AVATAR: The Way of Water BREAKDOWN: Every EASTER EGG You Missed!

Avatar: the way of water presents a visual spectacle that takes us deep into the world of Pandora. In this video we break down the new cultures of the world and Easter Eggs that connect to Vietnam War cinema, Titanic, Predator, and james cameron's wider body of work.

Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright, Randolf Nombrado, Srinidhi Rao, and Brianna McLarty

#Avatar #WatOfWater #EasterEggs

So let’s start with the title, the Way of Water. The meaning of this is described in a monologue to Lo’ak. Basically, water is the source of all life on pandora and on Earth, it’s called the womb of the world, the beginning, and end of all things. All life shares the need for water, therefore water is what we all have in common.

And this movie is about people learning to look past what makes them different and to truly see one another for what we all have in common.

The first Avatar was about seeing the world through literal new eyes–as Jake had to enter a new body to see another perspective on the world. This movie asks the characters to look through the eyes of one another, so they can see opposing points of view and truly see outside themselves.

In the first movie, the Na’vi often repeated the phrase [I see you]. And this phrase keeps coming up in this movie. Spider teaches it to Miles, and Jake ends the movie by finally empathizing with his son, and telling him [I see you].

And this means, “I see the real you, I see you as you truly are. It’s a way of saying that, like life on Pandora, we are connected to one another and share the same mind and vision.

Doug: Just like how the way of water connects us all.

Exactly. [high five]

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So basically, the movie is a 3-hour exercise in empathy. Many characters learn to see the world through each others’ eyes, and take on attributes of their opponents. For instance, the Na’vi now use guns, like the humans.

When the Sullys arrive at the reef, the water tribe says the kids are demon blood because of their four fingers. But throughout the movie, the metakayina kids come to respect, understand, and even love the tree people.

Lo’ak, the younger brother of the family, has a hard time relating to others. He’s an outcast in his family, which attracts him to another outcast–Pie-a-khan, the toe-coon.

Doug: What the what now?

The space whale.

Doug: Gotcha, yeah space whale. Just keep saying space hale.

Okay. So Lo’ak literally sees the world through pie-a-khan’s eyes, as a flashback. And there is also a literal POV shot showing what the space whale sees. Lo’ak teaches the rest of the tribe to empathize with the space whale.

But the best example of a character learning empathy is Quaritch. I love what they did with Quaritch in this movie. They could have just introduced a new villain, but they specifically brought back Quaritch to build on the experiences he had in the first movie.

Throughout the Way of Water, he relives Jake’s experiences from the first movie. He wakes up in a new body and causes a ruckus. He reluctantly recorded a video blog [Jake, do I have to do this?]. When he discovers his corpse, he watches the final battle of the first movie through a body cam shot. Bascially, this is a way of showing that he can no longer see the world through this same point of view. He’s watching this event from the outside, as someone who can choose to take on a new perspective.

When he leads his commandoes into the jungle, they say they have to go Na’vi, think and track like a Na’vi.

Yes, and like Colonel Willard in Apocalypse Now. One of many nods to the classic Vietnam cinema that I’ll talk about later. Quaritch even hisses like a Navi. [navi hiss]. Quaritch learns to ride a Banshee–and he even insists on taming it the same way jake did in the first movie. This scene is even intercut with jake learning to ride a flying eel.

[wasaBzushi]

Just my two cents from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Since Avatar was filmed in this country, I believe James Cameron paid a special tribute to the country and its indigenous population, Ngā Tāngata Māori (Māori people). There were many Kiwi (New Zealander) actors and crews involved in this film, such as Jemaine Clement and Cliff Curtis. When the sea tribe was sticking out their tongues before the war, I think much of the audience didn't quite understand its significance. It appeared that they were performing pūkana, used in war to intimidate opponents. Only males stick out their tongues, and females widen their eyes.
Thank you for a fantastic breakdown.

[zengamer]

I think the bad people drinking coffee thing is meant to show how the evil that these characters are doing is just another day for them. You see them planning and carrying out atrocities and to them it's just Tuesday. The banality of evil.

