Avatar: The Last Airbender’s best (and worst) couples

Avatar: The Last Airbender had more pressing things on its mind than romance — as you may recall, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked, and Avatar Aang had a lot to learn before he could save anyone (let alone the world). But love, like life, finds a way. This is a show about teenagers, after all, and the characters found connections that for some would last a lifetime.

The thing is, fans do not agree on whether or not those are the right pairings. The battle between shippers has calmed, somewhat, in the years since the show went off the air. But these are still deeply held beliefs about how AtLA should’ve paired people off — after all, each pairing brings out a different shade in the characters. With that in mind (and the live-action show due later this month), we’ve cataloged the Major Ships — canon or not — of the Last Airbender universe, and are here to weigh in: When all the dust of the Ozai battle has settled, who should’ve ended up with whom?

[Ed. note: This post contains some spoilers for the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Additionally, we weren’t foolhardy enough to think we could possibly cover every single possible ship in the AtLA universe, so if we missed your favorite, we’d love to hear why you love them in the comments.]

Sokka/Suki

Ana: I don’t have much to say other than these two just fit each other. Suki helps Sokka grow as a person and challenges his ideas of who can be strong and what strength looks like. Also, I’d like to think that Suki shows him how you don’t need to be a bender to be a true team player.

Petrana: Out of every canonical endgame ship, this one makes the most sense! They clearly inspire one another, and they’re similar enough to have some common ground, but different enough to challenge one another. Plus, I am always here for a relationship where the girl could beat up the guy.

Zosha: Sokka is instantly a better character once Suki knocks him on his ass (literally and metaphorically). There are few better examples in this universe of people bringing out and encouraging the best parts of the other, and a badass fighter supporting her smartass inventor boyfriend is an indelible dynamic.

Mai/Zuko

Ana: Mai’s decision to save the “jerk” who dumped her is an all-time-great moment in the series. It stands out as an example where we can see Zuko’s change affect those around him and, to me, represents a real turning point in the series since it shows two members of Fire Nation high society turn against the empire. I love that Mai is able to see the importance of Zuko’s decision — even if it meant him dumping her.

Petrana: I normally like relationships where couples have something similar that grounds them, but I feel like this one came out of nowhere. I just do not believe that these two edgelords had the emotional capacity to profess their feelings for each other in that short of a time span! That being said, with a little more pining and buildup I could be totally on board.

Zosha: In a very real way, this relationship allows both of them to contextualize Azula’s cruelty and feel a little less alone in this world. But in a different, fluffier way: Emos need love, too.

Roku/Sozin

Ana: Did the hundred-year war happen because bro was too shy to come out and say his feelings?

Petrana: This is Bad Ending Catradora, old-man yaoi edition. (Complimentary.)

Zosha: Sozin doesn’t really show any remorse for leaving Roku to die — I just don’t see it for them.

Zuko/Sokka (also known as “Zukka”)

Petrana: If Zuko is going to get with one of the Southern Water Tribe siblings, I think Sokka is the best bet. Zuko needs some levity in his life, and Sokka with his big plans, passion for (bad) art, and goofy jokes is exactly that. I feel like Zuko respects Sokka in a way that a lot of the other members of the Gaang don’t, especially after seeing him in action at Boiling Rock. It’s just a fun dynamic, and one that I’m glad people are sparking to instead of Zutara!

Zosha: I do think Zuko (perhaps because of his militant background) appreciates Sokka’s ingenuity a lot more genuinely than everyone else. That’s nice!

Ana: I also think they both can relate to the feeling of not living up to certain standards of masculinity. Sokka learns how to value his own contributions despite not having bending. Zuko needs to choose his own path and help create a Fire Nation that values love and peace, instead of embracing an angry, militaristic culture.

Zosha: Oh, that’s a great point. In a way, they have two sides of the same arc, and I love how they come together through that, both skeptical but open. Like some other ships on this list: certainly a pairing that makes so much immediate sense to me that I wish I got more time of them together. I will say every bit of headcanon that comes across my Tumblr dash on this just innately makes sense to me.

Ana: It is definitely one of those ships that didn’t make immediate sense to me, but the more I think about it, the more it works!

Petrana: Yes! Thematically, they just make a lot of sense, and I feel like unlike most other Zuko pairings, this one has them both bring out the best in each other. I also love their little two-episode side quest to save Suki and Sokka’s dad, and I wish we had more of them together! That’s OK, because as Zosha says, that’s what Tumblr headcanons are for.

Sokka/Yue

Ana: Look, I’m just going to ask the question on everyone’s mind for this one: Does Yue have to see everything that happens between Sokka and Suki at night?

