What I thought Avatar: Fire and Ash would look like
Disclaimer: The following article will involve spoilers!
When I first heard about Avatar: Fire and Ash, I just thought: “Ummm… is it just going to be a bunch of firebenders wrecking the world again?” At least, that’s what I thought until I finally saw this image below:
And then my terminally confused and addled brain slowly came to the realization that this was the long-awaited sequel of the movie about Native Americans eight foot tall, blue, tribal Na’vi warriors worshipping a living planet who were rebelling against the Virginia Company/Conquistadors Resources Development Administration, a megacorporation with its own private military force that was attempting to colonize the planet of Pandora and mine the Unobtainium (which is to be honest, a pretty lame name. Literally “unobtainable + ium”).
Originally, I thought that Avatar: Fire and Ash would just be a continuation of the first two Avatar movies, that is, a slow buildup, then the uniting of the tribes of natives, and of course, the final fight in which none of the important characters die (except the antagonist)! Some of you will argue, “Hey! The eldest son Neteyam died in Avatar: The Way of Water!” But to be very honest, Neteyam was a side-character at best. He did not contribute too meaningfully to the plot; the story was already beginning to revolve around the younger son Lo’ak and his relationship to the giant whale, so it was only a matter of time before Neteyam would be killed off (to save budget, obviously). But after watching it, I realized that the movie exceeded my expectations in so many ways. For one thing, important characters actually died! I also learned about the wide-reaching range of consequences stemming from workplace dissatisfaction.
Let’s begin with the list of important (or not so important) characters who died:
- Ronal (Shaman and Wife of the Chief of the Metkayina Clan)
Yes, it was truly sad that she died and left her young son motherless!
2. Rotox
During the battle, one of the submarines shot a bunch of pin-darts into his chest, killing him almost instantly.
Image of What Ronal’s Chest Looked like After Getting Shot with Pins
3. Scoresby (the whale hunter, aka the captain from Moby Dick)
In Avatar: The Way of Water, Scoresby’s ship got totalled by the rogue whale Payagan (Moby Dick), Scoresby arm is cut by a wire, and he’s thrown into the ocean.
And now he’s back with a vengeance in Avatar Fire and Ash! Hellbent on killing every last whale in one large roundup for the hundreds of billions of dollars from the immortality serum in their brains.
But in Avatar Fire and Ash, he finally dies (for real, this time). Dragged through the ocean by a young whale’s vengeance for his murder of an entire pod of whales, he definitely suffocates and drowns, which means that he is not coming back in any of the later moves UNLESS the RDA pulls a Miles Quadritch and uploads his consciousness to another backup body.
4. General Ardmore. Yes, she dies in the giant flagship explosion.
5. Parker Selfridge (spoiled brat and director of the RDA aka the guy who was mini-golfing in a workplace in the first Avatar movie)
Unfortunately, there aren’t any images of how he died or whether he even died at all, but we all hope that this despicable jerk-faced idiot was aboard the flagship when it went BOOM!
Now, onto the next section: Workplace Dissatisfaction featuring Dr. Ian Garvin
Ever since Avatar: The Way of Water came out, we all knew that Dr. Ian Garvin would be a dissenter who opposed the hunting of the giant whales, but no one expected him to grow a spine for once. In Avatar: Fire and Ash, he really snapped when his request to cancel the whale hunt was dismissed and ignored by General Ardmore and Parker Selfridge. In an act of retaliation, he piloted a huge tractor and broke Jake Sully out of his cell, effectively setting loose the RDA’s most wanted criminal. Yes, this is what happens when underpaid employees are further insulted by their bosses.
All in all, Avatar: Fire and Ash was a great movie that defied all expectations. They killed off more characters within 30 minutes than all of the previous movies in the Avatar franchise combined! Additionally, it highlighted REAL-WORLD issues such as workplace dissatisfaction and its disastrous effects upon a company (the company’s whole fortress got trashed!). Moreover, one of the even more important takeaways from the Avatar movie is a message about the future of giant corporations. In the future, they will begin hiring their own private military forces, forcefully occupying territory, and commanding armies large enough to take over a whole planet. And their only downfall? Workplace dissatisfaction.
