The ending of Avatar: The Way of Water explained

James Cameron released Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022 after a thirteen-year wait since his 2009 epic. Once again, we are in Pandora, and the Na’vi are still fighting to keep their home.

The story is still following Jake Sully and his family, but there is an underlying theme about saving the planet and respecting native cultures. And the ending is packed with big themes, cliffhangers, and just enough loose threads to keep you guessing what chaos Cameron is going to unleash next.

Avatar 2 picks up more than a decade after the OG movie. Jake Sully is a full-time Na’vi now, and he has a family to look after. To dodge the human aggression, he leads his family into the aquatic domain of the Metkayina. And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Colonel Quaritch is back. But he is a Na’vi now, too — still stirring up trouble, and the colonialism theme is not subtle at all.

Just like the first one, Avatar: The Way of Water puts humans and their gadget-obsessed ways right up against Pandora’s spiritual, nature-loving vibe. Only this time, the eco stuff hits harder. We are not just talking Na’vi hugging trees — we are in the ocean now, watching them bond with tulkun. Avatar is all tangled up with big feels: Family drama, grief, and the whole fight to keep your culture alive.

So, by the time the credits roll, there is a climactic sea‑battle, someone bites the dust, and then a spiritual funeral that’s moving. All of that shakes up the characters, pushes them into new territory, and tees things up for the next one: Avatar: Fire and Ash, set to release on December 19, 2025.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers. Readers’ discretion is advised.

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The ending of Avatar: The Way of Water explained:

Narrative and character endpoints

Flight to the Metkayina: The RDA shows up on Pandora again, this time packing even more heat and led by Colonel Quaritch, who now has a Na’vi avatar body. Jake Sully and Neytiri bolt out of the forest with the whole family. Their big plan is to seek asylum with the Metkayina clan out by the ocean, where Tonowari and Ronal run the show. Tonowari takes them in using the Uturu tradition, legitimizing their migration. Now, Jake and crew have to learn how to swim, dive, and go along with all sea creatures like Ilu and Tulkuns.

Cultural integration and rising tensions: Jake’s kids, especially Lo’ak and little Tuk, stick out like sore thumbs. The Metkayina kids keep calling them “forest people” or “half-breeds” because of their extra digits. Meanwhile, Quaritch isn’t just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. Thanks to Spider (Jake’s adopted human-Na’vi kid), Quaritch is hatching this evil genius plan: Start hunting Tulkuns — these massive, smart whale-like creatures that the Metkayina worship. He wants to draw Jake out so he can capture or kill him. And the RDA is harvesting amrita, a gel-like brain substance from the Tulkuns that supposedly stops you from aging. It is as messed up as it sounds — an ecological and ethical disaster.

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Climax: Final battle and personal tragedy

Hostage and rescue sequence: The RDA grabs Lo’ak, Tuk, and Tsireya (Tonowari’s kid) and throws them on the Sea Dragon. Predictably, all hell breaks loose — the Sullys and the remaining Na’vi launch an epic assault. And then, Neteyam, the eldest Sully kid, takes a bullet while trying to help Lo’ak out.

Personal confrontations: Meanwhile, things get super personal in Avatar 2. Neytiri grabs Spider and holds a knife to him, threatening to end him if Quaritch doesn’t back off. Quaritch, not to be outdone, threatens Kiri. But then, Quaritch lets Kiri go. Anyway, Jake and Quaritch fight on a sinking ship, Jake almost bites it underwater, but Lo’ak comes through. At the same time, Kiri taps into Eywa and commands the fish to save Neytiri and Tuk.

Spider’s choice and Quaritch’s fate: Spider has got this little crisis on the seabed as he finds Quaritch unconscious, decides to save him, even though Quaritch is the poster child for space fascists. Quaritch tries to do the “join me, son” thing, but Spider swims back to the Sullys. So, Quaritch is still there, ready to be a pain in Avatar 3, but now Spider has officially picked a side.

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Ritual, spirituality, and thematic resonance

Neteyam’s sea burial: Neteyam’s funeral is a pure emotional gut-punch. They lay him out on a glowing reef, and the ocean critters surround him. It is like the Tree of Souls scene from Avatar (2009), but this time, the sea is doing the heavy lifting. Tsireya drops that line, “the way of water has no beginning and no end,” and it just hits. You get a sense of everything looping back, life feeding into life.

Then there are Jake and Neytiri, totally wrecked, heading over to the Metkayina spirit tree. They connect with Neteyam, spiritually, and that is their turning point —instead of bailing, they decide to stay.

Family, parenthood, and legacy: At the end of the day, it is all about family. Jake is done running — he says it didn’t save Neteyam, so now he is in for the long haul. Lo’ak steps up big time. He is not just the rebellious kid anymore —he is saving Jake and proving he has got what it takes. Kiri is a whole different story — she is finally owning her powers, and those hints about her parentage are wild. Spider, too, chooses the Na’vi side for real, even though he has got messy baggage.

Colonialism and ecological ethics: The conflict over tulkuns is not subtle at all, but that’s the point. Humans (or RDA) are colonizers, rolling into butchering these hyper-intelligent whales for cash. It is the same old story: Profit over people, or personhood, in this case. It is a straight-up critique of how humans trash ecosystems for a quick buck. The film throws shade at all the colonial, capitalist absurdity of the real world without sugarcoating.

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Setting the stage: What the ending implies for Avatar 3 and beyond

So, the way Avatar: The Way of Water wrapped things up left us dangling on a bunch of threads:

Quaritch is still around, and Spider is the little backstabbing moment is a grenade just waiting to blow up the plot later. Sully and the Metkayina clan are bros now, but let’s not pretend the drama is over. There is zero chance that everyone just sings Kumbaya next movie.

Lo’ak is stepping up, looking like he is set to be the new hotshot. His thing with Reya (plus that Tulkun friendship) suggests inter-clan unity as a major sequel theme. And Kiri is getting all mystical and glowy — pretty obvious she’s about to become some kind of spiritual game-changer.

Now, zooming out: Avatar: Way of Water is just chapter two out of five. Next up: Avatar: Fire and Ash is dropping in December this year, bringing in the Ash Clan. This fire-themed Na’vi is led by Oona Chaplin’s character, Varang. Supposedly, Cameron is flipping the script with ideological extremes and a darker portrait of Na’vi. Expect Lo’ak and Kiri to grab more of the spotlight, too.

The film screams “family beats fear any day,” keeps circling back to water as this eternal thread tying folks together, and doesn’t shy away from flipping the bird to exploitation. Netizens are digging into all the hybridity and liminal stuff, plus throwing in some Daoist takes for good measure.

The ending wraps up the second act, sure, but you can tell they’re just teeing up for the next round. Expect new tribal alliances, ideological conflict, and mythic mysteries (e.g., Kiri’s origins).