#aang vs ozai

[akiizayoi4869]

So I was just watching Aang vs Ozai, and um. Ozai fucking fired lightning at Aang 4 freaking times in rapid succession😭.

Idk if that had something to do with the comet enhancing Ozai’s power or what, but that is insane. Really shows you how powerful of a fire bender this man was. Two of my favorite scenes from this fight would have to be this:

When Aang catches Ozai’s lightning in order to redirect it, only to choose not to in the end, and when Aang nearly ends Ozai while in the avatar state, only to tell his past lives “fuck off, I’m doing this my way” and chooses not to kill him again. Aang held on to the beliefs of his people until the very end, and I love that. In the end it was those very same beliefs that the Fire Nation deemed as weak that ended a hundred years worth of war.

[in2u-4asec]

I am so happy!!!!

[shadow-warren-whump]

Which fight was more memorable to you? Not which one by standards of the show or what you think is the right answer. Which one will you always go back to or pit every fight scene you ever see after it against?

Both are amazing and have so much storytelling within them, but mine is Zuko vs Azula. It was my first proper tragic battle i ever watched and it changed me. Every battle like that will always be compared to it. I actually prefer tragic battles because of their fight.

[sh3nlong-promakh0s]

ikr wtf was that it ATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and left no crumbs it was sosososososososo good i could watch it 2349803248023 times

to this day, no matter how many times i rewatch, the ozai vs aang battle will forever send chills down my spine. it is always so thrilling to see aang in the avatar state put ozai in his place. to see aang finally find balance between his role as the avatar and his role as the last airbender. i will always be amazed holy shit i can’t believe a finale like this exists

[queen-morgana91]

Aang vs Ozai is the most-viewed atla video on youtube 👀

Deserved, because this fight was peak and the culmination of a beautiful series (and Aang's storyline)

[blluespirit]

okay first three episodes thoughts

good

bending is cool as fuck

sozin’s actor does an amazing job at full crazy but calculated

scenery is STUNNING

monk gyatso made me cry. idk why i just saw him and wanted him to give me a hug so bad

APPA ACTUALLY LOOKS GOOD AND NOT LIKE A LITERAL MONSTER

i wasn’t sure how id feel about them showing the air nomad massacre but i think the importsnt thing is that they showed it was a massacre - and that although they can defend themselves, they don’t have the ability to fight back like an organised army would bc they’re pacifists! they attacked a peaceful group

the abandoned fire nation ship in the southern water tribe looks so fucking cool

ARTIST ZUKO???!!! LETS GOOO

Dallas does an amazing job at getting across Zuko’s intense desperation

I actually ended up loving all the Sokka and Suki interactions sm it was so cute and wholesome

Katara is perfect i will kill and die for her

Azula’s opening scene being her manipulating those people trying kill ozai ultimately leading them to getting burned alive by him and smiling - literally so fucking good. she is the best villain in history of forever

really good move having the mechanist (Sai!) and Teo be in Omashu imo. having them destroy the northern Air Temple so carelessly always pissed me off

THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS ARE LITERALLY PERFECT I AM SCREAMINGGGG

I was wondering how they were going to introduce the Mechanist and Jet in a limited amount of episodes but I like how they combined the two stories

Also Sokka absolutely nerding out in the Mechanist’s home is so important to me

Zuko getting has ass beat by that lady for fighting Aang is literally so funny and reminiscent of the goofy aang vs zuko fights we see in season 1 (to be clear: i adore zuko. this is NOT hate on him)

Zuko losing shit about his notebook and trashing his room and then outing himself as a fire bender in Omashu is so perfect. god i love him so much. it’s very season 1 zuko. it’s giving I DONT NEED ANY CALMING TEA!!!

things i was not a fan of: (some of these are a little pedantic i’ll admit)

Exposition is a little is a little janky but i’ll forgive it i guess bc at least it isn’t egregious as The Movie That Shall Not Be Named

Aang leaving just to get fresh air/clear his head and intending to come back is a silly change to me. all i keep thinking about is the storm where we got those epic Zuko and Aang parallels which now doesn’t really work and also takes away a lot of Aang’s depth. A good change adds to the story, but personally this seems to take it away

WHY would they not make Katara the one to bring him back from the avatar state? just seems like a strange choice to me? not saying this from a shipping point at all but that moment is a big step to their bond/friendship especially since they have only just met

Still don’t understand why they made the head of the village Suki’s mum. like i don’t think it’s a terrible choice but they still could have let them have a mother/daughter bond but still let Suki be the leader without any implications of nepotism. it mostly seeems silly

tl;dr - really enjoying it so far!

