The Southern Tribe has so many fewer waterbenders (Katara even directly states that she is the only one) mainly because for decades The Fire Nation's raids were specifically done with the goal to seek out and capture/kill every single waterbender. In The Puppet master, Hanna describes surviving multiple raids until she was the last waterbender left. Then later in The Southern Raiders it is shown that Katara's mom was killed during a raid. They said they came because their spy told them there was one waterbender left. Her mom lied and said that it was her in order to protect Katara. (Btw I don't think it's a stretch to deduce that "they were no longer taking prisoners anymore" because by that point Hama must have escaped imprisonment.)
That’s all very true and fair, but the Southern Water Tribe would have had much fewer numbers of benders than the North no matter what either way. Plus, while it’s true the Fire Nation was a big contributor in the dwindling number of the Waterbenders, after a century I would have expected that they’d die off completely. They would be helpless anyway. Hence why I wanted to propose my idea to help level the playing field a bit
It’s certainly a possibility, as perhaps affecting the water within a body can help create a stronger flow and keep someone’s heart rate up (sort of a much weaker and safer version of Bloodbending). Although let’s face it, water healing can do WAY more in ways that are frankly a bit perplexing for it just to be water, lol
31:20 This is also one of my main gripes with the worldbuilding in Avatar regarding the Water Tribes. There are plenty of nomadic sea peoples in our real world but the creators restricted themselves to Indigenous North American cultures.
I know right? And honestly it’s not even an issue that they chose only Inuit cultures (cause at least they were consistent with everyone else too, one per nation), but it’s moreso that they should have been able to control the seas easily. Imagine how much control they’d have and how much creativity they would have with floating cities!
I enjoyed this video so much, I needed more! You can see so much improvement in the editing and the writing. Also good research, I didn't even know about the fifth nation
Thanks! And yeah, it took a long time, but it's because I was doing my best to put a lot of effort into the proper research (which took a LONG time) and quality of these videos, so I'll do my best to keep this up! And yeah, the Fifth Nation is a concept that many aren't aware of, and surprised even me. So I couldn't NOT mention it at some point. But if you liked these theories, hold onto your cactus juice, cause there's waaaaaay more of this coming soon for each one of the four nations, and then plenty more! :D
The Gaang would have had no chance against a pirate Sokka who would have been even more clever than Jack Sparrow. The world can handle only so much Chadness.
For your theory, Hama was the last one to freeze the trees, she was the last waterbender that knew the trick. So it was forgoten when she was the last capture of the village.
Interesting theory, fair enough. Although the timing would have to coincide specifically with her then. Plus, Hama could have done it at first, but eventually the iced trees might end up melting if not constantly refrozen. So, yeah, idk, I’d have to think about this but thank you for the input! What else do you think could have frozen the forests by the pole?
The southern water tribe really got the worst end of the stick, not only were they already poor and lacking water benders when the war started but if the Avatar cycle had indeed jumped the Air Nomads it would’ve been their turn to “get the Avatar” so now they had the Fire Nation attacking them on a regular basis getting rid of every water bender they saw no matter how young, like they could never catch a break 😭
I know right? They really are this world’s equivalent of a third world country, left completely abandoned and helpless. It’s a miracle they survived at all, and I felt like I had to come up with something to justify all of this. If nothing else though, at least they finally started getting the upper hand during Korra, and it feels like scales are a bit more balanced now
One thing that i must say, is, that i love how you worked out some of the rough edges in the Watertribe-Worldbuilding and quite honestly i also belief, that it was a pretty big hole in the woldbuilding as well as a loss of potential not creating some ocean tribes (or tribes that maybe life in great lakes and rivers? Would also be pretty cool). The firenation still can be the big bosses on water with their industrialisation, but somehow making the watertribes a connected thalassocracy could have worked nice to balance a bit more the war... Pirates with waterbending would also have been cool. Besides individuals like Hama or Pakku we did not really get antagonistic/adversary waterbending characters or even groups in the original show. The ideas for the architecture were also cool and quite honestly how the Netflix-show made it was something that i liked (but all in all the show was for me a mixed bag... Especially when it comes to the writing and the episode count). If fishes would evolve that way as a response seems a bit weird to me, but hey, it is fantasy and in a world full of wacky chimeras i will not say what evolution should or should not can do... ;) You are also saying what i say to other peoples for YEARS with the bloodbending! It can be horrible and scary and evil, but the medical uses could be revolutionary. And another thing: I LOVE how you incorporate trade into your ideas for worldbuilding! Trade is in reality such an important element (pun intended) and i find it a bit sad that many people seem to forget it in their worlds or seem to belief that such things are boring... Most people do not want to memorise trade routes or hear economic theories of a fantasy world, this is understandable, but why not incorporate it like many things as a little element that just exists?
