#and ozai should still die
Note
In the debate between pro-aang-kill-ozai and anti-aang-kill-ozai. Which side are you on and why? If it's the anti then did you like how it was done or do you picture something else?
I think I've mentioned before, but I am not inherently against Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. Some of my favorite heroes have a no-kill policy. I don't even mind the lionturtle solution itself. What I didn't like was how it was handled. There was plenty of time to address Aang's reluctance to kill before the second to last episode. I can think of three points in particular where it would've been thematically appropriate and given Aang's bland, two-dimensional character some depth.
First, right after the siege at the Northern Tribe. Aang may not have technically been the one who killed all those Fire Nation soldiers, but it couldn't have happened without him. You would think that someone who is both committed to pacifism and also the one the entire world is relying on to end a war that people have been fighting and dying in for a century wouldn't just be able to shrug off what happened. Aang did, though. Didn't even cross his mind when he was whining about people expecting him to kill Ozai.
What should have happened was the next season should've opened with Aang grappling with what happened and his part in it. He should feel guilty about it, not because he was actually wrong, but because it should feel wrong to him. Then, Katara and Sokka should comfort him and tell him he did nothing wrong. Build it up that their word are comforting him a little, then drop the bomb when they start talking about how cool it was. How amazing it was to see all those soldiers running in fear for once. How relieved they are that so many of them died. Then have Aang snap on them about the sanctity of life. He needs to be angry and hurt, and this should be the point where he decries the powers of the Avatar. He'd call himself a monster, and maybe he would call Katara and Sokka monsters, too. Then they (probably mostly Sokka) would argue with him that they aren't monsters, they're just trying to survive, and the Fire Nation is a threat to be taken out. This would be the first time it's brought up that Katara, Sokka...the entire world expect Aang to kill Ozai. I think it would be perfect as a season 2 opener. Season 1 was light and goofy, and Zuko was their biggest immediate threat. The siege raised the stakes, and season 2 should continue on that rising. Aang should also have started looking for another solution here. In the library, Aang should've asked Wan Shi Tong if it was possible to end the war without more violence. We should've seen Aang coming to terms with the fact that the world is suffering and he is the one they are looking to to save them. One thing I think the Harry Potter movies in particular did well was that shift from goofy and whimsical to darker and more frightening (as far as kids movies go) as the story went on and the stakes got higher, and the danger felt more real to the characters. Aang never gets that realization. He has moments when the danger feels real, but he's goofy and whimsical for pretty much the entire series until the plot of an episode needs him not to be.
The second place they should have brought up his reluctance to kill was DoBS. This really should've been a no brainer. Aang was loosing sleep over facing Ozai. He had his anxiety about losing- though not really what losing would mean for his friends and the world- but he didn't even consider what winning would take. If DoBS had been successful, there's no way Ozai would've been able to be taken alive. Logistically, killing him would've been the easiest, safest option. You mean to tell me no one brought it up? No one asked Aang how he was planning to take Ozai out? No, instead we get Aang proving he knows what enthusiastic consent looks like and taking away his excuse for what happened later, but nothing about Aang weighing his personal beliefs against the needs of the world. That training montage and confrontation that he has with his friends in the second to last episode should've happened here. This should've been when his tendency to run away should've been challenged, too, because half a season before he was crying about how he abandoned the world again. Now his instinct would be to run, but his friends would challenge him, calling back to that moment. They could demand that he present an alternative to killing Ozai. I don't think any of them would object to him living to stand trial, but Ozai is a rabid dog, essentially. He needs to be put down. Aang's got nothing, but not for lack of trying. When he tells his friends about all his efforts to find a non-lethal way to defeat Ozai, they are unmoved. They are at the doors of the Fire Nation, and now is not the time to be indecisive. He has to go face Ozai. And he's probably relieved when the plan fails. This whole situation would have the added bonus of skipping that first Kataang kiss because no way would Aang want to kiss Katara after her insisting he terminate Ozai with extreme prejudice.
The third place Aang's no-kill policy should've come up is TSR when Zuko asks him what he's planning to do when he faces Ozai if he's so against killing. This should scare Aang, and it should be his focus for the rest of the season. He should be more withdrawn from his friends, because with all the training he's doing (and he would still be training on all the elements because he's not that good at any of them), talks about the most efficient way to kill would be unavoidable. Katara might actually try to teach him bloodbending. Toph would just tell him that a big rock is just as effective as some fancy bending move. Zuko would be warning him about his father's ruthlessness and cunning. This would be where Aang looses his patience with his friends and insists that he's a pacifist and Ozai doesn't deserve to die. This would piss Katara in particular off because by this point, Aang knows what happened to her mother. He would get an earful about how Ozai's plan is to do to the Earth Kingdom what his grandfather did to the Air Nomads and how he's going to let millions of people die because of his refusal to kill one. Now, Aang can take off, only instead of just running away from his friends because he doesn't want to hear them anymore, he could be making one desperate last ditch attempt to find a solution that both ends the war and keeps him from having to kill Ozai. EIP could still happen in this circumstance, but instead of getting mad that he's being played by a girl, he would focus more on how eager for his death the Fire Nation is. That would come up in the argument about killing Ozai.
Now, for the lionturtle. I'm about to blow some minds. I have been vocal about my hatred of the Lionturtle/Rock of Destiny desu-ex-double team, and I do still hate it with a passion. However, as a concept, I don't mind the lionturtle. This is a fantasy adventure. You expect a bit of magical intervention. What I wanted was Aang grappling with this problem for more than half an episode. I wanted him working on a solution the entire time, starting from right after the siege. I wanted to see him take initiative. To actually think about the problem. Maybe have him specifically looking for the lionturtle. Then when it shows it, it could be because it knew Aang was looking and decided he was worthy of a meeting. Aang could still have his meeting with his past lives, and that could still go the way it did. Then the lionturtle could speak up. Instead of poo-pooing the idea of killing Ozai, it could agree that it was the most effective way to make sure that the war would end. Then, when Aang is despairing that he'd wasted all that time trying to find a different solution, the lionturtle could offer the spirit bending. But it would have to come at a cost, and it might not work the way that Aang hoped. Now Aang has to make a choice. Sacrifice something for this spiritbending ability (I'm thinking he loses his airbending, because it seems poetic) that might not have the outcome he's hoping for, or give up his pacifism- one of his few connections to his heritage- and kill Ozai. He chooses the spiritbending. Instead of the conveniently placed rock, Aang would actually have to give up his attachment Katara. I think he would be half-way there, having finally realized how little he understood her. He "loved" her because she was pretty and took care of him, but he's come to realize there's a lot more facets to her that he hasn't gotten to see because they don't fit his narrow view of her. He also understands what Guru Pathik was trying to tell him about one person not being able to replace everything Aang has lost, and he realizes how unfair to her he had been. He still loves her, but as a friend and caretaker. This will actually lead to a deeper friendship between them. Aang defeats Ozai without killing him, but now he has to deal with the loss of his airbending, which only now does he realize was a much of a connection between him and his people as his beliefs. He still has spiritbending. He can still airbend in the Avatar State, but he's effectively cut off a limb to keep his integrity. He will go the rest of his life wondering if it was worth it, especially after Ozai goes to trial and is sentenced to execution anyway. The effects of that on his children could be explored in LoK.
TL;DR I don't have a problem with Aang not wanting to kill Ozai. I just wanted to see him deal with it before the last minute. I think the show would've been better for it, and Aang would've been a more interesting character.
#atla#anti-kataang#aang#how it COULD have gone#he would've been a much better protagonist if we actually saw him struggle with his destiny#spiritbending should have consequences#that's too much of a power up to just give to the hero#and ozai should still die#it just doesn't have to be at aang's hands#THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!
162 notes
·
View notes
Text
Rewatched the Avatar TLA series with my partner recently, and fell in love with the world and characters all over again. I especially love the journey Zuko goes through the show as a character.
Zuko, son of Fire Lord Ozai. He seems pretty by-the-books at first as this angry villain, but something that makes him immediately unique for this kind of setting is his young age. He's barely older than Aang, our child protagonist.
"You're just a child." "Well, you're just a teenager!"
Although early on you start getting the idea that there's more nuance to him than this villain trying to incapacitate our protag, he shows some depth in his character here and there, usually through his uncle Iroh, a wise warrior that's there to aid and comfort his nephew, joining his banished trip on his own accord. While he's on the villain's side, it's worth noting he never hurts or intimidates innocent people, only ever fighting those already attacking or threatening him.
Even so, Zuko made it blatantly clear what his intents were. "I must capture the avatar to regain my honor." And he barely changed his mind about this throughout the entire first season, even when the two helped each-other out of hopeless circumstances, hinting that they're not meant to be sworn enemies.
