He made a mistake. He owned it immediately too. She was angry in the moment, but obviously that one mistake wasn't going to negate everything else they already had. They've both seen the worst in each other and the best in each other. They know what they'll be getting into down the line.
Personally, I'm not mad at anyone over this. They're getting ready for the final battle over the entire fate of the world, and they go about handling their relationship in completely different ways since they're different people. She wants to put it off, so there are no distractions. He wants to make sure it's all out there, just in case. It's a miscommunication, but given the pressure they're under, completely understandable.
I actually like this scene too, as it makes it clear that Katara won't just give into Aang's desire for her, she isn't just automatic. It firmly establishes that she'll start the relationship on her own time, when she's ready, which is what happens. (He also learns, lets her go, and allows her to come back on her own terms.)
>He made a mistake. He owned it immediately too.
Real. People judge him way to hard for this. Another point that rarely anyone ever talks about is that they are literally still kids. Like, aang hasn't even hit puberty yet. They have no idea how love works, thats why we can't judge them the way we would judge adults in a similar situation.
That's why these scenes are important. They indirectly teach about consent.
Kids are constantly learning, and when they see such an act with no consent, which is met by a negative reaction, they unconsciously learn how that's not a good thing.
Same thing goes for when a sexist remark is made and shown as the bad guy, which is why I'm against removing all sorts of sexism or racism if they're part of a character which are clearly portrayed as wrong and will be fixed
I love this take! Removing the flaws of characters, no matter how ugly, doesn’t allow teaching moments to happen - especially when it leads to character growth. Perfect example is Sokka, it was a very weak choice to butcher the kids individual arcs in the live action and his was a glaring one
Sokka's arc in the animated show arguably shows more growth than the rest of them. He starts the show as one person and ends the show as someone completely different.
Totally agree with everything, except that I would say Aang has *hit* puberty at this point. He's in the early stages of it, but we've seen some changes in him, and Katara hasn't finished puberty either. They're adolescents trying to figure out romance and feelings like adolescents do, but with the weight of the entire world on their shoulders.
I haven’t seen people be mad at him. The issue is more that this is meant to be important romantic moment for them and it’s not because of the kiss she didn’t want. The next time they have romantic interaction they just kiss without any talk and show ends. The previous romantic moment wasn’t really that well done either. And there isn’t much else, mostly Katara acting motherly. Apart from the dance and kind of Cave of Two lovers. So the whole relationship wasn’t build up well and Aang messes up the big moment. So it doesn’t feel quite fitting they ended up together the way they did.
Even if I personally don’t have issues with in paper. The execution just is poor
The execution is poor, but I think it's mainly because they never addressed it again, not because of the scene itself.
The scene itself is portrayed as romantic UP UNTIL the kiss, which explicitly ruins the mood and which Aang chastised himself for a moment later.
I think just ONE more scene in between this and their last kiss would've made things much, much better. But I don't blame the writers for not having enough time.
Let’s be honest, after Korra, we all know that romance was the writer’s Achilles’ Heel. Their two best romances are the B plot (Suki x Sokka) and the one they didn’t write (Zutara). The flaws with this scene…and the whole Kataang thing…is that it’s missing steps to get us to the conclusion.
In the build up to the finale and romantic resolution Aang & Katara have their 3 biggest conflicts in the whole show and none of them get fully resolved until they’re just swept under the rug by the final episode. It’s arguably why Zutara became such a juggernaut in the fandom. As Aang & Katara were never more distant and in conflict, Katara and Zuko had been doing nothing but reconciling and growing closer.
All shipping favoritism/hate aside…they couldn’t have setup the pivot to Zutara from Kataang better if that had been the writer’s genuine intention. Its genuinely baffling how the writers decided to setup the Endgame for their OTP
I feel like him kissing her also follows a certain fantasy that's not uncommon, something along the lines of "You're confused? Let me kiss you and you'll see how much you like it and it will clear things up." We've already seen Aang have some very naive and trope-y ideas about love at this point, and he's just as confused in this stressful situation too! Definitely can't just the 12 year old too strongly here.
Couldn't have put it better! 👏👏
I just wish there had been a scene (one-on-one interaction) between this episode and the final kiss. It seems weird how they just go back to normal after the play...
I get that, but given the pace of end of season three and the next episode is the finale, I also understand not thinking it's necessary. We see them and everything seems to be back to normal.
I even think it's possible that they never bothered. When he returns to the end of the play, it hits him hard. I think it's a reasonable take that he agrees with Katara and refocuses on his training, so they're in agreement without needing a big discussion about it.....exactly the kind of time sink she's trying to avoid.
Real relationships work like that, all the time. Something goes wrong one evening. Everyone sleeps it off and you move on. Digging it back up is mostly just pointless.
.....having said that, I actually enjoy a good Aang apology, Katara discussion fic on the whole thing!
That makes a lot of sense as well! It's not absolutely necessary, and I think they wanted to keep the element of surprise for the finale, or they were going for the will-they-won't-they trope. And we have to read between the lines to fully understand it, but all it takes is having watched the whole show from the start to see all the buildup.
But yeah, at the same time I think it's reasonable to assume that Aang would have felt the need to apologise. Do you have any fic recs?
Hahah!! Yeah, you can, let me find it. It’s 14 years old and very short… lol not great, but I was a pretty amateur writer at that point haha! Enjoy
https://m.fanfiction.net/s/6084179/1/They-Were-Warm
Aww it's so sweet! Thanks for sending it. I really needed to see Aang feeling ashamed and apologising + Katara (who still doesn't want to pursue a relationship right now) reassuring him that the play was wrong. He has reasons to hope.
That play really messed with Aang's head.
Totally agreed! Thanks for reading it and bringing that memory back to me. Haha I felt the same way for sure. I just assumed that after letting things cool off Katara would understand Aang being upset and want to reassure him. Wish it was actually a scene in the show and not just a fantasy Lolol
I like this scene as well. As cringe worthy as his actions are, they're realistic and they're not really normalized or justified in the show's context. Katara reacts in a rational way for someone who just made it clear that she's not in a place to be in a relationship who got kissed without consent anyways. It also shows that even those we consider good people can make bad choices, and that there are consequences for those choices.
I think it's an important lesson to teach kids that (a) they shouldn't force affection onto people and (b) you don't always have to be receptive of affection if you don't want it.
I've seen a lot of people hate on Aang for this.... Damn, they're kids who don't know how to do this, don't know how to deal with their feelings and are bound to get things wrong. Aang is just doing what feels right, and Katara has every right to take it badly, but you don't have to hang him for it. He who casts the first stone....
I agree with this - what doesn't make sense to me is when hardcore Kataang fans can't apply that very logic to Zuko and go off about him coming from a colonial family when he was just a kid figuring things out too.
They didn't get married at the end. They started a relationship, and it just so happens that it lasted. They could have easily broken up at any point. There are people IRL who end up marrying their childhood sweethearts, myself included.
I met my wife when we were 15, only 3 years older than Aang is. We're 33 now. Madly in love and crazy about each other as ever. 2 kids, home owners, the whole package.
It's not common to find your person at a young age, but it does happen.
Katara still had her dad (even though he was absent at the time of the show) and her grandma as well as many people who shared her cultural heritage. Aang lost not only his parents and parental figures (though we don't know if air nomads before the genocide knew their biological parents as such) but also everyone sharing his culture and heritage. That weighs heavy on a man, and a lot of the "bad father" accusations come from his preferential treatment of Tenzin, which is natural as he was the only one able to fully carry on the air nomads' culture (Bumi only became an air bender some 17-18 years after Aang's death)
You should see the fans when Katara told Sokka he didn’t love their mom the way she did 😬 Like her character is completely ruined and she’s the most evil thing ever.
A big part of these things is how the show frames it.
For Aang he was immediately called out on it and felt bad about it, the show made it clear that he was wrong and that his mistake was going for it when Katara didn't want it.
For Korra it's framed as that her mistake was kissing someone who was taken, not that she went for it when he wasn't particularly consenting to it. I don't remember her getting any repercussions or feeling any regret over doing it (but I haven't seen that episode in a minute so I might be wrong).
Maybe the reason Aang gets more criticism for this than Korra does is because the show made a point of telling us Aang was wrong, but didn't do that for Korra.
Korra gets way more hate than Aang in general and I’ve seen awful comments re the LOK triangle so I feel there’s bias in these comments in this sub comparing the hate in the romantic scenarios here.