Indeed! For a group called the "Water Tribes" you'd really think they would have mastery over the oceans, but I guess that really isn't the case, lol. Also... damn, thank you for helping me discover the word "Thalassocratic", never heard of it before 😂 Yes, bloodbenders are way more dangerous than what people think, and their best use would definitely be as doctors And yup! Trade would be suuuuuper important in worldbuilding, despite how boring it may seem at first. Everyone of the nations would need to trade with something, and I've done my best to explore that in each and every video (so far) Also also, thank you again for the kind comments! 😄❤ Would there have been other worldbuilding elements of the Water Tribes you would have liked explored?
@@worldbuildingfilms507 Hmmm, because of the controversy in the Netflix-show i would be interested in the sexism in the water tribes... It is not really a phantastic worldbuilding-element, but it is still something i connect with the Watertribes and not so much with the other nations (i mean there is also sexism with them, but it is most of the time MUCH more subtile). In my opinion it was mostly made to tell kids not to do it, but it seems to me like something build pretty "half-assed" into the cultures. Like what happens if there is a female Avatar born in the northern watertribe? Why is there this difference in some aspects with the north and south? What could have been maybe done better in the portrayal? Dont know, this was just a thing coming spontane in my head... Another thing could be the implications of a salt-industry. You had this as i remember with your firenation-video in parts, but the watertribes have also the potential for desalination and it could have even more big implications for their position in the world then thought at fist.
@@JonathanGhost42 You... are making me dip into waters (pun intended) I'd rather not touch XD But ok, if I *had* to touch upon this, honestly it would just be something rebalanced across all the four nations. Unfortunately sexism across our real history was very widespread, it was what it was, and it's good that we've grown out of it and are continually doing so. Since this was a feudal type era (something upon which I will also touch upon in the future videos), then I wouldn't be surprised that there was sexism in certain areas like the water tribes. Frankly, all the four nations should have had some level of this. Case and point, the Western Air Temple was actually run exclusively by female airbenders, Acolytes, so in reality there was some element (*badumtsh*) put into the other nations too (even if one could argue this was more for religious purposes, but you get the idea). If I had to fix it, then yes, we should have seen something similar both in the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom too, so that if they had to have this mentality, it would have been everywhere, something that would slowly be developed more and more across time, especially from Korra onwards. The times in which a female Avatar would have been born would be when the nations would then just become kind of hypocritical, or they'd START acting a little better with kids in time times one would expect one of them to come to power (and since it's a cycle, yes, they would be able to sort of predict this). Then, for said female Avatar, they'd be as nice and progressive as they could, but then just revert back to what they were before. Now, IF I had to really find an explanation as to why we only see the Water Tribes express this level of sexism in the shows, then the only way I could think of is because waterbending is the only technique that can be used in two ways that can be "perceived" in separate masculine and feminine terms. And that is: regular fighting for men (cause an impact of water CAN hurt a lot), and healing for women. No other element has sub-categories in which a culture could make an "excuse" in associating one side as a feminine and masculine trait. So, if this was the case, then it could be the only reason I could think of. But again, it's the only explanation I could think of. It's a tricky subject. PS (in case it's needed) : I'm talking in purely speculative and academic terms here, so I hope no one got any wrong ideas. Oh, and as for the salt, waterbenders only seem to use ice or animal parts for their structures. They don't seem to have any ability with metal at all. And while they can turn water to vapour, they don't have as much control over it anymore. So, without even the possibility of building metal tanks to contain said boiled water, they'd have no container to collect the salt that would be left behind. I doubt they would be able to do this with ice cisterns that would end up melting from the vapour XD Would this be satisfying enough?
@@worldbuildingfilms507 Sorry for putting you into a hard spot here! I know such questions can be... uncomfortable. But it really was not my intention to make you speak about themes you rather dont want to touch or make you feel uncomfortable. :) All in all i found your response pretty interesting. Thanks!
@@JonathanGhost42 Nah you're good man, I just got to be careful with what I say in general. It's not the uncomfortableness, but more-so you never know nowadays, even within context. Even if, yes, it is a subject that shouldn't be repeated in the modern age. But you're all good, and thank you anyway for the interest! ;) And anyway glad to know the answer was acceptable enough! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask at any time 😎
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And if you liked this one, you're reeeally gonna enjoy the video on the Earthbenders next. There's a LOT that needs to be said about them ;)
That is true, but it depends on how the shift happens, and it depends on the culture itself. Sometimes they can adapt, sometimes it’s hard to let go of certain things, as was the case with Katara. But thank you!
