#pls forgive the quality i know it's low this was the best version i had access to lol

[themomentofdavyprentiss]

so you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but i've seen ppl say the southern raiders is actually anti zutara bc they 'bring out the worst in eachother' and zuko would've let katara do something she regrets. i guess i was just wondering what your view on this is? cause i see where they're coming from but the fact that he let her make that choice on her own is...good, right? idk idk pls help lol

I would love to answer this!! 

The Southern Raiders is one of the most divisive episodes in the ATLA fandom, and the most divisive episode in the zutara fandom. You have some zutara shippers who would say that episode is the paragon of zutara and the reason they even ship it. Others would say it is the absolute worst example of zutara, and that they ship it despite that episode. 

I, personally, understand both sides of the argument and agree with both. 

But Susannah, you say. How can you possibly agree that The Southern Raiders is both the best and worst Zutara episode? 

Well, kids, there is this really cool thing called context, and it’s something I think is absolutely vital in understanding when it comes to this episode. 

I’ve said before that season three is like night and day in terms of quality. The season has some of the highest highs in the show, but also the lowest of lows. The clearest example would be The Awakening (episode 1) vs. The Headband (episode 2). The characters pull a huge 180 in just one episode, and it feels like you aren’t even watching the same show.  

The whole season is this constant tug of war, back and forth, between the show characters, and Bryke’s interpretation of them (or, if you will, the comic version of the characters). This is because, during the production of season three, Ehasz and Bryke suffered from huge creative differences. While the first two seasons pretty much let Ehasz do what he wanted with the narrative outline Bryke had created, season 3 saw a much harsher push for Bryke’s vision. 

The Southern Raiders is the episode where that is most clearly seen from scene to scene. Elizabeth Ehasz, writer of the episodes Zuko Alone and The Avatar and the Fire Lord, was the head writer for this episode, and in the process of writing said episode, was told to rewrite it by Bryke as it was considered ‘too shippy’. Because of this, the episode is basically fighting itself the entire time, caught in the cognitive dissonance of Elizabeth’s character interpretations and story writing and Bryke’s need for Zuko and Katara to be portrayed in the least romantic way possible in an episode where they spend the entire time together. 

For simplicity’s sake, let’s call this Elizabeth vs. Bryke, or, Zutara vs. Narrative.

Now with all of that said, I think the argument of anti-and-pro The Southern Raiders becomes a lot easier to break down.

Did the episode successfully portray Zutara in a way that would turn people against shipping it, or did the natural chemistry between the two characters still shine enough against the odds anyway? 

Well, like I said before, it did both. And I think in most cases, no matter which argument you look at, you’re going to find that to some degree, the person’s interpretation is accurate. Because one of them is going to be looking at what Bryke contributed and one is going to be looking at what Elizabeth contributed. 

That’s not to say I agree with everyone’s arguments against Zutara in this episode. I don’t agree that they bring out the worst in each other in this episode, I don’t believe Aang was right, and I definitely don’t agree that it portrays a toxic or unhealthy relationship. 

However, it definitely does some things… not right. My biggest issue personally is that Zuko takes on the role of ‘The Devil on Katara’s Shoulder’ during the whole fight between her and Aang. 

Aang was definitely in the wrong on this one. I’m not about to defend anything he said or tried to do to stop her. But, Zuko takes on this really one-dimensional bad boy personality of ‘Oh you’re just an immature kid who’s stupid and you don’t know what you’re talking about’ which is so unbelievably out of character for Zuko, especially in an episode written by the same woman who wrote an episode (Zuko Alone) that’s sole purpose was to humanize him. Elizabeth Ehasz’s biggest strength is character exposition and development, and I find it really hard to believe that she’d give Zuko a line such as ‘Alright Guru Goody-Goody, we’ll be sure to do that’. I mean, really? 

Nice try, Bryke, but I can see your influence there clear as day. 

I’m assuming you mentioned the whole ‘he let her make the choice’ thing so I could validate that you’re right. You want to know whether I’m going to say ‘Hey! He didn’t say anything which means the choice was hers! He let her do what she needed in terms of facing him! Couple goals!!!” or “He was an enabler and should have done something to stop her, or else the whole scene could’ve ended horribly.” 

I’m going to say neither. Personally, I don’t see it as either. I see the episode as two teenagers, both deeply hurt and unable to move past the loss of their mothers, going on a necessary journey to heal and move past what happened. There was no right choice, no ultimate outcome, no right or wrong way for the events to happen. They just were. They were two teenagers affected by war having to do things no teenager should ever have to be in the position of doing. 

This wasn’t a show of who they would be as a couple. Nothing about this episode, except for her forgiving him at the end, was a real indicator of who they would be together outside of those events. 

If you think that the final outcome was bad and toxic, that’s fine. I understand why. You think that Katara needed someone to pull her in and stop her from potentially doing something she would always regret. 

If you think that they showed a real and genuine understanding of each other and portrayed a balanced and healthy relationship, that’s fine too. By Zuko not saying anything and letting her go through the motions on her own, he gave her a way to heal and do what she needed to do, outside of what anyone else told her she needed to do. 

Just like there was no right way for the episode’s events to play out, there is no right or ultimate way to interpret Zutara in this episode. 

I wish we had Elizabeth’s original script and idea for the episode. I think then if there were no forces trying to stop zutara from ‘being a thing’ in this episode, it’d be a lot easier to say whether or not they were good for each other in the episode.

But, the episode we have is all we’ve got. All I can say is, find the interpretation of the events that resonates with you most, and that you think is the best example of who the characters were in that episode, whether or not it’s positive or negative.