Who survived the battle for Hometree?
Is Jake now the leader of the Na'Vi people?
We break down the ending of "Avatar" before "The Way of Water" premieres!
"Avatar" takes place in 2154.
Humans have depleted the Earth's natural resources and moved on to outer space, colonizing worlds
like Pandora, a moon orbiting a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri galaxy.
The main character is Jake Sully, a paraplegic former Marine.
His identical twin brother was part of a team of scientists on Pandora who are researching
the planet and its indigenous inhabitants, the Na'Vi.
Using human-Na'vi hybrids called avatars, humans can walk among the Na'vi, communicate
with them, and learn their ways.
Jake joins Dr. Grace Augustine, scientist Norm Spellman, and Marine pilot Trudy on their
research mission.
Of course, the Resources Development Administration has more in mind.
As RDA administrator Parker Selfridge points out, the real reason humans are on Pandora
is to mine a mineral called unobtanium, which sells for millions on Earth.
Colonel Miles Quaritch offers Jake a deal: Find out all he can about the Na'vi, and he'll
make sure Jake gets new legs.
But Jake's "infiltration" into the Na'vi civilization doesn't go as he expected.
He meets a Na'vi woman named Neytiri, learns about the planet and the Na'vi's spiritual
connection to all living things, and becomes one of them.
Jake and Neytiri fall in love and become lifemates — complicated by the fact that Jake is still
a human, living vicariously through his Na'vi avatar, and the fact that he's technically
a spy for the RDA.
"I trusted you.
I trusted you!"
Toward the end of "Avatar," the RDA orders the destruction of Hometree, Neytiri's tribe's
home base, because of the rich deposit of unobtainium that lies beneath.
By this point, Jake is fully on team Na'vi, even though Neytiri and other members of her
tribe have turned against him after finding out about his spying.
Jake has completely changed his identity, considering himself a part of the Na'vi, embracing
their beliefs, and so he fights for their cause against the RDA.
But Quartich's huge military planes, massive guns, and numerous soldiers quickly overpower
the tribe, and Hometree is destroyed.
During the battle, many lives are lost, including Neytriri's father, Eytukan.
Jake, Grace, and Norm's human bodies are rescued by Trudy, who airlifts them and their avatar
capsules to a safe location, while their Na'vi avatars are left in the forest.
But during the mayhem, Quartich shoots them, with a bullet hitting Grace.
To regain the trust of Neytiri, the Omaticaya tribe, and their new chief Tsu'tey, Jake mounts
and bonds with Taruk, a huge dragon-like beast related to the smaller banshees.
By bonding with this fierce beast, whom the Na'vi both revere and fear, Jake proves that
he's a part of the Na'vi, that he respects their culture, and he wants to live among them.
Jake is embraced by Neytiri, her mother Mo'at, and Tsu'tey, and together they make plans
to gather the numerous Na'vi tribes to fight back against the RDA and evict them from Pandora.
Before Jake sets out to unite the Na'vi clans, he has one request of Mo'at: Save Grace.
Still suffering from her gunshot wound, Grace's life is in the Na'vi's hands, as is the life
of her avatar.
As Neytiri explains, all life on Pandora is connected via a biological neural network,
though the Na'vi consider it more of a spiritual connection than a scientific one.
The Tree of Voices allows living Na'vi to hear the memories of their ancestors, while
the Tree of Souls is said to be the closest connection to Eywa, the guiding force of Pandora
that the Na'vi worship as a deity.
The Tree of Souls, Neytiri explains, has such power that it can transfer her consciousness
through the immersive neural network of Pandora and have her permanently placed into her avatar
body so she can survive.
This transformation doesn't just highlight the Na'vi's spiritual beliefs but also hints
at the potential scientific advancements that could be achieved in the future.
Grace's body is weak, and she doesn't survive the process.
But before she dies, she assures Jake that she sees Eywa, the connections are real, and
the world of Pandora is truly a living thing.
"I'm with her Jake.
She's real."
The final battle for Pandora includes the RDA soldiers, the many tribes of Pandora,
and one final participant: Eywa herself.
Or, at least, Eywa manifested through the animals and wildlife of Pandora, who came
to the Na'vi's defense at the last minute.
The night before the battle, Jake connects neurologically to the Tree of Souls and asks
that Eywa help them on their quest to defeat the RDA.
This, more than his bond with Toruk, proves Jake has fully embraced his life as a Na'vi.
He used Toruk to regain Neytiri and the other Na'vi's trust, but his prayer to Eywa is a
private act, showing us that he now believes in the power of Pandora and its spiritual network.
