Arrival at the birthday party
 

I was just thinking about the soul-transfer scene at the end of the movie, but before I mention what I thought, I have to ask about something:

How did Jake get both of his bodies to the Tree of Souls? I imagine he first brought his avatar body to its base by himself, then left it and came back into his human body (at Hellsgate, I'm assuming). But what then? Was there a remaining human who could have flown him over to the tree via Samson? Was he brought over on the back of an ikran? And then once there, he must have been carried by one or more Na'vi to the base of the tree, unless he decided to roll his wheelchair through the crowd :xD:.

And then (this is what I was thinking of) how surreal it must have been, to know that he was taking his very last journey in the body he was born with, to look down at his hands and know that they would never feel anything again, to realize that he would never see with the same eyes, listen with the same ears, etc. If I was in that situation, I would feel like I was about to die, knowing that I would be leaving the vessel I grew up in behind me forever. I'd try to capture every last moment and thought happening with and in my body. But then in this context I'd know that I'd be reborn again and I wouldn't feel dead at all. Or maybe I'd feel like I'd entered the afterlife, and it just looks the same as before, only now the need for a wheelchair is completely gone.

Don't know if I'm making any sense here, but the main thing I'm trying to say is how surreal Jake's final moments as a human must have been, though he was probably far more excited about entering his avatar body permanently than he was concerned with saying a solemn goodbye to his paraplegic human body.

I like to think that Neytiri brought his human body to the Tree of Souls. It makes the whole thing much more romantic to me. Since the shack was close to the ToS she could very well have just carried him there.

And to the part about Jake leaving his human body behind. I think that it would be a sad moment for a little bit. But, remember, his spirit is limited by it. His spirit is so strong and vivid but its only being shown in black & white being paralyzed. So leaving it behind to become full again might be a gift.

Remember though, he goes back to Hell's Gate before undergoing the transferrence.

Oops, forgot that part.

I'm thinking now that perhaps he could have been flown on Ikran (not by Neytiri) back to Hells Gate or carried on Direhorse. But, One question still eludes me, why would he go to all the trouble to have his human body carried back to Hells Gate just to do the video log? I mean, he had the unit in the shack.

Does this answer the question in the other thread of whether Jake used the shacks Link with and exopack after Quaritch busted it or had to use a link at Hells Gate? If he used the link in Hells Gate, how long did it take to get there because he had to soon find Tsu'tey later that day.

Many more questions.

My guess is that Jake operated out of the shack for the remainder of August 25, including Tsu'tey's death and escorting the humans back to Hell's Gate. Then while his avatar body slept that night he took his human body by means unknown over to Hell's Gate. How? Poss strapped to an ikran ridden by a Na'vi warrior? Or in a commandeered Samson piloted by a POW? There he washed, shaved, ate some food (might have been tricky for him to eat wearing an exopack back at the shack), caught up on some sleep and made his decision to be transferred by Eywa. Why would he want to rest and eat food? Maybe the odds of transfer success are higher if his human body is healthy and rested.
He links to his avatar again here and discusses this decision with the assembled Na'vi and Neytiri.
Then he disconnects from the link unit and travels to the Tree of Souls. His inert avatar body is carried.

My take...
 

(grrrr... just lost ten minutes of writing)
I've been pondering the same thing since I saw the SE. How did he get back into his Na'vi body to find Tsu'tey?
Here's how I saw it:
He could have used the link module with his air mask on (uncomfortable but he could do it) then after they deal with Tsu'tey they check in with Norm and Max to find out what else has happened.
Norm contacts Max and find out if there's a way of getting the link module moved back to HG with a possible secondary pilot that defected. (Not likely but it's possible since Trudy did). Jake can follow with Neytiri on Toruk and get back to HG for the mop up.
Neytiri and Toruk Makto go back to the ToS and asks Moat to help him prep for the transfer while Jake is still at HG. The final entry he made was obviously done while that was happening.
No, he didn't take his wheelchair, he sheds that like a butterfly sheds it's cocoon. Free from a useless body, able to walk and run and fly on his own terms, not tethered to technology anymore.
Using the secondary defector scenario, he and Neytiri? get flown there in a Samson, and Neytiri carries him to the tree.
I just can't see them putting Jake on an Ikran behind a warrior.

This is what happens when you have to chop up a huge story into digestible bits for a movie. A LOT gets lost in transion.
I'm going to be looking for the novel when it comes out and be looking for all these little details.


whew! That took a long time to get written!

I prefer the Samson scenario myself. But who's the pilot... defector? POW? :S

Most likely a defector...couldn't trust a POW in that kind of situation.

I think in Jake's situation leaving his old body behind wouldn't have been all that difficult. The most obvious reason for doing it would be regaining the ability to walk. But most importantly, he could never really be with Neytiri if he kept his human body (spending so much time in link was taking a negative toll on him) That right there would be reason enough to make the switch. But none the less, the entire experience of passing through Eywa must have been incredible...

What I would like to know is how Jake felt the moment Mo'at or Neytiri made the offer to him, If he just said yes or had to take time to think about it.

It must have been an amazing experience, knowing that the body was going to die and he would become Na'vi.... I would love that.

As for how, I'd guess he went there in his avatar while linked then left it there with the Na'vi, then got taken there himself in a Samson (yeah, defector as a a pilot, I'm sure that out of those who helped, a few might know how to fly) - or maybe a Na'vi took him on an ikran, would be fun to experience as a human :P
I'd also guess Neytiri carried him to the tree :)

The way I see it: after the episode with Quaritch, Jake uses the link with the mask on. As for the Hell's Gate scene, weren't there two mobile units attached together? I believe there were 2 modules, one of which was airlifted by Trudy's Samon. The other got left behind and they could have used that module for linkups later on.

I have to watch the movie again to make sure.

I would guess Jake used the link in the mobile unit after the battle, but when he was recording his last videolog, he was clearly at the main link room.

I like that idea.

I wrote a very short story filling in this scene: Fanfic: The Leap, Avatar

Great story Sempu, thanks for sharing it here. :)

I like how you spelled his name, it makes sense and works!
I wrote a version that essentially what happens after your story here
Put the two together and it's a continuation to the end of the movie. Very cool! That could be another project, fan fics that fill in gaps and then we get to see how close we were to what Cameron actually had in mind.

As far as the "defector"---Remember there were a fairly large number of "Science pukes" shown early on in the movie--It would be very easy to imagine that several of them were friends with the larger community at Hells Gate, so I would think that there could be as many as 50~100 people that changed sides during the final moments of RDA "ownership"...I'd also bet there were more than a few tired of the heavy-handed leadership who couldn't wait for a change...

Remembering the "Battle room" scene--it sure didn't look like all of the people at Hells Gate were there--lots of faces from earlier in the movie were not that's for sure....I would bet as soon as it got back that the battle was lost--Max had plenty of help.