Petrana: It’s sweet, and I think it’s fitting for a sweet, sad first love. However, I’m not raring to read an AU where Yue comes back, actually.

Zosha: Yue is nice, but when it comes to her and Sokka, she’s mostly there to help him grow. Zuko said it best: “That’s rough, buddy.”

Ty Lee/Azula

Ana: Out of the three, Ty Lee and Azula appear to be the closest, but I have trouble seeing this one! It’s not that they’re competitive, it’s that Azula bullies Ty Lee constantly! I just can’t imagine putting such a sweet person down so much.

Petrana: Listen. I love a sapphic mean girl x sweetheart ship as much as the next person, but Ty Lee is TOO GOOD for Azula. (And clearly has obvious chemistry with someone else…)

Zosha: I can see the She-Ra appeal of this one, but I think ultimately Azula doesn’t deserve Ty Lee.

Mai/Ty Lee

Petrana: I cannot tell which dynamic I prefer: Mai pining after Ty Lee but thinking they’re incompatible because Ty Lee is so golden and girly, or Ty Lee pining after Mai but thinking that she’s too much of a mess for Mai.

Ana: At first I didn’t know what to make of this ship, but after thinking about it, I love it so much. For starters, it’s a classic pairing between a sunny golden retriever type (Ty Lee) and a gloomy type (Mai). The scene where Ty Lee hastily saves Mai from the rage of Azula at Boiling Rock is an all-time-great dramatic moment for me. And while it might be interpreted more as a rejection of Azula’s tyranny than a love of Mai, I think there’s plenty of great fodder here as far as ships go.

Zosha: Yes! I think in a show full of ships that are very intentional (non-derogatory!), this one feels like the kind of natural camaraderie between the two that feels like the best kind of celebrity couple pairing: They are both made more interesting just by the thought of them being into each other.

They just instantly feel like they make a prism out of the other’s facets just by nature of appreciating each other from such polar opposites.

Petrana: Never underestimate the bond of the two not-so-mean girls being bossed around by a toxic friend. Especially with that toxic friend. That shit transcends decades.

Ana: Yup! The only hesitation I’d have with this ship is that I could also 100,000% see Ty Lee dating another Kyoshi warrior.

Jin/Zuko (Petrana waves her little flag)

Petrana: THIS IS MY ZUKO SHIP OF CHOICE! I made everyone put this one-episode appearance on here because I just love it! I love that she doesn’t know who she is. I love that he turns the lights on for her, and does his best on their date, even if he’s totally out of his depth. Yes, sure you could read it as him doing it to make Iroh happy, but I like to think part of him did find Jin cute but didn’t know how to deal with that because Zuko is just totally unfit for dealing with the real world. I love that they almost kissed but he RAN AWAY BECAUSE HE IS A SAD PATHETIC LOSER WHO DOESN’T LET HIMSELF BE HAPPY! ARGH!!!!

Anyway, in my head, they run into each other after the war ends and she doesn’t recognize him because he is, like, Zuko™ and not Lee, but he immediately recognizes her and they get a happy ending and she’s actually the mother of his children. There is nothing in canon to prove that this is wrong, actually.

Zosha: She’s cute, and I like how she charms Zuko just by being open about her affection. Mostly I’m just here to support Petrana.

Ana: I’m not going to lie, I had to look up who Jin was for this one. However, Petrana has convinced me that their romance is a sweet moment for Zuko in the series.

Toph/Aang

Ana: I think if they would ever end up together, it would be because Toph would just want even more time beating up the Avatar.

Petrana: I get that this mostly exists to give Aang (1) a love interest more obviously his age and (2) a pairing for people’s Zutara ships. However, Toph Beifong canonically has two baby daddies and settled down with no one, so I just do not think she has the time, patience, or interest in dealing with Aang.

Zosha: Toph in this scenario, honest to god:

Zuko/Sokka/Suki

Ana: For this one, I’m going to invoke an old Water Nation saying that I just made up: “A boomerang can swing both ways depending on how you throw it.”

Petrana: Sokka has two hands.

Zosha: Life is about balance, and these three have it.

Azula/Katara

Ana: I don’t think even Katara’s healing abilities could fix whatever would happen between these two.

Petrana: Everything about Zutara but a little more fucked up. Honestly… I could get into it.

Zosha: They can both do better.

Zuko/Katara (also known as “Zutara”)

Ana: God, Zutara is such an all-time-great ship. In one sense, this ship is just so simple-minded, like, I want to see the two most attractive characters be together, but I think I love them because their dynamic really animates the latter half the final season of the show. Like Zuko isn’t fully part of the crew until Katara accepts him and also, Katara doesn’t find closure on her mom until she goes on her journey with Zuko. It’s so ahhhhhh — like, I get in a logical sense why Katara makes way more sense when paired with Aang, but I love Zutara.

