#she is dead TO ME. the search is not real ursa was literally murdered!

[mrsmiroir]

if ursa has a million fans, then i am one of them. if ursa has ten fans, then i am one of them. if ursa has only one fan then that is me. if ursa has no fans, then that means i am no longer on earth. if the world is against ursa, then i am against the world 😔

[science-fiction-is-real]

Problems with “The Search” and how i would fix it.  part 1.  Ursa

“The Search” is like the Star Wars prequels for the Avatar Universe.  Its a story we waited a long time to see, but when we got it, actually disappointed a lot of us.  Some of you liked “The Search.”  That’s fine.  I’m not here to shit on you.  But I personally found it disappointing, and when I find a story disappointing, my writer’s instincts kick in, and I immediately want to figure out how I could have done it better.

So here are my main problems with the Search, and how I would fix them.  Let’s start with the main character, shall we.

Ursa, her problems, and how I would have done it better

Ursa is a problem in the comics because the Ursa we got in the show was an entirely different person.  Lets compare and contrast.

Ursa in “Zuko Alone” was a REALLY COOL character.  After only five minutes of screen time, she immediately became one of my favorites.  Her name is literally “Mama Bear” and she tells us herself that she would do anything to protect her children.  With Zuko and Azula she is a loving nurturer and stern, steady guide. (Yes, many fans criticize how Ursa treated Azula, but that’s a different argument for a different post.)

But while the Ursa we see directly on screen is kind and gentle, it is implied that Ursa behind the scenes is a political animal, a bad ass who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, a power player who pulls strings and changes the course of history.  When Azula tells Zuko their grandfather is dead, it is strongly implied that Ursa has straight up iced a bitch.  She killed a man.  She pulled a Lady Macbeth.  On a kids show.  That leaves an impact.  And we respect her for it.

Ursa in the show is a badass.

Ursa in the Comics is a sloppy mishmash of many different ancient and vaguely misogynistic tropes.  I can understand the story Gene Yang and Bryke were going for in “The Search.”  They wanted to create a tragic figure out of her. Comics Ursa was swept from a world in which she was happy to the evil and twisted world of the Fire Nation Royal Court.  She gets caught up in an abusive relationship she can’t escape, as well as some political plots she wants no part of.  Eventually she is torn away from everything she loves, leaving her with no choice but to desperately go to memory wiping face spirit for some relief. The Search reads like a greek tragedy, with Ursa as the ever suffering maiden at its center.  While Show Ursa was a Lady Macbeth, Comic Ursa is an Ophelia or a Desdemona, someone who is 100% sympathetic and lovable, but who ends up being destroyed by a great evil beyond their control.

Ursa in the Comics is very much a victim of circumstances who has very few chances to exercise agency over her life.   It bothers me how determined the writers seem to strip Ursa of her agency.  Ursa in the comics has no control over her life.  Every decision is made for her.  Her marriage is arranged.  Her husband pulls the strings and micromanages her life, and when he is done with her, he is the one who makes the decision for her to leave.

Real women in real life are faced with similar problems.  Women in many cultures don’t have much control over their own fates, so there is absolutely nothing wrong about portraying a fictional character suffering the same circumstances.  But the writers seem to take it a step further by taking away ALL her decisions.  The main reason we admired her in the show was her decision to kill Azulon.  In the Comics, that decision is given to her husband.  Ursa only is allowed to passively hand him a vial of poison.  Gene and Bryke take away Mama Bear’s kill count.

But what enrages me most about Comics Ursa is what she does when the writers finally DO give her a chance to make decisions for herself.  When exercising the little agency she does have, Ursa makes no effort to improve the quality of life for herself or her family.  In fact, she behaves with the emotional maturity of a 12 year old child.

Her main rebellion against her abusive husband is to write letters to her old boyfriend she knows won’t even be sent.  She makes the confusing decision to lie about her son’s parentage.  She does this, not because it will improve her situation in any way, but because she knows it will hurt her husbands feelings.  That is the only reason she gives.  Even though you could argue Ozai deserves it, it still seems cruel and petty on Ursa’s part.  Not only that, it puts her boyfriend’s life in danger, it puts Zuko at risk for abuse, and, later, it forces Zuko to needlessly endure the trauma of having to question his own origins.  I truly have no idea why the writers would include that story line.

