#zuko analysis

[mushyposts]

I saw a post talking abt how Zuko fought as the blue spirit in silence bc he couldn’t risk his voice being recognised, and how difficult it would’ve been for him to fight without yelling, which is very funny and also I agree, but I do have other thoughts on it!!!

I think this is a VERY VERY interesting theme to explore. Fire bending, as we know canonically, is all in the breath. Zuko, when bending, forces power into his breaths vocally. Azula and Iroh in comparison are very quiet when bending, exhibiting extreme breath control, and when Azula does start to lose control of both herself and her bending she becomes vocal. Screaming, grunting, yelling while bending.

Zuko fighting as the blue spirit both in silence and without his bending IMO is such a good way of highlighting where his strengths lie. He’s a good bender, of course, especially by the end of the show where he’s found a new source of strength, but he’s never been as proficient as other fire benders.

I think the blue spirit was such an easy role for him to slip into because while fighting, for once, he didn’t have to force his strength. He took time training with swords, hand to hand, etc because he knew he lacked in bending ability.

I like to think he found it easy to not yell while fighting as the blue spirit, because he felt confident. In his ability to fight, in the hidden identity aspect removing him from the role of the banished prince and the expectations that came with it. Putting a space between himself and the burn that has been used to identify and humiliate him many times.

I just think Zukos bending and fighting evolution is so neat….

[eponastory]

After reading your posts about Ozai, do you think Zuko really loved his father after everything he did?

Ozai is alive post-war, and Zuko does go seek out advice from him. But here is where the parent child relationship gets a little dicey.

As children (most of us), we idolize our parents. So, it makes perfect sense that Zuko would have unconditional love for Ozai. He does, but it's one-sided. Does he love Ozai post-war? Probably, but it's not the idolization of when he was a child. It's more of a 'you're my father and we are blood so I love you because of that' and that would be it. I also think Zuko hates his father at the same time because of what Ozai did to him. It's complicated, but there it is. And there are lots of people in the world who do feel this way about their parents.

I don't have the best relationship with my father, but that's because he's a narcissistic asshole. I love him, but I don't like him. It's complicated, and it's hard to mend things with him when he is obsessed with right-wing politics. Drives me crazy.

So in short, I don't think there is any love gained, but definitely lost because Ozai is a horrible person.

[trials-of-a-spirit-worker]

This this this!

Zuko is an incredibly written character and there's a reason why there's so many analysis videos about him and his character arc.

The best part of his character and his growth is it's believable. It's full of mistakes and blunders. But it's never boring.

We love characters who struggle because we as humans struggle too. And we love to see a win for someone we root for and like above explained, Zuko became easy to root for even as an antagonist. Because we find out this person who was made to look like a villain isn't really the true problem. He's the cultivation of something bigger. He's a red herring for the true problem the gaang have to face but, that's not all he is! As he serves his literary purpose of a red herring, he then morphs into his own character and becomes a protagonist of his own story. His growth has so much detail, so much pain, so many little victories as it becomes clear he might change for the better and get out of this vicious imperialistic cycle his nation tries to pull everyone into.

And then...He fails a huge test. He betrays Katara. He fights along his sister and gets what he thought he always wanted. The title and the crown back. And he's not happy. You see him falling the fuck apart. So him realizing how fucked up his upbringing was, how awful his people are being to the world and bringing that to his father, calling him out on his abuse, calling him and by extension his own nation out on their evils and then solidifying his change was so damn satisfying.

And when he tries to return to the gaang he suffers mistrust, he has to work to earn trust, he suffers real consequences for not only betraying team avatar but then for willingly turning back on his nation.

And we still root for him! And rightfully so. Plus it pays off in the end because he gets to have this potential to change the nation's flaws and bring forth an era of peace.

There's a reason people still look to Zuko's arc to inspire their own complex and layered characters.

