Katara () is a fictional character in the Nickelodeon animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel series The Legend of Korra, and is part of the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. The character, created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, is voiced by Mae Whitman in the original series and Eva Marie Saint in the sequel series, The Legend of Korra. In the 2010 live action film adaptation, she was played by Nicola Peltz, while in the live-action television series adaptation, she is portrayed by Kiawentiio.
Katara was born in Wolf Cove, the capital city of the Southern Water Tribe. She is the daughter of Chief Hakoda and his wife Kya, as well as the younger sister of Sokka. Katara is first introduced as a 14-year-old "waterbender", meaning that she has the ability to control water and ice. She later learns how to utilise waterbending to control water in the bodies of living things, a subskill known as "bloodbending". At the beginning of the story, she is the only person with such abilities in the Southern Water Tribe, one of two known communities in which waterbending is practiced. She and her older brother, Sokka, discover an "airbender" (one who can manipulate air) named Aang frozen in an iceberg. They free him and accompany him on his quest to defeat the imperialistic Fire Nation and bring peace to the war-torn world.
Katara's history is marked by loss and the temptation of vengeance; she once stood before the man who killed her mother, with the power to end his life, yet she chose mercy, a choice which spoke volumes to her strength of character. She is recognized as the greatest waterbender of her generation, earning the title of Master Waterbender from Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe. In her adulthood, Katara became a world-renowned healer and married Aang. The couple lived on Air Temple Island and had three children: Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin. After Aang died, she moved back to the Southern Water Tribe, where she continued to work as a healer. In The Legend of Korra, Katara is Korra's waterbending teacher, a high-ranking member of the White Lotus, and one of the last surviving members of Team Avatar.
Katara has appeared in other media, such as trading cards, T-shirts, video games and web comics.
Creation and conception According to the un-aired pilot episode, Katara's name was originally 'Kya'. Nickelodeon's legal department vetoed the name when they discovered there was already a video game character named Kya, so they had to change it. 'Kanna' was first proposed to replace Kya, but it was used to name her grandmother instead. 'Kya' was later used for Katara's then-unnamed deceased mother. In "The Tales of Ba Sing Se", Katara's name was written as 卡 塔 拉. Kǎ (卡) means to check, block, or card; Tǎ (塔) means pagoda; and Lā (拉) means to pull. The character 'Lā' appears in the first season's finale as the name of the Ocean Spirit, while the character 'Kǎ' also appears in Sokka's name.
Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino originally conceived Aang, Katara, and Sokka as younger characters, but they were all aged-up by two years during development at the insistence of executive producer Eric Coleman, who said that Nickelodeon was not looking for coming-of-age stories. When the show began, Aang went from being 10 years old to 12, Katara from 12 to 14, and Sokka from 13 to 15 years old.
In the commentary of the unaired pilot episode, co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino state that Katara's "hair loopies" were intended to hang downward. The idea for her tied-back hair loopies came from Tin House animation director Yoon Young Ki, making it so that her hair was easier to animate.
In "The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender" special on The Complete Book Three Collection, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have stated that they envision Katara as the deuteragonist of the series, as well as the "person the story is being told through".Written and Directed by: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko. "The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender". Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Book Three Box Set (DVD). Nickelodeon.
Bryan Konietzko has stated that a major inspiration behind Katara's character was a girl he knew in high school who was a few years older than him. Her brother also inspired the character of Sokka.
The storylines and characterizations in the first season of the development bible and the animated series are largely the same, but the two significantly diverge afterward. One major difference is that the relationship between Katara and Aang never turns romantic in the original plan of the series. In both the bible and the animated series, Aang develops a crush on Katara as soon as he wakes up in her arms, and Katara cares for Aang like a mother figure. However, while Katara later develops a crush on him in the animated series, she never reciprocates his feelings in the bible and the two maintain a familial relationship. Katara only loves Aang platonically, like an older sister or babysitter, and Aang eventually learns to prioritize his responsibility as the Avatar over his infatuation with Katara. The bible describes their relationship as "the emotional heart of the show"; with Katara considering it "her duty to protect and nurture him" because "she wants Aang to grow up big and strong so he can fight the Fire Nation", and "Katara appreciates Aang’s gestures, but is not interested in romance. She dotes on him more like a kid she baby-sits rather than a potential love interest." The epilogue of the series in the bible concludes with the two going their separate ways; Katara sails off with Sokka and Hakoda to help rebuild the Southern Water Tribe, while Aang flies off with Appa and Momo to search for other Air Nomads living in an unexplored part of the world.Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. Avatar: The Last Airbender I.P. Bible.