The Southern Tribe has so many fewer waterbenders (Katara even directly states that she is the only one) mainly because for decades The Fire Nation's raids were specifically done with the goal to seek out and capture/kill every single waterbender. In The Puppet master, Hanna describes surviving multiple raids until she was the last waterbender left. Then later in The Southern Raiders it is shown that Katara's mom was killed during a raid. They said they came because their spy told them there was one waterbender left. Her mom lied and said that it was her in order to protect Katara. (Btw I don't think it's a stretch to deduce that "they were no longer taking prisoners anymore" because by that point Hama must have escaped imprisonment.)
That’s all very true and fair, but the Southern Water Tribe would have had much fewer numbers of benders than the North no matter what either way. Plus, while it’s true the Fire Nation was a big contributor in the dwindling number of the Waterbenders, after a century I would have expected that they’d die off completely. They would be helpless anyway. Hence why I wanted to propose my idea to help level the playing field a bit
Perhaps water healing can allow you to recover from training faster. Maybe that's how Aang and Katara mastered water bending so quickly.
It’s certainly a possibility, as perhaps affecting the water within a body can help create a stronger flow and keep someone’s heart rate up (sort of a much weaker and safer version of Bloodbending). Although let’s face it, water healing can do WAY more in ways that are frankly a bit perplexing for it just to be water, lol
31:20 This is also one of my main gripes with the worldbuilding in Avatar regarding the Water Tribes. There are plenty of nomadic sea peoples in our real world but the creators restricted themselves to Indigenous North American cultures.
I know right? And honestly it’s not even an issue that they chose only Inuit cultures (cause at least they were consistent with everyone else too, one per nation), but it’s moreso that they should have been able to control the seas easily. Imagine how much control they’d have and how much creativity they would have with floating cities!
I enjoyed this video so much, I needed more! You can see so much improvement in the editing and the writing.
Also good research, I didn't even know about the fifth nation
Thanks! And yeah, it took a long time, but it's because I was doing my best to put a lot of effort into the proper research (which took a LONG time) and quality of these videos, so I'll do my best to keep this up! And yeah, the Fifth Nation is a concept that many aren't aware of, and surprised even me. So I couldn't NOT mention it at some point.
But if you liked these theories, hold onto your cactus juice, cause there's waaaaaay more of this coming soon for each one of the four nations, and then plenty more! :D
Sokka really missed the chance to be born amongst waterbender pirates. I think he would have excelled at that lifestyle.
The Gaang would have had no chance against a pirate Sokka who would have been even more clever than Jack Sparrow. The world can handle only so much Chadness.
For your theory, Hama was the last one to freeze the trees, she was the last waterbender that knew the trick. So it was forgoten when she was the last capture of the village.
Interesting theory, fair enough. Although the timing would have to coincide specifically with her then. Plus, Hama could have done it at first, but eventually the iced trees might end up melting if not constantly refrozen. So, yeah, idk, I’d have to think about this but thank you for the input! What else do you think could have frozen the forests by the pole?
The southern water tribe really got the worst end of the stick, not only were they already poor and lacking water benders when the war started but if the Avatar cycle had indeed jumped the Air Nomads it would’ve been their turn to “get the Avatar” so now they had the Fire Nation attacking them on a regular basis getting rid of every water bender they saw no matter how young, like they could never catch a break 😭
I know right? They really are this world’s equivalent of a third world country, left completely abandoned and helpless. It’s a miracle they survived at all, and I felt like I had to come up with something to justify all of this. If nothing else though, at least they finally started getting the upper hand during Korra, and it feels like scales are a bit more balanced now
One thing that i must say, is, that i love how you worked out some of the rough edges in the Watertribe-Worldbuilding and quite honestly i also belief, that it was a pretty big hole in the woldbuilding as well as a loss of potential not creating some ocean tribes (or tribes that maybe life in great lakes and rivers? Would also be pretty cool). The firenation still can be the big bosses on water with their industrialisation, but somehow making the watertribes a connected thalassocracy could have worked nice to balance a bit more the war... Pirates with waterbending would also have been cool. Besides individuals like Hama or Pakku we did not really get antagonistic/adversary waterbending characters or even groups in the original show.
The ideas for the architecture were also cool and quite honestly how the Netflix-show made it was something that i liked (but all in all the show was for me a mixed bag... Especially when it comes to the writing and the episode count). If fishes would evolve that way as a response seems a bit weird to me, but hey, it is fantasy and in a world full of wacky chimeras i will not say what evolution should or should not can do... ;)
You are also saying what i say to other peoples for YEARS with the bloodbending! It can be horrible and scary and evil, but the medical uses could be revolutionary.
And another thing: I LOVE how you incorporate trade into your ideas for worldbuilding! Trade is in reality such an important element (pun intended) and i find it a bit sad that many people seem to forget it in their worlds or seem to belief that such things are boring... Most people do not want to memorise trade routes or hear economic theories of a fantasy world, this is understandable, but why not incorporate it like many things as a little element that just exists?
