Yue was a princess, born to the Northern water tribe’s chief. She is the daughter of Chief Arnook, and she is also one of his advisors. After the death of the moon spirit Tui, she was burdened by the responsibility to give back the life she had been given. During the siege of the Northern water tribe, the moon spirit was killed by Zhao, a fire nation soldier, and Admiral. Yue sacrificed and replaced the moon spirit, sharing the position.
Early Life of Princess Yue
Yue was born to the water tribe chief as a sick child. She had an unknown illness which caused her to almost be born still and asleep. As an Infant, she was quiet and didn’t cry but remained asleep. This caused her parents to worry, and they feared that she would die. Her condition, growing critical, the tribe’s healers had tried their best. Yagoda, one of the best healers in the whole nation, also put in the unlimited effort but to no avail.
They all concluded that princess Yue was going to die. Arnook, desperate to save his daughter’s life, begged the moon spirit to save her. That night, under the full moon, he brought her to the spirit oasis. This was the center of all spiritual energy in the nation and was also the same Oasis that Avatar Wan came across after he was banished, weary and hungry.
He placed her in the pond, and her once black hair turned white. The moon gifted her with part of its life force. Thus, she survived, and her parents named her Yue, meaning for the moon.
Prior to Team Avatar’s arrival at the North Pole and the siege that would take place, Yue was arranged to marry a young water tribe warrior named Hahn.
He carved a betrothal necklace for her to mark their engagement, but she did not really love him and consented to the marriage only to stay in line with her people’s customs. Sokka resented this custom as he was in love with her soon after they met.
Meeting with Team Avatar
Soon after they arrived, Young Sokka was sorely smitten by her beauty and entirety. He engaged her in a conversation at the party her father threw in recognition of the Avatar’s arrival and her sixteenth birthday. Her father, Master Pakku, who would later be Aang and Katara’s teacher, was also seated alongside her.
After awkwardly flirting with each other, they arrange to meet and do “an activity,” as Sokka referred to it.
These activities included riding on Appa and taking walks together around the city.
Although affection was budding between the two of them, she still was bound in an arranged marriage to Hahn. As Sokka later realizes and tells him, Princess Yue was wasted on a selfish and self-absorbed jerk like him. Hahn had more love for her high status than toward her, boasting once to Sokka that he had courted several girls, but “she came with the most perks.”
The two individuals come to realize their love for each other, but she could not bear to continue their meetings because they conflicted so strongly with her responsibilities to her tribe. He eventually became angered when she insisted that being together was “wrong” and that it was her duty to marry Hahn for her people. He heatedly tells her that she was not marrying her people.
During Admiral Xhao’s siege of the North, chief Arnook takes Sokka off the super important mission, which has him fuming. He later tells him that he wants him for something even more important, which is protecting his daughter. He did this because he had noticed how much love was between them.
Princess Yue & The Moon Spirit
Yue led Aang and Katara to the Spirits Oasis, helping him to enter the Spirit World. When Aang had been captured by Zuko, she accompanied Katara and Sokka as they tracked the two of them down on Appa.
On returning to the Oasis, they see that Zhao has captured the moon spirit in its mortal form. He fatally strikes the spirit, causing it to be Injured and at the point of death. This leaves all the water benders practically powerless.
Appearing on the scene, Iroh saw that she had been touched by the Moon Spirit, which reminded her how her life was saved by Tui as a newborn. Once again, acting dutifully to her tribe, Yue sacrificed herself to give back the life that the moon had given her.
Against Sokka’s wishes, she places her hands on the fish and collapses into Sokka’s arms. She closes her eyes and dies in his arms almost immediately. She subsequently appears as a spirit to Sokka, shares a tender kiss with him and a promise to always be with him.
At the moment, the once darkened moon reappears in the sky, and Princess Yue became the moon.
Yue’s spirit appeared before Sokka and her father shortly after.
After The Death of Princess Yue
Yue appears several times after her death in the series. Several times following her death, Yue’s influence on Sokka became evident and even more obvious.
While Team Avatar was trapped in the Foggy Swamp under its spiritual influence, Sokka hallucinated about her. Her hallucination regrettably told him that he failed to protect her. This was a reflection of the guilt he carried about her death. During his time in the Si Wong Desert, Sokka directly referred to the moon as Yue while in an intoxicated state brought about by drinking cactus juice.
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When Sokka and Suki nearly kissed while crossing the Serpent’s Pass, a warning glimpse of the moon could be visible in the background. This reminded him of Yue’s presence, and his memory of Yue’s death prompted him to refuse the kiss while acting overly protective of Suki.
After Aang was struck down by Princess Azula’s lightning during the Coup of Ba Sing Se, Yue was able to provide more tangible assistance to Team Avatar: She took it upon herself to meet the Avatar in the Spirit World. She was instrumental before and after her death and is a viable member of the Team Avatar.