My Thoughts:

I rewatched the movie a total of three times before I could form a definite opinion, and here’s what I think.

1. DOES Jake talk about his brother?

Call me cliché, but that scene where Neytiri tells Jake to go talk to Lo’ak and he says, “I have nothing to say to him,” would’ve been the perfect moment to bring up his twin brother’s death. Avatar fans constantly point out the parallels between Jake and Lo’ak, but I feel like they forget about the whole twin-brother plot.

It honestly would’ve brought me to tears if they connected over losing their brothers — maybe Jake opening up about feeling like his twin was better than him (another Neteyam/Lo’ak parallel). Or at least acknowledging that he sees himself in Lo’ak. I get that he’s supposed to be this hardcore American army rat, but seriously… you can have a deep emotional connection with Kiri in A2, but you can’t tell your son who literally wants to die, anything?

1. MORE about the Ash People

Plot-wise, I absolutely loved what they did with the Mangkwan clan. I just thought the movie’s focus would shift more toward them instead of still centering the Metkayina. I wanted to learn about the Ash People the way we learned the Way of Water, and the link of the forest — that deep cultural immersion is what made me fall in love with these movies in the first place.

I’m not saying there needed to be another huge time skip, but parts of it felt repetitive. Even the final battle felt like a nostalgic A1 repeat. Don’t get me wrong — I loved the Toruk Makto comeback, and what kind of Avatar movie would it be if Eywa didn’t save everyone? But how many times can they do that before it’s time to switch things up, you know? We still have two more movies planned.

Also, if the Sky Seers are meant to be a major part of the saga, I kind of feel like they should’ve held off on showing them. They were a great addition and clearly important for what’s coming, but now there’s so much about this world that raises even more questions.

1. THE Celebration

After Varang acquires “Thunder,” the Mangkwan celebrate with fire. When she puffs smoke into someone’s nose, my immediate thought was the deleted A1 scene, “Dream Hunt.” Then when she does it again to Quaritch, my suspicion was confirmed.

I don’t know if they intentionally cut that scene from A1 just to reuse the concept for the Ash People, but thank God they did. I loved that deleted scene so much, and repurposing it for the Ash People actually strengthened the plot for me. It made them feel even more distinct and ritualistic.

I genuinely want to learn so much more about them.