[redrobin-detective]

So I had an interesting ATLA thought.

Let's say if Zuko had been there and the invasion was successful, but not entirely. The Firelord, Azula and some high up generals got away but the Gaang had captured the Capital. Just imaging how S3 pt 2 would have gone down.

The Caldera citizens who could leave are split into thirds: those who are Ozai loyal and want the Avatar out, those who are loyal to anyone NOT Ozai and are happy to embrace the Gaang, and those who are scared shitless. So anytime the resistance interacts with any FN citizens they have a 1/3 chance of either being stabbed, bowed at or cried on.

The Gaang has gotten used to roughing it, now they have fancy personal bedrooms and 5 star cooking?? every day?? Sokka never wants to leave. no sir he is staying put forever. Another mango juice please!

Zuko trying to teach Aang and there's so many other Firebenders around to have opinions and Zuko is very protective and fierce about who gets to to teach his student. Aang is very touched watching his Sifu run off another so called expert like an angry chihuahua.

Boiling Rock is exactly the same except they learn Suki is there and Sokka is off running. Sokka spends the entire time pretending to be a FN noble.

Iroh, upon breaking out and realizing the Caldera is lost, decides to assemble his White Lotus buddies there. He takes unofficial charge, working as a general to end the war. Everyone assumed he'd be Firelord afterwards not knowing he always intended to hand the crown to Zuko.

Everyone -including Zuko- thought Iroh would be Firelord so he'd chatting with Sokka and Toph about what he'll do after the war. He was considering being some sort of ambassador while also teaching swordsmanship and the true source of firebending when Iroh drops the news. Zuko is blindsided.

With the White Lotus now hanging around the capital we would be Toph vs Bumi (who escaped and made his way over JUST to ensure Aang's earthbending teacher was good enough), Katara vs Pakku 2 (feminism and family edition), and Zuko vs Jeong Jeong who debate firebending philosophy until they're breathless. Aang and Iroh are happily playing Pai Sho in the background.

Ok picture this, Azula and Ozai are on the run, they have sympathizers but they have to get to them first. Queue S2 pt 1 Zuko and Iroh on the run only they're both Zuko and everything is on fire. Azula, who has some experience with the real world, needs to corral her angry, sheltered father around. Ozai just gets dunked on every moment.

Azula gets a little of her own development throughout this. She can survive on her own but she isn't used to not being the shining princess who gets everything. Ozai treats her like dirt even as he is struggling with basic survival. Azula's loyalty wavers for him, watching him flounder without his peons and threats.

There are some guards with them, guards who are NOT paid enough for this. Oh you want a 4 poster bed with turtleduck feather pillows and silk sheets, Your Majesty? I have a rock with some moss on it.

They would eventually mount a defense to take back the Caldera and reclaim their throne during Sozin's Comet. The world would watch Ozai's willingness to burn his own damned country and people to get his power back. There is minimal protest when they stick Ozai's awkward teenage son on the throne. Anyone is better than Ozai.

[sh3nlong-promakh0s]

yo i was so keen for this endgame i might just watch it again for the 4th time this year damn

The time has come, why am I so nervous 😬

[longing-for-rain]

hey there!

please don't take this the wrong way, because i'm genuinely just asking. i've seen your criticism of aang and kataang appear on my dash from time to time, and it just got me wondering: how can you enjoy the show?

i understand that you feel passionate about katara, and i suppose about the entire story, but. aang is like on screen 90% of the time, and he gets his happy ending too (as happy as it can be, of course, with having his entire culture and people on the brink of non-existence). how do you reconcile your love for the show with your dislike for its main character and how the narrative rewards him?

and once again, please understand that i'm not attacking. i'm just curious to see at what point does someone stop being a fan and start being simply critical of a certain media, if you know what i mean.

thank you for answering if you do, and cheers!:)

I just don’t pay attention to him very much. Even in the finale, Zuko’s ending and story stands out more to me. Him standing before the crowd in his sparkling crown, announcing that he wants to bring in a new era of love and peace, that’s powerful to me. Watching Zuko go from an abused boy who thinks his only worth comes from accomplishing an impossible task in his desperation to appease his abuser, to a literal king taking back his power and using it for good, is a powerful story.

