It’s time that we had a real conversation about Aang…
For the main character of a television series, Aang somehow almost always finds himself under-rated and dismissed in fans’ posts. You see all these posts and, when they do reference him, it’s usually accompanied by the phrases “immature” and “12-year-old boy.” I mean honestly, in some ATLA fans posts, it seems as if Aang’s name is almost synonymous with the word immaturity–and it’s been that way for years. I’ve always wondered why people discredited him. Was it because they saw his age and immediately ruled him out? Is it an excuse for Katara and Aang to have never happened? Was calling him the most immature character a way to bring up their favorite characters? Or did they simply get conditioned to think Aang was immature because everyone just… said he was? Well, I think Aang’s the most mature character (from start to finish) on the show, and Imma tell you why.
I think that Book 1 Aang is the Aang that everyone has stuck in their head. We get introduced to Aang in a strange way: he’s a boy frozen in an iceberg, and the first thing he asks is to go penguin sledding. Then he boldly explores a fire navy ship after being told it might not be a great idea. This kid’s kinda stupid, we think. Why does he care about penguin sledding? Why does he explore something he is told not to? Then he stops at Kyoshi Island to ride the Unagi, then he stops at Omashu to ride the delivery service, and then he lets the gang stop at other locations—having mini adventures—without worrying about learning waterbending on any sort of timeline. Why does he choose to explore all these different places at first rather than master the four elements? Doesn’t he even care about being the Avatar? Ah… that’s right. He’s only 12.
Except surmising his entire maturity (or lack thereof) to the fact that he stops for these adventures means that you are ignoring one glaring detail of the show: Airbender and nomad culture. Aang asking Katara to go penguin sledding instead of what year it was and taking his friends to all those random stops in B1 so that he can explore can not be chalked up to immaturity. Because then you are ignoring an entire culture. We don’t get to see a lot of airbenders, and I think that plays into the problem, but from what we do know, we learn that a critical part of their culture is that they travel. A lot. And experience different cultures. A lot. Think about all the different places he’s referenced going to 100 years ago in the series. Then think about all the friends he’s talked about having in these obscure places—and it always sounded like he visited them more than once. Traveling, experiencing different cities, and meeting new people was a part of him and a part of his culture. He wasn’t being a 12-year-old when he stopped to ride the Unagi or the delivery shoots in Omashu, he was being an air nomad
On a similar note, one of Aang’s most notable traits is saying, “Hey, check this out,” excitedly while doing some air bending trick that seems juvenile–like spinning marbles around or doing an air scooter. People look at him doing this and his previously mentioned traits and go, “Oh, what a kid.” But here’s the thing: we can’t roll our eyes at his persistent need to show people marbles floating in the air or his air scooter. In the episode “Southern Air Temple,” we see Monk Gyatso—an extremely old, wise air bender—throwing cakes on other monks’ heads, and then we’re told throughout the series that Airbenders were known for their playful nature. Airbenders didn’t use their bending the same way other benders do. For example, Waterbenders might show off their skills by creating a giant wave and being like, “Look how cool!” (See: Katara, like every time she learns a new move.) We know Airbenders have some pretty powerful moves–we’ve seen the tornado Aang created, the air body imprint of Aang that slammed Zuko back–but they don’t show off those moves because they’re so combative and not so fun. They show off the good-natured side of air bending (ex: Gyasto’s staff surfing when he was a child). So those marble/air scooter tricks can’t be watered down to 12-year-old immaturity. Because he’s not being a kid when he does those things, he’s being an Airbender. People also tend to look over the fact that he is a survivor of a genocide. You need to keep in mind that he is a living relic and the only example left of what his race was. So even later in the series when he continues to show people those tricks, he’s showing them not just for fun, but to keep his culture alive. And what do you think he’s going to show them: a tornado with random objects flying around in it or two marbles flying in his hands? Which is a better representation of Airbender culture?
Also, do not forget that Aang earned his arrows. Airbenders are not just regular benders; they are known for being especially enlightened. You don’t just need to be a master at airbending to get your arrows—you also need to be a master at their culture. Aang was an enlightened boi. Look at all the speeches that he gave as the series continued. He didn’t just magically become wise in the course of a few months because he had to fight the Firelord, he just tapped into what was always there and never showed. The maturity was always there, and the receipts are in the arrows.
So, I’ve gone over why he’s not as immature as everyone thinks, but why do I think he’s the most mature on the show? It’s because his emotional maturity is freaking through the roof. He’s part of a genocide, his culture is mocked, the few things—his clothing and glider—that he had left from his home were completely destroyed, and he had to do something that severely went against what he believes in. And he almost never loses his shit. In fact, we only ever see him get actually upset (we’re not counting the Avatar state cause that’s a whole different thing) 3 times in the series: when he was telling Katara about how the monks wanted to take him away from Gyatso, the episode when Appa was stolen, and when he was explaining that no one understands the position he is in (in terms of killing Ozai). Think about how much we saw everyone else freak out over the course of the show? About even smaller things.