"If we knew each-other back then, do you think we could've been friends too?"
Knowing the show and how it transpires across all 3 seasons, it's interesting seeing the intent the writers and showrunners had for these characters, and their hidden depth, all the way back in this first season. One of the finest examples would be Iroh sharing Zuko's history with fellow soldiers. A history which helps said soldiers --and in turn, the audience-- empathize with him.
Behind Zuko's scarred face is a story about a boy already feeling lost and unsure of himself, stumbling into a tragedy where his father --in sheer arrogance-- abused his son to a high degree in front of all his subordinates, in a heinous act he would call punishment.
Ever since then, he was banished to travel across the world to search for the avatar, a task his father felt was worthless, but was the same as leaving him out to die. This isn't the origin of a villain, but a downtrodden individual who couldn't find his place in life.
What Zuko called "honor" over and over again wasn't that, but his father's love. He already lost his mother, and instead yearned for his father's approval and affection. This culminated to his ultimate betrayal, siding with his sister and turning his back on his uncle, which lead to his imprisonment. During a crossroad and moment of insecurity, he threw his uncle Iroh to the wolves because he thought he would regain his honor and earn his right to be a part of his family once again.
Zuko would be welcomed back into his family, he retrieved what he thought was his honor --and what he thought was genuine love from his father.
"You have redeemed yourself, my son."
But even then, he still felt lost, alone, and without a sense of direction. Nothing changed, his soul still felt incomplete.
"For so long, I thought that if my dad accepted me, I'd be happy. My dad talks to me, he even thinks I'm a hero! Everything should be perfect, right? I should be happy now, but I'm not! I'm angrier than ever, and I don't know why!"
It took him a long time (about 2 and a half seasons) to realize he didn't need this sense of "honor" and what he was chasing was just a farce. His father only showed Zuko "love" when he seemed useful, an asset that was helping his fascist conquering of multiple nations by killing the Avatar.
All of this drew to an enthralling, terrifying, heart-wrenching moment between him and his father during the day of the eclipse. He used the minutes they could not fire bend as an opportunity to let out the truth and his own epiphany. He admitted that he never killed Aang --didn't even try, for that matter-- and that he's going to help him defeat his father's regime. Ozai immediately despised Zuko for this, proving his 'love' was conditional and hollow. And at that moment, as soon as the eclipse ceased, he attempted to kill his own son right then and there in a moment that never fails to draw tears out of me as soon as it happens.
Zuko survived his father's lethal attack, only by sheer will, and a lighting-redirection technique his uncle happened to teach him a while back, emphasizing how important Iroh is to him. Iroh is the father figure that truly loved Zuko unconditionally. Ozai, his biological father, could only grant him death. His uncle Iroh, at that moment, inadvertently granted him life.
And Zuko's story (mostly) ends in the middle of the 4-part finale. With the help of his friends, he tracked down Iroh who escaped from prison. The moment he sees his uncle, he breaks down as he's horribly ashamed of his actions, expecting Iroh to shun him as he feels he does not deserve his uncle's love after what he did to him.
"I was never angry with you . . . I was sad, because I was afraid you lost your way."
But Iroh doesn't hesitate to embrace him. Like I said, his love is unconditional. He knew Zuko wasn't evil, he was only being manipulated by the likes of his father and sister. He knew Zuko would find the right path, restore his own honor, and come back to him. It's such a beautiful moment and the soul-piercing conclusion to Zuko's story, a story they were building up since the literal first episode.
Of course, there's also Azula, his sister. She was considered a prodigy with her amazing fire bending abilities, mastering the skill of bending lightning, something only her father and uncle were able to do before her.
She was a spitting image of her father; fierce, manipulative, wrathful, the only thing she shared with her brother Zuko was their sense of determination. But we don't learn what really drives Azula until the finale. It's similar to Zuko. He felt incomplete without his father's love. While this was implied before the finale, Azula felt she was missing her mother's love.
While I think the argument could be made that this was just her own projection, it's important that this shows how --despite her more respected place in their family and nation-- she was just as broken and spiritually lost as Zuko. While Ozai showered his daughter with praise for all of her life, Azula felt her mother didn't love her, which ate away at her, deep inside. Much like Zuko, who felt he was fighting to earn his father's love.
Azula, to me, represents Zuko's future if he let his father manipulate him, just like Azula did to him. Would he have become this tyrannical fire lord if he just listened to his father, abandoned his inhibitions, and ensured his nation's regime? Maybe. But like Azula's interrupted crowning, it would have been shallow, lonely, and without any real sense of self-worth. Nothing to show for it but a broken mind.
Instead, Zuko became the fire lord on his own terms, and with the entire world in support of him, as he helped this quest for peace and balance across the nations. He earned his place in life through his own will, his own actions, and his amazing uncle who only wanted the best for him. He restored his honor himself, with lifelong friends by his side.
That's it, that's all I wanted to write about. This show rules.
69 notes
·
View notes
Note
I don't know if you were asked this before or already addressed it before, but what do you think of the argument that Belos' death was supposed to be anticlimatic
See, the problem with these arguments is that it assumes that people who were disappointed with Belos' death wanted a grand, epic battle when in reality, everyone that I've spoken to wanted him to suffer more. We wanted him to go out screaming, realizing that all he did for centuries was for nothing, since that was what the previous episodes were building up to. That's not grandiose, that's even more pathetic than what we got in canon.
Belos' death is anti-climactic because for two episodes, the show was expanding on his background, making him see ghosts or hallucinations, lashing out at the idea of being wrong when he sees "Caleb," all of this suggested that this would play into his ultimate undoing. Instead, we get Luz-With-Anime-Powers yank him off the Titan heart and then he melts in the rain. Cool.
What was the point of the previous episodes then?
Anti-climaxes can work if there is a point to them, be it comedic or tragic. But there was no point to how Belos died. Luz didn't need to learn anything about herself in order to earn the Titan powers, she didn't use anything she learned about the Wittebanes against Belos in the final battle, all that happened is that the Titan told her she's a good witch and to stop comparing herself to someone Obviously Evil like Belos. Great character moment there.
Hell, nothing about Belos played in his death. Not his backstory. None of his lies. Nothing. It just happens. Giving a megalomaniac an undignified death or defeat can work though. Just look at Ozai. He built himself as the Supreme Ruler of the World, as the Phoenix King. He sees himself superior to all others and uses everyone--even his own children as pawns. So to have him be defeated by the Avatar, by an Air Nomad child, who doesn't even give him the dignity of killing him in battle but by taking away the ultimate symbol of his power, his bending, works because it's the antithesis of everything Ozai believes in.
But Belos' death has nothing to do with him as a character or his beliefs. The idea that he needs an undignified death to bring down the megalomaniac doesn't work because Belos has suffered nothing but indignities since he got slammed into a wall. He's been dying for several episodes, lost his human form and the world he knew and loved is long gone and none of this is used against him in the final episode.
In fact, Belos' death actually supports his ideology: for centuries, he's believed that witches are evil and inferior to humans. And he justified all the evil he's done in the name of the greater good: of defeating what he saw as evil. So, picture the scene, you have a rapidly dying man who is no longer a threat to anyone, who is trying to reach out to the one person he thinks is moral by virtue of her species, only to be stomped on by beings who proudly proclaim that they are in fact, immoral.
Congrats gang. You just let the evil bigot die with his feelings justified.
Even how he died doesn't make narrative sense because we've seen him rebuild himself from a droplet and King even mentions some being stuck between his toes. How is it this fight is what finishes him off for good? He's both progressively weaker in each episode and yet is able to outrun (or out crawl) both the Hexsquad after entering the portal and Raine in the castle and possess the Titan heart. Plus, despite having possessed the literal Titan's heart, that equated to having just enough power to transform into his younger self and then get melted by the rain. Ok then.
So let's say that Belos' death works for meta reasons; that evil and bigotry should be given anticlimactic deaths. Ok fine, but it's still disappointing and boring af to watch. Giving a bigoted villain a gruesome, over the top, and entertaining death doesn't mean you suddenly validate the villain's ideals, just look at Raiders of the Lost Ark and its melting Nazis.
Also, unpopular opinion, but The Owl House is not about bigotry; it doesn't say anything about where it comes from, what perpetuates it, how people fall into it, how it can be stopped, etc. The writing is too inconsistent and the world building is too flat for any kind of deep or compelling themes. Instead, it has the grotesquely simplistic idea that "Bad Man Cause Bad Things. Get Rid of Bad Man and Bad Things Go Away."
And that's ultimately why Belos' death doesn't work; because The Owl House never had anything deep to say. It's a fun, escapist fantasy that wants to have deeper themes but can't commit to them. Anything "real" a person might interpret is largely projection because the show is too ineffectual in exploring its own world building and characterization beyond surface level meanings.
