Franchises: Avatar. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

For a long time, it seemed like this was a review that you would never see from me. Even though Avatar became the highest grossing movie of all time when it was released back in 2009, and James Cameron had said he would do sequels if it were successful, years then passed without any substantial word about their progress, save for the occasional blurb about how Cameron was still writing them, that they were about to start shooting, that they had yet to settle on titles for the individual movies, and so on. And as more and more time went by, with progress on the second movie in and of itself seemingly going at a snail's pace, it did seem as though Cameron was literally going to devote the rest of his life to expanding this world and mythology that he'd created. It definitely seemed so when, after initially saying he was planning on doing two sequels, he then doubled it to four. At the rate he was going, I figured that, even if he did shoot two of them at the same time, as he did with The Way of Water and Fire and Ash, he'd be either 90 or dead by the time it was all wrapped up. I had very mixed feelings about this notion because, while I did enjoy Avatar, I wasn't an absolute mega-fan of it, and I was kind of hoping to see Cameron branch out and do some other movies while he still had the time and energy. What's more, while I was certainly willing to take another trip to Pandora, no matter how long it would take, I wasn't sure if others felt the same way. Not only had it been such a long time since the first Avatar but, even at the time of its release, that movie had a lot of vocal detractors, and it became something of a punchline once the luster of its visuals and technological advancements wore off. Thus, I wondered if the second one would even do that well when it was finally released, as well as how Cameron's overall career would be affected if it bombed.

Well, finally, in the summer of 2022, I learned that Avatar: The Way of Water was on its way. When I went to see Jurassic World: Dominion, I saw a big cardboard stand for it in the theater lobby and, somewhere along the way, I saw a trailer for it, though I don't remember what movie it was in front of (it might've been Dominion). In any case, the trailer and advertising confirmed that the ocean would be a major part of the story, as Cameron said it would be early on, and that, like the first one, it was going to be another dazzling visual spectacle. Given where the first one left off, I already had an idea of where the story would go, and the more I heard about it, the more intrigued I became. I especially wanted to know how Sigourney Weaver could be in it after her character in the first one died, and also if the villain I saw in the trailers was who I suspected him to be. Unlike the first one, I did see The Way of Water in the theater, though I was a bit leery about it when I learned the runtime was three hours plus. While I'd seen The Batman, which was almost three hours itself, in the theater earlier that year, I'm never all that crazy about going to watch a movie that long in the theater, especially when I know I'm going to have probably half an hour or more of commercials and trailers to sit through beforehand. And then, when I got to the theater, it turned out that showing I'd planned on was in 3-D. Granted, my eyes aren't all that sensitive to 3-D, but I still didn't know if I'd be able to take it for that long. But I bit the bullet and, let me tell you, it made that experience absolutely amazing. The numerous underwater sequences looked especially mind-blowing, as you really felt like you were there, and these creatures were swimming all around you. So, if nothing else, I can say it was one of the most visually spectacular times I've ever had at the theater, perhaps in my whole life. (And, of course, I was dead wrong about people not caring after all this time, as it was another enormous hit.)

As for the movie's other merits, I will say that I like it a little more than the first one. I like that we get to see more of Pandora and learn about the different types of Na'vi tribes, about their own ways of life, and customs. We also get some new cool-looking creatures, machines, and tech, and the battle and action sequences are, again, very thrilling and epic. And like before, to say that the movie is a feast for the eyes is underselling it. But where I think The Way of Water improves upon the first is in the characters and writing. For one, I like the new characters who are introduced, and while I do have issues with some of the things he does, I think Sam Worthington's performance as Jake Sully, overall, is better this time. What's more, while it's still not awesome by any means, the screenwriting is definitely improved (that could be because, this time, Cameron had others co-writing with him), as the characters are more three-dimensional, and some of their dynamics and relationships are fairly complex. Even the resurrected Colonel Quaritch, who was a ridiculously one-dimensional, albeit entertaining, villain in the first movie, now has a bit more to him. Also, while I wouldn't say it ends on a cliffhanger, the ending does leave you eager for more, especially since there are some questions that are left unanswered, and plot-lines that I, personally, was interested to see how they would play out in the future. And while I didn't have a problem with it as others, the environmental and imperialist themes, which were very heavy-handed in the first one, are really toned down here. 

However, like the first, The Way of Water is far from flawless. The biggest immediate problem is the length. While it's not an excruciating three-plus hours to sit through, you're still, obviously, going to have to set aside a big chunk of your time in order to watch it, and you may find yourself exhausted by the end of it because of how much visual stimuli it throws at you. In addition, the structure is such that it starts off with a pretty fast-paced first act, then transitions into a much more leisurely-paced second act, and finally, a third-act climax that may have some viewers getting antsy, considering how extended it is. Also, while improved, the writing is still not nearly as deep as you would hope, and there are some moments and lines you can see coming, especially if you've seen the first. And speaking of which, some characters from the first whom you may have liked, such as Neytiri, are either pushed to the side for the most part or abandoned altogether very quickly.

It's been many years since the Resources Development Administration were repelled from Pandora by the Na'vi. With his consciousness now permanently transferred into his avatar body, Jake Sully is the chief of the Omatikaya clan and Neytiri's mate. The two of them have had two sons, Neteyam and Lo'ak, and a young daughter, Tuk. They also have an adopted daughter, Kiri, who was mysteriously born from the late Dr. Grace Augustine's avatar, and Spider, a human who was left infant left behind as an infant and raised by the scientists who remained at Hell's Gate, often visits the clan in order to play with the kids. But after sixteen years, this era of peace is shattered when the RDA returns, this time in order to colonize Pandora, as Earth is now truly on its last legs. After their forest home is destroyed, the Omatikaya clan retreats to the floating Hallelujah Mountains. Aided by the scientists, they enact a guerilla warfare campaign against the RDA, but the RDA, in turn, bring in a squadron of Recombinants: Na'vi avatars who've been implanted with the memories of dead soldiers. Among them is a revived Colonel Miles Quaritch, the deceased head of the RDA's initial security force, who's eager for some revenge against Jake and Neytiri. During their first mission, they come across the couple's younger children in the jungle near where Quaritch made his last stand as a human. Among them is Spider, whom Quaritch realizes is his own son. Jake, Neytiri, and Neteyam come to the rescue, but Spider is captured and taken back by the Recoms. Knowing the danger this new version of Quaritch poses, especially if he's able to make Spider talk, Jake convinces Neytiri that, for the good of the tribe, their family must leave and seek refuge elsewhere. They travel to the eastern sea, and after a long journey, arrive at Awa'atlu, the home of a clan of Metkayina or Reef People. Initially, their chief, Tonowari, and his wife, Ronal, are incredulous at their wish to live among them, as they're unfit to survive in the sea, and are also fearful of their war following them there. However, they allow them to stay, and slowly but surely, the family learns how to swim, dive, and ride various sea creatures, but getting along with some of their new neighbors proves more difficult. Meanwhile, Quaritch begins taking his efforts to find Jake and his family to ruthless extremes, and his methods do drag the sea clans into the war. It culminates in a confrontation on the open ocean where Quaritch threatens to kill Jake's children to force him to surrender himself.

One of the reasons why it took so long for the Avatar sequels to finally come to fruition was because it took four to five years for the scripts to be written. In fact, according to James Cameron, he spent an entire year writing a 130 page treatment for the second movie that he ultimately threw out, as he felt it wasn't achieving what he wanted. The writing process finally began in earnest in 2012, but instead of again acting as the sole screenwriter, he brought in co-writers for each of them. In the case of The Way of Water, they were Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, who, at that point, had written Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and by the time it was released, had had a hand in writing not only Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, as well as producing those that followed, but also Jurassic World. However, Cameron said that all of the writers, the others being Josh Friedman and Shane Salerno, collaborated on all of the scripts before they were each assigned to co-write a specific one with him, as he knew that, if he did the latter right off the bat, they wouldn't listen whenever they discussed the other movies. Thus, Friedman and Salerno share story credit here with Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver, as would be the case on Fire and Ash. (However, while Friedman was originally intended to be the co-writer on the third movie, the screenplay for Fire and Ash would again be credited to Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver, as the story and concepts were split off from The Way of Water when Cameron realized too much was being crammed into one movie.)

When production finally began in 2017, they first had to do the performance capture side of things, much of which was done underwater for the first time ever, requiring a lot of extensive testing. That in and of itself took almost a year, as the same was being done simultaneously for Fire and Ash, and then, live-action shooting for both began in New Zealand in the spring of 2019. That was expected to take at least six months in and of itself, and then, of course, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing production to shut down until that June. Production was finally completed in September, but given what a monumental task post-production was going to be, with all the effects and editing, it's not that surprising that it took another two years before the movie finally hit theaters.

While still not Oscar-caliber by any means, I think Sam Worthington's second turn as Jake Sully is a step up from his performance in the first one. He's still not all that charismatic, and his voiceover narration is as monotone as it was before, but, for the most part, I like the character more here. Since he and the Na'vi drove the RDA from Pandora, Jake, now permanently bonded with his avatar, has enjoyed a long period of peace and happiness. He and Neytiri are now husband and wife, he's the new chief of the Omatikaya clan, replacing Neytiri's late father, and the two of them have a family of four children. He and the clan also have human allies in the scientists who remained at Hell's Gate, and the boy Spider has become something of an unofficial member of the clan. However, after sixteen years the RDA returns and torches the Omatikaya's forest home. After the clan relocates to the Hallelujah Mountains, at a stronghold called High Camp, Jake decides not to take the invasion lying down, as he, Neytiri, and the other Na'vi warriors and avatars commence a campaign of guerilla warfare. Combining Jake's soldier training, human weapons, and technology, such as comm-links, with Na'vi strength, agility, and knowledge of the environment, they attack the RDA's installations and raid their supply trains, taking whatever equipment and weapons they can, while Eywa's natural "immune response" eliminates any attempts to locate their stronghold. However, Jake and Neytiri soon learn that Colonel Quaritch has been revived as a Na'vi Recombinant and is leading a squadron to specifically hunt down and kill them and their family. When Spider is captured in a skirmish with the Recoms, Jake realizes it will spell disaster for the clan if Quaritch gets him to talk. He also knows that, because of their new Na'vi bodies, Eywa won't perceive Quaritch and his team as a threat, enabling them to easily find High Camp. As much as it devastates Neytiri, Jake convinces her that they need to leave and go into hiding to ensure that both the clan and his family's safety. After Jake is symbolically killed as the leader so his successor, Tarsem, can take the role, he and his family leave the forest and make their way to the eastern sea, planning to hide among the numerous sea clans. Arriving at Awa'atlu, and meeting the Metkayina, the Reef People, Jake manages to convince Tonowari and Ronal to harbor them, as well as teach them how to survive in the ocean.

For the most part, I like seeing how Jake has gone from a thick-headed grunt who, initially, only made contact with the Na'vi to help the RDA conquer them, to not only embracing and learning to love Pandora and its people, permanently becoming a Na'vi in the process, but also becoming a devoted husband and family man. During the opening, you see that he is both a great chief to the Omatikaya and a loving, if somewhat stern, father to his children, as he teaches his oldest son, Neteyam, how to fish, and also breaks

up sibling squabbles. Thus, it's hard not to sympathize with him when he decides he doesn't want to risk both losing his family and endangering his tribe, especially since he knows Quaritch is out for blood after he and Neytiri killed him as a human. You also understand that it's a hard decision for him to make, as he knows it means ripping Neytiri and their family out of the only home they've ever known, but he doesn't know what else to do. And when they begin living with the Metkayina, Jake basically has to relearn everything

about being a Na'vi, and some of his stubborn, bull-headed tendencies come back. For instance, instead of first attempting to ride a small, more docile Ilu, as Tonowari suggests, he instead insists on going with a large and temperamental Skimwing right off the bat. While he initially does well, he eventually loses his grip on the creature, much to his frustration. That said, he quickly gets the hang of it and is riding alongside Tonowari. However, despite his best efforts, Jake does end up bringing his personal war to the

Metkayina when Quaritch tracks his family to the east sea, destroys other villages and kills Tulkun, whale-like creatures that the clan have a close bond with. This incites them to fight back, and Jake tries to warn them that attacking the "Sky People" will only prompt them to double down. But when two of his children, as well as Tonowari and Ronal's daughter, Reya, are captured and held hostage by Quaritch, Jake is finally pushed into fighting. And by the end of the movie, he decides that, instead of running and hiding, he must continue to fight to protect his family.

Where I have problems with Jake is the way he treats his sons, especially Lo'ak. Granted, his first concern whenever they end up in a battle or are attacked is their safety, as he often checks them for wounds. He also has a right to be angry with them at the beginning when Lo'ak, instead of acting as a spotter during a raid on a supply train, as he was supposed to, flies down to the action with Neteyam and they got caught up in a dangerous skirmish with reinforcements. However, Jake often acts like a general more than a 

father, and in that instance, and while he does rightfully punish Lo'ak for that, he also admonishes Neteyam, telling him, "You're the older brother. You gotta act like it!" Later, Neytiri calls him out on this, saying, "Neteyam and Lo'ak try to live up to you. It is very hard on them... You are very hard on them." To that, Jake says, "I'm their father. It's my job," and she counters, "This is not a squad. It is a family." But it's when they begin living with the Metkayina that I feel Jake starts to really bear down on Lo'ak far too 

harshly. Obviously, he doesn't want his family, particularly his sons, to cause any trouble for the clan. But when Tonowari's son, Aonung, bullies Kiri, and Lo'ak and Neteyam get into a fight with him and his friends over it, Jake then orders Lo'ak to go apologize to Aonung, despite knowing what happened (granted, Lo'ak threw the first punch, and Jake does secretly like hearing that Aonung and his friends were the ones who came out of the with more bruises, but still). What's really infuriating, though, is Jake's reaction after Aonung and his friends trick Lo'ak into 

going far outside the reef, which is forbidden, and then leave him out there. When he's found and brought back to the village, Jake tells Lo'ak, "You brought shame to this family... Any more trouble, and I jerk a knot in your tail. You read me." Lo'ak did take the heat for Aonung, claiming it was his fault, but as he himself says, he was only trying to make friends, as Jake told him to. And then, Neteyam gets scolded for not being there with his brother. But the worst moment comes during the third act, when Neteyam is wounded after rescuing Lo'ak, Tuk, and Reya from

the SeaDragon, a whaling vessel where Quaritch holds them hostage. Neteyam ends up dying from his injuries, and when Lo'ak then says he wants to accompany Jake, Neytiri, and Spider back to the ship to save Kiri and Tuk (who got recaptured), Jake tells him, "You've done enough," as if blaming him for his brother's death. Again, while it was, technically, Lo'ak's fault that they got captured, as I'll go into, that was still harsh, as if the poor kid didn't already feel bad enough (he, literally, has his brother's blood on 

his hands in this moment). Their bond is reestablished when Lo'ak manages to save Jake from drowning after the ship has sunk to the ocean, and Jake, truly realizing who his son is now, tells him, "I see you," the Na'vi term of respect, but that especially rubbed me the wrong way (not to mention that Jake initially thinks Lo'ak is Neteyam when he shows up to help)..

When I said that Neytiri gets pushed to the side this time, I meant in terms of the overall story. Zoe Saldana does have her fair share of battle and action sequences to participate in, though that's mostly at the beginning and during the climax; otherwise, Neytiri's role here is mainly to call Jake out on how harsh he's being on his sons (though she sometimes gives them an earful herself), care for and protect her children, and come to terms with having to leave the forest for a new life with the Metkayina. She is completely devastated when Jake tells her they have to leave the Omatikaya clan, yelling, "You cannot ask this!", and that she intends to uphold her late father's wishes and protect her people. But Jake is able to convince her that leaving will be the best way to protect them from Quaritch's wrath, although she is in tears when they do so. Once they begin living with the Metkayina, Neytiri's role in the story becomes smaller, although she remains as feisty and fearless as ever. When they first arrive at Awa'atlu, and Ronal exclaims that her and Jake's "half-breed" children have "demon blood," and is dismissive of how Jake led the Omatikaya to victory against the RDA, Neytiri is quick to defend her husband's honor, with her and Ronal hissing at each other; Jake, wanting things to go smoothly, quickly apologizes for her behavior, much to Neytiri's irritation. Also, when Kiri suffers a severe seizure after she bonds with the tribe's underwater Spirit Tree, Neytiri chases out Norm Spellman and Max Patel while they're examining her so Ronal can do her job as spiritual leader, yelling, "Out! You have done nothing!" And when they hear about Quaritch's brutal raids on other sea clan villages, she insists that they must hunt him down and kill him. But Jake, again, tells her that doing so will expose themselves to him and the RDA in general, to which she asks, "Then, what is our plan?" We don't see what Jake's answer was, but after that, it isn't long before Quaritch tracks them down and tries to use their children to draw Jake to him.

