SPOILERS are ahead for Avatar: The Way Of Water, now playing in theaters. You’ve been warned!
So, you’ve seen Avatar 2… now what? 13 years following the original film, we finally have caught up with Jake Sully and the world of Pandora, with the hope of more sequels on the way. As we process everything from the lush landscapes of James Cameron’s fictional planet, to the environmental and imperialist messages of The Way of Water, I want to talk about the best new characters introduced in the second Avatar movie.
And… there are a lot. Just in the first few minutes of Avatar: The Way of Water, we learned that Jake Sully and Neytiri had a family of seven, including their adopted kids. And as the movie unfolds, we venture to an entirely new land in Pandora, where we meet an oceanic Na’vi clan. Among the many introductions in the Avatar franchise's second movie, I hope these five characters are especially developed further in future films.
Spider
Jack Champion’s Miles “Spider” Socorro has one of the most memorable plot lines in Way of Water, considering he is the biological son of the movie’s villain, Stephen Lang’s Miles Quaritch, but has fully embraced being a Na’vi on Pandora. He’s caught between two worlds. This is made more complicated by the fact that his real father has died, but a backed-up version of Quaritch has been cloned into a Na’vi, who is hunting Spider's adopted father down throughout Avatar 2.
By the end of the movie, Spider actually saves the Na’vi back-up of his father after Miles saves him from Neytiri pulling a knife on him. Going forward, things are getting really complicated for Spider, especially considering his adopted mom clearly doesn’t trust him and might have actually caused harm to him at that moment when she put a knife to his throat. As the Avatar franchise continues, I look forward to further development of Spider’s arc. His unique place in the storyline could very well center him in the storyline moving forward.
Tsireya
Tsireya, the daughter of the leaders of the Metkayina clan, has a small, but powerful role in The Way of Water, as she is the only one of Ronal and Tonowari’s children to embrace the Sully family. There’s an openness about her when it comes to teaching them the ropes of being in the oceanic clan that was refreshing amidst the bullying her brothers put the Sully children through.
I can definitely see there is a chemistry between her and Lo’ak that could blossom in the sequels, but additionally, I’d like to understand her place in the clan and how she fits in the leadership of the Metkayina that may differ from the rest of her family. How do she and her mother, Ronal, get along? I feel like there’s a lot of untapped story for Tsireya the sequels could definitely get into that Avatar 2 didn’t.
Lo'ak
Speaking of Na’vi children of leaders, Lo’ak drove the narrative of Avatar 2 in a lot of ways that was intriguing to see play out. As the middle child of Sully and Neytiri’s biological children, he’s probably the most like his parents, inheriting their own stubbornness, and yet was often seen as a member of the family who was always doing something wrong. Following the death of his older brother Neteyam at the end of Avatar 2, I expect he’ll be mourning the loss, along with still fighting his tendency to not follow the rules.
Jake Sully seems to be the main protagonist of the Avatar movies right now, but I think there’s something deeper in Lo'ak’s arc that I’d like to see rise to the surface as the franchise continues.
Payakan
Yes, I want to see more of the Na’vi whale. I’m sure everyone had their own experiences seeing The Way of Water, but for me, I was the most invested in the young tulkun, Payakan, who Lo’ak befriends after he is deemed an outcast for killing the whalers who killed his mother. I want to learn more about Payakan and tulkuns, and hope they are a vital part of the plot moving forward. There was also something really beautiful about them having spirit brothers and sisters that I’d also like to see the Avatar films continue to delve into later in the franchise now that it’s been established.
Kiri
Among the best new characters of Avatar: The Way of Water is Sigourney Weaver’s Kiri. I’ll admit, I was skeptical of the reasons given for the actress to return in another form, but during the movie, I overall was really drawn to Kiri and the potential for her character. At the moment, I do worry she suffers from being a Mary Sue, an archetype for young women portrayed as competent across all domains, especially in terms of her just getting all the water activities right away.
Among our many questions after Avatar 2, we’re pondering who her father may be and if there’s an explanation about why she caught on to the way of water more quickly than anyone else. Plus, Kiri shared that sometimes she “hears the heartbeat of Eywa,” so I’m most definitely curious what the heck is going on there.
OG Bonus Point: Neytiri
Now that we’ve talked about the best new characters I’d like to see the next Avatar movies explore, I want to highlight an established one I hope to see the sequels highlighted more: Neytiri. Sure that sounds like a given, but I was pretty disappointed with how small her role was in The Way of Water. She really didn’t get much of an arc between the first and second Avatar film aside from becoming a mother. Here’s hoping as the next Avatar movies develop the above new characters, Cameron doesn’t forget to nurture perhaps the best character in the franchise. Zoe Saldana’s Na’vi character is incredibly layered and interesting and doesn’t deserve a backseat to Jake Sully! There, I said it.
You can check out our interviews with the Avatar: The Way of Water cast here on CinemaBlend next as you think through your own favorite characters of Avatar so far.
