Katara came a long way from Book One: Water in Avatar: The Last Airbender. In Book One, she was still struggling to control her waterbending, unable to even catch a fish in Episode 1, with her waterbending abilities often backfiring on her. By the time Book Three: Fire rolls around, she’s a full-fledged waterbending master, able to destroy ships with massive waves, even developing a unique style of using arm tentacles for defense and attack.

It’s not just her waterbending skills that developed by leaps and bounds, Book Three also sees how Katara come into her own as a young woman, growing up in a war-torn world. Book One may have been set in the waterbending sphere but it's in Book Three that Katara's story really shines. 

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Katara the Waterbending Master

Despite being largely self-taught and having very little in the way of waterbending masters to teach her (aside from her brief stint with Master Pakku), Katara mastered Waterbending in a remarkably short amount of time. Instead of formal stances and bending forms, Katara mostly relies her resourcefulness, like in “The Runaway,” where she uses her own sweat to waterbend herself and Toph out of a wooden jail.

Another instance of this occurs during Zuko and Azula's Agni Kai, when Katara is drawn into the battle after Zuko sacrifices himself to save her. While an unhinged Azula indiscriminately blasts comet-boosted fire at her with every intent to kill, Katara manages to lure Azula to stand above nearby sewer grates, where she seals the princess in a ice prison. With an exhale, Katara melts the ice around her body so that she can maneuver herself around Azula and restrain her, swiftly ending the fight.

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Unparalleled Healing Abilities

Katara gets her first taste of waterbending's healing abilities when Aang accidentally burns her in his attempt at firebending in Book One. She quickly develops her skills with the lessons with the other female waterbenders at the Northern Water Tribe and proves that this skill is one of the most valuable subsets of waterbending

Katara is usually the one healing the Gaang's injuries: When Aang is shot down by Azula in Book Two, she brings him back from near death using a combination of her healing and water from the spiritual oasis at the Northern Water Tribe. She finally comes full circle when she heals Zuko's injuries from a lightning strike by his sister in the Agni Kai, after first offering to heal the scar on his face in Book Two and never getting the chance to. 

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Her Compassion for Others

Katara As The Painted Lady In Avatar The Last Airbender

Katara is known for being the “mother” of the group: the one who reminds everyone to be careful and was always the voice of reason. This is due in part because Katara had lost her mother at a young age and essentially became the main caretaker of her family. Even Sokka says he can’t remember his mother that well because Katara was the one who had always been there for him. He tells Toph that when he does try to remember his mother, Katara’s face is the one that comes up.

In "The Painted Lady," Katara is determined to help a river village situated in the polluted shadow of a Fire Nation factory . She assumes the role of the legendary spirit, the Painted Lady, and helps the villagers by stealing food and healing the sick. Although the villagers are angry at first for her impersonation, they end up thanking her for her help. Katara was never one to turn away from those in need but it's in this episode that her compassion truly shines.

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Discovering Bloodbending

Katara Avatar

In the episode “The Puppet Master,” the Gaang meet a mysterious old woman named Hama, who lives in a Fire Nation village. They later discover that, along with Katara, she is one of the last waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe. Katara is ecstatic to find that she isn’t alone and builds a strong bond with the old woman. Hama subsequently takes Katara under her tutelage and teaches her that water can be found everywhere: where there is life, there is water.

This then leads to Hama teaching her the art of bloodbending. Katara refuses to do it at first, horrified at the idea of completely controlling someone else’s body, but her hand is forced when she must use it to prevent Aang and Sokka from hurting each other. It took Hama years to master bloodbending, starting from controlling rats and eventually moving up to humans. But for Katara, it took only a few hours to learn how to use it. Katara makes a point not to use bloodbending, thinking it a complete violation of someone else's body and mind. The only other time she uses it is when she's looking for her mother's killer and, caught up in her emotions, she bloodbends a Southern Raider soldier, believing that he was the one responsible for her mother's death.

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Confronting her Past

Avatar Katara Souther Raiders

Since the loss of her mother, Katara has always been haunted by her death. With Zuko's help in "The Southern Raiders", she finds the man responsible for her mother's death, a nobody named Yon Rha. Bent on avenging her mother and consumed with anger, Katara corners Yon Rha, trapping him under a dome made of rainwater and sends shards of ice barreling towards him, intending to kill. This is a side of Katara almost never seen: a side fueled completely by rage and pain. 

At the last second, she stops the ice missiles and spares him. She knows that even if she killed Yon Rha, it wouldn't have brought her mother back to her -- it wouldn't have helped her heal from her grief. As she tells Aang, she will never forgive Yon Rha but being able to confront him brings her some measure of closure.

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