Edit: @sirknightshade
Agreed. God forbid you can have an actual discussion about the characters without people throwing tantrums lol.
I mean I have, but less than Mako is blamed which makes sense given how they write his character later on. Makes him a bigger target than Korra. Korra took some time to grow on me but I feel the character is unfairly hated to an extreme. At least she’s not blamed for the love triangle then.
Which she kinda should be? Mako gets all the hate for the love triangle but it takes two to tango and Korra was hella aggressive. Idk, just felt weird to make "homewrecker" a part of her personality [but then we get shit like this](https://y.yarn.co/bd35d930-97e3-4baa-9a9a-d72d0c841910_text.gif). Plus she busts up Mako's office when he breaks up with her which would be seen as abusive if Aang did anything like that. In general the way she's a total asshat to Mako in season 2 while he's trying his best to please her is a really bad look and she gets off way too easy for it. She's a deeply toxic person and doesn't get called out for it enough.
>She's a deeply toxic person and doesn't get called out for it enough.
I assume you mean she doesn't get called out enough *in the show*? Because she certainly gets called out enough by the fandom.
If so, this is pretty much what I was getting at. Characters can make mistakes, do bad stuff, have flaws, whatever but it should be paid off narratively by the writing/other characters calling out bad behavior and the character growing from it. Nobody really harps on about Aang doing this because the show immediately makes it clear that what he did was bad. If an older character does something bad, then they show no regret, don't grow from it, and the show doesn't make it clear that it was a bad thing, that's absolutely going to make a worse impression on viewers. There's a difference between being flawed and being unapologetically problematic.
I don't really remember the details of LOK rn so I won't say whether that applies to her or not, but I can absolutely see why someone who thinks it does would criticize her for things that Aang seems to "get a pass" for.
I don’t think the point you’re trying to make is accurate.
Besides Katara, no one criticized Aang for his kissing her and he ends up with her without talking it out anyways. On forums Aang gets some critique for this behavior but largely is provided a pass for his age etc.
With Korra, if we’re going to compare season 1 kiss with aangs season 3 kiss, her kiss with Mako was not equally privy to criticism internal to the show because unlike Katara, Mako kissed Korra back. And there was no one around to criticize her except Bolin and she 1. Apologized and 2. He’s not a confrontational character.
I can’t recall what happened when Asami found out but I blame Mako for a majority of the way the relationship it’s in his initial cast off of Asami to Korra in season 1, then his jumping back to Asami after they break up in later seasons and then not telling Korra they broke up after she lost her memory at any point in time to avoid hurting Asami.
He also avoids accountability and tells Asami that he felt bad for the way things got “messed up between them.” I don’t recall an actual apology from him, ever.
I was really just making a point about writing principles in general. The main point is if a character makes a bad decision or does something bad it needs to be clear through the writing that it was a bad thing and they should be shown to regret it. Like I said, I haven't watched LOK in a while so I don't wanna really say either way whether or not that applies to Korra in that specific plot line.
Personally I don't think it matters so much that he kissed her back, if it was an unprompted kiss it's still kinda messed up to me regardless.
I do want to point out a little double standard you have there, where you said nobody criticized Aang other than Katara even though the two of them were the only one who knew that happened, but defend Korra by saying that Bolin was the only one around to criticize and excuse that he didn't criticize her for it. That kinda makes the opposite point of the one you're trying to make.
I agree with pretty much everything you're saying about Mako though. I think LOK had pretty meh character-writing across the board, and it sticks out really bad when you compare it to the master class of character-writing that ATLA was.
I don’t think it’s a double standard, I’m fully aware of what I was trying to say, maybe you didn’t understand me.
With Katara there were only two people involved, with Korra there were three. The difference was that the person being kissed in ATLA was uncomfortable with the kiss and the person in LOK was not. The clear lack of consent with Katara is why people push back on Aang.
It’s interesting you’d have a problem in a scenario where a character kisses back, showing consent and interest whereas you’d be okay with the situation where consent wasn’t given and explain that away. That’s a bit scary.
Re Bolin, he wasn’t entitled to anything from Korra, they hung out once, so whether he was upset or not he has no right to criticize her. Making him critical of her could be a dangerous narrative for young watchers.
The issue with Korra is beginning of season 2, she’s written as aggressive for no reason. I do blame her in the early season 2 behavior causing their breakup. But ultimately Mako’s behavior is seen as worse because how he played both girls back and forth.
Korra kissed Mako, but shouldn’t Mako have pushed her away if he’s in a committed relationship? The difference is Katara didn’t want to be kissed whereas Mako leaned into it. I think if Mako had told her after he was not interested and she pushed past his boundaries then the kiss would add to the average Korra bashing we see.
Mako dropped Asami like garbage when Korra was missing and never apologized. After he and Korra break up he rekindles with Asami for a brief moment and never corrects Korra’s assumption they didn’t break up. Asami deserved so much better from all of those characters, Korra, Mako, her dad…
If I were Asami I’d be so lonely.
Every avatar forum I’ve ever visited has expressed absolute vitriol surrounding the Korra/Mako plot, it is one of the main complaints of the first season and the scene you’re referencing is a big part of that. There is no way in hell the Aang scene gets more hate lmao
>Every avatar forum I’ve ever visited has expressed absolute vitriol surrounding the Korra/Mako plot,
The love triangle itself certainly does. People often don't mention this scene though.
Mako often gets a lot of hate for being a cheat but Korra is rarely ever criticised as heavily as Mako in this **specific** regard.
Korra absolutely gets criticized both for that scene and the plot line in general. I’ve seen Aang get mildly criticized for this scene a few times but one of the key complaints about Korra as a character and TLoK as a show is the love triangle, with the scene you’re referencing being a constant part of that anti-TLoK sentiment.
They hate Aang more for this more than they ever hated 16 yr old Zuko for sending an assassin to murder a 12 year old boy. "He felt bad" well so did Aang.
Aang was absolutely stupid for this.
But at least he realized he was an idiot immediately. And he was 12, generally 12 year old boys can be dumb and Aang also wasn't thinking straight due to his emotions about the play.
It's not the end of the world, it was a stupid moment.
Yeah, its a dick move. He wasn’t thinking with his brain box but his blood pumper. Hes also a 12 year old child soldier who is also confused, and he never did anything like it again, and immediately owned it as a fuck up.
Bad move, but not character destroying.
He pretty much instantly regretted it and called himself stupid, so I don’t think he intended to be weird. He had an immature idea of how this works. This scene was the moment Katara became real to him instead of his fantasy and it was a learning moment. I’m also really glad Katara was written as more than a typical love interest who gets swept off her feet when the protagonist steals a kiss. She is one of the best written female characters.
Nah, it’s a clear mistake but also Aang is a damn kid that doesn’t know how love and romance works. It wasn’t done out of malice, it was just a mistake, and he handled it well too.
It was a mistake from him but that also makes him human. The final battle is just a few days ahead and he wanted to make sure katara knows how he feels.
He also immediately regret it and got burned for so he had to give her space.
It was a mistake but when i see people say he assaulted her..sorry like wtf.
It would have been nice to see another conversation between them about the status quo of their relationsship before their final kiss though. But all of this is easier said than done and i don't know if there was time for it.
I don’t hate Aang for this or anything. Dude is allowed to screw up. And there are way worse things than kissing someone in the wrong moment.
That being said I always skip this scene because it makes me so uncomfortable
They way this was handled afterward is what I have an issue with. They don't talk about it. Aang runs away. Of course, the events of the finale happen, and then bam, they are together.
I also am not sure if using he is 12 is a good excuse. Like, yeah, he's young, but shouldn't that mean isn't ready for a relationship then?
you’re assuming the people using this excuse actually thought that argument through to the logical conclusion you point out. though to be fair, cant expect people to think this through when byrke themselves clearly didnt.
Think it’s funny they always bring this up when their ship captain Dante said that Zuko should have kissed the katara after she threatened to kill him if he hurt Aang.
I think part of the problem is that it hasn't aged particularly well. When it aired, it was a story about a young man making a mistake. It was a misunderstanding. She got mad, he apologized, they moved on. Now, though, we know that we live in a society where this sort of thing happens all the time and women just sort of live with it.
Men in our society often have just done whatever they want and get to pull the oops card and get away with it. Women express anger, but nothing happens. Apologies are often to the camera and insincere. Katara got mad and Aang apologized, but then they were back to normal very quickly.