But the icing on the shit cake is when Ursa completely abandons her parental responsibilities all together.  When Ursa, again not by her own choice but because she is a victim of circumstance, is separated from her children, she makes no effort to get them back, try to help them from the sidelines, or even honor her children’s memory.  She elects to have her memory completely erased, forgetting she has children in the first place.  The explanation the writers give is that Ursa could not bear the separation, and since there was nothing she could do to improve her situation, the only way she could be happy was to wipe her memory.  Ursa, and the writers, forget how cruel this is to Zuko and Azula, who now will never have a chance to get in contact with her even if they are freed from their father’s grasp.  

But the real problem with the amnesia story is that it just isn’t something an admirable main character would do, a really shitty attitude for a main character to have.  Giving herself amnesia is a way for Ursa to give up.  She just gives up?  Really?  She would rather forget her responsibilities all together than fight an uphill battle to carry them out?  REALLY?  Even if she had decided to passively endure missing her children without doing anything about it, that would have been better.  The writers turn Ursa into the worst possible thing a main character can be, a quitter.  And it makes me want to punch a wall.

“Mama Bear” indeed.

SO.... HOW WOULD I FIX THIS..........

The first thing I would do give Ursa more choices in her life.  Characters can be very interesting when we see how they act when they don’t have many options, but I won’t do that to her right away.  

Ursa marries Ozai by choice.  This doesn’t necessarily have to be because she “loves” him, it could be because of politics, or to help herself or someone else.  Whatever her reason, she actively chooses to take up the mantel of being a member of the royal family.  It is not forced upon her.

Maybe as the story goes on, as the corruption of the Royal family becomes more and more evident, as Ozai becomes more and more abusive, we can back her into a corner a little, take away some of her options.  However, in my version of the search, Ursa is a strategic thinker as opposed to the emotionally reactive child we got in Bryke and Gene’s version.  Her response to her abusive husband is to do things she knows will protect her children, whether that be trying and failing to separate from him, placating him as best she can, or seeing her bravely pick up the pieces of the damage he leaves behind.  Watching characters keep themselves sane when they are under stress can be an awesome thing to behold, lets have ursa do it in ways that aren’t petty, selfish, and pointless.  I’m going to show her being brave, willing to rock the boat when she needs to or willing to be a stabilizing rudder when she needs to as well.  My Ursa would be a force for good.

Another thing is I want to show Ursa showing a little bit of the string pulling and tide turning abilities she was shown as having in the show (or at least how i interpreted it)  She is a princess of the Fire Nation for heck’s sake.  Let’s see her get stuff done in the royal court, or try to at least.  Lets see her actively protest her husband’s ambition and ruthlessness in how he does his business.  Lets see her take an active understanding of the world around her.

I would of course give the Azulons murder back to her.  I understand why they gave the kill to Ozai--because they can’t have a good guy kill someone in a story made for younger audiences.  But Avatar never shied away from darker themes in the show, so why should they in the comics.

One interesting theme they sort of hint on in the show is that the Fire Nation corrupts what would otherwise be good people.  We get the sense that Ozai was corrupted by his father, and Ozai corrupted his children in turn.  We are told that the people in the fire nation are not bad, but the culture of war they live in compells them to do bad things.  I think it would be really interesting watching Ursa deal with the reality that she has been corrupted by the Fire Nation.  She is not a killer, but circumstances drew her to be one.  Its an interesting theme, and I want to use Azulon’s death to highlight it.

When it comes to the aftermath of Azulon’s death, I don’t think it matters if Ursa leaves of her own free will or is kicked out by Ozai.  Either one makes sense.  But I want her to do something productive when she leaves.  I want her to make plans about getting her children back, or bringing Ozai down, or at least living to fight another day as Aang puts it to us so eloquently.  One idea I had is that she could operate an underground railroad to help political enemies, detractors, and dissidents escape the Fire Nation unharmed.

There are some things I might change that aren’t necessary for the story but I think would be cool.  I would like to make Ursa a fire bender.  I always assumed she was when I watched the show, since she is the grandchild of the motherfucking Avatar and both her kids are kick asses.   Maybe we could even have her and Ozai get into a badass fight scene at some point.

Of course, Ursa isn’t the only problem with “The Search,”  But that’s a topic for a different post, which I will be following up with soon.

Do you have any thoughts on Ursa, “The Search,” or ATLA comics?  Go ahead and comment.