Petrana: I think the writers really shot Kataang in the foot when they sent Katara and Zuko off together to confront Azula in the Fire Nation in the finale, while Aang went off and did his solo mission thing. If I had watched this show when I was younger, I think I would’ve been so into it. That being said, I do think long-term they would not be good for each other. However, man, they have so many Moments™ of push and pull with each other that neither Kataang or Mei/Zuko has.

Zosha: I did watch this show when I was younger, so I will be the hothead hotman to say: I am fully against Zutara!

I totally agree with what you guys say here, but I don’t think there’s enough on their adventure to actually bring them together. “Friend” is a pretty good reward (and underrated ship) for the guy who’s still unlearning his Fire Nation colonialism!

Ana: Oh god, no, I know! That’s the thing. I think I have a split between watching this show now and when I watched it as a kid. Now that I have a fully developed prefrontal cortex, I’d never want to push Katara into a relationship with Zuko, and this doesn’t even get into what it would functionally be like for Katara to be with the literal emperor of the nation who killed her mother and the Southern Water Tribe benders.

Petrana: I think the fact that Katara comes along for Zuko’s endgame side quest instead of going along with Aang does a lot of heavy lifting for Zutara shippers. I think they’re both too intense, though, and while that makes for a good ally by your side, I don’t think it spells out an actual functional romance.

Zosha: That’s exactly how I feel; I find the energies and features they bring out in each other just sort of toxic. And I think — particularly in a show like Avatar: The Last Airbender that’s so careful to give space to characters learning to nurture the mundane kindness in themselves and the world — the way Zuko tries to help Katara is actually them indulging their worst impulses. It’s a lesson she has to learn, and one probably best learned alongside him. But it’s never felt romantic to me, and if it turned that way I would have serious qualms!

But (just like with my Gilmore Girls fave) I understand because I feel the same way about the actual ship that comes out of here for me…

Katara/Aang (also known as “Kataang”)

Zosha: Look, I get the problems with this one — most notably that I think that the show took for granted that these two would get together, and kind of pushed Katara past a real genuine consideration of Aang as a romantic partner that the arc was due. But also this is exactly the sort of culmination I want to see for both of them: They both really appreciate and see each other, while still pushing the other to be better than they are. I think the sweetness and kindness of the pairing really speaks to me, and is the sort of easy loveliness that makes for the best love stories (if not the best torrid ships).

Petrana: Not to insert another popular fandom ship war in here, but: Aang is the Peeta, in that he represents the worldview that Katara should grow toward.

I do wish Aang was a smidge older, though, because it does give Anakin-Padme Phantom Menace vibes, especially in the first season.

Ana: I agree with Petrana and I think part of the problem is that we only see Aang as such a young child. So maybe it’s not the age gap, but Aang’s age.

Along these lines, I think the show writers didn’t do Katara any favors by writing her to be such a motherly character. Aang definitely sees her and appreciates her resilience and strength, but it can be hard to see her as a motherly type and then see her interact with Aang, who isn’t even a teen yet. While I think Zuko brings out a toxic side in Katara, we do see a sort of passion of sorts we don’t see with Aang. But similar to what Zosha said earlier, sometimes the right and most loving ship might not be the most exciting one.

Zosha: Yeah, and truly I get that. Because of their ages, the fact it’s a kids’ show, and the fact the show is about Bigger Important Things they are dealing with, I don’t think (rightly) this romance is foregrounded in a particularly inspiring way. Often that kind of young crush energy can feel like it’s just there to be there.

But also I think weirdly the things people don’t like with this ship are the things I find most interesting about it. I don’t think Katara’s journey should be about bucking some maternal energy; it’s about finding ways to embrace it without tamping down on the sides of herself that also deserve to be unfurled. And I think Aang — or who Aang could grow into, as a really thoughtful, fun-loving kid who’s at once goofy and wise beyond his 12 (or 112) years — affords her a space to be as strong or weak as she needs to be. So while I wouldn’t say I see this as an OTP, I think it’s the sort of pairing that feels more built to last than a sort of hot/cold dynamic that big love stories are often afforded.

Ana: Oh, for sure! And just to affirm all your points above, I do think Aang and Katara’s love does embody the values and themes of the entire show itself because their relationship is so sweet and genuine.

Petrana: I just really wish the last shot of this entire epic show was not of them kissing. Sorry!

Zosha: Oh absolutely; it as a culmination of everything for the show? Oversold. But happy for how it teed up Korra’s end, at least!