I agree that the take of Zuko just being the bad boy is a ridiculously shallow one. It's like judging a mean mugged leather jacket clad scary guy but turns out he's a huge softy with like two kids he'd lay down his life for with no hesitation. I'm afraid that's a side effect of allowing Bryke to speak as much as those morons did, they're shallow and didn't enjoy that the cool well written brooding guy was more popular than they wanted and that threatened their self insert OC in their minds. But I digress.

anyone who simplifies the popularity of zuko to people liking "dark bad boys" is showing a sign of low media literacy. even before i watched atla, my friends recommended that i watched it solely bc of zuko. and after i watched it, i understood why. in the first episodes, most of the audience perceives him as this hot-headed jerk who's obsessed with capturing a 12 year old boy. but then we get to the episode "the storm" and we learn that the reason zuko wants to capture aang is because he was banished by his father; it doesn't excuse his actions but it is a reason. and then in the 2-parter of "the siege of the north, we learn that he has a sister and that their father often pitted them against each other, making him more sympathetic to the audience. from book 1, it is established that zuko will be more than just a villain. we don't see much of a change in zuko's character until book 2 after him and uncle iroh are branded as fugitives by the fire nation. throughout the season, we see him have an identity crisis and grappling with who he is. by the end of book 2, zuko seems to be content with his life in the earth kingdom and figuring out who he is by himself. that's why in tcod, the audience expects him to join the avatar especially after bonding with katara and confronting his uncle about teaming up with aang. but the show defies our expectations by having zuko join azula in her takeover of ba sing se. some people have a problem with this since he showed a lot of growth in book 2 and thought his betrayal was made to not make zutara a possibility but i think it make sense because zuko was more content being a neutral bystander and joining the avatar would be more risky especially he still wasn't on friendly terms with aang. when we see him return to the fire nation, we see that he's gotten everything that he ever wanted, he has father's approval and is hailed a hero by his country, but he isn't happy. this is why his confrontation with ozai is so satisfying, he realizes that not only the way his father treated him was inhumane and his approval is meaningless, but that his nation's century-long war was never a noble pursuit. when he joins the gaang, he tries his best to atone his past mistakes and demonstrate his sincerity of wanting to end the war and ends his arc by becoming the new fire lord ushered in an era of peace and kindness with the help of his ally and friend, aang. i think this why zuko is more popular compared to aang, the protagonist of the show. while aang and zuko are constantly portrayed as narrative foils to each other, aang doesn't have this constant inner turmoil that zuko does. this is why a lot of fans and casual viewers have an issue with gaang's confrontation with ozai. aang talks about how he struggles with killing ozai since it goes against the principles of his culture, a culture that is basically extinct, but this is never brought up until the series finale! it's not like there aren't any episodes where aang struggles with fulfilling his duties as the avatar, there are plenty and it does make him a sympathetic character. it's even more frustrating when you learn that aang not killing ozai was the plan since the production of book 1. there were countless opportunities where aang's struggle between wanting to maintain his identity and be a full-fledged avatar could've been addressed! i think this what aang stans who are resentful of zuko's popularity don't understand, aang's character arc is a lot more disoriented compared to zuko's.

[starlight-bread-blog]

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But it was Katara that he chose to invite.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But Azula knew to aim at Katara.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But the scene was romamtically coded.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But Katara needed to get to heal him.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But it was Katara who was with him in season finales.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But he needed to choose Katara over Azula.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But Shu needed to survive in this life.

"Zuko would take a lightning for anyone–"

But the writers deliberately chose Katara.

Inspired by @captain-konami-code 's "They were enemies"

[count-horror-xx]

I actually like zutara as a concept, it's a ship I'll casually read fics about them sometimes.

it's just zutara fans are fucking delusional. Stop treating their Canon partners as abusive when it's the complete opposite. Especially Mai.

Aang isn't a misogynistic monk that forces katara to be his house wife. If he did katara would leave him in a millisecond. He actually cares so much about her. It's actually Canon HE cooks and accommodates his cultural food with kataras.

