Every Way Avatar: The Way Of Water Plants Seeds For The Upcoming Sequels
This article contains major spoilers for "Avatar: The Way of Water."
It's been 13 long years, but "Avatar: The Way of Water" has finally shown us what filmmaking wizard James Cameron was up to all of this time. The result is a visually remarkable sci-fi adventure that greatly improves upon its predecessor's missteps while making a few of its own. Cameron has been so entrenched in bringing the world of Pandora alive in new and exciting ways, and it shows. You feel as if you have been submerged in the most beautiful waters ever put on the screen.
"The Way of Water" is also front-loaded with characters, both new and old, whose emotional journeys fit alongside Cameron's groundbreaking visual mastery quite nicely. Between the humans, the Metkayina Na'vi, and the Recoms, there are a lot of folks to keep up with, in addition to questions that aren't entirely answered. Although "The Way of Water" poses all of these loose ends, the film's core strength is in its ability to tell an emotionally fulfilling story that stands on its own ground, while arousing sequel curiosity in an organic manner.
Cameron has fully immersed me in the plights of Pandora, and I'm excited to see what he has coming up next. He's talked about wrapping things up in an "Avatar 3" if need be, but after seeing him pull off the impossible yet again, he's got the traction to go through with a fourth and fifth film. "Avatar: The Way of Water" leaves plenty to be further expanded upon, so let's look at some of the dangling threads.
The RDA strike back
Where the ending of "Avatar" showed the Omaticaya Na'vi sending the destructive humans of the Resources Development Administration packing, "The Way of Water" ends with the returning forces still stationed on Pandora. They took a pretty nasty hit with the whaling ship, which of course sends a message that the Metkayina Na'vi aren't going down without a fight. But considering the RDA still has its new base of operations intact, the chance of retaliation is very likely.
As the sequels present an opportunity to explore further reaches of Pandora, it also gives the humans time to lick their wounds, restrategize, and attack. This is hardly the last we've heard of them. In "Avatar," the RDA funded the mission based on mining an extremely valuable substance named Unobtanium. Although "The Way of Water" shows a group of Tulkun hunters extracting a yellow brain substance called Amrita, which supposedly stops the aging process, the reason for the RDA's perseverance is based on a bigger mission at hand.
An almost uninhabitable Earth
At the top of "Avatar: The Way of Water," we learn that the RDA has returned to Pandora in full force, even setting a base named Bridgehead City. Edie Falco's General Ardmore talks about how Pandora has been targeted as the prime location for full-scale colonization. The only time we've seen Earth in this series is through a four-minute prologue from the Collector's Extended Cut of "Avatar," which shows Jake prior to his cryosleep awakening. It looks like something out of "Blade Runner" and "Black Mirror," where the world is illuminated not through the planet's stunning natural environment, but through an array of advertisements in bright neon lights. There's even a brief background news clip in Jake's apartment that talks about bringing tigers back into existence through cloning.
Of course, this tells us many things, most notably that when we last saw Earth in the year 2154, they had lost a number of species. Who knows what other natural resources they've depleted in the following 21 years? The planet isn't sustainable anymore, so it doesn't look like the RDA is going anywhere. Given that James Cameron has a number of sequels planned out, it wouldn't surprise me if the humans called in for their own reinforcements, lest they succumb to the environmental squandering of their own making.
The mystery behind Kiri's conception
Sigourney Weaver playing a teenage version of her Na'vi self sounded like the kind of ridiculous decision that only James Cameron would make, but it shockingly works. What we do know about Kiri, the adopted daughter of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldańa), is that she was conceived through the Na'vi body of Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) that they kept in an Amino tank.
If you're asking yourself how that's even possible, especially since Grace died in the first film before she could transfer her consciousness into her Avatar body, then Cameron doesn't exactly give you the answers you may seek. Kiri is shown connecting with the environmental elements of Pandora — even more so than some of the other Na'vi. It's implied that she is intrinsically tied to Eywa, as she says she constantly feels her presence.
Na'vi Grace provided a vessel for a natural birth, but the question remains of how Kiri came to be inside her to begin with. Was Grace pregnant prior to her death, or was this Eywa pulling an Anakin Skywalker miracle birth? It wouldn't entirely surprise me if Cameron is holding back another parentage reveal for a sequel down the line, but I'm leaning more toward the idea that the free-spirited Kiri is the result of Eywa's meddling.
Lo'ak: The Tulkun Rider
Stranded among the outer reefs, Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) is nearly devoured by a massive sea predator, before being rescued in the nick of time by a Tulkun, which can be best described as a mighty whale-like creature. Payakan easily becomes one of the standout stars of the film, not only because he's so beautiful, but because of his strenuous bond with Lo'ak. He was ostracized from the Tulkun because he fought back when the RDA murdered his kind, brandishing him as a killer. Lo'ak, however, doesn't see the callous murderer that the Metkayina believed him to be.
Throughout the course of "The Way of Water," the pair work together in order to take down the RDA's latest attack on the Na'vi. Payakan is injured in battle, but it's safe to assume that his connection with Lo'ak is still there. The sequel titles are subject to change, but at this moment, the fourth film is called "The Tulkun Rider," which raises an eyebrow now that we actually know what a Tulkun is. "The Way of Water" is all about the old guard paving the way for the next generation, and with that, it wouldn't surprise me if Cameron has a bigger plan in store for the Sully middle child and his space whale buddy.
Spider's daddy issues
Where Kiri's lineage is still up in the air, "The Way of Water" revealed how Spider (Jack Champion), a human child who grew up on Pandora because he was too young for cryosleep transport, was in fact the offspring of Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Seeing as he was the result of the original Quaritch, it takes a moment for his Recom Avatar to make the connection, but once the dots come together, he utilizes it as an excuse to extract information out of his son.
For the most part, Recom Quartich is just as corrosive a presence as his human predecessor, but there's a difference this time around, as Spider attempts to teach him the Na'vi way. Whether it's securing an Ikran or learning to speak the language, there is a complicated uncurrent of familial bonding between them. In the finale, Spider contemplates leaving his Recom father to drown in the RDA wreckage.
Against his better judgment, Spider saves Quaritch. The kid is offered to go with him, but Spider angrily leaves him behind to go be with the Sullys instead. Seeing how closely they bonded throughout the course of "The Way of Water," this is far from the last time we see them interact. I'll be very curious to see if the sequels show Quaritch going back to the RDA, or attempting to find his own peace on Pandora.
The Sully family officially become Metkayina
When the Sully family arrives at the reefs of the Metkayina clan, they're reluctantly offered a place to stay. "The Way of Water" then shows them adjusting from how they used to do things with the Omiticaya, and all of the melodrama it entails. The blending of two Na'vi clans leads to conflict, especially among the children, which makes it much more difficult to adjust to a new way of life. Jake's fugitive status from the RDA causes concern among the Metkayina that the battle will be brought to them.
Their worst fears are realized when Quaritch's Recom team is able to track him down, bringing a war party to the Metkayina reefs. After an explosive finale that takes the life of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), the eldest Sully child, everyone kind of realizes that the human invasion is coming regardless. The battle is won, but the war rages on. With that, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and Ronal (Kate Winslet), the head couple of the Metkayina, accept the Sully family as one of their own.
Cameron's planned sequels will likely show more Na'vi tribes throughout the luminescent world of Pandora through them. After spending the whole movie on the run, the Sullys now have a real home, which means that not only will they form a new sense of community with the Metkayina, but we'll also get a greater insight into the clan's members as well.
"Avatar: The Way of Water" is now playing in theaters nationwide.