Indeed! For a group called the "Water Tribes" you'd really think they would have mastery over the oceans, but I guess that really isn't the case, lol.
Also... damn, thank you for helping me discover the word "Thalassocratic", never heard of it before 😂
Yes, bloodbenders are way more dangerous than what people think, and their best use would definitely be as doctors
And yup! Trade would be suuuuuper important in worldbuilding, despite how boring it may seem at first. Everyone of the nations would need to trade with something, and I've done my best to explore that in each and every video (so far)
Also also, thank you again for the kind comments! 😄❤
Would there have been other worldbuilding elements of the Water Tribes you would have liked explored?
@@worldbuildingfilms507 Hmmm, because of the controversy in the Netflix-show i would be interested in the sexism in the water tribes... It is not really a phantastic worldbuilding-element, but it is still something i connect with the Watertribes and not so much with the other nations (i mean there is also sexism with them, but it is most of the time MUCH more subtile). In my opinion it was mostly made to tell kids not to do it, but it seems to me like something build pretty "half-assed" into the cultures. Like what happens if there is a female Avatar born in the northern watertribe? Why is there this difference in some aspects with the north and south? What could have been maybe done better in the portrayal?
Dont know, this was just a thing coming spontane in my head... Another thing could be the implications of a salt-industry. You had this as i remember with your firenation-video in parts, but the watertribes have also the potential for desalination and it could have even more big implications for their position in the world then thought at fist.
@@JonathanGhost42 You... are making me dip into waters (pun intended) I'd rather not touch XD
But ok, if I *had* to touch upon this, honestly it would just be something rebalanced across all the four nations. Unfortunately sexism across our real history was very widespread, it was what it was, and it's good that we've grown out of it and are continually doing so. Since this was a feudal type era (something upon which I will also touch upon in the future videos), then I wouldn't be surprised that there was sexism in certain areas like the water tribes. Frankly, all the four nations should have had some level of this. Case and point, the Western Air Temple was actually run exclusively by female airbenders, Acolytes, so in reality there was some element (*badumtsh*) put into the other nations too (even if one could argue this was more for religious purposes, but you get the idea). If I had to fix it, then yes, we should have seen something similar both in the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom too, so that if they had to have this mentality, it would have been everywhere, something that would slowly be developed more and more across time, especially from Korra onwards. The times in which a female Avatar would have been born would be when the nations would then just become kind of hypocritical, or they'd START acting a little better with kids in time times one would expect one of them to come to power (and since it's a cycle, yes, they would be able to sort of predict this). Then, for said female Avatar, they'd be as nice and progressive as they could, but then just revert back to what they were before.
Now, IF I had to really find an explanation as to why we only see the Water Tribes express this level of sexism in the shows, then the only way I could think of is because waterbending is the only technique that can be used in two ways that can be "perceived" in separate masculine and feminine terms. And that is: regular fighting for men (cause an impact of water CAN hurt a lot), and healing for women. No other element has sub-categories in which a culture could make an "excuse" in associating one side as a feminine and masculine trait. So, if this was the case, then it could be the only reason I could think of.
But again, it's the only explanation I could think of. It's a tricky subject.
PS (in case it's needed) : I'm talking in purely speculative and academic terms here, so I hope no one got any wrong ideas.
Oh, and as for the salt, waterbenders only seem to use ice or animal parts for their structures. They don't seem to have any ability with metal at all. And while they can turn water to vapour, they don't have as much control over it anymore. So, without even the possibility of building metal tanks to contain said boiled water, they'd have no container to collect the salt that would be left behind. I doubt they would be able to do this with ice cisterns that would end up melting from the vapour XD
Would this be satisfying enough?
@@worldbuildingfilms507 Sorry for putting you into a hard spot here! I know such questions can be... uncomfortable. But it really was not my intention to make you speak about themes you rather dont want to touch or make you feel uncomfortable. :)
All in all i found your response pretty interesting. Thanks!
@@JonathanGhost42 Nah you're good man, I just got to be careful with what I say in general. It's not the uncomfortableness, but more-so you never know nowadays, even within context. Even if, yes, it is a subject that shouldn't be repeated in the modern age. But you're all good, and thank you anyway for the interest! ;)
And anyway glad to know the answer was acceptable enough! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask at any time 😎
This is a really good video. There are a lot of good points! Can't wait to watch the next one
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! And if you liked this one, you're reeeally gonna enjoy the video on the Earthbenders next. There's a LOT that needs to be said about them ;)
Fascinating ! And so well narrated too. Check the science out
Thank you so much! 😁
19:15 Good video but I disagree with you even rich countries are very spiritual
That is true, but it depends on how the shift happens, and it depends on the culture itself. Sometimes they can adapt, sometimes it’s hard to let go of certain things, as was the case with Katara.
But thank you!