Neytiri's most significant moment comes after Neteyam dies from being mortally wounded while rescuing Lo'ak, Tuk, and Reya. She arrives right before he dies and is completely shattered by it, cradling his body in her arms and screaming in anguish. Then, when Jake tells her that Quaritch has Tuk and Kiri on the SeaDragon, and that he needs her to be strong so they can rescue them, Neytiri's grief turns to homicidal rage. She takes out the bow her father gave her, flies off on her Ikran, and when she 

arrives on the vessel, she brutally kills every soldier and Recom she comes across. She spears them with her arrows, stabs them with her hunting knife, and bashes their brains in, all while elegantly dodging assault rifle fire. There's one moment where she mows through a group of soldiers and, when the last one goes for his rifle, she grabs and kills him while screaming like an animal in his face, her eyes bulging with rage. She's so terrifying in that moment that, when she's scanning her surroundings for any other

attackers, growling and hissing, Spider, who's been watching the whole thing from nearby, feels compelled to hide from her. It turns out he has good reason to be afraid. A few minutes later, when Quaritch has a knife to Kiri's neck, forcing Jake to surrender, Neytiri takes Spider, whom she's always had mixed feelings about, hostage and threatens to kill him in the same way. Despite Kiri begging her not to hurt Spider, she proves she's serious when she growls at Quaritch, "A son for a son," and then slices Spider across his chest, adding, "I cut!" When 

Quaritch hesitates, Neytiri yells and seems like she's really going to kill Spider, prompting the colonel to protest. Again, the look on her face proves this is no idle threat, and Quaritch releases Kiri, and Neytiri does the same with Spider. Following that standoff, the SeaDragon truly begins to sink, and Neytiri and Tuk become trapped within the wreckage, as do Jake and Quaritch. However, Kiri comes to her mother and sister's rescue, and the family, although hurting, is reunited.

By the time of the main story, Jake and Neytiri's two sons, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) and Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), are sixteen and fourteen respectively. As I said earlier, Jake proves to be a rather stern father, often coming off as more like a general, admonishing Lo'ak for his recklessness and Neteyam for not keeping his brother out of trouble. Now, despite how much I criticized Jake earlier, Lo'ak does prove to be pretty reckless during the first act. When he and Neteyam are supposed to be acting as lookouts during

a raid, he decides to fly down where the action is, much to Neteyam's frustration. Sure enough, reinforcements show up and they get caught up in the ensuing battle, Neteyam receiving a bleeding wound on his back. Later, Lo'ak, along with Kiri, Tuk, and Spider, go out to the old battlefield in the jungle, to the spot where Jake and Neytiri had their final confrontation with Quaritch in the first movie, even though they're not supposed to. That leads to their running into the revived Quaritch and his squad of Recoms, as well as Spider getting kidnapped. But when they relocate to Awa'atlu, it begins to feel like Lo'ak, for the most part, can't catch a break. First, like the others, he struggles with learning how to swim, and like his dad, his first attempt at riding an Ilu doesn't go so well. Then, he and Neteyam come to Kiri's defense when Aonung and his friends make fun of her, and while the former manages to defuse the situation, Lo'ak starts a full-on fight when he hears them murmuring insults under their breath. Neteyam has to intervene when Lo'ak is overwhelmed, and afterward, Jake angrily tells the latter that he needs to apologize and make peace with Aonung. He does, but then Aonung and his friends trick him into accompanying them past the reef, to the Three Brothers Rocks, which is a forbidden zone, and leave him out there. He's reprimanded for this when he's found and returned to the village, but that's mainly because he's good enough to take the heat for Aonung, seeing that Tonowari is as stern of a father as Jake. That does lead to their becoming friends, and before that, he did already have a friend in Reya, who takes him under her wing and personally teaches him the way of water.

Most significantly, while he's stranded out there, Lo'ak meets and bonds with a Tulkun named Payakan, who saves him from being eaten by an Akula, a large sea predator. However, when he tells the others of this, he learns that Payakun is an outcast because he violated his species' vow of pacifism and killed other Tulkun and Na'vi. Refusing to believe that this is the case, Lo'ak continues to go out and spend time with Payakun. Wanting to know why he was outcast, he eventually links with him through

tsaheylu, and learns that he attacked some whalers after they killed his mother right in front of him, but got other Tulkun and sea Na'vi killed in the process. Doing this gets both Lo'ak and Reya in trouble with Ronal and Tonowari, but Lo'ak stands his ground, telling the latter that he's wrong and Payakan's outcast was unjust. When they learn that Quaritch is killing Tulkun to draw Jake out, Lo'ak goes to warn Payakun, accompanied by both his siblings and Tonowari's children. Finding that Payakun has already been 

marked for death by a beacon, they try to help him, when the SeaDragon appears. Lo'ak, Reya, and Tuk are taken prisoner, but in the middle of the battle that breaks out, Neteyam manages to get aboard and save them (he also can't help but tease his little brother as he's cutting him free, saying, "Who's the mighty warrior? Come on. Say it,"). However, Lo'ak talks him into helping rescue Spider, whom he's particularly close with. Though they succeed, this results in Neteyam being mortally wounded and

dying on some nearby rocks, surrounded by much of his family. Just as devastated as everyone else (likely more so, as before they left Awa'atlu, they had an argument where he accused Neteyam of being the perfect son who does everything his dad says), Lo'ak wishes to accompany his parents and Spider when they go back to rescue Kiri and Tuk; Jake, however, tells him to stay put. In the end, Lo'ak does go, arriving when the SeaDragon is sinking and everybody except for Kiri and Spider are trapped within it (I don't know where he was that whole time, 

as the SeaDragon was literally right there). He manages to find his father and, using what Reya taught him about breathing while in the water, manages to guide Jake out, with Payakun helping in the final swim to the surface. In the movie's final moments, Neteyam is laid to rest, bonded with the Metkayina's Spirit Tree, and Jake and Neytiri later link with the tree, allowing them to re-experience some nice memories of their son. One is when he mastered spearfishing, and there's a truly touching

moment where Neteyam, shifting from his child self to his teenage one, asks his dad why he's crying. Jake says, "I'm just happy to see you, boy," and Neteyam, unaware, responds, "I'm happy to see you, too." He shifts back to his child self and tells his dad to attempt it. He asks, "Did you leave any for me?", and Neteyam answers, "Uh, maybe." Neytiri can then be seen happily watching from the background.

The most interesting member of the Sully clan is Jake and Neytiri's adopted 14-year old daughter, Kiri, mainly because her very existence is a mystery. She was born from Dr. Grace Augustine's avatar, though no one knows who the father was. While she is rather plucky and playful, having a close relationship with her family, as well as Spider, whom she teasingly calls "monkey boy," her birth mother's absence in her life and the mystery of her conception does affect her. What's more, she has an unusual connection with Eywa and Pandora's natural world. This is first seen when she joins Lo'ak, Spider, and Tuk in exploring the jungle, and goes off by herself, marveling at everything she sees. She also appears to fall into a deep sleep while lying on the ground, and it takes some effort for Spider to awaken her; from what they say, this isn't the first time she's done this. Similarly, Kiri forms an immediate spiritual bond with the sea, able to swim about and hold her breath more skillfully than her siblings. She's even able to manipulate certain sea creatures to obey her will. However, as wondrous as this is for her, it also proves overwhelming and makes her feel like a freak, with some of the young Metkayina referring to her as such. Around the halfway point, Jake finds her sitting by herself, clearly depressed. When he asks what's wrong, she answers, "I feel her, Dad... Eywa. I hear her breathing. I hear her heartbeat. She's so close. She's just... there, like a word about to be spoken." As she sits on the edge above the shallows, her feet dangling in the water, small, bioluminescent squids are attracted to her, as they swim towards and around them, further emphasizing this connection. And, likely because of how she feels, she's supportive of Lo'ak's bond with Payakun.

A pivotal moments comes when Reya takes Kiri to the Metkayina Spirit Tree and she performs the tsaheylu with it. There, she sees a vision of her mother, both in her human and avatar forms, and, in a genuinely touching moment, Kiri asks her, "Why am I different? What does the Great Mother want from me? Who was my father?" Before Grace can answer, Kiri suffers a seizure that nearly causes her to drown and leaves her unconscious for a long time. Jake has Norm Spellman and Max Patel come out and examine

her, and Norm then tells Jake that she's showing signs of frontal lobe epilepsy. He also tells her that she can't bond with the Spirit Tree again, as it could prove fatal. Kiri finally does awaken after Neytiri and Ronal perform some spiritual healing on her, and she immediately starts crying, likely both out of pain and emotional anguish. During the climax, she gets captured by the Recoms, along with Tuk, and Quaritch uses them to try to make Jake surrender himself, as he did earlier. Moreover, when Jake and Neytiri arrive to save their daughters, Quaritch holds 

Kiri at knife-point to force Jake to disarm and cuff himself. Kiri tells Jake to kill Quaritch and not worry about her, but he, of course, reluctantly acquiesces to the colonel's demands. That's when Neytiri attempts the same with Spider, much to Kiri's horror, as she begs her not to do it. In the end, both Quaritch and Neytiri release their hostages, and when the SeaDragon sinks and, like Jake, Neytiri and Tuk become trapped onboard, Kiri uses her connection to Eywa to find and lead them to safety, at the same time that Lo'ak saves Jake.

Not only does Sigourney Weaver get to play her own daughter, but she also briefly reappears as Dr. Grace Augustine, which I like since she was my personal favorite character in the first movie. Not only is Grace's avatar kept preserved at a small mobile lab up at High Camp, with Kiri speaking to it early on, but she also watches an old video log of her mother, where she first notes that Pandora appears to have a consciousness all its own. More significantly is when Kiri connects with the Spirit Tree, leading to a vision 

where she finds her mother working in her lab. There, Grace sees that her daughter is in distress and hugs her, but before she can tell Kiri who her father was, she's yanked out of the vision when Kiri has the seizure.

Tuk (Trinity Bliss), Jake and Neytiri's youngest child, is definitely the least-developed, as she's little more than just along for the ride, often at her own insistence. Lo'ak complains about her when he, Spider, and Kiri are exploring the jungle, saying he has to let her come or she'll rat him out to their parents. Thus, she's nearly captured by Quaritch and the Recoms, and actually is taken prisoner not once but twice during the third act, ending up trapped with her mother aboard the sinking SeaDragon. One notable moment with Tuk is when, as Jake and Neytiri have their argument about leaving the Omatikaya clan, she and Kiri, as most kids do when their parents are fighting, listen in just outside the hut, with Tuk herself peeping in under the hut's edge. They're joined by Neteyam and Lo'ak, and while much of that scene plays out from her POV, all of them are now aware that they'll have to leave soon before their parents even tell them. Tuk, despite finding Awa'atlu and the Metkayina way of life fascinating, is also initially upset about moving to a completely new world and cries about it, saying she wants to go home. Jake then has to break it to her that this is their home now, and while she, like her brothers, has a hard time learning to swim and breathe, she does start to get used to being there, learning to love the sea and its creatures. And she herself is definitely feisty, even when they're being held hostage, as she hisses right at Quaritch after Kiri tells him that Jake and Neytiri are coming for him.

There is some inherent humor with just how much the Sullys feel like an everyday family, particularly in how the kids act. Not only do they squabble and fight like siblings (during the opening montage, young Kiri calls Lo'ak "penis-face" while they're fighting over a toy), but they do really feel like kids, be it in how Lo'ak gives Quaritch a double middle-finger salute when he tells him to show his hands, Kiri  tends to roll her eyes at the boys' immaturity and sticks her tongue out at one Metkayina boy who hisses at her,

Tuk, like I said up above, is very much the annoying little sibling who always wants to tag along with her older brothers and sisters, and Neteyam often teases his little brother. Speaking of Tuk, what does she say during the long journey to Awa'atlu? "Are we there yet?" Now, there's a phrase that transcends species, and the same goes for bickering wives whose behavior embarrass their husbands, as is the case with Jake and Tonowari when Neytiri and Ronal are hissing at each other. And when they're shown to their dwellings at Awa'atlu, Jake comes off as a husband

who's on vacation with his family and desperately trying to make the most of a situation that's not ideal, saying it'll work just fine, while Neytiri dumps her belongings on the floor in a manner that says she's not having it. Finally, you see them going through various family traditions: Jake showing young Neteyam how to fish, marking how tall the children have grown, and taking a family photo, which not everyone in there is thrilled about (I know how they feel; I always roll my eyes when that comes up at family gatherings).

Probably the most inexplicable new character, at least for me, is Spider (Jack Champion), who's like this franchise's version of Mowgli. Out of nowhere, we learn that Quaritch had this infant son who was either born or, at the most, hanging around Hell's Gate during the events of the first movie, despite there being no mention of him before. After his father was killed and the RDA expelled from Pandora, he was left behind because babies couldn't be placed in cryo-capsules (we don't learn anything about his mother). He was raised by the scientists who remained at Hell's Gate and, as he grew, became inseparable from Jake and Neytiri's kids. Over time, he's learned to speak the Na'vi language, often growls and hisses like them, and even dresses like a Na'vi, wearing little more than a loincloth (as well as an oxygen mask in order to survive Pandora's atmosphere), with blue marks painted on his body, and his hair done up in dreadlocks. In his opening narration, Jake says of Spider, "He wasn't part of our family. He was like a stray cat. He was always around, inseparable from our kids." While Jake seems rather indifferent about him, the same can't be said for Neytiri. Jake adds that, to her, "He would always be alien, one of them," and as they watch Spider play with their kids in an early scene, she tells Jake, in Na'vi, "He belongs with his own kind." During the main story, when he's sixteen, it's made clear early on that Spider knows who his father was, and, obviously, isn't happy about it. And then, he comes face-to-face with the resurrected Quaritch when he, Lo'ak, Kiri, and Tuk are out exploring the jungle. On top of realizing who this avatar is, when Quaritch looks at the footage of his human death on his old AMP suit's dash-cam, Spider is able to see it as well. He looks rather troubled, both by the nature of what he's seeing and the knowledge that it was Neytiri who specifically killed his father. Quaritch takes Spider with him back to Bridgehead when he becomes separated from the others during Jake and Neytiri's rescue. Despite Jake's fear that Quaritch will get Spider to talk, he proves very resistant to their interrogation methods, even when they're torturing him with the NeuroSect, a machine built to read thoughts. Quaritch then decides to take a personal approach, offering to let Spider tag along with him and his Recom squad... or go back to being interrogated. Naturally, Spider, not wanting to go through that again, takes Quaritch up on his offer.

Though he's given an oxygen mask with a tracker in case he tries to run, Spider does become a sort of unofficial member of the Recom team. While he never intends to help them find Jake and his family, when Quaritch tells his squad that they must go full Na'vi in order to do so, he makes Spider their official interpreter; Spider, in turn, helps them learn the Na'vi way, initially just so he can watch Quaritch fall on his ass. He takes them to the Ikran nesting site, and when Quaritch plans to tranquilize one in order to bond

with it, Spider tells him that he's taking the punk way out. This inspires Quaritch to do it for real, and Spider sits back, waiting to see him get knocked around. During his ensuing struggle with an Ikran, Spider, laughing at the trouble Quaritch is having, says, "Did I mention you're supposed to tie the mouth shut first?!", much to the colonel's frustration. But then, both he and the Ikran fall off the edge of the cliff, seemingly to their deaths, which actually horrifies Spider... and when Quaritch shows back up, having

successfully made the bond, Spider can't help but be impressed. We don't see them again for a long time, but when we do, they're riding Quaritch's Ikran, as Spider teaches him how to pronounce Na'vi words. They actually seem to be forming something of a familial bond, but that quickly disintegrates after Quaritch figures that Jake and his family are hiding among the sea clans. When he begins attacking villages and brutally interrogating the natives, he makes Spider act as translator; Spider, in turn, sees the ruthless and cruel lengths he's willing to go in 

order to find Jake, as he torches the homes, shoots Ilus, and threatens to kill one clan's spiritual leader to make them talk. Horrified at this, Spider refuses to be part of it, and begs Quaritch not to kill her. This does seem to elicit some empathy from him, though he merely opts to burn their huts instead of killing them. Spider can only apologize to the villagers for what's happening, as Quaritch drags him back to the SeaDragon. He's also aghast when they begin killing Tulkun, especially given how cruel these methods are.

By the time of the climax, Spider decides he's had enough of Quaritch's cruelty. When Lo'ak, Reya, and Tuk are captured and brought aboard the SeaDragon, Spider tries to help them but is quickly restrained and taken to the bridge. Then, during the battle that breaks out, he does his part by damaging the ship's controls, causing it to speed out of control across the water and hit some rocks, leading it to slowly sink. The crew is forced to abandon ship, and they try to take him with them, but Lo'ak and Neteyam manage to rescue him.

