Classic Movies Live Season 6, Episode 30 – Avatar: Fire and Ash
December 24, 2025
Merry Christmas!
To celebrate the holidays this year, we’re taking things back to one of our favourite series on this show. In fact, long-time listeners may remember that our current cover art template was pioneered with an episode on the second movie in this series. The series I’m talking about, of course, is James Cameron’s Avatar.
And today, we’re talking about the end of the current saga (but unlikely the last film in the series): Fire and Ash.
Fire and Ash picks up right where The Way of Water left off. The Sullys have helped to save the Metkayina tribe, but lost their eldest son, Neteyam, in the process. Everyone’s favourite tulkun, Payakan, has also defied his people’s non-violent ways. And of course, Colonel Miles Quaritch barely managed to escape with his life.
It’s increasingly clear that proximity to the Sully family makes anyone a target, but as the Sullys attempt to escape back to the forest alongside wind traders, they’re ambushed by the mysterious ash people, a tribe of Na’vi who believe Eywa has forsaken them.
If you’re not an Avatar-head, a better way to describe the film might be that Fire and Ash continues to explore the series’ themes of belonging, reincarnation, and colonization, this time through characters that haven’t gotten their time in the sun in previous movies. The film continues to amaze visually, pushing the boundaries of what movies can look like. The plot grounds itself in familiar territory in order to dive deeper into the philosophies and psyches of its characters. Like The Way of Water and Avatar before it, Fire and Ash truly is a sight to behold.
…and perhaps that gives away our broadest thoughts on it, but nevertheless our hosts have lots to say! Tune in to hear it all this week on Classic Movies Live!
