#she is an accessory that swoops in from the sideline to deliver Aang his good boy prize and disappears

[longing-for-rain]

what do you think of that scene where katara kissed aang on the cheek?

This one?

Look at the framing. It’s framed completely through Aang’s POV, and he blushes, because he has a crush on her.

But Katara? I don’t see anything indicating she viewed this as a romantic gesture. People seem to forget that in many cultures (including some of the ones ATLA is inspired by), kisses are a common greeting. Even in cultures where it isn’t as common, platonic kisses (especially from mothers, which the show explicitly compares Katara and Aang’s dynamic to on multiple occasions) are not weird or unusual.

To be completely honest, from Katara’s POV, this kiss has the energy of a mom being proud of her son for doing a good poopy in the toilet. The idea of it being flirtatious is honestly a bit nausea inducing.

Oh and bonus:

If kisses are inherently romantic, should we be sending Sokka to jail for Alabama crimes or what…

#rewatching it the framing tells the whole story #this relationship was always framed through aang and never katara #she is an accessory that swoops in from the sideline to deliver Aang his good boy prize and disappears #just how the narrative treated her towards the end #a tragedy #atla #katara #anti kataang #canon critical