During the battle, at a moment when it looks like the Na'vi might be defeated once again,
suddenly a great rumble is heard from beyond the forest.
Numerous animals from throughout the planet join the fight, understanding that the RDA
is destroying their world and their survival depends on their involvement.
Not only is the neural connection on Pandora more significant than previously thought,
but the creatures of the planet are capable of more complex decisions.
"Eywa has heard you!"
The animals joining the fight eventually lead to the RDA's defeat and the return of Pandora
to its original inhabitants.
After the battle, many of the humans left on Pandora are forced to head back to Earth.
Jake, of course, wants to stay, but he can't do so while still in his human body.
The love between Jake and Neytiri is strong, but with humans unable to breathe Pandora's
air, maintaining their relationship would be rather difficult.
Not to mention the fact that Jake doesn't even consider himself human anymore.
He's spent so much time as one of the Na'vi, learning and embracing their way of life,
that remaining human would just be a letdown.
So Jake asks the Na'vi to connect his human body as well as his Na'vi avatar to the Tree
of Souls via their neural networks.
The Na'vi pray together, chant, and ask that Eywa transfer Jake from his human form into
his avatar.
The closing shot of the film is Jake's avatar opening his eyes urgently, suggesting that
the process did indeed work and that Jake can now go on living as a true Na'vi.
Sigourney Weaver's Dr. Grace Augustine doesn't survive the battle of Hometree, and she was
far from the only casualty.
During the epic final conflict, Trudy switches sides as well, outfitting her fighter plane
and face with Na'vi colors, but her plane gets shot down.
Omaticaya chief Tsu'tey is also mortally wounded in the battle, and after the battle ends,
asks Jake to end his suffering.
At first, Jake is reluctant to do so, but as Tsu'tey explains, it is a great honor,
and passes the tribe leadership on to Jake, before Jake ends his suffering.
On the human front, scientist Norm Spellman survives the battle.
Unfortunately, his Na'vi avatar gets shot and dies, so Norm has to remain in his human
form on Pandora from then on.
Norm is one of the few humans who is permitted to stay, and he fronts a new and ongoing scientific
exploration team — one that has nothing to do with procuring unobtainium or conquering
the indigenous peoples of the planet.
Neytiri's mother Mo'at also survives the final battle, and it's she who supervises the ritual
at the Tree of Souls to transfer Jake's consciousness from his human body to his Na'vi avatar.
Greedy RDA administrator Parker Selfridge was only out for one thing: the money and
power that came with dominating the Na'vi and destroying their land.
As a character, Selfridge was the movie's embodiment of colonialist and imperialist
capitalist interests.
His descriptions of the Na'vi as, quote, "fly-bitten savages" that live in trees could mirror any
of history's conquering forces as they dominated the indigenous peoples in various countries
across the world.
Thankfully, Selfridge is banished from Pandora by the end of the film, though it isn't known
whether he's learned any kind of lesson.
A much more gruesome fate befalls Colonel Miles Quaritch, who throughout the movie becomes
a more sinister, violent, and frightening villain than Selfridge.
During the final battle, Quaritch heads to the Hallelujah mountains where Jake's human
body is connected to his Na'vi avatar through the pod.
Quaritch tries to disconnect and kill Jake, but his mission is interrupted by Neytiri
riding her new thanator, a fierce land mammal of Pandora that looks like a cross between
a cat and a dinosaur.
Just as Quaritch is about to crush Jake with the use of his AMP suit, Neytiri launches
two giant arrows into his chest.
It's after Quaritch's death that Neytiri meets Jake's human form for the first time, lovingly
greeting each other with the traditional Na'vi saying:
"I see you."
"Avatar" was so successful, and James Cameron became so immersed in its world-building,
that it's no surprise there are plans for a whopping four additional movies.
But with or without all of the upcoming sequels, James Cameron's "Avatar" was a truly innovative
and interesting film, one that plunged audiences deep into a new world and heralded a new era
of filmmaking.
The motion capture technology as well as the use of 3D definitely had an impact on the
film industry.
Although 3D as a gimmick is dying down a bit these days, motion capture, as well as new
advances in computer graphics and life-like animation are more integral to filmmakers
than ever.
It's those technological advancements that will be the lasting legacy of "Avatar," as
well as Cameron's ability to bring action and heart to some of his most elaborate worlds.
Regardless of how the sequels fare, the original ushered us into the new millennium of cinematic experiences.
So it's exciting to imagine what's coming next from Cameron and Pandora when the second
"Avatar" movie, "The Way of Water," debuts in December 2022.