June is one of the few significant non-bending fighters to appear in Avatar: The Last Airbender – and a theory suggests that she may play a vital role as the grandmother of Legend of Korra main character Asami. June is last seen within the territory of the Earth Kingdom where, 70 years later, Republic City is founded in the show’s sequel series. Despite this significant gap, one theory suggests that June may still live on through one of the residents of Republic City, a non-bender who also happens to be one of the main protagonists of Legend of Korra, Asami Sato.
Asami is one of the franchise’s few non-bender protagonists, a position shared only by Sokka and Suki from the original series. Within Legend of Korra, Asami’s hand-to-hand combat skills were largely attributed as a result of her father’s training. However, the theory suggests that it may also have involved hereditary training from her mother’s side, as one of June’s specialities was her physical strength. It helps draw more insight into the relationship that Asami may have had with her mother, especially due to the fact that audiences are shown very little of Yasuko Sato. Her absence becomes an important plot point in Legend of Korra season 1, when it’s revealed that she was murdered by a firebending criminal, which causes Hiroshi to hold a grudge against all benders, however there is little else known about her.
The theory posits that June being the grandmother to Asami might be the crucial link towards solving the mystery surrounding her mother. At a first glance, on a superficial level, Asami and June share several traits in terms of their appearance, with the exception of Asami’s hair being brown (which appears to be inherited from her father) and June’s hair being jet-black during Aang’s era. However, there’s also a resemblance to June seen in Asami’s mother, as part of a photograph, from the way she does her hair to her bright eyes. Despite the black and white nature of the photograph making it hard to discern specific details, the detail about Asami’s mother’s eyes is a characteristic that can be proven through Asami herself.
Secondly, there’s an important connection to be made that Asami’s mother was also a non-bender just like her. In the first season of Legend of Korra, when Hiroshi reveals his hatred for benders, Yasuko’s murder was the main motive. Asami’s mother was murdered by a firebender, while Hiroshi was powerless to stop the assault – a plot that initially had Asami also become a Legend of Korra villain. This proves that Asami’s mother had to have been a non-bender like June, due to the fact that Hiroshi would not have held a grudge against all benders if his partner had been one herself.
Further supporting this theory is the way in which the Avatar: The Last Airbender series uses eye color, as it is an important characteristic that plays a role in the worldbuilding of the franchise. Eye color is generally a marker of the nation a person is from – as, for example, members of the Water Tribes tend to possess blue eyes, while Fire Nation citizens and the Air Nomad monks have hazel brown and grey eyes respectively. In the light of all this information, a noticeable characteristic about Asami is that she has green eyes, a trait that’s largely exclusive to the earthbending Earth Kingdom citizens. The reason why this is important is that her father, Hiroshi Sato, has been confirmed to have been of Fire Nation descent, which would imply that Asami’s eyes should have been hazel-orange like Zuko’s or Azula’s. As a result, the fact her eyes are instead green suggests her mother’s side of the family is likely from the Earth kingdom, further supporting the idea that June is Asami’s grandmother.
The final aspect of the theory focuses on the places where June is seen in the original show. Her location can be tracked down to the abbey where she attacked Aang and the others in her debut episode, “Bato of the Water Tribe.” This abbey is located near Mo Ce Sea – a significant detail because it’s the exact region where the United Republic of Nations is developed 70 years later. While the city is noteworthy as the setting for the majority of the Legend of Korra series, it’s also stated to be the place where Hiroshi Sato first met Yasuko. The theory paints an interesting picture of what might have happened to June, as she would have grown alongside the development of the United Republic and possibly settled there in the following years. There’s a significant period of time that takes place between Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, which allows for viewers and theorists to fill in their own blanks as to what happened during this time skip – which is both a delight for those who enjoy crafting Avatar theories, and also a good point for a potential further series down the line.
