From its original conceptualization in the ‘90s to its role in developing new film technology, James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise has established a complex world of both human and alien characters that reflects the intricacy of real life’s conflicts, resolutions and sensations.

Each movie has surpassed box office numbers in the billions, and there are many reasons for the “Avatar” franchise to have earn those statistics – at least from my point-of-view.

I have seen internet users talk about how the movies leave no ‘cultural’ impact, but as a fan of the movies since I gained consciousness, I beg to differ. The films left a great impact on my personal culture.

For this particular review, I shall choose my favorite scene, analyze what is so special about it and describe the kind of impact it left on me as a human being.

With the franchise having a collective runtime of over nine hours, it is hard to pick out a singular scene from each film. Nonetheless, there is simply too much to say as a whole about each film, so here are my favorite scenes from the “Avatar” franchise and how they connect with me past the physical realm – or rather, how they connect with me through Eywa.

“Avatar”

With a 2009 release when I was only three years old, I cannot say for certain I have been a fan since the first film’s release. However, I do remember a time of being in preschool when I would babble away to my friends about a world of tall blue people and insect-like dragons.

Set on a fictional planet named Pandora, Jake Sully, a paralyzed Marine, is sent in the place of his deceased twin brother to embark on a mission that involves assimilating into the planet’s alien population, the Na’vi. In order to do so, he is given an avatar body that is mixed with both human and Na’vi DNA.

While his mission is to gain the Na’vi’s trust and convince them to allow humans to use their planet for resources, Jake falls in love with a Na’vi woman from the Omatikaya clan, Neytiri, and with Pandora’s beauty and way of life as a whole.

My favorite scene is right after the fight between Jake’s avatar body and Quaritch, the film’s main antagonist. With Jake unconscious on the ground, Neytiri ends the fight by shooting an arrow through Quaritch, and then she attempts to wake Jake up. It is revealed that his human body is no longer linked, and he is suffocating from the planet’s toxic air due to a breach in the trailer he resides in.

Neytiri runs to the trailer, and she finds his human body also unconscious. With desperation, she lifts his body into her arms and attempts to put an air mask onto his face, and Jake manages to wake up and secures it on. With their size difference being the most obvious, Jake rests his human hand onto her face and says, “I see you.” Neytiri then rests her Na’vi hand over his and says back, “I see you.”

What I love about this scene is how it is the first time that Neytiri comes close to and touches Jake’s human body. The realization that his avatar body won’t wake up because that isn’t his real body is a reminder of their biological and physiological differences. Despite those differences, she is desperately trying to save him because she loves him.

The scene’s CGI also holds up well. With a real person being captured opposite a CGI-made blue alien, it looks as if Cameron really shot the scene as it plays, with no visual effects team behind it.

Another aspect I love is how it is a female character cradling the male character. To me, it represents how the film preserves the strength of femininity as well as it does the strength of masculinity. While the film’s main character and antagonist are both male, the presence of an equally strong female character opposes how the only aggressor can be male.

Finally, in the film’s universe, “I see you” is another form of “I love you.” It is a declaration of seeing past one’s physical manifestation and into one’s spirit. It is a stare into one’s eyes that becomes an inspection into one’s soul. It is seeing all of your actions, failures, triumphs and decisions. Yet, in looking into those, it is a declaration that you love the person because of them.

At the heart of it, acceptance within love and understanding is what lured me into this beautiful world.

★★★★★

“Avatar: The Way of Water”

Fast forward 13 years and even billions of more dollars later, the second movie hit theaters in December of 2022. The wait was agonizing, but the film delivered more than what I could have dreamed.

With about a 16-year time jump, the film again follows Jake Sully’s fight with humanity. Jake now has five children with Neytiri; although, one is adopted due to her being born of a deceased character’s avatar, and the other is a human child orphaned by the first movie’s war. Since humans return to Pandora to make it their new home, Jake and his family must go into hiding with the reef people, the Metkayina clan.

My favorite scene is – spoiler alert – during Neteyam’s funeral, who is Jake’s son. After laying him to rest in the water where the Metkayina lay their dead, Jake and Neytiri connect to Eywa, and Jake is able to relive a memory with a younger version of Neteyam.

In the scene, Neteyam is unaware that it is just a memory, but Jake visibly has tears in his eyes. All of a sudden, Neteyam’s younger version becomes his present self, and he asks Jake, “why are you crying?” Jake says he is just happy to see him.

While the first movie definitely incorporated grief in multiple ways, this display of it is more personal to the main character, Jake. We did not get to see his grief for his twin brother, but we are now able to see it in full force for his son.

Throughout the second movie, Jake was shown to be strong, fearless and tough on his sons, in particular, for survival. While I did get emotional in the theater over his son dying, I appreciated how the tragedy allowed for an opening of another emotional side in Jake’s character.

The scene I described reflects how Jake grieves; you can tell he is mourning while also simmering in anger, but he deflects in the face of it to remain strong, whether it is for his family or to try and uphold a display of strength in masculinity.

We only get to see a glimpse of this grief at the end of the movie, but it becomes a link to how he grieves in the third installment.

Ultimately, I love the concept of this scene. Being able to commune with your deceased loved ones because of the planet’s physical and psychological root-like network is another exhibit of the connection that the Na’vi characters have to one another. Their bodies are returned to the dirt, but their spirits go back to Eywa in death as they were with her before birth. It is another theme representing love in connection, as the Na’vi have love for their Great Mother.

★★★☆☆

“Avatar: Fire and Ash”

As the third film released in theaters this past December, there is so much I still need to digest about the masterpiece. The runtime, again, is over three hours, so that means even more scenes to choose from.

The film still follows Jake Sully as he and his family are grieving the loss of Neteyam. The humans are still a looming threat, but the main worry is over the return of Quaritch in an avatar body, as revealed in the last film. The introduction of the Mangkwan, a Na’vi clan that rejects the will of Eywa, also poses a new threat. They are led by Varang, their tsahìk, which means spiritual leader.

My favorite scene is when the Mangkwan first appear and they are attacking the merchant Na’vi that Jake and his family are traveling with. In the scene, we see Varang command a Mangkwan warrior to set himself on fire and dive into a ship. The warrior obeys with no question.

The scene showed me exactly how crazy this newly introduced Na’vi tribe would be, especially Varang. Her people listen to her commands in ways we have not seen other Na’vi obey commands. The audience has seen strong belief in Eywa as a religious figure, but this same sort of fanaticism is shown over another Na’vi.

Varang’s command for this scene paints a picture of her cruelty and how she rejects the idea of life as precious in the eye of Eywa. It tells how she has built her image as a ruthless leader among her people, and her character’s actions throughout the film prove that again and again.

Even though we do see her as cruel, there are instances that show her cracks of vulnerability. It conveys how she is not a one-and-done character – rather, she has many layers that have yet to be explored.

I love being able to see the roots of characters and their motivations behind their actions. I am so excited to see what else is in store for Varang.

★★★★☆