And Mai was literally ready to die for zuko. Even when they just broke up, she was ready to get electrocuted by azula if it wasn't for ty lee chi blocking azula.

I'm aware it seems like she doesn't care about him the way she's quiet and aloof but I understand where she was coming as someone who somewhat has similar tendencies of being a little awkward when trying to show emotions and it coming off as being uncaring or rude. But at the end of the day she really shows she loves him, so people saying she's abusive is completely inaccurate to her character.

Her bottling up her emotions was taught by her parents as she explains in the beach episode somewhat where she had to worry about her father's reputation all the the time, forcing her to be quiet as a form of behaving.

Personally I think her quiet personality fits with Zukos loud ass, especially giving him a reality check during the beach episode calling him out for being angry all the time and how he needs to keep it in check.

Zutara is a nice ship I agree but you can ship it without mischaracterizing tf out of thier Canon partners.

[longing-for-rain]

Katara and Mutuality in Relationships

There are lots of conflicting opinions about which characters Katara felt attraction towards, which characters she didn’t, and how long she felt that attraction. I see in most cases, people point to quick clips of her faintly blushing or kissing another character on the cheek as evidence, but I think these kind of takes miss the nuance of the purpose attraction serves in a story.

Most importantly, I see these characters treated as if they are actually people capable of making their own decisions. It’s important to remember that these are fictional characters. They don’t make their own choices; the writers make their choices for them for the purpose of telling a story. From that standpoint, it’s more valuable to examine how a character’s story and narrative themes tie into their relationships with other characters. Animators can shove in a kiss or a blush wherever they want, but it’s harder to demonstrate through storytelling how and why two characters might feel attraction towards one another, and how a relationship between them would develop both characters and contribute to the overarching themes of the story.

In other words, when discussing which characters Katara is “attracted” to, I’m discussing which relationships and actions within the narrative build on her established story and arc. Romance is always integrated into a story for a reason, and considering that reason is important.

Unfortunately, ATLA is very much a product of its time in this way. It’s easy to see what romance adds to the arcs of the male characters—but not so much with the female characters. All three canon relationships (kataang, sukka, and maiko) follow this trend to some degree. The primary purpose of the woman in this narrative is to act as a prize for the man for performing some good deed. Once they’re together, she ceases having her own motivations and becomes an extension of the male character she’s dating. This is pretty blatant with Suki—she barely had a personality in that later seasons; she is there to be Sokka’s girlfriend. Similarly, Katara becomes a completely different character—she’s even animated differently—when the narrative pushes her into romantic scenes with Aang. Her character is flattened.

So what is Katara’s arc, and how do the romantic interactions she has throughout the series contribute to this?

Well, that could be a whole other essay itself, but to put it simply, Katara’s arc is one of a young girl devastated by grief at a young age clinging to hope that she has the power to fight and change the world for the better. Which she does as she gains power and confidence throughout the series—culminating in her defeating Azula in the finale.

But the part I want to focus on here is how Katara connects with other characters. She connects with them over shared experiences of grief and loss.

Take Haru, for instance.

Haru: After the attack, they rounded up my father and every other earthbender, and took them away. We haven't seen them since.

Katara: So that's why you hide your earthbending.

Haru: Yeah. Problem is…the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know.

Katara: See this necklace? My mother gave it to me.

Haru: It’s beautiful.

Katara: I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This necklace is all I have left of her.

Haru: It’s not enough, is it?

Katara: No.

This isn’t just a throwaway moment; it’s an important character moment that leads up to growth and the progression of Katara’s overall story, both in this individual episode and in the whole series.

Katara finds her power in the connections she’s able to make with other characters. It’s a powerful driving force for her that makes her a strong character even before her bending abilities develop. Imprisoned was such an important episode to establish who Katara is and what her power is, and adds so much to her arc.