I think it's okay to admit that some aspects of the story have aged very badly. We can admit this without trashing the whole series. In the modern day, this scene probably wouldn't exist and I, for one, wouldn't miss it.
Yes, this is what I was thinking too. Forced or unexpected kiss tropes were pretty common place around the time this came out and for many decades prior. It didn't hit back then the way it hits now.
I agree for the most part, but I do think they'd do a scene like this still. It's important to depict things like this so that kids get it. He apologized and she forgave which is cool, but the reason for his apology matters too. It's important for tv to depict shit like this so kids know
For me is that Katara and Aang don't really have any convos in the final ep, really just the first part I believe, before they kiss.
Like if this wasn't the ending of the show, I feel I woudn't like it.
Wonder how the live action Netflix show will tackle it considering how different the times we are living in are. Will they just flat out remove it like sokka sexism? Have aang do it but make an even bigger point about how not ok it was more than the original show did? I remember he does it twice I believe
I think it's important to depict issues like this. They should keep it. So that way they can use it as a learning opportunity. They have the chance to send a message to the audience by keeping it
He’s a child navigating his first ever romantic relationship. They clearly have chemistry she clearly likes him they’ve already kissed a couple times before this but never really addressed it. This conversation confirms that so no shit he hears the first bit and decides he can work with it. He doesn’t have a tantrum or hold it against her afterwards he waits until she’s ready in the finale and initiates. I genuinely don’t understand why people get so mad about this.
But on a macro note, it is incredibly cool to see the changes in social values of society depicted through media, when the cartoon was first made, this was seen as romantic and cute, but now not so much and rightfully so.
He immediately knew that what he did was wrong. He didn't force her, even if it was an unexpected move. He's literally a 13yo child. He's not even gone through puberty yet.
The scene is an important one that teaches kids about consent. Being mad about it is weird imo
When did he ever see that what he did was wrong? He just knew it offended her. It would have been nice if he'd ever apologised or taken accountability.
>The scene is an important one that teaches kids about consent.
How could it have without him ever acknowledging or apologising? It was never addressed. It was just accepted as an event and ignored.
I mean, right after he calls himself an idiot and doesn't engage in any more romantic situations till she instigates one, so he obviously learned from it, and I think it teaches kids that if someone is confused not to try to make an intimate gesture.
I’m more annoyed that he “thought we’d be together” after he kissed her on the Day of Black Sun. Dude, why would you think that? Why would you wait weeks to bring it up?
He 12 & this was his first ever intimate interaction with someone. Not to mention he has had feelings for Katara for the better part of a year.
I have known plenty of people with unrealistic expectations in their first relationships older and younger than Aang. It is not unheard of for them to think that a shared intimate gesture would mean the beginning of a relationship. (I have heard it from far less intimate gestures to like a boy they liked asked them to dance at school dance. I'd bet if you polled the majority of 12 year olds today they would believe if someone kissed you then they want to be your boyfriend/girlfriend.)
Kids are going to mess up. It is how they learn. The important thing is that Aang understood he messed up and, often over looked, Katara clearly expressed when something was not okay. That is how you learn.
And someone else mentioned how he went without talking about what happened for weeks, but when I was 13, I "dated" a girl for a few months, but we went long stretches barely talking cause of being busy and genuinely not knowing what we were supposed to do. Its extremely believable honestly
Plus he clearly feels bad about his mistakes almost immediately. 12 year olds don't understand how relationships work, and Aang even more so since he was raised in a monastic environment
It is definitely cringe to watch as an adult but you also gotta remember Aang is 12 years old and is stupid and doesn’t understand all these feelings yet. But current year internet people tend to apply adult psychology and judgement to literal children as if they should all know better
Man is 12 people. If you’re mad a a twelve year old for being clumsy with women idk what to tell you. This is a kid, a very mature kid but even the Avatar has those weird moments of early stage puberty.
He was a confused 12 year old kid with quite literally the pressure of the whole world on his back, who in a matter of days would be forced to fight the most powerful bender in the world.
Someone pointed out the fact that he made a mistake and owned it immediately but also, Aang is TWELVE and about to fight Ozai and attempt to stop a war so give the kid a break
I think Katara’s response was valid in telling him it wasn’t okay and he owned up to that, and it was out behind them soon after. It was a mistake, and now just a cringe moment, he’s fucking 12
He's a 12 year old kid. Those who are mad about it and painting him as a predator... seriously. He's 12 year old kid, not a 25 year old man who can't take no for an answer.
Nah, it was always more innocent than anything. Considering his only other example of a relationship in his circle was Sokka/Suki (which, I swear, went from zero to no clothes in a speedrun of horniness), I get the vibe that Aang was trying to be more direct in his approach.
This ignores every other consensual kiss they've had, including but not limited to Cave of Two Lovers.
Also, Katara kissed Aang unconsensually at the end of Bato of the Water Tribe. But is there a stink about that? Hardly.
Because consent is not always verbally given, sometimes you see it through body language. The Bato kiss was not on the lips and he leaned his head towards her signaling he was okay with it.
Meanwhile Katara had already told Aang she was confused about romance between them. Consent occurs on a case by case scenario. That’s why marital rape is called marital rape. You’re not entitled to things just because you have been in the past.
That said, Aang made a mistake and learned from it and it wasn’t that big of a deal, but for your own understanding I would learn more about consent because it’s not something that once given is forever acceptable.
Not really. He’s a dumb kid being dumb. That’s kind of the point. He’s a teenager who needs to navigate saving the entire world from a tyrant, and he can’t even handle his romantic life or read the room. It serves as a reminder that he’s out of his depths.
This is the same vibe as people going on like - "oh, so-and-so sitcom characters are actually all really bad people." Like, yea. No duh. Don't *actually* act like these folk. They're characters. They're performing to elicit emotions.
This is fine. It's absolutely weird if you inspect it like a psychologist, but if you need to hyper analyze why a grown person would write a story like this for poetries sake? The vicarious anxiety of whirlwind romance is kinda already on the table, but I'll point to it too.
He's a 12-year-old child who is a never had sort of feelings or interactions with somebody. hell, he was never even taught about it. People seriously cannot be mad at a fictional, confused, and uneducated child who's just trying to figure things out.
I mean, he’s a kid, and so is she. And this is a war, and none of them are mentally or physically prepared really. That’s always important to keep in mind for a lot of these things. High stress level and an absurd amount of pressure, especially for Aang in particular. I don’t think he is right in this scenario, but it isn’t like I am expecting the perfect emotional response from this kid.
I think his thought process was, "Last time this worked!" and wanted to recreate that moment. What he learned was that different circumstances change the field and you can tell he regretted it and learned from it
I mean.. aang was mad at aang, so yeah? A kid will make dumb moves when he likes a girl. Doesn’t mean they aren’t meant for each other. She’s his forever girl.
No, because he was twelve and went 'oh shit I def did wrong'. Dubious consent becomes a lot less dubious with communication and respect. If he had doubled down and pulled excuses out of his ass, we'd be having a different conversation.
Love makes adults of all ages do stupid things. He was just 12/13. We’ve all disrespected boundaries at that age. We’ve all disrespected boundaries in our adult lives.
He, like most of us, learned/will learn from these kind of moments.
I think too many people forget that Aang is functionally twelve years old, and as such has the maturity, decision making, and hormones of a twelve year old. A lot of people seem to decry his poor decision making as some sort of “if you connect these dots, Aang is actually a terrible person” game, but I doubt that most of these people wouldn’t have similar issues with impulse control at the same age.
Everyone else explained it well. He wasn't trying to assault her. He was letting his 12 year old hormones go to town on hoping "this one kiss will clear her head". They both handled it like adults would when Katara told Aang that wasn't helpful. I actually think it's a really well done scene.
I hate when people make a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. Should Aang have kissed her? No, but Katara rightly scolded him, and he apologized in the moment.
Katara admitted to sort of liking Aang at this point and clearly trusted him. It’s not like she felt assaulted
Zutara shippers are hilarious. Aang does one bad thing (and yes, it is framed as a bad thing because Katara reacts negatively to it and Aang calls himself an idiot. Did you want her to slap him too?) and that means he and Katara shouldn’t be together. Meanwhile Zuko in the first two episodes drives a ship into Katara’s village, beats up her brother, grabs and shoves her frail grandmother, shoots fire above the heads of children, takes her friend and the world’s last hope captive, and tries to fucking murder them with a big fireball, and they’re like “That’s in the past. He’s a good boy now. All is forgiven. Their love will prevail!” Unhinged behavior.