#the owl house#toh critical#toh criticism#emperor belos#philip wittebane#asks#long post#belosfanstakeover
82 notes
·
View notes
Text
Sokka & Zuko- The Invisible Winner of the Kataang/Zutara Debate.
Please don't take this as "Shipping War Bait", I'm doing a character analysis of ATLA about my opinion on which close Zuko relationship makes the most sense!
I feel like fandom treated Zuko/ Sokka as a crack ship but like?? That's never made sense to me.
Firstly I personally think that Aang will always remember how the fire nation destroyed his people. No matter how much he consciously says he forgives Zuko (& the fire nation) I would BET that unconsciously there's still something deeply hurt in Aang that can never truly be healed about that. As a result, Aang would not be able to LOVE Zuko as close as his other relationships. It's one of those hard to swallow pills but it's just how I interpret the characters. Aang's body has that bias, the deepest parts of his mind won't ever forget the horrific fact that his people are dead because of Ozai, and Zuko is Ozai's firstborn.
I know Aang's whole thing is that he preaches forgiveness, but here's the thing... We aren't always aware of how deeply our trauma affects us. Sometimes you don't hold a conscious bias against people... You hold an Unconscious bias. And to me, Aang holding an unconscious bias against Zuko, and not being as close to him, makes sense.
Toph could honestly work with Zuko, I think she's also a good contender for closest relationship. Though I see it in either a platonic or romantic sense (depends on the vibe). I think there could be a bit of 'fandom implicit bias' there in having Zuko and Toph constantly presented as platonic only. Like, Toph is disabled, she's blind... Do we ever question that maybe we don't like putting her with people romantically because she's disabled? Is Katara the one people ship Zuko with romantically- because Katara is more traditionally attractive? Toph is short, stocky, has short hair, is brash, and blind... Like, there's a chance she doesn't get the same treatment as Katara because she's not traditionally attractive in the way Katara is.... Something to think about.
-All that being said, I like Toph and Zuko as having a close bond either romantically or platonically. I think it's funny that they're both born rich kids, I think it's funny that they only have one fully functioning eye between them (and the comedy and hijinks that leads to). And they do work really well together throughout the show, Toph forgives Zuko when he accidentally burns her feet. And Zuko clearly appreciates how chill Toph is- she doesn't have PERSONAL bias towards Zuko as the son of the Fire Lord, in the way that the other three do.
Moving on to Katara, I have a similar sort of feeling there. It's made obvious that Katara SAW her mother die at the hands of the fire nation. It was traumatic, it was horrific, and because she was a child watching it- that is likely a DEEP core memory. In the context of the show, Zuko helps Katara find the man who killed her mother, because it's sort of a levelling of the scales. It doesn't even make Katara LIKE Zuko, it makes her neutral towards him. He helped her to basically right a wrong (that's her perspective). So yeah- for the same reasons, I've just never been convinced that Zuko and Katara could have a strong and intimate relationship because of the deepness of Katara's trauma. It takes a significant amount of time in terms of the show for her to even start talking and trusting Zuko at all. Doesn't FEEL like good romantic potential to me.
But Sokka, Sokka is the best fit of them so far. The thing is, Zuko and Sokka have a lot of different experiences- but shared values. Consider the things they've had to deal with, Sokka had to handle a huge level of grief & pressure as he quickly became responsible for his family and community at a noticeably young age. Then consider how that parallels (it is not THE SAME, but there is a PARALLEL) to Zuko's abuse & exile. They're both young men, they're both conditioned to think they should be a certain way (Sokka a warrior, Zuko a tyrant). Sokka is creative & inventive, which mirrors how Zuko has to create a new emotional source for his fire bending- once again, these are parallel elements of their characters, and demonstrate how they could relate to each other.
Sokka as a character is also slightly more separated from the association between the fire nation and the death of his mother- compared to Katara. Once again, she saw it happen right in front of her as a small child, Sokka was slightly older when the event happened, and didn't see it first hand.
There are some more generic elements of their characters that might suggest gay subtext; such as Sokka's hypermasculinity being a masking behaviour so no-one would think he's attracted to men. (Most people understand why that is; but if you don't know- leaning into very masculine things as a man, can make it feel like people won't question your assumed "straightness").
But I think what I've touched on is more relevant because it's very much tied to THESE specific characters, and how they interact, and how they could relate to each other.
TLDR; Zuko and Sokka work as a ship cos they have less things stopping them (barriers to intimacy & trauma to heal from). And they have probably the highest relatability to each other's lives, allowing them to trust each other and open up, compared to the other characters.
#ATLA#zukka#atla zukka#sokka x zuko#writing analysis#character analysis#character study#shipping#ship discussion#Please don't start huge fights about this#It's not supposed to be an attack#It's supposed to be a deconstruction of the relationships#I just hope people understand that
93 notes
·
View notes
Text
I think it's insane that after the final Agni Kai, Zuko was able to tank a hyper-powered lightning bolt (I mean, tank in the way he was still moving after getting hit, even if it was just groans of pain and slight twitching). He just got healed by Katara for about 5 seconds and was A-OK afterward.
When Aang got struck by lightning, he was in a coma for like what? Almost a month? And you're telling me Zuko gets struck by lightning, and 5 minutes later, is walking around like it never happened? Sorry, I can't believe that.
But Sno, you say, Aang was in his most fragile state. Of course, he was in a month long coma after he basically died. Okay, and I think that Zuko being hit by a lightning bolt 100x more powerful than the one Aang got hit by would also put Zuko in a coma; especially because Katara doesn't have the spirit water to bring him back to life. Unlike Aang, Zuko only gets regular water, not magic water, to heal him.
"But, but Zuko redirected it," you say. Uh no, Zuko wasn't grounded, so that shit still hit him like a damn truck. He redirected some of it, but not all of it. I would probably say that it burnt him from the inside out. It's a miracle that in LOK, that man is still kicking it and being a badass in his early 90s. He should have serious heart issues, if not have died in his 70s at the absolute latest. The man should not be kicking ass in the poles. He should be on bed rest.
In conclusion, Zuko should have been in a coma for like at least a year (realistically he should be dead, but this is a kids show where the main characters aren't allowed to die, so I'll let it slide) and I will stand by that.
If you wanna read how the creators could have worked with comatose Zuko, read under the cut. If not, then I hope you enjoyed my little rant. This post got longer than I thought.
Here's how the creators could have dealt with comatose Zuko and the potential storylines our other favorites could have had at the end of book 3 and a majority of the potential and nonexistent book 4:
Aang is having to deal with the consequences of Ozai being left alive, as I'm sure the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes would not like that fact. As well as their newest Fire Lord currently being in a comatose state. They barely trusted Zuko. Are you telling me they're gonna trust The Dragon of the West? (More on this at the end) And maybe Aang would actually get some character development, unlike in season 3.
I don't think Sokka, Suki, and Toph would have storylines that center Zuko all that much, but they would also definitely be mourning the semi-loss of Zuko along with whatever storyline they get. Maybe Sokka and Suki can have conflict in their relationship now that the war is over and they might physically have to go their own ways. Toph can probably wonder where she can go from here. Will she try and reconcile with her parents again? Will she travel with Aang once Zuko wakes up? Will she stay in the Fire Nation and help Zuko sniff out traitors with her seismic sense? Needless to say, the 3 of them have endless opportunities.
Katara is now dealing with the guilt of not only having put Zuko in that position in the first place, but also not being able to fully heal him (even though he would have done that for anyone, not just her). And if you're a Zutara shipper, like myself, even realizing potential feelings and the conflict that comes with that. Or if we still wanna go through with the canon ending of Kataang, have her navigate her feelings about Aang properly and not whatever that original canon ending was. And if we wanna go the "Katara doesn't need a man" route (my personal favorite despite my shipping tendencies), she could try and navigate where she goes from here, like Toph. Obviously, she'll go back to the Southern Water Tribe and help out there, but what comes after they've recovered? She's not the type to stand by and settle when there are other people who need her help. Will she go to the Earth Kingdom and help rebuild there? Go to the Fire Nation and help out there? Become an ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe to help better relations with the other nations? (My personal favorite) The possibilities are endless for her.
But you know who would be affected the most? Iroh. Not only did he (kinda) lose his nephew, who was his second son, but he now has to deal with the diplomatic repercussions of his past as a general of the Fire Nation. Like I said before, the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes barely trusted Zuko; no way in hell are they gonna trust the man that laid seige to Ba Sing Se for nearly 2 whole years, regardless if he's the reason the city was freed from Fire Nation control. The pressure Iroh would feel from advisors regarding the fact that his only heir is comatose would increasingly get worse as the months go by. We know that Zuko will wake up, but Iroh and the rest of the cast don't. Iroh is dealing with the fracturing Fire Nation and pressure from the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, all while his son is in a coma. He could see what he was going to have Zuko face by himself with no support around him. What would he do with Ozai? Would be a major question throughout the season.