But there is one line in particular from the above exchange that also stands out: Haru says “it’s not enough, is it?” and Katara agrees. Even this early in the series, we’re establishing the fact that despite her drive and hopeful outlook, Katara feels deeply hurt, she feels a deep sense of loss that she opens up about to other characters in moments like these. But unlike Haru…Katara can’t go rescue her mother. Her mother is dead, and we see her grapple with that grief throughout the series.

Another character she reaches out to like this is Jet.

Jet: Longshot over there? His town got burned down by the Fire Nation. And we found The Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home.

Katara: What about you?

Jet: The Fire Nation killed my parents. I was only eight years old. That day changed me forever.

Katara: Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation.

Jet: I’m so sorry, Katara.

Another important note about Jet is that there are explicit romantic feelings from Katara in this episode. Again, Katara empathizes with another character through a shared sense of loss. Sadly, in this case, Jet manipulated her feelings and tricked her into helping in his plot to flood the village…but those feelings were undeniably there.

That was the tragedy in this episode, but it also gives the audience so much information about Katara as a character: what motivates her, and what she wants. Katara is established as a character who wants someone who will connect with her and empathize with her over her loss—her greatest sense of trauma. She wants to help others but also receive support in return. The reason why she was smitten with Jet, beyond just initial attraction, is because he gave her a sense of that before Katara realized his true motivations.

A lot of people make the claim that Aang is good for Katara because he also feels a sense of great loss and trauma. And while on paper that’s true…does he really demonstrate that? I just gave two examples of characters Katara connected with this way, and both responded with deep empathy to what she said. Very early on in the show—the third episode—Katara attempts to connect with Aang the same way. How does he respond?

Katara: Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders.

Aang: What about 'em?

Katara: Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people.

Aang: Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!

Just compare this exchange to Haru and Jet. No effort to empathize, not even a “sorry for your loss” or anything. It’s a stark contrast, and the reason for that is because this narrative entirely centers Aang. Katara’s narrative always seems to be secondary to his when they’re together—which is exactly my point when I say this relationship has a fundamental lack of mutuality. It’s built that way from the beginning of the series. It does not add to Katara’s arc nor establish what about this dynamic would attract her.

And, look, before someone jumps down my throat about this…I’m not saying Aang is a horrible person for this response. I think it’s a sign that he’s immature and has a fundamentally different approach to problems than Katara. Katara is a character who has been forced to take on responsibilities beyond her years due to being a child of a war-torn world. Aang’s approach to problems is avoidance while Katara never had that luxury. It doesn’t mesh well.

This is all in Book 1. I honestly could have gotten on board with Kataang if the series meaningfully addressed these issues…but it didn’t. In fact, they actually got worse in some ways.

Back to Katara’s mother. We’ve established that this is a core part of Katara’s character and like in the scene with Haru, she indicates that this is an unresolved issue that pains her. But then, in Book 3, Katara actually does get a chance to confront this pain.

This would have been a powerful moment. Surely the character who is meant to be her partner, her equal, would have been there for her. Surely he would have understood and supported her, fulfilling her narrative and adding to her story.

But Aang didn’t do that. I won’t go into details because there are a million analyses out there on The Southern Raiders, but Aang’s response to Katara was the opposite of understanding. He got angry with her, insinuated that she was a monster for wanting revenge, and tried to dictate her behavior according to his own moral values. And importantly, from a narrative standpoint, he did not go with Katara. One of the most important events in her arc, and Aang didn’t support her—he actually tried stopping her. He didn’t contribute to her growth and development.

Also noteworthy:

Katara: But I didn’t forgive him. I’ll never forgive him.

Even at the end of the episode, Aang clearly doesn’t understand at all what Katara is feeling. This line demonstrates it perfectly. He thinks she forgave him when that wasn’t the case at all…but of course, he didn’t even accompany her, so he didn’t see what actually took place. His worldview is fundamentally different from hers, and he’s consistently too rigid in his morality and immature to center Katara’s feelings.

