AVATAR: The Way of Water
*CUT TO THE CHASE*NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy
The film starts on Pandora, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) recapping his life since joining the Na’vi as chief of the Omaticaya clan. He and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) have become parents to Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), along with another adopted daughter, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), who is the biological daughter of Grace Augustine’s Na’vi Avatar. The kids also spend time with a human boy, Spider (Jack Champion), who was left behind with the human scientists after the previous group evacuated Pandora since babies couldn’t be put into cryostasis. While the children see Spider as something of a cousin, Neytiri feels the boy would be better off with other humans, in part due to her own hatred of the “Sky People”.
While everything seems blissful, Jake’s happiness is quickly shattered when shuttles of RDA ships begin to descend upon Pandora, destroying huge parts of the forest and killing the wildlife. Jake and Neytiri get their children and the other Na’vi to safety, but Jake holds his wife as they watch in horror at the devastation left behind.
One year later, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang) wakes up resurrected in his own Avatar body. While he attacks his former teammates, all now in their own Na’vi skins, Quaritch soon realizes what happened after watching a video log he left himself before their previous attempted mission to tear down the Na’vi’s Tree of Souls before he and his team were all killed. After gathering their new weaponry, Quaritch decides to lead a team back onto Pandora with one goal in mind: killing Jake.
The RDA has colonized Pandora and built a mining base, along with a settlement called Bridgehead City. Jake leads several Na’vi to fly their Ikran to attack the humans’ aircraft and supply lines. Neteyam and Lo’ak attempt to join the fight, nearly getting severely injured in the process. Jake gets them to safety but chastises them for putting themselves in the line of fire.
The group returns to their camp with the rest of the clan. Jake discusses with Neytiri how these changes are impacting their children’s lives. Meanwhile, Spider joins Lo’ak and Kiri as they go to the human’s research facility where Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) and Max Patel (Dileep Rao) continue to work. Kiri talks to Grace’s Avatar as her body lies in the tank. Spider then notes that his Na’vi friends at least know their parents, while he knows and resents who his father was – Quaritch.
Quaritch and his team arrive at their base and meet General Frances Ardmore (Edie Falco), who updates him on their operations since his time being dead. Ardmore informs them of the advantages the Omaticaya have on them before telling them how they can gain their own upper hand. The team enters the forest at the exact same time that Jake’s kids and Spider are playing there. While Kiri immerses herself in the nature, the other kids spot Quaritch and his team as they survey the former link unit for the humans and their Avatars. He finds his skeleton inside the AMP suit where he was killed.
The villains find the kids, and they realize they are Jake’s kids because they have five fingers. Quaritch meets Spider and realizes he is the boy’s father. Quaritch calls in Ardmore and her squad to come down while he takes the other kids as hostages. Jake and Neytiri are alerted to the scene, and both are stunned to see their nemesis alive and in a Na’vi body. Neytiri kills some of Quaritch’s team before they open fire. She and Jake manage to get their kids back, but Quaritch and his surviving teammates fall back, taking Spider with them. Ardmore subjects the boy to a torture method to get him to disclose information on the clan’s location, but Quaritch stops her and opts to try and get closer to Spider to earn his trust. He convinces Spider to ride along with him on their mission, or else the scientists will experiment on him.
Jake talks to Neytiri about having to leave the clan now that they are being targeted. While Neytiri doesn’t want to leave her home, Jake assures her that it is best for their children and the rest of the clan. He passes on leadership to another warrior, Tarsem (Keston John), and he leaves the clan with Neytiri and their children. They fly their Ikran and head toward the eastern seaboard to the home of the Metkayina clan of Na’vi. The clan gathers with their leader, Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), and his pregnant wife, Ronal (Kate Winslet). Jake requests shelter for the sake of his family, though Ronal and other tribesmen are quick to look down on Jake and his kids for their half-human heritage, as well as the potential of bringing their dangers to this land. However, Tonowari respects the accomplishment of the “Toruk Makto” and allows them to stay; and also instructs his children Aonung (Filip Geljo) and Tsireya (Bailey Bass) to show Jake’s children how to adapt to their oceanic surroundings.
Quaritch and his team take Spider through the forest, with Spider becoming their translator for the Na’vi language that the team is still trying to learn. Quaritch also manages to link himself to his own Ikran, albeit more forcefully than the Omaticaya did.
Jake’s kids join Aonung and Tsireya, plus Aonung’s friend Rotxo (Duane Evans, Jr), as they explore the reef. Tsireya shows that they communicate with the underwater creatures via sign language, and they link to them the same way the Omaticaya link to their animals. However, when Lo’ak attempts to connect to a creature, he is pulled quickly through the water and is thrown off. Meanwhile, Kiri has a more natural connection to the creatures and helps one of them interact with Tuk. Jake and Neytiri are shown how to fly the Tsurak, which can move in the air as well as underwater.
