Avatar: The Way of Waterhas finally hit the big screen after a 13 year hiatus. It’s safe to say have waited a long time to see where the sequel was going to take theAvatarfranchise. James Cameron has constructed an entire alien world that’s attracted millions of fans - all of whom want to learn more about Pandora. Though the Na’vi are the central appeal of theAvatarfranchise, there’s so much more to explore on Pandora, andAvatar: The Way of Waterdelivers on that.
Avatar: The Way of Watertakes place a few years after the end of the last movie- about 14 or 15 years, to be exact. That time has been idyllic for Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña). There have been no threats against the Na’vi, and only a few, friendly humans remain on Pandora. Of course, that couldn’t last forever.
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Sullys Stick Together
The film has a prologue catching the audience up with Jake and Neytiri’s lives. Right afterAvatar,Jake and Neytiri had their first child: a son named Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). Not long after that, the two adopt a baby:Kiri, played by Sigourney Weaver, the daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine(also played by Weaver). Dr. Augustine’s Avatar was pregnant at the end of the last film, though no one knows who the father is. Unfortunately, Dr. Augustine ended up brain dead near the end ofAvatar;her body is on life support, and Kiri visits her occasionally.
The Sullys then welcomed another child, named Lo’ak (Britain Dalton). He’s more impulsive than his brother, but they’re united in their desire to live up to their father. After a few more years, Jake and Neytiri welcome Tuktirey, or Tuk (Trinity Bliss) for short.
The children consider Spider (Jack Champion) to be one of their family. He’s a human boy who was left behind on Pandora because infants were incapable of the cryogenic stasis required for space flight; he’s therefore raised communally by the scientists who stayed behind. While Jake appears to be somewhat close to the boy, Neytiri thinks he should be with his own kind, and dislikes him because he’s human.
Humans Return to Pandora
In the prologue, after a few years of peace, Neytiri and Jake notice a bright star in the sky. Jake immediately realizes that the light in the sky is actually a harbinger of humanity returning to Pandora. In a sequence whichCameron compared to indigenous struggles, which he dubbed the “Manifest Destiny sequence”, the humans make landfall, burning several miles of forest down. It’s there that they make a new city, Bridgehead, and begin to resume operations.
Jake is still the Chief of the Omaticaya, known as the Olo’eyktan. He leads the Omaticaya on raiding parties, and they manage to destroy a maglev train, picking up weapons as they go. The RDA attacks them in retaliation, and it’s a close call for Neteyam and Lo’ak. The Na’vi make their way back to their stronghold, a cave in the Hallelujah Mountains where the RDA can’t find them. Jake appears concerned for his family, and is reluctant to let the boys be warriors like their parents.
Stephen Lang makes his triumphant return inAvatar: The Way of Water,though his character, Colonel Quaritch, died last film. He wakes up confused and uncertain about where he is, and is told he’s a Recombinant - a Na’vi/human hybrid, much like an Avatar, with the memories of his original body. Apparently, right before the final battle, Quaritch sent these memories to Earth as part of a new program. Quaritch is joined by his old squadron of soldiers, all Recombinants, and promises to hunt down Jake so that the Na’vi have no leadership.
The Sully Family Goes Into Exile
Quaritch gets his chance to face off against Jake when his squad comes across the Sully children exploring the woods. They’re at the old lab that served as the location of his final confrontation with Jake inAvatar.There, Jake manages to save his family, but not before Quaritch realizes it was Neytiri who delivered the killing blow against him, and not before Quaritch takes Spider as a hostage. It’s in this sequence that it’s revealed that Spider is actually Quaritch’s human son.
Much ofAvatar: The Way of Water’s runtimeis devoted to character development; Jake realizes he and his family must flee in order to keep the Omaticaya safe. It breaks his heart, but he and his family fly far away from their home in the hopes that the humans won’t attack as relentlessly if they’re not present. The Sullys travel over leagues of ocean until they arrive at the Metkayina Clan.