As for Katara, to me, her true ending is the Agni Kai. I wrote a whole post about it. That is the culmination of her arc, where she is able to display her power and use it to overthrow the regime that she’d grown up being terrorized by. And then after Zuko was nearly killed, Katara was able to save his life just like he saved hers. The way their stories intertwined was beautiful, and it was a beautiful conclusion to Katara’s story, watching her not have to feel helpless for once and bringing the change she’d always dreamed of.

As you can probably tell, these are my favorite characters so I was satisfied by their endings. To be honest on my rewatch, I usually kind of just skim the Aang vs. Ozai fight because it’s just an anime battle. The characters hadn’t even met prior to the fight, so the emotional depth is lacking compared to the Final Agni Kai.

As for the balcony scene? I don’t watch it. And I think it says a lot that by simply not watching it, nothing is lost. It adds nothing to either character and only serves to give Aang a reward. Before that moment, nothing about the finale suggested Katara wanted that at all. Neither character played a significant role in the other’s finale arc. There was absolutely no narrative significance between them.

But there was for Zuko and Katara.

To me, Katara ended the story as a heroine and warrior, not a love interest. With Zuko, that was her ending. So that’s the real ending to me, because that’s what her character means to me.

[hadesisqueer]

Preparing to watch the ATLA finale again

Love Aang vs Ozai and it's iconic but The Last Agni Kai just hits different every time I watch it because it's not an epic or heroic, it's a tragedy, brother and sister fighting each other, and it doesn't really have a happy, satisfying ending unlike Aang vs Ozai. At the end I just feel sad for Azula because she was just another victim of her father who didn't have anyone to put her on the right path like Zuko did.

[pears-palette]

Posting another emotional gut punch WIP dump since y’all seemed to like the last one!

[id in alt text]

It’s heartbreaking to see so many bonds irreparably broken through trauma. Aang ran and his father figure, Monk Gyatso, has been dead for 100 years. Katara and Sokka lost their mother in such a violent manner. While they are both still alive, whatever sibling relationship Zuko and Azula could have had when they were little has become too twisted by years of Ozai pitting them against each other. It’s mentioned in the comic that the two used to act out Love Amongst the Dragons together, and wanted the contrast between their life or death Agni Kai vs when their fights were only pretend.

[lilbagdermole]

It's common knowledge that Zuko and Aang, throughout the duration of ATLA, are a mirror of one another; a reflection of each other - not necessarily opposites but parallels.

So whilst I was analyzing the finale of the show, I noticed a really interesting parallel between our two protagonists:

Zuko was close to dying in his final confrontation with Azula and what pulled him back up, what saved him from dying was water. More necessarily Katara's healing abilities - but nonetheless, his opposing element saved his life.

On the other hand, Aang throughout his harrowing fight against Ozai utilizes Earthbending time and time again to save himself, techniques that we've come to associate with Toph (rock armor and seismic sense). And to access the Avatar State, that had since been blocked, Earth had been the ultimate catalyst to unlocking his Seventh Chakra.

And if we take into consideration what Guru Pathik told Aang - to unlock the Seventh Chakra he would have to let go of Katara. In a sense, this could have been a visual representation of how Aang lets go of his love for Katara, and how Toph (Earth) could take up that role.

Earth, his opposing Element, saves his life.

It's also interesting that our protagonists' conclusions and destinies are integrally tied to the aforementioned girls. Destiny and Fate are two major themes in ATLA, alonside the moral lesson shared to us by Uncle Iroh about the unity of the four elements and how each element can learn and grow from the other.

Zuko's destiny to bring honor to Fire Nation whilst also challenging his conflicting natures (Sozin vs. Roku; Ozai/Azula vs. Iroh) would have never come into fruition had it not been for Katara. Katara was the first person (other than his Uncle) to show him genuine compassion and humanity, she was the first person to glimpse into his true, kind and gentle nature. Additionally, had she not fought alongside Zuko to defeat Azula and save his life, he would have never been able to step up to the Throne and fulfill his destiny. Thus Katara is linked and bound to Zuko's destiny.