However, their doing so is what leads to Neteyam being mortally wounded, and Spider is present when he dies on the rocks. Upon learning that Quaritch now has Kiri and Tuk, Spider goes back to the SeaDragon with Jake to show him where exactly they're being held. When they get there, Jake tells him to stay behind and hide during his and Neytiri's attack, and that's when he sees the latter's frightening rage over Neteyam's death. Just a few minutes later, when Quaritch has a knife to Kiri's throat, Spider tries

to talk him down, only for Neytiri to take Spider hostage in the same way. Though Quaritch initially claims the kid means nothing to him, he yells at her to stop when she goes to kill him. Following this standoff, the SeaDragon sinks completely, and everyone besides Spider, Lo'ak, and Kiri become trapped within it. Spider helps Lo'ak search for his father, but instead finds Quaritch, unconscious following his fight with Jake and on the verge of drowning. This is when Spider makes a decision that many viewers hate him for: he reluctantly saves

Quaritch by dragging him to the surface, onto some rocks. Once he regains consciousness, and prepares to fly off on his Ikran, he asks Spider to come with him. But Spider hisses at him and rejoins Jake and his family. (As much as I've heard people say they hate Spider for that, I'm personally interested to see how this decision's repercussions will play out in future movies.) When he does, Jake, for the first time, literally embraces Spider, saying in his narration, "A son for a son," suggesting that he now truly is part of the family.

After the grueling experience of working with him on Titanic, Kate Winslet once said that she likely wouldn't work with James Cameron again unless she was paid a large sum of money. However, Winslet herself has said that, as far as her being cast as Ronal, Cameron simply asked her to play the role and she said yes. This was likely motivated by her admitted love for the first Avatar, as well as Cameron's perceived mellowing out in recent years. In any case, as the Metkayina clan's spiritual leader and wife to Chief Tonowari, Ronal is taken aback when Jake and his family arrive at Awa'atlu, seeking sanctuary. Like her husband, she notes that their bodies are not at all ideal for swimming, and she's also aghast when she notes how their children are "half-breeds" with "demon blood." Moreover, when Neytiri reminds her that Jake led the Omatikaya clan to victory over the "Sky People," Ronal scoffs, "This you call victory? Hiding among strangers? It seems Eywa has turned her back on you, 'chosen one.'" She and Neytiri then hiss at each other, but as awkward and tense as their initial meeting is, she reluctantly allows them to stay, mostly because her husband is more sympathetic towards them. However, she remains stern towards them, and is not impressed with Norm and Max when they see to Kiri after she's had her seizure. This prompts Neytiri to throw them out so Ronal can do her work as a spiritual leader, which end up bringing Kiri out of her coma. Speaking of Kiri, her strong connection to Eywa does not go unnoticed by Ronal, and she seems disturbed by it. And like Tonowari, Ronal is not only horrified that Lo'ak not only performed tsaheylu with the outcast Payakan, but that their daughter, Reya, allowed it to happen.

One instance where you do see Ronal's softer side is when the Tulkun return from their migration and the Metkayina rush to meet up with their spiritual brethren. Ronal, who's pregnant and clearly showing by this point, is overjoyed to meet up with her spirit sister, a Tulkun named Ro'a. When she sees that Ro'a has a young calf with her, Ronal is very happy for her, and Ro'a, in turn, asks about Ronal's own baby. She says that her baby is nice and strong. But, Ro'a ends up being the Tulkun whom Quaritch has killed in

order to lure Jake out of hiding. When they find her body, Ronal is devastated to see that both she and her calf are dead. As Jake, Neytiri, and Tonowari look on from nearby, Ronal tearfully describes Ro'a as, "A composer of songs," adding, "Much revered. We would sing together. She waited many breeding cycles to have this calf. The clan were so happy for her." She then screams in anguish, "What is this, Tonowari?! What is this?!" This prompts the clan to declare war on the Sky People, and when Jake tries to warn them that doing so would mean death for them

all, that they must tell the Tulkun to leave, Ronal yells, "You live among us, and you learn nothing!" She and Tonowari, however, do understand when Jake explains that any Tulkun hit with a whaling ship's beacon, a Pinger, is marked for death and they must be warned about it. Also, when Quaritch captures Lo'ak, Reya, and Tuk, Ronal is more than willing to ride into battle for her daughter, despite being heavily pregnant. Though, when Quaritch demands that Jake surrender in exchange for their freedom, Ronal is more than willing to let him do so, blaming him for everything that's happened. Still, she does take part in the battle that breaks out.

Like Ronal, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) isn't sure about Jake and his family seeking sanctuary with them. Upon arriving, he tells them, "We are reef people, you are forest people. Your skills will mean nothing here," and further adds, "We Metkayina are not at war. We cannot let you bring your war here." But when Jake insists that he only wants to keep his family safe, Tonowari, despite Ronal's disdain for them, allows them to stay. He orders his clan to treat them like family, as well as teach them how to survive in the sea, "So they do not suffer the shame of being useless." He personally acts as Jake's tutor, warning him to try to ride a small and gentle Ilu, rather than going straight for a Skimwing, but Jake doesn't listen; while the others laugh, he winces when Jake's first time doesn't end so well. But when he gets the hang of it and is able to ride alongside him, Tonowari is quite impressed. Like Jake, he's shown to be pretty tough on his children, especially his son, Aonung. And when Reya allows Lo'ak to bond with Payakan, Tonowari harshly tells her, "You disappoint me, daughter," then turns to Lo'ak and growls, "And you, son of a great warrior, who has been taught better." Incensed when Lo'ak not only doesn't back down but defends Payakan. Tonowari angrily orders them all to sit down and, ordering Lo'ak, "Hear my words, boy," tells him why the Tulkun have their vow of pacifism and that there are no exceptions in its violation. Needless to say, he's further displeased when Lo'ak still stands his ground. 

Around this time, Tonowari tells Jake of Quaritch's raids on other sea clan villages, and that he has ordered them not to say where Jake is, no matter what happens. But when the raids extend to Tulkun, Tonowari and his clan are determined to take the fight straight to the Sky People, insisting that they must die for what they've done. He gets his chance when his clan joins in the huge battle against the SeaDragon, though Jake and his family are on their own for the final confrontation (I don't know where they all went;

they just kind of disappear at some point). Following the battle, and the death and funeral of Neteyam, Jake tells Tonowari and Ronal that he and his family will move on in order to, again, ensure the clan's safety. But Tonowari tells him, "Your son lies with our ancestors. You... are Metkayina now," and extends his hand, allowing them to stay. Ronal, however, seems to have very mixed feelings about this.

Lo'ak first sees Tsireya, or Reya (Bailey Bass), when he and his family arrive at Awa'atlu, as she comes walking out of the sea, looking very graceful as she does. She also proves to be more sensitive than her brother and his friends, as she admonishes them for making fun of how they look, and giggles when Lo'ak, clearly already crushing, shyly says, "Hey." And when Tonowari tasks her and Aonung with teaching the children how to swim, Reya, unlike her brother, is more than happy to do it. During these lessons, she, unlike her brother, proves to be more sensitive to the difficulties they're having, offering to teach them the sign language they use to communicate underwater, how to ride an Ilu, and breathe efficiently. While it never turns into a full-on romance (though Reya can be seen signing to her Tulkun spirit sister, "I met a boy,"), she and Lo'ak do become quite close, as she personally teaches him how to breathe and dive, as well as her tribe's philosophy: "The way of water has no beginning and no end. The sea is around you, and in you. The sea is your home, before your birth, and after your death. Our hearts beat in the womb of the world. Our breath burns in the shadows of the deep. The sea gives, and the sea takes. Water connects all things: life to death, darkness to light." She also introduces Kiri and Tuk to the Gill Mantle, a creature that allows one to breathe underwater, and later takes them to the Cove of the Ancestors and the Spirit Tree, where Kiri makes her fateful attempt at bonding with it. 

Most significantly, while she's initially shocked when she learns that Lo'ak encountered Payakun and lived to talk about it, Reya comes to see that the two of them have developed a true spiritual bond. She allows him to perform tsaheylu with Payakun, as she and the others kids watch from nearby, which really gets her in trouble with her parents. Regardless, after the verbal drubbing they get from Tonowari, she tells Lo'ak, "I saw something today. I saw a forest boy chosen by Tulkun. I am very proud of you." Lo'ak

then tells her what he saw when he bonded with Payakun, and Reya suggests they tell Tonowari. Lo'ak refuses, as his own father is already furious with him, and tells her that he feels the clan hates him because of his "demon blood." However, Reya takes his hand and says, "I see you. You are brother of Tulkun. You are one of us now." Notably, when Lo'ak later goes to warn Payakun about the whalers, she and the others, after initially trying to stop him, end up helping him. This puts them in Quaritch's sights, and Reya is captured along with Lo'ak and Tuk. Later, when

Neteyam arrives in the middle of the battle to save them, Reya is tasked with taking Tuk to safety, while Neteyam and Lo'ak go to help Spider. However, when Tuk sees that Kiri has been captured, Reya reluctantly swims back to the SeaDragon with her to help. However, this results in Tuk being recaptured, while Reya is knocked back into the water by Quaritch. Unable to help, she comes to Lo'ak, Neteyam, and Spider's aid after they've escaped, but that's when they learn that Neteyam has been mortally wounded. She helps get him to some rocks and is present when he

dies there, as devastated as everyone else. Though she stays there during the climax, Lo'ak uses what she taught him to save his father from the sinking SeaDragon. And at the end, she's among the mourners at Neteyam's funeral.

Initially, Aonung (Filip Geljo) is antagonistic towards the newcomers, with him and his friends making snide remarks about how thin their tails are when they first arrive. Though he, reluctantly, does as his father says and aids Reya in teaching the kids the ways of the sea, he becomes frustrated at how slow they are at swimming and their need to constantly come up for air. He also laughs with his friends when Lo'ak's first time riding an Ilu doesn't go well. A turning point comes when Aonung and his friends bully Kiri over

her eccentric behavior, leading to a full-on fight between them, and Lo'ak and Neteyam. When Jake tells Lo'ak to try to make peace with Aonung, he and his friends take him on a hunting trip past the reef, and leave him stranded out by the Three Brothers. However, while it does nearly result in Lo'ak being killed, it also leads to his meeting Payakan. Moreover, when Lo'ak is brought back that night, he takes the heat for Aonung, claiming that going out there was his own idea. Afterward, Aonung catches up with Lo'ak and asks why he did that, and Lo'ak answers, "Because I know what it's like to be one big disappointment." That finally breaks the ice, and Aonung and his group of friends become true companions to the others, with him and another friend of his, Roxto (Duane Evans Jr.), never far from their side. They do get caught up in the big climactic battle, witnessing just how powerful Kiri's connection to Eywa can be, but like the rest of the Metkayina, they're nowhere to be found during the true finale. But like Reya, there are present at Neteyam's funeral, just as devastated by it as everyone else.

While they don't have that much screentime, Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Max Patel (Dileep Rao) do return from the first movie, aiding Jake and the Omatikaya clan in their raids against the RDA. Along with the other scientists and those who aid the Na'vi through the use of avatars, Norm and Max now stay at High Camp in the Hallelujah Mountains. Early on, Lo'ak and Spider suggest that Norm may have been the one who impregnated Grave when they were in their avatars, given how often he appears in the 

latter's video diaries; Kiri is not at all happy with that suggestion, saying she would kill herself if it turned out to be true.Following the opening, where they assist Jake and his troops in a raid on a supply train, they disappear from the movie until they're called out to Awa'atlu after Kiri has had her seizure. Upon examining her, Norm diagnoses her with epilepsy, and he and Max warn Jake that she could potentially die if she bonds with the Spirit Tree again. Most significantly, their flying out there doesn't go undetected, and Quaritch is able to deduce that Jake and his family are hiding somewhere among the sea clans. CCH Pounder also briefly returns during the first act as Mo'at, Neytiri's mother and spiritual leader of the Omatikaya. She only has one instance of dialogue, when she's tending to Neteyam's wounds and Kiri suggests she use a type of bark in her salve that doesn't sting so much. She also takes part in the ceremony where Tarsem, Jake's successor as the clan's chief, symbolically kills him to take the position.

In the first Avatar, Colonel Quaritch was a character who served as a prime example of James Cameron's very simplistic writing. While Stephen Lang was able to make him entertaining in just how much of a war-hungry, xenophobic bastard he was, and did come off as genuinely threatening at points, he was still completely one-dimensional, with no redeeming factors. But, like Jake, Quaritch is portrayed more successfully here; in fact, I'd hazard to say he's even better than Jake. For one, he feels much more like a serious, bloodthirsty threat. Resurrected as a Na'vi Recombinant, Quaritch only has one thing on his mind: kill Jake and Neytiri, both for killing him as a human and as payback for Jake's betrayal. As personal as it already was for him during the first movie's latter half, he's most definitely out for blood here, willing to do anything to accomplish his mission. When he first comes upon Jake's family, he's about ready to either maim or kill Kiri in order to make Lo'ak tell him where Jake is, then decides to take them back for interrogation. Though this plan is thwarted, and he only manages to capture Spider, he later decides to go full on Na'vi in order to stand a better chance at finding Jake and killing him. And once he figures that Jake and his family are hiding among the sea clans, Quaritch begins a campaign of terror, traveling to various villages and trying to force the natives to reveal where they are. While he stops short of killing one village's spiritual leader, mostly due to Spider's pleading, he does order the village itself burned to the ground. When these raids don't work, he next stoops to killing Tulkun and leaving their bodies behind as a message to Jake about the lengths he's willing to go. 

Quaritch doubles and even triples down on that note during the climax. Twice, he holds some of Jake's children hostage to force him to surrender. The first time, while using a comm-link to talk to him, he warns, "You know better than to test my resolve," then puts his rifle to Lo'ak's head and continues, "I took you under my wing, Jake. You betrayed me. You killed your own. Good men, good women. I will not hesitate to execute your kid." Later, right after Neteyam has died, he contacts Jake again, asking,

"Can you hear me, Corporal?" Jake doesn't answer right away, but Quaritch figures out what happened, likely because he can hear Neytiri crying, and continues, "Yeah. Yeah, I think you can. I got your daughters. Same deal as before: you for them." Like before, when Jake doesn't immediately give him an answer, he warns him that there's going to be trouble if he doesn't agree soon. And as Jake sneaks aboard the SeaDragon, Quaritch tells him, "This ship's goin' down, and your girls with it," cruelly adding, "Your boy didn't have to die. You brought that on yourself.

You thought you could keep your family safe, but you can't. Only one way to keep 'em safe. So let's get this over with before you lose another kid." In the midst of Jake and Neytiri's attack on the vessel, Quaritch nearly makes good on that latter threat, as he appears with a knife to Kiri's throat and forces Jake to surrender. And before their final confrontation, when it seems like Jake is going to escape with his family, Quaritch tells him, "You're not leavin', are ya, Jake? Knowin' I'm out there? Knowin' that I'll never stop? I'm comin' for you, and when I do, I'll kill your whole family!"

All that said, Quaritch is more multi-faceted this time around. While it's not focused on too much, he does have something of an identity crisis going on. The irony of him being reborn as a Na'vi isn't lost on him, as when he sees his reflection after awakening in his new body, he comments, "Well, ain't this a bitch?" In his second scene, he watches a video log that his human self made before the first movie's final battle. There, he tells his clone that his creation was put into motion way back then as a potential backup plan in

case he did die, with Parker Selfridge briefly appearing onscreen and showing a vial, explaining, "This is all your memories and your personality. We're gonna send this back to Earth, where you're growing in a lab as we speak. We're going to imprint you with it..." After Quaritch gets Selfridge to leave the rest to him, he adds, "You're a Recom now, Colonel, loaded with my memories... and my charm. What you won't remember is my death, because it hasn't happened yet... and it ain't gonna. Well,

whatever happens, if you're any clone of mine, you'll be lookin' for some payback, and Jake Sully would be at the top of that list. Remember, kid, a marine can't be defeated. Oh, you can kill us, but we'll just regroup in hell. Semper fi." It's an interesting dichotomy, as while he technically is Quaritch, you also have to wonder to what degree, and if his genetic memories and personality really count as a complete human soul or if he's a creature that's simply being driven by someone else's thoughts. One scene where he's clearly grasping with that dichotomy is when, while he and

his team are searching the jungle near the Hallelujah Mountains, they find both Jake's old link cabin and Quaritch's AMP suit, which still houses his human skeletal remains. The sight of Neytiri's arrows sticking in them does clearly affect him, but it's when they later manage to activate the AMP's dash-cam that truly provokes a reaction. As Quaritch witnesses his own death at her hands, something that, as his human identity said, he didn't actually experience, he looks as though he's almost brought to tears. It only serves to strengthen his personal vendetta against both

of them and when he encounters Neytiri again shortly afterward, he tells her that they have some unfinished business. But, when one of his men asks if he wants his remains to be taken back, Quaritch picks up his own human skull (if that looks as though he's about to quote Hamlet, that was actually Stephen Lang's idea) and crushes it in his hands, obviously making a statement that he's no longer that man.

