#zuko ballwashers this post isn't for you

[leg-grestrade]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t jump on the “best redemption arc ever” train. I’ve always felt like Zuko’s “redemption arc” lacked something that would’ve made him at least a decent character, but I’m not sure what it was, or why he rubs me the wrong way. What do you think? Are there specific moments in the show you would’ve changed to make the end of his story actually feel EARNED rather than a “happily ever after” ending for everyone? Or character flaws you feel weren’t properly addressed to have him actually become the “better person” they make him out to be in the final?

You're definitely not the only one anon. Neither am I and neither are a lot of people, but considering this open sewer racist fandom, saying anything except "Zuko-kins farts skittles and rainbows! :DDDD" will get you fucking dogpiled.

What was lacking in his redemption arc was death. They went there with Jet, a nothing and nobody character, but the thing was, that was the right decision. Yeah, ATLA was a children's show but it was also a war that talked about genocide, murder, and colonization. Jet wanted to murder innocent people. The fact that he was thwarted in doing so and then decided to move on to other shit doesn't erase the fact that he was okay with killing innocents and was willing to use Katara and Aang to do it. I don't really love the Long Feng subplot, but Jet's death absolutely completed his redemption arc. He died helping the heroes and while his death didn't have a lot of meaning in the grand scheme of things, it absolutely was proper that it happen.

The minute Zuko's stupid ass hired Combustion Man to kill Aang, he should have been marked for death, not for some feather-ass redemption so dumbfucks could pretend that he was the hero and was the one who deserved access to Katara's coochie. The moment he was willing to hire a grown-ass man to kill a 12-year-old child and whoever got in the way -- including the girl the fandom dumbshits want him to fuck -- could get it, too, was the moment his arc should have led to death. It could have been "honorable" or whateverthefuck but dude needed to fucking die. The best way it could have happened was what almost happened in TSR, but with Zuko facing off against Azula and sacrificing himself so Aang and the others could get away.

(And hey to the Zuko dickriders who buzz around my blog, get off my ass about Aang needing a firebending teacher. A new character could have been added or he could have just found the Sun Warrior tribe himself and learned that way. Zuko was a shitty fucking firebender anyway, so it's not like it would have been a big loss).

And jsyk, I may be one of the few Aang stans who thinks he should've pulled Ozai's spine out through his asshole. I understand why Aang didn't kill him, but Ozai, Azula, Zuko and Iroh all should have died. The Fire Nation throne should have become extinct as a sign of Sozin's hubris. He wanted to expand his power and his dynasty but doing that cost him everything within three generations.

As for character flaws, I actually think it was okay for him to be portrayed as the racist, sympathetic-to-colonization, elitist ugly fuck that he was. I find it weird that they were fine going there and staying there with Azula but not with Pisspants. What was shit, was when for whatever reason they decided to try to make him not a nice guy, but make his racism and shitty personality seem "fun" and "relatable." The fact that four episodes were wasted on Zuko being the "wise guide" to characters who shouldn't have wanted to piss on him if he were on fire was a really bad choice on Bryke's part.