Aang's destiny was to restore peace to the world and end The One Hundred Year War. The Aang we meet during Book One - is timid and soft, a strong bender and with limitless potential, but he lacked the confidence, the back-bone, the grounding to step-up to his duties as the Avatar and defeat Ozai. Katara coddled him and never challenged him to look beyond himself. It's only after meeting Toph does Aang begin to confront his opponents with a different viewpoint, he gains a certain matureness in himself and suddenly we see him step up into his role and responsibilities. Toph's Earthbending not only saves him from death but it also gave him the strength to face his destiny. Thus, Toph is linked and bound to Aang's destiny.

It would have tied a lot of unexplored themes as well as provide a more satisfying conclusion (Aang entering the Avatar State because he followed through with Guru Pathik's lessons instead of pointy rock triggers it) and it would have been cohesive with the narrative thematic of ATLA.

I'm still astonished at how badly Bryke fumbled the bag with their romantic sub-plots. 🗿

[waterfire1848]

[ Everyone watching the final fight with Aang vs Ozai and seeing Aang not hit Ozai with the lightning. ]

Azula: YOU MISSED?!?

Zuko: HOW COULD YOU MISS!? HE WAS THREE FEET IN FRONT OF YOU!

[dukeofdelirium]

the parallels between Zuko and Aang in The Storm w Gyatso trying to fight to keep his son vs Ozai banishing his for “disrespect” *chefs kiss*

[zuko-always-lies]

Does Aang ever really lose a fight against anyone other than Azula? I guess the Aang vs. King Bumi* fight is kind of a draw and Aang struggles against Combustion Man but other than those three Aang tends to go through his opponents like a buzzsaw. Even against Sozin's Comet boasted Ozai Aang gained a decisive advantage three separate times. You have to either be Azula or be able to shoot explosions out of your mind to give Aang an actual challenge.

*Note that this is early Book 1 one element Aang; i.e. Aang at his weakest.

[burst-of-iridescent]

The Choice of Compassion: A Scene Analysis of Aang vs Zuko

should aang have killed ozai?

the age old question. the discourse secondary only to the infamous kat.aang vs zutara ship war. the argument that's been raging for sixteen long, long years and inspired dozens upon dozens of thinkpieces on either side.

so naturally, i'm here to add one more that no one asked for.

now, this debate keeps getting mischaracterized as The Side That Respects Pacifism vs The Side That Wants A Preteen To Commit Brutal Murder when, for the most part, i don't think anyone is really staking their life on the homicide hill. the real issue most people take with aang's arc in the finale isn't him sparing ozai, but rather the deus ex-machina mechanism through which he's able to do so. i agree with that, but i would also take it further to argue that the real problem is that aang's ending is not thematically and narratively consistent with the rest of his arc as set up in the show.

to illustrate this, let's take a look at another scene that plays with similar themes: zuko choosing to save zhao in the siege of the north.

the basics of both scenes are the same: both boys choose, against all logic and common sense, to spare someone who would never show them the same mercy. when it comes down to compassion versus violence, they choose compassion, even at risk to themselves.

but where the siege of the north differs from sozin's comet is that zuko choosing to save zhao is thematically consistent with his arc in season 1, and aligns with where it will go in seasons 2 and 3.

zuko's journey throughout the show is one of rediscovery. he has to find his way back to who he used to be, before his family and his nation warped his perception of right and wrong, and forced him into believing he had to become someone he didn't want to be. it's clear as early as the storm episode that zuko is fundamentally kind, and the person he is now is as a result of being indoctrinated in a culture that perverted violence and cruelty into honour and strength.

in trying to save zhao, the personification of the fire nation's worst qualities and most twisted teachings, zuko turns against the values he's been raised with most of his life and instead chooses to remain true to himself and what he believes is right. it's a triumphant moment because it's zuko returning to the heart of who he is, and who he's truly supposed to be.

