That's the last time I will release this text, please comment:
Lately many people ask why we shipp Zutara. I hope the following text will be able to answer this question:
The most intriguing aspect of Zutara is it's tension. Now some of you will ask, what kind of tension can the two of them feel, if they are enemies?
I'm referring to the tension between both of them I as a viewer am experiencing: Both of them experienced very similar events in their past and have developed similar personalities, which would
pull them closer together, if they would be aware of it, but instead they are
pushing each other away, because of each others way the deal with these events.
Both were parted violently from their
fathers. Kataras father abandoned her to fight in a campaign against the Fire Nation and Zukos father banished his son for his disrespect.
Both were forced by this incidents to grow up, although arguable if they really behave mature, both took on great responsibilities for their young age (Katara obtaining the mother role in her village and Zuko being responsible for his own crew) and feel driven to achieve certain goals.
Both Katara and Zuko lost their
mothers. Katara lost her mother in a Fire Nation raid and Zukos mother left (or died) for reasons we are not aware of right now. Both of them had a very close relationship to their mothers. How deep the relationships were can be seen in the
trinkets both of them hold dear and which make them remember of their childhood:
www.avatarspirit.net/images/screenshots/207/259.jpgwww.avatarspirit.net/images/screenshots/118/176.jpgFor both of them their mothers are the motives behind their respective goals as they want them to be proud of them. Katara wants to be acknowledged as a strong women (just like her mother) and seeks to be a waterbending master. Zuko on the other hand wants to be acknowledged as a prince of the Fire Nation ("Never forget who you are") and seeks out to regain his right by capturing the Avatar.
Although both seem to believe in destiny (Zuko at the end of Bitter Work and Katara in the Fortuneteller), both value
hard work the most. Even if both are not nearly as talented in their bending arts as the persons around them (Zuko/Azula and Katara/Aang), both kept on struggling.
Both worked hard on their bending arts:
www.avatarspirit.net/images/screenshots/104/066.jpgwww.avatarspirit.net/images/screenshots/101/176.jpgand both also showed great determination (and a short temper) to achieve the respect (as a prince or a waterbender) they keep struggling for, as shown in their duels:
Zuko/Zhao ("Your father doesn't want you back")
Katara/Pakku ("Go back to the healing huts were you belong")
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmNrxnaV0XU 4. The two of them are not giving up easily no matter how hopeless their situation may seem: Zuko kept on searching for the Avatar for 3 years, although his father and grandfather failed to find him and Katara was learning waterbending on herself without a master or instructions.
When both see somebody, who reminds them of their hardship in their childhood, both of them become immediately
attached to that person, seeking to help them: Zuko grew fond of Lee after hearing about how much he misses his brother and revealed even his firebender indentity in order to rescue him.
Katara insisted to help Haru, when he was imprisoned in the Fire Nation internment platform and didn't hear on both, her brother and Aang, when they tried to rescue her.
But as great as their similarities are, as great are the
diffrences between them. As benders they show a great connection to their elements, which are each others counterparts.
Because of their contradictive elements, they also persuade a contradictive way to achieve their goals.
It was Iroh, who introduced this contradicting nature to us (Fire is the element of power. The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. (...)Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to
many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.)
This description is a valuable source on how they act to gain the respect their longing for: Katara being from the watertribe and having a great sense for family and friends sees herself as a guardian and supporter of her friend Aang (she also tends to be the leader of the gAang as we already have seen in "the Desert"), thus sees it as her duty to make him achieve his goal.
Zuko sees in Aang an objective, his last hope and he has the desire to capture him in order to regain his honor.
At this point we are able to see the tension between the two, which was build up in their past. Both could understand each other in a way no one else would be capable to, but struggle in diffrent ways for similar goals. Both see Aang as a symbol of hope, although fullfilling their duty would bring contradicting results.
It's this balance between similarities they are not aware of and diffrences between them that are so obvious, which make this shipp so interesting.