About to watch the Avatar (2009) sequel Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), but it’s been a while since you watched the first one? Here’s a quick refresher on the key takeaways, characters, and overall story to get you back up to speed.
**REFRESHERS CONTAIN SPOILERS**
Key Takeaways
- Earth is dying, but a new planet, Pandora, is discovered. Humans set up a base on the planet and want to steal its resources, but first, they must deal with the Na’vi, the planet’s native species.
- Pandora is a unique planet with a living awareness, Ewya, that connects to the entire planet and plantlife. Because of this, the Na’vi are especially protective of the planet, viewing all nature as sacred and spiritual.
- The Na’vi all have long braids that end in tendrils, which can be connected to various animals and plants, linking them telepathically. This allows them to ride animals and commune with Ewya.
- The humans have developed the means to create Avatars, a human/Na’vi hybrid clone of a person who can then be linked to the donor human, allowing them to remotely control the Na’vi clone’s body.
- Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic human who is recruited at the last minute to take his identical twin brother’s place and use his Avatar. He at first works with the humans to try to convince the Na’vi forest clan to leave the area, which is particularly rich with resources, but instead falls in love with the Na’vi culture, as well as with a Na’vi named Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). He ultimately sides with them and gains the moniker Toruk Makto, the highest title of the Na’vi, when he tames the legendary creature Toruk. In the end, he permanently transfers his consciousness into his Avatar.
- The humans grow tired of trying to convince the Na’vi to leave and attack instead. The Na’vi, with the help of Jake, fight back and overtake the humans, forcing them to leave Pandora. Neytiri kills Quaritch (Stephen Lang).
- During the confrontation, Grace (Sigourney Weaver), the head scientist for the humans, is fatally wounded. They attempt to transfer her consciousness fully into her Avatar by connecting her to Ewya, but she doesn’t have the strength to survive the process.
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Major Characters
Jake Sully
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a former marine who was wounded during his service and no longer has the use of his legs. By chance, he has an identical twin who was working on the Pandora mission, and an Avatar was being developed to allow his brother to navigate Pandora as a Na’vi. A week before the twin was due to leave for Pandora, he is killed in a random mugging, and Jake must take his place, despite having no training or experience with Pandora. He takes to his Avatar swiftly, grateful for the use of his legs in this form and eager to explore the planet. He soon meets some of the Omatikaya, a forest Na’vi clan, including Neytiri, the chief’s daughter, who begrudgingly teach him their ways.
He is privately recruited by Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), the military leader on Pandora, who believes the marine veteran will understand Quaritch’s mission to force the Na’vi forest clan to leave their land. At first, Jake provides information to Quaritch about the clan, giving the humans enough insight to develop a plan of attack. However, over time, Jake becomes enraptured by the ways of the Na’vi and realizes the humans do not understand the depths of their actions against them.
When the humans first attack, the Omatikaya believe him to be a traitor and do not want to listen to him, but when his friend Grace is hurt, he needs to convince the Na’vi to help them. He successfully bonds with a Toruk, a large, viscous bird-like reptile who has only bonded with five Na’vi in known history. This is such a legendary feat that he is proclaimed Toruk Makto, allowing him to gain back the trust of the Omatikaya and become their chief. With his help, the Na’vi are able to defeat the humans. Jake marries Neytiri and transfers his consciousness fully into his Avatar so that he never has to return to his human body again.
Neytiri
Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) is an Omatikaya warrior, the daughter of both the chief and the spiritual leader of the clan. She is the first native Na’vi to meet Jake, and initially is about to kill him but sees a sign from Ewya that conveys her blessing. She introduces Jake to the Omatikaya and reluctantly becomes his instructor in the Na’vi ways. Gradually, she falls in love with them and becomes his mate. During the final confrontation with the humans, she shoots and kills Quaritch.
Dr. Grace Augustine
Grace (Sigourney Weaver) is the lead scientist among the humans and has an Avatar of her own. Unlike most of the other humans, she respects the Na’vi and comes to realize that Pandora itself is a living planet with its own awareness. She works with Jake to try to stop the humans and save the Na’vi, but is shot in the process. Jake brings her to the Na’vi, where they connect both her human and Na’vi bodies to Ewya under the Spirit Tree in an attempt to save her life by sending her consciousness out of her wounded body and into her Avatar. While connected to Ewya this way, she passes away and is absorbed into the Spirit Tree. Her Avatar is still technically alive, but in a vegetative state.
