In Avatar: The Last Airbender and its successor The Legend of Korra, the world is divided into four nations, each based on the classical Greek elements. In the original series, the Hundred-Year War was reaching its climax and it was up to Avatar Aang to save the world from Fire Lord Ozai.
It's easy to think of the industrialized Fire Nation as the "bad guys" with their analogs to World War II-era Japan and brutal firebending. The Earth Kingdom is likewise home to villains such as Long Feng and Kuvira the empire-builder -- but the Water Tribe is not so innocent either. This tradition-bound nation has its fair share of bad leaders, such as the elderly council of the North and Unalaq the schemer, which helps keep the narrative balanced.
The Ultimate Water Tribe Villains In Avatar & Korra
Avatar's Water Tribe, split into the more powerful North and the more modest South, appeared to be the most benevolent surviving nation in Aang's time since it was home to the likes of Katara and the generous Princess Yue. The Southern Water Tribe lacked the stifling bureaucracy and conspiracies of Ba Sing Se and, of course, it was nothing like the belligerent Fire Nation. But as Aang and Katara later discovered, the Northern Water Tribe was more like Ba Sing Se than expected, a walled-off society defined by rigid tradition and societal inequalities.
While Ba Sing Se was divided into three strata, the Northern Water Tribe had regressive views on women and girls and forbade them from bending, aside from healing. Master Pakku explained this to his guests, and Aang and Katara did not like it. What is more, this tribe practices arranged marriages, and Yue was betrothed to someone she hadn't chosen for herself. Katara and Sokka could hardly believe it.
In The Legend of Korra's time, the Water Tribe birthed two different villains, starting with the rogue bloodbender Noatak/Amon and then the tyrannical Unalaq, the main villain of Book Two: Spirits. Unalaq was like the Long Feng of the North, scheming and using people to get his brother Tonraq banished so he could assume command of the tribe and delve deeper into spiritual lore.
Then, Unalaq used Korra and opened the two spirit portals in time for Harmonic Convergence, even fusing with the dark spirit Vaatu to usher in a new era of chaos and darkness. All this, just because Unalaq thought the tribe had been disconnected from the spirits for too long. It's a wonder the Water Tribe didn't produce a villain like him sooner. But despite the North's many crimes, this helps The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra's narratives in subtle ways.
Why Avatar's Water Tribe Needed Villains
Avatar lore needed villains from the Northern Water Tribe for two reasons. One is for variety's sake -- the series would grow stale if all evil came from the Fire Nation. Even within The Last Airbender, it started getting a little tedious how nearly all Firebenders were bad and everyone else was good. That is why Legend of Korra introduced two villainous Waterbenders in a row -- Amon and Unalaq -- to shake up the formula and provide antagonists from unexpected sources. This helped prevent Korra from being ATLA 1.5.
Most of all, having villainous Waterbenders and Earthbenders maintains narrative balance between the elements and the nations themselves. Avatar is all about harmony and balance between people, spirits and bender elements; thematically, that balance would have been upset if Firebenders were always the villains and Waterbenders were always good. The narrative would be hypocritical if that were the case, so it's essential to have Water Tribe villains and Earth Kingdom villains, along with heroic Fire Nation natives such as Uncle Iroh.
This keeps the nations in balance and proves that both good and evil can come from each, and no nation should be condemned or glorified. Good and evil come in all forms and from many different lands. There was even an evil Airbender, Zaheer, to complete the cycle. The seemingly pious and benevolent Water Tribe had to take its turn as well, and The Legend of Korra delivered.
