Avatar: The Way of Water Ending Explained & Film Analysis

The plot analysis of the film Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), explanation of the ending, is there a scene after the credits, what is known about Part 3. “Water connects all”: the essence of the movie Avatar: The Way of Water.

Country: USA

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action

Year of production: 2022

Director: James Cameron

Actors: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Sigunrni Weaver, Kate Winslet

Awards and nominations: nominee for the Oscar 2023 award in four categories; Nominee for the 2023 Golden Globe Award in two categories.

Slogan: Water connects all things, life to death, darkness to light (Water connects everything, life with death, darkness with light).

The premiere of the continuation of the famous blockbuster James Cameron took place thirteen years after the release of the first part. According to many viewers, the plot and meaning of the film Avatar: The Way of Water look somewhat secondary compared to its predecessor. However, this is more than offset by the visuals, which are still beyond praise and worth admiring on the big screen. We will analyze the plot, give an explanation of the ending and try to give answers to questions that have arisen among the audience.

What is the movie about

At the beginning of the movie Avatar: The Way of Water we are shown what happened to the main characters after the victory of the Na’vi over the people, which took place at the end of the first part.

Most of the invaders flew back to Earth. Although a few scientists who became local friends remained. The son of Colonel Quaritch, who was killed by Neytiri, also remained. He was just a baby and could not be placed in a cryopod.

Neytiri and JakeZoe Saldana as Neytiri, Sam Worthington as Jake Sullivan. Frame from the film.

Jake Sully became the leader of the Omaticaya clan. His wife Neytiri bore him a daughter and two sons. In addition, the family has a girl named Kiri. This is a child that emerged from the womb of the avatar of the deceased scientist Grace Augustine. Quaritch’s son, whom everyone calls the Spider, spent his entire adult life (about fifteen years passed) next to the Sally family and became close to her.

Pandora is under threat again – people have returned. This time they are not interested in the expensive mineral. They need the whole planet, because the Earth is becoming uninhabitable. The military command plans to exterminate the locals and eventually transport all people here. The Na’vi fight. They successfully repulse the attacks of the military and themselves arrange sabotage.

To combat the local population, people are expanding the Avatar project. This time they are making Na’vi-like clones with the copied minds of the dead military, also similar in appearance. One of them is a clone of Colonel Couritch. He has all the memories of his prototype, except for the last hours of his life, and bears his name. The main task of the clone is to hunt down and destroy Jake Sully.

Jake’s children, along with other Na’vi, fight the humans. The eldest son Neteyam behaves boldly, but prudently, which cannot be said about the younger Lo’ak – thanks to his recklessness, the rest are often in danger. One day, the children go into the jungle, encounter a group of clones there and become their captives. The parents who came to the rescue free them. But it is not possible to rescue the Spider. He is taken to a human base where he is tortured. Quaritch, feeling fatherly from the prototype, asks for an end to the interrogation. He flies off and takes Spider with him as an interpreter and expert in the Na’vi world.

Brithen DaltonThe role of Lo’ak was played by Briten Dalton. Frame from the film.

Jake believes that being with his tribe puts them at risk. In addition, his family is in constant danger. So Jake takes off his title of leader and, together with Neytiri and the children, goes to the possession of the Metkayina sea clan. These Na’vi follow the “path of the water” for many years and are well adapted to swimming, unlike the Sally family. So the locals at first laugh at the appearance of the “refugees”. Chief Tonowari and his wife Ronal are also skeptical about the idea of ​​taking care of newcomers – they do not know how to live on water, and besides, people will look for them. Nevertheless, the head of the clan decides to shelter the Sally family. The heroes begin to adapt to new conditions, study the Metkayin culture and explore the underwater world.

With local teenagers, Sally’s children have a strained relationship. Lo’ak befriends Tonowari’s daughter Cyreya, but constantly quarrels with her brother Aonung. The latter, as revenge for the fight, feigning reconciliation, lures Lo’ak into the open sea to be torn to pieces by a huge predatory fish. A teenager is saved by a whale. Locals call such whales tulkuns. These creatures have great intelligence, a rich inner world, and are able to communicate with the Na’vi. Lo’ak names his new friend Payakan.

