Netflix stirs up The Last Airbender shipping debates on social media

Should Katara have ended up with Aang or Zuko? Did Toph and Sokka ever get together? Netflix is having a lot of fun stirring up old shipping wars online.

Since Avatar: The Last Airbender became available on Netflix, there’s been a surge of interest in the Nickelodeon animated fantasy epic, and with The Legend of Korra heading to the platform this week, the conversation is only likely to continue.

As with many fandoms, shipping plays a major role in fan debates. Anyone who’s been part of The Last Airbender fandom knows there’s contention over whether Katara should have ended up with Zuko or Aang, for example.

And Netflix seems to know that, because it’s been stirring the pot lately. I mean, their post on Zuko and Katara racked up thousands of engagements:

Well played, Netflix.

The @NXOnNetflix account, which specializes in all things geeky, also weighed in a mystery from The Legend of Korra, which is set years after the events of The Last Airbender: who fathered Toph’s youngest daughter?

Toph is a kid in the original series, but in the sequel, she’s an old woman with two daughters: Lin and Suyin. The father of the latter is never revealed within the story. Naturally, this has led fans to speculate on who Toph might have had a romantic relationship with following The Last Airbender. And Netflix, apparently, has some ideas about that, suggesting that Toph eventually gets together with Sokka:

For fans who have long shipped these two characters, Netflix has brought up an interesting point. And it’s true that there are a couple of Sokka-Toph moments (or “Tokka” moments, if you will) in the original series. Maybe they led somewhere later in life?

But there are a few holes in this particular theory. The biggest is that Sokka ends the series in a relationship with Kyoshi Warrior Suki, who still seems to be with him throughout the comics set after the events of show. Although The Legend of Korra never heavily digs into Sokka’s future — and barely mentions Suki at all — the assumption is that the two stayed together. And even if they didn’t, would Toph really get with Sokka, even after her friend and fellow member of Team Avatar dated him?

To be fair, it wouldn’t be the first time the adult characters from The Last Airbender acted out of character during The Legend of Korra. (Kind, considerate Aang, a neglectful father? Rule-breaking Toph, a cop?) Still, if Suyin’s father was a significant character in the story, you’d think he’d be mentioned somewhere, even if it was just in the comics. This is doubly the case if her father was someone from Team Avatar.

And even if Sokka doesn’t appear much throughout The Legend of Korra, it seems like Katara might know if her brother had an affair with one of her friends, particularly if a kid came out of it. All in all, there’s not a lot of concrete evidence supporting Netflix’s theory. But there’s also nothing saying it couldn’t have happened.

Maybe we’ll find out more when Netflix remakes the series in live-action. By the way, did you know that Star Wars veteran John Boyega (Finn) wants to be a part of that show? Apparently he’s so into the idea he even made a little Last Airbender fan film with his sister:

The sooner we get more information on that show, the better.

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