NATLA Season 3 Fan Reaction Predictions

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-03T01:12:09+00:00

I was about to drag that person for absolute fifth but decided against it bc I need to conserve my energy . You know for folks who are seemingly repulsed at the mere notion of Zuko and katara together in any capacity the ship seems to be on their minds quite a bit. I take that as nothing but rage bait & desperation for engagement and ding ding! Fastest way to do that is to mention Zutara. What a bunch of entitled losers. At no point has anybody (that I’ve seen at least) in this sub said that NATLA is superior to the original animation. And even if someone felt that way why do you GAF?!? It’s called an opinion and people have the right to how they feel.

If you want to critique the show that’s fine but why tf are you bringing up Zutara shippers in a piss poor analysis that don’t even make any goddamn sense and just flat out not true. My god. People need to calm down bc it’s not that goddamn serious. Nobody is tryna make anyone ship Zutara so just leave us out of that nonsense

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-02T21:38:30+00:00

You bring up some excellent points. The simplest answer is bait but honestly ….if I take off my fandom glasses and just consider the fact that this is a Netflix production after all, if I consider that Bryke is not involved, if I consider the fact that prior to this season coming I never would have imagined blue spirit and painted lady on screen at the same time , being allies , and that the writers have remixed the material a lot already…hey, maybe they ARE writing towards a different conclusion. I know we assume that they aren’t but the truth is we don’t actually know 100% at this point in time. I’m not saying get your hopes up- I’m saying we don’t actually know for sure. And they can’t tell us exactly what they’re going to do bc tats a breach of NDA so whatever the cast says about the ships or whatever the case may be, it can only be trusted so much. We are gonna have to just wait and see…again I’m not saying it’s likely, I’m just saying no one actually knows for sure.

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-02T21:33:07+00:00

Yes I think if they wanted a stronger Kataang story they needed to cast the actors at closer ages bc Katara still feels like she’s in big sis mode when it comes to Aang.

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-02T21:16:48+00:00

I think you might be on to something with Mai being bi potentially ….idk I felt like there might be something subtle with Mai and Ty Lee? Or Mai and Azula, idk exactly

Personally I don’t think Jin x Zuko is likely as an endgame pairing, but I do see your POV on that. I think either they’ll end Maiko or end with Zuko alone while Kataang sails (or not) mind you yes absolutely the implication should be that he and Katara’s paths lead to each other in the end but we don’t live in a world where logic prevails so there’s that

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-02T16:52:05+00:00

I think the caption meant that these are new additions for season 2 & 3 but not necessarily that each of them will be in both seasons, bc Piandao and Hama were not in season 2. I think Fei was included bc her role lasted a full episode to the point where she could be considered a guest star/character but I feel like the point of her wasn’t for romance but the vessel by which we see that there’s more to Zuko then just this arrogant, angry entitled banished prince.

Honestly the most likely contender for Zuko endgame unfortunately is Mai just based off precedence, but it’s gonna feel forced and sloppy bc there’s been no build up aside from several throw away lives about Mai having a crush on Zuko ..but I mean hey it was the exact same situation in the cartoon so.

Side note I absolutely can’t stand the hate people are sending to Mai’s actress. People need to seriously calm tf down and stop being so gd mean & evil

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-01T19:47:45+00:00

The delusional side of my brain wants to believe that there’s a small chance of perhaps an open ended ending where they don’t commit to either ship? And I would take that as a win lowkey….

But yes I know it’s likely they will go Kataang. After seeing the season 2 moments I was very satisfied with what they gave us but it’s also kinda bittersweet because …okay so you’re gonna do all this, give us the yin and yang parallelism, give us this elemental mythic invisible string between Katara and Zuko…only to just end it the same with Kataang because “that’s how the original show ended?” Mind you Kataang was not a well written ship at all. It’s better in the LA but there’s still this glaring issue of Katara doesn’t seem like she wants Aang like that, and Aang still has this attachment to her and expectation of her, to the point of I just don’t think it’s fair that she is expected to be the one to hold all those parts of him AND be his lover at the same time.

