It’s finally here! The sequel to the cinematic event of the 2000s and the highest-grossing film in the world with Director (and deepsea explorer) James Cameron giving us “Avatar: The Way of Water”. The film picks up years after the events of “Avatar” with Jake Sully, Neytiri and their very big Na’vi family going up against the greatest threat to Pandora, one that forces them to make new friends and fight alongside their aquatic Pandoran cousins against the insidious humans.
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is but the beginning of a long war with Cameron promising at least four more sequels on the way, and with the third film being shot back-to-back with “The Way of Water”. Furthermore, there’s a lot to discuss in light of the film’s shocking reveals and cliffhanger ending. So join us as we break down the ending of “The Way of Water”, what it means for the future of the franchise and what fans can expect to see in “Avatar 3”.
Massive spoilers ahead obviously, you’ve been warned.
Ending Explained
By the end of “The Way of Water”, we were expecting Jake and his family to go back to the Omaticaya Clan after bringing such devastation to Metkayina Na’vi. Surprisingly though, the Sully family are now officially welcomed into the Metkayina Clan after the passing of Jake and Neytiri’s eldest son Neteyam, whose soul is now part of the Metkayina’s Tree of Souls. The same tree that we see Jake and Neytiri link with to briefly visit their son. This makes us wonder though, do the Na’vi have different afterlives depending on which tree they join when they die? They probably all feed back into the planet’s god and biosphere Eywa anyway but still, we’d love to see the sequels explore more of the Na’vi’s spirituality.
Speaking of Eywa, one of the biggest mysteries throughout the film is the avatar Kiri, whose mother is Sigourney Weaver’s Dr Grace Augustine from 2009’s “Avatar”. Throughout the film, it’s shown that Kiri has a strong connection to Eywa and the flora and fauna of Pandora. This culminates with Kiri being able to control bioluminescent fishes to save Neytiri and Tuk from certain death. When she tries to learn the identity of her father from Grace in the Tree of Souls, her vision is cut short and she convulses. Mysterious indeed… We’ve got some interesting ideas on Kiri’s origins but we’ll get to that later.
By far the most shocking moment in the final act of the film is when Neytiri threatens to kill Miles “Spider” Socorro, the son of Colonel Miles Quaritch to save Kiri from Quaritch’s Na’vi Recombinant clone. We know at the beginning of the film that she never approved of Spider becoming Jake’s adoptive son but we didn’t think she’d go that far!
Oh but the twists don’t stop there. In spite of the fact that Quaritch nearly killed Spider’s whole Na’vi family, Spider still goes out of his way to save Quaritch before running away back to Jake and the Na’vi. This decision will come back to haunt Spider and the rest of Sully family. When Neytiri finds out that Spider saved the man who killed her son, all hell is going to break loose.
Finally, we get to the true main character of the entire film: Lo’ak. In spite of being a stubborn pain in the ass, the kid has got the makings of a great leader just like his father. His friendship with the killer Tulkun, Payakan is giving us big Toruk Makto vibes with him taming a seemingly untamable beast the way Jake did with the Great Leonopteryx in “Avatar”. The Na’vi will need all the brave leaders they can get with the coming war with humanity.
World War Pandora
As mentioned by Eddie Falco’s General Ardmore, the humans of Earth aren’t just coming to Pandora to mine for rare materials. No, they fully plan on colonising and terraforming the planet since Earth is dying. If you thought the Resources Development Administration (RDA) forces we’ve seen thus far are bad, just wait until the full force of Earth lands on Pandora. It’s going to be a war the likes of which the Na’vi have never seen. We predict that in the next film, Jake will unite the Omayatican and Metkayina clans together to make war on the invading human forces as both species fight for their very survival.
War often has casualties and if we had to guess who’s going to die in “Avatar 3”, it would be Jake Sully. Think about it, the majority of “The Way of Water” has been focused on Lo’ak’s journey as an outcast trying to live up to his father’s image as Toruk Makto. By the end of the film, Jake finally recognises Lo’ak’s talents after losing Neteyam. Lo’ak will probably be hesitant at first about taking up the mantle of leader due to him blaming himself for his brother’s death but through some encouragement from his love-interest Tsireya, he’ll step up. And through his relationship with Tsireya, Lo’ak will be the bridge between the Omaticaya and the Metkayina Na’vi.
Another prediction we have is that Spider will eventually betray the Na’vi to join the humans. Now, some of us were expecting the Quaritch clone to perhaps have a change of heart and join the Na’vi with Spider convincing him. However, an interview with Director James Cameron confirms that Quaritch will in fact be the main antagonist throughout the next three sequels. So if Quaritch isn’t going to turn, then Spider will. Spider’s fall to the dark side will most likely come after Jake and his family find out about him saving his clone daddy at the end of “The Way of Water”.
Kiri is the Key to Victory
Well, things are looking pretty bleak for the Na’vi but the tides could turn with the help of their secret weapon: Kiri. So let’s establish some facts before going forward. We know that Kiri is indeed Grace’s biological daughter, which means at some point Grace was impregnated and gave birth to Kiri. That being said, we don’t think Grace got it on with some random Na’vi and conceived Kiri. No, and hear us out, we believe that Kiri is born a virgin’s birth and that Eywa used Grace to bring create a physical, walking manifestation of her will on the planet. We believe that Kiri is Eywa’s avatar!
Think about it, how else is Kiri able to instinctually have a connection to all animals and plants on Pandora to the point of being able to even control them? It is said Eywa isn’t just the Na’vi’s goddess, she is literally the central intelligence behind all natural life on the planet.
According to Hindu tradition, the actual meaning of the word “avatar” is an incarnation of a deity in a bodily form. If Kiri is Eywa’s avatar it would not only explain her unique god-like powers but the reveal would also explain why Grace and Kiri’s conversation in the Tree of Souls was cut short. Eywa doesn’t think Kiri is ready for the truth. Mark our words, Kiri is the key to defeating the RDA and human invaders. Forget Master of All Four Elements, Kiri is the Avatar of Pandora itself!
In any case, what did you think of “Avatar: The Way of Water”? Do you agree with our predictions? Be sure to let us know!