Lo’ak gets closer to Tsireya, who shows him how to better his breathing underwater. He also takes him and his sisters deeper underwater by using creatures that provide air when resting on their backs. However, Aonung and Rotxo are antagonistic toward Kiri for her being considered a half-breed, leading to Lo’ak punching Aonung in the face. Neteyam joins in the fight along with Aonung’s friends, leading to Jake scolding his sons for their behavior.
Jake forces Lo’ak to apologize to Aonung. He does so, and Aonung “invites” Lo’ak to hunt with him and his friends. They go far enough until they trick Lo’ak into going after a creature, just before he and his creature are attacked by an Akula that kills Lo’ak’s mount before chasing after him. Lo’ak attempts to swim back up before he runs out of breath, but the Akula attempts to go for the kill until Lo’ak is saved by a whale-like creature called a Tulkun, named Payakan. Lo’ak follows Payakan and finds a harpoon stuck in his fin, so he removes it and earns Payakan’s trust.
Jake speaks to Kiri, who has been feeling different lately due to what she has been seeing. She claims she can feel the heartbeat of their goddess Eywa, and that it is mighty. Jake assures her that there is nothing wrong with her. Everyone then sees Lo’ak return, and Tonowari scolds Aonung for leading Lo’ak beyond the reef when it is forbidden, but Lo’ak takes the blame for everything to spare Aonung from getting in trouble. Jake tells Lo’ak that he has shamed the family with his actions, but Aonung comes to respect Lo’ak.
Lo’ak tells his siblings, plus Tsireya and the other Metkayina, about his encounter with Payakan, but Tsireya informs Lo’ak that Pakayan is considered an outcast among the other Tulkun. After Lo’ak attempts to communicate with Payakan to learn more about his history, Tsireya takes the others toward the cove of their ancestors, showing them how the land looks during the eclipse. She also guides them underwater to the Metkayina Tree of Souls. When Kiri connects herself to the Tree, she is able to see and communicate with Grace. However, Kiri soon suffers a terrible seizure, and her siblings bring her back to the shore.
Jake gets Norm and Max to try and help Kiri, but they are of no help until Ronal tries her hand and is able to revive Kiri. Norm tells Jake that any visions she thinks she is seeing might be a result of frontal lobe epilepsy. Unfortunately, Quaritch’s teammate Lyle Wainfleet (Matt Gerald) informs him of a radar picked up off the gunship that Norm and Max came in on. The villains then meet up with a whaling vessel operated by Captain Mick Scoresby (Brendan Cowell) and Dr. Ian Garvin (Jemaine Clement) to give them more of an advantage, since they are already hunting Tulkun for anti-aging remedies.
The Metkayina bond with their Tulkun, including Ronal and her soul sister Roa. Soon, Quaritch and his team show up. They mercilessly kill a Tulkun and threaten a Metkayina woman unless they disclose the location of Jake and his family. Spider becomes horrified and tries to get his father to stop. The villains then begin to burn down their trees and homes. Quaritch orders his team to attack to draw Jake to them.
Lo’ak once again tries to ask Payakan what he did to make him an outcast. Payakan opens his mouth and allows Lo’ak to enter him and link with him. Lo’ak sees Payakan’s memories and sees that he attacked the whalers because they killed his mother and family. Lo’ak attempts to relay this new information to the Metkayina, but Jake tries to shut him up so that they do not risk further alienating the Metkayina. Lo’ak talks to Tsireya about this, and she believes in him.
The whalers begin their attack, launching harpoons filled with inflatables and piercing the fins of the Tulkun, including Roa and her child. After collecting their material from her, Ronal and the other Metkayina arrive, and Ronal wails in agony at the loss of her soul sister and her child. Tonowari and Ronal, along with dozens of angry Metkayina, turn their ire toward Jake for leading the villains to their land as they knew would happen. When Jake points out that the Tulkun will be marked for death with the whalers’ trackers, he tells the Metkayina to warn the Tulkun before more of them are killed.
Lo’ak heads off to warn Payakan, despite Neteyam’s warnings against it. He follows his brother, along with Tsireya and Aonung, and then Kiri and Tuk. They find Payakan, already hit with a tracker. Neteyam contacts Jake to alert him, and he and Neytiri head off to rescue their kids. The whalers initiate their attack, going after the kids and Tulkun. Jake and Neytiri are joined by Metkayina warriors in the fight. The kids are captured in the struggle and are held prisoner on the vessel. When Jake and company arrive, Quaritch orders him to stand down, holding Lo’ak at gunpoint to show he’s serious. Jake prepares to surrender himself until Payakan sees his soul brother in danger, so he leaps out of the water and slams down onto the vessel, taking some whalers down in the process.
