Hakoda

"water"

- I heard what you two did. I am the proudest father in the world. And your mother would be proud too.

Chief Hakoda is the father of Katara and Sokka, the husband of Kya, son of Kanna, and the leader of the Southern Water Tribe. Hakoda is a talented ship, igloo builder and weapons maker. Much of Sokka's ingenuity and craftiness he learned from his father. He went off to war to fight the Fire Nation, leaving his children to be raised by Kanna, his mother.

Background
Hakoda grew up in the Southern Water Tribe, and like all Water Tribe boys, was taught to be a warrior. He was friends with Bato, and the two of them had many famous and hilarious adventures. At some point, he got married and fathered two children: Katara and Sokka. Tragically, his wife Kya was killed in a Fire Nation Raid.

Heading Off
Hakoda recognized Katara's Waterbending abilities when she was young and encouraged her to develop them, knowing that her skills would be key to helping to rebuild the Southern Water Tribe; he even traveled around the South Pole, looking for a Waterbender to train his daughter, but could not find one. Two years before the start of the series, Hakoda made a difficult choice to leave his children behind, and lead the Water Tribe men to fight in The War. This event had a tremendous impact on Katara and Sokka.

Hakoda saw Appa flying in the night. Since he did not know what Appa was or how he looked like, he did not care. Sokka saw him for the first time in two years. He is often spoken of, particularly by Sokka, who shows great respect and admiration for him.

His short reunion with Sokka was cut short when Aang arrived to gain Sokka's help in rescuing Katara from the clutches of Azula; Hakoda gave his son a confident smile as he proceeded to launch the attack against the Fire Navy vessels. When he reunited with his family again, though, it was far from a happy reunion--a comatose Aang and his battle-worn friends arrived bearing news of the fall of Ba Sing Se and the entire Earth Kingdom. Battered by their battle with the Fire Nation ships, the Water Tribe was in no condition to fight off the reinforcements. Fortunately, Hakoda's son shared his trait of not giving up.

Disguised on the Ship
Hakoda and Sokka led the Water Tribe in a raid upon a Fire Navy ship after sinking their own vessels. Taking it without too much trouble, they proceeded to sail west through the Serpent's Pass. During this time, Hakoda found his daughter strangely distant from him and resentful.

When he warmly greeted the revived Avatar, Katara darkly asked him to leave (though she unconvincingly denied being mad at him). Hakoda later proved his skills as a leader and an actor by managing to convince a Fire Navy Officer that they were from the Eastern Fleet and heading out to join the main group--unfortunately, what he had in acting abilities was lacking in information, and the ruse was seen through shortly.



After barely escaping the enemy vessel, Hakoda found himself faced with an even greater conflict--his daughter. After Aang left the ship to fight alone, Katara rushed to her father and angrily emptied her feelings to him until she was sobbing. Hakoda realized that she was upset because of him--she tearfully asked him how he could have left them after their mother died. He explained that he shared the same grief, but knew that he had to take the course, no matter how much it hurt. Katara seems to have forgiven her father now, though she and the rest of the gang left him to help Aang.

The Invasion


Hakoda arrived at the Black Cliffs on the day of the eclipse, just as planned. Sokka had asked him to recruit some special people that would be good assets to the battle. Hakoda followed through on the favor and returned with all the people asked. Sokka had planned to give a speech explaining the invasion plan, but froze up. Hakoda stepped in for his son and proved to be a very good inspirational speaker. After getting the warriors excited for battle, they proceeded to the Fire Nation Capital.



After passing the Great Gates of Azulon, it was a straight shot to the capital. After landing of the beach, Hakoda led the charge to the palace. The warriors were being bombarded by the battlements, and Hakoda quickly learned that they needed to be destroyed. Sokka came up with a plan to destroy them. Hakoda, Katara, and Sokka boarded Appa and proceeded to destroy the battlements. They landed between two battlements and Hakoda told Sokka and Katara to take out one while he took out the other. Sokka and Katara successfully destroyed their target only to see an explosion in the other one. Hakoda stumbled out of the battlement and fell over. Katara used waterbending to heal his wounds, but he still was not completely cured. With his father unable to continue leading the invasion, Sokka assumed command, making Hakoda proud. After Aang failed to defeat Fire Lord Ozai, Hakoda decided to send the younger warriors away on Appa. The younger ones, including Katara and Sokka, were sent to the Western Air Temple for a place to hide. The remaining warriors were imprisoned.