In the Avatar Extras for "The Avatar Returns" it is stated that "Zuko was originally going to be the love interest for Katara","The Cave of Two Lovers". Avatar: The Last Airbender, Extras. Season 2. Episode 22. Nickelodeon. and in "The Ember Island Players" it is stated that "the creators and writers toyed with the idea of Zuko and Katara falling in love"."The Ember Island Players". Avatar: The Last Airbender, Extras. Season 3. Episode 17. Nickelodeon. Co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko deny that they ever considered Zuko and Katara getting together, and claim that Katara becoming a couple with Aang was planned from the start. However, the initial proposal of the series as outlined in the development bible does not have Katara enter a romantic relationship with anyone, directly countering their claims that Katara was always intended to end up with Aang. Multiple writers who worked on the series have also made statements contradicting the co-creators. Writer John O'Bryan said that the topic of Zuko and Katara becoming a couple came up a lot in the writers' room. This is corroborated by writer Joshua Hamilton who says that the crew argued about who Katara should be with, and that there was a plan where Zuko and Katara ended up together. When reflecting on the writing process for The Ember Island Players, writer Tim Hedrick stated that Katara's rejection of Aang's romantic advances and the allusions to a potential relationship between Zuko and Katara in the episode allowed the writers to keep their options open, as Aang and Katara becoming a couple in the series finale was not a foregone conclusion, and Aang could have remained single. This aligns with comments made by M. Night Shyamalan, director of The Last Airbender film, who recalled that during the production of Book Three: Fire, DiMartino and Konietzko were uncertain, "At that time they hadn't even decided where things were going to end, even like who Katara was going to end up with."
Personality Bryan Konietzko has described Katara's personality as "strong", "motherly", "caring", and "righteous". In many situations, Katara appears as a mother figure to Sokka, Aang and later Toph: a role attributed to her mother's death, her tribe's losses to raids, and the departure of many members to war, which required her to assume responsibilities beyond her age. Katara's history is marked by loss and the temptation of vengeance; she once stood before the man who killed her mother, with the power to end his life, yet she chose mercy. Katara tends to be kind, empathetic, and generous, but is often stubborn or confined by her morals; becomes angry if doubted, insulted, or betrayed; and can carry resentment for years on end. Katara has a fear of abandonment; holding a grudge against her father for leaving their family to fight in the war, and is troubled by Aang frequently running away without warning.
Katara desires to have someone to lean on as Sokka, Aang and Toph are far less responsible than her and she is burdened with the task of taking care of them. She quickly develops romantic feelings for Jet as he is older, wise, brave, determined, and became someone she could rely on for support. For the majority of the series, Katara mothers Aang, and despite her eventual limerence for him, views him as a younger brother rather than a love interest. She is aware early on that Aang is infatuated with her, but chooses to ignore it and act oblivious. Katara is conflicted when Aang questions her if she views him as a brother and wants to begin a romantic relationship with her. Bryan Konietzko has described the relationship between Katara and Aang as, "that dynamic of being the young kid having a crush on the older girl, and she loves you but like a babysitter, you know, like a little brother or something".Written and Directed by: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko. "Origins of the Avatar". The Last Airbender DVD/Blu-ray. Paramount Pictures.
Plot overview Avatar: The Last Airbender television series Book One: Water When Katara was eight years old, her mother, Kya, sacrificed her life during a Fire Nation raid in order to protect Katara, since she was the only waterbender in the southern tribe. Though her interests lay in developing her waterbending skills, she resigned herself to cooking and cleaning duties while her brother, Sokka, trained to become a warrior. Three years later, Katara's father Hakoda, and the other warriors journey to the Earth Kingdom to oppose the Fire Nation, leaving Katara, Sokka, and their grandmother Kanna to look after the tribe.
The events of Avatar: The Last Airbender begins three years later, when Katara and Sokka find Aang in suspended animation and identify him as the Avatar, a messianic figure. To assist the Avatar and to further her mastery of waterbending, Katara joins Aang in his quest to reach the Northern Water Tribe and find a waterbending master, with Sokka alongside them. Upon arrival, Master Pakku refuses her apprenticeship because the customs of the Northern Water Tribe dictate that women cannot learn waterbending as a martial art, but upon noticing Katara's necklace, which he himself gave to Katara's grandmother, he agrees to teach her. Katara having achieved her own expertise, Pakku deems her sufficient to teach Aang.
Book Two: Earth Katara then accompanies Aang to the Earth Kingdom for him to learn earthbending. At an Earth Kingdom stronghold, General Fong places Katara's life in danger to induce Aang's Avatar State, but achieves only destruction. After the earthbender Toph Beifong joins the group to teach Aang, Katara and Toph initially quarrel but thereafter become friends. In the Earth Kingdom's capital, Katara encounters antagonist Prince Zuko and his sister Princess Azula; during the battle, Aang is injured by Azula's lightning, whereupon Katara takes him to safety and eventually mostly heals his physical wounds. By this, Katara saves Aang from death in the Avatar State, also saving the Avatar Cycle from ending forever.
Book Three: Fire