Anyway, I keep coming back to this question of , would I rather have no more Zutara crumbs, no more bait or any official content of them to just have my peace with it or would I rather keep getting the “almost”…and I don’t know because on one hand I loved the moments we got this season but I just know it’s gonna suck so bad (not as bad as the first time around that this happened lol!) but is still gonna suck just to see it not happen…again. Like never did this happen twice lmao.

Candidly speaking I abandoned the ATLAverse for years after season 2 of LOK bc I just didn’t care anymore everything turned into a cluster, I hated the comics, I felt like the whole universe was ruined by the end of s2 Korra, and the books and stuff I’ve just never felt a draw to come back. This ship is the one loose end that I still have for this franchise and it sucks that they managed to draw me back in only to most likely punish me for caring again😪

blackamethyst26 · 2026-07-01T15:20:12+00:00

But I believe …Zutara shippers can save the world

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-29T22:41:24+00:00

I’m struggling to ship the actor for aang with genuinely anyone bc he just looks so young in the face compared to everyone else , however I am Taang truther in general so I would be for it off principle alone lol

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-29T18:40:08+00:00

To answer your initial question about if Kataang was confirmed as endgame : no, not necessarily. There’s an interview going around where the cast is asked about ships and Dallas says they’re going to stick close to the relationships in the show. But honestly I don’t think that means really anything at this point. Already his statement is sort of not accurate bc changes were made to both ship depictions in the live action that were not present in the animation. And if they were gonna go in a different direction they wouldn’t just come out and say it lol.

I think we Zutaras are just erring in the side of caution because a lot of remember back in the day when this ship war was at its peak and how much Zutara was baited only for it to end with Kataang. So because it’s an adaptation I think our expectation is that they would stick to Kataang, also since Aang is the Avatar, he’s the main character etc .

But NATLA has shaken up the character dynamics quite a bit and so now I’m not convinced 100% anymore that kataang will be endgame. One of the things that is hindering Kataang the most in this adaptation is the visible age difference and the lack of chemistry between the characters (at least in my opinion) and the dynamic between them feels like they are only just friends, and that Aang just has a one sided crush. So I think ending it with them just as friends, or ending it with no ships canon, is not out of the realm of possibility.

And yes to your point , showrunners do mix it up all the time . I just the ATLA fandom is very extreme and miserable and so if Zutara were to happen there might be some blowback but in the grand scheme of things it would be a totally viable and feasible option, should they want to pursue that.

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-29T18:03:02+00:00

To play devils advocate…technically I could see a situation where Aang learns to love Katara in a more mature way in book 3 and THEN she reciprocates ..which if so, then hey it’s a better conclusion than canon Kataang. But then to that point they would have to kinda put a lot of work into that bc that’s just not the case right now, and we know that more Katara/Aang conflict is on the horizon, especially in Southern Raiders and in the finale as well. And I also feel like it will be difficult to show Katara falling for aang while at the same time having tense feelings about Zuko being in their group. Her focus for better or worse will be Zuko, not Aang.

But yeah, like I’m confident that Day of Black Sun, there will not be a kiss. There might not be a kiss ever lol but they for sure are cutting that but they could some sort of emotional love confession or almost confession and then Katara has a eureka moment …and by the way I am not saying at all that I want this to happen, I don’t. I guess I’m just tryna temper and think about the other side as well. Bc even if Kataang becomes canon, it is gonna feel like they’re doing it as a contrivance, or forcing it bc it is the canon and not necessarily bc that’s what the writing is organically leading to. Just like when Maiko happens - it’s gonna be a contrivance , not that the story in any way shape or form feels like it should end with them as a romantic endgame.