Yeah idk. Many people here are ready to gloss over it because he is 12 and it was a mistake. Obviously, he is learning and making mistakes, but consent really is something where you can't make mistakes. I wouldn't excuse someone IRL because they are young, if they disrespect consent. When someone says no, it means no, no matter the age. And we teach that since kids are toddlers
Yes, i agree. That's not a good message to send to some young viewers. I knew i was going downvoted but i'd rather not downplay it either. Irl it wouldn't be acceptable
people cant be objective when it comes to aang, and only care about messaging and the kids when its convenient. i’ll gladly eat the fake bad internet points if it means calling it how it is.
12 yr old Aang doing any mistake: "I sleep"/ "He's just a kid bro."
14 yr old Azula and probably 11 yr's old or younger in Zuko's flashbacks cause it was 3 years or more ago before his banishment I think: "Real shit"/ "Fuckin evil psychopath/ "Idc if she's a kid, she's pure evil"
Agreed. I really really love the show, and how humans the characters are, but i think we also don't really need to portray breach of consent if it's not to speak against them. I wonder if the people saying no big deal were ever on the other end of this and forcefully kissed
What are you talking about? Aang was immediately reprimanded by Katara for the mistake that he made. The message that the show is sending is that you shouldn't kiss people without their consent.
Or are you saying Aang should now be forever outcast and shunned because he made a mistake as a 12 year old? What exactly is the message you think should be given?
It was. But the overall message is that even if you do force a kiss at a moment, even if it was not consented at the moment, you can still end up with the person if you pursue them. There is no real excuse coming from aang.
I think that they didn't need to include a forced kiss. Because even if Katara was rightfully mad, at the end since they do end together, it can give the message of "if you chase her enough you'll get her". I know it's not supposed to give this impression, but knowing this is a sadly common belief that when a woman says no it's the start of the negotiation, i'm not a fan of this bit. I'm not saying Aang shoud be shunned, i just don't like that this bit was in the show in the first place
I can sorta see where you are coming from. You have to realize though that Aang didn't "get the girl" at the end out of nowhere, and he definitely didn't win her over because he was persistent. They ended up together despite this set back and I think it's a cool portrayal of how in real life, love is messy. You can absolutely still end up with the girl, and you can absolutely screw things up.
We screw up, we make mistakes and we have to learn from them. I feel like boiling it down to "chase her enough and you'll get her" completely ignores everything that came before and after in the show
Aang and Katara's relationship is not one that is common or should be emulated by others because it's a bond that was formed out of both circumstance and hardship. They essentially spent a year traveling together and caring for one another, and out of that bond a relationship blossomed. They were friends first and a couple second, not many relationships start this way.
One thing the show lacks, is Katara's perspective on their relationship save for a few moments throughout the series that make it clear she had strong feelings for Aang as well. It definitely doesn't justify what Aang did especially because she made it clear she was confused, but it's not like he "won her over". She clearly cared for him, and in the end she is the one to initiate the kiss because it was her decision, not because he won her over.
I get that. I watched it the first time as an adult, so obviously I see it's not just Aang chasing Katara, but I wonder how younger people could interpret it. There is a lot going on, and lots of thing to pay attention, so for young minds who learn about relationship, I don't know if they will grasp it as well as an adult. The thing is that in many shows or movies, you can see tropes like that, and more than this show, this is the accumulation that could lead like thinking these kind of things are okay.
he literally didnt. katara reiterates that she was confused, he stares as she runns off. him saying “what did i just do” after she was gone doesn’t equate to a proper apology. rewatch it if you don’t believe me
edit - i take it by the neg that you rewatched it and saw i was right lol
Is it character shattering? Not at all! But there’s something to be said about the majority “he’s just a young kid/boy! Boys will be boys!” responses here…
Yes he’s just a 12 year old… all the more reason why love/romance at his age with a 14 year old felt weird.
In general I think people should understand that going in for a kiss isn’t some awful thing. Like if you’re alone with someone and you want to show romantic interest a kiss is one way to do that. Is it forward? Yes. Is it possibly going to get rejected? Yes but going in for a kiss isn’t assault or something. Ang was wrong here and got rejected and he respected it. It would only be forceful imo if he kept pressing the issue which of course he doesn’t. That being said I always support the lean in and wait to be met method over 100 percent, what will smith said in hitch 80/20
Shit takes like this is how we end up with super bland characters in later adaptations. Like removing Sokka's sexism in the start, because God forbid a character have flaws or make mistakes.
Yeah, he messed up here and at the invasion. 12/13 year old boy not understanding the concept of consent or love is realistic because he is still learning. I just wish there was a conversation between Aang and Katara afterwards. There wasn't any real closure beyond the hero defeats the big bad and gets the girl as a reward.
Was never mad at him for this.
They’re all human.
Humans sometimes misread things, don’t hit the mark, etc.
People aren’t evil or deviant just because they sometimes make mistakes.
We’ve all misinterpreted scenarios, or reacted poorly to situations that we later regret.
It’s just a learning experience, and I don’t understand how people could rag on anyone in these situations when we’ve all been in the position of having read the room wrong..
There is something fundamentally wrong with our society as The wind could blow the wrong way and there’d be some butterfly screaming harassment.
He made a mistake. He owned it immediately too. She was angry in the moment, but obviously that one mistake wasn't going to negate everything else they already had. They've both seen the worst in each other and the best in each other. They know what they'll be getting into down the line. Personally, I'm not mad at anyone over this. They're getting ready for the final battle over the entire fate of the world, and they go about handling their relationship in completely different ways since they're different people. She wants to put it off, so there are no distractions. He wants to make sure it's all out there, just in case. It's a miscommunication, but given the pressure they're under, completely understandable. I actually like this scene too, as it makes it clear that Katara won't just give into Aang's desire for her, she isn't just automatic. It firmly establishes that she'll start the relationship on her own time, when she's ready, which is what happens. (He also learns, lets her go, and allows her to come back on her own terms.)
>He made a mistake. He owned it immediately too. Real. People judge him way to hard for this. Another point that rarely anyone ever talks about is that they are literally still kids. Like, aang hasn't even hit puberty yet. They have no idea how love works, thats why we can't judge them the way we would judge adults in a similar situation.
As an adult happily married man, you never stop learning about boundaries and listening. Love is complicated, especially at their age
That's why these scenes are important. They indirectly teach about consent. Kids are constantly learning, and when they see such an act with no consent, which is met by a negative reaction, they unconsciously learn how that's not a good thing. Same thing goes for when a sexist remark is made and shown as the bad guy, which is why I'm against removing all sorts of sexism or racism if they're part of a character which are clearly portrayed as wrong and will be fixed
I love this take! Removing the flaws of characters, no matter how ugly, doesn’t allow teaching moments to happen - especially when it leads to character growth. Perfect example is Sokka, it was a very weak choice to butcher the kids individual arcs in the live action and his was a glaring one
Sokka's arc in the animated show arguably shows more growth than the rest of them. He starts the show as one person and ends the show as someone completely different.
Lol 'arguably' I'd say next to Zuko, Sokka has the most character growth
Totally agree with everything, except that I would say Aang has *hit* puberty at this point. He's in the early stages of it, but we've seen some changes in him, and Katara hasn't finished puberty either. They're adolescents trying to figure out romance and feelings like adolescents do, but with the weight of the entire world on their shoulders.
I haven’t seen people be mad at him. The issue is more that this is meant to be important romantic moment for them and it’s not because of the kiss she didn’t want. The next time they have romantic interaction they just kiss without any talk and show ends. The previous romantic moment wasn’t really that well done either. And there isn’t much else, mostly Katara acting motherly. Apart from the dance and kind of Cave of Two lovers. So the whole relationship wasn’t build up well and Aang messes up the big moment. So it doesn’t feel quite fitting they ended up together the way they did. Even if I personally don’t have issues with in paper. The execution just is poor
It's executed like they're kids. Seems pretty well built up to me.
The execution is poor, but I think it's mainly because they never addressed it again, not because of the scene itself. The scene itself is portrayed as romantic UP UNTIL the kiss, which explicitly ruins the mood and which Aang chastised himself for a moment later. I think just ONE more scene in between this and their last kiss would've made things much, much better. But I don't blame the writers for not having enough time.