Of course, in the end, Zuko wakes up because we want a happy ending for them all. But the turmoil we could have gotten in the end would have been *chefs kiss*
#me acting as if zuko died the entirety of the second half of this post#added some zutara because i had to#added some kataang because bryke would have done it anyway#not tagging them because they really aren't that important#zuko#atla#avatar the last airbender#katara#sokka#avatar: the last airbender#aang#iroh#toph beifong#suki#i forgot mai ty lee and azula#mai and ty lee arent important really#iroh puts azula in jail#zuko gets out of his coma and is like#shes my little sister and 14#into the mental institution you go lil sis#in my reality zuko visits her on the reg and not whatever he does in the comics#really hoping the aang stans dont attack me for saying he didnt have character development
58 notes
·
View notes
Text
One thing that really bugs me about the comics is no one gives Zuko a moment of peace or an inch of grace.
These are just some examples. I could find more if I had the time to (Sorry for the blurriness). During the promise, everyone immediately assumes (even team avatar, HIS BEST FRIENDS) he's turning into Ozai. When he simply changed his mind about something completely reasonable. I'm not going to get into the harmony restoration movement rn. And even after they 'talk to him' they don't truly hear him out. If they did the comic would've been over so much quicker. They just kept wondering if Aang should kill him or not. Their disapproval and absurd actions contributed to Zuko's mental and physical health deteriorating. He was ready to let himself die and then they all 180° and decide Zuko was right all along and they were wrong. AND THEN HE COLLAPSED INTO A FOUR DAY LONG SLEEP.
In Smoke and Shadow, Mai says so many uncalled for and really hurtful things to Zuko. Mai and her new boyfriend (guy in last image) constantly take unfair jabs and poke fun at him and he just takes it because he still loves her. And Mai sometimes seems like she's trying to make him jealous. Zuko may have hurt Mai in The Promise but he didn't deserve all that. And Zuko definitely made mistakes in Smoke and Shadow but he owned up to them and apologized for it. And in my opinion, his mistakes didn't merit the "people's feelings don't matter to him"
The comics really screwed Zuko over and I think we should talk about it.
28 notes
·
View notes
Note
i'm not a zvtara shipper in any significant way, but sometimes i can't help but see aang as slightly hypocritical. i get that he managed to let go of katara in CoD, but i don't understand how exactly he let go of her but was still super into her in all of s3. what does "you need to let her go" even means? also, i get that he doesn't want to kill ozai at the end of the series, but what about the times he hurt people in ways that would result in deadly injuries? (i don't hold the end of S1 against him since he was being used as vessel by the ocean spirit, i'm mostly talking about the avalanche he caused on the northern air temple episode)
When Aang leaves the Guru, despite knowing he won't master the Avatar State at all if he left at that point, he did it because he literally ahd a vision of Katara being in danger. When he is letting go of his attachment in that season finale, he gives one last glance at Katara, who is in the middle of a battle, because he knows that the only way to truly help her would be to trust that she will be okay and focus on preventing the Fire Nation from winning.
On the episode "The Awakening", when Aang is panicking and wanting to reveal to the world that he is alive and fight the Fire Lord without a plan, he goes alone. On the day of the eclipse, he kisses Katara, but they go their separate ways in the battle, instead of him being close by in case she needs him.
The "learn to let her go" thing has NEVER been about him no longer being allowed to be in love with her, or even a close friend, and it was never a fully black and white issue either - that's why we see IROH, the guy who lost his son because he chose his quest for power over thinking as parent and thus keeping him away from the battlefield, telling Aang that he is right to choose love above everything. Why we have Katara be the one to literally bring Aang back from the dead. Why the Guru himself explicitly uses Aang's love for Katara as a way to make him strong enough to deal with the grief of losing his people, and why he says "Learn to let her go" not "Forget about her" (there's a reason the cliche of all cliche lines is "If you love someone, set them free" - attachment existing, by itself, it's not a bad thing, but holding onto it ALL the time can get toxic).
Hakoda let his children go when left to fight in the war, doesn't mean he no longer cares or shouldn't care. Iroh let Zuko go in book 3 because at that point he had understood that his nephew needed to follow his own path, doesn't mean he no longer cared or shouldn't have cared anymore. Why is Aang the only one being held to an absurd standard of "If you understood that you can't always be with the people you care about because you got other responsibilities besides just being their friend, that means you're supposed to never want them around even when that wouldn't negatively affect anything"?
As for Aang's supposed "fatal victims" - this is a cartoon that operates on cartoon physics. The Omashu slide/mail system on episode 5 should have left the heroes permanently paralyzed from waist/neck down, assuming they didn't full on die because the human body simply can't survive a fall like that. Firebenders don't burn themselves when practically holding the flame they're generating, nor when they literally breathe fire. We've seen some of the bad guys survive falling down from an airship and hitting the ocean, in full armor, and be completely unharmed.
The show had casualties - but it was always highlighted a fatal injury instead of glossing over it. There's a reason the showrunners were surprised fans ever thought there was even the slightest chance Jet had not died. In a world where people survive absurd stuff, the show suddenly changing the tune to go "Actually this one screwed over some people" is the ONE way to know there actually was a death, and these situations are still the exception, not the rule.
"Oh but Nichya, it was an avalanche!" yes, much like the one in Mulan - a cartoon that is famous for going "Ya know what, the bad guys didn't die despite being buried in the snow long enough that all the good guys left, and only after a major plot event." It's almost like animation does that kind of stuff all the time...
You can't apply real world logic/physics to a cartoon, and it's very weird that the fandom only feels like doing so in the explicit attempt to create a reason to hate on Aang because they don't like that a pacifist remained a pacifist.
#anti zutara#pro kataang#pro aang#aang deserved better#aang defense squad#respect aang or die by my sword
51 notes
·
View notes
Text
Personal opinion:
Writing Zuko as vengeful beyond limit and even sadistic about it is out of character. He might have been a bad guy once but he isn't cruel.
Yes, he hated Ozai and Azula, believed they needed to die and was willing to do it himself in regards to his sister but it's in large part because he didn't see any other way to end the war.
But what does he do once those two are defeated but still alive? He does NOT have them executed, despite having all the power and authority to do so. Yes, Aang wouldn't like it but he can't stay in the Fire Nation forever to protect them and if Zuko went through with it Aang would still be forced to cooperate with him to preserve peace in the world.
Yes, Fire Nation people might riot about it but Zuko is a very passionate and emotional person who often doesn't think long term or about the big picture. He might hate his evil family members but clearly not enough to spill their blood if it's not necessary.
Yes, Azula suffered a lot in the asylum but that was due to neglect and irresponsibility on Zuko's part, not active malice.
Yes, Zuko abused her in the cliff incident but even there he couldn't bring himself to kill her despite all the raging anger he felt in that moment.
Zuko still has a lot to learn when it comes to his emotions and it's very likely Azula's company would set him off as long as they both live. Hence why I think the both of them should go no contact after they make peace as to not ruin it.
Tldr: The Zuko in anti Azula fics who takes great pleasure in punishing and torturing her is an OC, not the real thing.
