perception, wisdom, and determination.
How does Aang thank her? He yanks the water skin out of her hand then throws it back at her. He shoves his staff in her face and yells at her about what she’s doing to help the situation (when she’s doing.. everything). Regardless of how small those moments might have seemed, they are acts of aggression Aang made towards Katara.
By the end of the episode, I’m expecting Aang to apologize to her; like the way Katara continually apologized when she yelled at Aang in The Waterbending Scroll. But, that moment never came. Instead, the episode ends with Katara swallowing all of Aang’s mistakes and calming him down. She knows he’s upset, understands, and takes care of him regardless of the horrible way he treated her.
That’s not a romantic partner to me. That’s not an equal. We can assume that there was an offscreen apology, but why do Katara’s apologies to Aang have to be onscreen? How come we don’t get to see people worship her as the hero she is for saving them in the desert?
I was taught it was “a woman’s job” to take care of a boy and look the other way when he acts up and that lesson leaves me with a giant hole of despair in my chest. I feel that same hole when I watch The Desert. Season 1 and parts of season 2 could have had me supporting Katng, but... everything in me that thought they might have been cute together died the moment he pointed his staff at her.
Ahh! This really got out of hand. Not many people ask for my opinion, so I just kinda blah’d it all out haha. I hope this answers your question and that you will tell me your thoughts as well! Thank you!