This existential conflict extends into his relationship with Spider. Quaritch quickly realizes that he's his son, referring to him by his name of Miles Jr., and takes the opportunity to take him back to Bridgehead when he's recaptured during the skirmish. Moreover, when General Ardmore and the scientists' interrogation with the NeuroSect doesn't yield anything, Quaritch, possibly because he doesn't like seeing his son tormented like this, opts to try the "personal angle." Ardmore tells him that Spider 

really isn't his son, and when Quaritch finally gets a chance to talk with him, he tells him the same thing: "I'm not that man. But, I do have his... memories. Enough to know that, uh, well, he wasn't always the best father. But that's not an apology. I'm not your father. Technically, you and I, we're nothin' to each other." He then adds, "But... I can help you. I can get you outta here. I'm not gonna ask you to betray Jake Sully. I know you'd never do that. You're loyal, and... I admire loyalty. Just ride along." Given a choice 

between that or going back to being interrogated, Spider, decides to accompany Quaritch's Recom team. During the time they spend together, they start to really bond, with Spider helping Quaritch learn the Na'vi way of life. It's especially interesting to see Quaritch go through some of what Jake did in the first movie, like battling and taming an Ikran. Not only does he initially have trouble with it, but the parallel between them is reinforced given how, when Quaritch manages to make the bond with the Ikran, we see that Jake himself is mastering a Skimwing at that very 

moment. Later, Spider is teaching him how to improve his skills with the Na'vi language and, like Jake, he has trouble with it. "Oel naati kameie." "Ngaati. Ngaati." "That's what I just said, isn't it? Oel naati kameie." "Not Naati. Ngaati." "Ngaati, ngaati. All right. Like comin' out your nose or somethin'." In fact, this is the moment where you can truly see a bond forming between them.

However, that bond falls apart when Quaritch begins terrorizing the sea clans to find Jake, forcing Spider to act as his translator when interrogating them. Already horrified by Quaritch's cruelty, Spider's breaking point is when he tries to make him tell the chief of Ta'aunui Village that, if he doesn't reveal where Jake is, they'll kill his wife. Spider refuses to have any part in that, and begs Quaritch not to go through with his threat. Though he doesn't have her killed, he does order his team to burn down their homes, appalling

Spider further. Later, when Lo'ak, Reya, and Tuk are captured and brought aboard the SeaDragon, and Spider runs to them, concerned for their safety, Quaritch orders him to be taken back to the bridge and kept there. The most significant moments between them them come during the climax as the shp sinks. First, Spider, again, begs Quaritch not to hurt Kiri when he has a knife to her throat, but he orders him not to come any closer. Second, when Neytiri does the same to Spider, Quaritch says, "You think I care about some kid? He's not mine. We're not even 

the same species." But, his actions betray his words, given how he yells for Neytiri to stop when she acts as though she's going to kill Spider, and releases Kiri. He then points at Neytiri and tells her, "I owe you a death." And finally, at the end, after Spider has saved him from drowning and hauled him over to some rocks, Quaritch, before he flies off on his Ikran, asks Spider to come with him, even calling him "son." But Spider rejects him and rejoins Jake's clan.

Like before, Stephen Lang is just so awesome and naturally charismatic that he makes Quaritch an entertaining villain. Right from the beginning, after he's first awakened as a Na'vi Recom, he talks with his squad, explaning why they are Recoms, saying, "Now... I know you're all asking yourselves the same question: why so blue?" Upon first meeting General Ardmore at Bridgehead, she tells Quaritch that they have an idea that Jake's stronghold is somewhere in the Hallelujah Mountains, and that he and the other

Recoms may be able to go in without getting attacked by Eywa's immune response. Quaritch asks, "And how might we test that hypothesis, General?", and Ardmore answers, "The hard way." Quaritch grins and replies, "Outstanding," (another parallel between him and Jake in the first movie). When he first meets the character of Scoresby a little over halfway in, they have this fun exchange, as he literally towers over him: "Are you Scoresby?" "Uh-huh. Are you the asshole who's commandeering my ship?" "That would be me." In the following scene, where Scoresby

complains about how Quaritch's search for Jake is going to take up a lot of his time, he smiles menacingly and tells him, "I'll be nice, once, then I won't." That in and of itself is enough to get Scoresby to comply. And finally, like Sigourney Weaver, Lang does get to briefly appear in the flesh again, when Quaritch watches the video log that his human self left for him, and you can really see that he hasn't missed a beat in playing the character.

Among the RDA's marine hunting sector, introduced in the second half, are two notable characters: Captain Scoresby (Brendan Cowell) and Dr. Ian Garvin (Jemaine Clement), a marine biologist working for them. Scoresby is a brash, loud, obnoxious guy who's only in it for the money, seeing the Tulkun and the Amrita, a valuable liquid extracted from their brains, as money machines. Garvin, on the other hand, is interested in researching Pandora's sea life, and very reluctantly goes along with the hunts because the

payouts makes it possible. In fact, when Scoresby mentions this after they've extracted the Amrita from Ro'a's corpse, Garvin adds, "It's why I drink," one of several moments where you can see how uneasy their alliance is. However, where the two of them are in agreement is that they don't like how Quaritch uses what they do as a way of luring Jake out of hiding. When he first suggests they start hunting Tulkun near the villages, they warn him that that would start a war with the sea clans, but, of course, it's what he's counting on. In the end, Scoresby is fine with going along with it, since he knows he's going to get paid, but when Quaritch insists they leave Ro'a's corpse out in the open, he says, "I charge extra for being used as bait." (There was a deleted scene that revealed he personally killed Ro'a's calf, purely out of boredom.) The two of them, along with the rest of the SeaDragon crew, get caught up in the initial battle on the water, with Scoresby mostly focusing on trying to harpoon Payakan after he attacks the SeaDragon. Payakan, in turn, uses the harpoon to best Scoresby and cause his jet-boat to run aground on some rocks. The whole time, Garvin is loving this, making remarks that seriously irritate Scoresby. And Payakan finally uses the harpoon's line to directly kill Scoresby, while Garvin manages to avoid that gruesome fate.

General Ardmore (Edie Falco), the new head of the RDA's operations on Pandora, may initially seem like she's going to be a female version of Quaritch, given how in her first scene, she's training in a Skel Suit, as he did in an early scene in the first. However, she takes a backseat for much of the movie, with Quaritch still acting as the main antagonist. But, during her short amount of screentime, while she does prove to be all for killing Jake and his family to stop their raids, and personally interrogates Spider with the torturous NeuroSect, where she's unmoved by his cries of agony, she never comes off as ruthless as Quaritch. But, then again, she never questions or complains about his methods, either.

Like before, whatever qualms you may have with it, I feel you can't deny that Avatar: The Way of Water is a visual spectacle in every sense of the term. From its opening moments, we're thrust back into the lush, beautiful world of Pandora, with the rainforests' bright greens and blues, lovely sunlit vistas and horizons, the nighttime bioluminescence, the bluish-purple night sky, the glowing Tree of Souls, and so on. In fact, among the first images we see is Neytiri singing a native song as she sits in front of a fire, and the flickering light makes the scene look positively 

mystical. And like before, this bright, beautiful color palette is maintained throughout the movie as a whole, with lighter greens and blues coming into play once we get to Awa'atlu, with even lovelier sunsets and a deep purple glow to scenes set at dusk. Of course, the extended sequences of the characters swimming and exploring the ocean are a visual feast in and of themselves, from the sunlit shallows to the dimly lit depths, which often have their own nighttime bioluminescence. And like before, even 

settings that you wouldn't expect to be all that visually appealing, like the interiors of Bridgehead's base of operations and the ship when Quaritch first awakens in his Recom body, the scenes where it's overcast and raining, in both the rainforest and at the seaside, and the control rooms of various crafts, also have a beauty to them, with the latter often bathed in that beautfiul blue and green lighting from the equipment and readouts. Really, the only part of the movie that doesn't look so lovely is the climax,

especially after Neteyam dies, as the sky becomes filled with smoke from the battle's aftermath, and the final confrontation onboard the sinking SeaDragon has a more contrasty look, often permeated by the glow of the nearby fire.

Like with the first one, James Cameron doesn't waste any time in getting across the feeling that we're very far into the future and deep in space. Following Quaritch's awakening, we get another amazing-looking, zero-gravity scene set inside an enormous ISV, or Interstellar Vehicle, as numerous Recoms are brought out of cryo-sleep, while Quaritch watches his human self's video log, as he and the others are floating around in midair. The scene is also shot very dynamically, with the camera itself often floating and moving around the scene, as well as starting out 

upside down and slowly righting itself in the scene's first shot. It's also impressive how we're able to see both sides of the video screen, with the image of the human Quaritch remaining the same on both, and how there's so much activity going on in one fairly long, sustained shot. We also, like before, get that classic science fiction feel in the big, wide shot of the ISV floating above Pandora, and some equally impressive shots looking out into space through its windows, like in the scene where Quaritch briefs the Recoms. But this is nothing compared to the visuals when the team

arrive down below in a Valkyrie shuttle and fly into Bridgehead. We first get a big, expansive wide shot of the place, with the Valkyrie flying parallel to a large, elevated, monorail bridge that spans from the nearby rainforest to the installation. The bridge enters it through a large, fortified wall, and as the shuttle flies over it, we see a lot of detail in its ongoing construction. When they arrive at the base of operations, like before, you see an enormous hangar full of aircraft, and the successor to the AMP suit, the 

Skel Suit, which General Ardmore is wearing while training. Ardmore then shows Quaritch around, and we see that the base itself is still under construction as well, with hundreds of insect-like robots called Swarm Assemblers scurrying around, assembling the buildings (according to Ardmore, they can put up one whole building in just six days), and large, welding machines working on sections right below where they're standing. We don't spend as much time here 

as we did at Hell's Gate in the first movie, but we do get to see some memorable parts of the installation, like the operations room, which is filled with holographic video screens and maps; a white, sterile holding room with a two-way mirror where Spider is kept after he's captured; and a lab with a NeuroSect, the whirling machine that's able to peer into someone's brain and visualize what they're thinking of (the process itself is clearly torturous, as during it, as Spider yells in agony, his nose starts to bleed, and they even pry his eyes open Clockwork Orange-style).

Tech-wise, you initially get much of what you saw before, such as the aforementioned ISV and Valkyrie shuttle, and during their raid on the supply train in the first act, Jake and his team are attacked by an SA-9 Kestrel gunship, which is very similar to the SA-2 Samson from the first movie, but also has elements from the Scorpions, namely in that it's actually armed, with missiles and machine guns. We do see the Samson itself again, as Norm and Max use it to travel to Awa'atlu. Also, while Quaritch only had one C-21 

Dragon, the very large transport and assault ship, in the first movie, there are many of them here, with General Ardmore commanding one when Quaritch calls her in after he's first captured Jake's children in the rainforest. Speaking of Ardmore, like I said, when she and Quaritch first meet at Bridgehead, she's training a Skel Suit, the successor to the AMP. It's not nearly as bulky as the AMP, having gotten dispensed with the heavy armor, but it still proves to be a valuable piece of tech, as soldiers wearing these suits

are not only as tall as the Na'vi, but also as strong and agile as them. Again, we also see the small construction robots called Swarm Assemblers in action when Quaritch first arrives. But the most notable addition to the RDA's arsenal is the AT-101 Seawasp, the actual successor to the Scorpion. It's also lighter and more agile than its predecessor, with more weapons, like machine gun cannons, rockets, and missiles.

But it's when the whaling vessel, the SeaDragon, is introduced in the second half that we really get to see some new tech. The SeaDragon itself is, as its name implies, basically the ocean version of the C-21 Dragon, with a large, high-tech bridge filled with monitors, holographic readouts and maps, and the controls, and the ship's center can open up to reveal a large space for deploying people in Crab Suits. As you can guess, the Crab Suits are like maritime version of AMPs, with the legs able to furl up and make them akin to submarines, and they're armed

with harpoon-guns. There's also a deck down below on the SeaDragon that deploys both actual mini-subs and boats. The subs, called Makos, are used in Tulkun hunting, as they shoot them with inflatable balloons in order to keep them from swimming away, and are also armed with torpedoes, harpoons, and nets. There are also two types of boats deployed by the SeaDragon. The Picadors are very small and not well-armed, but are fast and agile, and their main function is to disorient the Tulkun using ultrasonic cannons.

The other boat is the Matador, a slightly larger, heavier armed craft that's personally piloted by Scoresby when he kills the Tulkun using an explosive-tipped harpoon. The SeaDragon also deploys a couple of Seawasps, which are mainly used to tag the Tulkun with tracking beacons called "Pingers." Finally, the ship itself is armed with mounted machine guns on its exterior, as well as a drill crane on the lower deck that's used to drill into dead Tulkun's skulls and extract the Amrita.

The movie's opening and first act mostly serve as a means of reestablishing Pandora, as we spend a good amount of time in the rainforests. During the prologue, we see the remains of Hometree, as well as the Tree of Souls and Hell's Gate, and The lead up to the first skirmish with the Recoms reestablishes Pandora's unique plant and animal life. Speaking of which, after the RDA returns, the action is mostly relegated to the forests around the Hallelujah Mountains, with the aforementioned first skirmish set near the link cabin that Jake used during the first 

movie's latter half. The most significant new setting here is High Camp, the Omatikaya clan and human resistance's hidden stronghold, located inside a large cavern up in one of the floating mountains. In addition to a settlement of tents where the Na'vi live, there's also a large tent in the back where the avatar bodies are kept, and a biolab filled with link units, workstations, and a large Amino Tank where Grace's avatar is kept, allowing Kiri to "visit" her mother whenever she wants. Even after Jake and his family 

move to Awa'atlu, we still get a fair amount of scenes set in this section of Pandora, specifically the Ikrans' nesting site when Quaritch decides that they need to go full Na'vi, as well as overhead views of the area in the scene where he and Spider are flying together.

Awa'atlu is one of thousands of villages found on the numerous islands that make up the archipelago within Pandora's eastern sea. The village itself is behind a large wall in the ocean, which creates a fairly shallow bay, and when Jake and his family first arrive and fly over the wall, its backside is revealed to be made up of small pools which act as natural fisheries. The houses, huts, and dwellings that make up the actual village are built from huge roots and rocks that shoot up from the shallow water around the shoreline, and are connected by various pathways, made from a

strong, flexible fabric, that span over the water. The houses, or Marui, are of various sizes, depending on how big a given family is, and they tend to have pits in the floor leading down into the water. It's actually a pretty appealing place, in my opinion, especially when you see how lovely the coral reefs that make up the bay are when the Sully kids are being taught how to swim and dive (as you should know by now, settings like this are naturally appealing to me). You also get to see the open ocean beyond the seawall, like when Lo'ak dives down deep to retrieve a shell 

that Reya tossed, and like the rainforest, it becomes beautifully bioluminescent at night. However, the ocean's dangerous side is made clear when Aonung and his friends trick Lo'ak into heading out to the Three Brothers island. Named because of the three, enormous rock structures that form a circular pattern, the center of which houses an underwater kelp bed, it also happens to be the hunting ground for a dangerous sea predator called the Akula, which nearly kills Lo'ak. However, this is also where he meets and

bonds with Payakan, who saves him, and it also serves as the location for the final battle. And finally, like the Omatikaya's Tree of Souls, the Metkayina have their Spirit Tree, located within an area called the Cove of the Ancestors. This place is made up of a number of floating islands that are akin to the Hallelujah Mountains, although they're in a more horizontal position. Beneath the water is the Spirit Tree, which not only allows the Metkayina to bond with it but, like how the Tree of Souls absorbed

Grace's life energy, literally absorbs the bodies of the deceased, as it does to Neteyam at the end through a huge bed of yellow tendrils. And when Jake and Neytiri bond with the tree at the very end of the movie, they're able to relive some fond memories of their son.

