Avatar - The Way of Water Ending Explained: Decoding the Climax of James Cameron's Film and Where He Would Take Jake Sully and Family Next in Avatar 3! (SPOILER ALERT)

James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to his 2009 blockbuster Avatar, is out in theatres and it is one hell of a ride, as expected from this director who is the epitome of the term 'visionary filmmaker'. Avatar - The Way of Water is, of course, one of the most expensive film ever made with a budget of around $350–400 million. Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana return to reprise their roles of Jake Sully and Neytiri from the first film, while Stephen Lang and Sigourney Weaver also return for the sequel even though their original characters were killed in the first film. Avatar The Way of Water Movie Review: James Cameron's Sci-Fi Sequel Is a Spectacular Visual Treat That Revels in Deep World-Building!

How? Well, if you haven't seen the film, there are SPOILERS ahead explaining their return, and also how the sequel concludes leading to Avatar 3 - which is currently in production - while the rest of the franchise, which Cameron has already planned for two more installments, is still in the planning stages.

So Stephen Lang returns as a cloned Recombinant version of the dead Colonel Miles Quaritch, while Sigourney Weaver would be playing Kiri, the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri, who is actually the daughter of the dead Dr Grace Augustine. Jake and Neytiri also have three biological kids in the obedient and the eldest son Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), the rebellious 'black sheep' second son Lo'ak (Britain Dalton) and an 8yo daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss). There is also a human child with them, Spider (Jack Champion), who Jake has taken under his wings, and who happens to be the son of the dead Quaritch.

So what's the story this time? Jake and Neytiri are leading a happy life with their kids in Pandora, but the Sky People (Earth people) returns with the intention to capture the whole Pandora. But for that, they need to take down Jake, for which they resurrect Miles and his old team as Recombinants. Miles' team get hold of Jake and Neytiri's kids, but they save them. However, Spider gets captured, and Jake, fearing that their present abode would endanger the lives of Na'vi, leaves the place with his family and takes abode with the water tribe who stays in the islands located in the vast oceans of Pandora, led by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis) and his pregnant wife Ronal (Kate Winslet). While Kiri tries to figure why she exhibits 'freak' phenomena, Lo'ak is desperate for his father's approval, while falling for Ronal's daughter Tsireya (Bailey Bass) and befriends an outcast tulkun, a whale-like creature.

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What Happens in The Climax?

Miles and his men attack the tulkun to lure out Jake, and they nearly succeed when in trying to save the tulkun, Jake's kids and Tsireya are kidnapped by Miles. While rescuing the kids, Neteyam gets killed, leaving the family devastated, with Jake blaming Lo'ak for what happened while Neytiri is filled with murderous rage. While the rest of Jake's allies and Lo'ak's friendly tulkun destroy most of Miles' fleet, Jake and Miles get into a duel, that leaves the former trapped under water while the latter is incapacitated and nearly drowned. Lo'ak saves his father, after teaching him how to survive for long under water, and therefore redeeming himself in the process, while Kiri finally controls her powers and uses them to save her mother and sister. Spider, meanwhile, rescues Miles from drowning but ditches him on land to return and be with the Sullys, as Jake sees him as a 'son for a son'.

In the end, the Sullys give Neteyam a burial fit for a water warrior, and mourn his loss. Jake plans to leave the reef of Metkayina, but Tonowari stops him saying that since his son got a funeral fit for a warrior of Metkayina, they are now part of this tribe and they shouldn't leave.

The last scene sees Jake and Neytiri connect their tails to the underwater Hometree of Metkayina, while Jake monologues about this being his new home now, as he opens his eyes, similar to the last scene of the first Avatar movie.

What Does This Mean For Avatar 3?

Well, the Sullys will be staying with the Metkayina tribe for now, but whether they will be living long enough to have adapted appendages remains to be seen. For one, Miles is still alive and despite his new-found paternal love for Spider, he is not gonna ignore his vengeance against Jake and Neytiri. Pretty sure, the Sky People will also return in bigger forces, left optionless after the Earth is nearly in ruins. Whether they will make use of the 'Amrita' obtained from a dead tulkun's glands that makes them younger remains to be seen.

With the villains returning, how long could Sullys be safe in Metkayina? Would Jake want to bring more trouble to his new allies, since Miles' dangerous presence is what drove him and his family out of their earlier home in the first place? If they move out of here, which other frontiers of Pandora would James Cameron go for next? Does Pandora have icy glaciers like Earth's polar regions, or barren deserts?

Ronal would be glad if the Sullys leave; she didn't look very happy when Tonowari asked Jake to stay in the last scene. Why should she, when the Sullys' presence cost her 'spirit sister' tulkun and also got her daughter kidnapped?

Avatar 3 could possibly see more romance between Lo'ak and Tsireya, and perhaps even between Spider and Kiri. We are hoping that the movie also answers the mysterious birth of Kiri and the truth about who her father is. We are also yet to see Sullys' reaction to the fact that Spider saved their enemy from a certain death, will that make Neytiri drive him away from their family? Also will Spider carry a grudge against Neytiri for wanting to kill him as revenge for Neteyam? Avatar The Way of Water: Tollywood Actor-Director Srinivas Avasarala Pens Dialogues For the Telugu Version of James Cameron’s Film.

Above all, we are hoping for James Cameron to hire a better script writer, and a better dialogue writer who doesn't assume that youngsters always use 'bro' and 'cuz' in every sentence they speak. Or maybe that's how the kids in Pandora speak!

PS - There's no mid or post credit scenes in the movie, except for some beautiful scenes of the tulkun swimming through the visually stunning ocean world of Pandora.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2022 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).