Throughout Katara’s whole arc, her most significant character moments, Aang’s character just doesn’t come through the way Katara’s constantly does for him. Their narrative lacks mutuality. When Katara and Aang are together, she becomes an accessory to him. The ending scene is a perfect demonstration of this.

Now, to address the elephant in the room.

Which character does actually add to Katara’s narrative and support her growth as a character?

Correct! I just talked about how important The Southern Raiders is to Katara’s character and story, how it’s a chance for her to finally address the grief she’s been carrying since Book 1. And who stood by her side throughout this pivotal moment? Right—Zuko did.

You can talk all you want about how he’s a “colonizer” while Aang’s people suffered genocide, but you’re forgetting that “show, don’t tell” is one of the most basic aspects of storytelling. The fact is, despite how it looks on paper, Zuko was the one there for Katara at her critical moments. Zuko empathized with Katara more than Aang ever did—as demonstrated in this episode. Zuko never once brought up his own cultural values. Zuko never once told Katara what to do. Zuko’s position was that Katara should be the one to decide, and that he would support any choice she made. He supported her decision to spare Yon Rha, but he would have also supported her if she decided to kill him. I actually found this episode to be a satisfying reversal to what is typically seen in TV—for once, the female character is centered while her male counterpart takes the backseat and becomes a supporting role to her narrative.

Even before this, Zuko is shown to empathize with Katara.

Zuko: I’m sorry. That’s something we have in common.

I think what gets me about this scene is the fact that he’s still Katara’s enemy, and she was just yelling about how she hates him and his people. But despite that, Zuko still empathizes with Katara. She is fundamentally human to him, and he expresses that to her in a way that allows them to connect. Zuko stands to gain nothing from this. It’s true that Azula entered the picture and twisted things around—but in this moment, Zuko’s compassion is genuine. His instinct was to respond to her grief with empathy, just like she consistently does for other characters.

And finally, how else does Zuko add to Katara’s arc?

I don’t think there is any more perfect of an example than the finale itself—the culmination of the arcs and development of all characters.

Zuko and Katara fight together. In a heartbeat, Zuko asks Katara to fight by his side against Azula, because he trusts her strength. She’s his equal—both in his mind, and in a narrative sense.

Then, this:

Both of their roles are so critical in this fight. They both save each other. The scene has such raw emotion to it. These characters were together at the conclusion of their respective arcs for a reason.

This is the perfect conclusion to Katara’s arc. She just played a critical role in ending the war that has caused her trauma her whole life. She just demonstrated her mastery of waterbending (another thing she’s dreamed of throughout the series) by defeating the world’s most powerful firebender during Sozin’s Comet. Even though she had help as all characters do, these are victories that belong to her and demonstrate the growth and power of her character. And to top it all off? She was able to save Zuko’s life. She didn’t have to endure the pain of feeling helpless to do anything while someone else died for her; this time, she had an active role, she changed her fate, and she prevailed. Zuko plays an important role in Katara’s story without dominating it. They perfectly represent mutuality. They add to each other’s stories. Their narratives become stronger when they’re together, without one diminishing or sidelining the other.

So, from that standpoint, that’s why I always see the attraction between Zuko and Katara and why I see it lacking between Aang and Katara. Zuko and Katara’s story doesn’t need some cheap little throwaway moments to shine. It’s integral to both characters’ stories. We are shown not told of the way these characters feel about each other. Given everything we know about Katara, her goals, her values, her past loves…absolutely everything points to Zuko being the true subject of her feelings.

Because let’s be honest. The ending I just described is so much more powerful and so much more Katara than seeing her being relegated back to a doe-eyed love interest for Aang to kiss. It hardly even made sense—Katara played no role at all at the culmination of Aang’s arc. She was relegated back to a love interest, rather than the powerful figure we saw fight alongside Zuko.