[nicholasgarrick]

There's a scene where Jake says I see you to his Middle son who's always felt lesser to his older brother, and it made Me tear up so bad.

[SXRomeo]

The whale hunting scene is based very much on reality. Whales are hunted with harpoons with exploding tips, and the Japanese whaling ships have markings saying" Research" (which is the excuse they've been using to hunt), which is the same thing written on the mothership in the movie.

[jacksoncampbell]

i think it’s great that although they brought back a character that seemingly died in the first movie, the corporal, they actually had a valid explanation that made sense instead of just, somehow he returned

[nicholasgarrick]

My favorite characters was the chief of the water ppl ( badass, and understated) and the whale!!
Sully's surviving son was also well done, and will be really interesting to watch him evolve into his father's role.

[bloatedgoatfpv]

I get the feeling Lo'ak is the kid most like Jake. Jake's brother was the scientist while Jake went into the Marines. He had to feel like an outcast, or lesser sibling because he wasn't the "smart one." He (Jake) followed his heart without thought of the consequences just like Lo'ak. I think this is an important part of Jake finally seeing him at the end of the movie. I think he realizes just why Lo'ak behaves the way he does. He sees his own reflection in those actions.

[nchaiphuong]

I am a young Vietnamese and I love this movie. I grew up reading and hearing old folks talking about the war. So I really like your take to compare the movie with it. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was just me but when I watched Avatar 2, I felt a sense of shiver like the word in books and tails got visualized by this movie. I have watched many fictitous war movies but only this one make me feel resonated about Vietnam war. We live in peace now, just an interesting take of history here.

[sandheepchandrasekhar]

In Titanic, Jack says to Rose ‘I see you’. That dialog got a lot more depth after watching Avatar.

[eduardotello]

The gun the general uses to threaten Sully's son is also the same he used in the first movie. Nice touch👌🏻

[naughtiusmaximus]

I saw it in regular 3D and it was phenomenal. I envy the guys who'd watch it in IMAX.

[Is_This_Really_Necessary]

I've seen this movie twice already and I have a very strong suspicion that Kiri is the avatar of Eywa. That would explain why she is able to do things in the film that would usually label her as a Mary Sue. However, Mary Sues/Gary Sues do not have flaws and are perfect in everything with no room to develop and grow, whereas Kiri does have flaws in that she is a teenager with relatable issues, such as the victim of bullying, feeling homesick as the result of a sudden move to a new environment, feeling isolated in said environment, etc.

[Nicholas_Chen_]

In the final battle when the youngest daughter falls into the water vent and Neytiri goes after her is totally Ripley going after Newt in Aliens and the soundtrack is very Aliens-esque.

[randomride]

I pray that this video goes viral and that avatar 2 becomes the highest grossing movie of all time and that avatar becomes a franchise bever ending

[chikokishi]

I think that Grace, while trying to transfer to the new body, only partialy made it and thus was put into the womb and she gave birth to her avatar self, leaving part of herself in the other realm, allowing her to be connected to it.

[realrev]

To all the people that don’t like this movie, I don’t understand why

[NickK-ve]

The funniest thing about this movie is just how there's this one random Australian on this alien planet. Like everyone else is American or Alien, and here's just Mick Taylor who's watched too much Whale Wars.

Guess it makes sense. There was a lot of Maori inspiration taken for the Water Tribe. But I still just laughed when I saw him.

[bigp]

Best review I’ve seen on avatar 2 the way of water, best recap of the movie. I just watched it 1 hour ago and I can still feel the emotions that the characters were experiencing. The way the humans returned to pandora. The way the humans landed on pandora made it look like our own verison of human aliens if we were able to go colonize a planet. I think this movie was goated, story telling was sentimental and emotional. CGI goated💯💯🌏🌏🌏

[danielmorton]

Avatar 1: Learn to ride air things. Check. Avatar 2: Learn to ride water things. Check. Avatar 3: Learn to ride dirt things? Avatar 4: Learn to ride fire things?

[CJCisco]

As A Native I've Seen The Parallels With The First And Now The Second, I've Felt So Much Watching These