Avatar: The Way of Water’s three-hour runtime is full of amazing quotes that summarize the themes addressed in the Avatar sequel. While The Way of Water continued to deal with the conflict between humans and Na’vi from the first film, Avatar 2 was much more character-focused than its predecessor. Jake and Neytiri continued to be the heart of the story, but The Way of Water was also centered on the Sully children. As a result, Avatar 2 combined incredible action and breathtaking visuals with character moments that elevated the sequel and made it arguably better than the first Avatar.
Several Avatar characters returned for The Way of Water, including but not limited to Jake, Neytiri, and Quaritch. Just like in the first Avatar, The Way of Water is told through Jake Sully’s point of view. Jake also narrates the Avatar sequel, which is why some of the best Avatar: The Way of Water quotes are from Jake Sully. Here are the 12 best Avatar: The Way of Water lines and how they tie into the film’s bigger teams and character arcs.
12 “The People Say We Live In Pandora, And Pandora Lives In Us.”
Jake
Avatar: The Way of Water opens with a Jake Sully voiceover that helps audiences catch up with the character and his family. The Avatar 2 timeline covers a few different points of Jake Sully’s life, yet most of the film takes place more than a decade after the events of Avatar. Now living among the Na’vi, Jake understands what “Pandora lives in us,” something that was discussed in the first film, really means. More than becoming a Na’vi, Jake Sully is now part of Pandora itself. The connection between Pandora and its people was one of the main Avatar 2 plot points, especially through Kiri’s story.
11 “Happiness Is Simple.”
Jake
Jake Sully states that “Happiness is simple” at the beginning of Avatar: The Way of Water, a line that summarizes the character. Whereas Jake was lost and had no one by his side at the beginning of Avatar, The Way of Water saw a realized Jake Sully who could not be happier. Jake now lived for his family, and even the most mundane moments, such as laying down and looking at the sky, seemed fascinating to him. The simplicity of Jake Sully’s character is one of the most interesting things about Avatar, and this quote captures it.
10 “You Can Kill Us. But We’ll Just Regroup In Hell.”
Quaritch
Colonel Miles Quaritch, who died in Avatar, returned in Avatar: The Way of Water, sort of. Quaritch made a backup of his consciousness, which was later downloaded to recombinant Avatar body. Quaritch’s “resurrection” tied into one of the villain’s best lines from Avatar: The Way of Water – “We’ll just regroup in hell.” Quaritch and his team were defeated by Neytiri and Jake in the first Avatar, yet they were now back thanks to the recombinant technology. In many ways, Quaritch’s Avatar felt like a ghost from Jake and Neytiri’s past that returned to haunt them.
9 “For Our Sins In Our Past Life, We Have Been Brought Back In The Form Of Our Enemy.”
Quaritch
Another great Quaritch The Way of Water line captured what the Avatar sequel tried to achieve with its returning villains. Bringing Quaritch back as an Avatar risked lessening the impact of his death in the first film, yet it worked within The Way of Water’s plot. As put by Quaritch, for their sins in the past, his squad was “brought back in the form of the enemy.” Quaritch’s hatred for the Na’vi in Avatar followed by him becoming one of them in The Way of Water was a very interesting creative decision that created a different antagonist.
8 “This Is Not A Squad. It Is A Family.”
Neytiri
Jake Sully was a soldier for most of his life. Even after moving to Pandora and becoming a Na’vi, Jake continued to see himself as a soldier. Now as the Toruk Makto, Jake had to protect both his family and the Omatikaya. However, the line between being father to his children and a leader to his soldiers became blurry. Neytiri had to remind Jake that they were a family, not a squad. Jake’s military-like discipline helped his family survive, but it also led to some tension among them.
7 “I Will Kill You As Many Times As I Have To”
Neytiri
Neytiri killed Quaritch in Avatar, and she was ready to do it again in Avatar: The Way of Water. Quaritch’s recombinant Avatar body watched the moment Neytiri killed the original Quaritch, which set up a personal rivalry between the characters. More than completing his mission Quaritch wanted revenge for his original self’s death. Neytiri realized with whom she was dealing and threatened Quaritch with the thrilling “I will kill you as many times as I have to” line.
6 “This Family Is Our Fortress”
Jake
Jake and Neytiri’s story in Avatar: The Way of Water revolved around them trying to protect their family. The first of the Avatar sequels as a whole was centered on the idea of family, community, and belonging. Whereas the humans vs. Na’vi storyline was similar to that of the first film, The Way of Water differed from Avatar by focusing on the family aspect of the Sullys. When Jake is suggesting that should abandon the forest, he says that the family is their fortress. In other words, Jake believed that they would be safe as long as they remained together.
5 “The Leader Must Die, So The Leader Can Be Born.”
Jake
Avatar: The Way of Water discusses life as something cyclical, as exemplified by Kiri’s story or the Pandora environment as a whole. The cyclical aspect of life is also part of the Na’vi’s military culture, namely the Toruk Makto Olo’eyktan ceremony. Jake decided to step down as the Toruk Makto so that he could leave the forest with his family and live among the Metkayina. According to Jake, “The leader must die so that the leader can be born.”
4 “One Life Ends, Another Begins.”
Jake
Another Avatar: The Way of Water quote that exemplifies the film’s cyclical life themes is “One life ends, another begins.” This line by Juke Sully applies to multiple Avatar characters and storylines, from Kiri being born of Dr. Grace’s deceased Avatar to Neteyam dying to save his family. However, in the context of the scene, Jake’s quote was more about the Sullys leaving their old life in the forest to start a new one in Pandora’s reefs. Life as Jake knew it would indeed change forever.
3 “Sullys Stick Together. That Was Our Greatest Weakness And Our Great Strength.”
Jake
Jake and Neytiri built a strong family and stood together during the most difficult moments. This was their great weakness, as it made it easy for Quaritch and the other humans to hurt them. Jake and Neytiri are formidable warriors, yet they had to look out for their children in every battle. That said, the fact that the Sullys always remained together was also their strength. Without one person looking after the other, Avatar: The Way of Water’s ending tragedy could have been even worse.
2 “The Way Of Water Has No Beginning And No End. The Sea Is Around You And In You.”
Tsireya
Avatar: The Way of Water’s title can be interpreted in many different ways. The term “way of water” is first used in the film when Tsireya is teaching Neteyam how to swim. “The way of water has no end” is yet another example of how everything is cyclical in the world of Pandora, as the end of something is always the beginning of another. “The sea is around you and in you” seems to be the Metkayina’s version of “We live in Pandora, and Pandora lives in us.”
1 “Every Songcord Must Have A Last Bead.”
Jake
The Way of Water’s ending tragically brought the film full circle with Neytiri singing a song based on Neteyam’s songcord, which had now received its last bead. According to Jake Sully, “every songcord must have a least bead,” a reference to Neteyam’s death. Both scenes of Neytiri singing in Avatar: The Way of Water were very emotional, but the second one hit much harder due to Neteyam’s death in the film’s final battle. That said, Jake’s quote suggests that the Sullys are ready to grieve for Neteyam together, and that they have somewhat accepted his death.
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This story originally appeared on Screenrant
