The Skirmish at the Three Brothers (unofficial name) was a major conflict between the Na'vi and the Cetacean Operations of the Resources Development Administration in 2170. The conflict took place entirely on the Eastern Sea at the Three Brothers, not far from Awa'atlu.
The conflict is part of the Second Pandoran War.
History[]
The conflict was instigated when the RDA slaughtered the tulkun, whale-like animals who were friends to the Metkayina clan, in order to harvest their amrita. The clan furiously began to prepare to wage war with the RDA. Tonowari was advised by Jake Sully to strategize their defenses and to call him if any tulkun are found with tracking tags, as this was a death sentence.
The Conflict Begins[]
The Metkayinans prepare for battle.
The skirmish began when Payakan, a tulkun friend and the spirit brother of Lo'ak, was hit by a tracking device. Lo'ak, his siblings and the other young clan members tried to save Payakan, however, they were spotted by the SeaDragon. While Payakan was freed, the youth had to flee for their safety but the RDA began tracking them in Crab Suits and Mako Subs. Lo'ak contacted Jake and reported the situation to him. Jake and Tonowari immediately rallied the Metkayina to rescue their children.
Threatening to kill Lo'ak, Quaritch orders Jake to come alone.
Although Jake ordered Lo'ak and the other children to flee, they were pursued underwater. Eventually, the RDA managed to capture Lo'ak, Tuktirey and Tsireya. When Jake and the Metkayina had almost reached the SeaDragon, Miles Quaritch ordered Jake to come alone, otherwise he would kill the children. Jake obeyed, but when Payakan saw Lo'ak imprisoned, the tulkun used his massive body to strike the SeaDragon, causing damage and confusion. This gave Jake and the Metkayina an opportunity to strike, and the battle started.
Battle[]
Neytiri attacking Seawasps.
As the battle began, Neytiri destroyed the Seawasps from above on her ikran as the Metkayina clan eliminated RDA soldiers on their skimwings. Scoresby ordered his crews to return fire, with the RDA managing to kill several Metkayina clan warriors. Chasing after Neytiri on his ikran, Quaritch attempted to shoot her down, but Jake intervened, leading to an intense aerial pursuit that ended with Jake's skimwing pulling Quaritch's ikran out of the sky.
The SeaDragon about to crash.
Payakan flung a Picador boat out of the water and onto the SeaDragon, starting a large fire near the starboard fans. Miles Socorro used the distraction to knock out the helmsman with a fire extinguisher and push the ship's throttle to full ahead. He then destroyed the throttle controls with the extinguisher before being apprehended. Despite futile attempts by the crew to regain control, the SeaDragon lurched onto a pile of rocks, severely damaging the lower hull. The pumps were made inoperable and flooding quickly consumed much of the lower decks, forcing the SeaDragon's crew to abandon ship.
Kiri uses Eywa to kill a pursuer.
Below the surface, a Mako sub continued to pursue Kiri, Aonung, and Rotxo. Kiri called on her bond with Eywa to control undersea flora and fauna (i.e. a Daisy Anemone), using it to disable the sub and smother the evacuating operators.
As Jake's tsurak managed to knock Quaritch off his banshee into the sea, Scoresby tried to snare Payakan with a harpoon cable, but the highly intelligent tulkun manages to manipulate the cable and wrap around the Matador, dragging its belly over nearby rocks and pinning Scoresby to his gunner's platform by his arm. Dr. Garvin hit the deck as the immense pressure Payakan puts on the gunboat eventually causes the cable to tear the gunner's platform off the boat, severing Scoreby's arm (much as the whalers had severed Payakan's fin) and hurling him screaming into the sea.
Neteyam reappeared, leaping onto the SeaDragon from his ilu to free Lo'ak, Tuk, and Tsireya. The girls jumped into the sea and begin to swim away. However, Lo'ak took a rifle from Ja's body, refusing to leave without saving Spider. Kiri, Aonung, and Rotxo surfaced nearby, only for Recom Wainfleet to swoop in on his banshee and snatch Kiri out of the sea, carrying her back onto the deck of the SeaDragon. Seeing this, Tuk and Tsireya turned back and also climb back on board the foundering vessel. They find Kiri cuffed to the railing of the moon pool, but before they can free her, Quaritch and Wainfleet reappear. Quaritch knocks Tsireya into the moon pool, where she swims away to safety, and Wainfleet cuffs Tuk to the railing next to Kiri.
Soon after, Lo'ak and Neteyam found Spider and incapacitated his guards; Lo'ak was forced to shoot and kill an RDA soldier during the rescue, which left him shaken. Neteyam took the gun from Lo'ak and hurried him and Spider to dive into the sea but is mortally shot by Wainfleet as he covers their escape. On nearby rocks, Jake and Neytiri try to save Neteyam's life, but as Pandora enters its daily eclipse and the sky darkens, Neteyam succumbed to his wound in their arms.
Jake encouraging Neytiri they can save Kiri and Tuk.
