Uploaded July 2022 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
In the Book 3 Episode “The Southern Raiders”, we find out the horrifying fate of Katara’s mother. We learn that Commander Yon Rha had sources telling him that there was one last Waterbending living in the Southern Water tribe, which of course was true. In order to protect her daughter though, Katara’s mother Kya lied and falsely told the commander that she was the last waterbender… This ultimately led to her being killed. But how did Yon Rha actually find out about this last Waterbender, who could possibly have been his source? Well the answer is heartbreaking and sad… So hit that subscribe button and lets dive in.
The first thought you probably had as to who the leaker could be, would probably be that someone in the tribe was responsible. This is pretty hard to accept because by the time of Katara’s birth, the Southern Tribe had dwindled down to a very small village. Most of the people there were very close and knew eachother. Not to mention, it is pretty rare that any of them leave the South Poll unless out on hunting or for other very important business.
Well, according to an old [Nick.com](http://Nick.com) article on Hakoda, he actually recognized Katara’s waterbending abilities from a very young age, and encouraged her greatly to develop them… He knew that her skills would eventually be crucial to rebuild the Southern Water tribe should the war ever come to an end… With this knowledge, he became so desperate for his daughter to develop these skills that he travelled throughout the entire South pole to find a teacher for her but failed.
At this point he likely left the South Pole and travelled to the swamps of the Earth Kingdom to find teachers there, but again he came up empty handed.
During this journey though, he would have had to ask around various villages and towns, and at this point the secret would be out. From here a local of the Earth Kingdom probably reported Hakoda’s queries to a Fire Nation informant, or just heard it first hand and the rest was history…
In the Book 3 Episode “The Southern Raiders”, we find out the horrifying fate of Katara’s mother. We learn that Commander Yon Rha had sources telling him that there was one last Waterbending living in the Southern Water tribe, which of course was true. In order to protect her daughter though, Katara’s mother Kya lied and falsely told the commander that she was the last waterbender… This ultimately led to her being killed. But how did Yon Rha actually find out about this last Waterbender, who could possibly have been his source? Well the answer is heartbreaking and sad… So hit that subscribe button and lets dive in.
The first thought you probably had as to who the leaker could be, would probably be that someone in the tribe was responsible. This is pretty hard to accept because by the time of Katara’s birth, the Southern Tribe had dwindled down to a very small village. Most of the people there were very close and knew eachother. Not to mention, it is pretty rare that any of them leave the South Poll unless out on hunting or for other very important business.
Well, according to an old [Nick.com](http://Nick.com) article on Hakoda, he actually recognized Katara’s waterbending abilities from a very young age, and encouraged her greatly to develop them… He knew that her skills would eventually be crucial to rebuild the Southern Water tribe should the war ever come to an end… With this knowledge, he became so desperate for his daughter to develop these skills that he travelled throughout the entire South pole to find a teacher for her but failed.
At this point he likely left the South Pole and travelled to the swamps of the Earth Kingdom to find teachers there, but again he came up empty handed.
During this journey though, he would have had to ask around various villages and towns, and at this point the secret would be out. From here a local of the Earth Kingdom probably reported Hakoda’s queries to a Fire Nation informant, or just heard it first hand and the rest was history…