Imprisonment
At first, the members of the invasion force were taken to the prison tower close to the Fire Nation Capital. Because he was the leader, Hakoda was separated from them and sent as a war prisoner to the Boiling Rock, a high security Fire Nation prison. Hakoda is lined up with the other prisoners to meet with the The Warden. The Warden walks across the line and tells the prisoners that prison doesn't have to be as bad as the rumors are, so long as they behave. He comes across Hakoda, who refuses to look him in the eye. The amused Warden forces Hakoda to his knees until he does look him in the eye. As the satisfied Warden tries to walk away, Hakoda trips him with his cuffs. Hakoda and the other prisoners are taken to their cells.



While in his cell, Hakoda is visited by Sokka, who had infiltrated the prison a day earlier, dressed as a guard. Hakoda is ready to fight Sokka until he removes his helmet and reveals his identity. The two hug, and Sokka explains that he came to break his father out of prison. He also tells him that he's found Suki in the prison and that he arrived with Prince Zuko, who had joined their side, and they all plan to escape. Hakoda and Sokka begin formulating an escape plan. They plan to start a prison riot as a distraction for the guards, take the Warden as a hostage, and commandeer the Gondola.

Hakoda, Sokka and Suki meet in the yard. Wondering how they can start a prison riot, Hakoda unsuccessfully tries to start one by shoving another prisoner, who is "working on controlling his anger". They are joined by Chit Sang, who had refused to rat out Sokka to the Warden, and asks to be part of their new escape attempt. Sokka tells him they need a prison riot as a distraction, and Chit Sang starts one easily. The group is joined shortly by Zuko. Suki takes the Warden hostage and Hakoda and the others go to the Gondola to make their escape. After several tense moments, including a furious battle on top of the Gondola and the Warden almost getting the line cut, the group escapes. They commandeer Azula's airship and make their way back to the Western Air Temple. Hakoda reunites with Katara, and he, Katara and Sokka share a hug.

Attack on the Temple and After the War
The Western Air Temple is attacked by a fleet of Airships lead by Azula. Because Appa will not go through an Earthbending-made tunnel, the group decides to split up. While Katara initially objects to splitting up their family again, Hakoda promises they'll meet again, and goes with Teo, The Duke, Haru and Chit Sang to the captured airship.

When Aang and his friends finally defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Hakoda arrived in the Fire Nation to celebrate the War's end and the coronation of Prince Zuko as Fire Lord. Upon reuniting with his two children, he proclaimed that he was "the proudest father in the world".

Abilities
Hakoda is a very skilled warrior, possibly the best in his tribe. He was shown fighting off multiple Firebenders when his tribe was attacked by the Southern Raiders. He is skilled with many weapons and hand to hand combat. Hakoda is also very intelligent and a wonderful strategist, which enables him to defeat large numbers of Firebenders despite being outnumbered, a trait he passed down to his son, Sokka.

Hakoda's skills in strategy and combat are fully witnessed in The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion, where he flawlessly explains the entire invasion plan and bravely leads the invasion force. He fights off many of Fire nation soldiers while in the capital city. He was unable to continue fighting after he was injured while trying to take out a battlement (although he was successful in destroying the battlement).

Hakoda's intelligence is shown once more in The Boiling Rock, Part 2, where he devises a successful escape plan with the help of Sokka.

Trivia

 * The voice actor who plays Hakoda, André Sogliuzzo, also plays King Bumi.
 * Hakoda's name may have been derived from the Japanese city of Hakodate.

Relatives

 * Kanna (mother)
 * Kya (wife)
 * Sokka (elder son)
 * Katara (younger daughter)
 * Master Pakku (stepfather)