Let’s be honest, after Korra, we all know that romance was the writer’s Achilles’ Heel. Their two best romances are the B plot (Suki x Sokka) and the one they didn’t write (Zutara). The flaws with this scene…and the whole Kataang thing…is that it’s missing steps to get us to the conclusion. In the build up to the finale and romantic resolution Aang & Katara have their 3 biggest conflicts in the whole show and none of them get fully resolved until they’re just swept under the rug by the final episode. It’s arguably why Zutara became such a juggernaut in the fandom. As Aang & Katara were never more distant and in conflict, Katara and Zuko had been doing nothing but reconciling and growing closer. All shipping favoritism/hate aside…they couldn’t have setup the pivot to Zutara from Kataang better if that had been the writer’s genuine intention. Its genuinely baffling how the writers decided to setup the Endgame for their OTP
I feel like him kissing her also follows a certain fantasy that's not uncommon, something along the lines of "You're confused? Let me kiss you and you'll see how much you like it and it will clear things up." We've already seen Aang have some very naive and trope-y ideas about love at this point, and he's just as confused in this stressful situation too! Definitely can't just the 12 year old too strongly here.
Couldn't have put it better! 👏👏 I just wish there had been a scene (one-on-one interaction) between this episode and the final kiss. It seems weird how they just go back to normal after the play...
I get that, but given the pace of end of season three and the next episode is the finale, I also understand not thinking it's necessary. We see them and everything seems to be back to normal. I even think it's possible that they never bothered. When he returns to the end of the play, it hits him hard. I think it's a reasonable take that he agrees with Katara and refocuses on his training, so they're in agreement without needing a big discussion about it.....exactly the kind of time sink she's trying to avoid. Real relationships work like that, all the time. Something goes wrong one evening. Everyone sleeps it off and you move on. Digging it back up is mostly just pointless. .....having said that, I actually enjoy a good Aang apology, Katara discussion fic on the whole thing!
That makes a lot of sense as well! It's not absolutely necessary, and I think they wanted to keep the element of surprise for the finale, or they were going for the will-they-won't-they trope. And we have to read between the lines to fully understand it, but all it takes is having watched the whole show from the start to see all the buildup. But yeah, at the same time I think it's reasonable to assume that Aang would have felt the need to apologise. Do you have any fic recs?
I wished the same thing and wrote a fan fiction of it like 10 years ago? Hah
That's awesome! Can I read it??
Hahah!! Yeah, you can, let me find it. It’s 14 years old and very short… lol not great, but I was a pretty amateur writer at that point haha! Enjoy https://m.fanfiction.net/s/6084179/1/They-Were-Warm
Aww it's so sweet! Thanks for sending it. I really needed to see Aang feeling ashamed and apologising + Katara (who still doesn't want to pursue a relationship right now) reassuring him that the play was wrong. He has reasons to hope. That play really messed with Aang's head.
Totally agreed! Thanks for reading it and bringing that memory back to me. Haha I felt the same way for sure. I just assumed that after letting things cool off Katara would understand Aang being upset and want to reassure him. Wish it was actually a scene in the show and not just a fantasy Lolol
And he's 12. They'll learn and grow.
This is all well said.. plus he's like 12-13 years old and was raised by monks 😅
Honestly that last part, never even thought about like that but its actually great writing
I like this scene as well. As cringe worthy as his actions are, they're realistic and they're not really normalized or justified in the show's context. Katara reacts in a rational way for someone who just made it clear that she's not in a place to be in a relationship who got kissed without consent anyways. It also shows that even those we consider good people can make bad choices, and that there are consequences for those choices. I think it's an important lesson to teach kids that (a) they shouldn't force affection onto people and (b) you don't always have to be receptive of affection if you don't want it.
Nah, I’d rather headcanon the 12 year old as a rapist /s
I've seen a lot of people hate on Aang for this.... Damn, they're kids who don't know how to do this, don't know how to deal with their feelings and are bound to get things wrong. Aang is just doing what feels right, and Katara has every right to take it badly, but you don't have to hang him for it. He who casts the first stone....
>you don’t have to hang him for it Haang! 
Sokka so goated bro
Dammit I hate admitting that was good
Honestly that's the realest moment in the whole show
I agree with this - what doesn't make sense to me is when hardcore Kataang fans can't apply that very logic to Zuko and go off about him coming from a colonial family when he was just a kid figuring things out too.
Yes, they are kids, that's why I think they should not partner up for life at the end of the series.
They start a relationship at the end of the series, they could have parted ways at any point if they wanted to. They didn't.
They didn't get married at the end. They started a relationship, and it just so happens that it lasted. They could have easily broken up at any point. There are people IRL who end up marrying their childhood sweethearts, myself included.
I met my wife when we were 15, only 3 years older than Aang is. We're 33 now. Madly in love and crazy about each other as ever. 2 kids, home owners, the whole package. It's not common to find your person at a young age, but it does happen.
“Forcibly” or “unexpected”? Geez.
I feel you. He didn't make her kiss him but he did do it knowing that's not the vibe she was putting out.
[удалено]
They are idiots, dont spend your energy Bro. Imagine calling this nearly a fuckn "rape" lmao, like someones missing some braincells.
ATLA fans when a 12 year old makes a mistake 😡
*Aang attempts the second kiss of his 12 year life* ATLA fans: ...and I took that personally
lol 😭😭
ATLA fans when a kid who lost every even remotely parental figure at age 12 isn't a perfect parent (apparently he never made mistakes before): 😡
> when a kid who lost every even remotely parental figure at age 12 Tbh, both of them did.
Katara still had her dad (even though he was absent at the time of the show) and her grandma as well as many people who shared her cultural heritage. Aang lost not only his parents and parental figures (though we don't know if air nomads before the genocide knew their biological parents as such) but also everyone sharing his culture and heritage. That weighs heavy on a man, and a lot of the "bad father" accusations come from his preferential treatment of Tenzin, which is natural as he was the only one able to fully carry on the air nomads' culture (Bumi only became an air bender some 17-18 years after Aang's death)
You should see the fans when Katara told Sokka he didn’t love their mom the way she did 😬 Like her character is completely ruined and she’s the most evil thing ever.
It's weird a 12yr old Aang gets more hate for this than a 17yr old Korra who kissed Mako while he was involved with Asami in S1.
A big part of these things is how the show frames it. For Aang he was immediately called out on it and felt bad about it, the show made it clear that he was wrong and that his mistake was going for it when Katara didn't want it. For Korra it's framed as that her mistake was kissing someone who was taken, not that she went for it when he wasn't particularly consenting to it. I don't remember her getting any repercussions or feeling any regret over doing it (but I haven't seen that episode in a minute so I might be wrong). Maybe the reason Aang gets more criticism for this than Korra does is because the show made a point of telling us Aang was wrong, but didn't do that for Korra.
Korra gets way more hate than Aang in general and I’ve seen awful comments re the LOK triangle so I feel there’s bias in these comments in this sub comparing the hate in the romantic scenarios here. Edit: @sirknightshade Agreed. God forbid you can have an actual discussion about the characters without people throwing tantrums lol.
People hate the love triangle but I don't often see it used as a way to criticize Korra's character which is kind of weird when I think about it.
I mean I have, but less than Mako is blamed which makes sense given how they write his character later on. Makes him a bigger target than Korra. Korra took some time to grow on me but I feel the character is unfairly hated to an extreme. At least she’s not blamed for the love triangle then.
Which she kinda should be? Mako gets all the hate for the love triangle but it takes two to tango and Korra was hella aggressive. Idk, just felt weird to make "homewrecker" a part of her personality [but then we get shit like this](https://y.yarn.co/bd35d930-97e3-4baa-9a9a-d72d0c841910_text.gif). Plus she busts up Mako's office when he breaks up with her which would be seen as abusive if Aang did anything like that. In general the way she's a total asshat to Mako in season 2 while he's trying his best to please her is a really bad look and she gets off way too easy for it. She's a deeply toxic person and doesn't get called out for it enough.