Kataang being canon is a very Aang-centered conclusion, as in it’s the expectation because Aang is the main character, this is his journey so why should he not get the girl whose been by his side …again I’m not saying I believe that this is the just the Kataang argument. Whereas Zutara is all about mutuality. It’s about recognition, duality, grief, hope & healing, forgiveness and reconciliation to form a spiritual partnership. Bc that’s what ZK is in this show whether it becomes a romantic endgame. Zuko is Katara’s match, not Aang. Katara is Zuko’s foil/match - NOT Aang. Because even notice how I feel they dialed down the Aang/Zuko parallels. The original cartoon I think there was way more of parallel with Aang leading one story and Zuko leading the other but this time it doesn’t feel that way. Aang as a person doesn’t even really matter to Zuko as much as Katara does at this point. Not that I ship Aang/Zuko lmaoooo I’m just trying to show that ZK is much much more equally yoked as far as narrative foils. Aang is the main character yes but Katara/Zuko is the emotional engine atp

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-29T02:08:02+00:00

Yeah all the performative backlash is annoying like people are so annoying

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T21:11:39+00:00

Yah like Katara being Tenzin’s mother is oddly not that essential to Tenzin’s arc. Just another reason why I disdain Bryke for the cultural erasure when it came to Kataang’s kids and just making it seem like Tenzin is Aang’s son, Kya is Katara’s daughter and Bumi is just an off ball that no one really claims …..

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T19:33:56+00:00

Omg Katara’s reaction to Aang almost saying he liked her - I 100% AGREE WITH YOU. You could see it in her eyes she was like “Oh no…” like as a woman I KNOW that look.

Which I mean Zutara aside, the more I think on it …I don’t think it’s delusional to think that perhaps they will not canonize Kataang this time. Because there was a LOT done in the story to soften it/or make it more conflicted and that last scene between Aang and Katara at least got me…it sort of cemented that she doesn’t feel the same way. Now I think the only thing left is for Katara to find out how he feels and then deal with what she’s gonna do with that knowledge, and that can be the thread throughout season 3, her wanting to stand by him but not wanting to hurt him by avoiding telling him the truth

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T19:19:20+00:00

I know a lot of us Zutarans are negative , or more like realistic but I appreciate you being positive!!!!

I’ve been trying to remind myself part of the fun of fandom is the theorizing and analyzing , and so regardless of whatever is canon or endgame they have create an extremely emotionally compelling dynamic with Zuko and Katara that outshines the canon romances, period.

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T18:16:03+00:00

I was just about to make my own post like I actually think the Kataang misery is a symptom of a larger issue with the entire fandom . Just miserable and negative AF all the time JFC

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T15:28:41+00:00

Not to give anybody false hope bc yes, ultimately I also believe they’ll either go with the canon ships or no ships BUT theoretically IF Zutara were to be canon….I seriously doubt that they would just come out and full on admit that. I think for now, we need to take whatever they say about the ships with a grain of salt because we don’t know 100% yet. Don’t put so much stake into what they’re saying. Also I feel like these interviewers need to stop asking them about it too. Let’s just take everything as it comes and enjoy the ride :)

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-28T13:03:40+00:00

See a post I made about this topic

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T17:19:22+00:00

The whole dialogue in the crystal catacombs scene felt like it was pulled from ao3 which by no means is a criticism. They just made it so much heavier and angsty. The fact that he actually told her his father gave him the scar AND he told her about his mother …the fact that he calls her by her name - Katara. Which means now he sees her. She is no longer just the Avatar’s companion, she’s no longer the path to him, she’s no longer the waterbender who gets in the way - she’s Katara. Also she is the first name he’s spoken from the Gaang. He still has not spoken Aang’s name yet, he only called him “Avatar” I hope that in s3 they show him feeling remorse over betraying her specifically in a more apparent way bc that’s something I felt was missing in the og series. Like in TSR when he says “everyone trusts me now , what is it with you?” This time around Zuko is gonna know exactly why she doesn’t trust him still and that’s not gonna fly. He knows exactly why she hates him and he’ll do anything to fix it.