124 notes
·
View notes
Text
Original "I. Will. Teach. You. Respect" Ozai:
- publicly humiliates and mutilates his son for daring to speak up out of turn in his presence. Sends him away on a quest Ozai thinks he will never complete purely because he wants to get rid of him
Adaptation Ozai:
- genuinely asks for Zuko's opinion BEFORE anyone of his generals
- tries to steer his thought process to teach him tactics (his cold-blooded tactics but still)
- just sighs disappointedly when Zuko fails to crack the war tactic problem
- Zuko actually insults the general - for which Ozai calls for an Agni Kai - which then defeats all reason for him to stand in the general's place, because why would the Fire Lord be someone's proxy defending their honour in a duel? Make it make sense😭
- patiently waits for Zuko to get over his panic at having to go against his dad
- makes it obvious that the whole point of this "exercise" is to "toughen Zuko up" and make him fight back, even against his father - because after Zuko being squeamish about sacrificing recruits, Ozai now fears Zuko grew up too soft and pampered
- VISITS ZUKO'S BEDSIDE (I almost spit out my juice at that one). And he actually genuinely looks like a worried dad there lol
- never intends to send Zuko away and does so RELUCTANTLY only after witnessing that Zuko still stands by his belief that the weak should not just be sacrificed for the good of the kingdom
Basically, they turned Ozai from a psychopath, who didn't care at all about his children and would gleefully see Zuko die and then dance on his grave, into a "tough love" type of dad
The second hand embarrassment I feel at this🫠🫠🫠
26 notes
·
View notes
Note
i’ve seen people argue that it was selfish/unethical of zuko not to kill ozai when they were alone during the eclipse since he had the chance and placing that burden on aang’s shoulders (even though it had been on aang’s shoulders since the start of the narrative.)
aside from the fact that, from a doylist perspective, aang is the main protagonist and the audience would have been disappointed not to see HIM driving the final confrontation with ozai, i also think it would diminish zuko’s arc as he lets go of the control ozai once had over him, as not allowing himself to be goaded into violence and only defending himself when attacked is defiance in and of itself.
i can’t help thinking, though, what would have happened if he had, and i only see two/maybe three logical outcomes—none of which would have actually helped the team, anyway. either zuko IS goaded into a fight (not in line with his arc at this point, but for the sake of argument) and ozai kills him (because i do still think ozai would be manipulative enough to stall/prolong combat until the end of the eclipse), or zuko redirects lightning at ozai, which maybe kills him. (though iroh survives getting struck by lightning with, like, no healing in book two, so… who knows? not me!) whether it does or doesn’t, zuko would likely be arrested as a traitor (at best, though it seems unlikely execution wouldn’t be on the table), and if ozai did die, i can only imagine that would mean azula, who still actively upholds imperialist ideals and actions, ascending to the throne and carrying on with her father’s plans. i guess there is some small chance zuko could escape after an assassination (attempt), but i find “zuko is either killed or imprisoned, aang never gets a firebending teacher, and the team has a much harder time winning the war and/or they don’t” a far more likely chain of events.
i don’t really know what the point of this is, other than that i can’t stop thinking about it, and i’d love to hear your thoughts if my rambling happens to inspire any <3
Not only has it been Aang's burden to begin with, but another reason why Zuko should not be the one to kill Ozai is for the same reason Iroh shouldn't. It would look like an attempt to steal power from within the royal family. The burden has to be on Aang's shoulders because as the Avatar, he acts as an ambassador of all nations. That's the whole purpose of having all four elements in one body. If Zuko kills Ozai, he actually runs the risk of threatening the peace Aang is trying to create. What would it look like if word got out that the firelord's son did what the Avatar failed to do, after 100 years of people already losing hope in the Avatar? Part of the whole deal is returning that hope to the world, that faith in the harmony that the Avatar symbolically represents. Otherwise, why should the other nations care that one fire nation royal deposes another?
As you say, a number of things could go wrong. One is that Ozai goads Zuko into a fight and kills him, which was Ozai's plan in the first place. Like, does anyone think that Ozai was trying to get Zuko to do this for Zuko's benefit? Ozai is absolutely trying to manipulate Zuko in that scene and goading him into a fight, goading him into being angry and emotional and vengeful in the hopes that he makes a mistake, is one way to do that.
Any of the other possibilities, such as Zuko being arrested or branded a traitor or Azula taking the throne, would only increase the discord in the Fire Nation. Like I said, the Avatar is not just important as the Hero(tm), he is a political symbol. Even those who reject the spiritual significance of the Avatar would have a hard time disputing it if Aang has the backing of an army and several world leaders, whereas it would be too easy to paint Zuko as someone who acted alone, a son trying to steal power from a father. And those who supported Azula would recall how Zuko had been banished, how he had always been second fiddle to Azula, and look, it turns out he's also lied about killing the Avatar in an attempt to steal his sister's glory! Those who support Aang but distrust the fire nation would be suspicious of Zuko killing Ozai seconds before the coup, who again, looks like he is acting alone. Zuko could end up being killed or imprisoned by either side, and since Aang and co. don't know he plans to join them, they wouldn't know any different, either. Imagine the gaang showing up to Zuko, who has been their enemy for the past three seasons, being like "hey guys, I killed the firelord for you!" Do you think they are likely to trust him?
Also, man, these people will do anything to preserve Aang's moral purity but think it should be fine for Zuko to murder his own father? Where is Zuko's lion turtle in this scenario, I wonder?
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
You voted for it, let's develop my Kya Lives AU
For those who haven't read through it, my Kya Lives AU explores the idea of Kya being kept alive in the FN as Ursa's servant, rather than in prison. While she could have been locked away, they didn't want to give her that luxury. It was also because they wanted her be around when the real last SWT waterbender was found. They'd be killed and Kya would be forced to watch as they die. That way she'd see her failure before she, too, was ultimately killed. This is also why, when they find out she isn't the real last SWT waterbender, she isn't killed on the spot.
From there, she Ursa develop a mutual companionship, which turns into a cautious friendship, neither woman wanting to lower their guards at first. After all, while both are nonbenders, both must have skills elsewhere that should be taken seriously.
Time goes on and the search for the last SWT waterbender becomes an afterthought. The FN has a war to win, chances are they might have killed the last waterbender from the South Pole and not known. Kya's living on edge, careful when she speaks of her family and home to Prince Zuko who has taken an interest in it.
And then Prince Lu Ten dies. The Siege of Ba Sing Se fails and Prince Iroh goes "missing" after he pulls back his men. Ozai goes to present his children to Azulon, and we know how the rest goes. Azula overhears Azulon tell Ozai that he has to feel the pain of losing a firstborn son by losing his own, she tells Zuko Ozai is going to kill him, Ursa intervenes and kills Azulon after making a deal with Ozai so he can become Firelord. Not the best retelling of what happened, but you get the idea.
This where we once again, leave canon behind. Because they're sorta friends now, Ursa tells Kya about what she plans to do and offers to make a deal with her. Help her get her children out of the FN, and she'll help her go home. It's risky, but Kya jumps at the chance to go home. She gets Zuko, Ursa gets Azula, and they get the fuck out as fast as they can.
At first, things are tense. Azula is fully blaming Zuko for what happened, fighting with her mom, demanding to be returned home, and snapping at Kya whenever she tries to intervene. She's upset she got dragged along, because had she been asked, she would have preferred to stay in the FN with her father.
Zuko is also blaming himself, knowing, whether his father was actually going to kill him or not, he should have just not let Azula get to him. They're on the run because of him. For once Azula has to be right, right?
Ursa and Kya are just trying to get by. They'll separate the two kids whenever their fights get bad, and will take turns watching them as one of them goes gets supplies. It isn't an ideal situation for either of them, honestly why they hadn't split paths earlier is lost to them. Would they split once they find a ship? Would Ursa and her kids literally follow Kya to the South Pole and see to it she reunites with her family? (yes)
Both women have wanted posters up. Posters that paint Kya as a witch, a savage who caused Ursa to kidnap the Crown Prince and Princess. Posters that paint Ursa as an usurper. Since she took the kids, the deal she made with Ozai is essentially void. Her murdering Azulon soon becomes public knowledge and Ozai "worries" she plans to kill his "heirs" as well. This makes traveling more difficult, as know all four of them need to be heavily disguised.
And because they have to be so careful now, a journey that, at longest (like extremely long) it should have been roughly half a year to a year. And it takes them longer. They're doing what they can to get by, but they have several points in time where they have to stop and lay low.
The three FN Royals use fake names (Noriko (obviously), Lee (again obviously), and I haven't chosen one for Azula yet, but part of me really wants to choose Loh for the irony). Kya ends up going by Mera.
As time passes their relationship evolves. Azula and Zuko still fight, but Azula no longer blames him for what happened (he hasn't stopped blaming himself yet). Their fights are moreso petty (not the word I was looking for but whatever, I can't think of the right one) fights (one called the other a name, one was being annoying, one kept making faces at the other, etc.). Kya and Ursa have settled into their friendship. Their journey to the SWT has slowed significantly, and they've lived in several places temporarily, but they do, eventually, reach the South Pole.
Once there, they have to track down Kya's tribe, which in itself is, thankfully, an easier journey. It takes them about a day to find someone who recognizes Kya. And, while weary of the 3 people with her, they lead all 4 of them to the tribe.
Kanna is overjoyed at Kya's return, and upon being asked where Sokka and Katara are, tells her about the Avatar. How he returned and was found by her children. That they left with him to stop the war. And Kya's heard the rumors. But she didn't want to consider the Avatar was traveling with her kids. She'd hoped they were home, safe.
But they were gone, they left to help the Avatar, and as proud as she should (and later would) feel, worry takes a front seat in her mind. Her children were the one thing she hoped to see when she arrived. And they weren't there. She ends up sitting with Kanna, listening as she tells her about what had happened while they were gone. The men had left to help fight the war, something she'd suspected would happen. She knew there a chance Hakoda wouldn't be around when she returned. She'd hoped her family was waiting for her, that Hakoda, Sokka, Katara and Kanna would all welcome her home. That, maybe only her husband would be absent. But only Kanna was there. And while, yes, the rest of the tribe welcomed her home, it's not the same thing. Kanna does her best to reassure her that things will work out. That she'll see all of them again.