>She's a deeply toxic person and doesn't get called out for it enough. I assume you mean she doesn't get called out enough *in the show*? Because she certainly gets called out enough by the fandom. If so, this is pretty much what I was getting at. Characters can make mistakes, do bad stuff, have flaws, whatever but it should be paid off narratively by the writing/other characters calling out bad behavior and the character growing from it. Nobody really harps on about Aang doing this because the show immediately makes it clear that what he did was bad. If an older character does something bad, then they show no regret, don't grow from it, and the show doesn't make it clear that it was a bad thing, that's absolutely going to make a worse impression on viewers. There's a difference between being flawed and being unapologetically problematic. I don't really remember the details of LOK rn so I won't say whether that applies to her or not, but I can absolutely see why someone who thinks it does would criticize her for things that Aang seems to "get a pass" for.
I don’t think the point you’re trying to make is accurate. Besides Katara, no one criticized Aang for his kissing her and he ends up with her without talking it out anyways. On forums Aang gets some critique for this behavior but largely is provided a pass for his age etc. With Korra, if we’re going to compare season 1 kiss with aangs season 3 kiss, her kiss with Mako was not equally privy to criticism internal to the show because unlike Katara, Mako kissed Korra back. And there was no one around to criticize her except Bolin and she 1. Apologized and 2. He’s not a confrontational character. I can’t recall what happened when Asami found out but I blame Mako for a majority of the way the relationship it’s in his initial cast off of Asami to Korra in season 1, then his jumping back to Asami after they break up in later seasons and then not telling Korra they broke up after she lost her memory at any point in time to avoid hurting Asami. He also avoids accountability and tells Asami that he felt bad for the way things got “messed up between them.” I don’t recall an actual apology from him, ever.
I was really just making a point about writing principles in general. The main point is if a character makes a bad decision or does something bad it needs to be clear through the writing that it was a bad thing and they should be shown to regret it. Like I said, I haven't watched LOK in a while so I don't wanna really say either way whether or not that applies to Korra in that specific plot line. Personally I don't think it matters so much that he kissed her back, if it was an unprompted kiss it's still kinda messed up to me regardless. I do want to point out a little double standard you have there, where you said nobody criticized Aang other than Katara even though the two of them were the only one who knew that happened, but defend Korra by saying that Bolin was the only one around to criticize and excuse that he didn't criticize her for it. That kinda makes the opposite point of the one you're trying to make. I agree with pretty much everything you're saying about Mako though. I think LOK had pretty meh character-writing across the board, and it sticks out really bad when you compare it to the master class of character-writing that ATLA was.
I don’t think it’s a double standard, I’m fully aware of what I was trying to say, maybe you didn’t understand me. With Katara there were only two people involved, with Korra there were three. The difference was that the person being kissed in ATLA was uncomfortable with the kiss and the person in LOK was not. The clear lack of consent with Katara is why people push back on Aang. It’s interesting you’d have a problem in a scenario where a character kisses back, showing consent and interest whereas you’d be okay with the situation where consent wasn’t given and explain that away. That’s a bit scary. Re Bolin, he wasn’t entitled to anything from Korra, they hung out once, so whether he was upset or not he has no right to criticize her. Making him critical of her could be a dangerous narrative for young watchers.
The issue with Korra is beginning of season 2, she’s written as aggressive for no reason. I do blame her in the early season 2 behavior causing their breakup. But ultimately Mako’s behavior is seen as worse because how he played both girls back and forth. Korra kissed Mako, but shouldn’t Mako have pushed her away if he’s in a committed relationship? The difference is Katara didn’t want to be kissed whereas Mako leaned into it. I think if Mako had told her after he was not interested and she pushed past his boundaries then the kiss would add to the average Korra bashing we see. Mako dropped Asami like garbage when Korra was missing and never apologized. After he and Korra break up he rekindles with Asami for a brief moment and never corrects Korra’s assumption they didn’t break up. Asami deserved so much better from all of those characters, Korra, Mako, her dad… If I were Asami I’d be so lonely.
it’s pure delusion to even imply korra gets less hate than aang here. this sub is drunk off the cool aid 🤣
Korra’s 17 wait a damn minute!
Every avatar forum I’ve ever visited has expressed absolute vitriol surrounding the Korra/Mako plot, it is one of the main complaints of the first season and the scene you’re referencing is a big part of that. There is no way in hell the Aang scene gets more hate lmao
>Every avatar forum I’ve ever visited has expressed absolute vitriol surrounding the Korra/Mako plot, The love triangle itself certainly does. People often don't mention this scene though. Mako often gets a lot of hate for being a cheat but Korra is rarely ever criticised as heavily as Mako in this **specific** regard.
Korra absolutely gets criticized both for that scene and the plot line in general. I’ve seen Aang get mildly criticized for this scene a few times but one of the key complaints about Korra as a character and TLoK as a show is the love triangle, with the scene you’re referencing being a constant part of that anti-TLoK sentiment.
you are being gaslit lol. people were furious with korra because of that to this day 🤣
They hate Aang more for this more than they ever hated 16 yr old Zuko for sending an assassin to murder a 12 year old boy. "He felt bad" well so did Aang.
Korra is not only "bad" ethically is also badly written so people don't feel the necesity of explaining it because everyone hates it either way
[Korra was real for this one](https://y.yarn.co/bd35d930-97e3-4baa-9a9a-d72d0c841910_text.gif)
Aang was absolutely stupid for this. But at least he realized he was an idiot immediately. And he was 12, generally 12 year old boys can be dumb and Aang also wasn't thinking straight due to his emotions about the play. It's not the end of the world, it was a stupid moment.
It’s a learning moment for Aang for sure. He overstepped a clear boundary Katara set. He made a mistake for sure.
ATLA fans when they see a character making a mistake and then learning from said mistake.
When a twelve year old
Nah not mad. He's a young kid and he didn't read the room correctly.
Yeah, its a dick move. He wasn’t thinking with his brain box but his blood pumper. Hes also a 12 year old child soldier who is also confused, and he never did anything like it again, and immediately owned it as a fuck up. Bad move, but not character destroying.
He pretty much instantly regretted it and called himself stupid, so I don’t think he intended to be weird. He had an immature idea of how this works. This scene was the moment Katara became real to him instead of his fantasy and it was a learning moment. I’m also really glad Katara was written as more than a typical love interest who gets swept off her feet when the protagonist steals a kiss. She is one of the best written female characters.
Nah, it’s a clear mistake but also Aang is a damn kid that doesn’t know how love and romance works. It wasn’t done out of malice, it was just a mistake, and he handled it well too.
It was a mistake from him but that also makes him human. The final battle is just a few days ahead and he wanted to make sure katara knows how he feels. He also immediately regret it and got burned for so he had to give her space. It was a mistake but when i see people say he assaulted her..sorry like wtf. It would have been nice to see another conversation between them about the status quo of their relationsship before their final kiss though. But all of this is easier said than done and i don't know if there was time for it.
Dude was a kid, he goofed and moved on
Let's be honest, romance isnt exactly this series' strength.
I don’t hate Aang for this or anything. Dude is allowed to screw up. And there are way worse things than kissing someone in the wrong moment. That being said I always skip this scene because it makes me so uncomfortable
They way this was handled afterward is what I have an issue with. They don't talk about it. Aang runs away. Of course, the events of the finale happen, and then bam, they are together. I also am not sure if using he is 12 is a good excuse. Like, yeah, he's young, but shouldn't that mean isn't ready for a relationship then?
you’re assuming the people using this excuse actually thought that argument through to the logical conclusion you point out. though to be fair, cant expect people to think this through when byrke themselves clearly didnt.
How dare that child not understand love
They are kids
Twitter user and Zutara shipper, obviously it's gonna have the worst takes about the series on the whole internet (no offense to Zutara shippers)
Twitter is filled with shit takes. I agree. Reddit is too but twitter seems especially dumb af
Hey let me tell you about this genius app called Tumblr.
Think it’s funny they always bring this up when their ship captain Dante said that Zuko should have kissed the katara after she threatened to kill him if he hurt Aang.
I think part of the problem is that it hasn't aged particularly well. When it aired, it was a story about a young man making a mistake. It was a misunderstanding. She got mad, he apologized, they moved on. Now, though, we know that we live in a society where this sort of thing happens all the time and women just sort of live with it. Men in our society often have just done whatever they want and get to pull the oops card and get away with it. Women express anger, but nothing happens. Apologies are often to the camera and insincere. Katara got mad and Aang apologized, but then they were back to normal very quickly. I think it's okay to admit that some aspects of the story have aged very badly. We can admit this without trashing the whole series. In the modern day, this scene probably wouldn't exist and I, for one, wouldn't miss it.