[anonymous-gambito]

Tbh I think the thing that most ruins this episode for me is that one old man insulting Zuko in a way that makes him sound unreasonable and cruel, just on the basis of Zuko having been maimed and disowned by his father, because although the episode wasn't about Zuko seeing how Fire Nation soldiers mistreat and abuse Earth Kingdom people, it could've still taught another lesson; One about the savior complexes of colonizing nations born from a belief of their own superiority in comparison to cultures and nations they see as inferior.

Zuko there thought himself a hero, saving these poor Earth villagers from their corrupt superiors, saving them from themselves. He proudly proclaims himself the heir to the Fire Nation throne (son of a man who in this very episode was shown to have no qualms about killing his own son for power) ...and then the Earth Kingdom villagers tell him to gtfo. Lmao.

And I see some people here on social media just... not getting it. Calling the villagers ungrateful, saying they're mean for shunning someone who "saved them". But this is no salvation.

This is like when a gringo starts getting too comfortable talking about brazilian politics and societal problems to the point you get the feeling they'd be very happy to support another coup. It's horrible.

Just a few months ago when twitter was temporarily banned in my country, we had El*n M*sk trying to pull that crap. Trying to claim we Brazilians "have no freedom" and that we are a poor poor people being suppressed and censored by our government that clearly needs the help from the likes of him, and here's the thing; the only people who agreed with him were the ones who want a dictatorship. No one else was fucking grateful. There's no normal response to this kind of crap besides "No, no, we're good. We don't need you and we don't want you, because we hate you more than anything. Please go fuck yourself somewhere else and maybe fall down a flight of stairs while you're at it".

And I can see people objecting to this comparison, saying "But Zuko actually meant it!" or "But Zuko is an exiled teenager, not a rich man in power!", but here's the thing: Zuko wants to be, and he wants that power, and that is how Zuko presented himself to these people, as the colonizing prince come to save the poor and helpless Earth Kingdom citizens from themselves, you know, by toppling their current leadership. Yeah.

So of course they don't want anything from Zuko, of course they want him gone, and of course they hate him. It doesn't matter how bad they have it with the soldiers, because to them in this scenario Zuko is the bigger threat, the greater of two evils, the prince from the imperialist nation that brought them to this situation in the first place, a nation that has tormented them for over a 100 years, here coming with the same old excuse that that their torment and their subjugation is being done "to their own good". So of course they don't appreciate his damn help.

Remember how at the end of the season, Azula takes control of Ba Sing Se (with the help of Zuko), and it is a Tragedy. It is framed as a tragedy, a poison, a violation. These people weren't "saved" from their corrupt government, they were just made more powerless and lost than ever.

So yeah, I believe that if this episode had come with just a bit of a different angle, some different framing, focused a little bit less on being a Zuko pity party, it could've been really great.

The fact that Zuko Alone doesn't have Zuko defend the villagers against corrupt Fire Nation troops is both one of the biggest missed opportunities ever and also one of the weirdest ones. Like, they could have written as a moment where Zuko starts to empathize with ordinary EK people and comes to term with the harm that the FN is causing to their lives. Instead, Zuko is faced with a situation where corrupt and evil EK authorities are abusing ordinary EK people, which is probably exactly the same narrative he's been learning from FN propaganda about the EK his entire life.

[adriancatrin]

just a reminder that azulas hair arc is just as important to her character as zukos is to his

her first real intro draws attention to the perfection of her hair (“only one hair out of place”)

after ty lee and mai betray her, while she’s attacking the western air temple & zuko, her hair frays and she eventually pulls out her hairpin to catch herself on the cliff side, a hint at the self destruction she’s willing to endure to achieve her goal

and ofc when she becomes firelord and has her psychotic episode, she cuts her hair into a ragged mess

zukos arc is about rejecting the original idea of what honor is and coming to and achieving your own sense of honor, and azulas is about failing to achieve perfection and losing control of yourself in the process. the evolution of their hair shows this so well—zukos is just more obvious

[missaccuracy]

In "Zuko Alone," I noticed that Ursa never calls Azula affectionately, unlike Zuko, whom she calls "darling". At the same time, Ozai calls Azula "my dear," but never calls Zuko that. I think this is interesting and shows which parent is closer to which child. What do you think about that?