If you're wondering about Ursa, Zuko and Azula, yeah they're just sorta...standing there. They don't know what to do. Or rather, Ursa and Azula don't know what to do. Zuko thinks he has the solution.
While some Kya and Kanna go about helping the FN ex-royals settle in, Zuko takes note of where the canoes are. That night, he leaves a note, takes a canoe, and leaves in hope of finding Sokka and Katara. And maybe the Avatar. Maybe. (Queue another mother becoming worried sick, because what the fuck?)
Through his random, whatever the fuck you wanna call it, luck, Zuko manages to survive and arrive in the Earth Kingdom. And we enter the second half of the AU which focuses on Zuko looking for, and eventually joining, the Gaang. The first one he finds is Sokka and that's by pure chance. Sheer luck. And Sokka becomes the first between him and Katara to learn Kya is still alive. That she's home. And he's learning this through this boy, this FN boy who spent a few years living with his mom. This boy who had heard stories about him and his sister. Heard his mom speak about them with so much love and decided he had to meet them. It's a bit overwhelming but...mom's home. Waiting. Waiting for him. For Katara. Maybe even for this weird boy.
Katara, takes this revelation differently. Since Zuko isn't their enemy here (that role belongs to Zhao), her animosity towards him isn't because he's chased them around. It's because, all this time, all these years she's spent blaming herself. Believing she'd gotten her mother killed, that her mom died protecting her. Her mom had been alive this entire time. Telling a FN boy, no, the FN Prince, all about her and Sokka. And while she knows chances are Kya couldn't leave without being hunted or being followed, she hates that she apparently bonded with members of the Royal Family. It wasn't fair. It's not fair. He has no right talking so fondly of her mother. He has no right saying her hugs were comforting. That she told the best stories. He had no right being close to her mom.
Katara is hurting, so a lot of what she says comes out because of that. Things she doesn't mean. Things she knows aren't important or will matter in the end. But she watched as her mother was taken away. As her betrothal necklace was ripped off her neck and tossed in front her crying daughter. Told she might as well have a last reminder of her mother. Her mom was gone and it was all her fault. If only she hadn't been a bender. If only the NWT actually helped them. If she'd just been born earlier or never at all. She doesn't mean what she says.
She knows her mother loves sharing stories, of course she'd tell a little boy if he asked for one. She knows her mom's hugs are comforting, she's been held in one every time she hurt herself, like when she pricked her finger on a needle, or when she got scared, such as the time she accidentally broke the ice under Sokka's feet and he fell through. Her hugs were warm and loving.
She can't help but feel hurt. And it takes her time to apologize, not for how she feels, never because of how she feels, but because of how she let those emotions made her act. For the things she said out of anger. Not just to Zuko, but to her brother, to Aang and Toph.
But she spent 6 years blaming herself and she still blames herself. And she can't help but just feel afraid. She's scared Kya blames her as much as she blames herself. That, when they go home, her mom will look at her in disdain. With nothing but hatred, any love she had for her daughter gone. It's so, stupid, but...
And Katara does eventually become friends with Zuko. The two take to talking, listening as the other vents. She thinks he's a moron for deciding to look for them via a fucking canoe (and now understands her brother's constant prayers to Yue to help him deal with this, he wasn't asking for more crazy benders even if they were cute, and wow was that a way to find out her brother liked boys). But it's also kinda nice, that it was solely because of Kya's stories and worry for them that he decided to look for them.
Not like she can get rid of him, they all got attached.
I've written a lot, so the rest will be in bullet points, feel free to ask about this AU, relationships (the only one I was sure I had planned was Zukka or Zukki):
Kya definitely wanted to leave earlier but wasn't sure how to go about doing so
Because they left the night Azulon left, Zuko doesn't have his scar
That being said, he gets captured in Ba Sing Se with Iroh and upon arriving home, gets one chance to reveal where his mom, sister and Kya are at. When he refuses to say, Ozai burns his face and ships him off the Boiling Rock, which is where he meets Suki for the first time.
Katara's guilt is something she's been hiding for a while. So when Sokka shows up with Zuko and says their mom is alive, that he was told by the FN boy next to him, her emotions slowly begin to break through the wall she built until it broke and she let everything out on everyone. She was hurting and wanted everyone else to feel hurt so she used her words to do that. And while she knows she was wrong to speak to them in the way she did, she was not going to apologize for how she felt.
That also being said, she's genuinely afraid of reuniting with her mom, because she can't help but think of it going wrong. She keeps imagining what her mom will say. How she'd look at her. And when the day comes she can finally see her mom again, she's the last one to do so.
Azula does, eventually, track down her dumdum brother's new friends. She'd hoped he was with them and was more than a little pissed when she learned he got captured by Zhao (I can't remember it correctly, but I think originally I had her catch up with all of them, so prior to Zuko being caught, but I like this more).
Zhao just barely made it out alive. First was his escape from the NWT and his failed siege. The next was when Ozai gave him one last chance to redeem himself. Now he's on his last chance. And he was sure he redeemed himself. He killed the Avatar, he caught the traitor Iroh and brought Prince Zuko home, who then revealed himself as another traitor. His last task? Find Ursa and Azula and the savage woman. Hopefully before the two women corrupted her as they did the Prince.
That's all I'll be sharing for now. A lot of it is things I've written before, some of it is changes I've made and some of it's new. This AU will still go through changes and I do want to go over the relationship between characters, so feel free to ask for certain ones!!
#atla#atla au#avatar: the last airbender#avatar au#kya lives au#kya atla#kya#ursa atla#ursa#zuko#zuko atla#azula#azula atla#katara#katara atla#sokka#sokka atla#also because they tied#i will be making a post about my atla teen titans au#and my sun spirit yue/moon spirit zuko au#(:
20 notes
·
View notes
Note
Belos would have wanted to have a well-written, cinematic ending that would fit a show antagonist. It's actually a bold choice to hint at the villain being a 3D character and then subvert it. He wasn't born pure evil, but that's what he became by the end. His story and his POV don't matter to his victims, all they see is what he did, so that's all we get to see (portraits aside). Belos doesn't get to die crying and raging as his brother looks down at him; just strangers' feet and then nothing.
Update: So when I originally posted this I thought anon was serious. Turns out they were being sarcastic. My apologies for not catching this! However, I still see similar sounding comments that do mean what they say, so my point still stands. Below is the original post:
Gonna have to disagree with you, anon. Setting up a character to have more depth and complexity that ties in directly with the lore of the show only to "subvert" that is just bad writing. If Belos is just going to represent societal ills, bigotry, etc. then why bother with giving him plausibly sympathetic motivations? If you're not going to bother with exploring how people with good intentions can irrevocably corrupt themselves in the process then why even suggest it? Just make Belos a standard villain like Ozai and leave it at that. The message still remains the same.
Also, Belos was never set up to be a fully-fledged character; his role was the Evil Emperor and it was only in Hollow Mind that we got a glimpse of a deeper story. They then expanded upon that story in Thanks to Them and even showed Caleb's apparition in For the Future. Don't forget Gus triggering Belos' traumatic memories of killing Caleb and trying to recreate him with the grimwalkers. With all this set up, the audience expects a pay-off and there's nothing. Because it's suddenly Bold and Daring to have a villain who is thoroughly evil instead of the standard for most genre stories.
Belos' story may not matter to his victims but it matters to the audience because the show put all those details there and they add up to...nothing.
Sorry, but the idea that hinting your main villain is complex only to say he's not is just weird? What's the point in this?
Don't jerk the audience around like this. Characters are tools in a story; they don't want or deserve anything. But the audience should have a coherent story told and this wasn't it.