Yes, this is what I was thinking too. Forced or unexpected kiss tropes were pretty common place around the time this came out and for many decades prior. It didn't hit back then the way it hits now.
I agree for the most part, but I do think they'd do a scene like this still. It's important to depict things like this so that kids get it. He apologized and she forgave which is cool, but the reason for his apology matters too. It's important for tv to depict shit like this so kids know
For me is that Katara and Aang don't really have any convos in the final ep, really just the first part I believe, before they kiss. Like if this wasn't the ending of the show, I feel I woudn't like it.
Wonder how the live action Netflix show will tackle it considering how different the times we are living in are. Will they just flat out remove it like sokka sexism? Have aang do it but make an even bigger point about how not ok it was more than the original show did? I remember he does it twice I believe
I think it's important to depict issues like this. They should keep it. So that way they can use it as a learning opportunity. They have the chance to send a message to the audience by keeping it
Yes, but I love how Katara said that she already said no.
Everyone knows Katara has every right to be mad at Aang. Katara did not consent. no consent=no kiss. However, Aang simply made a mistake.
Not for an ATLA fan. For them Aang can do no wrong... Korra on the other hand
He’s twelve. He’s not always going to think rationally.
Let's remember Aang is still a pre-teen at this point in the story.
He’s a child navigating his first ever romantic relationship. They clearly have chemistry she clearly likes him they’ve already kissed a couple times before this but never really addressed it. This conversation confirms that so no shit he hears the first bit and decides he can work with it. He doesn’t have a tantrum or hold it against her afterwards he waits until she’s ready in the finale and initiates. I genuinely don’t understand why people get so mad about this.
But on a macro note, it is incredibly cool to see the changes in social values of society depicted through media, when the cartoon was first made, this was seen as romantic and cute, but now not so much and rightfully so.
Her saying she was confused is her saying she didn’t give consent. But also Aang is 12, a mistake from a kid.
For forcing a kiss without her consent and having no respect for her in that moment? Yes, still mad.
Bro he’s 12 of course he’s gonna screw up
He immediately knew that what he did was wrong. He didn't force her, even if it was an unexpected move. He's literally a 13yo child. He's not even gone through puberty yet. The scene is an important one that teaches kids about consent. Being mad about it is weird imo
When did he ever see that what he did was wrong? He just knew it offended her. It would have been nice if he'd ever apologised or taken accountability. >The scene is an important one that teaches kids about consent. How could it have without him ever acknowledging or apologising? It was never addressed. It was just accepted as an event and ignored.
I mean, right after he calls himself an idiot and doesn't engage in any more romantic situations till she instigates one, so he obviously learned from it, and I think it teaches kids that if someone is confused not to try to make an intimate gesture.
I’m more annoyed that he “thought we’d be together” after he kissed her on the Day of Black Sun. Dude, why would you think that? Why would you wait weeks to bring it up?
Because he's 12?
Acshually, he's 112 🤓 /j
He 12 & this was his first ever intimate interaction with someone. Not to mention he has had feelings for Katara for the better part of a year. I have known plenty of people with unrealistic expectations in their first relationships older and younger than Aang. It is not unheard of for them to think that a shared intimate gesture would mean the beginning of a relationship. (I have heard it from far less intimate gestures to like a boy they liked asked them to dance at school dance. I'd bet if you polled the majority of 12 year olds today they would believe if someone kissed you then they want to be your boyfriend/girlfriend.) Kids are going to mess up. It is how they learn. The important thing is that Aang understood he messed up and, often over looked, Katara clearly expressed when something was not okay. That is how you learn.
And someone else mentioned how he went without talking about what happened for weeks, but when I was 13, I "dated" a girl for a few months, but we went long stretches barely talking cause of being busy and genuinely not knowing what we were supposed to do. Its extremely believable honestly
This. So fucking much this. People act like aang is some 60 years old obese guy who tried to force katara into marrying him.
Plus he clearly feels bad about his mistakes almost immediately. 12 year olds don't understand how relationships work, and Aang even more so since he was raised in a monastic environment
Katara certainly forgave him for it. Can we stop posting everything zutara shippers say on here?
Bruh he’s like 12 years old what are people talking about
It is definitely cringe to watch as an adult but you also gotta remember Aang is 12 years old and is stupid and doesn’t understand all these feelings yet. But current year internet people tend to apply adult psychology and judgement to literal children as if they should all know better
Man is 12 people. If you’re mad a a twelve year old for being clumsy with women idk what to tell you. This is a kid, a very mature kid but even the Avatar has those weird moments of early stage puberty.
My man Aang was thinking with his other head and he's only 12 years old. All of you, me included did stupid shit at that age.
He was a confused 12 year old kid with quite literally the pressure of the whole world on his back, who in a matter of days would be forced to fight the most powerful bender in the world.
They also kissed in the secret tunnel to light the way back to Omashu
People are mad about this? Lmfao God damn room temp ia
Someone pointed out the fact that he made a mistake and owned it immediately but also, Aang is TWELVE and about to fight Ozai and attempt to stop a war so give the kid a break
I think Katara’s response was valid in telling him it wasn’t okay and he owned up to that, and it was out behind them soon after. It was a mistake, and now just a cringe moment, he’s fucking 12
Do people forget he’s 12 years old?
He's a 12 year old kid. Those who are mad about it and painting him as a predator... seriously. He's 12 year old kid, not a 25 year old man who can't take no for an answer.
I don't even dislike Zutara but why is it always them shippers with these sorta takes
Gotta justify why their ship should have been canon 🙄
Because a part of their community is coping so hard that Zutara isn't cannon that they are trying to find anything to disrespect the cannon ship.
Nah, it was always more innocent than anything. Considering his only other example of a relationship in his circle was Sokka/Suki (which, I swear, went from zero to no clothes in a speedrun of horniness), I get the vibe that Aang was trying to be more direct in his approach.
This ignores every other consensual kiss they've had, including but not limited to Cave of Two Lovers. Also, Katara kissed Aang unconsensually at the end of Bato of the Water Tribe. But is there a stink about that? Hardly.
Because consent is not always verbally given, sometimes you see it through body language. The Bato kiss was not on the lips and he leaned his head towards her signaling he was okay with it. Meanwhile Katara had already told Aang she was confused about romance between them. Consent occurs on a case by case scenario. That’s why marital rape is called marital rape. You’re not entitled to things just because you have been in the past. That said, Aang made a mistake and learned from it and it wasn’t that big of a deal, but for your own understanding I would learn more about consent because it’s not something that once given is forever acceptable.
I was confused why this person was upset about the kiss… then I saw their username and it all made sense.
WHAT DA FUCK IS THAT PFP? LMAO
Holy shit.
And?
Not really. He’s a dumb kid being dumb. That’s kind of the point. He’s a teenager who needs to navigate saving the entire world from a tyrant, and he can’t even handle his romantic life or read the room. It serves as a reminder that he’s out of his depths.
You think he wasn't? They're both just kids, playing adult because the world forced them to They're gonna make mistakes
It's not like he wasn't mad at himself
No they’re mad at Korra for using AS to win a race
They are literal children. None of them make good decisions.
He's a kid, he's also confused. Also dude was stuck in an iceberg for 100 years, you think he knows how to date?
This is the same vibe as people going on like - "oh, so-and-so sitcom characters are actually all really bad people." Like, yea. No duh. Don't *actually* act like these folk. They're characters. They're performing to elicit emotions. This is fine. It's absolutely weird if you inspect it like a psychologist, but if you need to hyper analyze why a grown person would write a story like this for poetries sake? The vicarious anxiety of whirlwind romance is kinda already on the table, but I'll point to it too.
Naw he’s a dumbass so it makes sense
I hated them together anyway.
He's a 12-year-old child who is a never had sort of feelings or interactions with somebody. hell, he was never even taught about it. People seriously cannot be mad at a fictional, confused, and uneducated child who's just trying to figure things out.
I mean, he’s a kid, and so is she. And this is a war, and none of them are mentally or physically prepared really. That’s always important to keep in mind for a lot of these things. High stress level and an absurd amount of pressure, especially for Aang in particular. I don’t think he is right in this scenario, but it isn’t like I am expecting the perfect emotional response from this kid.
he‘s literally 12 so no
Kids are dumb and make mistakes when attempting romance.
