Jake Sully never thought parenting four, sometimes five; children would be so hard. Avatar: The Way of Water presents his predicament from his family’s perspectives and, at times, from his own. As fans of the franchise will be aware, there was a scene deleted from the final cinema version of the first Avatar, where Neytiri was notably pregnant at the end of the film. This was mentioned in the 2007 version of the script before shooting. The scene was included in the Extended Collector’s edition of the movie. The idea was later included in The Way of Water.
Jake became a father much sooner than he and Neytiri probably would’ve preferred. Their eldest son, Neteyam, is fifteen by the main events of The Way of Water. Moreover, this suggests that his conception likely occurred the night his parents mated or slightly afterwards.
Seen as the ‘golden child’, nothing Neteyam does is ever seen as wrong in Jake’s eyes. Meanwhile, everything Lo’ak, Neteyam’s younger brother, does is wrong, even if his intentions are noble. This is evident when Lo’ak turns around to save Spider, and Neteyam is killed in the crossfire. Jake blames Lo’ak for his eldest son’s death but later realises that what he said crossed the line.
Father Of Daughters
When it comes to his two daughters, Kiri and Tuk, Jake is seen as protective of them as he is of the boys. However, the boys become their protectors whenever their parents aren’t around. Jake is seen to have a close bond with Kiri because he is close to her biological mother, Grace.
Kiri is about to be open with her father, whereas she struggles to do the same with her mother. Jake identifies with Kiri because he understands being a child of two worlds and not knowing where he fits in.
A Son Too Similar
In the beginning, Jake fails to realise how similar Lo’ak is to him. So let’s recap some of those attributes, shall we?
Lo’ak is impulsive. He runs into situations without thinking, takes a real liking to a clan leader’s daughter and tames the untameable. These are all similarities he has with his father, which Jake probably sees but doesn’t want to acknowledge.
Moreover, Lo’ak is considered an outcast as he resembles a human more than a Na’vi. Jake once felt the same, feeling he didn’t belong in the Na’vi world or the human world. However, when he fell in love with Neytiri, he realised his place was with the Na’vi. Therefore, he did everything within his power to regain the respect he held within the Omaticaya and earn back Neytiri’s love.
With Lo’ak, he was starved of his father’s love and attention because he [Jake] was too busy being overprotective and playing favourites with Neteyam.
Too Protective
Neytiri knows Jake better than anyone and sees how he is too hard on their sons. After Neteyam is almost killed due to Lo’ak breaking rank and diving into action during the raid on the RDA train, it is seen that Neytiri appears to show more concern for Neteyam’s injuries than Jake, who is too busy telling Lo’ak off for disobeying him.
She has to remind Jake that Neteyam and Lo’ak are his sons, not his soldiers. Jake then tells her that he’s their father and his job is to protect them. While this is true, she tells him later during their argument over whether to leave the forest after Quaritch kidnaps Spider that the forest is their home and the only one their children have ever known.
The argument snaps Jake out of his overprotectiveness for a bit. He argues that it would be safer for them not to be in the forest. Neytiri realises he’s right, and she is tearful as they self-exile themselves and their family from the Omaticaya.
The reason he is overly protective of the kids may be due to his past as a spy for the RDA. During the argument with Neytiri, Jake is seen with a guilt-ridden expression when she brings up her father’s death and that he [Eytuken] made her promise to protect their people.
Jake doesn’t want his children to make the same mistakes he did. His role as a spy for the RDA almost cost him everything. It nearly destroyed his relationship with Neytiri as a result.
Allowing The Kids To Follow Their Paths
Finally, Jake realises that keeping his children safe doesn’t require him to coddle them. He eventually allows them to come into their own, as seen when Kiri comes out of her shell when she enters the ocean for the first time.
