Spider’s Choice at the End of Avatar 2 Impacts Ash and Fire
Miles “Spider” Socorro stands at a crossroads in the Avatar saga. By the end of Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider has made a pivotal decision that will reverberate through the events of Avatar: Fire and Ash. Understanding this choice requires looking at who Spider is and what his decision means for the future of Pandora.
Spider was born before the events of the first Avatar film. His father is Colonel Quaritch, the antagonist who died in the original movie. His mother’s identity remains largely unexplained within the films themselves, though the circumstances of his birth are significant to his character. When the RDA was defeated, Spider was too young to be placed in cryogenesis, so he remained on Pandora as an orphan. Jake Sully initially dismissed him as a “stray cat,” but by the end of The Way of Water, Spider had been accepted as part of the Sully family, despite the tension between him and Neytiri over his human origins.
At the conclusion of Avatar: The Way of Water, Spider faces a fundamental question about his identity and where he belongs. He is human by birth but has been raised among the Na’vi. He speaks their language, understands their culture, and has formed deep bonds with the Sully family. Yet he remains distinctly human in appearance and physiology. This internal conflict sets the stage for his transformation in Fire and Ash.
The choice Spider makes at the end of The Way of Water is to commit fully to life on Pandora and with the Na’vi. He chooses to stay with the Sully family rather than return to human civilization. This decision is not merely emotional but existential. Spider is choosing a side in the ongoing conflict between humanity and Pandora, and he is choosing Pandora.
This choice becomes monumentally important in Avatar: Fire and Ash. The trailer for the upcoming film reveals that Spider has undergone a dramatic physiological transformation. He now possesses a neural queue, the distinctive braid that all Na’vi have and that allows them to form Tsaheylu, the neural bond with other creatures. This is not something that happens by accident. Spider’s transformation is a direct consequence of his choice to fully embrace Pandoran life.
The neural queue allows Spider to bond with creatures in ways that humans cannot. In the trailer, he is shown forming Tsaheylu with an Ilu, one of the large marine creatures that inhabit Pandora’s oceans. This ability fundamentally changes what Spider can do and who he can be. He gains the freedom and agency that the Na’vi possess. He can navigate Pandora with the same ease and connection that full-blooded Na’vi experience.
Spider’s transformation also suggests that he is becoming capable of breathing Pandora’s atmosphere without technological assistance. The trailer hints at this development, showing Spider without his mask in ways that would have been impossible in previous films. This physiological change indicates that Spider is evolving into something new, something that exists between human and Na’vi but is becoming increasingly Na’vi in nature.
The implications for Fire and Ash are substantial. Spider is no longer a human child dependent on the Sully family for protection and belonging. He is becoming a fully capable member of Pandoran society. This changes his role in the conflict that drives the new film. He is no longer a liability or a bridge between two worlds. He is a warrior, a scout, and a participant in the defense of Pandora.
Spider’s choice also affects the family dynamics within the Sully household. His sister Kiri is 100 percent Na’vi, born from Eywa itself. His brother Lo’ak is half-human and half-Na’vi, struggling with his own identity. Spider’s transformation into something more Na’vi than human creates a new equilibrium within the family. The conflict over what to do about the human invasion becomes more complex when one family member is actively becoming Na’vi.
The presence of Quaritch in Fire and Ash adds another layer of significance to Spider’s choice. Quaritch is Spider’s biological father, and he represents everything that Spider has rejected by choosing Pandora. Quaritch is human, militaristic, and committed to the conquest of Pandora. Spider’s transformation into a Na’vi-like being is a rejection of his father’s legacy and values. It is a statement that Spider belongs to Pandora, not to humanity.
Spider’s evolution also connects to the larger themes of the Avatar franchise. The films explore what it means to belong, what it means to choose your family, and what it means to fight for a world you love. Spider’s choice and subsequent transformation embody these themes. He has chosen his family, chosen his world, and is now becoming fully part of that world.
The traveling tribe introduced in Fire and Ash, described as equivalent to the camel caravans of the Spice Road, represents a new way of living on Pandora. Spider’s abilities as a transformed human-Na’vi hybrid make him uniquely suited to participate in this new society. He can bridge gaps that others cannot. He can navigate both the ocean and the land with equal facility.
Spider’s journey from human orphan to Na’vi-like warrior is not complete in The Way of Water. It is only beginning. Fire and Ash will show the full extent of his transformation and what it means for the future of Pandora. His choice at the end of the previous film has set him on a path that will define not only his own future but potentially the future of human-Na’vi relations on Pandora.
The significance of Spider’s choice extends beyond his personal story. It represents a possibility that has haunted the Avatar films from the beginning. What if humans could truly become part of Pandora? What if the barrier between human and Na’vi could be bridged not through technology or deception but through genuine transformation and choice? Spider’s answer to these questions will shape the events of Fire and Ash and potentially the entire future of the Avatar saga.
Sources
https://thedirect.com/article/avatar-fire-and-ash-spoilers