Besides exploring new parts of Pandora itself, the Avatar sequels also allow for the introduction of different types of Na'vi; in this case, it's the Metkayina or Reef People, one of numerous sea clans who live by Pandora's oceans. Physically, they're very different from the Omatikaya whom we've come to know by this point. In addition to their skin color being more light-green and turquoise, with ripple-shaped stripes and tattoos, and often curly hair, their bodies have developed to allow them to survive in the

ocean. Their forearms and lower legs have a fin-like shape to them, their tails are broad and function like paddles, and their eyes are much bigger, allowing them to see better underwater, especially when they're down in the really dark depths. Speaking of which, they've also mastered a method of breathing that enables them to stay beneath the surface for a long time, and they use sign language to communicate with each other down there. Like the Omatikaya, the clans are ruled by a chief and his wife, who acts as a

spiritual leader or "Tsahik," ride various types of creatures, and are able to connect directly to Eywa through a special tree, found in a site sacred to them. Significantly, they have a very close relationship with the Tulkun, with each individual having a "spirit brother" or "sister," whom they communicate with through sign language. And like the Omatikaya, while they'd much rather not fight, the Metkayina prove to be very fierce when they're forced to, and are absolutely up in arms when Quaritch begins targeting the Tulkun.

Among the local aquatic wildlife, the Ilu may initially seem like the Metkayina equivalent of the Ikran but they're more akin to Direhorses. They look a lot like Plesiosaurs, particularly with their long necks and small heads, as well as how they come to the surface for air, but they have six flippers and a flat, rudder-like tail. They're also more docile than the Ikran and don't form a permanent bond with a specific Na'vi, as any individual can perform tsaheylu with one (though, learning to ride one doesn't prove any easier for Jake's kids). The Skimwings, which look like

giant flying fish, with a head and snout akin to a gharial, are more akin to the Ikran, as they're quite temperamental, and learning to ride one is very tricky, but a rite of passage among the clan. Meant for experienced warriors, they're used to hunt for large prey on the surface and to dive deep, and are also good mounts for battle. However, unlike Ikran, Skimwings don't immediately bond with and become forever loyal to their riders through the tsaheylu, as the one that Jake tries to ride eventually throws him off during his first attempt. Reya introduces Kiri and

Tuk to the Gill Mantle, an aquatic invertebrate, akin to a jellyfish, that acts like a natural aqualung when it attaches to someone's back and the tsaheylu is made. This becomes important during the climax, as Kiri uses a Gill Mantle, along with a swarm of tiny, bioluminescent squids, to save Neytiri and Tuk from the sinking SeaDragon. Speaking of the squids, in the same scene where the Gill Mantle is introduced, Kiri finds that she's able to manipulate their movements with her hands, as if she's conducting an orchestra.

You see lots of cool aquatic creatures when Jake's kids are being taught how to swim in the bay and open ocean. Among them are a "Chandelier," this gelatinous creature with a body divided into four segments, and a long, forked tail; Glider Fins, these tiny fish with two, long fins and a long tail; Hammerbows, tiny, slug-like fish; the Pandoran Sea Scorption, which looks like a cross between a crayfish and a centipede; a Pincer Fish, which looks like a manta ray with the head of a rhinoceros beetle; a Spade Wing, which actually does look like an alien

manta ray, as does another creature called a Syringil; and Starbeaks, which are like Pandoran lionfish. There are also some very large sea anemones, called Daisy Anemones, which Kiri also takes control and makes use of during the third act battle. And when Lo'ak is stranded out by the Three Brothers, he runs afoul of a huge, dangerous sea predator called an Akula. A large, carnivorous fish, it's very similar to a great white shark, particularly in its coloration, and has a three-segmented mouth that opens up in a

triangular pattern. It initially attacks Lo'ak on the surface and comes very close to eating his Ilu, but when the Ilu manages to escape, the Akula turns its attention on Lo'ak himself. It's not only very aggressive and quite persistent in its pursuit of him, tearing its way through some huge coral formations that he hides within, but when it's unable to get to him in there, it proves smart enough to lie in wait until he tries to swim to the surface for air. When he does, it comes very close to getting him, but that's when Payakan comes to the rescue.

The Tulkun are, without a doubt, the most significant new creature introduced in the film. They're basically Pandoran whales, with the distinctive Pandoran features of four eyes, a pair on each side of their heads; six flippers, with one set merged into their tails; and six blowholes on their backs. They also have very durable armor plating across their bodies and are sexually dimorphic, with the males being larger and having bigger, more colorful crests on their heads. Their natural queues are located inside their mouths, with Lo'ak literally swimming through

Payakan's jaws in order to establish tsaheylu with him. Despite their huge size, they can move very quickly when they need to and are able to breach themselves, as Payakan does to the SeaDragon to help Lo'ak after he's been captured. They even have tattoo markings on them similar to the Metkayina, emphasizing their bond. But, most importantly, the Tulkun are not only very intelligent, with Dr. Garvin noting that they're possibly smarter than humans, but they have a culture and philosophy all their own.

When they're working to extract Amrita from Ro'a's corpse, Garvin brings up a 3-D scan of her brain and tells Spider, "They have more neurons, more pathways. Not only are they smarter, they're... deeply emotional. More spiritual." He points to one section of the brain and adds, "This region here corresponds with our emotional centers but, proportionally, it's much larger. They have music, philosophy, mathematics, complex language." Unfortunately for the Tulkun, their impressive brains make them a

target for RDA whalers, as their brains contain the special enzyme called Amrita, which completely stops the human aging process. According to Scoresby, the small vial of it that he retrieves from Ro'a could be worth around $80 million. And because of their own personal philosophy of strict pacifism, never attacking or killing no matter what, they're easy prey. That's especially true of females with calves, as they won't abandon their young, which is what leads to Ro'a's death.

Each Tulkun has an individual name, they're able to communicate with Na'vi through sounds and eye contact, and they understand sign language. They have a very close relationship with sea clans, with each individual Na'vi forming a spiritual bond with a specific Tulkun, becoming spirit sisters or brothers. You see just how strong this bond is when the Tulkun return from their migration and the Metkayina all happily rush out to meet up with them, the sight of which deeply touches Jake and his clan. They share stories about what's happened in the time they've been

apart, celebrate their families, introduce their newborn children to each other, and mourn the loss of loved ones. And as noted, the killing of a Tulkun is seen by the Metkayina as the murder of a family member, which whips the clan up into a frenzy where they're all for attacking Quaritch and the SeaDragon.

The individual Tulkun who gets the most focus is Payakan, whom Lo'ak meets and befriends when he saves him from the Akula. A young rogue bull, he's said to have been excommunicated from his clan because he violated the Tulkun Way and killed both Na'vi and other Tulkun, and initially has a dreaded reputation among the Metkayina. He does have the look of a creature who's seen his fair share of violence, as he's missing a fin on his left side, has a scar above his large left eye, and when Lo'ak first meets him, he has a harpoon impaled through one of

his right fins, which Lo'ak removes. Refusing to believe that he could be such a cold-blooded killer, Lo'ak tries to learn the real reason why Payakan was outcast. Initially not wanting to talk about it because he says the memory is too painful, when Lo'ak later says he identifies with his feeling completely alone, Payakan allows him to swim into his mouth and perform tsaheylu with him. Lo'ak then sees what happened: Payakan's mother was killed right in front of him by a whaler, and he rallied other Tulkun and their Na'vi spirit brothers and sisters to retaliate, 

leading to their deaths. Now understanding perfectly, Lo'ak comforts Payakan, who's clearly in pain from reliving those memories. But, when he returns to Awa'atlu, Lo'ak is scolded for this by Ronal and Tonowari, the latter of whom explains how the Tulkun came up with their pacifistic ways and why someone who violates them is outcast, no matter the reason. This doesn't change Lo'ak's mind, and when he learns of Quaritch's campaign of death against the Tulkun, he goes out to warn Payakan. He arrives to 

find that Payakan has already been tagged with a Pinger, and with the SeaDragon approaching, he and his friends work fast to remove the beacon. Though they succeed, they're captured in the process. Payakan is so enraged at this that, despite knowing that he's again violating the Tulkun Way, he attacks the ship, jumping out of the water and breaching himself atop it. This both helps the prisoners and gives Jake and the Metkayina the opportunity to attack. And after

Lo'ak saves Jake from the sinking SeaDragon near the end, Payakan helps them reach the surface. When the entire family is reunited, they embrace in the water next to Payakan, seeming to include him as part of it as well. And while it's not stated outright, it does seem as though he's now accepted by the Metkayina clan as a whole, as he and Lo'ak are seen swimming around the Spirit Tree near the end.

Like with the first movie, The Way of Water's visual effects are at their best when it comes to creating the world of Pandora. This time, we not only have the big, sweeping shots of the landscape and horizon, and those scenes that show off the details of the jungle interior, but also the extended underwater sequences, which I think surpass the already groundbreaking work done in the first. They really make you feel like you're in an alien ocean, with the lovely coral reefs, aquatic plant life, the multitudes of sea life that fill a given frame, and the effect of the sunlight as it's

filtered down through the water, with some truly lovely shots looking up towards the surface. That's further complimented by the underwater motion capture, which is especially cool-looking, and helps make the Na'vi feel more real in those scenes, as they really are swimming, floating, and wading in the water. And like before, I think the melding of the live action actors with the digital characters and environments comes off really well. Now, when it comes to the creatures, I, once again, am kind of

mixed. I think the Na'vi still look great, both the classic ones and the Metkayina, and there are close-ups of their faces and their hands that I feel are quite realistic. I also think the filmmakers managed to reduce the Uncanny Valley feeling that plagued some of the performance capture in the first... for the most part. Some of the close-ups of the Metkayina's faces are kind of off-putting to me, mostly because of the big eyes, but there's no denying that the performance capture has improved significantly. As for the other

creatures, I think the Tulkun look pretty good, as do some of the miscellaneous sea animals, but others, like the Ilu and the Skimwings, as well as some of the returning creatures, like the Ikran and the Direhorses, still have that synthetic feel to them. I think the sea creatures fare better than some of those we saw in the first movie, but they still feel unreal in some shots.

Writing-wise, the film does pull back on the overt environmentalism and anti-imperialist themes that permeated the first one. If you've read my review of the first Avatar, you'd know that, save for how pretentious and on-the-nose James Cameron's writing could sometimes get in expressing them, I never had a problem with those themes, and I even said that, sometimes, in order to get something across, you need to be very direct. Still, I did recognize that it was very blatant and that many others didn't care for it. Thus, I 

think many may find The Way of Water to be more appealing in this respect. Mind you, those themes are still there, as the movie clearly takes a blatant swipe at whaling (not surprising, given Cameron's love for the ocean and his constant, and vital, advocation for its conservation), as well as the general idea of hunting and killing magnificent animals, especially when one small part of them has monetary value. This is emphasized in the scene where the Amrita is extracted from Ro'a's corpse, which makes me think 

of how rhinos are often killed just for their horns. Spider even asks, "That's all you take? You just waste the rest?" In fact, right before that, Quaritch himself seems surprised this all for something so minute. As for anti-imperialism, that's, again, so very clear in the scenes where Quaritch terrorizes the other sea clans in order to find Jake, as well as in the overarching plot of the RDA trying to forcefully make Pandora into a sanctuary for mankind. But none of these thematic ideas are front and center like they were before.

Similarly, while it's not completely dispensed with, the notion of Pandora's sentience and the Na'vi's literal connection to it is downplayed, so you're not likely to think as much about FernGully (though wasn't a problem with me before, because I kind of like FernGully). And while Quaritch, like before, is acting on the RDA's orders, the latter is mostly in the background after the first act, and the mission to kill Jake becomes much more of a personal vendetta. The movie also tackles the theme of family, which has

appeared in a number of Cameron's movies in one way or another. There's a common saying among them, "Sullys stick together," that you hear several times, and the latter half is about the family coming together, learning to understand each other, and facing whatever challenges are thrown at them. Moreover, by the end, though Jake and Neytiri have lost one of their children, Spider is officially accepted as one, as least by Jake. Speaking of which, on the flip side, you have the potential for family between Quaritch and 

Spider, only for the former's actions to destroy it. Of course, there's also the notion of family between the Metkayina and the Tulkun. And following Neteyam's funeral, Tonowari tells Jake that he and the others are officially part of the clan. However, I feel this theme is not quite as well-handled as it was in movies like Aliens or Terminator 2, as it sometimes gets lost in how utterly vast the movie is, and like in the first movie, some of the dialogue pertaining to it can be too on the nose. Finally, there's the idea of whether

you should run from a dreaded enemy in order to keep your loved ones safe, or stand and fight, another theme found in the Terminator movies. This applies not only to Jake and his final decision on it at the very end, but also in how the Tulkun's pacifism may not be the best way for them to survive the RDA whaling operations.

While not egregious, the film does hit some similar beats and, in one way or another, recreates some moments from the first Avatar. Among them are the very opening shot; Jake's monotone voiceover that comes in periodically; Quaritch waking up in his avatar body in a medbay like Jake did, his telling his men, "You're not in Kansas anymore," and his later mastering an Ikran; General Ardmore training in a Skel Suit, as Quaritch did in an AMP suit in one of his early scenes; Jake having to learn how to ride a certain kind of animal, like he did the Ikran, and 

Lo'ak having an experience with an Ilu that's similar to when his dad first tried to ride a Direhorse; extended sequences showing us the beauty of Pandora, only from the aquatic side of things this time; Lo'ak and Reya developing something of a romantic connection (it doesn't go as far as what happened between Jake and Neytiri); a significant character dying and becoming one with Eywa afterward; and the final shot, which is, once again, a

close-up of Jake's eyes snapping open, occuring at the Na'vi tribe's sacred tree, followed by beauty shots of Pandora and its wildlife during the first part of the ending credits. Also, let's face it, the climax taking place onboard a sinking ship can't help but make one think of Titanic.

Before I saw the movie, Cody Leach on YouTube did a video review and the thumbnail said, "Too much of a good thing?" And that really is The Way of Water's most immediate issue: its length. With credits, this thing is 192 minutes long, so you already have to set aside a lot of time if you choose to watch it. Now, as much as I don't like watching them at the theater, at home, I typically don't have a problem with really long movies if they keep me engaged, which this does. I don't find it boring, and if you're up for what it has to offer, which is a lot of spectacle and a good 

number of well done, exciting action sequences, I doubt you will be too (make no mistake, though, if you weren't a fan of the first one, this isn't likely to convert you). But, regardless, I'd be lying if I said I don't start to get antsy when we get deep into the movie's back half, and like Cody said, some of that may have to do with the story structure. The first 45 minutes or so not only spend a good amount of time reestablishing the world of Pandora and our characters, as well as introducing some new ones, but it makes for a pretty fast-paced opening act, with a 

confrontation that feels like it could be the ultimate climax to a movie in and of itself, with its consequences leading off into the next one. But then, after Jake and his family decide to leave the Omatikaya clan, it shifts back into first gear and stays so for a pretty good while. I don't find it to be as egregious as when it was done in Godzilla 2014, but that is likely to throw some people. Cody also summed it up well when he described the opening as kind of feeling like a series of webisodes and other 

alternate media meant to bridge the gap between the first and second movies, whereas the family moving to Awa'atlu feels like the start of the actual story being told here. But even if you put all that aside, there's no denying that the movie's length in and of itself can definitely make watching it quite exhausting, no matter how exciting and enthralling you may find it to be overall. Case in point: once the third act battle begins, there's still almost an hour left,

and it also feels like there are two climaxes in a row: the big, sprawling battle on the ocean, and the more intimate one aboard the SeaDragon, culminating when it finally sinks with everyone onboard, and the others have to split off in order to save everyone.

The movie's opening is done in such a way that it feels like you're being welcomed back to the world of Pandora after such a long time. The very first shot is, again, like that of the first, as it cuts through the atmosphere and heads down to the moon's surface, followed by a montage that includes a shot of the Hallelujah Mountains, an establishing shot of the rainforest, before cutting to its interior and panning around, showing off the environment's details, with creatures running and flying through the frame. 

Neytiri appears, wielding a bow, and prepares to shoot something; it's also revealed that she's pregnant. After she fires her bow, we then see her sitting in front of a small fire, singing in Na'vi, and holding some entwined beads in her hands. In his voiceover, Jake says each of them corresponds to specific moments in their lives, which are then recounted. We see the moment when, shortly after his birth, Neteyam was introduced to the clan (not gonna lie, this scene does make me think of The Lion King), followed by Jake and Neytiri, as well as Norm Spellman, looking 

puzzled at Grace Augustine's pregnant avatar in her Amino Tank. After a sweet moment where Jake bonds with baby Kiri, we see the moment where their children were first bonded with the Tree of Souls to commune with Eywa. Next, we get a montage of the happy times Jake and Neytiri had with their growing family, as well as the introduction of Spider and his close kinship with their kids. We see Jake having to break up a fight between young Lo'ak and Kiri, teaching Neteyam how to spearfish, the family taking a photo together, and Jake and Neytiri embarking on a date night away so they can be alone.