and even though his decision may be logically unsound (why risk yourself trying to save someone who tried to kill you?) you don't see anyone complaining that zuko shouldn't have tried at all, because his choice here is a direct - even if brief - resolution to the internal conflict the show has previously established for his character. the narrative consistency of the set-up and payoff allows the audience to recognize the thematic cohesion of this moment in zuko's arc - which is what makes it so powerful and satisfying.

so, the question is: does the same apply to aang's choice not to kill ozai?

the argument supporting aang's decision is usually something as follows: "aang sparing ozai is his way of remaining true to his people and making sure they aren't forgotten. it's a powerful symbol of how he's keeping their culture and beliefs alive even though the fire nation tried to wipe them out."

now that's not a bad argument, in theory. the problem, though, is that if this is the resolution of aang's arc, it has to be a direct response to a conflict established in said arc... and remaining true to air nomad values is not a struggle the show ever set up for aang until the finale.

not once in any of the previous seasons does aang seem to be forgetting his people's ideals, or losing his identity through assimilation, or struggling to reconcile his air nomad beliefs with the ideas he's encountering in this new, changed world. there isn't a long-term, sustained arc about him being worried or concerned about air nomad culture dying out completely, or about taking on the burden of keeping it alive. in fact, the only episode that does reckon with this theme in any capacity - the northern air temple - seems to push the opposite message: that aang should move on and adapt to this changing world instead of remaining mired in the past, and protecting the culture of a people long gone.

(note: i don't like how the NAT episode handled this theme, but for the purposes of this post, we will take it as it was written.)

both zuko and aang are characters whose arcs revolve around change, but if zuko's arc is about moving back to who he truly is, then aang's arc is about moving forward. it's about going from the last airbender to the avatar - about drawing wisdom from different places, about immersing himself in the practices, beliefs and cultures of the other nations, and learning to value them as he values his own.

it's the classic want vs need: what aang wants is to be nothing more than a goofy, peaceful airbender but what he needs is to become a fully-realized avatar, the embodiment of four nations in one. and this conflict is established and re-established repeatedly over three seasons, most especially in his struggle to learn earthbending and firebending, both of which called for him to adopt new perspectives and beliefs contrary to his own.

this is why aang refusing to kill ozai feels so narratively unfulfilling, because it's the complete antithesis of what the show established for aang's narrative over three seasons. the plot point of his absolute pacifism not only comes out of left field (where was this problem when he was going to battle ozai during the eclipse?), it's also incongruous with the depiction of other air nomads in the series (both yangchen and gyatso don't seem to practice absolute pacifism) and with where aang's own arc appeared to be leading.

additionally, it also conflicts with the thematic clash that the aang vs ozai fight is supposed to represent: what was meant to be balance and harmony vs dominance and supremacy now turns into... air nomad beliefs vs fire nation beliefs, which runs contrary to the fundamental message of the entire show. not exactly what you want for the final battle between your protagonist and antagonist!

all of this is not to say that aang should have gone turbo avatar state on ozai and singlehandedly yeeted him into the spirit world. but there were a dozen other ways to handle ozai's end: give him a disney death, let aang learn energybending of his own accord and incapacitate him the way katara took down azula, or - my personal favourite - bring in the spirits in a neat parallel to the book 1 finale, and have ozai's death be a consequence of the imbalance he propagated in the world (i've always felt the avatar being the spirit bridge was a plotline that kinda got shafted in book three, and bringing back someone like koh, for instance, would've slapped).

the point is that for the resolution of aang's arc to be thematically consistent with the established narrative (the validity of this narrative, and whether it should have been different, is another point entirely, but it cannot be denied that this is what the show chose to go with), he needed to place the values and beliefs of the other nations on equal footing with his own, and win because of this willingness to draw from all nations instead of relying solely on his own.

ultimately, remaining true to his compassionate, peaceful nature is not a struggle in aang's narrative the way that it is in zuko's, which is why him choosing to spare ozai doesn't have anywhere near the emotional resonance or satisfaction of zuko reaching out to zhao. meanwhile, the conflict that does characterize aang's arc - being forced to become the avatar - never comes to a meaningful resolution the way that zuko's does. rather, it's thrown out the window in favour of a last minute plot point that robs aang of both agency and development, and destroys the thematic cohesion of his narrative for nothing.