Summary

• 'Zutara' ship was popular among fans, debates sparked on the implied romance between Katara and Zuko.
• Early on, there really were plans for Zuko and Katara to get together. That later changed.
• Zuko's redemption arc, aided by Mai's love, progressed effectively, showing he didn't need romantic love from Katara.

Any popular show is inevitably going to attract shippers, and Avatar: The Last Airbender is much the same. One of the most hotly contested fan-imagined relationships from the series was between the waterbender Katara and the prince of the Fire Nation, Zuko. Nicknamed "Zutara," fans were torn over whether the creators intended to imply any such relationship, if the two ending up together was ever a realistic possibility, if it was purely imagined or if the very idea was problematic given their imperialistic dynamic.

That contention doesn't solely exist in the fandom alone. Sources in the canon itself reveal conflict over whether Katara and Zuko could ever have had a romance, and the disagreement may have been just as heated behind-the-scenes in the writer's room as it was for fans. Fortunately for all Zutara shippers out there, even if this what-if romance never became canon, Katara and Zuko still have a strong, meaningful friendship that gives them strong on-screen chemistry during Zuko's redemption arc.

Updated on March 19th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This feature about the Katara and Zuko ship has been expanded with more information and now adheres to CBR's current publication standards.

Why Do Avatar Fans Ship Katara and Zuko?

Avatar: The Last Airbender provided fan shippers with plenty of Katara and Zuko scenes to inspire the Zutara pairing. While Zuko chased down the Gaang in pursuit of the Avatar for much of Book One: Water and was totally hostile to them, Zuko and Katara still shared some noteworthy scenes that laid the groundwork for the Zutara ship. One of the first examples was Zuko holding Katara's lost necklace to her neck in a vaguely suggestive way, almost as though Zuko was proposing by returning that Water Tribe accessory, given the necklace's function as an engagement ring. Zuko didn't try to beat up or capture Katara in that scene -- he had other business with her. Also, Zuko and Katara fought during the siege of the Northern Water Tribe, a violent yet fascinating way for them to get used to each other's company in private.

Book Two: Earth did even more to build up Zuko and Katara's bizarre relationship. By then, Zuko's legendary redemption arc had begun, and he grew even more sympathetic when he shared a seemingly tender moment with Katara in the Crystal Catacombs beneath the city of Ba Sing Se. After connecting on their shared trauma, and after taking the time to listen to Zuko rather than yell at him, Katara brought up the possibility of healing Zuko's scar with magic water from the spirit oasis. Ever the conflicted character, Zuko might have accepted that offer and finished his redemption right then, but Zuko and Katara were driven apart after Zuko sided with his sister, the irredeemable Princess Azula, to seek his father's favor once again. Katara felt foolish that she had offered to heal Zuko, but the Zutara pairing would get another chance to become real in the next season.

Other Popular Katara Ships:

• Aang (Kataang)
• Jet (Jetara)

In Book Three: Fire, Zuko was back at the Fire Nation's capital with familiar company like Mai, Azula, and his father, far from Katara and the Gaang. Then, after the failed invasion of the Fire Nation, the Gaang took shelter in the Western Air Temple, where Zuko sincerely offered to join them. Katara doubted Zuko more than anyone, but after Appa, Toph, and Aang welcomed him, Katara deferred to Aang's judgment. She was still wary of Zuko, and told him as much, but then Zuko started doing the Gaang favors on quests, including with Katara.

After helping Katara on a mission to avenge her mother, Zuko and Katara two become much closer, and on a similar note, a brief moment in the theater with the Ember Island Players had Zuko edge Aang out for a seat next to Katara. If it weren't for Katara and Aang ending up together, the groundwork certainly seemed there for the writers to go in the direction of Katara and Zuko being a couple.