However, their date night turns out to be their last moment of peace. As the two of them are relaxing, they notice a new "star" up in the sky, which is quickly revealed to be a group of ISVs decelerating into orbit above Pandora. Some of them continue on down, through the atmosphere, and descend until they hover just above the surface. Their exhaust creates an enormous wall of fire that spreads through the forest, engulfing even the largest trees, and sending animals running for cover, though many are incinerated. The

ISVs set down large landing modules, which open up to deploy an entire army of soldiers in AMP suits. They, in turn, guide huge machines that are basically giant bulldozers down to the ground, and they then begin digging up the scorched earth. Jake and Neytiri flee to cover with the animals, and can only solemnly watch the destruction of their forest home from the safety of a nearby ridge. Neytiri is especially distraught over this, crying in anguish, and all Jake can do is try to comfort her.

Cut to a year later, and Jake leads a squad of Ikran-riding Na'vi warriors through the skies, targeting a supply train that's traveling on a monorail track through the jungle, heading to Bridgehead. Using a comm-link, Jake orders a ground team to move in, and a group of warriors riding Direhorses heads towards the spot. The track in front of the train is detonated and it's promptly derailed, the various cars flying everywhere. Jake, armed with an assault rifle, swoops down at one of the two SeaWasps escorting

the train and fires upon it. He easily disables its rotors and sends it crashing to the ground below. Neytiri then comes in and does the same to the other, swooping down, firing an arrow that impales a soldier manning one of the ship's mounted guns, before coming around and doing the same to the pilot. Once the other SeaWasp is down, the ground team moves in and starts taking the weapons and supplies strewn amid the wreckage. Up above, Lo'ak and Neteyam are riding their Ikran, acting as spotters, when Lo'ak

decides he wants in on the action. He flies down to the wreckage, with Neteyam angrily following, yelling at him to stop. They land and run to where the others are taking the equipment, with one warrior giving Lo'ak an assault rifle. Neteyam says he doesn't even know how to use it but Lo'ak insists he does, that his father taught him. Jake then sees that his sons are down on the ground and this quickly proves to have been a mistake on their part. An SA-9 Kestrel gunship appears from behind a nearby mountain and everybody quickly retreats. It fires missiles at them,

one of which hits the ground right behind Lo'ak and Neteyam, sending them flying. A warrior on horseback fires a bazooka back at the Kestrel, blowing off its left rotor and sending it crashing down. Jack runs to the spot where Lo'ak and Neteyam were, and finds the former sitting on the ground, rattled but unharmed. He points Jake to where his brother is and Jake goes to find him amid the wreckage. Finding blood streaks atop one of the train cars, he looks off to the side and sees several Na'vi bodies lying there. Inspecting them, he finds that none

are Neteyam; when he searches nearby, that's when he finds him, lying on the ground. Searching him, Jake finds that he's not seriously injured. He admonishes him for being down there in the first place, then picks Neteyam up, puts him across his shoulders, and carries him to safety.

Colonel Quaritch and his Recom squad are later transported by a C-21 Dragon to the Hallelujah Mountains, at the same time that Lo'ak, Kiri, Spider, and Tuk are heading to the rainforest. The squad deploys down into the jungle, and after the Dragon flies away, the place becomes eerily quiet. Elsewhere, the kids come upon the old wreckage of an SA-2 Samson, snagged up in some vines, while Kiri goes off by herself. The Recoms come upon a pair of Viperwolves, but they opt not to bother with them and

the group moves on. Some time later, Spider wakes up Kiri, who fell asleep while lying in the grass, and they and the others start to head back. On the way, they come upon the Recoms' footprints, and figure that they were made by avatars. They track them to the old, overgrown link cabin, where Quaritch finds his old AMP suit and his own human skeletal remains. Despite the potential danger, Lo'ak tells Spider that they have to get a closer look and they move in further through the foliage. Quaritch tells 

one of his men, Corporal Lyle Wainfleet, to try to get some footage out of the AMP's dash-cam. Lo'ak decides he needs to report what's going on to his parents, who are on aerial patrol nearby, along with Neteyam. He radios his dad, telling him what he's seeing, and also has to tell him where they are and who's with him. Jake orders Lo'ak not to engage and to get out there immediately. Neteyam tells his dad that he knows a shortcut and his parents follow him to the spot. However, the kids are promptly caught and taken hostage by several of the Recoms. Hearing the

commotion, Quaritch and the others at the link cabin arrive, and when he inspects them and sees that they have four fingers, he realizes that they're Jake's kids (he also figures it out when Lo'ak only shows him both of his middle fingers rather than his entire hands, before hissing at him). He tries to get Lo'ak to tell him where Jake is, but when he refuses, Quaritch whips out a large knife and threatens Kiri with it. Spider protests, and when Quaritch really looks at him more, he realizes who he is. He then radios General Ardmore, requesting extraction, and also tells her that

they have some "high value prisoners." Taking them back to the link cabin and holding them prisoner, waiting for Ardmore's arrival, Quaritch then watches the last bit of footage on the AMP's dash-cam.

As darkness approaches, Jake, Neytiri, and Neteyam land their Ikran on a large tree branch. Jake tells Neteyam to stay put, as he and Neytiri go to rescue their children. After watching the footage of his own death, along with Spider, Quaritch removes his human identity's skull from the still attached oxygen mask. Looking at it in his hand, he crushes it. Eclipse, the Pandora equivalent of nighttime, finally falls, and it starts raining. The Recoms and their prisoners wait in the forest near the link cabin, knowing Jake will

probably come soon. Nearby, as they approach, Jake and Neytiri split up, as Quaritch has the man restraining Kiri and Spider watch their six. As they stand around, Kiri, Tuk, and Lo'ak hear sounds in the distance that let them know everything's alright; sure enough, the sounds are being made by Neytiri, who's up in a nearby tree. Hearing it as well, Spider looks at Lo'ak, who nods, letting him know that they're about to be rescued. On the ground, Jake, armed with an axe, takes out one Recom, while Neytiri aims her

arrow and prepares to fire at the one restraining Kiri and Spider. She has trouble getting a clean shot, when the Recom raises his head up, as he tells Kiri, who's talking to herself, to shut up. Neytiri fires and gets him right in the head; seeing this, Quaritch shouts, "Contact made!" He forces Spider and Kiri to get down, as he and the other Recoms fire their assault rifles into the treetops. While they're distracted, Lo'ak takes a gas grenade from one Recom's ammo belt and deploys it in his face. He then bites the arm of the one restraining him, as does Tuk, and the two of them 

manage to get loose and run for it. Spider and Kiri try to do the same, but the latter is grabbed by her hair braid. Neytiri makes short work of that Recom, and Quaritch returns fire at her, while Kiri and Spider run off into the jungle. Quaritch has another Recom cover him, as he sees to the body of the one who just took an arrow. Jake then comes in and makes short work of another Recom, while Quaritch, looking at the arrow sticking in the fallen Recom, figures out that it was fired by Neytiri. As he reloads, he calls out to her, letting her know who he is. At the same time, he makes a motion to the Recom covering him, and he, in turn, does the same to two others.

Quaritch tries to bait Neytiri into showing herself, while Neytiri, seeing Kiri and Spider running to safety, yells, "Demon, I will kill you as many times as I have to!" Quaritch continues distracting her, as one of the Recoms makes his way arouns behind her position and gets her in his rifle's sights. However, he's taken out from behind by Jake, using his own bow. Another Recom sets up a large, mounted machine gun, as Jake tries to prepare another arrow. He aims to shoot, when Neteyam comes in and

tackles him to the ground. This saves Jake's life, as the Recom immediately opens fire. He's joined by another, and Jake and Neteyam take cover behind a tree. After Jake checks to see if his son is okay, the two of them return fire, then quickly retreat through the forest. Neytiri runs to join them, as Quaritch fires at her with his rifle's grenade launcher. He and the other two Recoms chase after, with Quaritch reloading and firing another grenade. This one explodes near where Spider and Kiri are running for

safety, sending Spider falling off the log they were running across and down into a ravine. Kiri looks at where he fell, yelling to him, but Neytiri comes along and makes her come with her. Kiri protests, looking down in the ravine as some Recoms approach the spot where Spider fell. Nearby, onboard her Dragon, Ardmore radios the Recoms, telling them to return to the rally point. Quaritch then comes across the banged up Spider and, hearing the order to fall back, picks the kid up, puts him over his shoulder, and he and the remaining Recoms retreat. Neytiri forces Kiri to come

with her, despite Spider's capture, while Lo'ak and Tuk run into Jake and Neteyam. The Dragon arrives and the Recoms, including Quaritch and Spider, are hauled up into the large aircraft as it hovers overhead. Jake and his group watch as it flies away, when Neytiri and Kiri meet up with them. The family embrace each other, relieved that they came out unscathed, when Kiri tells them that Spider was captured. Jake hugs her, assuring her that Spider is strong and can handle himself.

The next major sequence comes at Awa'atlu, when Reya, Aonung, and Roxto teach the Sully kids how to swim. Lo'ak and Neteyam jump in first, followed by Kiri and Tuk, and while Kiri is immediately taken with everything she sees down there, going off to explore by herself, the others find it difficult to keep up with the young Metkayina. Twice, they have to stop and surface for air, and when Reya tries to speak with them through sign language, they, naturally, don't understand what she's doing. While Aonung gets

irritated with them when they surface the second time, and Roxto notes how bad they are at diving, Reya tells the two of them to stop, that they're learning as best as they can. Meanwhile, at Bridgehead, Spider departs with the Recom team, and they fly to the jungle again, to begin Quaritch's plan of going full Na'vi. Cutting back to Awa'atlu, Lo'ak is being taught how to ride an Ilu. He forms the tsaheylu with one as he straddles him, then grabs a hold of the rein. The Ilu takes off and virtually drags Lo'ak right above the

ocean floor, causing him to very quickly lose his grip. While the others laugh, Lo'ak surfaces and the Ilu does the same, screeching in his face before swimming off, splashing him with his tail. At the same time, Jake attempts to ride a Skimwing, despite Tonowari's warnings about it being diffilcult. He takes off on it, and manages to last longer than his son on the Ilu, even getting the Skimwing to rise up in the air and flap its wings. But when the Skimwing dives back under the water, he, like Lo'ak, loses his grip and is flung off. While Tonowari winces, and the two with

him laugh, Jake surfaces and groans loudly in frustration, as the Skimwing goes by behind him. Kiri, meanwhile, is continuing to explore her connection to the sea. As she sits on the seabed, an Ilu swims up to her and nuzzles the side of her head, before allowing her to ride it. On the surface, Reya lets Tuk feed another Ilu, and in the next scene, all three of them are riding them among the coral reefs. Following some breathing exercises, Lo'ak and Neteyam get better at riding them as well.

Elsewhere, Spider leads the Recoms up to the Ikran nesting site, where he talks Quaritch into bonding with one the old-fashioned way, as opposed to tranquilizing it. He immediately faces off with a large blue one, returning its hissing roar. When it snaps at him, he dodges and punches the side of its head, then dodges it again when it lunges at him, before jumping on its back. He tries to form the tsaheylu, but the Ikran's violent struggling makes that a nearly impossible task. Then, in their struggling, they both 

go over the edge of the cliff. Spider and the squad run to the ledge, as Quaritch and the Ikran plummet down into the mists below. Meanwhile, back at Awa'atlu, Jake has now mastered riding a Skimwing, including the diving part, and impresses Tonowari. And at that moment, just as Spider and the team are heading back, Quaritch rises up into the air, riding the Ikran, which he's now mastered. His team whoops and hollers for him, and even Spider is impressed. We then get more of the Sully kids learning to swim, with Lo'ak diving down deep to catch a shell that Reya

tossed, Reya placing a Gill Mantle on Tuk's back, and then, she and the other girls use them to breathe far down in the depths, where Ronal gathers some pieces of coral. That's when she notices how Kiri is able to manipulate the tiny, bioluminescent squids swimming about, and is clearly unnerved by it.

The next scene is when Aonung, Roxto, and a couple of their other friends come upon Kiri, as she's lying down in the shallows, looking at the sand. They mock her for her strange behavior, and when she tries to walk away, Aonung makes fun of the way she looks. Lo'ak comes in and tells him to back off, only to get mocked as well, with kid yanking his tail. But then, Neteyam shows up and sternly warns Aonung to leave them alone. Though one of his friends tries to stir up more trouble, Aonung motions for him to step 

back, then throws his arms up. Neteyam adds that they'd best respect Kiri as well, to whom the one Metkayina hisses; Kiri just sticks her tongue out in response. They go to walk away, when Lo'ak hears Aonung calling them a whole family of freaks under his breath. He walks back up to him and shows him his four-fingered hand, saying, "I know this hand is funny. Look, I'm a freak. Alien." He then adds, "But I can do something really cool. Watch. First, I ball it really tight, like this. Okay? Then..." And when 

Aonung leans in to see, Lo'ak decks him right in the face, and follows that up with two more hooks, knocking him to the ground. He tells him, "It's called a punch, bitch! Don't ever touch my sister again!" But Aonung gets up and charges at him, tackling him to the ground. Lo'ak flings him off, then shoves him back down, but two of Aonung's friends grab and pull him by his tail, while the third one whips him in the face with his own, paddle-like tail. Neteyam then intervenes, clocking one in the face, then kneeing Roxto in the gut when he comes at him. He grapples 

with another and they fall to the ground, as they all gang up on him. Kiri yells at them to stop, as it turns into an all-out brawl in the shallows. But then, she can't help but laugh at the sight of Lo'ak yelling as he's being pulled along by his tail, at the same time that he has one of them in a head-lock.

On Jake's orders, Lo'ak rides out to where Aonung and two of his friends have gathered and apologizes for hitting him... so many times. Aonung, after exchanging glances with Roxto and the other kid, offers Lo'ak his hand, saying they should be friends. He also invites him to come hunting with them, outside the reef. Initially, Lo'ak isn't keen on this, but when Aonung comments, "I must be asking the wrong brother," he promptly agrees to it. The four of them then speed through the water on their Ilu, which 

Lo'ak thoroughly enjoys, and arrive at the Three Brothers Rocks. Aonung guides them to a "good spot," where, when they're underwater, he instructs Lo'ak how to call over a fish in order to spear it. Lo'ak swims around the corner of a large, coral outcropping, pointing the speargun they gave him and grunting the way Aonung told him to. While he's focused on that, the others mock him behind his back, then quickly swim away. Ironically, Lo'ak manages to spear a fish when it gets close, but when he turns back around, he 

sees that he's alone. In the next scene, he's riding his Ilu on the surface, calling for the guys. Just as he starts to realize he's been abandoned, the Akula appears down below and, seeing the Ilu up on the surface, swims right towards him. It explodes up out of the water with its mouth open, sending both Lo'ak and his Ilu flying through the air. Focusing on the latter, it comes close to getting him in midair, then chases him when they fall back into the water. Bleeding badly, the Ilu swims away, managing to outrun the Akula. That's when the large predator 

turns and spots Lo'ak, speeding after him as he swims through a section of coral. The Akula snaps at him but is unable to get its large head and jaws into the narrow space with him. Lo'ak shoots it in the mouth with his speargun, only for it to grab the gun in its jaws and chomp it to bits. It lunges at him again, managing to gets its head further into the opening, and snaps at him. It then begins tearing away through the sections of coral blocking its path, forcing Lo'ak to swim out the other side of the structure. The Akula comes around and lunges at him again, when he 

dives deep down within another large formation of coral. Knowing what he's doing, the Akula swims up and over the coral, then heads down alongside it. Inside, Lo'ak stops to try to spot it through the gaps in the coral, only for it to suddenly burst through much closer than expected and snap at him. It then forces its way through the coral, driving Lo'ak further and further down, until he finds himself trapped. Once again, he hides in a narrow spot where the Akula is unable to get at him and it swims out of view.

Lo'ak looks around through the various openings but is unable to spot the Akula. He then begins to run out of breath and clearly starts to panic. He attempts to breathe in the manner that Reya taught him, but is unable to hold it and swims up out of the coral, heading for the surface. That's just what the Akula was waiting for, as it comes around a nearby corner and swims right at him. Lo'ak takes out a knife and prepares to stab the creature, when the Tulkun called Payakan makes his appearance. He comes in from the

right, grabs the Akula in his jaws, and slams it against the coral outcropping. As Lo'ak, who got knocked upside down by the sudden rush of water, flails around in disorientation, Payakan jams the Akula into the coral reef, as it screams in pain. Unable to reach the surface, Lo'ak loses consciousness. Payakan sends the dead Akula drifting down to the ocean floor and Lo'ak does the same, his body convulsing from his feeble attempts at breathing. Following a fade to black, he awakens on the surface, on what seems to

be some kind of rocky outcropping. Looking around, not knowing how he got there, he then realizes that he's actually sitting atop Payakan when he exhales air out of his multiple blowholes. Lo'ak drops into the water, and after he and Payakan make eye contact, the latter brings more of his huge body to the surface, as Lo'ak sits on his large, right fin. He thanks him for saving him, then notices the harpoon impaled through his fin. He tries to pull it out, but finds he's unable to. Getting in the water, he swims below to the harpoon's lower end, unscrews it, and is then able to pull the rest

of it out. Once he's done that, Lo'ak, after Payakan demonstrates his speed and gracefulness, grabs onto the fin and is taken for a nice ride under the water, furthering their bond. Lo'ak then sees that he's missing big left fin and, in a shot that was used in some of the advertising, the two of them float parallel to each other, their limbs touching. Come nightfall, Payakan takes Lo'ak back to Awa'atlu's sea-wall. When he sees a search party in the distance, he sends Payakan on, and allows himself to be found.