Lo’ak returns to the tribe. He does not betray Aonung, which greatly impresses him. Relations between teenagers are getting better. True, everyone is skeptical about Lo’ak’s friendship with Payakan. This tulkun is considered an outcast, guilty of the death of his fellows. This is partly true – Payakan, wanting to take revenge on people for his mother, sent a flock to fight them. Many Tulkuns died in this battle.

Cyrea and her friends help Kiri connect to Euwe’s soul tree underwater. The girl sees her dead mother. Kiri asks why she is not like everyone else and who her father is, but the connection stops – a seizure occurs. To cure his daughter, Jake summons human scientists, but they are powerless. As a result, the girl is saved by Ronal.

Sigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver played the role of Kiri. Frame from the film.

The radio signal sent by Jake picks up Quaritch. He figures out the approximate location of the Sully family, takes control of a whaling ship with a crew (people kill tulkuns to get a liquid called “amrita”, which prevents aging) and sets off for the Metkayina Islands. By terrorizing the locals, Quaritch tries to draw Jake out. The massacre of innocent Na’vi is prevented by the Spider.

Lo’ak is about to warn Payakan of the danger. Along with him are Tonowari’s children and a younger sister. But Quaritch is already waiting for them. He takes the children prisoner a second time.

Jake and Neytiri rally the Metkayina and attack Quaritch’s ship. Payakan fights with them and sinks the ship. Jake’s eldest son Neteyam saves the children, but, having received a mortal wound, dies.

Jake fights Quaritch. He strangles the Colonel and escapes the ship with the help of Lo’ak and Payakan’s bond. Kiri summons little underwater inhabitants and rescues Neytiri and her sister. Spider saves Quaritch, but chooses to stay with Sully’s family.

After what happened, Jake is going to take his family and leave the islands. Tonowari invites Sally to stay with Metkayina – they have truly become part of the clan. Jake agrees. A new life begins for him and the children. However, the hero did not forget about the dead son and the war with earthlings – another battle is coming.

Avatar: The Way of Water Ending explanation

In the ending, Jake and Neytiri connect underwater with the soul tree of Eywa and see their dead son Neteyam. Here he appears in two guises at once (a boy and an adult) and does not remember his death. Jake says at the end that he now understands that running away will not save the family. He calls Metkayin’s domain his home and is determined to protect it.

It is hardly worth looking for some hidden meaning here. The hero simply summarizes what was already clear in the course of the story: there is no hiding from the war with people. No matter how much you want to protect your family, you have to take the fight. Do not hide Jake from guilt for the death of his son. But Ava helps to cope with grief. It allows you to temporarily reunite with the dead and feel the support of the whole family. And this is a great advantage for the Na’vi: the whole nature of Pandora still helps them. Unlike people who, according to Jake himself, “killed their mother” (quote from the first “Avatar”).

The path of water, which the heroes went through, made them even stronger and spiritually richer. People are still obsessed with the thirst for destruction and profit. This is the meaning of the ending of Avatar 2.

Is there a post-credits scene in Avatar: The Way of Water?

Scenes with easter eggs or hints of a sequel after the credits have become a tradition (largely thanks to the Marvel film production) that many science fiction films follow. However, there is no such scene in the second Avatar. The finale of the film is closed, albeit conditionally, because the villain Couritch is alive, and Pandora is still in danger. Undoubtedly, there will be a sequel. Moreover, director James Cameron has planned at least three more parts and even does not plan to stop on them yet.

Stephen LangStephen Lang as Quaritch. Frame from the film.

The meaning of the film Avatar: The Way of Water

While praising the second Avatar for its spectacle, viewers note that both the content and its meaning are secondary to the first part. And indeed: the heroes again leave the house (they used to be the Earth, now it has become the forest of Pandora), again they settle down in a new environment for themselves (they used to be Pandora’s forest again, now the ocean), again they fight with the invaders. Even the main villain is a clone of the previous one.