125 notes
·
View notes
Note
wdyt of ursa's backstory that was revealed in "the search"? it feels like a cop out to me. zuko not only gets his mom back, but she also had zero positive feelings for ozai ever and was always against imperialism (while also always having a high opinion of iroh). it would've been interesting to see her views of ozai + the fire nation change as she sees who he really is ex killing zuko. which would make her (logical) death more tragic
i do not remember "the search" very well because i read it when it came out and, funnily enough, did not care to revisit it! (i've also never read the other gene yang comics in full, only skimmed them enough to know that there are truly irredeemable) but i will say that i think ursa being from the same small village roku lived in at the time of his death (at least, i think she was? idr) is a good choice, and the idea that she basically had no say in marrying ozai, out of a desire to propagate a "powerful bloodline," is legit (roku wasn't just the avatar, he was also an extremely high ranking member of fire nation nobility, after all). but i definitely don't think she was against imperialism, she literally laughed at iroh's joke about burning ba sing se to the ground and encouraged her children to do the same. maybe she was more critical of the war than she let on, but a lot of fire nation citizens who aren't nobility have issues with the fire nation (like the villagers in jang hui, and how increasing industrialization is destroying their food supply) and still support the war overall. i definitely don't think she and ozai had a loving marriage, since regardless of her backstory, he absolutely viewed her as his property and is a very violent man who abuses his children, so like... you do the math.
when she encourages zuko to remember who he is, it's not a call for him to disavow the fire nation, it's a call for him to retain his gentle and caring nature despite his father's violent influence, which does ultimately result in him disavowing imperialism. but i doubt she realized that at the time, since if she had she probably would've tried to escape with him, instead of thinking that the best thing for him would be to die so that he could continue to live in the luxury of the palace, which she clearly does believe is the best place a child could grow up, despite the abuse, which definitely escalated once she was no longer there to protect him. i do think something interesting that could be gained from an ursa and zuko reunion is her seeing his scar and realizing that she made the wrong call by leaving him under ozai's thumb.
and you're right in the sense that it also doesn't make sense that zuko would get his mom back, when it's clear that katara never will. the parallelism between their respective losses is crucial, but also, if anyone deserves to get their mother back, it's katara. so much of katara's character is about her clinging onto the memory of her people, her heritage, her bending, the memory of her mother, actively fighting against cultural genocide through retaining what was taken from her. whereas zuko grows through loss, through experiencing the harsh reality of the war's victims, and through shedding the comforts he enjoys, the spoils of imperialism and conquest and exploitation, in the name of doing what's right. if zuko got his mother back, it would be like a reward for him choosing to do the right thing. but the whole point is, all the rewards he does gain for doing what's right (love, acceptance, friendship) are things he couldn't find in the fire nation. if anyone should be rewarded for passionately and diligently tending to their mother's memory out of duty to her sacrifice, it's katara. but getting your mother back isn't the point; her sacrifice is.
77 notes
·
View notes
Text
NATLA Episode 6 - Masks (2/5)
[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]
An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.
Of course, full spoilers ahead.
<previous/next>
Aang begging Zuko to let him go save his friends seems naïve of him (it is, kinda) but Zuko's resigned 'no' at Aang's pleas is heartbreaking. He's not gloating, he's not angry at Aang, he's exhausted and beaten down and surely feeling guilty over all the arguments Aang is throwing at him - everyone assumes they know who Zuko is because of the mask he's put on since his banishment, but Aang is the one who can see through it. Aang's naïve belief in the inherent goodness of people extends even to his enemies and is such an important character trait.
The war council flashback is ssooooooo well done! Zuko clearly just happy to be there and not actually paying attention, then desperately fumbling for an adequate answer to his own plan for the attack - all of which any viewer who had been paying attention could see are bad plans. BUT when the general suggests his own plan, Zuko is smart enough to see the flaw in it - he's far from inept, he just wasn't ready to jump in with his own strategy at his first war council. The frustration and disappointment Ozai shows as he tried to prompt his first-born to prove to him he was worthy is much more interesting to me than Ozai just writing Zuko off from the start. Ozai's insistence that 'sacrifice is a part of war' really is a key aspect of why he does what he does - to his people and to his children - and ironically, is exactly what Roku and the other Avatars always advise Aang. While Ozai takes it to the extreme, and it's very important that you know when a sacrifice is going too far, the sentiment is a solid one. Soldiers die in battle - it's when you resign yourself to that and no longer fight against it or you feel a twisted sense of pride and accomplishment for 'bearing' that sacrifice that the issues really come up.
It's a GREAT detail that Ozai doesn’t break eye contact with Zuko as he asks which division it is that will be sacrificed - gauging his son's reaction.
How Zuko stands up against the general is just sooo Zuko. Again, SHOWING his honor, not just having Zuko yell it randomly. The plan is 'unworthy' of the fire nation - it's a dishonorable tactic. In Zuko's eyes, just like fighting with your face hidden and employing mercenaries, it's underhanded and not how the fire nation - as they have positioned themselves to be in the world - should behave. All that propaganda about the Fire Nation being the best and always doing what is right begins to crumble, but he believes, as of now, that it's 'just a few bad apples' and the system is still good. If he can just speak out against the aberrations in the system, then everything will be fine because the system is correct, others just aren't living up to the way 'the system tells you to be' in the Fire Nation. (Oh my god, I knew my current DnD character had a lot of Zuko in her (plus Azula, little bit of Yue, some Darth Vader, and others) but damn, this analysis is hitting very close to home for her).
The Blue Spirit animated episode really shows Zhao's station in the Fire Nation - other leaders think he's just on a vanity project going after the Avatar. This is shown in the live-action all the way at the beginning of the season with Ozai declaring him 'no one of importance'. I think the live action giving us an early look at that, and Azula seeing him as someone she can use to further her own gains, adds depth to Zhao as we're not doing the Jong Jong storyline. Having Zhao take command of Zuko's search for the Avatar lines up with the animated version, and I like how they combine Zuko breaking his banishment by sneaking into the fire nation to capture Aang in the animated series episode Avatar Roku (part 2 of the Winter Solstice) with his infiltration of the prison. In an animated show, you can have many repeats of plot points (Zuko defying the fire nation rules to capture Aang) and meld them into one plotline that gives the moments time to breathe.
As iconic as the Blue Spirit episode is, there's little connective tissue from Zhao capturing the Avatar and Zuko showing up as the Blue Spirit to get him out - for some reason he's on the roof of the building as Zhao gets his promotion, then somehow gets back to his boat and sails off without Zhao realizing he was in the area until his boat pulls up beside his, then there's no indication that Zuko has any informants that would let him know that Zhao has caught the Avatar in a remote location or that he sent him to that particular prison. How does Zuko know any of this? It's established that Zhao is the one with resources, not Zuko. Sorry to poke holes in this beloved episode, but if y'all are going to complain about the live-action, I need to bring up this stuff so I can compare it to how the live-action handled it.
So, how did the live-action do it? Zuko was already employing June to capture Aang, and since we know she's great at it (and succeeded before), she gets him and hands him off. Then Zhao comes and 'takes Aang off Zuko's hands' as he's been given charge of capturing the Avatar and he goes ahead and taunts Zuko with the location he's taking him to: hammering home Zhao's overconfidence and urge to gloat. So in the live-action, there are direct lines from Zuko tracking and capturing Aang, Zhao taking him to the prison, and Zuko showing up as the Blue Spirit. Yes, the vibes of the animated episode are immaculate and I'm sure a lot of the questionable plot holes concerning the spirit are to keep the mystery of who it is until the mask comes off - but according to first-time watchers of the live-action, they didn't call it was Zuko either until the mask came off, so I think, from a storytelling perspective, the way the live-action did it flows better and is more tight storytelling while still maintaining the mystery of the masked man's identity.
Zuko's performance here is so great - Dallas manages to capture Zuko's anger and frustration as well as his vulnerability so well without skewing too hard in either direction. The perfect balance is struck where I think the animated series sometimes fell short of as, even though the narrative was clearly trying to get us to see that Zuko wasn't a flat villain and that there was a chance for him to be redeemed, a lot of his actions were quite one-note in the beginning. There were definitely hints of his softer side like in episode 3 when he asks Iroh if he really meant that he had more honor than Zhao, but I think the live-action, like with many of the character shifts, made him more real and believable rather than a heightened cartoon version of the archetype (after all, cartoons are meant to be heightened).
From the moment we see Aang tied up in the prison, it's almost a complete shot-for-shot remake of the animated version - even down to Zhao dictating to his little note-taker - and it's soo good. Funny enough, Zhao even tells Aang to stop worrying about his past and start worrying about his future. Just as with Ozai's twisting of 'necessary sacrifices', we see Zhao twist the idea of moving on from the past into something darker. Zhao is the epitome of the new Fire Nation ideals taken to the absurd extreme - the hubris, arrogance, and ambition by any means necessary. And unfortunately, despite its absurdity, it's a very very real depiction we see every day (Trump and Elon Musk being prime examples).
The escape is so close to identical even down to Aang's little quip where he questions the masked man, gets no response and says 'IIIII'll take that as a yes' (or the live-action version 'Right, escape now, talk later' which is the same energy so if you had an issue with that, take it up with the animated show). Though I will always mourn the loss of the line "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frooooggss!!!" I understand the need to nix that bit.