Despite learning who Payakan is and his reputation as a killer who was outcast, Lo'ak returns to the Three Brothers and meets up with him again. While he's unable to get him to say why he was outcast, Lo'ak does let him know that he can trust him. The two of them then spend another fun day together, as Lo'ak rides Payakan, above and below the surface, and jumps off him after he jumps out of the water. Meanwhile, Reya and Roxto take Neteyam, Kiri, and Tuk to the Cove of the Ancestors, showing them how 

beautiful it is when nighttime comes and it becomes bioluminescent. She also takes them down to the Spirit Tree, which is when Kiri makes her bond with it and ultimately has a seizure. The others quickly disconnect her from it and swim her to the surface. Neteyam gets her over to his Ilu and gives her mouth-to-mouth, managing to get her breathing again. They then rush her back to the village. That leads to Norm and Max being called out to Awa'atlu to examine her, which Quaritch hears about. He then deduces that Jake and his family are among the large group of islands in the eastern sea, and next commandeers the SeaDragon to search for them.

The next major scene is when the Tulkun return to Awa'atlu. As they enter the bay through a large gap in the sea-wall, we get some awesome shots of Tonowari flying over them on his Skimwing, as they gracefully jump out of the water and splash back down. Tuk has to literally drag Kiri, who's been feeling down since her seizure, outside to see what's going on, but when she does, she smiles happily at the sight of the Metkayina rushing out on Ilu and Skimwings to meet with their Tulkun brethren. Lo'ak is riding with Reya, when she sees her spirit sister and rushes ahead to

meet her, diving down amid the whole group of them. The others, including Jake and Neytiri, join in the revelry as well, with Kiri and Tuk riding on one Tulkun's right fin. Even baby Metkayina swim among the Tulkun and ride on Ilu underwater. Ronal meets with her spirit sister, Ro'a, and sees her young calf, while Reya tells her own spirit sister about meeting Lo'ak. One baby Metkayina swims to the surface alongside a Tulkun, while Reya dances with her spirit sister. But, as Lo'ak watches from nearby, you can see that he's clearly thinking about Payakan and how he's not permitted to experience this.

Meanwhile, the SeaDragon arrives at Ta'unui, another Metkayina village, and the locals are immediately uneasy at the sight of it. Though the chief tells them to be calm, in the next cut, men in Skel Suits are ransacking the homes, while the villagers are forced to their knees by others in Skel Suits and the Recoms, cruelly using large cattle-prods on them when they don't cooperate. Showing an image of Jake, Quaritch tries to get the chief to tell him where he is. Spider tells him that the chief claims to have never seen Jake because from the forest, but Quaritch, sure that he's 

lying, continues his interrogation. The chief tells Spider that they must look for Jake in the forest, and Quaritch, in turn, decides to turn up the heat and has one of his Recoms shoot an Ilu in the nearby shallows. This causes the villagers to call out in anguish, but when they continue to insist that they don't know anything, Quaritch orders the Tsahik to be forced down to where her face is planted in the ground. As the other protesting villagers are incapacitated with the cattle-prods, Quaritch orders 

Spider to tell the chief that they'll kill the Tsahik if he doesn't reveal where Jake is. Spider refuses to do so, and the one Recom asks if they're really going to kill the Tsahik. Spider pleads with him not to and Quaritch, instead, has all of the homes burnt to the ground. As they're set aflame, Spider apologizes to the chief and his wife for this, as the Tsahik begs him, "Stop this madness!" Quaritch orders them to move out and he drags Spider back to the SeaDragon along with him, as the village burns down behind them.

However, when more of these raids, no matter how ruthless they are, still don't yield any information on Jake's whereabouts, Quaritch decides to take another approach. He returns to the SeaDragon and suggests to Scoresby that they go on a Tulkun hunt.

Lo'ak meets up with Payakan once more and, again, asks him why he was outcast. As Neteyam, Reya, Aonung, and Roxto watch from nearby, Lo'ak swims into Payakan's open mouth. When the mouth closes with him inside, Neteyam panics, but Reya and Aonung stop him from rushing forward, the former assuring him that it's okay. Inside Payakan's body, it lights up with bioluminescence, and Lo'ak sees his queue in the back. He makes the tsaheylu, and then sees the death of Payakan's mother, followed by his rallying other Tulkun and Metkayina to attack the

whaling vessels responsible. However, the vessels fire back at them, with Payakan receiving the harpoon in his right fin in the ensuing battle. He surfaces, only to witness a Tulkun to his left get blown away by a missile, while a SeaWasp fires another missile right at Payakan himself, blowing off his left fin. When it's all over, he's surrounded by the floating bodies of numerous Ilu, Metkayina, and Tulkun. Now understanding what happened, Lo'ak detaches his queue, swims to the surface, and comforts the distraught Payakan.

A serene shot of the Tulkun out in the open ocean is broken when a SeaWasp comes flying in and fires a Pinger, which sticks into Ro'a. Once they receive the signal, the SeaDragon begins its pursuit, opening its center, where various Crab Suits are manned; at the same time, a fleet of Mako mini-subs prepares for deployment, as do one of Picadors. Quaritch follows Scoresby to the Matador, as the Picadors slide down into the water. The Matador promptly joins them and they head out towards the Tulkun, who are being circled by a pair of SeaWasps. The whole group,

including Ro'a and her calf, dive down into the depths to try to escape, when Scoresby orders a man operating a cannon on the Matador's back end to fire depth charges. He fires several of them up ahead, and when they sink down and explode, the blasts force the Tulkun back to the surface, as they're in danger of going deaf from the sound. Scoresby then sends the Picadors in amongst the Tulkun and they target Ro'a and her calf, blasting them with their ultrasonic cannons. Scoresby orders the Mako team to deploy and they follow after Ro'a, hovering just above the

ocean floor. Targeting her soft underside, they fire a harpoon with a balloon, getting her right behind the second fin on her right side. She screams as the balloon inflates, threatening to drag her to the surface, when another Mako hits her on the opposite side. A harpoon then spears her right through her front left fin, and she's forced completely to the surface. The Matador moves in and Scoresby fires his explosive-tipped harpoon, which goes down through the water and then angles up, piercing right through Ro'a's

chest. She lets out a pained scream and flails around on the surface, as the harpoon's line goes taut and she drags the Matador along. Scoresby orders, "All back full!", and they manage to slow her down. She lets out a pained, mournful scream, which horrifies Spider on the SeaDragon's bridge, and it's clear that Garvin isn't enjoying this either. Quickly, her strength gives out and she stops moving altogether. The boats move in, as the calf swims up to the side of his mother's head,

then surfaces and nuzzles her side; onboard the SeaDragon, everyone on the bridge applauds, save for Spider and Garvin. The Crab Suits move in and climb atop Ro'a, attaching clamps to her hide, as the calf screams for his mother.

Following the discovery of Ro'a's corpse and the Metkayina vowing to take the war to the Sky People, Lo'ak heads out on his Ilu to warn Payakan of what's going on. Neteyam, along with Reya, Aonung, and Roxto, follow after him on their own Ilu, and are joined by Kiri and Tuk. Unaware that the SeaDragon has arrived at the Three Brothers, Lo'ak heads there and quickly finds Payakan. As the others arrive, he realizes that Payakan has already been tagged with a Pinger. He climbs onto his back and goes to remove the beacon, when he then sees the SeaDragon

approaching. He doubles his efforts to remove the Pinger, when the others show up to assist him. Neteyam tells Lo'ak to call Jake, as he takes over trying to remove the Pinger. Lo'ak contacts his father with his comm-link, telling him where they are and what's happening. Jake and Neytiri, in turn, tell Tonowari and Ronal and they, along with all of the Metkayina warriors, arm up and move out. Most of them ride on Ilu and Skimwings, but Neytiri flies off on her Ikran. On the SeaDragon, everyone prepares to move in and finish off Payakan, deploying the boats. 

At the same time, the kids attempt to remove the Pinger by both pulling on it themselves and tying it to an Ilu, which then swims forward with all its might. On the SeaDragon, Quaritch sees through a scope that it's Jake's kids and decides to move out with his own team. As the boats close in, the kids finally manage to yank the Pinger out. With no time left, Neteyam tells Lo'ak and the others that he's going to take the Pinger and draw the boats away; Lo'ak, in turn, tells Payakan to run for it. Kiri and Tuk try to escape on an Ilu, 

while the Metkayina kids dive down and flee on their own Ilu. Drawing them away, Neteyam doesn't count on the Matador firing depth charges at him, and the blasts knock him off his Ilu. In the sky above, on his Ikran, Quaritch orders Scoresby to make them stop firing, which he does. Down below, Neteyam tosses away the Pinger, while Quaritch has Scoresby deploy his sub team to surround the kids.

From down below, the kids watch the boats speed away; however, the Crab Suits and Makos are deployed in their place. Seeing this, they try to swim for it on their Ilu, and are chased amid a patch of huge plants. One Mako specifically chases after Lo'ak, who just barely manages to dodge a Crab Suit that suddenly appears in front of him. Other Crab Suits and subs chase the scattering Na'vi, with one going after Kiri and Tuk. Kiri holds Tuk's hand as their Ilu goes as fast as it can, but Tuk slams into a large leaf and gets knocked loose from Kiri's grip. She slams 

against the Crab Suit's window and is flung behind it. Reya's Ilu then gets impaled by a Mako's harpoon and the animal is forced to the surface by the inflating balloon. Falling off, Reya sees the Crab Suit coming right at her. Fortunately, Lo'ak rides by, grabs her hand, and pulls her along with him just as the Crab Suit reaches for her. They speed away on his Ilu, then jump off and hide within the plants in order to avoid their pursuer. Elsewhere, Kiri, Aonung, and Roxto take refuge inside a large plant with an air bubble, while Tuk does the same in another one nearby. She

gets a fright when Lo'ak suddenly pops up behind her, followed by Reya, but before they can catch their breaths, one Crab Suit's operator spots them. They quickly take a deep breath, then dive back down and try to swim for it. A Mako comes at them from their right and fires a net, which opens up and ensnares them, though Lo'ak manages to wriggle through an opening. He tries to help Tuk and Reya, when Quaritch and another Recom dive down below the surface on their Ikran, grab the net, and haul it up to 

the surface, taking all three of them. As they fly towards the SeaDragon, Lo'ak pulls out his knife and tries to cut through the net; seeing them from the bridge, Spider runs down to the deck, pushing his way past various crew-members. The Na'vi are deposited on the deck and surrounded by Recoms and soldiers in Skel Suits. Lo'ak tries to fight them off with his knife, but is quickly pinned down and disarmed. The same is done to Reya and Tuk, and Spider is restrained as soon as he reaches the deck. Quaritch dismounts from his Ikran and orders Spider taken back to the bridge, while his prisoners are cuffed to the handrail.

Jake, Neytiri, and the Metkayina warriors arrive, and once they're spotted, everyone onboard the SeaDragon have their weapons trained on them. Jake has Tonowari order the warriors to stop, and as they sit on their mounts, he uses his assault rifle's scope to see that the kids are cuffed to the rail. That's when Quaritch uses Lo'ak's comm-link to talk with Jake, giving him his terms, and he agrees to surrender. He heads towards the SeaDragon on his Skimwing, while on her Ikran up in the sky, Neytiri demands to know what's happening. Down below, beneath the surface,

Payakan sees that not only has Lo'ak been captured, but Quaritch is holding a gun to his head. As Jake gets ever closer to the SeaDragon, with Quaritch planning to kill him as soon as he's aboard, Payakan whips up the ocean floor in a fury, knocking over coral outcroppings with his tail, know what he has to do to help his spirit brother. He then goes straight up towards the SeaDragon, exploding out of the water next to it, and landing on the deck, crushing several people in Skel Suits beneath his girth. Chaos breaks out as the others open fire on him, and he, in turn, 

sends one Skel Suit flying, while Lo'ak helps by shoving another into his path, allowing him to crush it beneath his fin. Scoresby orders them to turn the Matador, which was sitting in front of the SeaDragon, around so he can get a clear shot at Payakan. The Tulkun whacks the crane on the deck with his tail, causing it to crush one Crab Suit, while sending another suit that was hanging from it tumbling into the nearby hangar. Jake then charges on his Skimwing, and the Metkayina follow suit behind 

him. Payakan is fired upon with one of the ship's mounted guns, when he smacks the underside of a walkway full of men with his tail, sending some of them flying. The Matador comes around in the water and heads straight towards him. Scoresby fires his harpoon, only for Payakan to close his mouth and lower his head, causing it to bounce off his large, hard crest. It instead explodes against a part of the SeaDragon's deck, while Payakan dives back down into the water, as other Recoms and Skel Suits fire on him. At this, Scoresby exclaims, "Bloody hell!"

With Jake leading them, the Na'vi come charging into the fray. Scoresby has the Matador's gunner fire at them, but they have their Skimwings dive down beneath the water; at the same time, Quaritch and his Recoms saddle up on their Ikran and take to the air. A SeaWasp comes in and fires down at the Skimwings in the depths, but Neytiri swoops in and promptly kills the pilot with her arrow, causing the craft to crash onto some rocks. Tonowari comes in on his Skimwing, bolts up out of the water, over a Picador, and spears one of its men in the process. Ronal does

the same to another Picador, and the other warriors begin using this same tactic, while Jake fires on another from his Skimwing using his assault rifle, managing to blow it up. Aboard the Matador, Scoresby yells, "Somebody shoot something!", and the other Picadors start using both their mounted guns and depth charges. Jake dodges several of the latter and flies in low enough to take one man on a boat out with his rifle, while another Picador hits a big rock at full speed, is launched into the air, and explodes on some other rocks up ahead. Jake reloads, while

Neytiri stops another SeaWasp that tries to lift off from the SeaDragon's deck by killing the pilot. It promptly crashes back down. She then finds herself being chased and fired upon by Quaritch, only for Jake to turn around and do the same to him. Jake runs out of shells without scoring a hit, while Neytiri takes out another Recom. Jake has to throw away his rifle, while Quaritch returns fire at him, forcing him to dive down under the water again. Quaritch himself then has to reload, while down in the water, a Mako spots

Kiri, Aonung, and Roxto. Kiri forms a tsaheylu with a large cluster of Daisy Anemones, then uses her influence to have one grab the sub and slam it against the coral outcropping. It quickly fills up with water, and the two men inside put on oxygen masks and bail out, but Kiri has the anemone snag and crush them to death with its tentacles.

Back on the surface, Payakan rejoins the battle, flinging a Picador that's chasing him at the SeaDragon with his tail, causing it to explode against the ship's hull. On the bridge, Spider decides to intervene. He grabs a fire extinguisher, whacks the pilot in the side of the head, then pushes the throttle ahead to maximum before smashing the controls. He manages to knock out one other crewman before he's restrained, but the SeaDragon heads straight for the large rocks. Unable to stop it with the busted controls, it skids across the rocks, flies up into the air, lifting 

Lo'ak, Reya, and Tuk off their feet on the deck, and comes close to crushing the Matador out in front of it when it comes back down. When it stops, water starts pouring in down below, drowning several crewmen. Elsewhere, Quaritch continues chasing Jake, firing at him from above as he weaves and bobs through clusters of coral reef below the surface. Then, when Quaritch is right above him, Jake flies up at him. His Skimwing bursts out of the water and bites down onto the neck of Quaritch's Ikran, sending him tumbling off, down into the water. Jake and his Skimwing, with

the Ikran still in its jaws, dive down as well, and the Ikran manages to get away, while Quaritch swims up to the surface. Elsewhere, Payakan appears alongside the Matador and Scoresby, again, tries to harpoon him. He takes his shot while Payakan is dodging mounted gun fire, but this time, he dodges the harpoon and intentionally snags its line around one of his crest's horns and its base. He then goes ahead at full speed, pulling the Matador behind him. Onboard, they're unable to make the engines respond, and

Scoresby orders for someone to cut the cable. Payakan drags them toward another patch of large rocks, slamming it against the side, throwing both it and its occupants up into the air, before dragging them back into the open water. They come to rest and Scoresby orders another harpoon loaded, though they forget to cut the cable, like he also ordered. Manning the harpoon again, and bristling at Garvin's sarcastic comments, Scoresby scans the area for Payakan, muttering, "Where are you, cheeky bugger? You think

you're pretty clever, don't ya?" At that very moment, Payakan jumps out of the water behind the Matador and goes directly over it. He snags its backside with the harpoon's cable and drags the boat along, slamming it against another rock. The cable digs and tears through the boat's cabin as he swims, and Garvin yells for everyone to get down. However, Scoresby isn't quick enough and the cable pins his right arm against the harpoon gun. He futilely tries to pull himself loose, and then, with one final jerk from Payakan, it tears completely through both the gun and Scoresby's arm, flinging them into the water. 

