Why did Kiri have a seizure in Avatar: The Way of Water? Explained

Kiri, one of the new characters in Avatar: The Way of Water and the franchise as a whole, has won the hearts of many fans around the world following her first appearance in the franchise. She is played by Sigourney Weaver, who played Dr. Grace Augustine in the first film.

Avatar: The Way of Water has currently crossed the $1 billion mark, sitting at $1.030 billion worldwide, against a budget of $350 to $460 million. James Cameron's film was lauded by the audience and critics for its cinematography, visual effects and realistic-looking CGI but was criticized for its narrative and screenplay.

Set 15 years following the events of Avatar, the film introduced a whole slew of new characters. These included the protagonist Jake Sully's children Neteyam, L'oak, and Tuk, Colonel Miles Quarritch's estranged son Spider, and most importantly Kiri, who is Jake and Neytiri's adoptive daughter.

A key moment in the film has made fans question details about her character. Why did Kiri have a seizure?

Disclaimer: The following article contains heavy spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water.

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Kiri and Eywa's connection and Kiri's seizures in Avatar: The Way of Water

Sigourney Weaver in Avatar: The Way of Water (image via 20th Century Studios)

Kiri is one of the few characters in Avatar: The Way of Water who, besides L'oak, has an interesting storyline. It involved her close friendship with Spider as she tries to find her place among the N'avi. She is also revealed to be the biological daughter of Dr. Grace Augustine, Jake's former colleague, who was killed during the events of the first film.

When audiences first meet the character in the film, we learn that she is struggling with her identity. She not only feels different from the rest of the N'avi because of her human-Avatar mother but also because she has a spiritual connection with Eywa, Pandora's divine figure on a subconscious level. Every N'avi possesses a connection to Eywa. Kiri's connection to Eywa, however, goes much beyond that of the regular N'avi.

Kiri seeing footage of her mother, Dr. Grace Augustine (image via 20th Century Studios)

Her connection to Eywa manifests itself in various ways. This is seen throughout the film when the sea animals and other biological marine life of Metkayina responds to her in manners that the N'avi, such as Ronal and Neytiri, have not seen before. This ranges from the flora and fauna of Metkayina obeying her wishes to the blades of grade syncing with her heartbeat.

This only shocked fans and made them even more suspicious about how she easily formed a connection with the creatures compared the L'oak and Jake, who had trouble bonding with the Metkayina fauna.

This suspicion reaches a tipping point when Kiri experiences an epileptic-like seizure after she uses her braid to forge a bond with Eywa via the Metkayina spirit tree. Norm, a human doctor and Jake's ally, believes it is epilepsy after scanning her vitals.

However, the Metkayina, like Ronal, shoot down that belief, saying her seizure was due to a strong connection to Eywa. She later tells Jake that not only does she have a connection to Eywa but can also hear her heartbeat. Eywa's heartbeat is so powerful to her that she is moved to tears.

Her seizure is likely connected to her conception. Audiences still have no idea as to who her father is, which is a plot point James Cameron has left for future installments.

The character's connection to Eywa might be something unique and she may have a deity-like essence because of such a strong connection. This is presumably similar to the Jedi and their force powers in the Star Wars franchise.

Another theory would be that Kiri tapped too much into her connection with Eywa without any sort of training which ended up causing her strong seizure. Her connection to Eywa also allowed her to briefly meet her deceased mother, Dr. Grace, in a vision and even communicate with her. This brief emotional reunion contributed to her strong seizure.

James Cameron had this to say while doing an interview with Digital Spy:

"Obviously the enigmas around Kiri are not resolved, and that’s by design."

The character speaking to Jake Sully in Avatar: The Way of Water (image via 20th Century Studios)

Her connection to Eywa and her seizures will possibly be explored more in the coming installments and prove instrumental in the N'avi' and Metkayina's fight against the "Sky People" who will only be as determined as ever to reclaim Pandora's lands following their two crushing defeats.