Indeed, I've always thought it to be DELIBERATE that we see Ursa using affectionate language with Zuko and Ozai with Azula, but not the other way around.

Ozai calls Azula "my dear", but whenever he addresses Zuko, he almost always calls him "prince Zuko". Ursa also takes a more official tone when addressing Azula, calling her "young lady".

We have no evidence of Ursa calling Azula endearingly on screen, but at the same time, I honestly don't think that she never did that with Azula.

What I personally think happened is that Ursa used to use affectionate language with Azula, when she was younger, just like Ozai used to do with Zuko, but with time, they both stopped, when Ozai started to see the sides of Zuko he didn't like and Ursa started to see the sides of Azula she didn't like.

I think this subtle characterization element in Zuko Alone shows which parent understands which child better. With Ozai, it's obvious that he started to resent Zuko, and with Ursa, I don't think she hated Azula, but she didn't understand her and started to instinctively keep distance from her, paying more attention to Zuko, which unfortunately, contributed to a horrible result for Azula in the end.

[pokidokieships]

Excuse my Zutara fangirlism but I’m on my hundredth ATLA rewatch and I just noticed another one of those scenes that could have made for PERFECT foreshadowing… it’s really crazy how this ship wrote itself in the show!

Anyways notice how Katara reacts to Jet seemingly wanting to join the gaang and Toph calling her out on it:

(Excuse the bad quality Netflix didn’t allow me to take screenshots bahah)

And then:

She’s blushing because she obviously had feelings for Jet, a canonical love interest of hers.

But doesn’t this scene strike you as familiar in any way…..?

She reacted the same way with Zuko, these scenes are so identical it’s INSANE! The subtext!! *screams*

But this time Zuko is genuine and works to gain her trust back!! And then we see him risk his life for her like a couple episodes later…. AHHHHH

How are they not a canon couple again??

[starboysbrainrot]

I’m rewatching atla for the seventh time since June (blame the hyperfixation ok) and I’ve noticed something in the fifteenth episode of season 1 when Zuko arrives at Aunt Wu’s village

in season 1, every villagers, every citizens he encounters are always (rightfully) scared of him and his firebenders

every single one

except Aunt Wu

and since she read Aang’s future one episode prior to that, I always wonder if maybe Aunt Wu saw Zuko in Aang’s future, given how she was capable of seeing exactly how his destiny would look like (and we know how Aang and Zuko’s destiny are interlinked)

you can see that Aunt Wu is not even worried about Zuko’s presence in her village, she’s not even shocked. she just pensively looks at him, without saying anything.

and I think that it would so damn cool if she knew that their destiny are interlinked and that could explain why she wasn’t worried about his presence in her village.

Aang & Zuko never beating the platonic soulmates allegations I’m afraid.

[akiizayoi4869]

Just had a thought about the scene where Mai shouts at Azula "leave me alone!" Mai says that growing up, she was taught to not speak unless spoken to, to not show any emotion, to not do anything that would ruin her father's position in high society, etc. Basically what you'd expect as far as the expectations for girls back in those times in that kind of society. Azula understands her the most in this regard thanks to her relationship with her own mother, and having similar expectations placed on her as a princess. Expectations that Zuko didn't have because he was the first born as well as a boy. So when Azula psycho analyzed Mai, she lashes out at her (understandable) because she didn't want to talk about it anymore than she already did (which is a result of how she was raised. Don't show your emotions to others and don't say anything to ruin your father's image. Talking about the way how she was raised plays into that) and she doesn't want anyone to dive too deep into her trauma, which is exactly what Azula did in that scene. What's interesting though is that Azula is the exact same way. As shown when she immediately downplays the whole "my own mother thought that I was a monster" comment by immediately following it up with a joke. Who knows, had she not done that the others may have said something. Azula also didn't want them to dive too deep into what she just said, because she didn't want to talk about her own trauma, in part because she was raised to believe that showing any sort of vulnerability was a sign of weakness.