With the SeaDragon's water pumps not working, everyone prepares to abandon ship, and Spider is taken along with them. On the deck, Lo'ak, Tuk, and Reya are trying to free themselves, when Neteyam pops out of the water on his Ilu and jumps aboard. He first cuts Reya loose, then does the same for Tuk and tells them to escape, before freeing Lo'ak. But when he's loose, Lo'ak goes and grabs an assault rifle from a fallen Recom. He tells Neteyam about Spider and he, reluctantly, agrees to help save him. Out in the water, Kiri, Aonung, and Roxto surface, when a 

Recom swoops down on his Ikran, grabs Kiri, and carries her off. In the water, Reya and Tuk see him deposit her onto the SeaDragon's deck, then pin her with his Ikran's foot when she tries to run, before hauling her up and forcing her along. Tuk tells Reya they have to go back and save her, and they swim back towards the ship, while Kiri is cuffed to a railing in an interior bay. Elsewhere, Neteyam and Lo'ak climb along the underside of a long piece of I-beam spanning the ceiling, while Tuk and Reya climb back onto the ship. Out in the water, Quaritch comes to the

surface and climbs onto the deck, where he sees that eclipse is fast approaching. Reya and Tuk find Kiri and attempt to free her, when Quaritch walks in behind them. He grabs Tuk, then shoves Reya down into the water when she tries to intervene. Down below, she sees Quaritch hand Tuk over to another Recom. Knowing she can't help by herself, she calls her Ilu and rides off to find help. Up above, poor Tuk finds herself cuffed to the railing all over again. In another part of the ship, Neteyam and Lo'ak find the

group of four men escorting Spider to one of the life-boats. They jump them and manage to beat them senseless, throwing one down into the water, while Spider removes another's mask and clocks him in the face. After another is knocked into the water, the last one goes for his assault rifle, but Lo'ak shoots him with his own instead. The three of them hop down onto the deck, when a Recom spots them from across the way. Lo'ak tries to shoot him but Neteyam gets him to just run and they rush for cover as they're fired

upon by both him and another Recom. Taking Lo'ak's gun, Neteyam returns fire from around the corner, telling Lo'ak and Spider to dive down through the spot where the subs were deployed. He then joins them, being fired upon as he dives down into the water.

They surface near the SeaDragon's backside, with Lo'ak and Spider high-fiving each other over what they just pulled off. Neteyam comes up, but when Reya comes by on her Ilu, telling them to come with her, he reveals that he's been shot. And sure enough, he's bleeding badly under the water. They carry him over to the Ilu and get him atop it, and with Spider holding him up from behind, they speed away. Reya tells Lo'ak that Kiri and Tuk have been captured, but he has to worry about Neteyam at the moment. With eclipse almost there, they meet up with Jake on one of

the large rocks and, with his help, get Neteyam up on them as well. Seeing how serious the wound is, Jake has Lo'ak put pressure on it. Neytiri arrives and, surrounded by some of his family and friends, Neteyam dies. That's when, in the midst of their mourning, Quaritch contacts Jake, tells him that he has Kiri and Tuk, and again agrees to trade them for him. Spider agrees to lead Jake to the ship and show him where the girls are being held, and Jake, in turn, tells the devastated Neytiri what's going on and that 

he needs her to be strong. Now with a new, vengeful resolve, she walks over to her Ikran, armed with her bow, and flies off, while Jake and Spider head back to the ship on Jake's Skimwing, all as Quaritch and his Recoms watch from the deck. On the way, Jake takes a spear from one of the destroyed boats to use as a weapon, while Lo'ak, despite what his father said, goes to help, telling Reya to stay with Neteyam. Everyone aboard the ship waits for Jake's arrival, but he and Spider manage to slip aboard unseen. Spider 

points Jake in the right direction and then, telling Spider to remain behind, he makes his way across the burning wreckage. Listening to Quaritch taunting him over the comm-link, he finds the bay where Kiri and Tuk are being held, and also sees where Quaritch is ducked down. He makes his way down there, amid the wreckage, then takes out a grenade and places it within one of the ship's smashed mounted guns.

He runs back to where he left Spider, yelling for him to get down. A huge explosion rips through the top of the ship, blowing a number of the men off their feet and threatening those still trying to retreat in the life-rafts. Amid the destruction, a man in a Skel Suit and a Recom try to retrieve some injured men, when Jake comes flying in. He impales the Skel Suit with his spear, then yanks it out and does the same to the Recom. He fires on another Recom across from him, before taking cover. A female Recom fires at him, when Neytiri comes in on her Ikran, jumps down,

rolls, and fires an arrow, getting the Recom in her side. Neytiri proceeds to lay waste to everyone around her, managing to grab and lift one guy up by his neck, while also shooting a Recom at the same time, getting him right through the head. Down in the bay, Quaritch tries to contact his men, while Jake runs towards a walkway above another deck full of men who fire on him. He throws one guy over the railing, while Quaritch fires at Neytiri when she bounds along nearby. Landing on a lower deck, she skirts along behind some wreckage, avoiding rifle shots from a 

group of men and a Recom. She easily kills one with an arrow shot, and the others try to split up and surround her. She jumps through the air, downing one man with a midair arrow shot, then lands, smacks the Recom's rifle down with her bow before whacking him across the face, and kills another man with an arrow. She ducks down behind a destroyed Crab Suit, hiding from another man, who is then felled by Jake. She rips an arrow out of one of her victims and shoots it at another man down below where Jake is. He 

leaps down, grabs one man and throws him right into a Recom, but then finds his assault rifle is empty and runs for cover when more crewmen, one in a Skel Suit, come at him. He tosses the rifle at one of them, flooring him, while Quaritch fires at Neytiri when he gets a clear shot at her again. Jake easily dispenses with the Skel Suit, sending him tumbling through a hatch in the deck, while Quaritch realizes he's out of magazines and draws his knife. Neytiri retrieves her arrow from another fallen man, and nearly uses it 

against another Recom. Instead, Jake comes at him with his small axe, but is promptly knocked outside, then gets the axe knocked out of his hands, while Neytirispins around and shoots a man across from her. He falls right near where Quaritch is hiding, and as Jake flings the Recom over the side and down into the water, Kiri taunts Quaritch by telling him that Jake and Neytiri are coming for him. 

Neytiri then brutally slaughters a group of men in a manner that scares Spider when he watches from nearby, prompting him to actually hide from her. Once she's done scanning her surroundings for any more threats, she grabs her bow, only to see that it was broken during the fight. Elsewhere, Jake retrieves his axe and reaches the bay, but only finds Tuk there. He frees her and she tells him where Kiri is. He moves in that direction, with Tuk behind him, when Quaritch rounds the corner, holding a knife to Kiri's throat. This leads to the standoff where he forces 

Jake to disarm himself and orders him to cuff his hands to the railing, only for Neytiri to come in, take Spider hostage, and threaten to kill him if Quaritch doesn't release Kiri. Eventually, Quaritch lets Kiri go, with Neytiri doing the same to Spider. The girls and Jake then join Spider and Neytiri, as Jake tells Spider to get the women out of there, while he stays behind to contend with Quaritch. 

Once the others are all in the water, Jake rushes at Quaritch, grabbing a box floating in the water and throwing it at his head. He slices at Quaritch's chest, and the two of them get into a knife-fight, as the ship begins to tilt upward as it sinks more rapidly. They get into a serious arm lock, as a part of the ship explodes, igniting the fuel that's been spilling into the water this whole time. The flames force everyone back onto the ship, while Quaritch breaks the lock by kicking Jake in the gut. As the water rises across the deck, it creates a current that sweeps Tuk through a

hatch leading down into the bowels of the ship. Neytiri tries to pull her out, but before the others can help, she loses her grip and Tuk is pulled completely through. Neytiri dives through the hatch after her, and the two of them then have to escape the rapidly flooding interior, while Kiri and Spider run up the increasingly vertical deck. Continuing their fight, Quaritch manages to disarm Jake, but he kicks him away and he nearly gets caught beneath an abandoned sub that rolls at him. He climbs out of the water and leaps at Jake with his knife, but Jake manages to put 

him into another hold. The ship is now almost completely vertical, with the two of them slipping around, dodging both each other's blows and objects, like bits of cargo and the like, tumbling down at them. Kiri and Spider manage to climb to the top of the ship, but down below, Neytiri and Tuk find their escape blocked by a door. Outside, Jake and Quaritch continue their fight amid a dangling chain, while below, Neytiri manages to get the door open, but the hold quickly floods. Jake manages to disarm 

Quaritch and they then resort to fisticuffs, while Neytiri and Tuk find themselves on the bridge, climbing along the tables and chairs. The ship then falls over backward, upending everybody, and trapping both Jake and Quaritch, as well as Neytiri and Tuk, within it. Spider and Kiri wind up on top of the completely upside down ship, while the force of the water traps Neytiri and Tuk when the former tries to open another door. Kiri and Spider hold hands when the SeaDragon sinks completely beneath the surface and barely manage to avoid being sucked down with it.

Rising up into an air bubble, Jake and Quaritch, after exchanging looks, both take deep breaths and dive back under to finish their fight. Amid their struggling, Quaritch manages to get Jake in a head-lock with his legs. Elsewhere in the ship, Neytiri begs for Eywa to help them, and she, in a way, answers her prayer when the ship hits the ocean floor. The impact boosts Jake and Quaritch up through the water, giving Jake the opportunity to free himself. He puts Quaritch in a choke-hold and keeps him there, squeezing tighter and tighter, until he stops struggling. He then pushes

his body away and watches him sink down into the dark abyss below the ship. Jake swims around, searching for a way out, as Spider and Kiri wait on the surface. Removing a flashlight from the life-vest they had him wear, Spider ducks his head under the water and searches around. Lo'ak shows up, riding an Ilu, and Kiri tells him what's going on. She and Spider grab onto the Ilu and they all dive down to the bottom; at that moment, Jake runs out of breath and loses consciousness. Reaching the wreck, Kiri bonds with one of a number of Gill Mantles floating around 

it, while Lo'ak and Spider split up to search for Jake. Kiri then takes control of the small, bioluminescent squids she used before, while Spider initially thinks he's found Jake, only for it to turn out to be Quaritch. At that moment, Lo'ak finds Jake and takes him back up into the air pocket. Spider, meanwhile, is about to leave Quaritch behind, but looking back at him, he yells, "Fuck!", in frustration and swims back to him. He grabs and pulls him along, out from underneath the ship, yelling, "Come on, you son of a bitch!" Jake 

regains consciousness, while outside, Spider inflates his life-vest's flotation balloons, and he and Quaritch drift up to the surface. Jake and Lo'ak's air pocket begins to shrink, and Jake tells his son to escape while he can. Lo'ak, however, refuses to do that, and it turns out that Neytiri and Tuk are facing the same dilemma.

Outside, Kiri, now in control of a large school of the squids, manipulates them to show her the way to where Neytiri and Tuk are; at the same, Lo'ak shows his dad how best to breathe, as well as repeats what Reya told him about the way of water. The squids lead Kiri through the flooded, upside down bridge, and their natural light illuminates the spot where Neytiri and Tuk are. As they surround them, Tuk ducks her head under the water and sees Kiri round a corner. Kiri smiles and swims towards her, surfacing in front of her and Neytiri. Comforting them, she

gives Neytiri the Gill Mantle and, like Lo'ak, teaches them how to breathe most effectively. Elsewhere, with the air bubble almost gone, Lo'ak tells Jake to take one last breath. And with that, both groups dive down and swim out of the shipwreck, with the squids also showing Lo'ak and Jake the way out. But during the long swim back up to the surface, Jake starts to run out of breath. Fortunately, Payakan appears and gives them a ride back up. They breach the surface outside of the ring of fire, and that's when Jake tells 

Lo'ak, "I see you, son." They're then joined by Neytiri, Tuk, and Kiri, and the family embraces alongside Payakan, as Jake says in his narration, "Sullys stick together. That was our greatest weakness, and our great strength." (Again, not the best of writing there.) As day breaks, Spider drags the still alive Quaritch onto some rocks. His Ikran lands, ready to pick him up, and that's when Quaritch tries to get Spider to come with him, only for him to instead jump back into the water and swim to rejoin the Sully 

family. Quaritch, in turn, flies off back to Bridgehead. Spider makes it back to the rock where Neteyam's body still lies, the family again grieving their loss, especially since Kiri and Tuk just learned of it. Though initially staying separate from them, and looking warily at Neytiri, Spider does join them, as Kiri expresses relief that he's safe, and he's embraced by Jake, along with Lo'ak.

In a bittersweet twist, Neytiri is seen singing in Na'vi, like she was at the beginning, but this time while wearing some face-paint, and as tears run down her face. We then see why, as it's intercut with Neteyam's funeral, with his family leading his body out to the Spirit Tree, while the Metkayina watch nearby. Jake and Neytiri take him down to the large section of yellow tendrils, as Jake says in his narration, "The people say that all energy is only borrowed, and one day, you have to give it back. Eywa holds all her children in her heart. Nothing is ever lost." As 

Neteyam's body is absorbed into the tree, we get a flashback to his presentation to the Omatikaya as a baby, signifying that all of his memories and his life have been absorbed by Eywa. At the end, Jake and Neytiri bond with the tree, experiencing the nice memory of when Neteyam first mastered spearfishing. The movie ends with Jake saying, "I see now. I can't save my family by running. This is our home. This is our fortress. This is where we make our stand," the final shot a close-up of his eyes snapping open.

Since James Horner was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2015, a new composer had to be found for The Way of Water. That turned out to be Simon Franglen, who'd actually worked with Horner before on both Titanic and the first Avatar, and also finished the score for the 2016 remake of The Magnificent Seven, as well as the Walt Disney World attraction, Pandora: The World of Avatar, following Horner's death. But, like with the score for the first movie, I feel that the music is not one of The Way of Water's strongest points. Again, it does its job in the moment, managing to be wondrous and captivating during the sequences exploring the ocean, fast-paced and thrilling during the action sequences, adding a feeling of grandeur and epic scale to the sinking of the SeaDragon, and poignant in scenes like Neteyam's death and funeral, and Franglen retains a lot of the feeling from Horner's score for the first. He also reuses some of the original themes, like the main Na'vi tribal scenes, the somber bit originally used during Hometree's destruction, and the Aliens-like action motif when Lo'ak faces off with the Akula. But after the movie's over, I couldn't tell you how the music sounds purely from memory. And also like the first one, an original song initially plays over the ending credits: in this case, Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength), by The Weeknd. Again, it's okay, and is all about one of the movie's major themes: family and trying to protect your loved ones. But, like the song that played in the first one, it's very bland and not likely to stick in your head. However, the song that Neytiri sings, The Songcord, which you not only hear at the beginning and end, but also during the latter part of the ending credits, is quite beautiful and solemn.

As I said before, and as James Cameron himself also said, if you weren't a fan of the first one, Avatar: The Way of Water, despite fixing some of the issues people had with the first, isn't likely to change your mind. While some of Cameron's clunky, simplistic writing of dialogue and characters, as well as his less than subtle incorporation of themes, are still present here, they're not as in your face as before, with the environmental and anti-imperial themes significantly toned down. Also, the returning characters are a bit more multi-facted (albeit, still not completely three-dimensional), the new characters are likable and, in some cases, hold interesting potential for the following movies, there are some interesting unresolved conflicts and plot threads that also make you look forward to the future, and like the first, the movie is a complete visual feast, successfully creating an amazing, breahtaking world, with incredible underwater motion capture, and loads of exciting and glorious action and battle sequences. However, it does hit a number of the same beats and moments as the first, the story's pacing can feel a bit uneven, some of the digital creatures aren't as realistic as you'd hope, and the music score is rather meh. But the biggest thing likely to turn people off is the movie's sheer length: you're in it for literally over three hours, and by the time you get to the third act battle, which itself is almost an hour long, you may find yourself getting exhausted. In short, know who you are and remember how you felt about the first movie before sitting for this enjoyable but still problematic epic.