Katara and Zuko are generally accepted as the two most mature characters of the series. But why? Zuko is continuously snapping at everyone, and, yes, he matured. But he is not completely there yet. He still somewhat believes in revenge (See: Southern Raiders), and it’s only at the last episode of the series that he understands violence is not the answer. And Katara? She acts very mature towards everyone else, but when it comes to her own emotions? She’s a whole basket full of mess. (See: Southern Raiders, again. Or anytime she uses anger as her way to show she’s “passionate.”) A good way to showcase the difference between Aang and these two is realizing that all of them lost a parent from the war and analyzing at how they handled it. (For Zuko let’s focus on the idea that he never really had a father) Katara lost her mother, Zuko his father, and Aang his father, Gyatso. Throughout the series, losing their parent was a huge topic point for both Katara and Zuko so much so that it was as if they thought no one else had ever suffered. (Katara, we see you telling Sokka that he didn’t love your mom the same). Aang, however, acknowledges his pain, tells stories of Gyatso and uses him as an example of what he wants to live up to— eventually coming full circle at the end wearing Gyatso’s beads and an identical outfit. I can’t imagine a more mature way to handle what happened than that.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is, maturity isn’t based on how you have fun, it’s based on how you react to hard situations. And nobody, nobody reacted better in those situations than Aang. So if you watched Avatar and thought it was a story about a young boy maturing, then you misjudged. It wasn’t a story about an immature boy growing up. It was a story of an Airbender becoming an avatar.
I’m always very confused by people who thought Katara and Zuko were going to end up together and thought that Aang and Katara were forced. In each season they had essentially a whole episode screaming it in your face that they had feelings/would end up together:
The Fortune Teller(S1): This entire episode is basically one big lead up to telling you that Katara would look at Aang as a serious love interest once he grows up. Also, it’s unclear whether the fortune teller is a fake at the end of the episode because while she may have been wrong about the volcano, she’s right about everything else (the umbrella, Aang’s battle, etc). And when she told Katara that she would end up with a powerful bender, it’s literally pointed out to us—in WORDS—at the end of the episode that that bender was Aang.
The Cave of Two Lovers (S2)- Katara is the one who brings up kissing and in an embarrassed-maybe-I-have-feelings-for-you type of way. It has also been confirmed by creators and voice of Katara that they kissed in that episode.
The Headband (S3)- Katara gets visibly jealous when the Aang is dancing with a girl who obviously has a crush on him. Then when Katara and Aang dance, there is a clear connection between the two of them and it looks like they are going to kiss.
Every single season made sure to let you know where the endgame was. Yet people who ship Zuko and Katara argue that there were all these moments: he gave her this look (while he was attacking her), he kept her mother’s necklace (after he stole it to hunt her down), etc. It’s all very abusive. The main argument comes from halfway through S3 when she forgives Zuko, and they begin to have a friendship. Except the problem is, is that the entirety of S3 shows Aang and Katara’s growth from friendship into a relationship. (See: Katara’s extra protectiveness over him after he died, Katara leaning into Aang’s kiss on Day of the Black Sun, The Headband, Katara threatening Zuko specifically if he hurt Aang, etc.) Not to mention the fact that the writers literally made fun of Zuko/Katara shipping in Ember Island Players.
No one watched the show and thought that Aang and Katara were going to be together in the first or second season, but it was pretty obvious from the beginning that they were going to do a “last episode and now the main characters are a couple” thing. So, if Aang and Katara came as a surprise/seemed forced to you, then you either were paying too much attention to Sokka or you got too caught up in wishful thinking.
Saw these hashtags by @floppy-ding-dong and I feel like it’s an important addition to the post that many people don’t talk about.
Aang: hold up guys, you’re going to the cave of two lovers?
Sokka, holding a picnic basket: …yes
Aang: oh awesome I’ve been meaning to go back, hang on I’ll get my stuff, we can go see those badgermoles you like Sokka, and now that I can earth- and firebend none of us will need to kiss to see or get out haha
Zuko, wiping off his strawberry lib balm: oh. great.
Aang: hold up guys, you’re going to the cave of two lovers?
Sokka, holding a picnic basket: …yes
Aang: oh awesome I’ve been meaning to go back, hang on I’ll get my stuff, we can go see those badgermoles you like Sokka, and now that I can earth- and firebend none of us will need to kiss to see or get out haha
Zuko, wiping off his strawberry lip balm: oh. great.
*jolts awake at 4am* hey how dare iroh call sokka a fool
sokka invented the submarine and took down ozai’s air fleet and came up with a plan that would have ended the war if azula didn’t find out by pure chance if anyone’s a fool IROH IT’S YOUR GAY NEPHEW WHO ATTACKED A WATERBENDER DURING A FULL MOON ON AN ICEBERG YOU NEPOTISTIC OLD FUCK