Fast forward to the Boiling Rock part 2 episode, and Mai psycho analyzes Azula with one sentence: "I love Zuko more than I fear you." proving that she knows exactly what Azula's trauma was. People always choosing Zuko over her, loving him but not her, leaving her for him. And in her eyes, he did absolutely nothing to deserve that kind of devotion. And what does Azula do? She lashes out and attempts to attack Mai for what she said. Which is exactly what Mai did (minus the attacking part) when Azula said what she did to her in The Beach episode. These two are more alike than the fandom gives them credit for, and this is honestly why I think that Azula and Mai had a closer bond with each other than the bond that they had with Ty Lee.

[basilthesnakingthing]

Favorite friendship dynamic has got to be, “Villain grows to respect hero causing their worldview to change and eventually (probably as a result of hitting rock bottom) realize they were wrong and repent. Hero accepts this, offers their friendship, and helps the villain begin to grow as a person by directing them how to go about earning redemption and how to heal from whatever was making them do villain stuff before.”

This is how I see post season two Romeo and Jesse MCSM, Viggo Grimborn and Hiccup Haddock (if Viggo had lived) in How to Train Your Dragon: Race to the Edge, The Pines Twins and Pacifica from Gravity Falls, Zuko and the Gaang in ATLA, and my own two OCs, wish I knew more.

[erros429]

something that irks me so bad are those people who argue that the red dragon fight is when the REAL dungeon meshi starts. like all that character establishment and worldbuilding and relationship development from the first 11 episodes are all skippable, and the only important thing about them is that they litter a bit of context for the viewer. but once you get to episode 12 is when you REALLY need to lock in.

and i just. vehemently disagree with that sentiment so much. the death of filler has tragically ruined the way we engage with media. because why the FUCK would i care about the red dragon fight if i didn’t already love the characters and appreciate their motivation for the fight in the first place? like yea, laios wanting to save his sister and marcille wanting to save her best friend are fine motivations on paper, but i honestly wouldn’t give a shit about falin surviving if i did not watch those first 11 episodes of these characters’ painstaking determination to get her back.

the execution of it all was perfect because those expository episodes were also perfect. and we should not devalue them simply because the red dragon fight was the turning point/tone shift for the overall narrative.

[starlight-bread-blog]

One of the most common protests to Zutara is that Katara hates Zuko and I agree. Really it's such a shame the show was cancelled after The Boiling Rock and Katara didn't get to forgive Zuko...

Or give him a hug...

Or show her concern for him...

Or cheer him up when he needs it...

Or recklessly run to heal him...

Or thank him in tears...

They are vicious rivals up until the very last second of the show. As you can see.

[thedarkangel74]

In retrospect, one thing I kinda like in ATLA is how Zuko never tells the gaang how he got his scar.

It would have been cool to see their reactions to Zuko's story and see how their perspective on Zuko changed. And I have no doubt that he tells them about it at some point. But this way, it doesn't come off as emotional blackmail, with him trying to paint his actions as 'Yes, I hunted you across the world, but I actually had a really good reason."

If he did, he might have had a better chance of joining the Gaang, but he doesn't. In traditional Zuko fashion, he takes the most challenging route possible.

Zuko takes full accountability for his actions, even though they came from a place where he felt he had no choice. Because at the end of the day, he realized that even though his father put him on his avatar's path, he was the one who zealously attacked them at every opportunity. He isn't letting himself off the hook for anything.