Where the Sully family is comprised of Forest People Na’vi, the Metkayina are Sea Peoples. There’s some animosity between the two groups, and the chief, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), and his mate Ronal (Kate Winslet), are reluctant to allow the Sullys into their home. They eventually relent, and the Sullys are taught the Metkayina way to make themselves useful.
The Way of Water
The Sullys learn that the Metkayina practice the Way of Water. In some trulybeautiful sequences,Avatar: The Way of Watertakes audiences under the waters of Pandora. The Metkayina are adapted to underwater life. Their tales are thicker, their torsos longer, and their hands are like fins. The Sullys struggle to learn how to free dive, but eventually make do.
As they begin to settle in, Lo’ak and the chief’s daughter, Tsireya (Bailey Bass) begin to form an attraction to one another. The chief’s son, Aonung (Filip Geljo), however, thinks of the Sully family as demons for being part human. Eventually, the two get into a fight, and when trying to make up with Aonung, Lo’ak is tricked into a deadly situation out at sea. Luckily, he’s saved by Payakan - a giant, whalelike sentient creature known as a tulkun. He bonds with the tulkun, who’s an outcast like him. The Metkayina are unhappy with this, however, because Payakan broke the pacifistic laws of the tulkun in an attempt to bring down a human whaling ship.
Kiri also begins adapting to the Way of Water. It’s discovered that she has a special affinity for all life on Pandora, and she tells Jake she can hear the heartbeat of Eywa. She also feels depressed because they had to leave Spider behind and couldn’t save him. Eventually, Kiri connects to the Metkayina’s Spirit Tree, where she communes with her mother. There, she asks Dr. Augustine who her father is, but the two are separated as Kiri falls into a seizure. Norm (Joel David Moore) flies out to the island and tells Jake that Kiri can never connect with the tree again, though they are sacred to the Na’vi - doing so could trigger another seizure and kill her.
A Son for a Son
Norm’s flight actually proves to be the perfect way for humanity to track down Jake and his family. Though they only know the general location of where the Sullys are, Quaritch has a plan to draw them out. With the help of a whaling crew (which is extracting Amrita, a fluid that can stop human aging), they begin hunting tulkuns in Metkayina waters, and terrorize other Sea Clans.
Eventually, Jake and his family discover this, and realize that Quaritch is very close. The Metkayina warn the tulkun that they’re being hunted, but Lo’ak realizes that Payakan has no one to tell him about the imminent danger. He runs off to warn him, and the other children follow. Unfortunately, their attempts result in Lo’ak, Tsireya, and Tuk getting captured. Jake and the other warriors quickly fly off to confront Quaritch, who threatens the lives of their children unless Jake gives himself up.
He very nearly does, but luckily, Payakan turns things around by ramming into the boat. The battle begins, and Lo’ak, Tsireya, and Tuk are freed. They end up sticking around, however, because Spider’s onboard and they want to save him. Unfortunately, during their escape, Neteyam is shot. He passes away in front of his parents. Neytiri is inconsolable, but Jake tells her she must be strong, and she begins to go on a rampage, killing any human she can get her hands on.
Kiri is nearly killed by Quaritch, who again tells Jake to turn himself over. Neytiri is nearby, however, and grabs Spider, telling Quaritch that she’ll kill him if he touches Kiri. To prove her resolve, she slashes him across the chest. Part ofQuaritch’s character development inAvatar: The Way of Waterinvolves his connection with Spider. Spider wants nothing to do with him, and Quaritch claims the feeling is mutual. Try as he might, though, he appears to want to bond with Spider as much as he can. He lets go of Tuk to save Spider, but he and Jake get into a fight.
The ship begins to sink, and the Sullys realize they have to get away. They’re eventually saved thanks to Kiri and Lo’ak’s efforts. Spider reluctantly also saves a drowning Quaritch, but doesn’t tell the others what he did. The Sully family mourns the loss of Neteyam.
The Metkayina hold a funeral for Neteyam, and Tonowari affirms that the Sully family is now truly a part of the Metkayina Clan. Neytiri and Jake connect with the Spirit Tree and reunite with their son. After this, Jake affirms that the Metkayina are his new people and new home, and vows to protect them,setting up futureAvatarsequels.
