One of the biggest mysteries in Avatar: The Way of Water centers around Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and the circumstances of her birth, as the identity of Kiri’s father in Avatar is never revealed. The Avatar sequel introduces Kiri as an orphaned Na’vi adopted by Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and raised as if she were their own child after the death of her mother, Grace (also played by Sigourney Weaver), during childbirth. Exactly how Grace became pregnant with Kiri is not shown in Avatar: The Way of Water. However, Kiri’s unique abilities and her human characteristics are a critical part of the plot and make her parentage worth exploring.
Given Grace’s death in the original Avatar, Sigourney Weaver’s return in Avatar: The Way of Water was surprising. Thankfully, Weaver’s new character, Kiri, is unique, multidimensional, and integral to the plot of the sequel. Grace is a human, so Kiri’s birth as a Na’vi with no human form is miraculous. Jake, formerly a human himself, and Neytiri are extremely loving and never make Kiri feel like an outsider. However, the ambiguity surrounding Kiri’s father in Avatar is subject to teasing from other children, and her connection with nature sees her often ostracized from her peers – until she uses her powers to save the family in the Avatar: The Way of Water ending.
Kiri Doesn’t Have A Father; She Could’ve Been Made By Eywa
Kiri’s father in Avatar’s world may not be human nor Na’vi. As discussed in the most prevailing fan theory regarding the matter, which is also the most likely scenario based on the evidence available: Kiri may not even have a father, and could have been made by Eywa. Also known as the Great Mother or All-Mother to the Na’vi, Eywa is the sentient, biological guiding force of all life on Pandora. It was Eywa who brought back Jake as a Na’vi in the first Avatar movie. It was also Eywa who didn’t allow Grace to be resurrected during the Tree of Souls ceremony performed by the Na’vi in an effort to bring Grace back.
However, this could be because Eywa decided to confer Jake and Neytiri with a greater gift: Kiri. Indeed, Kiri’s father in Avatar may not exist at all. Considering what Avatar and Avatar 2 has revealed – and withheld – regarding Kiri’s true nature, the most likely explanation for this mystery is that Kiri was created by Eywa through the Tree of Souls. Kiri may even be a direct reincarnation of Grace. It would be consistent with Eywa’s wisdom for the Na’vi diety to give a special child to Jake and Neytiri, the first marriage between a Na’vi and one of the alien invaders on Pandora, which could be explored in the story of Avatar 3.
How Kiri Is Grace’s Biological Daughter
There was no hint of Grace being pregnant at the time of her death in the first Avatar movie, and the healing ceremony to attempt to transfer her human consciousness into her Na’vi body permanently was unsuccessful. However, in Avatar: The Way of Water, it is shown through Kiri’s visions that the remaining humans of Pandora did not give up on rescuing Grace. Other members of her research team held her body suspended in a laboratory, where she would eventually give birth to Kiri. In addition to her visions of her mother, throughout the Avatar sequel, Kiri hears a mysterious heartbeat that no other character can hear.
This heartbeat is a connection between Kiri and Grace, but not as was expected. Early theories suggested the sound was simply Grace’s heartbeat, but a deeper connection between Sigourney Weaver’s two Avatar characters offers a hint about Kiri’s father. Grace was a xenobotanist with a deep appreciation for Pandora’s nature and goddess Eywa. In Avatar: The Way of Water, this knowledge has manifested itself in the form of special abilities for her daughter. Kiri can communicate with nature and Eywa directly, as her mother did in her dying moments. This heartbeat is similar to the sound made by Eywa at the Tree of Souls during the ceremony where Grace died.
Kiri Could Be Eywa’s Child (& Avatar’s Christ Figure)
Grace’s special connection to Eywa, combined with Kiri’s miraculous birth and otherwise inexplicable abilities to communicate with the flora and fauna of Pandora, appears to indicate Kiri’s father in Avatar could actually be the All-Mother. While the children of another one of Avatar‘s Na’vi clans tease a simpler explanation — Norm (Joel David Moore) and Grace had a secret relationship prior to her death — this would not explain how Kiri was born as a Na’vi or why she can communicate with and control nature. It’s more likely that Kiri’s abilities result from Eywa creating Kiri as Grace was dying at the Tree of Souls.
The Symbolism Of Kiri’s Birth, Story & Powers
If Eywa did indeed help give birth to Kiri, then this miraculous conception would make her a messiah figure for Pandora. The depiction of Kiri as a Christ-like figure goes deeper than just the circumstances of her birth, too. James Cameron’s positively reviewed Avatar sequel shows that Kiri is able to adapt to every environment in Pandora quickly, taking to the Metkayina waters as if she’d been part of the clan her entire life, and breathing human air naturally at the humans’ base when other Na’vi cannot. Also, in the Avatar: The Way of Water ending, Kiri manages to save her family by literally bringing light to the darkness.
What Kiri’s Father’s Mystery Means For Avatar 3
While Avatar: The Way of Water’s messianic characterization of Kiri lacks subtlety, the movie makes up for it in terms of significance for the franchise. Kiri’s power and the mystery of her birth are a great setup for Avatar‘s bigger future sequels, where the identity of Kiri’s father in Avatar and her connection to Eywa will likely move to the forefront of the story. That such an important figure in the world of Avatar is played by Sigourney Weaver feels, at least in part, like recognition and appreciation from director James Cameron for the important role she has played in his career, starting with Aliens launching them both to stardom.
“We ask a lot of questions with Kiri that we don’t answer, even over the course of the entire film,” explained Cameron in “Inside Pandora’s Box,” the featurette attached to the digital release of Avatar: The Way of Water. “It’s a greater story arc. It’s a big journey for the audience with her. But it’s okay, because you care about her. She has a luminous quality.” Indeed, it’s clear that Kiri will play an even larger role in the coming Avatar sequels. Hopefully, this includes a straightforward explanation regarding the identity of Kiri’s father in Avatar‘s world.
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This story originally appeared on Screenrant