Grief-stricken, Jake decided to face Quaritch once and for all when the latter radios to reveal that he has recaptured Tuk and Kiri, insisting Jake surrender himself in exchange for his daughters' lives. Jake and Neytiri stealthily climbed to the top deck of the SeaDragon, with Spider leading them due to his knowledge of the vessel. Jake used a grenade to detonate a crashed Seawasp, killing many of the remaining RDA troops and evacuees. In the chaos, Jake and Neytiri attacked the survivors on the top deck, killing Recoms Prager and Zdinarsik before working their way down to the moon pool where Tuk and Kiri are held.
Jake struggling against Quaritch's knife.
Wainfleet commanded Recom Mansk and the remaining soldiers on the lower deck, but Jake beat the latter recombinant unconscious and threw Wainfleet overboard. Spider watched from cover as Neytiri slaughters the last human troops in a berserker rage, breaking her bow before killing the last unarmed, cowering soldier. Jake freed Tuk and within moments, Quaritch appeared from around a corner, holding Kiri hostage by pressing a knife against her throat. However, Neytiri intercedes, similarly holding Spider at knifepoint. At first, Quaritch claimed his son is inconsequential, but he ultimately released Kiri when Neytiri cuts Spider's chest. As the Sullys made their retreat, Quaritch vowed to continue hunting them, and that he would murder Jake's children when he finally found them. Enraged, Jake attacked Quaritch, resulting in them, Neytiri and their children becoming trapped aboard the capsizing SeaDragon.
Neytiri trying to survive the sinking ship
Jake overpowered and strangled Quaritch into unconsciousness and was almost drowned himself. However, he was rescued by Lo'ak and Payakan. Kiri used her bond with Eywa to summon a gill mantle and bioluminescent squids that help her save Neytiri and Tuk, and which then guidec the entire family to the surface. Spider, who has been searching the sinking vessel for Jake, found his dying father on the sea floor. He was initially hesitant to save him, but decides to eventually, bringing him up to the surface and leaving him on nearby rocks where he regained consciousness. The rescue of Quaritch marked the end of the conflict with no one in any further danger.
Trivia[]
- James Cameron once said 10 minutes of the film were cut out due to being too violent because he did not want to give the impression the film is glamorizing gun violence.[1]
- In a deleted scene, Neytiri repeatedly stabs a man to death, even after he begs for his life, and she continues to defile his body with multiple stabbings. She seems to shout, "You, you, you, you, you, you, YOUUUUUUUUUU!" as she does so.
- A scene of Tonowari and Ronal reuniting with Tsireya was cut out because test audiences did not enjoy it much.[2] The original script talks about this scene, which was replaced by the Sully family reuniting at Payakan and Jake telling Lo'ak he sees him:
- "ON THE ROCKY SHORE -- TONOWARI, RONAL, NU’UNG and several reef people have joined TSIREYA, gathering around Neteyam’s body. Ronal clutches her children in a fierce hug. She sees SOMETHING and her eyes go hard. Of her look -- TONOWARI turns as JAKE leads his bedraggled family up onto the rocks. The two warriors, heads of families -- PROTECTORS-- LOCK EYES."
- The in-universe reason for the disappearance of the Metkayina clan, and why they did not assist the Sully family fighting the RDA on the SeaDragon, is unexplained, with some calling it the film's most egregious plot hole.[3]
- It is worth noting that the area around the Three Brothers became extremely foggy and smokey due the fires from all the explosions. It also became nighttime quickly, which would have likely obscured the fire and actual location of the SeaDragon, and the clan likely would not have caught up with various events (knowing Tuk and Kiri need rescue, most of the RDA being annihilated on the SeaDragon, the flipping of the SeaDragon, and the Sully family being trapped underwater). Additionally, in the original script, the clan only reunited with Tsireya at end who would have known more about the danger the Sully family was facing.
- However, it can also be seen the clan is still mysteriously absent around the area where Neteyam dies, even when visibility is better. Fires can be seen in the distance, possibly implying the clan became distracted with chasing fleeing Picadors, Matadors and Mako subs, and did not know there was still important action happening around the SeaDragon.
- The soundtrack has a track called "Bad Parents" that plays during a scene with Neytiri and Jake, suggesting that the two of them can be considered flawed parents. The track plays during their killing spree on the SeaDragon, possibly hinting the film's creators felt Jake's and Neytiri's actions were risky, reckless and endangered their daughters' lives when Quaritch could have seen Jake's and Neytiri's rebellion and executed Kiri and Tuk as backlash, especially after Quaritch told Jake earlier that he would not hesitate to execute Lo'ak.
Gallery[]
References[]
| Wars and conflicts on Pandora | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Pandoran War | Destruction of the Hometree (2154) · Battle of Ayram Alusìng (2154) | |
| Second Pandoran War | Colonization of the Western Frontier (2169) · Skirmish at the Three Brothers (2170) · War of the Wetlands (canonicity unknown) | |
| Non-canon | Battle of Vayaha Village (2152) | |