An event known as Avatar Extras ran a marathon of Avatar episodes on Nicktoons Network with pop-up commentary from writers Joshua Hamilton and Katie Mattila. Sometimes the bubbles were just jokes, but others connected information on-screen to information revealed elsewhere in the series or provided extra information about backstory, canon or the creative process. That last bit proves particularly interesting because an early bubble says that Katara and Zuko were originally meant to end up together.

Why Didn't the Zutara Ship Become Official in Avatar?

The Show's Creators Never Intended for Zuko and Katara to Be an End Game Romance

The Zuko and Katara romantic bubble popped up in the episode "The Avatar Returns," the second episode of the series when Zuko is still firmly an antagonist. At that early stage, there was little groundwork built for romantic relationships between any of the cast, but such detail could show where the writers were thinking of taking things down the road. If this were truly the case, then Katara and Aang ending up together would be a deviation from the original plan.

However, there seems to be some contention over the matter, as creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko have said elsewhere, such as in the book adaptation Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle, that they never intended for Zuko and Katara to end up together. Given the creators' heavier involvement in the series from start to finish, that would certainly seem to be the stance that takes greater authority, and Avatar Extras has been known to contradict the canon plenty of times in other places.

What is perhaps most interesting is that it just goes to show how such conflicting ideas can be as present among writers as they are among fans. The dramatic tension of who Katara would end up with helped amplify the audience engagement in the story, and by the creative team bringing different ideas to the table, they were able to craft a believable enough tension that fans still fight over which choice would have been right to this day.

Zuko Needed Love, But Not From Katara

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Like most characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Prince Zuko was shaped by all the people around him, and his relationships made all the difference. As the troubled firstborn of the Fire Nation royal family, Zuko had a lot on his shoulders, and his family often made it worse, not better. Zuko's sister and father tormented him endlessly, and after a point, Zuko's kind mother Ursa wasn't available to help, either. By the time Zuko launched his hunt for the Avatar, Zuko only had his uncle Iroh to support him, and only gradually did Zuko learn to take his uncle seriously. By the end of Book One: Water, Zuko relied on Iroh more than ever, and that was just one of several relationships that helped change Zuko's life for the better.

Zuko needed different things from different people, and eventually, he got it all. He needed the cooperation and battlefield aid of Avatar Aang, the one who was destined to defeat the Fire Lord and end the Hundred-Year War, something Zuko could never do on his own. As for love, Zuko definitely needed someone to romantically love him to help soothe his heart and teach him to believe in human kindness, but neither Katara nor Jin were the girls for the job. Zuko enjoyed his date with Jin and hde learned vital lessons about trust and forgiveness from Katara, but neither of them could or should have loved him. Instead, Mai's undying love for Zuko is what helped inspire the Fire Nation prince to complete the emotional aspect of his redemption. A classic example was when Mai openly defied Azula at the Boiling Rock prison because her love of Zuko outshone her fear of Azula.

Other Popular Zuko Ships

• Mai (Maiko)
• Sokka (Zukka)
• Toph (Zoph)
• Suki (Zuki)

Zuko's canon romance with Mai helped make him happier and taught him to be careful with other people's hearts, while his friendship with Katara went in a different direction. Katara and Zuko together learned that forgiveness and trust were far more important than hatred and vengeance, which is why they embraced after their mission together to find Katara's mother's killer. Zuko needed love, but he didn't need Katara's love, so the show didn't give it to him.

Besides, Katara falling in love with Zuko wouldn't have proven anything that Avatar fans didn't already know by then. Katara forgiving and befriending Zuko was all fans could expect from their relationship, which is to say, that was as friendly as Katara could realistically be with Zuko. Meanwhile, Mai's romantic arc with Zuko said far more about her, since Mai didn't get nearly as much screen time as Katara to demonstrate what kind of person she is. Mai was well-established as a moody, sullen teenage girl who was hostile to Team Avatar, and she and Zuko had romantic troubles in Book Three: Fire when Zuko fled the Fire Nation. So, it was a big moment when Mai turned on Azula in the name of love, and such a gesture would have meant far less coming from Katara after the forgiveness scene.