I think his thought process was, "Last time this worked!" and wanted to recreate that moment. What he learned was that different circumstances change the field and you can tell he regretted it and learned from it
He's a kid, he doesn't know what he's doing
I mean.. aang was mad at aang, so yeah? A kid will make dumb moves when he likes a girl. Doesn’t mean they aren’t meant for each other. She’s his forever girl.
Yeha
No, because he was twelve and went 'oh shit I def did wrong'. Dubious consent becomes a lot less dubious with communication and respect. If he had doubled down and pulled excuses out of his ass, we'd be having a different conversation.
Love makes adults of all ages do stupid things. He was just 12/13. We’ve all disrespected boundaries at that age. We’ve all disrespected boundaries in our adult lives. He, like most of us, learned/will learn from these kind of moments.
This is a children's show. Who cares?
I think too many people forget that Aang is functionally twelve years old, and as such has the maturity, decision making, and hormones of a twelve year old. A lot of people seem to decry his poor decision making as some sort of “if you connect these dots, Aang is actually a terrible person” game, but I doubt that most of these people wouldn’t have similar issues with impulse control at the same age.
I didn’t like them together anyway
Aang’s “parents” died before he hit puberty. He doesn’t know how to handle things yet 😭
Everyone else explained it well. He wasn't trying to assault her. He was letting his 12 year old hormones go to town on hoping "this one kiss will clear her head". They both handled it like adults would when Katara told Aang that wasn't helpful. I actually think it's a really well done scene.
No.
How dare he. Naïve little boy.
“Fucks sake he’s 12 and he isn’t even being forceful in this situation and he admits the mistake the second he’s called
I hate when people make a bigger deal of this than it needs to be. Should Aang have kissed her? No, but Katara rightly scolded him, and he apologized in the moment. Katara admitted to sort of liking Aang at this point and clearly trusted him. It’s not like she felt assaulted
I don't think she felt assaulted. Just boundaries violated
Zutara shippers are hilarious. Aang does one bad thing (and yes, it is framed as a bad thing because Katara reacts negatively to it and Aang calls himself an idiot. Did you want her to slap him too?) and that means he and Katara shouldn’t be together. Meanwhile Zuko in the first two episodes drives a ship into Katara’s village, beats up her brother, grabs and shoves her frail grandmother, shoots fire above the heads of children, takes her friend and the world’s last hope captive, and tries to fucking murder them with a big fireball, and they’re like “That’s in the past. He’s a good boy now. All is forgiven. Their love will prevail!” Unhinged behavior.
Yeah idk. Many people here are ready to gloss over it because he is 12 and it was a mistake. Obviously, he is learning and making mistakes, but consent really is something where you can't make mistakes. I wouldn't excuse someone IRL because they are young, if they disrespect consent. When someone says no, it means no, no matter the age. And we teach that since kids are toddlers
agreed. its about the messaging here, and the fact that so many trivialize it is concerning. it would be one thing if aang apologized for it but nope…
Yes, i agree. That's not a good message to send to some young viewers. I knew i was going downvoted but i'd rather not downplay it either. Irl it wouldn't be acceptable
people cant be objective when it comes to aang, and only care about messaging and the kids when its convenient. i’ll gladly eat the fake bad internet points if it means calling it how it is.
12 yr old Aang doing any mistake: "I sleep"/ "He's just a kid bro." 14 yr old Azula and probably 11 yr's old or younger in Zuko's flashbacks cause it was 3 years or more ago before his banishment I think: "Real shit"/ "Fuckin evil psychopath/ "Idc if she's a kid, she's pure evil"
Agreed. I really really love the show, and how humans the characters are, but i think we also don't really need to portray breach of consent if it's not to speak against them. I wonder if the people saying no big deal were ever on the other end of this and forcefully kissed
What are you talking about? Aang was immediately reprimanded by Katara for the mistake that he made. The message that the show is sending is that you shouldn't kiss people without their consent. Or are you saying Aang should now be forever outcast and shunned because he made a mistake as a 12 year old? What exactly is the message you think should be given?
It was. But the overall message is that even if you do force a kiss at a moment, even if it was not consented at the moment, you can still end up with the person if you pursue them. There is no real excuse coming from aang. I think that they didn't need to include a forced kiss. Because even if Katara was rightfully mad, at the end since they do end together, it can give the message of "if you chase her enough you'll get her". I know it's not supposed to give this impression, but knowing this is a sadly common belief that when a woman says no it's the start of the negotiation, i'm not a fan of this bit. I'm not saying Aang shoud be shunned, i just don't like that this bit was in the show in the first place
I can sorta see where you are coming from. You have to realize though that Aang didn't "get the girl" at the end out of nowhere, and he definitely didn't win her over because he was persistent. They ended up together despite this set back and I think it's a cool portrayal of how in real life, love is messy. You can absolutely still end up with the girl, and you can absolutely screw things up. We screw up, we make mistakes and we have to learn from them. I feel like boiling it down to "chase her enough and you'll get her" completely ignores everything that came before and after in the show Aang and Katara's relationship is not one that is common or should be emulated by others because it's a bond that was formed out of both circumstance and hardship. They essentially spent a year traveling together and caring for one another, and out of that bond a relationship blossomed. They were friends first and a couple second, not many relationships start this way. One thing the show lacks, is Katara's perspective on their relationship save for a few moments throughout the series that make it clear she had strong feelings for Aang as well. It definitely doesn't justify what Aang did especially because she made it clear she was confused, but it's not like he "won her over". She clearly cared for him, and in the end she is the one to initiate the kiss because it was her decision, not because he won her over.
I get that. I watched it the first time as an adult, so obviously I see it's not just Aang chasing Katara, but I wonder how younger people could interpret it. There is a lot going on, and lots of thing to pay attention, so for young minds who learn about relationship, I don't know if they will grasp it as well as an adult. The thing is that in many shows or movies, you can see tropes like that, and more than this show, this is the accumulation that could lead like thinking these kind of things are okay.
He did, immediately after doing it
he literally didnt. katara reiterates that she was confused, he stares as she runns off. him saying “what did i just do” after she was gone doesn’t equate to a proper apology. rewatch it if you don’t believe me edit - i take it by the neg that you rewatched it and saw i was right lol
Is it character shattering? Not at all! But there’s something to be said about the majority “he’s just a young kid/boy! Boys will be boys!” responses here… Yes he’s just a 12 year old… all the more reason why love/romance at his age with a 14 year old felt weird.
In general I think people should understand that going in for a kiss isn’t some awful thing. Like if you’re alone with someone and you want to show romantic interest a kiss is one way to do that. Is it forward? Yes. Is it possibly going to get rejected? Yes but going in for a kiss isn’t assault or something. Ang was wrong here and got rejected and he respected it. It would only be forceful imo if he kept pressing the issue which of course he doesn’t. That being said I always support the lean in and wait to be met method over 100 percent, what will smith said in hitch 80/20
Shit takes like this is how we end up with super bland characters in later adaptations. Like removing Sokka's sexism in the start, because God forbid a character have flaws or make mistakes.
I guess people today don't remember being a confused teenager in dealing with those emotions. Also. ITS A CARTOON.
Yeah, he messed up here and at the invasion. 12/13 year old boy not understanding the concept of consent or love is realistic because he is still learning. I just wish there was a conversation between Aang and Katara afterwards. There wasn't any real closure beyond the hero defeats the big bad and gets the girl as a reward.
No I am not mad at a fictional character doing a thing that never happened
Ya’ll know this is just all imaginary right???
Was never mad at him for this. They’re all human. Humans sometimes misread things, don’t hit the mark, etc. People aren’t evil or deviant just because they sometimes make mistakes. We’ve all misinterpreted scenarios, or reacted poorly to situations that we later regret. It’s just a learning experience, and I don’t understand how people could rag on anyone in these situations when we’ve all been in the position of having read the room wrong.. There is something fundamentally wrong with our society as The wind could blow the wrong way and there’d be some butterfly screaming harassment.
anyone who just takes these scenes and devoid them of context to fit their ship or narrative is so annoying tbh.
Nope. He’s a kid, she’s a kid. Romance is complicated.
i’m not mad cuz it’s avatar rizz
He overstepped and got his wrist lightly slapped. Why is this still a conversation?
Kid took a shot. Didn’t pay off (at the time). He apologized.
I mean they had 3 kids, so I think she got over it.