'Avatar: Seven Havens': Why Do Water Avatars Face So Much Trouble?

After a long wait for fans, the first trailer for Avatar: Seven Havens, the third entry in the popular animated Avatar franchise has arrived. Set two centuries after previous series Avatar: The Legend of Korra, the series follows Pavi, the Earth Avatar following Korra in the cycle. In what may be the toughest Avatar journey so far, Pavi's powers emerge in a time when the world has come to hate and fear the Avatar for causing a cataclysm that destroyed the Four Nations as we knew them, with the survivors divided across the Seven Havens of the new series' title. Whatever happened also seems to have delayed Pavi's birth as the next Avatar.

Many expect, or in the case of Korra fans, hope for a twist that will absolve Korra of at least some of the blame for the Cataclysm. Some fans have noted that, in the event that Korra is redeemed, her story bears similarities to that of Kuruk, the Water Nation Avatar of Aang's cycle. So, why does the universe seem to have it out for Water Avatars?

Let's look at each character's story so far, then discuss the possibilities.

Kuruk's Story

Kuruk, born into the Northern Water Tribe, was the first Avatar of the cycle that eventually lead to Avatar Aang. Kuruk's rise followed the seemingly successful tenure of the Air Nomad Avatar Yangchen, and initially, Kuruk held high hopes of building upon his predecessor's good name and Legacy.

Unfortunately for Kuruk, while Yangchen had been a popular Avatar among humans, the same was not true of the Spirit World where she was also supposed to keep balance. When human/spirit conflicts arose, Yangchen would almost always side with the humans, which lead some of the Spirits to become corrupted. One of said corrupted spirits attacked Kuruk soon after he became a fully realised Avatar, infecting him with a slow moving but Terminal spirit sickness. Worse, Kuruk's wife was taken by the dark spirit Koh, the face stealer.

Already doomed, and having lost the person he would have been living for, Kuruk spends what remains of his life fighting to prevent the corrupted spirits from escaping into the human world. When he was in the human world, Kuruk drank and partied to distract from the pain of his worsening sickness, leading most to look down on him for seemingly shirking his duties, deeming him an ineefective Avatar. His close friend, a Fire Sage known as Nyahitha, knew the truth, but Kuruk never allowed it to be revealed, not wanting to taint the legacy of Avatar Yangchen.

Kuruk dies at the age of just 33, extremely young for an Avatar, who can live 100 years or more in the right circumstances. Believing the whispers, Avatar Kyoshi looks down on her predecessor and avoids his advice, until she communes with Yangchen, who reveals the truth and her guilt for her role in Kuruk's difficult life. Kyoshi, a rare for the time Earth-Air hybrid, knows many who worship Yangchen, and despite her newfound respect for Kuruk, continues to keep his heroism secret.

Korra

After Avatar Aang dies quite young, a consequence of life energy drained by years in the Iceberg, Avatar Korra is born into what should be an extended peace following the Hundred-Year War. Instead, she finds herself dealing with a long simmering Bender vs Non-Bender conflict Aang had been unable to resolve during his lifetime. Over the course of the Legend of Korra's four seasons, Korra temporarily loses her bending, has Raava, the Avatar spirit, torn from her body by her evil Uncle Unalaq, and faces a long recovery after being crippled by Mercury poisoning.

Some fans look badly upon Korra for the brief loss of Raava, as this also destroyed her connection to the previous Avatars. Many of those fans are taking Korra's supposed role in the cataclysm as proof that she is among the worst Avatars. Other fans acknowledge that she had a lot to deal with, without the right preparation to properly deal with it.

Water is the Element of Change

So, why do Water-born Avatars seem to face greater struggles compared to the other elements? The answer may lie in a quote from the wise and beloved Uncle Iroh:

"Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."

Iroh.

The universe saves some of the toughest challenges for Water Avatars because they, like the ever changing nature of water itself, are most able to adapt to those challenges on the fly. If there is in fact a twist to the cataclysm that redeems Korra, let's hope her spirit is up to the challenge of making Pavi, a stubborn Earth native, listen to the truth.

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