Colonel Miles Quaritch
Quaritch (Stephen Lang) is the antagonist, a human military leader hellbent on forcibly relocating the Omatikaya by any means possible. He initially attempts to be relatively civil, allowing Jake the chance to peacefully negotiate with the Na’vi to leave, but when he realizes that this will never happen, he deploys violent tactics to drive them out. He is furious with Jake and tries to kill both his human and Na’vi bodies, and almost succeeds before he is shot and killed by Neytiri.
Ewya
Although not personified, Ewya is the Na’vi deity, essentially their Mother Nature. She is an ethereal consciousness spread throughout the planet that can influence the flora and fauna.
Full Summary
Jake Sully, a paraplegic human marine veteran, is sent unexpectedly to Pandora in place of his twin brother, who dies the week before he was set to leave. His brother was a scientist who spent a lot of time preparing for the venture, and his DNA was used to create an Avatar, a human/Na’vi clone who can be linked to the human donor, allowing them to control the Avatar’s body from within a pod. Since the twins share the same DNA, Jake is recruited as a substitute despite lacking any preparation.
When he arrives, he is instructed by lead scientist Grace on how to control his Avatar and explore Pandora. He is also secretly recruited by the military leader, Quaritch, who asks him to provide whatever information he gathers during his time with the Na’vi clan.
Jake meets Neytiri, who believes her deity Ewya has chosen him for some important reason, and is taken to her forest clan, the Omatikaya. They are wary of him at first, knowing he is one of the “Sky People”, but they agree to take him in and train him in their culture. Over time, Jake learns that Pandora is more than just a planet–it is a living entity intertwined with Ewya’s consciousness. There are animals that the Na’vi can bond with telepathically and special trees that provide a direct link to Ewya. Jake begins to view his time in his Avatar body as more real than his time in his human body and grows fiercely devoted to the Na’vi.
Quaritch has acquired some of Jake’s intel but eventually realizes that the Omatikaya will not leave the area by peaceful measures. He bombs the Omatikaya’s home, the Mother Tree, and plans to also destroy their Spirit Tree. Neytiri’s father dies during the attack, leaving the Na’vi distraught. They feel betrayed by Jake and Grace despite their attempts to help them fight back.
Grace’s human body is wounded and Jake feels the only way to save her is to ask the Na’vi for help. He bonds with the legendary Toruk, a flying reptile so difficult to bond with that the act earns back the trust of the Na’vi and gives Jake the highly respected title Toruk Makto. The Na’vi agree to help Grace, taking both her human body and her Na’vi Avatar to the Spirit Tree and connecting them to Ewya in the hopes that she will be able to permanently transfer her consciousness into a healthy body. Unfortunately, Grace is too weak, and halfway through the process, Grace passes away while connected to Ewya and is absorbed into the Spirit Tree.
Jake rallies the Na’vi and fights the humans, determined to show them once and for all that the Na’vi cannot be defeated. He also pleads with Ewya under the Spirit Tree to help them in the fight. The Na’vi fight hard and are soon joined by many Pandoran beasts sent by Ewya to assist in the confrontation. Together, they are able to push back the human forces.
Quaritch, enraged by Jake’s betrayal, attempts to destroy the pod housing his human body, but Jake, controlling his Avatar, fights back. Quaritch nearly kills him in this form, but Neytiri shoots and kills him. However, Jake’s pod has been damaged by Quaritch in the meantime, exposing him to Pandora’s air, which cannot be breathed by humans. Jake nearly suffocates, but Neytiri finds him and gives him an air mask, saving his life and seeing him in human form for the first time.
Having defeated the human forces, the majority of the humans are sent back into space, save a few scientists who are loyal to the Na’vi. Knowing that Jake will always be hindered by his human form if left separated from his Avatar, they repeat the process of connecting him and his Avatar to the Spirit Tree and are, this time, able to successfully transfer him fully and permanently into his Avatar’s body. He becomes the new chief of the Omatikaya, as well as Neytiri’s mate.
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