The Na’vi use this moment to charge into battle. With help from Payakan and the Metkayina, they are able to kill most of the whalers. Scoresby attempts to harpoon Payakan, but he manages to wrap the wire around their boat, killing the men and severing Scoresby’s arm in the process. The kids escape, and Kiri uses her powers to manipulate the ocean environment to kill some whalers. Spider also turns on the other humans and rejoins his Na’vi family. In the midst of the battle, Neteyam rescues his siblings and their friends, but he is shot. The family gets to a rock where they attempt to help Neteyam, but he succumbs to his wounds. Neytiri wails in despair at the loss of her son, and the rest of the family is devastated.
Quaritch contacts Jake, revealing he has Kiri and Tuk as his hostages. Jake heads in to the sinking vessel for the final showdown, accompanied by Neytiri, Spider, and Lo’ak. Neytiri ruthlessly slaughters Quaritch’s team in retribution for Neteyam, just as Jake goes to face his nemesis. After Jake frees Tuk, Quaritch emerges with Kiri and a knife to her throat. Neytiri grabs Spider and threatens his life in return. Although Quaritch tries to deny his care and relationship with the boy, he relents and lets Kiri go after Neytiri cuts Spider across his chest. Neytiri brings the kids to safety, and Jake decides to end it with Quaritch, fighting to the death.
The vessel starts to come down completely, trapping the family underwater. Jake fights Quaritch until he manages to get him in a chokehold and let him sink underwater. Lo’ak finds his father, who tells him to go without him since Jake doesn’t think he will make it, but Lo’ak helps him breathe the way Tsireya showed him, and they escape with Payakan. Meanwhile, Kiri summons the underwater creatures to help her get Neytiri and Tuk out of there. Spider swims to save Quaritch, but he abandons him for his evil deeds and rejoins Jake’s family, with Jake officially taking him in as a son.
Jake prepares to bid Tonowari farewell, but he tells Jake that he and his family are Metkayina now and are welcome to stay. The family then holds a funeral for Neteyam, where his body is given to the Tree of Souls, and they are told that he is now with Eywa. Jake and Neytiri link themselves to the Tree, where they are able to see Neteyam through memories. Jake, recognizing this land as his family’s new home, vows to continue to do fight and protect them.
Years after Jake Sully joined the Na'vi as chief of the Omaticaya clan; he has built a life and family with Neytiri and their kids Neteyam, Lo'ak, Tuk, and Kiri (who is actually the biological daughter of Grace Augustine's Na'vi Avatar), along with a human boy called Spider. The RDA return to disrupt their tranquil existence by colonizing Pandora and forcing the Na'vi to relocate, with Jake leading warriors to fight them and wreck their supply lines. This forces the RDA to awaken the Avatars of their deceased mercenaries, led by the newly resurrected Colonel Miles Quaritch, who has his eyes set on revenge against Jake.
After the villains threaten Jake's family and home, he takes them from the forest and moves them to the eastern seaboard of Pandora to the home of the Metkayina clan, who have a deep connection with the underwater life. Jake's children, Lo'ak in particular, bond with Tsireya and Aonung, the children of the Metkayina's chief Tonowari and his wife Ronal. While the Metkayina are initially distrusting of the Omaticaya, they teach them their ways and welcome them to their home. Kiri also discovers that she has a deeper power and connection with the creatures.
Quaritch and his team work with whalers to hunt the Tulkun, creatures that the Metkayina have deep connections with. Lo'ak bonds himself with Payakan, a Tulkun that is considered an outcast. When Quaritch and his team begin to lay waste to the Metkayina homeland, Jake and Neytiri are forced to fight back. The kids go to warn Payakan, leading to them getting captured. Payakan helps the Na'vi fight back, with many of the whalers getting killed, but Neteyam is fatally shot. Jake goes after Quaritch, who has taken Kiri and Tuk hostage. Neytiri kills the rest of Quaritch's team before threatening Spider's life to save Kiri, and Quaritch relents since he is the boy's father. Lo'ak and Kiri help their family get to safety, while Spider saves Quaritch but abandons him for his cruelty.
Jake and his family are accepted by the Metkayina and are allowed to stay. He and Neytiri are able to see Neteyam by connecting themselves to the Metkayina Tree of Souls.