But the scientific description of the world, which gave clues to the wonders of the amazing planet, disappeared somewhere. After all, in the first part there was an explanation of the “avatar” technology, and the possibilities of Ava, and the floating mountains. The innovations of the second film look a little stretched. For example, people suddenly became indifferent to the anti-gravity stone, but they needed the miraculous “amrita”. It is not clear how people even learned about its properties, if the Na’vi tulkuns are sacred, the remaining scientists are unlikely to go against their will, and new warlike people arrived on Pandora quite recently. Or why the technology of transferring consciousness into clones was not used before?

The motivation, logic and interpretation of the characters’ actions are also lame. For example, both Quaritch and Jake Sully himself are sure that the latter is more important than all the Na’vi. It is worth killing him, and victory will be for the people. However, now the main character is not even the leader of the tribe. It only makes sense for people to kill him for the sake of revenge. Actually, Quaritch, with the support of the command, is engaged in an attempt to commit revenge, by and large using his position for personal purposes.

The essence of the film remains the same. The first “Avatar” was anti-imperial, anti-colonial, in some ways even anti-fascist, and at the same time an ode to mother nature. The second generally remained the same. True, the conflict, which is the driving force of the plot, has almost turned from a global confrontation of civilizations into interfamily strife.

FAQ Avatar: The Way of Water

Answers to frequently asked questions about Avatar. The path of water.

Who is Kiri's father?
At the beginning of the film, Jake Sully makes it clear in his monologue that Kiri was born from the body of Grace Augustine’s avatar, which was empty. So, there is probably no father. Most likely, it is about some kind of immaculate conception. The deep connection between Kiri and Ava, which is described over the course of the film, speaks in favor of this version. James Cameron has previously flirted with religious themes in Avatar, for example by making the Na’vi blue like Hindu deities. It seems that some interpretation of the Christian myth is discussed in the second part. 
Why did Spider save the colonel?
From the point of view of the writers, this move is quite understandable – the answer is simple. The point is to save the main villain for the sequel. But if you try to understand the character’s action, then you will have to take into account his emotions, not logic. It probably hurt the Spider to lose a loved one, although he was aware that Quaritch was not his father, but a clone. Moreover, the colonel showed paternal feelings for him. After being rescued, the Spider, however, does not stay with Quaritch, which means he is still with the Na’vi at heart.
What are the names of the whales in the movie?
Tulkuns. 
Why did the second Avatar take so long to film?
Filming began only in 2017 (before that, the script was being slowly developed). Five years for such a large-scale canvas is not such a long time. In addition, there was a stop for more than four months due to the pandemic. But over the years, the third part of the film has also been completely filmed, and even the shooting of the fourth has begun. Later, the start of the production process, as in the case of the first “Avatar”, is explained by the desire to wait for the release of technologies to a higher level. 
What do we know about Avatar 3 now?
His filming has been completed (computer graphics processing has also been done), the so-called post-production is underway, that is, work with already filmed material. The release of the third “Avatar” is scheduled for December 20, 2024. From the announcement it follows that Jake Sully, along with Neytiri, will go to other Alpha Centauri planets. James Cameron said in an interview that the heroes will visit a new Na’vi fire tribe, more aggressive than their relatives.

tulkunFrame from the film.

Similar films

  • Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (France, USA, Germany, China, UAE, 2017): Luc Besson’s fantasy film with stunning visuals;
  • Warcraft (USA, Canada, Japan, China, 2016): epic fantasy, adaptation of a cult computer game;
  • “Star Wars” (USA, since 1977): the famous space saga;
  • “Dances with Wolves” (USA, UK, 1990): an American soldier during the civil war makes friends with the Indians;
  • “After Earth” (USA, 2013): father and son find themselves on a wild planet.
  • “Blue Planet” (UK, 2001, 2017) documentary mini-series about the wonderful underwater world of the planet “Earth”.
  • “Oceans” (France, Switzerland, Spain, Monaco, USA, 2009): another beautiful documentary film dedicated to the beauty of the ocean.

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