After Jake Sully and his family found refuge with a new clan in Avatar: The Way of Water, one important aspect of their story was completely forgotten. The follow-up to 2009's Avatar picks up over a decade after the original film, showing Jake (Sam Worthington) fully embedded in the Omaticaya clan of Na'vi on Pandora, but their peace is disrupted when humanity returns and wreaks havoc once again. Leaving their home to protect their family, Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), along with their children, find themselves seeking refuge with the Metkayina, a clan of reef-dwelling Na'vi, and learning the ways of the water.
It was known for years that James Cameron would be using Avatar: The Way of Water to explore the oceans of Pandora, moving the established characters to a completely new setting and introducing a whole new way of life. This was reminiscent of Jake's integration into Na'vi life during Avatar, as audiences experienced his learning curve from the perspective of someone entering into this world with no preconceptions of what it would involve. However, one important storyline seemed to have been forgotten in this move from the forest to the ocean, which could have been far more impactful for one character in particular.
Avatar 2 Didn’t Show Neytiri Learning The Metkayina’s Ways
While each member of the Sully family was shown to be learning the ways of the Metkayina, Neytiri had very little screen time during their stay in the reef village, which was a massively missed opportunity for Avatar: The Way of Water. Jake was taught to ride a warrior-mount Ilu by Tonowari (Cliff Curtis), the leader of the Metkayina, while his and Ronal's (Kate Winslet) children taught Jake and Neytiri's children how to breathe and move efficiently underwater. Neytiri's whole family was shown to be learning the ways of their new clan, but she was largely absent during these scenes.
It was a shame to miss out on scenes showing Neytiri learning some new ways of living, as she had been Jake's teacher in Avatar, so it would have been wonderful to see her become the student in The Way of Water. She was most likely omitted from these moments to save space for proper introductions to the new young characters, who are set to have huge parts to play in the upcoming Avatar sequels. However, showing Neytiri go from teacher to student would have been a fantastic way to show just how isolated they had become in the war against the RDA.
Neytiri Will Have A Larger Role In The Avatar Sequels
Viewers need not despair about Neytiri's lack of screen time in Avatar: The Way of Water, however, as she is being set up to have a much larger role in the three upcoming sequels. It was recently teased that Avatar 5 would open Neytiri's eyes to what is going on on Earth, suggesting that the sequels could see the Na'vi travel across the stars. If this is the case, Neytiri's reduced role in The Way of Water is simply setting the stage for bigger things.
The Way of Water hinted at a terrifying new arc for Neytiri, as the third act saw her become a brutal, animalistic creature, fighting against Quaritch and the recombinant soldiers after the death of her son, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters). Her willingness to sacrifice Spider (Jack Champion) will surely also become a key plot point in subsequent Avatar films. So while Neytiri perhaps wasn't the focus of Avatar: The Way of Water, her story is far from over.