The standoff at the gate between The Blue Spirit holding his blades to Aang's throat and Zhao ready to take them out was so well done. No words, but the fact that you can see Zuko's eyes behind the mask, hear his shallow breathing as he's terrified his plan might not work, it adds so much. Aang's confusion, Zhao's cocky assurance, then uncomfortable shifting as he realizes brute force won't work this time - the Blue Spirit isn't afraid of him (he thinks). So many layers of masks and bluffs make the scene so good, even though most of us know how it's going to end. Being introduced to the Yuyan archers with Azula and then having Azula be Zhao's backup was a great way to tie in him getting promotions and more resources than he otherwise would have.
In The Blue Spirit episode of the animated series, Sokka and Katara are benched by getting sick, but I like that the live-action changed it to being captured in the Spirit Realm by Koh - it lets then still do stuff (character building stuff) while out of commission and Aang's reason for being in the place he's captured is a lot more compelling than 'he was looking for frozen frogs'.
<Ok, next posts are going to be very in depth about Zuko and Aang's interactions after the escape and the Agni Kai - I have a LOT to analyze there>
11 notes
·
View notes
Note
How specifically does Lu Ten survive in the au?
The short answer: his betrothed.
The long answer: in this au, Lu Ten is betrothed at quite a young age to Makei, a noble woman's only daughter. They're both nonbenders, who both train separately to be equally deadly (Lu Ten under Piandao, and Makei under a retired Yuyan archer by the name of Izuki) and are probably each others only real friend at court, just due to the cutthroat nature of the court.
They both go to the siege of Ba Sing Se, probably a year into it, Lu Ten is an officer and Makei is a healer. They are very quickly disenfranchised with the whole idea of The War.
This is mostly because they were both very lonely children, Lu Ten moreso. When Lu was little, his mother was dead, his father was off at war more often than not and there were very few people who were consistently around him (Ursa would be around a bit but since Ozai does not want to be around him, even that's limited), but he made his loneliness better by basically saying that Winning The War will make it all better.
Newsflash: the war sucks and when fighting it begins to feel entirely pointless, and Lu Ten is very quickly like...oh. My childhood just sucked for No Reason.
(Listen, Iroh loved his son but I am of the firm belief that their relationship was not an easy one)
And then, Iroh dies on the front lines. Maybe Lu Ten should have been the one to die then - he certainly came close - but Makei is a skilled healer who makes sure he pulls through. But Lu Ten is neither the leader his father was nor someone who wants to be, and the siege is called off.
Still, he's angry and bitter and has a burning hatred for the war for taking his father from him in so many ways (and, later, when he's spent time among the earth kingdom, he'll be angry for them too), and when he returns to the palace, he does not exactly go along with everything Ozai has to say...
By which I mean he does multiple kidnappings but that's another post.
#Makei is the adaptation of an older oc#also I had feelings about Lu Ten and parallels to his mother#also about loneliness it's a really big theme in this#Lu Ten's mother was lonely for the arranged marriage she got put in and then she died lonely only a few hours after having Lu#and then Lu Ten has all these years of built up emotional neglect that really took it's toll#and without having the friend there that Makei is he would have thrown himself into the war effort to get the emotional acknowledgement#he wants#but because he has had that he isn't quite so enthusiastic in his war attempts and so sees the horror a bit easier#which caves in his entire paper thin worldview very quickly#Lu Ten#OC: Makei#Fae's OCs#Lu Ten Lives AU#AtLA#Ask#Anonymous#god have I had so many ideas for this au tonight#please ask me more questions :)
26 notes
·
View notes
Text
ATLA LA Episode 4 Into the Dark
The glowing rock candy 🤤🤤
Iroh and Aang bonding in prison.
"I'm really starting to see what kind of person his is." "I doubt that."
Sokka yelling at Sai like you yell at your father's mistakes
Love how active the fantasy racism is.
DONT GUILT SOKKA, SAI
Sokka is still so proud of Hakoda. He's so proud to be his son, "My father would never do what you did."
Zuko sneaking in??? We've seen numerous times in the OG his stealth capabilities when he tries. So, I'm excited.
BABY BUMI ! BABY (hes still a baby) AANG !
"I like the parts of Omashu that aren't so depressing :D"
SECRET TUNNEL
Great touch to openly address labor camps and POWs with the real world terms
"It's time to stop fighting. It's time to fight."
The Flopsy statue needs more recognition.
BUMI
Even Aang looks at Bumi like he's insane
Bumi, I know he's your friend, but you shouldn't out Aang like that
"Throw him.... a feast!" Aang looking terrified as if his old friend would EVER hurt him because the world has changed so much since he was last in it breaks me.
"Not everyone out there is the enemy"
"If you stand against us, you are."
"You're fighting because of hate. Just like the Fire Benders"
YES KATARA FIGHT BACK
KATARA THUGGIN AFTER SAYING "Goodbye, Jet"
I love how awful a liar Zuko is in every universe. LEARN TO FIB MY BOY
Aang at the table, like, "did my bsf friend forget I'm a vegetarian???"
Bumi being passively aggressive toward Aang, and Aang serving back "It was a tragedy!"
"Don't you care?" Aang, Bumi has a point when he yells at you. I like this Bumi a lot. His anger feels genuine. However irrational it may be.
THE HIPPIES IN THE MOUNTAIN
Sokka slowly vibing is OOC but still appreciated.
"We're doing what we're doing." They're all high. They gotta be.
Are Oma and Shu...? The gay??
I love how women are often portrayed as ending a war or unintentionally starting it, and then there's Azula.
Thanks for the backstory hippie man, wish you had a map though.
Two lovers, forbidden from one another~
SECRET TUNNEL (×2) THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN
"They're doomed 🤠"
Prisoner cruelty!! I know Uncle War Crimes but what about the Geneva Convention?
"The direct path is not always the best path." Paralleled with Aang wanting to find a way to end the war without killing Ozai.
I hate how they took out Kataang in the LA (i understand it'd be weird to allude to making aang's actor kiss kataras, though), but I like "love" in the tunnels being familial instead of romantic. And I like Sokka using his brain to figure stuff out.
"He was 19.. Was it worth it?" "We were at war.. I was a soldier." Such is the awful reality of war. When it comes to soldiers, it's not personal. It's a job, its dehumanizing to yourself and the rest of the world. It's a politcal game. "You (Iroh) know nothing of loss." And then showing his grief.
Iroh didn't want his son to die a war hero, he wanted Lu Ten to be his son.
!!! This was such an important conversation to put into the show. !!!
Zuko having something from Lu Ten 🥺🥺
I want a separate series with just Lu Ten
Leave from the Vine playing 🥺🥺
Bumi ragging on Aang for wanting to be a kid, AS A TWELVE YEAR OLD, makes me so mad.
Yes, he thinks about fun and games. A boy shouldn't be as bitter as an old man.
Zuko showing up to kick ass for his Uncle because that's HIS FUCKING UNCLE. He's still strong enough to break metal WITHOUT BENDING. SHOWING HIS COMPENTENCY.
"We've all seen enough death."
Zuko showing concern for Iroh's Injury to demonstrate his "true" nature of being sensitive and compassionate. Which is why he was banished in the first place.
The WT Siblings just hold each other before their perceived death feels so important to me.
And I feel like we can and should read into the badgermole/ "Love is brightest in the dark" scene.
"Great, how do you think they respond to verbal commands." Sokka can you be Sappy for like 5 minutes please.
"Some of us have to fight, even if we don't want to. That's what it means to he in a WAR!" This show is delivering so many lines and comments about war and its complexities for everybody involved. Just like the original. Y'all wanna sleep on it because of minor character changes????
I have yet to see a character, Suki has come the closest, that has been so awfully OOC that I've had to stop.
Aang asking for help, "one that requires you to make impossible choices" Bumi is a little misguided here but he means well in sharing his knowledge of leading to his friend.
"Learn what it means to be the Avatar!" "No!" Aang will never give up who he is based on others expectations. And the idea that he doesn't have to do things on his own, "like a child" is going to be what wins the war.
Aangs refusal to kill or hurt isn't bad, he's going to make a difference. He's going to save people. He's going to be the Avatar, but he will be an airbender first!
SAI OUTING THE FIRE NATION IS REDEMPTION
Iroh left to be with his nephew 🥺🥺
He won't let this boy be without a father
LEAVES ON THE VINE
"Everything I need is on this boat"
This episode felt a little rushed, and felt like it lacked a little in terms of the Gaang. But in terms of Zuko, it served. Zuko's story felt stronger here. Especially, after seeing Appa fly away, but he chose instead to prioritize his Uncle.
17 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
starrymag
Cuz Life's Like This
rubinhotattoogaleria
Sem título
francoisquisfix
Street art
missphantoms
MissPhantoms
gwendy85
gwendy85