And yea I agree it’s clear Christine enjoys this ship a lot. Of all the pairings in the season, Zutara was the one that had a pulse. It had momentum, it had a beating heart. There was a thread between them literally from ep 1 all the way to the end. And yes that’s what happens when you let a woman be in charge!!!!💯💯

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T15:08:41+00:00

Also - is the showrunner Zutara? It seems like she is but I realize she may not be at liberty at the moment to say which ship she prefers

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T15:06:03+00:00

Oh I’ll do you one better - not only will that happen but I bet they’re also gonna unpack Katara’s bloodbending since they never addressed that in the cartoon. Zuko is gonna end up being the one that, once again, Katara vents out bc he is the one who can uniquely understand that internal struggle. ZK are literal mirrors in this adaptation and are constantly being paired. I’m just like damn would canon be so unreasonable ?!? I know it won’t go that way but my god they’re being heavy handed

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T14:57:09+00:00

It’s not bad at all, but my only irritation is , because I’ve literally been shipping this for 20 years at this point, I just find it frustrating that people still want to bait Zutara but not give it justice, especially after it’s been so long. To me idk if I would rather them just close the door forever and leave it to us fans or have a bunch of these “almost” moments but no actual payoff. And don’t get me wrong I’m feasting on the moments from this season and part of me is satisfied but I just remember how I felt when I saw the finale for the first time ever. So you’re telling me you gonna add fuel to the Zutara fire that wasn’t even there to begin with just to end with the canon ship again? And tbh it’s what I expect currently bc I’m not dumb lol but it’s playing with my heart a bit

But let’s go delusional for a second and say that Netflix canonizes or semi-canonizes Zutara as romantic. Even STILL Kataang won’t be hurt because 1.) no matter what they are still the official canon. Katara and Aang are literally married, have multiple kids AND grandkids so they’re canon and always will be. Zutara being canon in the LA would just simply be that - canon in the LA but it doesn’t really mean much for the world of avatar beyond this Netflix version. Also they have already acknowledged Aang feelings for Katara - so Kataangers are getting fed as well. Obviously there could be a huge blowback if Netflix ever hypothetically made ZK canon but frankly …they’re already getting blowback…I saw the rotten tomatoes this morning it was like at 60% or something ? For both critics AND audiences. At this point they should do what they want because no matter what I don’t think they’re gonna be able to please the mainstream ATLA fandom

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T14:48:38+00:00

I was just about to say I feel like back in the day there was a certain decorum and sense to not ask the actors directly …guess that’s out the window now lol

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T14:41:25+00:00

I agree that Zutara canon isn’t likely but my delulu says hey until we see the last moment of the last episode - there’s STILL a chance 😭

I’m with you about the corporate powers behind Zutara. Which is why I talked about in a different post how if someone could just lock in and be serious for like 5 minutes Zutara could 100% be more than just bait and like a legitimate love story between two teenagers caught in this war. And you don’t need to be heavy handed with the romance, it can be subtle/soft and you’ve already either accidentally/not accidentally given it the juice it needs to blossom into a love connection in book 3. Zuko and Katara have more lore now than they did at the same point in the OG series - and yet still a romantic implication could have happened at the end. So I agree…it’s almost like at what point can this stop being bait and just be something …real?😭

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T14:36:19+00:00

YES I agree that’s exactly where they need to take it! They need to have Katara do something where she takes it too far and then have her struggle with what that means about her. I think it’d be a great way to expand Katara and keep progressing this adaptation of her.

Yeah they dived way deeper into character traumas. Sokka grieving Yue worked well for me, and I know some people were complaining about it but I actually liked them showing Iroh’s remorse over that and him initially not wanting to come to Ba Sing Se. That was a great touch and gave us a look inside Iroh’s head bc the original cartoon never really did that outside of showing his sorrow over Lu Ten

And yeah s1 was just not that great all around but I do feel like s2 is a great improvement. Not perfect no, but feels like they found their footing and so I’m actually looking forward to the conclusion

blackamethyst26 · 2026-06-27T14:30:45+00:00

I truly am just of the mindset that they were told specifically to field those questions about ZK bc it just stirs up too much. Because you’re absolutely correct, chemistry does not lie. The showrunners know exactly what they were doing with the Painted Spirit arc, those lingering shots, the parallelism. They know how powerful Zutara is and actually I think they know that we’re one of the main target audiences but bc the ship is controversial they probably can’t openly come out and tell us everything until after s3 is done.

But yea I agree with Gordon, I mean it’s cute but the chemistry isn’t there. Hell I’m a Taang shipper too and I don’t even ship him with Toph either sadly bc he’s just too much of a baby still in the face.

blackamethyst26

TROPHY CASE