Waterbending, the element of change.
- It is the-- - Yeah, an ancient art,
unique to our culture. Blah, blah, blah.
Well, not exactly.
Let's just start over.
Here is everything you need to know
about the history of waterbending.
Let's dive in.
Just like with the other elements,
waterbending originated over 10,000 years ago
during the time of the lion turtles,
Raava and Avatar Wan.
Having already collected the power of fire and air,
Wan met with the water lion turtle
and gained its power.
With the help of Raava,
Wan was able to defeat Vaatu and end the era
of lion turtles serving as mankind's protectors.
The world is entering a new age.
Our time protecting mankind is over.
We will no longer give humans the power of the elements.
This would not mean the end for waterbending.
Far from it, actually.
The legends say the Moon was the first waterbender.
Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides
and learned how to do it themselves.
Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon.
Our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean.
They work together to keep balance.
Enter Tui and La,
the physical embodiment of the Moon and Ocean Spirits.
Tui and La, your moon and ocean,
have always circled each other in an eternal dance.
They balance each other.
Push and pull.
Life and death.
Good and evil.
The bond was so powerful
that when Admiral Zhao burned Tui
all waterbending ceased completely.
Using the power of the Avatar, La went on a warpath,
pushing the entire Fire Nation armada out of the North Pole.
It wasn't until the sacrifice of Princess Yue,
giving her life to revive the Moon,
that waterbending and balance was restored.
Goodbye, Sokka.
I'll always be with you.
Now, if you're starting to notice a common theme
with balance, then good job, because that's no accident.
Waterbending is all about being in perfect symbiosis
with your environment and energy,
and nowhere is that more apparent
than its many fighting styles.
From the simpler water whips,
to the extremely advanced forms like octopus,
there's no shortage of offensive and defensive styles.
Waterbending is at its strongest
when near a large body of water, during the full Moon,
or when it's raining, for obvious reasons.
[screams]
[yelps]
Waterbenders can even bend water in plants
using it as weapons and armors.
This is known as swampbending.
Hey, you! Where you been?
Communing with nature.
Takes a while to collect this much seaweed.
Waterbenders can also change water
from a liquid to solid to gas easily.
Whether it's creating a fog cloud for a quick escape,
or freezing your enemy, waterbending has got your back.
[panting]
[coughing]
When in a real pinch, waterbenders have been known
to pull water from the air, plants,
or even their own bodies.
Katara, you're a genius!
A sweaty, stinky genius!
But don't get it twisted,
fighting isn't the only thing it can do.
Waterbending can also be used to heal serious burns,
diseases and injuries.
It's even so powerful that using water from the Spirit Oasis
was able to revive a mortally wounded Aang
and help save the world.
Phew. Could you imagine?
- I'll say. - No kidding.
- Horrible. - You said it.
But just as you would expect with balance,
where there is light, there is also darkness.
And trust us, nothing is darker than bloodbending.
[grunting]
You should have learned the technique
before you turned against me.
The technique was first used by Hama inside a prison
made just for waterbenders.
Waiting until the night of a full Moon,
she seized control of her captors
and walked away a free woman.
Years later, Katara made the art forbidden,
but that didn't stop criminals
such as Yakone and his sons Noatak and Tarrlok
from using it to terrorize Republic City.
Like the dark side of healing,
bloodbending is when a bender takes control of the water
inside another person's body, using them like a puppet.
In most cases, the victim is completely helpless.
Bloodbending can also be used to block chi paths
and strip someone of their bending altogether.
[grunting]
I told you I would destroy you.
But don't fret, after Korra lost her bending,
it was restored all thanks to Aang's spirit
teaching her energybending and fixing what was lost.
When we hit our lowest point,
we are open to the greatest change.
And hey, speaking of spirits,
the last major form of waterbending is,
you guessed it, spiritbending.
Similar to the healing technique,
spiritbending is where you impart balance
or imbalance onto a spirit.
This allows the user to calm or enrage a spirit.
Definitely useful to have when headed to the Spirit World
or just trying to get home.
Go in peace.
A powerful waterbender,
Unalaq believes so strongly that humans and spirits
should live side by side that he teamed up with Vaatu,
yes, that Vaatu,
to reopen the portals to the Spirit World.
Ultimately, he was consumed by the spirit of darkness
and then defeated by Korra, but his vision lived on.
Maybe I shouldn't.
What do you mean?
What if Unalaq was right
when he said the Avatar shouldn't be a bridge
between the two worlds?
What if Avatar Wan made a mistake
when he closed the portals?
What if humans and spirits weren't meant to live apart?
Well, what do you think I should do?
I think you should trust your instincts.
There is nothing else I can teach you.
Korra decided to open the spirit portals
and usher the world of Avatar into a new era of change.
And while we're on the subject of change,
actually, Uncle Iroh, you might have said it best.
Water is the element of change.
The people of the Water Tribe
are capable of adapting to many things.
They have a deep sense of community and love
that holds them together through anything.
Throughout the eras,
waterbending has represented a balance with nature,
but also the ability to change and adapt with the times,
and we can see this represented
by our three main Water Tribe members:
Katara, Korra, and Sokka.
Okay, I've seen enough.
Calm down, we'll explain.
In the beginning, Sokka was a sarcastic,
sexist stick in the mud.
In his own words...
I'm just a guy with a boomerang.
I didn't ask for all this flying and magic.
But by the end he changed,
becoming an inventor, a tactician and an artist.
Okay, maybe not that last one.
Why did you give me Momo's ears?
Those are your hair loopies.
At least you don't look like a porcupine.
My hair is not that spiky.
I look like a man.
And why did you paint me firebending?
I thought it looked more exciting that way.
Similarly, Katara started out as a novice,
but grew into a master.
- You can't knock me down! - Go, Katara!
But more than that,
when the Fire Nation came and stole her mother,
she stepped up and became the figure she needed to be.
When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life.
Our family was a mess.
But Katara, she had so much strength.
She stepped up and took on so much responsibility.
She helped fill the void that was left by our mom.
I'm going to tell you something crazy.
I never told anyone this before, but honestly,
I'm not sure I can remember what my mother looked like.
It really seems like my whole life
Katara has been the one looking out for me.
She's always been the one that's there.
And now, when I try to remember my mom,
Katara's is the only face I can picture.
And lastly, Korra, needing to fill the enormous shoes
left behind by Aang,
brought change both internally and externally
by taking a risk and opening the spirit portals.
She brought back airbenders from the brink of extinction.
What you did during Harmonic Convergence
may have brought back the Air Nation,
and that can only be good for restoring balance.
That is the act of a great Avatar.
And confronted her fears head on,
emerging as a stronger person.
I feel whole again.
I feel good.
Do you think you're finally able to forget
about what Zaheer did to you?
No.
But I am finally able to accept what happened,
and I think that's going to make me stronger.
All waterbenders that tried usurping balance
by forcing their will on others
or rejecting change by sticking to strict or outdated beliefs
are destined to fail.
Gran Gran wouldn't let
your tribe's stupid customs run her life.
That's why she left.
It must have taken a lot of courage.
And that's everything there is to know
about the history of waterbending.
Make sure to check out the other histories of bending
to claim your title as the Avatar expert.
Is there one element that stands above the rest?
Let us know in the comments and subscribe for more peeks
into the Avatar universe.
[whispering] Water Tribe!