#kataang kiss
I always wondered why Aang and Katara’s kiss at the end of the series felt like such a moment.And then rewatching the series, I figured it out. It was the song. Don’t get me wrong it’s a lot of build-up that we had been waiting for, but there’s more to it. The song is literally a timeline of their relationship.
In the finale, when we first see Katara walking up to Aang all the way until she hugs him, we hear a tune that sounds very familiar. It’s a clear staple of the series, but when does it normally play…
The tune’s typical appearance occurs whenever Katara kisses Aang on the cheek at the end of the episode, and he begins to blush. It’s a sweet little melody. Their cheek kisses almost always were done with friendly intentions, but there was always a hint that it could lead to something more. (Katara isn’t giving Toph, and everyone else cheek kisses, so it isn’t 100% platonic). This parallels their hug in the finale scene because while it’s a hug rooted in so much friendly love, their eyes give you a look at the end that tells you there is much more to it than that.
Then the song changes briefly into a very soft melody. An iconic melody. Right as Aang and Katara are about to kiss.
Say hello to the song from “The Cave of Two Lovers” episode. This parallel is gorgeous. The scenes line up exactly. The images are almost identical as they are about to kiss each other. It’s the song of their firstandlast kiss in the series.
Which brings us to the last part of the finale song: the part where they actually kiss. This tune is much louder and, for some reason, makes us feel passionate? If you weren’t a Katara/Aang stan before, I’m not sure how you’re not one after watching this. The kiss paired with this song makes you feel like their adventure is not over. Like you’re about to go off to battle, and you’re prepared to die with this ship. But why?
Becauseyou are about to go off to battle. This is a louder version of the song that was playing when Aang kisses Katara right before he went to fight the Firelord, and you didn’t even know it. The finale kiss makes you feel passionate and promotes a sense of urgency in you because that’s how the kiss before the invasion was supposed to make you feel. What is so beautiful about how they used this song in both scenes is that:
- Aang kissed Katara the first time it was used and now Katara is kissing Aang the last time it is used—tying it together in a really pretty way.
- They are letting you know that the kiss at the invasion was a massive milestone in their relationship, and, yes, it was mutual. Otherwise, that song wouldn’t have been in the finale. So congrats, Aang, your baddie move worked.
My point is, is that throughout this entire goddamn series, we were being conditioned and trained to fall in love with the pairing. Their intention with putting all these tunes into one big song at the end was to remind you of how you felt during their past romantic moments. It was a mental nostalgia montage. We were being told, it’s going to happen no matter what, and here are the signs. And as they left, the creators/writers/music director wanted to leave you with this one note: it’s Aang and Katara. It has always been Aang and Katara.
Flameo, sir. Fla-me-o.
