Spoiler Warning: Avatar: The Way of The Water
The next installment to James Cameron’s Avatar we waited thirteen years for has finally arrived, bigger than ever. Avatar: The Way of Water has a larger cast, longer runtime, expanded world-building, and even more spectacular special effects than what made its predecessor so famous, being considered a superior sequel in almost every way. More than a decade after human RDA lost against the native Na’vi and left Pandora, human-turned-blue-alien Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his actual-blue-alien wife Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldaña) have formed a family. But the humans have returned to take over Pandora.
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While it’s a basic sci-fi plot to fight off alien invaders (though this time it’s humans invading again), there’s a lot introduced here, with a lot of questions remaining after the credits start rolling. Some are clearly set-ups for Cameron’s three sequel movies, while others are not as clear. Here are some of the biggest unanswered questions from Avatar: The Way of Water, and what their answers could mean for the future of the franchise.
Who Is Kiri’s Father?
20th Century Studios
The mystery acknowledged but not adequately addressed in The Way of Water is Kiri’s father. After the death of Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film (both characters played by Sigourney Weaver), Jake tells us that a child was discovered growing in Grace’s comatose avatar body, Kiri, who is adopted by the Sullys.
Numerous characters throughout the film speculate on who could be Kiri’s father, including Kiri herself, though it’s treated mostly as joke, and no real possibilities can be seen. Some creative theories suggest that Kiri might not have a traditional father. Before her mother Grace dies in the process of being transferred to a blue avatar body, she tells Jake that Eywa, the life-force of Pandora, is real. Kiri has some type of effect on plants and animals and is close to the planet, so she might be the product Eywa, of Pandora itself. Given the amount of focus put on this question and her power with the Tree of Souls, this theory doesn’t seem so wild, and Kiri might have an even bigger role to play later on.
Of course, the whole thing could be red herring and remain unanswered forever, so we’ll see.
Who Is Spider’s Mother?
Another parental question is that of the human named Spider. Left behind when the RDA first left, he’s embraced the Na’vi culture and prefers them over human company, even painting himself blue. Spider’s father is actually the villain Colonel Quaritch (Stephan Lang), who captures his son early on in the movie, helping and hindering the humans.
Spider was a baby when the humans left (apparently you can’t put babies in cryostasis), so he must’ve been born shortly before the events of the first movie, which means his mother was a part of the RDA crew. Which raises some other questions. What was his mother to Quaritch? Did she stay with her baby but not survive to the second film? These aren’t really pressing, but questions must be asked.
What Other Clans Are There On Pandora?
The first Avatar briefly mentioned different clans of Na’vi living on Pandora, and the Omaticaya are the dark blue tree people the Sullys live with. The Way of Water introduced us to the Metkayina, the lighter blue water tribe, which didn’t get involved in the last movie. Both films take us through the beautiful and stunning environments that these people inhabit, and are so spectacular and masterfully executed, it’s what made the Avatar franchise famous.
With three more films at the very least, will Cameron continue the tradition and show us what other clans and landscapes that are just waiting to be revealed on the big screen? How about even lighter blue people who live in the air, on Pandora’s floating mountains? Or even darker blue people who live underground? And how about other planets? The possibilities are endless.
What’s Happening Back on Earth?
In both films, we only get hints of how it’s going back on Earth, but we can gather that things aren’t going well at home. In the first film, the humans come to Pandora to extract Pandora’s valuable resources, where Jake says there is “no green” left on Earth. We learn that the planet is dying in the second movie, and now the RDA wants to move all of humanity to Pandora.
The plans for colonization show that the Earth’s condition must be extreme for humanity to abandon her for good, but we haven’t actually seen anything. Being this is the cause for everything that’s happening on Pandora, it’s pretty important to review. Plus, a look back to a devastated and wasted planet can further impress viewers with the natural beauty and life of Pandora, which is one of the franchise’s high points.
Can Anyone Save Their Memories and Personality On A Flash Drive?
Lightstorm Entertainment
Colonel Quadritch is a detestable villain, so when Ney’tiri filled him full of arrows, and he dies at the end of the first Avatar, many viewers must have been satisfied. He unexpectedly returns in The Way of Water in blue avatar form, revealing his personality and memories were uploaded in a device similar to flash drive, then transferred to an avatar, essentially being resurrected from the dead.
This raises a lot of questions that deserve answers. Why doesn’t the RDA do this with all their fallen soldiers, and basically have unlimited troops? In the first film, Jake takes his twin brother Tommy’s place in the Avatar Program; why didn’t anyone download Tommy’s mind in case anything happened? Humans also search for a rare substance that stops aging, but why bother with slowing down death when you’ve basically cured death?
Avatar: The Way of Water was the triumphant return to Pandora we waited thirteen years for, but we were left with questions. Luckily, this time we only have to wait two years for some answers.
