Avatar: The Way Of Water Fans Claim Spider Makes Colonel Quaritch More Than A One-Note Villain
The "Avatar" franchise is known for a lot of things, from its stunning vistas to its assortment of strange creatures to its rich world-building. But for all the attention the franchise gives to its visual splendor and detail, the same can't be said for many of its characters. The morally black and white cast of characters such as Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) and Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) are far from the worst out there, but don't offer much outside of their basic roles.
The same can be said for Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). The primary antagonist in James Cameron's 2009 film "Avatar," Quaritch heads the Resources Development Administration in search of the valuable compound Unobtanium from Pandora. In the process, the ruthless military man menaces the Na'vi and their precious homeland, even taking charge of the destruction of the Omatikaya clan's Hometree. Despite his menacing agenda and the praise given to Stephen Lang's performance, with Reel Views commending his larger-than-life persona, you'd be hard-pressed to see Quaritch's name alongside the greatest movie villains of all time.
So when the character made his return in the long-awaited sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water," it seemed like we'd be getting more or less the same thing. However, just as the film itself went bigger and better with its world-building and visuals, things also improved for Quaritch's character, who fans feel got help from one of the franchise's newest faces.
Spider gave Quaritch much-needed depth
One of these newer additions to "Avatar: The Way of Water" is Quaritch's son, Miles "Spider" Socorro (Jack Champion), who is raised by the Na'vi people. As Quartich also returns in the sequel — albeit more blue than before — the film develops the rocky relationship between the two, giving fans some surprisingly effective dramatic moments.
Fans have praised Spider's inclusion for giving Quaritch more to chew on throughout the sequel. On Twitter, @1ofmystories, who calls Spider their favorite character in the film, comments, "Without Spider, Quaritch remains a boring one-note character. Spider's very presence makes him rethink his decisions." Similarly, @punyparker was moved by the film's ending where Spider saves Quaritch from drowning, saying, "I feel so bad for Spider ... am i mad he saved Quaritch? Yeah. But also that's a form of his dad and he didn't even feel like 'family' from his adoptive side."
Others see the endless potential in having Quaritch around for the upcoming "Avatar" installments, with @bearamisu on Twitter strongly believing that, " ... Colonel Miles Quaritch is going to come through with a redemption arc." Over on Reddit, u/Tomatocultivator9000 also believes there's more to Quaritch, saying, "Miles isn't evil, just duty bound. He just needs to find something else worth fighting for besides his country." Will Spider be what ends Quaritch's bloodlust? Only time will tell, as the next "Avatar" installment won't hit cinema screens until 2024 (via Variety).